Hiroshima justified? (was Enola Gay: Burnt flesh and other magnificent technological achievements)

"Mitchell Holman" wrote in message
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"Keith Willshaw" wrote in
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"Mitchell Holman" wrote in message
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"Jeroen Wenting" wrote in
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"No military justification for the dropping of the bomb".
Douglas MacArthur


And yet McArthur wanted to use nuclear weapons in Korea


Just so. MacArthur wasn't against nukes;
he just saw that the Japanese situation didn't
require them.


He was not involved in the planning for the Invasion
of Japan and was not in a position to make an informed
decision



and Eisenhower at an NSC meeting 11th feb 1953 said,
"We should consider the tactical use of atomic weapons in the
Kaesong area." (Korea)


Just so. Ike wasn't against nukes; he just
saw that the Japanese situation didn't require them.


He was not involved in the planning for the Invasion
of Japan and was not in a position to make an informed
decision





Fact is Eisenhower wasnt part of the decision making process
in August 1945 and hadnt seen the briefing material that would
have allowed him to make an informed decision. The Japanese
were NOT ready to surrender as they could easily have done


Yes, they were. The turning point after
Hiroshima and Nagasaki wasn't the bombs but
Russia's entry into the war. THAT was the
key factor showing defeat was certain.


The Japanese cabinet disagreed. The minutes of the meeting at which
surrender was agreed show clearly that the bomb was the decisive
factor

That meeting began the night of the 9-10 August AFTER the
news of the Soviet attack had been received and was once
again deadlocked. It was only when the news of the Nagasaki
attack was received that an audience was sought with the
Emperor who urged them to "bear the unbearable"



Even after 2 A-bombs were dropped the militarists wanted to fight
on and only the intervention of the Emperor forced them to
accept surrender.


The firestorm raids of LeMay were far
more lethal than the A-bombs and the Japanese
endured THOSE without surrendering. But being
surrounded by all sides by warring victorious
powers was more than any island nation can
withstand. Mac and Ike were right.


Even if I accept your categotrisation of their views they werent,
the Japanese were all ready cut off from the Asian
continent by the USN and had already lost entire armies in Okinawa,
India and Burma without surrendering

The last word belongs to the Emperor of Japan
who said in his surrender speech

"Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the
power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of
many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, it would not only result
in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it
would lead to the total extinction of human civilization."

He seems pretty clear that the bomb was the decisive factor
as do all the Japanese participants. The decision to surrender was
taken before the extent of the defeat of the Kwantung army
was clear.

Keith