Week 311 - The US Drops Two Atomic Bombs on Japan - WW2 - August 10, 1945

[@WorldWarTwo]

Understand the human cost of the nuclear bombs by joining Spartacus as he sheds light on the lives forever changed by this event in our most recent episode of War Against Humanity. If your country allows it, watch the uncensored version here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2icmq1pqsuNmMk For viewers in restricted regions, watch the censored version here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqOaaKxmjrGHla8

[@16mopey]

It's sad content like this gets censored. How is censored for some areas if you don't mind me asking

[@jordanhicken7812]

It was a great episode, and terrible 😢

[@pnutz_2]

having commented on every last regular episode with this account (and the alt when I'm travelling for eg xmas), I feel there won't be too many more episodes to cover

[@paulpoenicke5642]

To understand the human and moral cost of the bomb, it is helpful to read GEM Anscombe's "Mr. Truman's Degree." www.ifac.univ-nantes.fr/IMG/pdf/Anscombe-truman.pdf

[@Yamato-tp2kf]

I would love to see a special episode about the Kyujo incident that happened the night before the speech of the Japanese emperor on the 15th of August that was made by some officers the night before and they tried to avoid the speech of the emperor by searching for the recordings of the speech and then destroying it... They failed, I would love that Indy and Spartacus talk about it because it's not a well known incident...

[@FrowningCatt]

We're finally here after six years.....

[@PPM902]

That's an odd statement

[@humanitarianb0mbing161]

Time sure flew past quick....😢

[@michaelnewton5873]

Sad this had to be the ending to a large misunderstanding. Japanese hubris brought this to happen. They knew they were whipped but couldn't admit it.

[@Gufupandi09th13]

Japan tank fighting the red army in a city in Manchuria be like parallel to Battlefield 5 the last tiger 14:35

[@s.henrlllpoklookout5069]

"I'm Indy Neidell and this is World War 2." Me: Not for much longer, it isn't

[@andrewsoboeiro6979]

"Maybe one day, it [the demarcation line in Korea] will be important." Please; if it were só important, Indy would be making a series about it by now!

[@Orvieta]

That line might still have importance in the 21st century, I'm calling it.

[@korbell1089]

Geez people what's with all these wild claims! Korea is nothing more than a backwards third World country, what significance could it possibly have? That's like saying Cuba, which is nothing more than a playground for the rich and famous, will someday hold the World hostage! 🤣😂

[@patmccormick9972]

They are.

[@kommandantgalileo]

​@@patmccormick9972 that's the joke

[@archstanton6102]

​@@patmccormick9972 Whoooooosh

[@MsZeeZed]

13:15 - Molotov’s most Molotov moment: “Did he agree to mediate?” “No he declared war on us, but made it sound like a humanitarian mission.”

[@konstantinriumin2657]

Well if cluster bombs are "Molotov bread baskets" and petrol bombs are Molotov cocktails, then invasion is "Motlov's humanitarian mission".

[@peteranderson037]

A Special Humanitarian Operation

[@andmos1001]

The Molotov Cocktails are quite fitting

[@Sigurd_13]

Every side on this war had some shameless spin doctors. Hard to say who has the best/worst. But they perfected the skill to tell a story, from weirdest of angles and few miles away. Would be a nice topic to see a video about it. List of historical happenings and the propaganda from both sides about those. Id call it: "Propagandas light, smokes and mirrors"

[@chadrowe8452]

​@@andmos1001 named by the Finns

[@sam_uelson]

For those of you who’ve been tuning in week after week for a decade, it’s been a pleasure.

[@wingy200]

See you in Korea.

[@dukerrr]

I think I've watched every episode

[@eldorados_lost_searcher]

It ain't over yet. Been almost nine years for me. "Who would notice another madman around here? Good luck, everyone."

[@professorsogol5824]

I don't know about the pleasure part, but it certainly has been educational.

[@alanarmstrong6460]

crazy watched this longer than my longest relationship.

[@MisterOcclusion]

“It is far too early to say the war is lost” Love the optimism, bud. You should take up motivational speaking, or life coaching 😂

[@maxmustermann-zx9yq]

The emperor still waiting for Steiner to cross through China and turn the war around

[@zaja2418]

The Copium Wars.

[@poiuyt975]

@@zaja2418 Good one! :D

[@Adiscretefirm]

No way, in 2024 that guy would be selling crypto

[@jameygroves8561]

That mentality is absolute lunacy.

[@Secretsquirrel724]

I knew a teacher about 20 years ago who had lived in Japan as a girl. They had left Nagasaki and went into the mountains to avoid the bombing and looked across the bay and saw the bomb go off over the city. A chilling account.

[@vincegalila7211]

Did he go blind?

[@misterwhipple2870]

I had a co-worker who has half-Japanese, and his mother lived in Tokyo during the last bombings. She was sixteen. The Great Fire-Bombing of Tokyo stopped three blocks from her house.

[@user-lt7id2ny9h]

It's only a matter of time before a nuclear war breaks out because humanity never learns.

[@allangibson8494]

@@user-lt7id2ny9hThe atomic bombs have delayed WW3 by a half century so far.

[@stephenandersen4625]

@@user-lt7id2ny9h. We’re going to be ok

[@sbabcock7476]

311 weeks of war. 311 consecutive weekly episodes. And many more besides. I’ve watched every Saturday since I first found this series 4 years ago & got caught up. What a series. What a project. What an accomplishment. Cudos to Indy, Spartacus, Astrid, & everyone else who made this series possible. Y’all have given the world something special.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you very much!

[@FXDLS-ot1wq]

I agree

[@JarodFarrant]

@@WorldWarTwoI’ve been here since 1941 I love this channel and Indy & gang. I hope you do a video on Canada 🇨🇦 Roel in this war.

[@mendozakoby]

Missed opportunity to say "this is no longer modern war - this is atomic war"

[@davidp.7620]

It must have been tough to ask someone to be a mediator and receive a declaration of war as an answer.

[@generaltom6850]

You betrayed me Molotov!

[@Raskolnikov70]

It's like having your friend ask the person you're interested in to go to the prom with you, only to have them go together instead. Right in the feels.

[@mjbull5156]

​@@generaltom6850It was sudden, yet inevitable.

[@user-pg9qb3wy7s]

@@Raskolnikov70but they were not friends. They were at war just 6 years earlier

[@p.strobus7569]

“Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!”

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

Bringing a new branch of physics on the table is apparently an acceptable excuse to surrender, according to bushido.

[@indianajones4321]

It’s science

[@SuperCrazf]

Messed up indeed

[@Sabrowsky]

Debatable, if Anami's take on it is anything to go by.

[@pnutz_2]

they're trying to save face when "we're getting bombed around the clock by planes that we can't touch, and we clearly won't be able to close the gap" wasn't enough for some people

[@thegrandestcherokee7161]

Bullshido they wanted their people to die for their ego. That's all it ever was. Too scared to be a failure in their own eyes. Hitler forced a similar fate onto Germany. It's always the same kind of asshole

[@NicolasHaufe]

Guys it appears this war developed not necessarly in Japans Advantage

[@ajc-ff5cm]

Oversimplified reference!

