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The US had already firebombed many Japanese cities with conventional weapons, causing death and destruction on the scale of Hiroshima https://en.wikipedia.org/

The US had already firebombed many Japanese cities with conventional weapons, causing death and destruction on the scale of Hiroshima https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Tokyo_(10_March_1945) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Tokyo_(10_March_194... Using the atom bomb was just making an existing policy more effective, because you could flatten a city with one bomber instead of ~300. The bombs didn't cause Japan to surrender. The bombs plus the Soviet declaration of war, invoking both the almost certain defeat of the Kwantung Army on the Asian mainland and a grueling defense against both the Soviet Union and Western allies contributed too. And the surrender was almost stopped by a coup at the very last minute.

opo 1y ago
>The bombs didn't cause Japan to surrender. According to Togo they did: >...Meanwhile in the afternoon of August 8, before the entry of the Soviet Union into the war or the bombing of Nagasaki, the emperor met with Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo. Shortly after the war, Togo affirmed that the emperor stated the war must end at this meeting. New evidence now confirms Togo’s account that it was the atomic bomb that moved the emperor to decide to end the war. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/japans-surrender-part-i https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/japans-surren...
- gerikson 1y ago
  Thanks a lot for this link. The followup article <https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/japans-surrender-military-coup-1945 https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/japans-surren...> mentions that while the Soviet Union didn't pose much threat to the home islands, it would and did steamroll the armies on the Asian mainland. Ensuring these forces actually abided by to the surrender terms was crucial. So atomic bombs threatening Japan proper and the Soviet Union threatening the land forces in Asia provided the "cover" for the surrender terms.

opo 1y ago

>The bombs didn't cause Japan to surrender. According to Togo they did: >...Meanwhile in the afternoon of August 8, before the entry of the Soviet Union into the war or the bombing of Nagasaki, the emperor met with Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo. Shortly after the war, Togo affirmed that the emperor stated the war must end at this meeting. New evidence now confirms Togo’s account that it was the atomic bomb that moved the emperor to decide to end the war. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/japans-surrender-part-i https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/japans-surren...

gerikson 1y ago
Thanks a lot for this link. The followup article <https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/japans-surrender-military-coup-1945 https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/japans-surren...> mentions that while the Soviet Union didn't pose much threat to the home islands, it would and did steamroll the armies on the Asian mainland. Ensuring these forces actually abided by to the surrender terms was crucial. So atomic bombs threatening Japan proper and the Soviet Union threatening the land forces in Asia provided the "cover" for the surrender terms.