I've long felt that as tragic and awful as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were, the Imperial Japanese government would never have surrendered without the use of some kind of devastating weapon such as atomic warfare.
Many historians have said that the US would have suffered approximately 1 million casualties if it had had to invade the Japanese islands themselves. There's no telling how many Japanese would have been killed or wounded in such an assault.
I tend to believe these assessments. Even after the two A-bombs were exploded, there was a contingent within the Japanese military that wanted to go against the emperor's wishes and continue the war, no matter how hopeless the cause.
That said, after reading Charles Pelligrino's book "The Last Train From Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back," one is struck by the unspeakable horror inflicted upon the two cities by the attacks.
I've long felt that as tragic and awful as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were, the Imperial Japanese government would never have surrendered without the use of some kind of devastating weapon such as atomic warfare.
ReplyDeleteMany historians have said that the US would have suffered approximately 1 million casualties if it had had to invade the Japanese islands themselves. There's no telling how many Japanese would have been killed or wounded in such an assault.
I tend to believe these assessments. Even after the two A-bombs were exploded, there was a contingent within the Japanese military that wanted to go against the emperor's wishes and continue the war, no matter how hopeless the cause.
That said, after reading Charles Pelligrino's book "The Last Train From Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back," one is struck by the unspeakable horror inflicted upon the two cities by the attacks.