Dropping the Atomic Bomb: Road To Hiroshima

[@michaellazzeri9439]

My Father fought on Guadalcanal ; he contacted Dengue Fever, & Combat Fatigue, spent 27 months in New Zealand , recovering from both. He was awarded The Navy Cross, & The Purple Heart. --------He was adamant that Truman was absolutely correct, to TRY anything to avoid Invading Japan . No one really knew of the bombs would work ; but he, Truman, decided it had to be attempted, as doing anything ------including almost using gas -------that might avoid Operation Downfall : invading Japan . My Father admired Truman . He believed strongly that dropping the 2 atomic bombs was justified.

[@terribleTed-ln6cm]

"the god awful cruelty of war demonstrates the worst of mankind"~ Gen.Robert E. Lee 1867

[@alswann2702]

"It is good war is so awful, else we should grow to love it too much," General RE Lee, CSA.

[@jackbell7390]

As an island nation Japan's supply line was based entirely on it's navy. The navy was finished after Midway, ergo Japan was finished. The Japanese knew this but held off surrendering , for terms. They wanted to keep what they took and the emperor. The fact is, that after Midway, if the Japanese had surrendered, got out of Southeast Asia and Chins, gone home, and, stopped making war, not one bomb needed fall on Japanese soil. Instead, they led their people to slaughter in the name of emperor. Remember, the whole thing was their idea.

[@johnhotz1400]

also the emperor was still allowed to lead his country for they didn't want to take him out cuz they thought the country would go down and fight even further even though they have lostthe only leader of the axis not only not to be prosecuted but still allowed to sit

[@jackbell7390]

@@johnhotz1400 You're so right. Just about everyone in the world wanted the emperor executed for war crimes.

[@a.leemorrisjr.9255]

After Midway, IJN would always be on the defensive, never again the offensive, taking the war to us. It was slow, but steady downhill from there as we beat them back. Also, we fought to live, they & Nazi Germany fought to die. For Japan it was Bushido & the emperor, for Germany it was the fuhrer & the fatherland. In his madness, Hitler believed if he & the 3rd Reich must die, then Germany must also die.

[@gregtheausgman1164]

yea they a;ll got together and had a vote

[@BDE360]

Very well said, I agree with everything. I think the emperor Hirohito should have been executed as a war criminal to though. Japan definitely needed to be bombed! Only snowflakes don’t think so! Japan would’ve fought for at least another year, a couple more million dead! Yes, the atom bomb was very necessary.

[@Marc816]

According To Gen. Douglas MacArthur, an invasion of the Japanese home Islands would have resulted in at least 1,000,000 US casualties and possibly up to 20 years to surpress all resistance. The Little Boy and the Fat Man prevented all that. And the use of those 2 bombs had a direct effect on me & my familiy! I might never have known my father or any of my uncles if it weren't for the use of nuclear weapons back then! - Marc Smith, born August 16, 1943.

[@mryhdy6266]

The 2 bombs were not the deciding event, as many like to believe. It was the Soviet Unions entry into the war and the effective destruction of the Kvantung army that convinced the Japanese leadership that they had no one to help mediate and no card left to play.

[@spearfisherman308]

@@mryhdy6266false the soviets lacked the resources to invade Japan effectively and they had less experience with amphibious landings

[@johnferry7132]

If Japan had the weapon first, would they have used it? You can bet your sushi.

[@whiteysolly6760]

Japan was working on their own nuclear weapons program, if they were successful in completing it before we did, we would be eating nothing but rice, speaking Japanese and bowing to your superiors

[@kevintate768]

This is a very well done lecture. I am a veteran and I know what it is like to serve. I was lucky enough to be in the service in a window in which nothing reall happened 1992-2000. While it was a horrible weapon it indeed saved the lives of millions of soldiers, and millions of Japanese civilians.

