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Saying the Soviet Union "defeated Nazi Germany" is a stretch.
Without a doubt, the Soviets did the lion's share to grind down the massed armies of the German juggernaut. America certainly did not do it alone.
That said, the atom bomb would have been game over for Hitler, with or without Russia.
Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve…
History is etched in stone, and the Soviets DID defeat the Nazis. The notion that we would’ve just nuked Berlin or Europe to essentially take out 1 dictator is delusional.
That’s not to say the Soviets were some first class military, they were a disaster, but they were a disaster with endless manpower. When you can purge your own military and still win, that says something.
Read history, Hitler hated Slavics and that hatred brought him to the delusion thinking he could defeat Russia. Stalin was completely shocked and upset over Germans invasion, something he never saw coming.
The March 10, 1945 raid over Tokyo, for instance, involved 325 B-29s and resulted in 14 aircraft destroyed and almost 100 American deaths. The Japanese knew every mission weakened US forces and caused the loss of life and material. Their plan was to fight a war of attrition and sue for peace on more favorable grounds.
This is just another example of how delusional Japan's leadership was. Sure, they were fighting a war of attrition. Trouble was, the attrition was almost entirely on their side. Losing 100 lives to destroy 16 square miles of your enemy's capital city is a deal that any military would jump on. The lopsided nature of each side's loses was basically like Pearl Harbor, only in reverse. As time went on, and as more Japanese cities went up in smoke in exchange for ever-diminishing losses on the American side, their opportunity to sue for peace on favorable grounds became more and more remote.
They were doomed ever since Saipan fell in June 1944, thus putting their homeland in range of our B-29 bombers. But whatever tiny bit of hope remained was snuffed out when Okinawa was lost in late June. They should have thrown in the towel at that point, and thus could have spared the lives of the people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a number of other cities that had not yet been bombed by then, but would be shortly.
History is etched in stone, and the Soviets DID defeat the Nazis.
The Soviets did indeed help to defeat the Nazis. This is unquestionable according to the historical record. But could they have done it without the help of the rest of the Allies? Far more debatable. Recall that a lot of their supplies were furnished by the United States and sent to the Soviet Union by ship convoys (at considerable cost in American lives and treasure, I might add). Also recall that they were fighting an enemy that was fighting a two-front war, and who was thus unable to bring their entire military might to bear.
If the United States and Great Britain had sat out the war, I think it's likely that the Soviet Union still would have defeated Nazi Germany. Eventually. But it would have taken far longer, at far greater cost. And even then, I don't think it's a sure thing. But that's a topic for another thread.
This is just another example of how delusional Japan's leadership was. Sure, they were fighting a war of attrition. Trouble was, the attrition was almost entirely on their side. Losing 100 lives to destroy 16 square miles of your enemy's capital city is a deal that any military would jump on. The lopsided nature of each side's loses was basically like Pearl Harbor, only in reverse. As time went on, and as more Japanese cities went up in smoke in exchange for ever-diminishing losses on the American side, their opportunity to sue for peace on favorable grounds became more and more remote.
They were doomed ever since Saipan fell in June 1944, thus putting their homeland in range of our B-29 bombers. But whatever tiny bit of hope remained was snuffed out when Okinawa was lost in late June. They should have thrown in the towel at that point, and thus could have spared the lives of the people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a number of other cities that had not yet been bombed by then, but would be shortly.
Their final plan was to cause so many American deaths in Operation Downfall that the US would lose its stomach for the war and offer them favorable terms. The fact millions of Japanese civilians would die was an afterthought to the Japanese militarists. They had absolutely no concern for their own people.
My father was part of that invasion force and he was trained and geared up for the invasion when he heard the news the Japanese surrendered. The invasion was days away. My father said he was sure he would be killed. They were told to expect women and children on the beach with sharp sticks and to be prepared to kill them. The Japanese denied that for decades, but finally admitted it was true a while back.
To his dying day, he said if anyone told him dropping the bomb was a war crime he would "punch them in their big, fat mouth." The bomb saved the lives of 100,000+ Americans and that's all that mattered. In the end, the Japanese militarists got off easy.
An Invasion Not Found in the
History Books
by James Martin Davis
Quote:
Deep in the recesses of the National Archives in Washington, D.C., hidden for nearly four
decades lie thousands of pages of yellowing and dusty documents stamped "Top Secret". These
documents, now declassified, are the plans for Operation Downfall, the invasion of Japan during
World War II. Only a few Americans in 1945 were aware of the elaborate plans that had been
prepared for the Allied Invasion of the Japanese home islands. Even fewer today are aware of the
defenses the Japanese had prepared to counter the invasion had it been launched. Operation
Downfall was finalized during the spring and summer of 1945. It called for two massive military
undertakings to be carried out in succession and aimed at the heart of the Japanese Empire.
Outstanding report of what could have been if the US did not drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
……….
Declassified plans for WW II invasion of Japan
Ironically, the Incendiary bombs dropped on Japanese cities by the U.S. did far more damage and killed many, many more people than the atomic bombs, but the MEDIA does not want you to know that.
The same question might be asked of the Japanese leadership. Their ability to engage in offensive, expansionary warfare was checked at Midway and ended at Guadalcanal. Their ability to challenge the U.S. Navy in any meaningful way was lost at the Philippine Sea. Their ability to challenge the U.S. Navy in any way at all was lost at Leyte Gulf. And their ability to protect their own homeland was lost starting when we incinerated large swaths of Tokyo. Thus, by March 1945 at the latest, it should have been blindingly obvious that the war was lost. Yet, they fought on. Why?
Because both Germany and Japan were hoping to gain some favorable terms in their surrenders by holding out. The allies wanted unconditional surrender and that left a lot of questions unanswered about the future of their countries.
Americas holocaust. Truman ignored Japans peace overtures so he incinerate hundreds of thousands of civilians as an egotistical warning to the Russians. If there is a hell, Truman is sitting next to Hitler
Precisely this.
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Sorry that I didn't find this in time to post earlier this month