[@maxmustermann-zx9yq]

We should not disregard the great things that rose from the ashes of the inferno like a Phoenix Hentai for example

[@Wayoutthere]

Call Steiner

[@Edax_Royeaux]

@@maxmustermann-zx9yq Hentai was already a thing for hundreds of years. Hokusai is Japan's most famous artist, you've problem seen his work everywhere like his Mt. Fuji prints with the great wave. Well just look up Hokusai's "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife" involving tenacles.

[@wingy200]

@@maxmustermann-zx9yq I thought you were going to say "a well-constructed Japanese constitution" or something like that. 😄

[@JesseOaks-ef9xn]

When the war ended, my Dad was training for the invasion of Japan. He had just survived the Okinawa campaign. There were some Japanese officers who attempted to kidnap Hirohito and stop the surrender. The true story of this plot would make a great movie if someone wanted to make it.

[@mercuryredstone2235]

I think it has been made into a movie, look up "Japan's Longest Day".

[@floatinghomeleland562]

Its been made, its called "Japan's Longest Day". The book it is based on is one of the best I've ever read, as it really explains what the mentality of the Japanese War council.

[@jonathanjulio9471]

If you’re referring to the Kyujo coup, there are 2 Japanese movies that cover the topic. The first one is “Japan’s longest day” from 1967 directed by Kihachi Okamoto and a remake of the movie in 2015 with the same title. I’m gonna try and watch both movies sometime soon.

[@davidsigalow7349]

This series has demonstrated how political assassinations were all too common in Japan in those days.

[@ethangorham17]

The 2015 movie is also known as The Emperor in August, if I'm not mistaken. Both it and the original 1967 film are darn good watches

[@george217]

I just can't believe that one guy actually survived BOTH bombings...

[@konstantinriumin2657]

lived to 93 years too!

[@pocketmarcy6990]

165 people experienced both bombings

[@christopherconard2831]

​@@pocketmarcy6990 165 people that no one will ever complain to about having a bad day.

[@george217]

@@pocketmarcy6990 It depends on who you listen to. The Japanese Government only recognizes Mr. Yamaguchi as the lone double survivor...

[@JLAvey]

Puts things in perspective, doesn't it?

[@maciejkamil]

Japanese minister claiming that it is too early to say that the war is lost AFTER an atomic bomb was dropped is just pure insanity.

[@KRDecade2009]

He wasn’t the only one saying it. The army minister basically said “okay they had one but they don’t have another” the navy minister was saying “we have to shore up defenses for an invasion of the home islands” then the army said “we are going to take our navy (yes the army had their own navy with their own fleet carriers) for a campaign in China and that will bring the war back under their control” Edit: And all of this was said because they didn’t know about the emperors fate if they surrendered. Ironically the emperor wanted to surrender but the army didn’t believe it (hence the going to China bit) and the navy didn’t believe it hence the shoring of defenses. I would mention the Air Force minister however they were basically under the navy’s control but they didn’t believe the emperor wanted to surrender and felt that more kamikaze strikes should occur to five more time for Japan to fight back. I should mention by this time neither branch had any planes and if they did they were pre-war outdated designs Edit 2: And to top off the Navy section the remainder of the battleship faction of the navy (look it’s too complicated just know that there’s a battleship faction and carrier faction and most if not all of the carrier faction were dead by this point) didn’t believe that the emperor wanted to surrender and said “Nihon should take her ships and strike out against the Americans in one massive grand battle that will turn the tide of the war!” When they didn’t have anymore boats bigger than a destroyer and a few heavy cruisers.. and by then it’s been there’s been several grand battles that were planned to go their way only for it to not go their way.. Basically if Copium was real the Japanese had both a monopoly on it and highly addicted to it

[@nevilleneville6518]

And people still claim that there was no need to use the nukes because Japan was ready to surrender. 🤔

[@korbell1089]

The ministry was actually telling people to wear sheets because the light colored material would protect them from the blast.

[@t5ruxlee210]

There were Japanese scientists fully familiar with the theory of the uranium bomb and the huge industrial effort that would be required to produce just one per year. The plutonium bomb was a totally unexpected surprise game changer when it arrived on the scene. It firmly closed the door on any proposals to easily cope with a one bomb per year "atomic blast irritant".

[@freefall9832]

Over 60 cities were destroyed by bombing. The nuclear bombs weren't the most devastating of the attacks. Maybe 6th in rating of destruction.

[@mcintoshpc]

The clips of the bomb victims… Enjoy the uncensored version while it lasts fellas, it won’t be long until KZbin comes along to prevent us from understanding the consequences of our own actions

[@chrisjones5411]

You say that like KZbin is a bad guy company for not wanting descriptions of children drowning in swimming pools covered in burns with their skins and limbs sloshing off on their website. You want that stuff on the internet, you host it.

[@wingy200]

I give thanks to my advertiser overlords.

[@Michael_Hunt]

You mean the consequences of Japan's actions? But I feel ya. War is awful.

[@korbell1089]

KZbin has no problem showing uncensored bikini waxing videos but "Oh the horror!" when a history channel shows what happens in war!

[@casedismissed8581]

HAHAHAHAHA "our own actions" ! you forgot about pearl harbor there numb-nuts ? including the 1,000,000 + lives estimated to invade the japanese home islands ! what happened to japan was TOUGH SHIT !! they messed with the wrong people !!

[@mbathroom1]

can't believe I finally made it here. I have been here since episode 1. Crazy to see time fly like this!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for being with us for all these years.

[@mbathroom1]

@@WorldWarTwo you're welcome

[@JarodFarrant]

@@WorldWarTwobeen here sense 1942 it’s been a wild life changing ride ❤.

[@kdavidson1386]

I cannot thank the whole crew enough for how much this series has had an impact on my life. I am a 37 year old, Millenial and absolute lover of history and this series has changed me in more ways than I can express. The whole crew deserves awards and riches that I, an average man cannot bestow upon you all. My Grandfather was a twice wounded soldier in the Korean War, that your next adventure makes me proud to follow your journey on.

[@angusmacdonald7187]

As I stated in the War Against Humanity episode on this topic, my later brother-in-law's mother came from Nagasaki. Due to her job, she was sent to Hiroshima to get some papers signed. By the time she got there, there were barricades in place and was told to turn around. By the time she got back to Nagasaki, that city had been bombed as well, but being a resident of the city she was drafted to help with the clean up. For he next four months she buried bodies, removed rubble, and other awful jobs. She took to drinking heavily for the rest of her life; she ended up marrying a man during the Occupation who had been in the USN and whose first mission was helping to clean up after Pearl Harbor. The two of them, in so many ways, bookended WWII in the Pacific. He, too, drank heavily. They were a couple that stayed together primarily out of pain.

[@Sacrifice-Loyalty]

Neat they made it together, thanks for sharing eh!

[@MrNicoJac]

On the one hand, I wanna commend both of them for finding love amid so much destruction and despair. On the other hand, I don't wanna imagine what it would be like having two alcoholic parents, trying to run from the pains in their pasts. I hope your sister and brother in law are doing better than the generation before them ❤️‍🩹

[@angusmacdonald7187]

@@MrNicoJac My brother-in-law had his demons. He faced alcoholism in his teens, but cleaned up his act before he met my sister. His dad had died in the late 70s due to overdrinking; his mom lived until about 2003 and died from lung cancer -- she blamed it on the bomb, but the woman was a three-pack-a-day person. My brother-in-law died young, barely over 50, but he was a good husband to my sister.