[@terencethomas7599]

It's a fundamental truth that jf u have wars, u need peoe like Curtis Lemay

[@a.leemorrisjr.9255]

As terrible a decision as it was, I'd say it was the right one. It possibly saved many more lives among all involved as an invasion of Japan would've been horrific! Japan's war machine was determined to fight to the bitter end, casualties be damned!

[@eddiemunster4094]

Got to have admiration for Japanese soldiers during WW2 they fought to the bitter end 😬

[@a.leemorrisjr.9255]

@@eddiemunster4094 Reckon they were fully indoctrinated, brainwashed as were the Germans under the nazis. Any dissent or opposition was quickly crushed & wasn't tolerated.

[@eddiemunster4094]

@@a.leemorrisjr.9255 and so it continues

[@samuelglover7685]

Even now it's really hard to grasp the dead-ender fanaticism of the Japanese. And they were absolute monsters in China. In that light it's never been fair to second-guess Truman. Also, people forget that for most of the Manhattan Project, certainly at its inception, the real intended target for the bomb was *Berlin*.

[@a.leemorrisjr.9255]

@@samuelglover7685 It was well known behind the scenes that uncle Adolf also wanted to obtain a thermo-nuclear type weapon. We were in a race to beat him to it.

[@ICBMCatcher]

Criticize the U.S. for dropping an atomic bomb(s) on Japan? Just recall Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Guam, Saipan, Peleliu, Okinawa, Iwo Jima and a dozen other savage battles against the Japanese Empire.

[@R.G.9795]

Let’s not forget over 30 million people were killed during the Pacific War. The Japanese Imperial Army committed numerous unforgivable atrocities in countries they invaded, especially in China. Japan was the victimizer, not victim. It took two atomic bombs to end the war, a small price to pay if you ask me.

[@tjanders]

The Japanese were the most virulent racists in WW2, maybe of all time. The term racist is used scurrilously and as a false political perjorative today. However, the Japanese believed they were superior to everyone including Chinese, Koreans, Islanders, Philippinos and Caucasians. They butchered the aforementioned equally as sub human.

[@Conn30Mtenor]

It's problematic to regard the bomb as a weapon of vengeance. But I understand your perspective, your being a person of Chinese ancestry.

[@R.G.9795]

@@Conn30Mtenor My own parents had firsthand experience of the pain, suffering, hunger, and humiliation inflicted by the Japanese. Fortunately, they survived. The atomic bombs ended their misery. To borrow words from the survivors of the Holocaust, “Never Forget, Never Again!”.

[@crawford323]

Thank you. Personally I have been very sensitive to America and Americans being so vilified. I was aged 50, 68 now, when I went to sea as a research assistant. I spent all of my years in Texas with relatively no exposure to other countries other than what TV books and the movies brought me. I was shocked and I still am shocked that those countries who should have been our allies and friends ie Australia, Britain and Canada were the ones who criticized the U S the most. The Japanese scientist were most respectful. I was at sea when Trump was elected. There was great gnashing of teeth among our European friends who thought Obama and Hillary were Gods. The Cancel Culture was incredibly efficient and I was lucky to make it to retirement. Hatred of America even by Americans still affects me to this day. Japan will stand with us even to the protection of Taiwan. If you think Europe will lift a finger to protect Ukraine, forgot it. All they will be willing to do is shake their fist. We are on the verge of great global conflict. China has thought their children that America is the great Hegemony. Hatred fills their hearts towards us and they have successfully taught our children this as well. We are hoodwinked.

[@joanhzamojcin98]

A revealing commentary by an excellent lecturer.

[@tjanders]

I am pleased this professor did not engage in any revisionist drivel that we often hear these days. He stuck to the facts and the horrors of fighting the Japanese. I believe that 10,000,000 lives were spared by the use of the bombs. It is astounding but the US manufactured 500,000 Purple Hearts for expected casualties in the proposed invasion. Great lecture.

