(06-06-2014 09:59 AM)vandiver49 Wrote:  There are some that insist that Russian involvement is what truly pressed Japan into surrendering to America.

That's interesting, I've never heard anybody suggest that before. But no matter how many people do believe it or consider it a plausible option, I am firmly convinced that Japan surrendered because of the two atomic bombs, and nothing else. Japan had no way of knowing how many other such bombs America possessed (in fact, very few if any were ready to be dropped on August 10) and simply could not withstand the idea of such bombs being dropped repeatedly on all of their population centers.

The Soviet Union was exhausted and I really doubt they would have participated in any kind of amphibious landing on Japan's home-islands. Stalin's declaration came about the time we dropped the atomic bombs and was all show, IMHO.

Quote:I find it interesting that it is nigh impossible to get to ground truth regarding the mindset of Japanese leadership in the waning days of the war.

This. Those men quite obviously adhered to the idea that death was preferable to any outward admission of failure or defeat.

Quote:in a scenario where the A-bomb doesn't exist, I think the US conducts bombing operations that make Dresden and Tokyo look like fireworks displays before putting a single person ashore.

Absolutely, yes.

The simple truth is that dropping the atomic bombs on Japan (thus forcing the Japanese surrender) spared millions of Japanese lives, because the alternative (an Iwo-Jima-style struggle for every square inch of territory) would have been incalculably worse.