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Military reasons for the use of the A-bomb aka the Orthodox Perspective …
Military reasons for the use of the A-bomb
aka the Orthodox Perspective
By Julia Stephen
president truman's statements
"there can be no peace in the world until the military power of hapan is destroyed, if the japanese insist on continuing resistance beyond the point of reason their country will suffer the same destruction as germany"
"Let there be no mistake about it. I regarded the bomb as a military weapon and never had any doubt that it should be used"
"We shall destroy Japanese capability to make war."
in statements and interviews, shows that it was not a controversial or difficult decision by laughing and making jokes about dropping the atomic bomb
States that he did not want to bomb Tokyo because that would have killed the emperor, which would have been worse for the war efforts. He saw the bombing of Hiroshima as a way to save American lives, as well as the lives of their allies --> it was the best military strategy to end the war
Secretary of war, Stimson
this deliberate premeditated destruction in our least abhorent choice
basically saying that it was lesser evil
his memoir argues this point very strongly
Timeline shows that the A-bomb prompted japanese surrender
Timeline of events
july 26
august 6
august 8
the USSR declares war on Japan
august 9
Another bomb, originally meant for kokura, was dropped on Nagasaki, killing 40k people
right after, the Japanese war council convened. They surrendered and the war was over.
september 2
Little boy dropped over Hiroshima killing 80k and injuring 80k people
Japan still refused to surrender
Truman and Churchill at 7am on 26 July give Japan ultimatum - Potsdam Declaration
Japan still refused to surrender
Previous military encounters with Japan
The US had lost many soldiers in island hopping, since Japan was getting more and more ferocious in their fight
the US was losing lives
the japanese were losing SO MANY MORE lives
Therefore, it can be understood that the atomic bomb saved both american and japanese lives
solomon islands
guadacanal 1942
7k american deaths
31k japanese deaths
kamikaze strategy
Iwo Jima, feb-march 1945
23k american deaths
(2.5k at d day)
20k japanese deaths
okinawa, april-may 1945
50k american deaths
100k japanese deaths
the japanese had enough fuel for even more kamikaze missions
Japanese army leaders did not want surrender.
strategical military reasons
the alternative was Operation Downfall
estimated 2-4 milion american soldiers
estimated 10k japanese deaths
the casualties of the A-bomb are relatively lower
70k hiroshima deaths
100k hiroshima deaths attributed to the long term effects of the bomb (radiation, cancer, birth defects, etc)
80k nagasaki deaths
previous military strategies were unsuccessful
Air campaign had not destroyed Japan’s ability to make war. US General LeMay’s focus on civilian destruction meant much of
infrastructure intact. Rail network, the Korura arsenal and the essential coal ferry between Hokkaido and Honshu were not disabled.
Bombing to destroy civilian morale had not worked. There was no revolt against the regime.