[@harrybaulz666]

Discombobulated lecture saved millions of lives and the economic resurgence of japan nuff said

[@jmctigret]

Even after the bombs there was a coup attempt to stop the surrender of Japan. It’s called the Kyūjō incident.

[@oddshot60]

As good and accurate as the lecture above was, it discussed the fire bombing of Tokyo in which we burned 16 square MILES of Tokyo to the ground, as a somewhat singular event. This is not true. Using "firestorms" as a weapon, the US burned over 1/7 of the Japanese home islands, incinerating 67 Japanese cities, killing, by some estimates, as many as 900,000 Japanese. BTW ... Tokyo was bombed a number of times. Having been bombed so heavily and frequently, eventually, Tokyo was taken off the target list because there just wasn't much left to burn. Nonetheless, by comparison to the firebombings, the atomic bombs were a somewhat minor event. The force of the A bombs that were dropped is roughly the equivalent of 200 B-29's filled with bombs. The US routinely put over 400 B-29s over a target on a given night. Although this is rarely discussed, 2 more A-bombs would be ready for use 30 days after we dropped the first of them, with an additional 11 available the following month. What's more, there is no doubt that General Curtis LeMay would have continued firebombing as much of Japan as possible before any invasion took place.

[@t.b.5115]

yes. Mongolia jur isery strong. not Japan Mongolian. can for late.

[@greglaux8766]

@T Duncan, you are correct that the firebombing of Tokyo, which occurred on the night of March 9, 1945 and was known as “Operation Meetinghouse” - was not a singular event. It was part and parcel of General Curtis E. LeMay’s coordinated strategy to firebomb the most populous Japanese cities with napalm and incendiaries in order to decimate their population in the hopes of forcing an unconditional Japanese surrender. When asked how he would measure whether his firebombing strategy was effective, General LeMay famously said, “When you kill enough of the enemy, eventually they stop fighting.” He was right. Interestingly, even after both atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, General LeMay continued firebombing Japanese city after city until the Japanese ultimately surrendered. General LeMay is often criticized in retrospect by enlightened modern historians as being “cruel,” “ruthless,” and “bloodthirsty.” This kind of criticism is just socially fashionable moral hand-wringing. The reality is that Curtis LeMay was knowledgeable, competent, and effective. He got results. If I were in charge of the bombing campaign in Japan, I would have dropped three times the amount of bombs on all Japanese cities and used napalm every chance I got if it increased the chance of ending the war sooner and saving American lives. The Japanese started World War II by bombing Pearl Harbor. I would have finished World War II by incinerating all of the Japanese islands and taken no prisoners whatsoever.

[@johnhotz1400]

Dirty FM Jeff's they're lucky you wasn't air Force general I'm telling you you will f*** them up I know that!!

[@benknowles3760]

I can tell that you never fought an enemy combatant. You need to leave 'Neverland ' behind, and understand what sacrifice is!

[@Thx1138sober]

36:19 I suddenly realize that the lecturer is a cousin from the MI side of my family.

[@gleeart]

Alot of ears will always remain closed to reasoned argument like this. "Your oponants are in front of you, your real enemies are behind you"

[@haroldmclean3755]

A pragmatic walk through, that made sense and not Nonsense 👍

[@Sakura-zu4rz]

Thank you for sharing, Now, the world can be a nasty crazy place out there, we need a lot of courage and we need a lot of resilience after that, and we will fall down before we stand up… What really matters is the silence of the night in our conscience, when we are alone. We cannot control what happens but we can use what happens. We have so much reserves of love and support inside us, if we can just remember that in our mind and move on.

[@federalli169]

What would you do in 11/1945. Would you invade or drop the bomb?

[@frankgercas1392]

Excellent lecture!!