[@MrNicoJac]

@@angusmacdonald7187 Oof, that's rough.... I hope your sister is doing well. It does sound though like every generation managed to overcome some of their demons, and pass on tamer versions to the next. That in and of itself is admirable. And even more so considering the severity of the moments that spawned those demons...

[@michaelbumuller853]

@WorldWarTwo some time ago, maybe a year ago (or 2) . the NHK channel released a documentary about Hiroshima. And they talked about something really tragic, which i never saw any other channel mention. That includes you @WorldWarTwo on that day!. when the Americans released the bomb. The City of Hiroshima had to make several cleaning duties and given the fact that the majority of adults, teenagers and some elder onces had to work on the fields and or help out the war industrie. They called/ordered for all children from all the towns in the near regions and from the same city to not go to school on that day and to come and help out.. Am talking about little children between the ages of 6-14. Now!, we are talking about small to medium size trash from destroyed building and other things. The children came, in the tens of thousands. divided into groups, they started doing all the demanded work. .... then it happened, the lives that where lost on day 1 from that American bomb where in the majority from little children. given the fact that the cleaning work was divided into groups and sectors in the city, all the little onces that where not killed on day 1, had to suffer for many days to come, even weeks, before dead caught up with them. Now after hearing about this issue, all the parents desperately rushed back to the city, only to find also dead. Just imagen this, you rush back, not knowing what happened. With the only goal to rescue your little son/daughter and suddenly you don't recognize anything and slowly but surely start dying of radiation. And at the end, you die without even finding your son or daughter. Which wasn't even possible. Leaving aside the once that where vaporized with the explosion. there is no way one can recognize the remains of a burned body. And am talking about thousands of small little bodies that where burned alive on that day personally, am German. and am not proud of so many things that happened back then. But it fills me with pain and anger to see some Americans celebrate this day. People must understand that there is NO posible future when Nukes are used. There is no happy ending. This was never a solution or will be (if you search the documentary is about 90 minutes long, from the NHK)

[@MsZeeZed]

Those at the blast site will not have heard the bomb because the pressure wave was so great it will have split their eardrums. It’s so loud it can’t be heard if you’re too close without ear protection.

[@jrt818]

The pressure wave was faster than the speed of sound so those near the center are not going to hear it.

[@srenkoch6127]

@@jrt818 And those nearest to ground zero was no longer there to hear it.. 😞 The stopped being biology and started being physics instead - potentially they were lucky they did not have to endure ARS... Never forget

[@unr74]

Also- the air was blown outward and there wasn’t an environment that sound waves could form

[@jrt818]

@@srenkoch6127 The nearest survivor, Akiko Takakura, was 300 meters (1000 feet) from the hypocenter and she just remembers the flash then nothing.

[@stevestoll3124]

My grandfather was part of the occupation duty at Hiroshima. By Late September the radiation levels were "safe and low risk" according to the US Army. However for the last 30 years of his life he had Polycythemia Vera (rather rare form of Blood cancer). As a result all of his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren have medical issues related to his exposure. To this day I personally have a flag on my medical file that requests a tube of blood on every draw be shipped to a sub department of the DOD. I was never in the US military.

[@not2hot99]

I don't want to be rude nor intrude, but for what reason, do you know? Is it extra verification or study of the effects? I hope you're doing well!

[@stevestoll3124]

@@not2hot99 I had surgery a few years ago at a University Hospital, I "lucked" out and got the chief of Surgery and Chairman of the that particular department. He was the first person to ask me why he was sending blood samples to Maryland. He did some checking and found out it's a program started to track DNA mutations passed on generation to generation. Essential it's a program that mirrors the international study done on actual Japanese survivors of the atomic strikes.

[@not2hot99]

@@stevestoll3124 interesting, thanks for telling!

[@caterpilar]

I feel you. Was born and raised nearby Chernobyl

[@mikiroony]

Six years ... So much has changed in my own life. I can only imagine how much more so many lives changed in such a time. Thank you for leading us during this time.

[@forthrightgambitia1032]

Almost everyone I have met who lived through that period had the course of their life utterly altered by the war. And indeed it irreversibly altered the fate of nations and the entire structure of the world in a way that still affects us today.

[@WorldWarTwo]

And thank you for watching.

[@alexmarshall6865]

I’ve been watching since The Great War series, since before my oldest child was born. Thank you Indy and thank you to everyone else involved in making all of these series come to life.

[@gundamheavyarms4879]

This is the first time I've been able to catch a WorldWarTwo premiere! I love this channel! 😁

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for joining the premiere!

[@ToddSauve]

@@WorldWarTwo A little late but ... 🤷🤣😂

[@jasondouglas6755]

Your joining at the very end

[@GeneralSmitty91]

38th parallel seems like a perfectly fine demarcation line. Surely, there will be no issue in the future!

[@Blazcowitz1943]

Also on the 9th of August 1945, Lieutenant Audie L. Murphy, only recently turned 19 years old, is formally awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions at the town of Holtzwhir back on January 26th of that year. With this he is officially the most highly decorated American serviceman of WW2. In just over three years of service and seven major campaigns, he has been awarded: Three Purple Hearts Two Bronze Stars (one with a bronze service arrow head) Two Silver Stars Distinguished Service Cross Medal of Honor From the French Government he received: One Legion of Merit Three Croix De Guerre Legion of Honor Not bad for a man who was initially rejected from every branch he tried to enlist in for being too short, too young and too weak and was very nearly transferred out of the infantry during training to become a baker after he collapsed during a march.

[@azimisyauqieabdulwahab9401]

Before Audie Murphy became the Hollywood stars

[@rumrunner8019]

A weak man who turned out to be a WWII super soldier...are you sure his name wasn't Steve Rogers?

[@b2tall239]

When the Bombs were dropped, my father, then 17 yrs old, had recently completed Marine Corps boot camp and had been assigned to a rifle company. He almost certainly would have been part of the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands. If it wasn't for the Bombs, I might not be here to write this.

[@jacqueschouette7474]

My sainted father had already been in the thick of the action on board the light cruiser USS Birmingham since early 1943. His ship had been damaged due to enemy action three times, each time requiring his ship to return to the US for repairs, the last due to being struck by a kamikaze off Okinawa. It's not a stretch to imagine that his ship would be hit by a kamikaze again during an invasion of Japan and since his battle station was topside on a quad 40mm anti-aircraft mount, it was only a matter of time before his number came up. The atomic bombs saved many more souls than those that they ultimately killed on both sides of the conflict.

[@adamwade4764]

I used to work for a Taiwanese company-My boss was Taiwanese, and he had an uncle who he never knew but was lost in the Hiroshima attack- Taiwan was a Japanese Colony in those days. Mr. Lai said his uncle had gone Hiroshima to study at college. The family never heard back from him after the attack. It's amazing how events in history touch lives all over the world.

[@tkm238-d4r]

Agree with you on the impact of the war. Meanwhile in mainland China and Southeast Asia, a significant number of Taiwanese travelled to these regions and spied/collaborated/worked with the Japanese. When the surrender was announced, they were caught unaware. While the surrender of Japanese troops was handled orderly, these Taiwanese collaborators were eliminated by various groups of anti-Japanese resistance fighters. Little is known about the identities of these eliminated collaborators. While some DPP Greens such as Mr Lai spoke fondly of their so-called special relationship with Japan, practically none of these DPP folks came forward and mentioned about uncles/granduncles being collaborators with Japanese occupiers in mainland China and Southeast Asia. After observing the DPP Greens for 30 years, it seemed that some Taiwanese had a very narrow world view. Sometimes, they behaved as if Southeast Asia was some distant land with no relation to them.

