Public domain World War II pictures

Well, if thanks are called for, you're welcome, someperson.

Thanks Ardee

DamDSx, I'll also point out another inaccuracy: "no attempts were made to persuade surrender in any other way." Personally, I would call the threat of invasion to be a pretty good persuasive device, all by itself. Judging from your earlier posts, you...

DamDSx, I'll also point out another inaccuracy: "no attempts were made to persuade surrender in any other way." Personally, I would call the threat of invasion to be a pretty good persuasive device, all by itself. Judging from your earlier posts, you seem to be hung up on the issue of conditional versus unconditional surrender. I'll repeat what I said earlier, but with different emphasis: a Japanese surrender without occupation would merely have set the stage for another war. It was not a viable option, so if Japanese rejected it, of course there would be no further negotiations. I'll point out that there was actually some small flexibility in how the Allies defined "unconditional surrender" - for instance, I believe it was understood beforehand that the Emperor was to remain in place. But by wanting something that would allow them to continue their past practices, what the Japanese government demanded was unrealistic. Negotiations require a meeting of minds, and there is no point in holding them if there is no visible chance of that occurring. Other than the invasion, what other alternatives to the bomb were there? The Allies would not, could not, and should not have budged from their demand for the unconditional surrender and the occupation of Japan. Japan rejected that. What alternative would you have explored - and how many lives would it have cost?

Hi TinMann0715 - and, as you doubtless meant to add, that number included Wayne himself.

Further proof to the lack of understanding of the after-effects of the bomb was that John Wayne shot a movie, named The Conqueror, close to a testing site in Utah in 1955. Of the 200 cast and crew who worked on the film, 91 contracted various forms of...

Further proof to the lack of understanding of the after-effects of the bomb was that John Wayne shot a movie, named The Conqueror, close to a testing site in Utah in 1955. Of the 200 cast and crew who worked on the film, 91 contracted various forms of cancer and 46 died from it.

You are partly correct in saying the Allies were aware of the destructive power of the bomb: their tests had revealed the sheer power of the blast. But the effects of radiation were a surprise, IIRC. Recall, for obvious reasons, that no testing had been...

You are partly correct in saying the Allies were aware of the destructive power of the bomb: their tests had revealed the sheer power of the blast. But the effects of radiation were a surprise, IIRC. Recall, for obvious reasons, that no testing had been done on an actual population; recall also that the military continued training and testing well into the 1950's (at the least) with ground troops in proximity to the blast, etc., etc. If you'll pardon the play on words, they had no idea of the fallout to occur. So, restricting ourselves to the foreseen effects of the blast -- yes, that was terrible, but actually similar results had been achieved in Europe using more conventional bombs. What was truly terrifying, psychologically, was that this was achieved by a single bomb, dropped by a single plane. While you might wish to confer greater knowledge about how "Everyone knew the consequence of an atomic bomb," I do not believe that is accurate.

The bomb represented many causes. First and foremost, to beat the Japanese into submission. Second, to hold the Soviets in check when it came to conquering the entire European mainland. Third, to present to the rest of the world that the US was now a...

The bomb represented many causes. First and foremost, to beat the Japanese into submission. Second, to hold the Soviets in check when it came to conquering the entire European mainland. Third, to present to the rest of the world that the US was now a superpower. Fourth, to leverage the importance of participation in the United Nations.

Of course not, Ardee. But the lack of engotiations, or a favorable negotiation for Japan, in my eyes is what gave the "go" to set up a plan to defend for a possible invasion. This is something I love about world war 2, the possibilities for...

Of course not, Ardee. But the lack of engotiations, or a favorable negotiation for Japan, in my eyes is what gave the "go" to set up a plan to defend for a possible invasion. This is something I love about world war 2, the possibilities for arguments on the could have's would have's and should have;s are endless

War would indeed fall into the mass murder definition. However, what bothers me, and like you said, was the means of death. Everyone knew the consequence of an atomic bomb. many experiments had been made and the sheer destruction it caused was not...

War would indeed fall into the mass murder definition. However, what bothers me, and like you said, was the means of death. Everyone knew the consequence of an atomic bomb. many experiments had been made and the sheer destruction it caused was not unknown to those responsible. It doesnt lack logic, there was clearly no alternative sought and they had every excuse to drop the bomb, which is what really bothers me. no attempts were made to persuade surrender in any other way. we can go on and on about this for years (many people have) but I guess it all comes down to how you look at it. I dont see justification to drop the bomb. others do. and thats how it will be for as long as human logic exists and the human race prevails. I will agree on one thing, however, that the dropping of the bombs did change the future, Imagine what the cold war wouldve been had the bombs not been dropped on Japan....

Actually, DamDSx, you words, as written, are putting an untenable slant on things: the Japanese would have been making ready defenses of their home islands whether or not negotiations occurred: it was dictated by their military situation, not by the...

Actually, DamDSx, you words, as written, are putting an untenable slant on things: the Japanese would have been making ready defenses of their home islands whether or not negotiations occurred: it was dictated by their military situation, not by the fact there were no negotiations. And those same defensive preparations would have occurred even if negotiations had happened: negotiations would not necessary result in an outcome the Japanese found acceptable.