Anyone, who believes that dropping the bombs on Japan was wrong, clearly didn't understand the conditions of the time and how many millions more who would've died if the US had to invade homeland Japan.
My father was a replacement in the 3rd Marine Division after Iwo Jima. After my service in the Army, we chatted about his experiences. He described being in a huge Marine tent city as a distant roar kept getting louder and louder until he finally realized is was thousands of Marines yelling "The war is over!". He used his GI Bill to get an engineering degree and went to work in Oak Ridge, TN making more atomic bombs. But.... he wouldn't allow a firearm in the house. So the Army gave me a tank. :) Sure do miss that ol' jar head.
My dad was to take part in attempting to isolate (pre-invasion) Kyushu from the mainland by destroying the rail tunnel between Kyushu and the rest of Japan. An OSS plan. Like all the rest of you, Thank you Harry Truman.
Thank you for a great presentation. As a professor of ethics, I often moderate this debate in my classes, A+! A few minor points. 1. I believe VT stands for Variable Time fuse. This, in a variety of forms, was the standard anti-aircraft fuse. VT was used as a security cover for the radar proximity fuse. The radar proximity fuse was so secret it was not allowed to be used over land lest duds could be recovered and copied. I believe they were finally rushed in to the Battle of the Bulge as an emergency measure to explode over German infantry. 2. Not only did radar waves pass through the old wooden biplanes without reflecting, but the planes themselves were less susceptible to fragmentation from anti-aircraft shell detonations due to their relative lack of density of significant systems. The more modern Fairy Swordfish famed for torpedoing the Bismarck is a good example of this. Thanks again for a great presentation!
No, VT was a code name. VT fuses were radio frequency transponders set to detonate a fixed distances from target. In most effective use, field artillery ammunition set to detonate at a fixed distance above the ground. Time had nothing to do with it. They were proximity fuzes.
The “proxy” fuses were going to be used in Europe starting in January, 1945. Prior to that they could only be fired over open water in case of duds being recovered by the enemy. Ike moved the date up in response to the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge. They proved devastating to German ground troops. Unlike a timed fuse, they sensed proximity to the ground to explode at the optimum height.
Thank you for that. Very interesting. I am curious how many Japanese soldier were stationed in non-essential locations such as Manchuria , Korea, Vietnam etc., that could have been available to defend the most vital strategic area from their perspective, the Home Islands?
Not only USA, but all of the Western Allies would involve. British, Canada, Australia, Brazil (of course since they also involve in Italy campaign 1943), all of them. And don't forget USSR on the other hand would make their move on capturing and liberating all of the East Asia mainland from Japan that specifically include Korea & China, after how USSR succeed in Manchuria and I'm sure if USSR succeed on this one, Korea won't be divided.
@@kurtvonfricken6829 🙄 Read my post again if you have to. Carefully. When I post something it is correct. I'll spoon feed it to you Kurt. 1. This is WWII ; 2) The Air Corps was a training unit during wwii; 3. USAAF was the air combat branch of the US Army from 20 June 1941 until disbanded (in other words during the entirety of WWII) by the creation of the US Air Force. That's what they mean by the acronym USAAF
Excellent video. I think you're very accurate, but I want to clarify a point. You're correct that Downfall would have likely occurred if the atomic bombs had failed. But the mindset at the time wasn't that this was an either/or, between the invasion or Manhattan. I think our planners' assumption was that even if Manhattan succeeded, the invasion might still be necessary. One evidence for that is that the Japanese didn't flinch when over 100.000 were killed by the B-29 raids in March, 1945. So our planners couldn't just assume that if Manhattan worked, the Japanese would surrender. Another evidence for that is Rich Frank states (P. 262) that the final 4 planned targets for the first atomic bombs were Hiroshima, Kokura, Nagasaki, and Niigata. And not only had all 4 of those cities not yet been bombed heavily, but all 4 were also on (or near) Kyushu, and would have directly supported Ketsu-Go, to oppose Downfall. In other words, the atomic bombs were presumed at the time to be just one more military weapon to help save American lives in Downfall. Also in the end, Rich Frank and others have argued that the Japanese surrendered not due to the atomic bombs alone, but also due to other factors as well, such as the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. So we had no certainty at the time, that the atomic bombs alone could end the war.
"Amateurs discuss battlefield strategy. Professionals discuss logistics." Logistics control everything possible and are usually the reason for what's not possible. Logistics is also left out of much of the historical narrative of battles because it lacks drama and puts readers to sleep. DL Giangreco is another great source as he worked for the military researching postwar interviews and documents with some fascinating additional information well worth adding and much being logistical that is essential for rounding this one out.. He also has much information to add about the Soviets and their reliance on a huge Lend Lease effort from us focused on ending the war with Japan before this invasion if possible. The emperor's directive resulted in 3/4 to 4/5 of the Manchurian defense surrendering 1.5 million of Japanese troops to the Soviets. Which brings up the factor of what we might've faced in dealing with the Japanese occupied areas following an invasion without the Emperor's directive. . I'll note that 19% of the kamikazes had gotten through to a target of some sort at Okinawa making it the deadliest sea battle in US Naval history despite our overwhelming AA. I'll have to wonder how much fuel they had been able to have stored considering our submarine blockade. The 343rd Kokutai said they had enough fuel for 2 more missions at the time of the surrender. According to DL Giangreco not only did the Japanese correctly guess our initial landing points based on our formalistic strategy of amphibious landings based on logistics but had assessed a 20% sacrifice of their own home island population as acceptable to their military planners. There was some question on some level of how the public might react once this was in effect and it played a part in their military's acquiescence to their Emperor's directive. That directive was essential for us and the reason for his exclusion in anything punitive in our demands. . Straight out I'm assessing the very real risk of a mitigated document of defeat where anything from post war crimes tribunals to the military presence as the majority of the Japanese ruling cabinet would be negotiable as the result of any attrition seen as unacceptable to the American public. I also think we'd see a difference in perceptions with some Americans about civilian casualties when it became up-close-and-personal on a level of that magnitude. There was also planning for continuing to "bleed an invasion force" on the other home Islands that included underground storage and armament manufacturing in what the Japanese military termed it's "Strategy for Redoubt" aimed at the morale of the American public. I don't think it wise to assume that the same American public reaction after Pearl Harbor to be taken for granted as applicable for this if it were anything but successful and quicker that it looks like it might have been.
My Dad was a WW2 vet. Army, 96th INF Div 382. He would have taken part in this had it took place. He said the 96th would have been deployed on the first wave to hit the island and that Okinawa and Hacksaw Ridge would have been a walk in the park compared to the upcoming operation. He was not looking forward to it to say the least. Then 2 A-Bombs are dropped to end the war. Personally, I don't think the A-bombs were necessary nor did a invasion need to happen, but if not for those two bombs, I might not be commenting on this. He honestly didn't think he'd survive if the invasion of the home islands had taken place.
@@theccpisaparasite8813 Agree. Japan was defeated, but needed to be convinced to surrender. It was going to be nukes or invasion, there was no other choice.
