Do you think President Truman did the right thing in dropping the bomb on Japan?

[JohnB]

Agreed SH3RL0CK, the big thing is that most people are under the impression that the IJA had been driven out of the occupied territories, an incorrect assumption.

 

The true brilliance of the "Island Hopping" campaign was that it allowed direct attack on the Japanese mainland without engaging the majority of the IJA forces. It was the ultimate flanking attack.

 

A point to consider is that a number of industries had been moved to China, so even with the home islands blockaded, the IJA in the occupied areas were still recieving shipments of arms and munitions.

 

While it is understandable to worry about the Japanese civillians, I've yet to hear concern for the civillian populations of China, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Borneo and all the other occupied territories.

 

I would also point out that while other means to end the war might seem more humane (?) they would have taken longer. The US and her allies were paying a butchers bill every day in a dozen places far removed from the Japanese mainland.

 

How many of Allied servicemen would be sacrificed in favour of Japanese ones? The idea was to end the war as quickly as possible.

 

The Russians had made promises at both Yalta and Potsdam to join the Pacific War as soon as their Neutrality Pact with Japan expired. The pact was renounced by the Soviets on April 5 th, 1945 with a formal declaration of war coming on August 8th, 1945.

 

Magic intercepts show Japanese concerns over Russian troop movements as early as the 23rd April. The Russian declaration was not unexpected.

 

The bottom line is that the best way to reduce both civillian and military casualties on both sides was to end the war as quickly as possible. The documents show that the dropping of the bombs did just that.

 

Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs records show this unequivocably.

His Majesty stated that the advent of the new weapon like the atomic bomb made it impossible to continue the persecution of the war and steps should be taken to end the war without delay.

 

This statement was made on the day after Hiroshima (8th August), but before news of the Russian Declaration of War had arrived. The Emperor knew the Russians were coming, but it was the "advent of the new weapon" that decided him on surrender.

 

It was a horrible thing, but like I said, it was the best out of a lot of bad choices. I would contend that it is those who think that "There must have been another way" to show that way and provide some sort of evidence that the cost in lives would have been lessened by it's use.

 

Whenever this topic comes up I see a lot of kneejerk reactions and complaints, but I've yet to see anything concrete as to how it could have been done better. Never evidence, just hand waving, supposition and wishful thinking.