Sunday, August 9, 2020

NAGASAKI 75 Years Later

2 comments:

  1. My father-in-law was second lieutenant, on his way to Japan when that August day. My wife more than likely would not be here. My father, a submariner would of ended his career as a ground pounder since most Japanese ships were sunk. Millions of US service men were saved. 45,000 casualties on Okinawa alone, what would main land Japan look like? But real benefactor was that millions of Japanese were saved too.

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  2. Every Purple Heart in use today was manufactured in anticipation of the casualties expected during the invasion of Japan. On Okinawa the US faced 2 Japanese divisions and the campaign was far longer and bloodier than anticipated despite the overwhelming odds and total air and naval supremacy. The US intelligemce performed with its usual brilliance in the Proposed invasion of Japan. The Japanese, according to MacArthur would field 35 divisions and a militia composed of badly armed civilians. The fleet was no longer a factor and the air assets were estimated to be 500-800 aircraft.

    The Japanese ha over 60 division sized equivalents ready and in place, backed by a large coastal force and over 10,000 aircraft. Just as the Japanese had learned and adapted to American tactics and superiority in firepower at Okinawa and Iwo Jima, the Japanese had adjusted their kamikaze tactics.

    While the US Navy suffer over thirty vessels sunk and over 180 damaged, plus half of all the USN casualities the Japanese realized they had focused on the wrong ships at Okinawa. In the foredooming invasion the Japanese air assets would focus on the transports. The results, even if at the same ratio of success at Okinawa would have been straggering. Worse in the postwar surveys MacArthur conducted said the proposed invasion sites were incredibly fortified and would have been a nighmare since the best Japanese forces were also concentrated near thee sites.

    If Iwo and Okinawa were examples of how tough the Japanese troops were, imagine what they would have been like on their home soil?

    The results would have been a bloodbath in which millions would have been killed, maimed and lost. The bombs saved millions.

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