[@777jones]

The morality of a defensive war is TOTALLY different than the morality of an offensive one. Whether the each country has held free and fair elections also plays into the morality of war between them. As players in an aggressor dictatorship, Japanese leaders were to blame for the deaths caused during their war until the moment of their surrender. I used to say the US “saved lives by dropping the bombs.” Probably so, but that alone does not demonstrate morality. An evil aggressor could also use that piece of rhetoric. Now I focus more on the fact that World War II was a defensive war by the Allies against the Axis. The Axis were fully to blame for all casualties.

[@vernwallen4246]

LaMay had one objective In time of war;Keep attacking,bombing the enemy day and night with no let up untill they're defeated or surrendered.🗽👍⚓

[@starguy2718]

Gen LeMay was the inspiration for Gen Buck Turgidson, in Kubrick's *Dr. Strangelove*

[@michaelwthalman]

I think Thomas Power was even more crazy then LeMay.

[@terencethomas7599]

Great film

[@richardvernon317]

@@michaelwthalman Power is Jack D Ripper!!!!!

[@chrisnewport7826]

My Father was to be in the third wave of the invasion of Honshu. He visited Hiroshima, after surrender, compared to what he saw in Europe, he was not impressed.

[@kevinjohnston4512]

It was he's the only way to go.

[@suhrrog]

Terrible, but I agree! At that time it was the right choice.

[@sharpnote1480]

It could be argued that the bombs save Japanese lives.

[@Jewelvonmayhem]

It's a strange moral and ethical position. The facts do support firebombings which began January 1945 were far more devastating than the A-bombs. However, I can only agree with this so far as humanity NEVER uses nuclear weapons again.

[@johnquintana7276]

I saw in a documentary that after every military defeat japan simply traded one illusion for an other meaning they knew they never had a chance

[@MrBluoct]

Billion… ?

[@johnhotz1400]

we need a group of great men like that to work together to get our debt down and fix our social security problem before we have a train wreck.

[@TomFynn]

Yup. B29: 3 billion. Manhattan Project: 2 billion. In 1940's money.

[@twstf8905]

It isn't even a valid question; "Should Truman have authorized the use of Atomic bombs against Japan?" Imagine if he hadn't, and America invaded the Japanese home islands, undoubtedly leading to MILLIONS of casualties on both sides, and the people left alive around the World knew that America had a weapon that could have ended the War, but chose NOT to. What would Truman's legacy be THEN?! What would that have said about America's basic common sense and decision making skills?! lol There isn't a decent human being ALIVE who would have chosen not to end the carnage, and especially the potential for even more, while knowing it was within their capability the whole time to avoid it from happening, by simply using the technology they'd spent so much time and resources to develop during wartime. Of COURSE dropping the Atomic bombs was necessary, because NOT doing it was simply out of the question. Period.

[@redalert2834]

The USA could have dropped a bomb several miles out to sea, perhaps close to Tokyo where emperor Hirohito lived, so that millions would experience the blast wave. The power of the bomb could have been demonstrated with few casualties to a nation that had no knowledge of the capabilities of atomic weapons. Since America chose a different path, it should have apologized to Japan for targeting so many innocent civilians.

[@sleazyfellow]

@@redalert2834 apologize? Did the Japanese apologize to the Chinese? The Philippines? Guam etc etc.... to do a demonstration of the bomb which took massive amounts of funds and time to make is one the more dumber ideas and arguments to be made. So you have a bloody war and the losing side doesn't want to admit defeat you just go on your merry way? The world had already been through that and it was a major reason why this war took place. You don't win a war by the logic you presented. The bomb was one of the reasons why the Japanese surrendered, if not for it, it would of went on even longer.

[@spqrtejano8026]

@@redalert2834 Japan could have surrendered and avoided being bombed.

[@redalert2834]

@@spqrtejano8026 Innocent civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki who had no opportunity to surrender were irradiated and vaporised. Those who did not die instantly suffered horrible deaths and many survivors suffered agonising injuries. It was already obvious that Japan was going to surrender. So, there is a huge debt to repay - and the USA has no option but to comply. Time will tell whether it survives the consequences of its actions, for this is a planet where nobody is unaccountable.

