Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It had been clearly spelled out to the Japanese in the Potsdam Declaration, how the Allied were defining the defeat of Japan. Surrender meant conformity to the demands listed in that declaration.
Japan still had an army a million men strong fighting in China. Japan had more than a million for home defense, as well as mobilizing the entire population to aid in repelling the invaders. They had ten thousand planes ready for kamikaze attacks on Allied ships. I would hardly call that congruent with your phrase..."stops getting up."
If Japan wanted to surrender, they knew exactly what they had to do. They did not do it until after the nuclear attacks.
if you cage a dog, it doesn't matter how willing he is to bite someone, as long as he stays in the cage. If you toss a man that can kill with his bare hands into solitary confinement, it doesn't matter how tough he is...there's no one for him to vent his frustrations on. Japan was caged.
500,000 to a million more US casualties, maybe 5 million more japanese casualties. or possibly we could have sat and waited a year or two and starved them out with somewhat less loss of life, especially to us.
We prevented world war 3 quite a few times by having nukes. Maybe another 25, 50 to a hundred million or more lives saved.
On a side note, there is still this idiotic myth circulating around that every member of the Enola Gay flight committed suicide. I heard this from a philipino woman who called a talk radio show talking about world war 2 on Memorial Day. About a week later they had on as a guest the navigator of the Enola Gay who said that every one of them felt justified and would have done it again and went on to live productive happy lives.
if you cage a dog, it doesn't matter how willing he is to bite someone, as long as he stays in the cage. If you toss a man that can kill with his bare hands into solitary confinement, it doesn't matter how tough he is...there's no one for him to vent his frustrations on. Japan was caged.
My feeling is that we should rely on facts rather than metaphors.
With a million men in China, Japan was not really "caged", was it?
With a million men in China, Japan was not really "caged", was it?
Having a million men behind enemy lines cut off from any supply lines, I'd say Japan was caged.
Quote:
If Japan wanted to surrender, they knew exactly what they had to do. They did not do it until after the nuclear attacks.
I wonder if the American rebels would've surrendered if Britain had a nuclear weapon?
So why should Japan surrender to America if the American colonials never surrender to the Brits? Japan only did what America (and every other Western nation) has done before them; take things by force, simply because they can.
Originally Posted by Grandstander Having a million men behind enemy lines cut off from any supply lines, I'd say Japan was caged.
I wonder if the American rebels would've surrendered if Britain had a nuclear weapon?
So why should Japan surrender to America if the American colonials never surrender to the Brits? Japan only did what America (and every other Western nation) has done before them; take things by force, simply because they can.
Japan's forces in China were not "behind enemy lines."
Hate to break some peoples bubble...some of the statements made are a little fetched having not been there but only rehtoric or due to mis-info. I was stationed in Japan after the war ended at a former Kamakazi air base. Never saw the 10,000 planes a poster referred too. Towards the end of the war they (Japan) were running out of material to manufacture planes. They resorted to making the fuselage out of WOOD. They started to assemble part of the plane at one plant #1 and moved it to another plant #2 ...added some parts and then to another plant #3 where the assembly was completed and the plane flown to the base where I was at. This was the main runway and I slept in the dorm rooms the pilots slept in. (all kamakzie pilots). I was fortunate to see the bombed out bldgs and the damage inflicted by our incendary bombs... bldg interior was charcoal black with all the machinery lined up in a row untouched since the bombings. Visited the other three plants and saw first hand the operations. Some of the info I read is all conjecture and full of smoke. I talked to some of the people and heard first hand why they were at war...being forced too...banzai etc...follow the leader etc. Visited with a former army soldier and we discussed military similarities. Talking with a former enemy...you learn a lot.. Steve (WW11...Korea)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Having a million men behind enemy lines cut off from any supply lines, I'd say Japan was caged.
I wonder if the American rebels would've surrendered if Britain had a nuclear weapon?
Japan only did what America (and every other Western nation) has done before them; take things by force, simply because they can.
