Even with the atom bombs, Japans military almost overthrew their emperor to prevent the surrender.
Let that sink in.
Their loyalty to Japan and the empire almost lead to them seizing power from the empire.
They’d have fought to the last man if they didn’t think we could vaporize any city with a single bomb, and they didn’t think America would be stupid enough to use our only two atom bombs as “warning shots” instead of against serious military targets.
They had to assume that we still had at least a handful, but potentially 100s.
Japan was only going to surrender if complete defeat was inevitable. And the Americans tricked them into thinking that was true without a land invasion. The psychology behind it is almost as impressive as the physics.
War, is generally only supposed to be soldier vs soldiers. The Atom bombs killed so many civilians.
That would be laughable if real life wasn’t so dark…
It was fucking WW2, a shit ton of civilians were being killed daily all over the globe.
Civilians not dying in a war is a recent misconception in some countries because the atom bombs are deterring big military powers from invading each other directly.
We do proxy wars now. And lots of civilians still die in war even if you can’t see them.
There are some historians who speculate that the Soviets joining the war effort against Japan is all Japan needed to surrender.
It seems relatively realistic in my mind, but it is speculation after the fact.
Terrorist (adj.) : unlawfully using violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims
War, is generally only supposed to be soldier vs soldiers. The Atom bombs killed so many civilians.
Soviets joining the war would have also meant a massive land invasion and conventional bombing campaigns.
The Red Army was also notorious for crimes against civilian populations.
And not just against their enemies. Just ask Poland how well they were treated by Russians after being liberated from the Nazis.
What?
Even with the atom bombs, Japans military almost overthrew their emperor to prevent the surrender.
Let that sink in.
Their loyalty to Japan and the empire almost lead to them seizing power from the empire.
They’d have fought to the last man if they didn’t think we could vaporize any city with a single bomb, and they didn’t think America would be stupid enough to use our only two atom bombs as “warning shots” instead of against serious military targets.
They had to assume that we still had at least a handful, but potentially 100s.
Japan was only going to surrender if complete defeat was inevitable. And the Americans tricked them into thinking that was true without a land invasion. The psychology behind it is almost as impressive as the physics.
That would be laughable if real life wasn’t so dark…
It was fucking WW2, a shit ton of civilians were being killed daily all over the globe.
Civilians not dying in a war is a recent misconception in some countries because the atom bombs are deterring big military powers from invading each other directly.
We do proxy wars now. And lots of civilians still die in war even if you can’t see them.