[@maciejkamil]

Let's hope no more nukes will be dropped ever again.

[@piotrd.4850]

written some 2000 nuclear tests later.....

[@salokin3087]

Since the first week in 2018, theres been wars, pandemics, scientific advancements, revolutions and now a Korean War series. Time flies.

[@rubberduckindustries6665]

My grandfather was a crew member on a B29. In the 509th composite group. Family lore is that he was in a chase plane for the Hiroshima mission

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for sharing.

[@alansewell7810]

I knew a crewman of one of the escort planes that accompanied Enola Gay to Hiroshima. He said he could see the mushroom cloud for 350 miles --- the distance from Miami to Jacksonville --- as he returned to base. He said the Air Force people, men and women's auxiliaries, celebrated for days, knowing the war was over. The air force vet I knew passed in 2015. My father, training for the invasion of Japan in South Carolina, was one of the youngest men destined to fight the war if it had continued past the atomic bombing. He passed in 2006. That generation that experienced WWII first hand is all but gone.

[@michaelbumuller853]

some time ago, maybe a year ago (or 2) . the NHK channel released a documentary about Hiroshima. And they talked about something really tragic, which i never saw any other channel mention. That includes you @WorldWarTwo on that day!. when the Americans released the bomb. The City of Hiroshima had to make several cleaning duties and given the fact that the majority of adults, teenagers and some elder onces had to work on the fields and or help out the war industrie. They called/ordered for all children from all the towns in the near regions and from the same city to not go to school on that day and to come and help out.. Am talking about little children between the ages of 6-14. Now!, we are talking about small to medium size trash from destroyed building and other things. The children came, in the tens of thousands. divided into groups, they started doing all the demanded work. .... then it happened, the lives that where lost on day 1 from that American bomb where in the majority from little children. given the fact that the cleaning work was divided into groups and sectors in the city, all the little onces that where not killed on day 1, had to suffer for many days to come, even weeks, before dead caught up with them. Now after hearing about this issue, all the parents desperately rushed back to the city, only to find also dead. Just imagen this, you rush back, not knowing what happened. With the only goal to rescue your little son/daughter and suddenly you don't recognize anything and slowly but surely start dying of radiation. And at the end, you die without even finding your son or daughter. Which wasn't even possible. Leaving aside the once that where vaporized with the explosion. there is no way one can recognize the remains of a burned body. And am talking about thousands of small little bodies that where burned alive on that day personally, am German. and am not proud of so many things that happened back then. But it fills me with pain and anger to see some Americans celebrate this day. People must understand that there is NO posible future when Nukes are used. There is no happy ending. This was never a solution or will be (if you search the documentary is about 90 minutes long, from the NHK)

[@alansewell7810]

​@@michaelbumuller853 I do not believe "the lives lost were in the majority of little children" as I have not heard anything about in the 59 years since 1965 when the bombings first came to my attention as a young lad on the 20th anniversary. 1/6th of the deaths were military people. The other 5/6ths were just ordinary people going about their daily tasks, which is horrific, and many were infants and children. The Americans who celebrated that day were the ones who would have had to invade Japan and likely would hae lost their lives or been crippled for life, not the ones of this day. Had Japan been invaded, it would have been by the combined armies and navies of the USA, Britain, Canada, and Australia from the south and Soviet armies from the north. The USA had 24 carrier battle groups near Japan with thousands of aircraft. The B-29s were stationed for strategic bombing. The armies would have landed with massed artillery stacked hub-to-hub. The most densely populated Japanese cities would have been demolished by block by block with artillery and air strikes, and few Japanese would have survived. Those who did would have starved to death due to the collapse of the food distribution. The atomic bombs were the most merciful relief any people who ever started a war and lost it ever received. It allowed the Japanese to surrender to a superior force of nature without losing their dignity. To their credit, the Japanese immediately took up the ways of peace. To the Americans' credit, we treated the Japanese as an ally, not an enemy, and gave them complete access to our markets. Then the Japanese taught us a thing or two about how to manufacture the highest quality products. The atomic bomb was a win-win for Japan and the USA. We really should celebrate it together, as a common bond of friendship forged under the shadow of the mushroom cloud.

[@michaelbumuller853]

@@alansewell7810 just watch the documentary before starting an discussion

[@mikaelcrews7232]

The Japanese cabinet was meeting on August 9 at 2 PM still arguing over the the first atomic bomb and the Postdam when an aid of one of the cabinet members comes running in and said they have dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki! One of the senior officers gave the ultimate statement: SO What!

[@ochomunna270]

The Japanese militarists were definitely suicidal with their bushido nonsense, they'd have taken Japan to annihilation if allowed. The fact that their country was on the brink of extinction and yet they weren't willing to surrender is bonkers, they even tried a coup on the Emperor when he realized this fact. Can you imagine the face and mind state of the Emperor to such a nonchalant response as "So What!" when he sees his people are been wiped out tens of thousands in for flash ??? Crazy !

[@FlaviusBelisarius-ck6uv]

@@ochomunna270I don’t think he cared much for the death of his people but more for the preservation of his own throne. Read up on the dudes personality post-war; it was often commented that the scumbag was more comfortable with marine life than with people, cared more for the fish in his aquarium than the servants who tended to his every need. Emperor Showa..I’d like to piss on his grave. They hung Mussolini, Hitler shot himself, all we’d have needed to make the perfect trifecta would’ve been to behead Hirohito. Even better, use that sword that’s one of Japans national treasures.

[@mikaelcrews7232]

@@ochomunna270 The militarists didn't give a crap about the civilian population! They wanted the troops and equipment to continue the fight! Besides the Bushido code in its original form is very similar to the Geneva Convention , they just twisted it to there own means of war!

[@FlaviusBelisarius-ck6uv]

Hirohito cared more for the preservation of his own throne rather than the lives of his subjects. Look up his personality post-war, the man was more comfortable with marine life than human beings. Dude cared more about the fish in his aquarium than the servants who tended to his every need. What does that tell you?

[@mikaelcrews7232]

@@FlaviusBelisarius-ck6uv Your preaching to the choir! He published several papers before during and after the war, he even discovered a form of marine life and named after his mother or one of his kids! Can't really remember? He even got upset when one of his experiments was damaged during a bombing raid and he couldn't get the materials again because of the blockade!

[@illinoislew]

I would consider myself well read on WW2 history, but I have never heard of Operation Zipper. All eyes were on Japan. It's like nothing ever happens in a vacuum.

[@ChaptermasterPedroKantor-kv5yw]

Mark Felton has a very long video on it, the plan of the operation, and how a Royal Navy admiral and the new Labour government sabotaged it, causing delays that prevented the operation from happening before the bombing of Hiroshima. And of course how that accursed glory hound McArthur forbid that the British would sail into Singapore right after the capitulation and rescue and relief their POW's being held their until Mr. Glory Hound had his signing ceremony in Tokyo Bay. Which caused those POW's to suffer for more weeks in Japanese captivity and some to die because the British had to wait offshore. And how some Japanese generals almost got to DELETE those POW's out of revenge for the Japanese surrender.

