DID THE ATOMIC BOMB END WORLD WAR II ?

 If you ask any American that has even a rudimentary knowledge of WW2 they will probably tell you that Japan surrendered because of the two atomic bombs dropped by America on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I do not believe that the bombs had that much impact on Japan's decision to surrender. In my view Japan was more worried about the Soviet Union than they were about the United States in August 1945. We dropped the bomb on Hiroshima 75 years ago tomorrow, August 6, 1945. This bomb caused incredible destruction and a new kind of grisly death from the effects of radiation poisoning. Yet the Japanese military wasn't that awed by this new bomb. The fire bombings of Tokyo and numerous other Japanese cities since early March 1945 had been even deadlier. Yet the majority of the Japanese military command was determined to fight to the death. We had seen just how willing Japanese soldiers and civilians had been to die for the Emperor in our island hopping campaign. We saw this at such battles as Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu, Iwo Jima and Saipan, just to name a few. We also saw it when the Kamikaze pilots willingly crashed their planes into our ships which had the potential of crippling the U.S. Navy. The military and the Japanese people were even more determined to defend the Japanese mainland to the death. 

 The Soviet Union declared war on Japan two days after we bombed Hiroshima on August 8, 1945. This meant that Japan was caught in a vice between the United States and Russia. Even after Russia declared war most of the Japanese commanding generals were still willing to fight to the death rather than surrender. Japanese Emperor Hirohito on the other hand realized that surrender was the only sane option. He also knew that he was a war criminal. Hirohito had been involved in every military campaign and atrocity that the Japanese army had committed. He knew that if he didn't do something before the Russians advanced deep into the interior of Japan he might end up hanging at the end of a rope. Russia had invaded Manchuria and their army was slicing through the Japanese army like a knife slices through warm butter. If he didn't do something Japan might cease to exist or end up being divided like east and west Germany. Hirohito guessed rightly that he had a better chance of saving his own neck and saving Japan if he negotiated an end to the war with America instead of waiting until he would also have to negotiate with the Russians also. 

 On the night of August 9th, the same day that we dropped the second bomb on Nagasaki, Hirohito convened a war council. After an emotional debate it was decided to reach out to the Americans. On August 10th this message was sent to the American government. “With the understanding that said Declaration does not compromise any demand that prejudices the prerogatives of His Majesty as the sovereign ruler.” The declaration mentioned in the message was the Potsdam Declaration which demanded unconditional surrender by Japan. Hirohito was offering to surrender as long as he could remain Emperor. The United States responded on August 12th saying, “the authority of the emperor and the Japanese government to rule the state shall be subject to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers.” The Emperor decided that peace was preferable to destruction and he placed his personal fate, and that of Japan, in the hands of the Americans. 

 One little known fact of history is that Hirohito had decided to tape his voice announcing Japan's surrender to the Japanese people to be released on August 15th. The tape was placed in the palace safe. During the early morning hours of the15th a group of young die hard Japanese military officers, who were refusing to surrender, tried to overthrow the government. Their goal was to find the tape and destroy it before it could be released to the Japanese people. Ironically the last American fire bomb raid of the war took place while the coup was in progress. A total blackout of the city, including the palace grounds ensued and in the darkness the rebel Japanese officers were unable to find the tape. After sunrise the coup was put down by Japanese troops loyal to the Emperor. The tape announcing Japan's surrender was played to the Japanese people. They had never heard the voice of the Emperor before because he was looked upon as a god. 

 If the atomic bombs weren't necessary why did we drop them? We had no way of knowing the impact that the Russian intervention was having on the Emperor. In addition we had spent millions developing the bomb and much faith was placed on it's effectiveness. Bombing, whether in Germany or Japan had not been that effective during the war. Especially terror bombing. This seemed to strengthen the will of citizens to continue the fight. Britain was a great example of that. Even America's pinpoint bombing of German factories never slowed Germany's industrial ability to wage war. It was only after we changed our targets from factories to oil reserves and refineries that we were able to have a great impact on defeating Germany. Japan's jet stream impaired our ability to pin point targets so we resorted to low level fire bombing. Politically I feel that Truman had no real choice. If we had launched an invasion of mainland Japan and suffered heavy casualties he would have been crucified by the American people if it were leaked that we invaded Japan instead of dropping the bombs. 

 Although the Emperor was a war criminal the role he played in bringing the war to an end saved countless lives, primarily American, Russian and Japanese. The Emperor would also be an important factor in helping MacArthur change Japan from a militant feudalistic society to one of the worlds most prosperous and Democratic countries in the world today. Japan is still in denial about the many war crimes that they committed during the war. The world never fought a more brutal and evil enemy than the Japanese. They made ISIS look like Boy Scouts by comparison but the chance of Japan ever becoming that kind of nation again is very slim thanks to the blood and treasure spent by young men & women to subdue Japanese tyranny.