Nukes: Guy in video says there was never going to be an American invasion of Japan

[swing_voter]

So the major premise of this guy's video is that America was never going to invade Japan. The video is over two hours long but he put some work into it. I don't think he's a historian, but he's just read a few books.

He's anti-American, but not completely pro Imperial Japan.

I think America was going to invade Japan. A date had already been tentatively set, November 1. The invasion had a name, "Operation Downfall" and men and materials were being moved into place.

Anytime you set something in motion in a war as big as WWII, there's a very good chance of it happening.

What do you think?

 

[Cordelier]

Purple Hearts.



In 1945, we manufactured 500,000 of them in anticipation of the invasion of Japan. Because the invasion never happened, we had a massive inventory of them in stock at the end of World War II. So many that we've never had to manufacture a single once since. Every Purple Heart awarded in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq and every other conflict between than and now was manufactured with the intent of being awarded to a casualty of the invasion of Japan. And we've still got plenty more in stock.

 

[Jredbaron96]

Absent the atomic bombs there was a likely chance Operation Olympic, the landing of the invasion force in Japan, would not go through.

The Navy had begun balking at the idea in the summer of 1945 as their radio intercepts and aerial reconnaissance revealed the extent of the Japanese buildup around Kyushu they predicted a bloodbath. The USN was especially concerned about Kamikazes after Okinawa, and with an estimated 10,000 aircraft prepared for it. Japan of course did not have enough fuel left over for sustained operations; but they had enough to put almost all of those aircraft on a one way trip and the Navy was not eager to undertake the operation.

I think there's a solid chance that the Navy and Air Force win out and convince Washington to stick to the "starvation blockade", which would have doomed Japan as it was already on the brink of starvation in August 1945.

 

[swing_voter]

Absent the atomic bombs there was a likely chance Operation Olympic, the landing of the invasion force in Japan, would not go through.

The Navy had begun balking at the idea in the summer of 1945 as their radio intercepts and aerial reconnaissance revealed the extent of the Japanese buildup around Kyushu they predicted a bloodbath. The USN was especially concerned about Kamikazes after Okinawa, and with an estimated 10,000 aircraft prepared for it. Japan of course did not have enough fuel left over for sustained operations; but they had enough to put almost all of those aircraft on a one way trip and the Navy was not eager to undertake the operation.

I think there's a solid chance that the Navy and Air Force win out and convince Washington to stick to the "starvation blockade", which would have doomed Japan as it was already on the brink of starvation in August 1945.

The navy said "let's blockade them"

The army air corp said "let's bomb them back to the stone age"

The army said, let's invade.

The marines said let's invade.

Each wanted to show their relevance.

 

[vegas giants]

So the major premise of this guy's video is that America was never going to invade Japan. The video is over two hours long but he put some work into it. I don't think he's a historian, but he's just read a few books.

He's anti-American, but not completely pro Imperial Japan.

I think America was going to invade Japan. A date had already been tentatively set, November 1. The invasion had a name, "Operation Downfall" and men and materials were being moved into place.

Anytime you set something in motion in a war as big as WWII, there's a very good chance of it happening.

What do you think?

He is right according to the military generals of the time

 

[Jredbaron96]

The navy said "let's blockade them"

The army air corp said "let's bomb them back to the stone age"

The army said, let's invade.

The marines said let's invade.

Each wanted to show their relevance.

Okay? Ultimately the Navy had to agree to go along with it; they provided all the ships and transportation.

 

[vegas giants]

The 1946 United States Strategic Bombing Survey in Japan, whose members included Paul Nitze,[citation needed] concluded the atomic bombs had been unnecessary to win the war. They said:

There is little point in attempting precisely to impute Japan's unconditional surrender to any one of the numerous causes which jointly and cumulatively were responsible for Japan's disaster. The time lapse between military impotence and political acceptance of the inevitable might have been shorter had the political structure of Japan permitted a more rapid and decisive determination of national policies. Nevertheless, it seems clear that, even without the atomic bombing attacks, air supremacy over Japan could have exerted sufficient pressure to bring about unconditional surrender and obviate the need for invasion.

Based on a detailed investigation of all the facts, and supported by the testimony of the surviving Japanese leaders involved, it is the Survey's opinion that certainly prior to 31 December 1945, and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated.[88][89]

 

[swing_voter]

Okay? Ultimately the Navy had to agree to go along with it; they provided all the ships and transportation.

That's not how it works. lol

The navy was told what to do by the war department and they would do it.

 

[Jredbaron96]

That's not how it works. lol

The navy was told what to do by the war department and they would do it.

I don't know if nobody has told you yet, but the Navy has representatives at the War Department. In fact it's even *gasp*, a part of it.

 

[Cordelier]

I'm pretty sure that Operation Olympic (the invasion of Kyushu), tentatively scheduled for November '45, would have gone ahead regardless. Whether they followed up on that with Operation Coronet (targeting Tokyo) in March of '46 or just embarked on total maritime interdiction strategy would have probably been determined on how Olympic went. Either alternative, however, depended on having a solid logistical infrastructure established on Kyushu. If you read the minutes of the June 18, 1945 White House meeting, there's a pretty clear consensus among the principals that taking the southern portion Kyushu was the logical and necessary next step.