[@alanmichael5619]

It's okay chaps! I'm sure Steiner's counter-attack will be here aaaany moment now! ...What do you mean he's currently in prison awaiting trial?

[@worldofdoom995]

Yamashita's counter attack then?

[@christopherconard2831]

The secret army we have in the mountain fortresses! Has anyone heard from them lately?

[@johnf7683]

@@christopherconard2831 Nein! They have been moved to the Antarctica Base in New Swabia via UFO's, in preparation for the final battle!

[@davidsigalow7349]

"My Emperor....Steiner..." Removes glasses slowly... "Everyone out except Sake, Teriyaki and Kirin..."

[@shawnr771]

Thank you for the lesson. It has been a honor to watch this series, ThevWar Against Humanity, all of subseries and specials. Thank you.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Much appreciated, we still have more we want to cover so we aren't going anywhere. Thank you for watching.

[@NVRAMboi]

On Friday, August 18, 2017 the final resting site of the USS Indianapolis was located and verified by civilian teams associated with Paul Allen (RIP). She was found to be resting some 18,000 feet below the surface of the mighty Pacific. ... Congress (finally) voted to exonerate Captain Charles McVay (RIP) on Oct. 12, 2000, thanks largely to the testimony and efforts of Mochitsura Hashimoto (RIP), Commander of IJN submarine I-58 which sunk the Indianapolis. Hashimoto died 13 days later. Cmdr. Hasimoto had penned a letter to U.S. Senator John Warner defending Capt. McVay's actions and refuting the fabricated charge(s) for which McVay was court-martialed.

[@TheMasonK]

That’s an incredible story about Hashimoto and McVay. Reminds me of a story from the American Revolution when Captain Benjamin Tallmadge of the American Army would after the war defend Major John Andre of the British and defy the men who sought to gain reward for the capture of John Andre as nothing more than robbers who got lucky. There is no honor greater bestowed than when your enemy bestows it in my opinion.

[@rrice1705]

Little Boy's power is often compared to tons of TNT, but to me that's somewhat meaningless to most people for the simple reason most people don't handle TNT on a regular basis. Let's compare it to something many of us do handle regularly--gasoline. Little Boy's energy yield was 63 TJ (terajoules) according to Wikipedia, or 6.3x10^13 joules. A gallon of gasoline contains, approximately, 1.3x10^8 joules. Dividing the energy yield of Little Boy by the energy content of a gallon of gasoline gives us how many gallons of gasoline you'd have to burn to equal Little Boy's power output. In this case, I get 480,000 gallons. Think about that--nearly half a million gallons of gasoline all cooking off in less than a second.

[@ChaptermasterPedroKantor-kv5yw]

I can visualize a ton of TNT a hell of a lot more easier then gallons of gasoline, because as a non-American I don't use freedom units but metric. 😋

[@wwoods66]

I'm not sure X thousand gallons of gas is much more relatable. The Beirut explosion of a few years ago was about 1 kiloton equivalent. The energy released in a Mag 6 earthquake is about as much as the atomic bombs.

[@Raskolnikov70]

Another way to think of it is in its equivalence to the amount of boom-boom in conventional arms. An average 250-pounder has roughly 100 lbs of TNT, so a typical plane load would have (again, roughly, I'm working from memory here) roughly 1/2 ton of the stuff. Little Boy is the equivalent of tens of thousands of conventional sorties in one.

[@gordybing1727]

@@ChaptermasterPedroKantor-kv5yw for practical use, a liter and a quart are almost exactly the same, and a gallon is just 4 quarts. A metric foot is 30 cm., and 3 meters is 10 feet to within a tiny fraction. 5 cm. is 2 inches, and 3 km. is 2 miles.

[@LeftToWrite006]

When I was a kid, there was a Japanese guy who lived down the street who told me about living in a town not far from Hiroshima during that time. The stories were sad to hear.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for sharing, and thanks for watching.

[@Desert-Father]

It's amazing that even after the first bomb, the Japanese leadership was still unwilling to surrender. Even after the second bomb, the Army launched a coup to try and prevent the surrender.

[@kayak2hell]

Completely new technologies and concepts take more than one or two days to understand. Hell, Americans still have zero concept of universal healthcare despite it being a working system in the rest of the world for multiple generations.

[@Sjcb99]

Can't wait to binge watch this series in its entirety

[@WorldWarTwo]

We put out a video awhile back featuring all our year 1 videos: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHvLqmurbtOqlac

[@caterpilar]

took me about a year to watch all of them daily, so i guess you can start

[@BELCAN57]

And without those "flashes" I might not be here today. Dad was training aboard AGC-15 USS Adirondack, a Command vessel which I'm very certain would have been used in one of the phases of Operation Olympic. Strange how things happen.

[@jasatotakouzeno4674]

If you think about it, this week must’ve been damn eventful in Japan. We managed to have TWO atomic bombs, a new SOVIET offensive, and the end of a CAMPAIGN between last week and this week

[@danielmp2085]

Imagine the guys who created and tested Japans first jet plane getting no recognition in the press because everyone is speaking about dam politics

[@jasatotakouzeno4674]

@@danielmp2085 as an aviation major, I’m very interestes in the Nakajima and even got an opportunity to see the seized plane in question (I’m from the Philippines), but in the wider scope of the war, it is a fun footnote

[@loganmiller2733]

To the lads who have been on this journey since 2014. It’s been a pleasure having you all around and congratulations to the team for the definitive greatest world war 2 documentary ever

[@WorldWarTwo]

Wow, thank you; really appreciate your comment. -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@FlintIronstag23]

One of the B-29s that accompanied the Enola Gay on the Hiroshima mission was named Necessary Evil. It seems more apropos if that had been the plane to drop the first atomic bomb.

[@CarrotConsumer]

On one hand, a philosophical statement on time heinous act you are committing. On the other hand, your mum.

[@theblackbear211]

As always, a well thought out and produced episode. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for watching.

[@evancrum6811]

Yet Japan still won't immediately surrender and there still hard liners which is crazy.

[@SEAZNDragon]

My family is Chinese Malaysian and my grandparents and older aunt and uncles lived through the Japanese occupation. They didn’t talk much about that time. One of the few things I heard was the Japanese would kidnap the local women as comfort women but didn’t touch my grandma as they had the “decency” to not target married women. The local men were often arrested arbitrarily and there’s a rumored mass grave somewhere outside our home town. According to family legend my parental grandfather was arrested by the Japanese around the end of the war but was saved when the atomic bombs forced Japan to surrender. Considering the bombs also cancelled Operation Zipper I suspect they also saved other members of my family.

[@bobmetcalfe9640]

I was in Hong Kong about 15 years ago and got talking to a number of older Chinese people. There was a distinct dislike of Japanese tourists among them even then. My father liberated a couple of Japanese POW camps in 1945 and he never gave up his hatred of the Japanese until he died

[@nightdragon1710]

My great grandma almost became jugun ianfu

[@TheIceland2000]

It was common practice in Asia to sell unwanted girls. Of course, no father would acknowledge it.

[@AlexC-ou4ju]

sounds like the japanese should not have ignored the allied ultimatum

[@recoil53]

The US had been asking for surrender since 1943, when they had momentum in the Solomons. And it's been all downhill for Japan since. It's kind of a pattern then where were 2 atomic bombs.

