Would the Invasion of Japan Worked?

F

FutureDevilDog

Active member
If the atomic bomb would have not been used and the Invasion of the mainland Japan would have been carried out, do you think it would have been effective?
 
Depends on how you define effective.
It may have been sucssesful, but it would have prolonged the war for a considerable amount of time. We're talking years here.
But you must also consider, the Japanese could not sustain an invasion on its main islands, because the USSR was already invading Manchuria when the bombs were dropped, and the Japanese needed suuplies and troops there to fight the Soviets.

So, if there had been an Invasion, it would probably have been one of the bloodiest campaigns in history with heavy casualties on both sides. It would have come down too, who has the most resources and troops to fight. The Japanese needed oil to maintain their army, and with the worlds largest aramda around them, they wouldn't haven't gotten a drop of oil. Then we consider constant carpet bombings by the USAAF, and the other forces that would have moved in to surround japan. Then we look at all the supplies being sent to Korea and Manchuria, being sunk, and all the reinforcements with them.

With this going on for some time, a few months perhaps, the Invasion would have been effective in destroying Japan, and by the way the Japanese prepared for invasion, it would also have been effective in lowering their population. Japan was ready to fight literally to every last man and women and child.

However, the invasion would also have been effective in destroying it's invaders. Constant supplies and reinforcemenst being dragged in, high casualties every day. It would drain allot of countries of the bulk of their workforce and supplies.

With this to be considered, was the A-Bomb the more accecptable alternative.
 
yes, the A-bomb was the better alternative. i have no doubt that we would have won in the end, but it would have cost us hundreds of thousands of casualties, and just about all of the Japanese would be killed. it would be a hugely wasteful campaign, and i dont know if the American people would have gone along with it for a while, but we wouldnt pull out of Japan just because of that, we would go all the way, we would win the war, but everybody would lose
 
I agree. the a-bomb was the better alternative. Not only for American but Japanese lives as well. The estimates for American forces, as said above, was roughly 1 million. However, some estimates count Japanese losses at around 2.5-3 million (combatants and civies). The a-bomb killed less than 500,000 people i believe.
 
It was not only America that was going to invade Japan, but besides that, Japan was was going to throw every man woman and child into defending their country. The results of could have led to the death of many millions lives on both sides. Also I knew a couple of chaps that were POW in Japan and where just out side Nagasaki when the bomb was dropped and they were being marched to an extermination camp when they saw bomb go off that saved their lives
 
LeEnfield said:
It was not only America that was going to invade Japan, but besides that, Japan was was going to throw every man woman and child into defending their country. The results of could have led to the death of many millions lives on both sides. Also I knew a couple of chaps that were POW in Japan and where just out side Nagasaki when the bomb was dropped and they were being marched to an extermination camp when they saw bomb go off that saved their lives
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Wow. Thats amazing. They are very lucky.

So am I to guess that the A-Bomb was the better choice?
 
I'm not sure it would works. Beacause Japaneses promise that they would fight to die without give up or captured. I think Russians would invade north Japan and Allies would invade south Japan. But I heard they parpered to invade Tokyo bay without make of Atomic bomb.
 
Fox said:
I'm not sure it would works. Beacause Japaneses promise that they would fight to die without give up or captured. I think Russians would invade north Japan and Allies would invade south Japan. But I heard they parpered to invade Tokyo bay without make of Atomic bomb.
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Is that true?
 
I think so. They want to invaded Tokyo bay. They want to search Gen. Tojo or other generals.
 
It would have been very hard to win the war without the atomic bomb. As LeEnfield said they would throw every single person out there to fight, it would be hard. Even though most of the civilians don't even know how to fight, we could be out numbered. But I still think in the end, the Allies still would have won. They had too much power after Germany surrendered.
 
I just finished SAMURAI! by Saburo Sakai. Sakai is one of the very few Japananse aces (63 Kills) to have survived the war. In the last months of the war, he is stationed as a test pilot in Japan. One of the things he mentions is that by summer 1945 the Japanese on the homeland were so badly demoralized due to military setbacks, food shortages, the destruction of their cities that he strongly doubted that there could have been any real resistence. Most of the people left were civilians not soldiers, the army at that point was at near total collapse...

Now of course the was no way the War Department would have known this even if it were true...
 
one of the largest reasons why truman droped the bomb on japan was to save American and Japanese lives. Japan had an army of 1 million strong and truman knew they would fight till the last man
 
I'm of Japanese decent, and I think dropping the bombs was 110% the right thing to do. As previously stated I believe an invasion of the mainland would have worked but at much to high a cost to both sides. Even though the majority of the civilian population wasn't trained to fight, you can bet that almost all of them would have. One can only imagine the level of insurgency. But above all else (as selfish as it might be) those bombs saved at least a million American lives. We lost way to many good men in that Damn war as it is (and may they all R.I.P. true HEROS each and every one).
 
I think the atomic bomb was necessary to halt the Japanese and to make them think otherwise. In fact, the Japanese were already demoralized and are close to nothing. Land forces having dramatic shortages and are getting sicker. Fly boys are mere recruits compared to the pilots who joined before and at the begining of the war. Saburo Sakai is an interesting figure. Imagine if all the pilots were like him. Anyways, there were many factors that disheartened the Japanese, and the Japan at the begining of the war, was not like the Japan at the last years of it. With the atomic bomb.......the Japanese empire was no more. As a matter of fact, some of the Japanese generals wanted to continue the war, but the emperor (Emperor "Showa" Hirohito) refused, and desided to surrender. Some of the other generals committed suicide.
Also, one guy named Kenji Hatanaka planned to stop the emperors surrender speech and to make the Japanese to fight on...his mission was mostly successfull , but failed..

8)
 
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