[@epa316]

@@redalert2834 You couldn't be more wrong if you tried. We had been firebombing the crap out of them for years. The conventional bombings killed more than the atomic bombings. Just look at Tokyo. They had every opportunity to surrender, and they didn't. The Soviet declaration of war was not much threat to the Japanese home islands, because the Soviets had no amphibious landing craft, or any experience with amphibious landings. The Japanese strategy was to hold on as long as possible and drive up Allied casualties. That's why Iwo Jima, an island of 8 square miles, took over a month, and Okinawa took three months. Also, the people who died from atomic bombs more than likely would have died anyway, from either invasion or starvation.

[@Mark16v15]

It truly is disappointing that modern Japanese don't routinely thank America for dropping the two bombs. The resulting unconditional surrender allowed the USA to impose conditions upon Japan that eventually resulted in the nation becoming an economic superpower, which is especially noteworthy since the country has few natural resources--surprisingly, the very fundamental reason it went to war to start with. (Something similar can be said of Germany.)

[@scottranney5891]

Agree totally

[@stevecarter8870]

How nice you were so worried about our those we were at war with

[@Christopher41791]

I wonder if the Crew, knew there were ( 2,000 ) Americans at Hiroshima.........?

[@grandcrowdadforde6127]

No go........why wd this be ANY! debate at all-------- we are unfortunately evaluating this from our tense Cold War paranoia......it ENDED the war sparing a miilion ++ MORE deaths. End of concern

[@indplt1595]

Weird--for a historian, this presentation is rife with errors. Some are semantic, such as describing Marshall as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs when the direct predecessor office to the CJCS, Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief, was William Leahy...Admiral Leahy remained in that post from 1942 until slightly into Truman's second term, in March 1949. Some are less semantic--Nimitz, MacArthur, Arnold and LeMay went on the record exposing that the atomic bombs were unnecessary to compell Japan to surrender. Historians did not start the argument over whether the atomic bombs were moral or not; they instead were channeling the assertions of the top commanders in the Pacific (though the record from the Japanese doesn't support the admirals and generals either--the Big Six remained hopelessly deadlocked for almost a week after Nagasaki, only for the final surrender decided by the failure of the Army's Kyujo coup d'etat). But most bizarre is the flawed history of the RAF. Before the first 1000 bomber raid against Cologne in May 1942, RAF Coastal Command had torpedoed the German battleship Gneisenau on 6 April 1941 in Brest Harbor, before Bomber Command blasted her with four hits four days later and did the same to the battleship's sister ship Scharnhorst at La Pallice with five bomb hits on 24 July 1941. With both German battleships badly damaged and in need of work back in Germany's drydocks, both dashed down the Channel successfully in February 1942...only for Bomber Command to blow up Gneisenau's forward magazines in a raid on Kiel on 26 February 1942. Bomber Harris claimed his bombers couldn't hit anything accurately--the Kriegsmarine begged to differ, as the RAF was the bane of Gneisenau and Scharnhorst's existences before RAF Lancasters really got to work in 1944-45, Tallboy-ing Tirpitz, Admiral Hipper, Admiral Scheer and Lutzow to death.

[@landsea7332]

This whole event is very complex . Once people take a position on it they refuse to accept any new information . The key to understanding the end of the Asian Pacific War is in Potsdam Declaration written by Henry Stimson . Truman and his advisors were well aware of how Germany rearmed after WW I . So they wanted to remove Japan's military gov for all time and bring in human rights . While under US occupation , Japan's Constitution was changed in 1947 bringing in democratic and human rights. . Suggest reading Stimson's recommendations to Truman dated July 2nd 1945 . .

[@andrewlambert7246]

Lemay should be president. We wouldnt have a problem in the world. No one would dare to question USA power.