[@Boron121]

Knowing the Japanese would recover the recording instruments dropped to record the Nagasaki blast, messages were attached, addressed to leading Japanese physicists urging them to pressure the government to seek peace.

[@troystaunton254]

A little known fact, the dropping of these nukes that leads to the surrender of Japan, prevented a battle the Australian 2/9th division was readying for after having pushed the Japanese to a corner of an island, the 2/9th was to launch its attack on the 11th of August. Post surrender they inspected the area and found 5 times the amount of Japanese soldiers they’d thought to be there all extremely well dug in and with “gardens” around for food. Those that are smarter than I assessed it that this would have been another battle for buna, Gona and sananda but bigger, and for scale after clearing gona alone the Australian 39th militia battalion had just 30 survivors and was shipped to Australia and disbanded. The better trained 2nd AIF guys fared better. There was single digit survivors from the Japanese army. It’s this and other things like Okinawa and iwo Jims that I point to and say the nukes saved millions of lives.

[@Benaplus1]

This is interesting! Do you have a source for this? I'd be interested to read more about it

[@mrgunn2726]

As horrific as it was, the ugly math is the atomic bombings of Japan probably saved lives on both sides. The death toll was about 150K from the atomic bombings, the death toll from a direct invasion would have been in the millions.

[@astiwine2354]

I had the honour to know slightly a gentleman named Jack Ford, who had left his home in what was then the Dominion of Newfoundland and joined the RAF at the beginning of the war. In late 1941 his squadron was ordered to go to East Africa but while on route was diverted to Singapore. He had been taken prisoner by the Japanese shortly after the fall of Singapore and was in Nagasaki working in the dockyards working as a slave laborer on what was going to be a giant bomb shelter when the second bomb was dropped. This protected him from the effects of the blast and after the war he returned home, married his sweetheart and raised a family. in 1995 he was invited to Japan to be present in Nagasaki as a guest of honour at the 50th Anniversary in Nagasaki of the dropping of that bomb. He told me that it had taken considerable persuasion to get him to accept the invitation, but he had been extremely well-treated by the Japanese and afterwards he was glad he had went.However, he commented to me, he 'still wasn't all that fond of the Japanese." He was in his late 80s or early 90s when he passed away. He was a very modest man who was embarrassed by 'all the fuss' that was made about him.

[@williamdonnelly224]

Thanks for sharing this story.

[@maxhiller5166]

I finally got a shoutout after all these years! Yay! Keep up the great work!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you!

[@indianajones4321]

My great grandfather actually knew one of the guys on the Enola Gay and was friends with him

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for sharing.

[@Icicle_Racing]

Do you know his opinion on the ethical problems of the atomic bomb? The guy who was part of the Enola Gay crew, I mean.

[@indianajones4321]

@@Icicle_Racing not sure, my great grandfather was his dentist for decades, and he died in 2010. All I know is that they knew each other.

[@Icicle_Racing]

@@indianajones4321 ok, well, thanks for sharing anyway! ❤️

[@R2Manny]

Wow… 311 weeks… never forget and thank you TimeGhost team for making sure that these important events are not lost in the grand scheme of history!

[@FATMAN_tactical]

A poet once said "Don't start no shit, it won't be no shit!"

[@kayak2hell]

Maybe President Fillmore should have told Matthew Perry that.

[@eamonreidy9534]

Maybe Roosevelt should have been told

[@gordybing1727]

@@kayak2hell From "Friends"?

[@tomsonlarrson3318]

The Enola Gay sits at Udvar-Hazy Air and Space museum in Chantilly, Virginia. Been there quite a few times, and its always sort of haunting to see a single plane that killed hundreds of thousands. Sure more died during the firebombings, but that is one machine that dropped singular machine to end a hundred thousand lives in an instant.

[@ToddSauve]

Well, it didn't kill 100,000 people in an instant. It was far less than that instantaneously but over time the dead did climb skyward.

[@speedydb55]

The Bockscar still exists as well, residing at the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.

[@christopherjackson2658]

Whenever I see things like that in a museum I try to think of equivalents from history. Did the Romans go down to the harbors and stare in awe at the ships carrying Greek fire after those ships destroyed the enemy? Did Chinese folks go look at the amazing seige equipment or massive walls their military used and feel a sense of pride in their engineering skill? Could the enemies of the Persians even believe the tales of "arrows so numerous they block out the sun"? Seeing the pieces of history is so fascinating.

[@ChaptermasterPedroKantor-kv5yw]

@@christopherjackson2658 Historical awareness is a rare thing throughout history. The Egyptians recorded some of their history on their temple walls, but that was more to show off how marvelous Pharaoh X was. That was mostly the case. We know of chroniclers keeping track of events that happened in their lifetime. But for most people history and myth were interchangeable. We know that in the Middle Ages people had a thing for relics of Biblical things and saints, but it was rumored there were enough pieces of the Cross in circulation to assemble a multitude of them. Pilgrims would feel reverence threading and touching the places where saints were rumored to be. But actual historical awareness is a rare thing. In classical times the first historians appeared, Thucydides being the father of historians. But their craft died with the fall of Rome, and most of their writings with it. Separating myth from actual history was reinvented in the 19th century. As for your questions on how Romans or Chinese viewed their own weapons of war and felt amazement, well, you can answer that yourself. How much awe do most people feel seeing a current day tank, aircraft or ship of their own armed forces? Probably not that much. Unless they know how it works. But then again even your own mobile smartphone is a wonder of engineering and of the complexity of the networks that it uses. And yet 99.99% of people think nothing of it anymore.

[@RollTide1987]

"And now I'm become death....the destroyer of worlds..."

[@Noone-jn3jp]

Drama Queen Edit:😂 I meant that Oppenheimer was being a drama queen when he made the statement.

[@filrabat1965]

@@Noone-jn3jp Maybe. But what if other nations get the atomic bomb? Where does humanity go from there?

[@joeymurdazalotmore6355]

the hydro thermic bomb maker prolly said same thing except he wasn't playing propaganda games

[@Noone-jn3jp]

@@joeymurdazalotmore6355 She and she absolutely didn’t. It was her stated goal to create something to prevent tunnels from being used like they were by the VC

[@Michael_Hunt]

@@Noone-jn3jp For real. Why make it if you're so upset about it? Dude just wanted a quote to put in a book probably lol

[@jonniheinisto9825]

GUYS Its finally happening We made it to the bomb Shout out to everyone who has autistically been watching since 2018 Thank you Indy thank you Timeghost, we got a long road ahead but im sure we will survive the Korean War !

[@JohnJohn-pe5kr]

I have Autism and a WW2 buff so thank you!

[@jonniheinisto9825]

@@JohnJohn-pe5kr Dont forget to watch the Korean war series bro !

[@Astragoth2]

I've been watching Indy since july 2014....

[@jonniheinisto9825]

@@Astragoth2 I just finished WW1 1915, im soon gonna start watching that one much more.

[@JohnJohn-pe5kr]

@@jonniheinisto9825I am watching that too

[@joncaulkett5198]

My father was a medical orderly in a military government company. While enroute to Japan after the surrender, they were diverted to Korea & were some of the first US troops there.

