July 1945

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

 

[Trailrider #896]

And the 509th did win the war!

[Sixgun Sheridan]

I'm so glad we never had to invade the Japanese mainland. We'd have been fighting that one until 1956. And there would still be enemy holdouts to this very day.

[Doc X]

37 minutes ago, Sixgun Sheridan said:

I'm so glad we never had to invade the Japanese mainland. We'd have been fighting that one until 1956. And there would still be enemy holdouts to this very day.

So am I for a very personal reason! My Dad's ship already had it's orders for the second invasion of the Japanese mainland. They contained no provisions for any of the LCI(g)'s to rearm for a second run after expending their rockets, 40mm and 20mm ammunition on the beach. None were expected to survive the initial wave.

[Waxahachie Kid #17017 L]

Dad was on Leyte, and later Okinawa, with the 96th Army (Amphibious) Infantry Division. After the fight on Okinawa, they took Dad's division to another island to refit, re-arm, and make ready for the invasion of Japan proper. Dad told me, that the brass told them, that they expected a million casualties in the invasion. He said none of them believed that Japan's military would surrender, based on what he had witnessed on Leyte, and Okinawa. He told me most of them were pretty much resigned to the eventuality of not making it home, from this upcoming invasion event. Infantrymen are pretty superstitious (the Okinawa landings were on April 1st...April Fool's Day...which was also Easter Sunday, and they received very little opposition during the beach landings. Lots of mixed signals that day), and most figured that with two invasions already under their belt, that this one would be a bad one for them. They speculated that the war would not be over until 1946, or even later. They were told that Army divisions, from Europe, were going to be re-assigned to the Pacific Theater, for the invasion. 

Later, they were informed that the United States had a secret weapon. They were not told any more than that, obviously, for like as not, no one but the select few knew about the atomic bomb.  

I was blessed. I got to hear it from someone who was there, first hand. Not hearsay, or reading it in a book, or hearing it on the media. It was the perspective of a combat infantryman, who was there. 

 

 

 

    

[Sixgun Sheridan]

Let's also not forget the Russians were preparing to invade Japan as well from the north. Considering their fighting style they'd have killed every man, woman and child on their way to Tokyo, finally drawing a line from there up north declaring the People's Democratic Republic of Japan (PDRJ).

[DeaconKC]

Casualties were expected to be one million American and 4-5 million Japanese. Sobering.

[Widder, SASS #59054]

Don't forget General Curtis LeMay's 'fire bombing' of Japan.   He was burning the

country down before they dropped the 1st A-bomb.

 

History records over 100,000 deaths around Tokyo alone.   The firebombing was so intense

and devastating, that even some airmen on the bombers said they 'hated what they were doing'

but knew it had to be done to help end the war quicker.

 

..........Widder

 

[Trailrider #896]

Japan had stockpiles of chemical and biological warfare supplies.  In addition, Japan had its own nuclear weapons program, which it moved to the Chosen Reservoir in Korea (hydroelectric power availability).  The professor from U. of Tokyo, who was in charge of their program, knew exactly what the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was!  How long it might have taken Japan to develop a nuke is unclear (NO pun intended).  They might have been able to come up with either a full-yield weapon in six months or so, or possibly a radiological device (dirty bomb)!  Little Boy and Fat Man were a more efficient way of destroying Japan than the multi-plane raids like the one on Tokyo.  High altitude "precision" bombing wasn't doing the job, so "Ol' Iron A$$" sent the B-29's in at 5,000 - 8,000 ft. with only their tail guns!  Aircrews thought it was a suicide mission, but losses were relatively much lighter.

If Japan had not surrendered after Nagasaki, it would have been several weeks before another "Fat Man" could have been produced and transported to North Base on Tinian.  Thankfully, it wasn't necessary! 

[watab kid]

thats true - and the indianapolis was lost at that point , delivery might have needed some rethinking , i wonder if the main target had been open that first bomb run if it would have taken the second ? just something ive pondered over the last decades