question to ponder, why not have done a large amphibious assault on japan during WW2 instead of using........?

Question

nuclear weapons?

Answer 1

few casualties on both sides, cost less and it showed U.S domence

Answer 2

Unlike someone said, Japan had not stated an intent to surrender...point in fact, again as someone else said, they were preparing for the US invasion of the island. Everyone was expected to fight. Also, remember that they didn't know about the devastating long term effects of using those weapons like they do now.

Answer 3

There would have been an horrendous toll in Allied lives, as well as among the general population. Japan was prepared to fight to the death, until the last living Japanese islander was dead. This included civilians and military.
The nuclear bomb was a dreadful response to an unsolveable situation, but it worked and saved countless lives, both Japanese and Alied.

Answer 4

Because the US military estimated that an invasion of Japan would have resulted in 500,000 US servicemembers dead and 5 million Japanese dead.

According to the book 'Downfall' - these estimates were optimistic.
The authors estimated US dead at 700,000+ and Japanese dead at 15 million.

Answer 5

Read this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Downfall

Bottom line. The Bomb meant the war ended a year sooner with about 1,000,000 fewer dead Americans and God only knows how many fewer dead Japanese and Chinese and Koreans and Russians.

(The Japanese still had a large Army in Manchuria and Korea when they surrendered.)

Answer 6

More deaths on both sides. Read your history. The use of Nuclear weapons to end the war saved the lives of both Japanees and Americans. Had we not used them the war would have continued for years and the death toll would have been much greater.

Answer 7

Tis amazing that up to "can I have a snack" all answers are correct with the exception of Nemesis. Why is it that 2 brilliant historians gave the wrong answer a thumbs up and all the correct ones thumbs down????

Someone needs to read a real history book!

Answer 8

neither was really necessary because Japan had already stated that it wanted to surrender. The problem for the US was that Japan wanted to use Russia as an intermediary and this was not satisfactory to the US for political reasons.

So nuclear weapons were used on civilians for political reasons, not to save thousands of American lives.

Answer 9

Because a large assault on Japan would have resulted in tenths of thousands of American casualties.
Even more Japanese would have died than were killed by the bombs.

Answer 10

Fewer American casualties, for one obvious thing. The Japanese were committed to defending the home islands to the last man. Taking Okinawa was a nightmare - and most Japanese didn't even think of it as a home island.

Answer 11

If the bomb hadn't worked that was the plan. But can you imagine how many Americans would have lost their lives in that venture? I'm glad they did what they did, my dad was off the coast of Japan waiting, he was one of the "floating reserves" for the invasion.