tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532871.post8964139256176110372..comments2024-03-13T13:29:33.800-05:00Comments on SocraticGadfly: Did the Russkies cause Hirohito to surrender Japan?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532871.post-90419102935001843792014-11-16T17:32:38.558-06:002014-11-16T17:32:38.558-06:00Uhh, that's NOT the original worry about Commu...Uhh, that's NOT the original worry about Communism you expressed at HNN. That said, I see it as just as much a red herring as a fear that an extended blockade would lead to a resurgence of domestic Communism.<br /><br />Keeping the Army intact? Units abroad, in China, Philippines, etc., were going to be surrendered and interned in place whenever the war ended. A non-sequitur.<br /><br />We didn't have a third bomb ready until after Japan surrendered. There <b>was no third bomb to drop.</b> <br /><br />http://www.warbirdforum.com/third.html<br /><br />The overall progress of Japanese attempts to negotiate with the USSR are different than you portray, driven in part by the same wishful thinking that had to be overcome in the War Cabinet.<br /><br />Say what you want otherwise over at HNN; not worth my time responding further over there. I will, here, though.<br /><br />The rest of your paragraph about that is a mix of non sequitur and implication that the US is uniquely bloodthirsty, or was at this point.Gadflyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13075757287807731373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532871.post-33223844562203174292014-11-16T16:12:05.377-06:002014-11-16T16:12:05.377-06:00I believe the assumption that the Japanese governm...I believe the assumption that the Japanese government wasn't worried about Communism if the Soviets had troops in Japan is imprudent, to put it as politely as possible. "Red herring" or red baiting? For that matter, I suspect that the State Shinto fanatics would have harbored suspicions that constitutional monarchy was a Communist plot. I assure you, that keeping the army as intact as possible to make sure nothing essential changed was a factor in Tokyo in 1945, just as in Berlin in 1918.<br /><br />Japanese efforts in June for a conditional peace long preceded the atomic bombings, and appear to have been prompted by the Soviet notice they were disavowing the neutrality pact. Your phrase "If even the 'most cruel bomb' would lead only to a request for a conditional surrender..." has nothing to do with history. Efforts to make a conditional surrender were made, Stimson offered implicit conditions, surrender was made. <br /><br />You're the way who has to explain why, since the US government supposedly thought that dropping the bombs was necessary for unconditional surrender, they didn't drop the third bomb when it came on line, and the fourth in September? Instead, why did they make implicit conditions they could have made before Hiroshima? <br /><br />"I have given serious thought to the situation prevailing at home and abroad and have concluded that continuing the war can only mean destruction for the nation and prolongation of bloodshed and cruelty in the world. I cannot bear to see my innocent people suffer any longer. ...<br /><br />I was told by those advocating a continuation of hostilities that by June new divisions would be in place in fortified positions [at Kujūkuri Beach, east of Tokyo] ready for the invader when he sought to land. It is now August and the fortifications still have not been completed. ...<br /><br />There are those who say the key to national survival lies in a decisive battle in the homeland. The experiences of the past, however, show that there has always been a discrepancy between plans and performance. I do not believe that the discrepancy in the case of Kujūkuri can be rectified. Since this is also the shape of things, how can we repel the invaders? [He then made some specific reference to the increased destructiveness of the atomic bomb]<br /><br />It goes without saying that it is unbearable for me to see the brave and loyal fighting men of Japan disarmed. It is equally unbearable that others who have rendered me devoted service should now be punished as instigators of the war. Nevertheless, the time has come to bear the unbearable. ...<br /><br />I swallow my tears and give my sanction to the proposal to accept the Allied proclamation on the basis outlined by the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrender_of_JapanForeign Minister.[92]" <br /><br />S Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610068751705809284noreply@blogger.com