[@oddshot60]

Curtis LeMay is portrayed by the media and liberal politicians as a blood thirsty ghoul and that is simply NOT the truth. He knew that the best, fastest and most humane way to end a war was to make it as violent and brutal as you possibly can. The enemy will surrender when you have killed enough of him, if he hasn't surrendered you have not killed enough. 20 year wars such as Vietnam and Afghanistan, combined with "nation building" are much crueler and ultimately a waste of time and lives.

[@samuelglover7685]

There's another, counter-factual aspect to the Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombings. Imagine, say, 1955 or 1960 in a world where the bombings *didn't* happen. The Cold War would likely still be in full paranoid swing, and because nature is open to all and the Soviets had a fine scientific establishment of their own, both sides would have had atomic arsenals. But this world, or at least its politicians, would be largely innocent of the effects of nuclear weapons. There wouldn't be such a widespread, visceral sense of melted steel and melted flesh -- on the scale of entire cities! Scientific imagination isn't usually well-developed in political leaders; it's easy to imagine that people in Washington and Moscow might consider their atomic bombs as not much more than bombs somewhat larger than the ones they were familiar with. In those circumstances it seems very possible that inane standoffs that are now largely forgotten -- Berlin, Hungary, Quemoy & Matsu, etc -- might have easily escalated into, well, the end of industrial civilization, at least in the northern hemisphere.

[@1701EarlGrey]

Dear Americans, I have to respectfully disagree with thesis of this lecture. I never understood logic behind using both A-bombs; "Japanese are so fanatical that they aren't afraid to die and they will all fight to the bitter end... so, we will kill their civilians with new super weapon, so they will be scared and they will surrender!" Where is logic in that ? How exactly you intimidate fanatics, people who literary are not afraid of death ? As lecturer said himself; bombing of Tokyo was worse than both A-bomb and yet Japan didn't surrender after it's capitol was destroyed, so what make you think that A-bomb could do the job ? I think that Japan surrendered because of two things; they know that fighting was pointless at this point and Soviets were coming, so we better surrender to Allies who at least will leave Emperor alone... As for invasion; there was no need for it; Japan is an island - just block it with your warships and you will be fine! Civilians are starving ? Well, it would be reason to surrender - after all if Emperor and government were so sensitive to the suffering of population of Hiroshima and Nagasaki wouldn't starving civilians all over country had similar effect ? With all due respect; this lecture simply seems like bunch of excuses...

[@TomFynn]

There were no civilians in Japan. In a totalitarian society, like Japan from about 1940 on, everyone is tied into the war effort and therefore a target. Also the wars (note plural) were popular in Japan. At first. Then the cities started to burn. Hell, the Japanese government planned to waste all of its civilians in defense of an invasion by issuing them with bamboo spears. The bombs were not aimed at the military hardliners but directly at Hirohito. He still clung on to the notion of a decisive battle. The one which would cause the US so much bloodshed it would negotiate. With the nukes a single bomber could do what a thousand bomber fire raid could not. With the nukes Hirohitos palace itself could be wiped from the earth in a single flash. With the nukes there would be no decisive battle. The Japanese MO was bust.

[@JGrogann]

This presentation is better than most, but I feel it is misinformation. Japan was totally beaten. . .no navy, no air force. The hang up was the retention of the emperor, which after the atomic bombs was allowed. If this was offered before the bombs Japan would have surrendered and the nuclear atrocities would not have been needed. And as the narrator correctly stated, the U.S. had done worse to a major Japanese city through firebombing and no surrender. As IKE stated, "totally unnecessary.". Truman failed at everything he did and blew his wife's family fortune, I think he was an idiot.

[@richardvernon317]

No the Japs were not beaten, not in the eye of their leadership.

[@JGrogann]

@@richardvernon317 Japanese leadership was making all efforts to surrender, and the leadership was not insane, they were well aware of the conditions of their Navy and Air Force.