[@SuperCrazf]

The war seems to be at an end. It started violently, and it ended even more violently. May the world and humanity finally understand the futility of war and, finally, achieve peace at last in the future

[@andmos1001]

This war surely will be the war to end all wars…

[@geoffreylee5199]

The third was scheduled for August 19, 1945 on Kokura; a potential fourth for the end of the month.

[@malickfan7461]

It’s crazy to think that the only use of atomic weapons in war actually saved countless lives.

[@kimwit1307]

A next time we wouldn't be that lucky...

[@gurufabbes1]

Absolutely excellent as usual, the maps, Indy's commentary, the organization of the timelines, the presentation of the personalities and Japanese cabinet... Truly, as we reach the end, one of the greatest WW2 documentaries ever made.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for the lovely comment.

[@gurufabbes1]

@@WorldWarTwo No, thank you for all your work over years on this marvelous project.

[@nygothuey6607]

Been with you guys since 1914. It's been a hell of a ride. You guys have done something truly special with these series'. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I profess how incredibly appreciative I am for your hard work. I can't wait to see what the future holds. Best wishes to everyone at Time Ghost.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for your kind words. What a ride it has been (so far). -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@Gufupandi09th13]

Soviet Japanese war has come Japan council what do we do unleashed the secret weapon that has awoken in the sea that the atomic bomb created GODZILLA: 👁️👁️

[@jimsackmanbusinesscoaching1344]

History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men.

[@gordybing1727]

Blue Oyster Cult, "that big ape has got to go, Godzilla".

[@Andyliberty0923]

*I don’t want to set the world on fiiiiree*

[@a84c1]

Man of culture i see

[@gunman47]

War... War never changes...

[@ggregd]

@@a84c1 That means something else these days.

[@nobleman9393]

We didn't start the fire.

[@Orvieta]

These atomic bombs were what we today consider of a "tactical" yield, in the low kiloton range. Not the megaton insanity that is ready to launch today from whatever corner of the world someone wants to push a button.

[@williamjpellas0314]

No. These were small strategic nuclear weapons by today's standards. They were still city killers.

[@johnt8441]

Most interesting that it took the second A-bomb and the Emperor's intervention to finally move acceptance of the Potsdam Accord forward. That was BEFORE Japan knew about the Soviets invading.

[@wwoods66]

Not quite. By the time of the meeting with the Emperor, the military leaders knew that the Soviets had declared war and invaded, though not the size of the forces involved.

[@blueboats]

Decades long ago, someone at a desk draws a straight line on a map and the world lives with the problem thereafter for all time

[@ajc-ff5cm]

There's nothing significant about dividing Korea at the 38th parallel. Nothing ... at ... all.

[@christopherconard2831]

Shades of European powers drawing lines on a map of Arabia and Africa. We'll work out the details later.

[@davidsigalow7349]

"D'oh!"

[@danielstickney2400]

The most surreal event of my life was observing the protests outside the main gate of Pease Air Force Base, home of the 509th Bomb Group, on the 40th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing while stopped at the traffic light with a busload of Japanese school girls attending an English language immersion program on their way to Emily Dickinson's house . Japan was ascendent in those days and It would have been easy to look at that busload of cheerful and affluent teenagers and wonder who'd actually won the war, but I've always wondered if any of those girls even noticed the protest or knew why those protesters were there.

[@Turf-yj9ei]

Will this be the last episode or will they do week by week until the surrender is signed in September?

[@WorldWarTwo]

The series will continue until September 2nd.

[@JohnJohn-pe5kr]

@@WorldWarTwowill we get post WW2 content and between 2 wars sequel series between WW2 and Korean War?

[@stranger299a]

@@JohnJohn-pe5krA pre war Germany series focusing on the rise of the nazis is coming. January next year maybe

[@JohnJohn-pe5kr]

@@stranger299acool

[@Pioneer_DE]

It is crazy to think 4 years ago, I was sitting and watching the Pearl Habour live stream... and now, 4 years later I'm Witnessing the atomic bomb drops... how time flies!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for watching us all these years!

[@gianniskopdakis7248]

I started watching the series when I started medical school now I finished medical school (it’s 6 years in Greece) Thanks for the company guys !!!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Wow, that's a long ride. Congratulations for finishing medical school. -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@gianniskopdakis7248]

@@WorldWarTwo thank you so much !!!!😁

[@bradacker8028]

Wars need to be devastating for them to be avoided. Very few wars have been started by men who have fought in war. The threat of non-military casualties will help hinder politicians from believing that war is a positive option. If the politicians are spared from the horror of war. They will start wars.

[@HyperSonicX]

I mean you say this...but Hitler and a lot of his cronies were WW1 veterans. WW2, the biggest war in history, was started by people not spared from the horrors of war.

[@bradacker8028]

@HyperSonicX ww2 was the result of The Treaty of Versailles. Germany had negotiated a plan with the USSR to split up Poland. True. The declaration of war against Germany was made by France and Great Britain. France launched an offensive into Germany shortly after Germany invaded Poland. The French withdrew shortly after USSR invaded Poland. The Western countries and governments declared that the invasion of Poland started WW2. In actually, France & Britain attacked Germany. They attacked German the German Navy & Merchant shipping They bombed German cities. All while the Germans were in Poland. The truth is that Germany invaded Poland. A battle The wsr was started by France & Britain. Nothing of which were declared by politicians

[@HyperSonicX]

@@bradacker8028 Are you deliberately ignoring the fact that prior to the German invasion of Poland Britain and France explicitly said they would go to war if Germany did it? France and Britain declaring war on Germany wasn't some out-of-the-blue surprise, Hitler knew very well they would. And he still chose to do it. Everything that came of it ultimately rests on that decision, which he made willingly, knowing that Britain and France would declare war. And even if you had a point, which I don't think you do, Daladier (PM of France at the time) was ALSO a WW1 veteran, he fought at Verdun.

[@bradacker8028]

@HyperSonicX true. The victors write the history books. I'm not sure how the French government during that time period declared war. I'll have to Google that. Thank you In my opinion, you have left out 2 important details. 1st the treaty of Versailles had crippled the German economy. The animosity the German people had for the French and British was intense. That is one of the political issues that got Hitler legally elected. Hitler was not in a political position to back down to the French and British after they both publicly threatened war. Back channel diplomacy might have worked. 2nd. The French attacking Greman territory and sizing towns caused Hitler to change his plans. He had no intentions of attacking France. His Generals were completely against the idea. The French occupation of German soil lit thst fuse. I understand your point of view. Once again, please take into account that the victors write the history books. The USSR took more casualties than almost all other countries combined in the European theater. The US/GB history books point out that those 2 won WW2. The Russian history books read ghat yhe USSR did. I other way of thinking about this. We are in our early 20s. Our 2 groups of friends have gought before snd do not like each other. Our groups run into eac other. . I tell you, in front of your buddies, that if you do something that I'll break your nose. You can't back down in front of your friends. So you do it. I break your nose. The police arrive. Who goes to jail? Our buddies are our countries population. You n I are the governments. I have no right to tell you you can't fo something. I'm just trying to control you. I'm in the wrong. Back up. The police do not show up. My group beats down your group. Now the police arrive. My group tells the story. Your group goes to jail. Just how this world, unfortunately works.

