Little-Acorn
Gold Member
Military planners estimated that the coming invasion of Japan in 1945-1946 would cost a quarter million Allied lives, plus several million Japanese military and civilian lives.
Instead, the atomic bomb destroyed almost no Allied lives and less than half a million Japanese lives from all causes. Horrific, but far less than the invasion would have taken.
Japanese officials were offering only a stand-down that would leave the pro-war Japanese government intact and in charge - a situation the U.S. rejected for obvious reasons.
BTW, though the two bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the only two we had on hand at that moment, the U.S. was in gear to produce half a dozen more within a few months, and more later as needed. These would have been used on Japan during the invasion if Japan didn't surrender. Fortunately for all involved, the Japanese realized that the U.S. could completely destroy Japan as a country with virtually no U.S. casualties, with the remains divided between America and Russia (who was also invading), and so saw the wisdom of surrendering.
-----------------------------------------------
70th anniversary of V-J Day Kiss a nuke Hot Air
70th anniversary of V-J Day: Kiss a nuke
by Allan Bourdius
posted at 6:01 pm on August 14, 2015
Seventy years ago today on August 14, 1945, the Japanese Empire announced their surrender to the Allies and the end of World War II. The day (August 15th in Japan) is generally known as “Victory over Japan Day” or “V-J Day”. The official Japanese surrender was signed 19 days later on September 2, 1945, on board the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay.
During the afternoon of this day seventy years ago, joyous Americans took to the streets to celebrate the end of the war. In New York City’s Times Square, a United States Navy sailor grabbed a woman, a “nurse” (she was actually a dental assistant) he didn’t know, and kissed her right in the middle of the street, the moment captured by two different photographers. It is the iconic image of V-J Day and the end of World War II.
Instead of a nurse, it would have been more fitting if he could have kissed a nuclear weapon. The life he later lived was undoubtedly made possible because of them.
Japan’s surrender was expedited by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945). Had Japan not announced their surrender, the United States would have had the next nuclear strike ready for August 19th, and another in September.
Then, still absent Japan’s surrender, Operation Downfall would begin; the invasion of the Japanese home islands in two parts.
November 1, 1945, “X-Day”, was the scheduled date for Operation Olympic, a landing by 14 American Army and Marine divisions in the initial attack on the island of Kyūshū.
Operation Coronet would follow on “Y-Day”, March 1, 1946 – landings directly into the Tokyo plain on the island of Honshū. Twenty-five divisions. Many more would be ready to reinforce them. Many of the Coronet soldiers would have been those retrained and redeployed after defeating Nazi Germany. Victory in Europe wouldn’t have spared them from more fighting to defeat Japan.
All in all, well over two million American servicemen would have taken part in the invasion of Japan. The United States also had plans for the tactical use of nuclear weapons during the attack, anticipating having an additional seven ready bombs on X-Day.
They would have faced a Japanese enemy who correctly predicted where the landings would take place. They would have faced a Japanese enemy who had changed the training for Kamikaze pilots so they would focus on attacking troop transports and landing ships rather than warships.
Estimates of casualties were wide ranging; the Joint Chiefs of Staff predicted in April 1945 that Olympic alone would cost 456,000 casualties, 109,000 of which would be killed or missing in action.
The same study said the entire campaign – Olympic and Coronet – would result in 1,200,000 total casualties, 267,000 killed or missing.
Instead, the atomic bomb destroyed almost no Allied lives and less than half a million Japanese lives from all causes. Horrific, but far less than the invasion would have taken.
Japanese officials were offering only a stand-down that would leave the pro-war Japanese government intact and in charge - a situation the U.S. rejected for obvious reasons.
BTW, though the two bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the only two we had on hand at that moment, the U.S. was in gear to produce half a dozen more within a few months, and more later as needed. These would have been used on Japan during the invasion if Japan didn't surrender. Fortunately for all involved, the Japanese realized that the U.S. could completely destroy Japan as a country with virtually no U.S. casualties, with the remains divided between America and Russia (who was also invading), and so saw the wisdom of surrendering.
-----------------------------------------------
70th anniversary of V-J Day Kiss a nuke Hot Air
70th anniversary of V-J Day: Kiss a nuke
by Allan Bourdius
posted at 6:01 pm on August 14, 2015
Seventy years ago today on August 14, 1945, the Japanese Empire announced their surrender to the Allies and the end of World War II. The day (August 15th in Japan) is generally known as “Victory over Japan Day” or “V-J Day”. The official Japanese surrender was signed 19 days later on September 2, 1945, on board the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay.
During the afternoon of this day seventy years ago, joyous Americans took to the streets to celebrate the end of the war. In New York City’s Times Square, a United States Navy sailor grabbed a woman, a “nurse” (she was actually a dental assistant) he didn’t know, and kissed her right in the middle of the street, the moment captured by two different photographers. It is the iconic image of V-J Day and the end of World War II.
Instead of a nurse, it would have been more fitting if he could have kissed a nuclear weapon. The life he later lived was undoubtedly made possible because of them.
Japan’s surrender was expedited by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945). Had Japan not announced their surrender, the United States would have had the next nuclear strike ready for August 19th, and another in September.
Then, still absent Japan’s surrender, Operation Downfall would begin; the invasion of the Japanese home islands in two parts.
November 1, 1945, “X-Day”, was the scheduled date for Operation Olympic, a landing by 14 American Army and Marine divisions in the initial attack on the island of Kyūshū.
Operation Coronet would follow on “Y-Day”, March 1, 1946 – landings directly into the Tokyo plain on the island of Honshū. Twenty-five divisions. Many more would be ready to reinforce them. Many of the Coronet soldiers would have been those retrained and redeployed after defeating Nazi Germany. Victory in Europe wouldn’t have spared them from more fighting to defeat Japan.
All in all, well over two million American servicemen would have taken part in the invasion of Japan. The United States also had plans for the tactical use of nuclear weapons during the attack, anticipating having an additional seven ready bombs on X-Day.
They would have faced a Japanese enemy who correctly predicted where the landings would take place. They would have faced a Japanese enemy who had changed the training for Kamikaze pilots so they would focus on attacking troop transports and landing ships rather than warships.
Estimates of casualties were wide ranging; the Joint Chiefs of Staff predicted in April 1945 that Olympic alone would cost 456,000 casualties, 109,000 of which would be killed or missing in action.
The same study said the entire campaign – Olympic and Coronet – would result in 1,200,000 total casualties, 267,000 killed or missing.
Last edited:
