140 Days to Hiroshima: The Story of Japan's Last Chance to Avert Armageddon 

Very good presentation. My father was in the Army in Europe during the war and after the German surrender he and his unit and many others was loaded on troop ships and headed across the Atlantic towards the Panama Canal. He said he got up one morning and noticed the ship had changed course, sometime later they were told the war was over. He sure thought dropping the bombs was the correct decision. Regarding Truman my father always spoke well of him and often times quoted him, my father was a life long Republican.

My father was a company commander in the 43rd infantry division, slated to go ashore on Kyosho in Operation Olympic. Was in the Pacific in combat since 1942. Silver star, bronze star, purple heart. Stars and Stripes he said had the story of the atomic bond on Hiroshima. He assembled the men, they were in the Philippines, and seeing the comic he always was, said if they go they will be issued atomic hand grenadesn, which he said incinerates everything within 1000 yards. The men he said were snickering when a corporal from Georgia with a thick southern accent asked from the back: “ what happens to the guy who throws it?”. Dad said “they haven’t figured that out yet”. Corporal said “oh”. My sister and I and our children might very not be here but for the use of the atomic bombs.

Much needed light thrown on a complicated subject.

Thank you very much for this clear, factual and sensible presentation.

Excellent presentation. Just ordered the book. Thank you.

Thanks for this excellent discussion, a public service.

Great presentation. Some things to consider: Why was Truman selected to be the VP candidate in '44? What did Truman learn/discover at Potsdam? How did US military and government leaders in the US try to "manage " Truman? Think about and research answers to these questions before you choose to condemn Truman for dropping the bombs. Japan was beaten militarily by the Fall of 1944. Yet they continued to fight a fanatical war. How do you force a fanatical government to negotiate the end of a war? Answer that, and Truman's decision starts to make sense.

Excellent.

I would have loved to have been a “fly on the wall” when President Truman was being briefed on the Manhattan Project, and the other military and political situations.

Thank you.

The word he is looking for at 25:20 is gekkokujo, which translates as "the low oppress or bully the high." The phenomenon had deep roots in Japanese history, with hot headed junior warriors in samurai clans pushing their nominal superiors to take aggressive action and sometimes overthrowing the overlords if they didn't do as the young-bloods demanded.

Utterly Fascinating Information!

Before Emperor Hirohito recorded his surrender address, what was the largest Japanese unit that had ever surrendered to the Allies? A platoon? Not dropping the atomic bomb was given light consideration. What would happen to the American leadership if the atom bonds were not dropped, tens of thousands of American killed and far more wounded then the American people learned of the successful July 15, 1945 atomic detonation? The atomic bomb was largely viewed at the time as a really large fire bomb, simply more efficient than what had been used already to destroy most of Japan's cities.

Is there a transcript available of this discussion?

Well presented. Truman’s advisors picture, missing Adm King., head of the Navy.

Very enlightening presentation thanks for sharing

I read this book summer of '20, I came away with a new respect for Hirohito for stepping in and settling what the Big 6 could not. Between this account and the remarks of Toshikazu Kase (World at War, episode 24) says to me the war ended only because the bomb was dropped. The image of the firebombing of Tokyo is devastatingly portrayed in Barrett Tillman's Whirlwind, the American Air War 1942-45.

He confuses Kokura with Kyoto. Kyoto wasn't targeted because it was the former imperial capital with a lot of historic shrines and heritage. Kokura was the initial target for the bombing raid of August 9th but the target was changed to Nagasaki on the day because the skies above the former area were clouded with fog.

fascinating 🤔

What should be pointed out, but is rarely said, is that Truman wanted to change Japan's Constitution, so that a military state could not rise up again. The changing of Japan's Constitution is an entire subject - but as an occupying force, the US, in debate with moderate Japanese leaders, changed it in 1947. The result was that Japan became a Constitutional Monarchy with voter rights and women's rights. The Emperor was retained, but became "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people ." However, with the rise of Communism, it is argued that the US also wanted Japan to be a democratic ally in the east.

Ty

Up to now, based on what I had gathered, there was a lot of soul searching concerning the use of a nuclear device. A few admirals and generals resigned over matters of conscience. Terms of surrender were rewritten twice and deliberate leaks were made to Stalin during the Yalta conference in hope of them making their way to Tokyo. It was the complete opposite of a Doctor Strangelove scenario. Japanese were masters in defense; the grinders of Peleliu and Okinawa were previews of what an invasion of the Home Islands would cost to both Allies and Japanese. Truman was known to have a temper and from what I gathered, once he reviewed the Imperial Japanese Army war crimes and considering all the attempts made toward an unconditional surrender, the memories of the Bataan death march, the rape of Nanking and other war crimes, his temper became decisive.

Thank you for your assessment of President Truman. I grew up hearing that he did a good job. Then for years he was kind of vilified. I am glad he is being resurrected.

Good video. I rankle at the argument of some folks that the bomb was unnecessary and that it was Russia declaring war that ultimately did it. It was all of the above. If it was just Russia declaring war that did it then i would note that they were our allies, weren't they? I sure wish they had declared war before Okinawa. I always find it coincidental WHEN Russia finally declared war. Exaggerated invasion casualty projections aside, there were at least tens of thousands of young US and allied serviceman that lived and came home with limbs as a result of not being forced to destroy the majority of the civilian population of Japan. Not only the invading forces but the POW in Japan.

Great presentation, and one I would consider very unbiased considering the topic. With controversial and sensitive topics that most people have a legitimate causes for their beliefs, I believe this material was presented with most points of view explained and explored in an objective manner. I just bought the book on audible and I’m excited to learn even more about the bombs and the perspectives of both the Japanese and Americans.