[@HyperSonicX]

@@bradacker8028 "The victors write the history books" as if nazi generals didn't poison the WW2 narrative for over half a century because NATO needed West Germany washed clean against the Soviets. 1) I dunno if you know this but being told 'if you invade that place I will declare war' is ABSOLUTELY a political position in which to back down. ESPECIALLY to people who sat through WW1, a war CAUSED by people ignoring such warnings. And ESPECIALLY when Hitler had already said he would not invade other places literally the year before. I'm no expert on the Versailles Treaty's economic effects but my understanding was that the reparations were mostly dealt with by the time Hitler had serious political clout in the early 30s. 2) The Saarland Offensive was a joke and the Germans knew it. They transferred no units until the campaign in Poland was over and the French EXPLICITLY TOLD THE TROOPS to stop short of the German lines, and to retreat as soon as Poland fell. It didn't change a damn thing and was in fact barely above what Hitler was expecting. It was his hope, though, that Britain and France would just...quit the war right there and then. But again, he'd broken repeated promises to not invade more countries, so the British and the French intended to not stand for it anymore. Your street fighting analogy doesn't work because

[@champagnegascogne9755]

A commonly overshadowed fact is that Richard Bong, the top flying ace of the USAAF, has passed away in a P-80 Shooting Star jet accident in the exact same day as the Hiroshima atomic bombing. Rest in Peace, Major Bong. Fly high.

[@andrzejwardach5283]

And the greatest series about the history of ww 2 is coming to the end. I regret that I started watching this awesome series in April 2023 and not since it started in 2018.

[@davidsigalow7349]

We need to start again with the Great War series...the idea of not having an Indy update every week is disheartening...

[@wwoods66]

@@davidsigalow7349 He is already doing the Korean War.

[@Raskolnikov70]

For those of use who have been around since the Great War series started in 2014..... yeah, it's been a heck of a ride. And we're still on it.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Indy will still appear weekly with the Korean War, and we have another series planned for this channel right after WW2 ends!

[@kierenfarrell4574]

Am i the only one who is enthralled with this guys voice and story telling abilities?

[@dougrattmann3554]

We're so close to the end. If my math is correct, the last main episode will release on September 7th, the day I fly to Germany.

[@WorldWarTwo]

September 2nd!

[@akshaysriraman3065]

Nah it will end on the day the war ended on september2

[@Icicle_Racing]

@@WorldWarTwoyou’re breaking my heart, you do know that? Real war ends, and I rejoice. World War Two channel ends, and I cry.

[@RogerFusselman]

​@Icicle_Racing wait, peace is disappointing? I think the entire Time Ghost operation wishes this whole war had been a week and a half, or a week and a half less than that. But yeah, I get the love behind whatcha said.

[@davidp.7620]

The last Japanese soldier didn't surrender until 1972 though

[@JarodFarrant]

I’ve been here since 1942, it’s been great Indy & friends thank you for everything.❤

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for watching, hope you follow us into Korea!

[@captainnutsack8151]

I had always believed that it was the Soviet invasion of Manchuria that actually compelled the Japanese to surrender. It seems though that they had made up their minds on surrendering before news of the invasion.

[@amk4956]

War has changed Obviously, avoiding using nukes is the objectively correct answer however it is difficult for me to see how this wasn’t ultimately the least worse outcome given that Truman was essentially traumatized by dropping these weapons, a clear distinction between their use and conventional weapons was made. Had Truman not use these weapons people would have questioned why we didn’t end the war sooner and these weapons would have been used in Korea, probably against the Chinese, which would have either lead us to the same outcome and should never be used or they would have been seen as just another weapon of war. Let us hope our leaders always fear the bomb

[@SuperCrazf]

You put it very well. I think as long as we continue to see the bomb as an objectively bad thing, we will never use it again

[@SuperCrazf]

Very well put. As long as nuclear weapons are seen as inherently bad, I think we can be mostly assured they won’t be used again

[@HillsgroveMike]

I once met a lady who ran the Flower Arranging Club who recalled the bombing in Hiroshima. Her house was destroyed so they moved in with family - in Nagasaki. Not great luck.

[@cecilstehelin1277]

Hirohito was such a coward. The fact that even after all the murder the armies wreaked in his name and all the suffering he forced his people to endure, only NOW does he use his authority. Even then he cannot accept any sacrifice, cannot abdicate to save the lives of his people. Spineless

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

Yet USA was reluctant to bomb his palace, fearing a stronger resolve to continue the war. Might his death have meant the crumbling of resistance, by way of loss of public morale?

[@notdancooper923]

I started this series when I was in high school. I have since been to university and am now working a full time job abd running a business on the side. How time flies...

[@valcha6156]

So... this is it huh

[@annbjorn]

What a historical treat you’ve made.

[@michaelmorley7719]

In a sense, this is the one time when strategic bombing "worked" the way the prewar theorists said it would: that the devastation caused by bombing would convince a country to surrender. In this case, however, all it needed to do was convince Emperor Hirohito to surrender. That was enough. My father's division was getting ready to redeploy from Germany to the far east for Operation Olympic when the bombs were dropped.

[@dylanreynolds4334]

Wow…I knew the channel existed, but I haven’t watched any of this content since The Great War Ended in 2018. I guess when I get around to this I’ll have the whole of WWII as a backlog to watch here in about 3 weeks🤷🏻‍♂️

[@juanpablosuarez4910]

17:45 what could possible go wrong with this, right? 😂😂

[@jonbaxter2254]

I've been anticipating this episode with quiet dread...

[@c1ph3rpunk]

Sato: hey, Soviets, help us out here? Molotov: yea, about that. Patton: I hate being right. Stalin: heard kbbq is good, go get takeout. Churchill:

[@EdMcF1]

Churchill was no longer British Prime Minister by then.

[@beefyoso]

It really annoys me when people say that japan was an victim and that the bombs were evil. they saved millions of lives.

[@frankbrembos1297]

Especially when you delve into the horrific atrocities they committed upon their conquered peoples. The bombs were a swift killing blow, quickly answered by massive humanitarian help across their nation.

[@walterwarren2402]

Timing is very important on the 9th /10th. The emperor's acceptance per this video 2 hrs after meeting at midnight. AtThis time Hirohito may not have known about the soviet declaration of war or its troop movement in Manchuria. This means the soviet invasion was not the cause for surrender. I have heard that many times before

[@wwoods66]

The Soviet attack began the night before. The military leaders, and the Emperor, knew about it, though not in any detail.

[@markwheeler202]

About 4 hours after the Nagasaki bomb was dropped, my dad's destroyer, USS Benner DD-807, along with USS Weeks, USS Hank, and USS Borie were screening for Task Force 38 off the northern coast of Honshu when their squadron was attacked by several kamikazes. One made it through, striking Borie and killing 34 sailors and wounding 66, about 1/3rd of her crew. Just like at the end of the Great War, men were still dying right up to the last minutes (days) of WW II.

[@mojobag01]

Six years of magnificent ties. Thank you Sir.

[@stephenandersen4625]

The Japanese picked the wrong fight. So did the Germans and Italians. They never stood a chance What a waste.

[@evklinken]

My first live episode! I've caught up after binging 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1945 up to this point within the space of 10 months... What do I do know

[@BossDropbear]

Korean War series! Just started a few weeks ago.

[@rwdyeriii]

Follow the Korean War Series and rewatch the WW1 Great War series.

[@WorldWarTwo]

You could watch our other series on the Korean War! Thanks for joining the premiere.