Why Japan Surrendered by Potential History - Reaction

[@KILLEROFGOD]

We just started making new Purple Hearts in like the last couple of years.

[@tenofprime]

and that is just to keep the reserve up, it really does put the scope of the projected casualty toll in perspective that it has taken Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf war and all the fronts of the war on terrorism to put a dent in the stockpile.

[@m2hmghb]

I remember reading in the archives years ago about hte invasion. An estimated 2 million casualties of which 500,000 were dead. I stumbled upon a letter from a general talking about how they had reduced the numbers because they were afraid congress wouldn't allow the invasion due to their casualty estimates.

[@Shaun_Jones]

And that’s not even counting the Japanese casualties. Ten million dead Japanese is the most common estimate I’ve seen; in all ways except legal, it would have been a near genocide of the Japanese people.

[@onenote6619]

It surprises me that the unsubtly named Operation Starvation never gets mentioned - the saturation of Japanese home waters with air-dropped mines. That, in combination with US submarines (now that the Type 14 torpedo was actually working) cut supply tonnage to Japan by about 85% in the last 6 months of the war. Which was entirely un-sustainable.

[@John2r1]

The estimated casualities for the Japanese had Operation Downfall went forward are generally in the millions. Military advisors to President Harry Truman estimated that an invasion of Japan would cost between 250,000 and one million Allied casualties, plus an equal number for the Japanese. Others have put the estimation for the Japanese as high as 35 million. So yeah ironically the nuclear option was the lesser of the two options.

[@J4XJ3T]

Watch potential history tank video

[@ThatOneGuy-mn6dv]

Another thing that people tend to leave out and I think it's something worthy of bringing up is long term effect geopolitically speaking as a whole with Japan losing key islands regions that are currently haunting both Japan but also everyone else. Before the end of ww2 regardless of what one thinks of this for what I'm going to say areas like we know as Taiwan all the way up to Penghu islands, Kuril Islands, and Sakhalin shouldn't had be removed from the borders of Japan. They were largely looking at this from imperial and past anger point of view of the time not from a well argued historical and ideally workable stance in Asia. This would've been largely objectively better for everyone both at the time and the long run if they had them fully under Japan's watch and legally seen as apart of their borders. There's just no honest and sane reason for this break up and annexation. There's basically nothing both at the time and still is now for Russia to hold these islands they gotten for the part and can't really power project from these areas let alone add much protect to their Asian flank. Taiwan handed over to the ROC is now a forever war with the PRC but also bump for either US, Chinese and Japanese interest in trade and regional peace. I don't see a logical statement to give any justifying for this outcome and everything we are seeing now is just promising people to piss every everyone off to the point of likely starting a another conflict if something goes wrong.

[@anthraxcrab2222]

Trench crusade?

[@first-dooblette6911]

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[@crisr.8280]

Operation Downfall, would have been so much worse for the whole world. The sad fact of 170 - 250 thousand lives were introduced to the power of the sun versus a death toll almost 10 times that in conservative estimates. Japan lost a lot, paid for a lot, and somewhat regained an image of a good neighbor to the countries they once ravaged, after paying for so much more on top.

[@InquisitorXarius]

The reason Japan surrendered is because the Emperor who was also responsible for all Japanese atrocities ordered their surrender. The reason the Emperor surrendered was because of the immediate present danger to him that was the atomics and the fact he knew that he had a chance of retaining power if not certainly surviving under a American occupation. The Emperor’s speech to the military was a deceitful speech meant to pacify them but intentionally did not cite the ultimate reason of surrender.

[@bthsr7113]

In fairness on Japan's recovery, we put a lot of effort into helping them recover. Ditto for West Germany bouncing back.

[@loganb7059]

Also with the potential invasion of the home islands, it would be like Saipan x1000 with the civilians. Remember, mothers flung themselves off cliffs with their children because they were so brainwashed that the Americans were monsters. That was just on some small colony island. Now imagine what it would be like in major Japanese cities. The horror would be unfathomable.

[@siamihari8717]

hey, he said 'sia'

[@bthsr7113]

From everything I've seen, Japan was an absolute hot mess in in the leadup to WWII, heck, arguably since post Perry. Sure, in some ways, the blazing fast industrialization and modernization is commendable, but in others, OH SWEET JESUS-KUN, THAT's A LOT OF YIKES! Notably a stretch of time that Extra History called "government by" @$2as$ination.