We didn’t need to drop the bomb — and even our WW II military icons knew it

[Omaha Steve]

39. Operation Downfall

Have you looked at US casualty lists just from taking islands in the Pacific from the Japanese?

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/the-pacific-war-1941-to-1945/operation-downfall/

Citation: C N Trueman "Operation Downfall"
historylearningsite.co.uk. The History Learning Site, 19 May 2015. 3 Mar 2016.

Snip: American military commanders were given the task of planning for the invasion – Douglas MacArthur,Chester Nimitz, Ernest King, William Leahy, Hap Arnold and George Marshall. Inter-service rivalry did occur as both army and navy wanted one of ‘their men’ to be supreme commander of planning. Eventually the navy accepted that MacArthur was to have total control if the invasion was to take place. The planning proceeded without taking the atomic bomb into consideration as so few knew about its existence.

The Americans faced one very serious problem. They knew for sure that the Japanese would defend their territory with zeal and that American casualties would be high – probably too high for the American public to accept. The fanaticism that had been shown by the kamikazes, would almost certainly be encountered in Japan and the Americans had to plan for this.

There was plenty of evidence to indicate that any invasion of the Japanese mainland would be very bloody for all concerned. The complexity of such an attack also led to both sides of the US military developing different ideas as to what the best plan should be. The navy believed that a blockade supported by an air campaign would suffice. They wanted to use air bases in China and Korea to launch bombing raids against key cities in Japan. The army believed that such a campaign would take too long and that the morale of the American public might suffer as a result. They supported the use of an invasion that would go to the heart of Japan – Tokyo. The army got its way.

It quickly became apparent that any invasion of Japan would present huge difficulties. There were very few beaches that could be used as a landing place and the Japanese knew this. Both sides knew that only the beaches in Kyushu and the beaches at Kanto, near Tokyo, could support a huge amphibious landing. The Japanese took the appropriate measures in both areas.

FULL story at link.