Atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Wikipedia
Brian McGlinchey: Hiroshima, Nagasaki Bombings Were Needless, Said World War II's Top US Military Leaders
The anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki present an opportunity to demolish a cornerstone myth of American history — that those twin acts of mass civilian slaughter were necessary to bring about Japan’s surrender, and spare a half-million US soldiers who’d have otherwise died in a military conquest of the empire’s home islands.
Those who attack this mythology are often reflexively dismissed as unpatriotic, ill-informed or both. However, the most compelling witnesses against the conventional wisdom were patriots with a unique grasp on the state of affairs in August 1945 — America’s senior military leaders of World War II.
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WNU Editor: Over the years I have changed my opinion on this subject. Growing up my father, who was in the Red Army at this time, told me that that a month before the bombings he was told that he was going to be deployed to the Far East to join in the war effort against Japan. He told me that he was filled with dread with the coming battle. The fanaticism of the Japanese soldier was known by everyone, and he felt that there was a very good chance that he was going to be killed in this deployment. So when the bombings happened he told me he was completely relieved and thankful for what the Americans did.
So were the bombings necessary?
Because of my father I believed that it was necessary. After-all, the war did quickly end after Nagasaki. But with time more details have emerged, and we now know that many US Generals did not feel the bombing was necessary. They felt that the war was coming to an end, and there was no need to unleash such a weapon.
So was the death of 200,000 Japanese necessary to push the Japanese to capitulate sooner rather than later?
I now have some doubts and a hunger for more information. Maybe it was rushed. Maybe a delay of a week or two before unleashing the bombs should have been the decision. But I do know that if there was no surrender, the invasion of the Japanese islands would have been a bloodbath.