What if the bombs had never dropped on Nagasaki & Hiroshima ?

[shane39]

Can't a Kamikaze pilot only fly one successful mission?

 

Depends how you look at it.

[callippo]

the Russians were so emboldened by their heady success in Europe, they might even have attempted an amphibious invasion of Japan themselves - though they only declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria on the 8th of August, two days after the Hiroshima bomb dropped, they would have done it anyway. Always remember that it was the USSR that had the really serious delusion of their power in the world, not the USA whose assessment of their capability was much more accurate. The USSR overestimated their importance by a massive degree, when they were only a second rate power. This was by far the most dangerous factor in the Cold War.

[mapleboy]

I don't mean "what if Germany won the war" I mean what would have happened if Nagasaki and Hiroshima weren't detroyed by the big bombs?

 

Would the Americans have continued firebombing Japan?

 

Would there have been a ground invasion?

 

Would other countries have come to Japan's assistance?

 

Would we have still won the war?

 

Would the New World Order now be in control? ( Just kidding, sometimes I miss the conspiracy fans with their inability to explain theories)

 

1) Yes. Although there weren't that many targets remaining that warrante dsuch treatment. Massive conventional air operations would have continued.

2) Yes. Operation Olympic, the first part of Operation Downfall, was scheduled for Nov 1st 1945.

3) No. Who? If by assistance you mean "join in", then the Soviets "assisted" by invading the Japanese puppet state Manchuria on Aug 9th. There's every likelihood they would have gone on to invade Hokkaido and possibly even Honshu. Combined with Olympic, we could have seen Japan partitioned like Germany was, with a Bamboo Curtain as well as the iron one.

4) Yes. But Allied casualties for Olympic and the later Operation Coronet were estimated to be around 500,000 dead and 2-4 million wounded. Japanese casualties were estimated at 5-10 million dead.

 

Fortunately, the Japanese were very close to starvation and the bombs were enough to tip them over the edge into surrendering, saving millions of lives in the long run.

[mapleboy]

edit oops double post

[Muldoon]

1) Yes. Although there weren't that many targets remaining that warrante dsuch treatment. Massive conventional air operations would have continued.

2) Yes. Operation Olympic, the first part of Operation Downfall, was scheduled for Nov 1st 1945.

3) No. Who? If by assistance you mean "join in", then the Soviets "assisted" by invading the Japanese puppet state Manchuria on Aug 9th. There's every likelihood they would have gone on to invade Hokkaido and possibly even Honshu. Combined with Olympic, we could have seen Japan partitioned like Germany was, with a Bamboo Curtain as well as the iron one.

4) Yes. But Allied casualties for Olympic and the later Operation Coronet were estimated to be around 500,000 dead and 2-4 million wounded. Japanese casualties were estimated at 5-10 million dead.

 

Fortunately, the Japanese were very close to starvation and the bombs were enough to tip them over the edge into surrendering, saving millions of lives in the long run.

2005 google invents teh spellchecker :hihi:

[HeadingNorth]

Again I'd disagree with this rather emotive response. Dresden was a major transport hub which would have helped the transportation of supplies and soldiers to the Eastern front

 

What supplies? What soldiers? Germany was already beaten in March 1945. Half the army had deserted and there was nothing left to do but try and beat the Russians to Berlin.

[HeadingNorth]

If they were dead keen to surrender before the first bomb then why didn't they just surrender after the first bomb?

 

As far as I'm aware, the Allies made no diplomatic contact with Japan between the first and second bombings, and only requested their surrender after the second had been dropped.

[JFKvsNixon]

What supplies? What soldiers? Germany was already beaten in March 1945. Half the army had deserted and there was nothing left to do but try and beat the Russians to Berlin.

 

Say that to the hundreds of thousands of Soviets that died after March. Anyway, do you believe that the soldiers on the Eastern front manufactured their own weapons, ammunition and food or do you believe that it was transported to them?

 

By the way Dresden happened in February, so even if I accepted your argument it still wouldn't be a valid counter to my post.

[andygardener]

As far as I'm aware, the Allies made no diplomatic contact with Japan between the first and second bombings, and only requested their surrender after the second had been dropped.

 

The unconditional demand of surrender was already in place, as you pointed out yourself.

 

It was hardly down to the Allies to keep up diplomatic contacts, we asked them to surrender, they refused. The Americans dropped an A bomb - ball is in their court by any reasonable measure. They did nothing till the USSR declared war and the second bomb was dropped. Bad call by the jap leader.

[HeadingNorth]

The unconditional demand of surrender was already in place, as you pointed out yourself.

 

Indeed; but after two bombs were dropped, we got back in contact with them and accepted a conditional surrender - exactly what we could have done a week earlier without dropping either of them.