[@arthurhayward122]

Excellent lecture, although his mention of a David Irving fallacy right at the beginning was a little off putting.

[@norbertschmitz3358]

9:10 This guy, whoever he is, has no clue about the bombing of Germanys cities , it's aims and goals. And neither has he any understanding as to why the US dropped the bombs on Japan. Since my comment won't stand here very long...not much point in elaborating........hahaha Cheers From Germany

[@michaelsteen9396]

We had to use The Bomb for a multitude of reasons. The main reason was to SHOW the world the REALITY of our power and the REALITY of horror encompassed by it’s use so once multiple nations possessed this power as well, the use of the weapon would be CAREFULLY THOUGHT THRU. Mainly because any country foolish enough to use it again would have it used sevenfold AGAINST THEM IN RETALIATION.

[@dashong8912]

Watch this instead: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHS1hZqqpahgfdE

[@michel-dw3vx]

WHY IS THIS A VIDEO ....................waste of time THIS IS NOT A VIDEO

[@mikerice5298]

WoW

[@shanenewport1988]

The road to hiroshima. Passes through oak ridge tennessee.

[@dalekeys7447]

50 be better

[@jdlane5136]

This guy got a few things wrong. It was decided before the general bombing started to leave 4 or 5 cities undamaged. Mostly because the Manhattan project was a giant science experiment. Intact city would be easier to measure the A-Bomb effects. All part of the plan. Even after the A-bombing of 2 cities half the Japanese military were going to fight on. There was no UNCONDITIONAL surrender.....The Japanese wanted to keep the Emperor and we agreed to their demand. BTW the thought of the Soviets conquering their country was almost as unacceptable as the A Bombing of their cities. It is was like the hordes of Genghis Khan again invading.

[@waynepatterson5843]

@jdlane5136 --- This guy got a few things wrong. It was decided before the general bombing started to leave 4 or 5 cities undamaged. Mostly because the Manhattan project was a giant science experiment. Intact city would be easier to measure the A-Bomb effects. All part of the plan. Wayne Patterson --- No, that is a misrepresentation of the facts and a load of horse manure. Even after the A-bombing of 2 cities half the Japanese military were going to fight on. There was no UNCONDITIONAL surrender.....The Japanese wanted to keep the Emperor and we agreed to their demand. Wayne Patterson --- That too is a lie. The Japanese did accept the terms of unconditional surrender as stated: SECRETARY OF STATE BYRNES' REPLY TO JAPANESE SURRENDER OFFER August 11, 1945 United States Department of State Bulletin. August 11, 1945 SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your note of August 10, and in reply to inform you that the President of the United States has directed me to send to you for transmission by your Government to the Japanese Government the following message on behalf of the Governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and China: "With regard to the Japanese Government's message accepting the terms of the Potsdam proclamation but containing the statement, 'with the understanding that the said declaration does not comprise any demand which prejudices the prerogatives of His Majesty as a sovereign ruler,' our position is as follows: "From the moment of surrender the authority of the Emperor and the Japanese Government to rule the state shall be subject to the Supreme Commander of the Allied powers who will take such steps as he deems proper to effectuate the surrender terms. "The Emperor will be required to authorize and ensure the signature by the Government of Japan and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters of the surrender terms necessary to carry out the provisions of the Potsdam Declaration, and shall issue his commands to all the Japanese military, naval and air authorities and to all the forces under their control wherever located to cease active operations and to surrender their arms, and to issue such other orders as the Supreme Commander may require to give effect to the surrender terms. "Immediately upon the surrender the Japanese Government shall transport prisoners of war and civilian internees to places of safety, as directed, where they can quickly be placed aboard Allied transports. "The ultimate form of government of Japan shall, in accordance with the Potsdam Declaration, be established by the freely expressed will of the Japanese people. "The armed forces of the Allied Powers will remain in Japan until the purposes set forth in the Potsdam Declaration are achieved." Accept [etc.] JAMES F. BYRNES Secretary of State MR. MAX GRÄSSLI Chargé d'Affaires ad interim of Switzerland jdlane5136 --- BTW the thought of the Soviets conquering their country was almost as unacceptable as the A Bombing of their cities. It is was like the hordes of Genghis Khan again invading. Wayne Patterson --- That is yet another lie. The Soviets and Soviet Pacific Fleet had no capability to invade Japan's Home Islands.