My father stated to me he would have been in the third wave in the invasion. Which operation or invasion of the two I do not know. Great factual and logical counters to the revisionist historians.

My father served on Adak in the Aleutians Islands in 1944/45/46. He was Filipino American and was in the signal corps stringing telephone wires in arctic conditions. He told me before he passed he was relieved they had dropped the Bomb on Japan because he was slated for the invasion of Japan and casualties were going to be huge My Father was not Anti Japanese, since his best friend and girlfriend were Japanese American. This issue of the Atomic Bomb is complex. There is an argument that it actually saved lives by less casualties on both sides an invasion would have caused. Also, Japan was facing starvation because our Navy's blockade. Another factor was it was a demonstration to Stalin and the USSR of US power.

Note to self: David Dean Barrett. author of "140 Days to Hiroshima": Soviet attack as impetus for Japanese surrender is "fiction"; decision was already made by Hirohito earlier that day: 42:29 - 45:05. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dh8qs78bUTQ.html

7:50, the Americans have shown the industrial capacity at their disposal to excuite an attack such as this from air from well over a thousand miles from Tokyo, and yet you fight on. The emperor was a war criminal of the highest order.

I suspect that had not the world witnessed the full horror of the destruction of the atom bombs in Japan, including the long term radiation effects, we would probably have been plunged into nuclear USA v USSR war in the 1950s. What does anybody else think?

Always good for the host to mention what is basically a competitors book in the discussion. 🤦‍♂️

David Dean Barrett's idea of writing a book , which focuses on the decision making process and response of the "Big Six" and Truman and his advisors , was an excellent idea. One issue that needs to be emphasized much more by historians , is that the Potsdam Declaration issued on July 26th, 1945, makes it clear that Truman wanted to change Japan's Constitution . Truman fought in WW I and was well aware of the mistakes made with the 1919 Treaty of Versailles . He knew how Germany had risen up again . This is why the "Big Six" were so insistent on the condition of the Emperor - because they ruled through his authority . Had the Emperor's status remained , they would have overruled all US efforts to change Japan's Constitution . Understanding this , is key to understanding the decisions both Truman and his advisors and the "Big Six" made . While under US occupation, Japan's Constitution was changed in 1947 . The new Constitution was similar to Britain's Westminster system . Men and women gained human rights and democratic rights . .

What a terrible time to open the presentation to QA! What happened to the emperor’s demand to keep political power?

The Japanese had determined at Okinawa that their old wood-and-fabric kamikazes were almost undetectable on American radar.

Mike Tyson once said, "It's tough to beat a guy that won't quit."

excellent. way too little about the stragic bombing in asia on RU-vid, compared to those covering the European theater. basically they all do is all pearl harbor, Doolittle raid, then we suddenly drop the bomb on Japan. like no one dropped any bombs in between.

To what extent was the Soviet invasion of Manchuria days after Hiroshima a decisive event that pushed Japan to sue for peace with the Allies?

Excellent talk. The description of the politics within the Japanese government is especially interesting. Hirohito was a real bastard after all, wasn't he?

29:18

Is it better to be burned to death in a fire bombing or to be vaporized by a nuclear bomb?

Conflaguration???

My heart flew up into my throat when that alarm went off. I’m mowing lawn at our local cemetery and my wife had texted about 30 minutes prior that we are under a tornado watch.. I thought that alarm was my I phone warning me to take cover! Where? Behind a fricken tombstone!!!

Japanese Imperialism/Nazism ...... DONE..... ..... USA. Thank you.

One of the most sobering, dispassionate discussions on the use of the bomb I have heard to date. Fast forward to today, and you have to wonder, given the daily losses the post Soviet leadership in Moscow is experiencing in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, will they too at some point calculate that the use of an atomic bomb or two on a couple as yet preserved Ukraine cities would “save lives”? I think the “no terms” total embargo on Japan put forward by Soviets, who basically ran the Roosevelt administration by proxy, is what pushed the Japanese leadership to see an attack on Pearl Harbor its last bad option to break out of the box they found themselves in. At the end of the day, the Soviet Empire, by hook or by crook, came out ahead, both in Europe and in Asian, largely by playing THE DEMS in the Roosevelt and Truman administrations for fools…

This is all misinformation. The war in the Pacific continued into at least mid-September '45 and the Japanese armed forces occupied Indochina well into 1946- with no intention of ever leaving.

America had long since broken the Japanese diplomatic code, so Washington must've known (from the Sato / Togo telegrams) that Japan was desperately seeking peace and Eisenhower advised Truman (on 20th July 1945) that the use of the A-bomb wasn't necessary. It was probably exploded more as a demonstration of American power to the Soviets (probable confrontation in Europe in mind) than an essential means to avoid Operation Downfall (Olympic / Coronet).

Somebody explain why an invasion of Japan was necessary?

Downfall was a plan. It was not THE plan. US had mastery of the,seas and air dominance. An American invasion could be anywhere. Germans expected the US to invade at Calais. Japan expected the US would invade Luzon. There were many, many places to invade, which would be finally decided after Japan committed its defense.

Very interesting talk, but I wish the author could at least pretend to be unbiased, as a historian should. But he seems to clearly have an agenda. Makes it hard to take his conclusions at face value.

Yes, its Japan's fault for the A-bombs. Did anybody consider to not demand unconditional surrender and end the thing in 1944? Did anybody consider that at the end, it was a conditional surrender? Unconditional was only in words, for the American propaganda to make a huge disastrous war make it look like some sort of victory.

Historian or propagandist? Lol