Hiroshima

[Alan]

The frequent TV newscasts about the Hiroshima atom bomb took me right back to 1971 when I joined what was then Europe’s fastest-growing manufacturer of car and plane seatbelts, Kangol Magnet, a company in Carlisle owned by a family of Jews. One of my earliest jobs was to visit, with a colleague, all the Japanese car makers to try and persuade them to fit our product.
One of the car makers was quite close to Hiroshima so we took the opportunity at the weekend to visit the city ruins and the museum built in memory of the tens of thousands who perished there.
As we came out of the museum a group of elderly Japanese men started berating us, obviously assuming we were wicked Americans. They were screaming at us in a quite threatening way until we hurried away

[Big_Jeff_Leo]

And yet thay have made no aknowledgement or sincere appology for the hienous atrocities that they carried out on mass during that period.

[Dave]

Apparently they were on the verge of surrendering, and it didn't really need to happen – other than for the reinforcement of the victory and for the winners to be able to say, "Look what we've got," to the Russians and the rest of the world, including us. Gaza has received at least six times the equivalent of Hiroshima in terms of bombardment.

[Big_Jeff_Leo]

They were not on the verge of surrendering. Japan had amassed a huge arsenal of equipment and a peoples Army to repel any invaders to the home islands. These included about 10000 Kamikazi aircraft to send against the landing force. The American planners estimated that they would suffer about a half a million+ casualties. (See operation Downfall/Olympic)
The Japanese casualties would have been in the Millions.

Even after the 2nd bomb was dropped. the war Council met and was split 50/50 on ending the war, the Emperor had to use his casting vote.

As much as the bombs being dropped was important, the Soviet Union had declared war on Japan and entered Manchuria.....they had rolled forward on mass and actually captured some of Japans own territory - the Kuril Islands and southern Sakhalin (Karafuto). Also, the Soviet Union seized control of Inner Mongolia, and northern Korea from Japanese control.

Japan understood well that the Soviets would be keeping as much territory as they could hence they still control those Islands.

Stalin already knew about the atomic Bomb as Soviet spy's had informed him earlier.

[Alan]

And yet thay have made no aknowledgement or sincere appology for the hienous atrocities that they carried out on mass during that period.

This is what my former business partner in Michigan emailed to me about it:
From what we were taught in school, the US sanctioned Japan for their aggression in China. In response to the sanctions, Japan decided by attacking the US fleet in Pearl Harbor (1941) it would weaken the US position. Consequently, the US joined the war with the Allies (Johnny come lately) and helped in defeating the Axis powers in Europe. As you know, the Japanese were brutal to the Allied prisoners. Meanwhile, the war drudged on with much of the Allied military weakened by the long war.

When President F.D. Roosevelt died in office in spring of 1945, Truman became President. The war in Europe was over in May 1945, however the war in the Pacific continued with the Japanese who had no intentions of peace. Truman weighed the risks of continuing the war with Japan and losing more of the already tired & weakened Allied troops. Hence, he approved dropping the 1st bomb (Aug 6) on Hiroshima with the intent of ending the war (apparently there were radio broadcasts warning for peace & surrender ahead of time). Japan's military was the government and did not surrender, and when the 2nd bomb was dropped (3 days later) on Nagasaki, they officially surrendered to General MacArthur aboard the US Missouri in September 2 of 1945.

Truman took a lot of heat globally and had to live with that decision the rest of his life. The US spent billions of dollars rebuilding Japan, now one of the leading auto manufacturers and a strong trading partner with the USA. (hope trump doesn't screw that up too)

Did we not learn that no one wins in war? Obviously not.[/i]

[Big_Jeff_Leo]

Pretty Much accurate Alan.

If you read Chinese History books then they actually say that WW2 Began in 1937 when Japan Invaded China, although they sometimes take this further back to 1931 when Japan Invaded Manchuria.

During the Nanjing Massacre they murdered 200,000 - 300,000 people and committed 20,000 rapes including children.

Overall the death total in Manchuria was in the millions - many Chinese civilians being beaten to death with picks and shovels.

You can add up the Korean War, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine and Gaza and the level of death does not even come close.

The death rate of Chinese prisoners of war were much higher because—under a directive ratified on 5 August 1937, by Emperor Hirohito—the constraints of international law on treatment of those prisoners was removed. Only 56 Chinese prisoners of war were released after the surrender of Japan.

This is what I was getting at regarding what Japan did during that period - absolutely Hienous.

[HORT]

If its correct that WW2 started in 1937 when Japan invaded China then WW3 started wheb Russia invaded Ukraine. Does that make sense or not?