[@12rwoody]

Snooze fest

[@savedbygodsgrace1622]

Lie. Fake History.

[@RocketRoketto]

i play this in the background. boring voice

[@federalli169]

Brittany spears

[@viktoriaironpride4977]

LeMay was certifiably nuts!

[@canusakommando9692]

Hey buddy the Allies could never have prosecuted the war at all without Canada! From Chalk River to our mighty troops who along with the Anzacs did all of the heavy lifting! In both world wars the US shows up years late as usual! Plus out of the 17 most Strategic materials needed to fight the war Canada provided 14 of them! Only sugar, tin and rubber we couldn't provide. You getting it now? My Grandfather who spent two years in Italy and then sent over to the Scheldt always told me how useless the average fighting man in the US army was. He and his section of ten guys would take and hold a position then be relieved by 30 Americans would come back after three days with his ten men and would have to retake the position once again. F..king useless! But my paternal Grandfather who was in the RCAF hunting U-Boats out of Gander had the greatest respect for the American Air Corps who were also at Gander. He told me they just showed up one day and a literal mountain of equipment and gear was just there. The Canadians were far ahead in Nuclear research at Chalk River. It's our secret nuke research spot. Still is. So let's get the story straight. We were the areodrome for the Allies even the Americans and we taught spec ops at Camp X on Lake Ontario. Only you Americans think you did everything but we know, we know. We just don't brag on it. Don't need too. We know man for man we are as good or better than any others.

[@wilbursmith7627]

Your pretty sensitive...how about we instead of me...?

[@tomdolan9761]

Horse manure

[@kurtvonfricken6829]

Canadian tough guy. Canada once had a shopping mall with more submarines than the Canadian Navy.

[@wilbursmith7627]

What can Canada do today? You don't even but 1% of your GDP towards your own defense. Quit writing about coulda, woulda, shoulda...and start paying your own way. Go write a book dude...

[@tomdolan9761]

When was the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup? Don't push that Canadiens are the toughest until you start winning at your own national sport......Sport

[@gerrbuck5217]

Thosewho droppped the bomb has a special place in hell!

[@oddshot60]

@Gerrbuck$ As good and accurate as the lecture above was, it discussed the fire bombing of Tokyo in which we burned 16 square MILES of Tokyo to the ground, as a somewhat singular event. This is not true. Using "firestorms" as a weapon, the US burned over 1/7 of the Japanese home islands, incinerating 67 Japanese cities, killing, by some estimates, as many as 900,000 Japanese. BTW ... having been bombed so heavily and frequently, eventually, Tokyo was taken off the target list because there just wasn't much left to burn. By comparison, the atomic bombs were a minor event. The force of the A bombs that were dropped is roughly the equivalent of 200 B-29's filled with bombs. The US routinely put over 400 B-29s over a target.

[@kurtvonfricken6829]

Along with the people that sneak attacked Pearl Harbor and murdered millions of Chinese civilians and pows.

[@wilbursmith7627]

So you are now the judge of who goes to heaven or hell, call me when you see the real Judge.

[@kurtvonfricken6829]

Don’t forget those that start world wars then wage aggressive and cruel wars. If Japan never attacked the US they never would have gotten their country burned to cinders. They wanted land an oil and got their country destroyed as a result.

[@JohnDavis-yz9nq]

Don’t like presentations.

[@honorguardsfencingclub7322]

You don't like learning?