Was it the A-bombs or the Soviet invasion of the Kurile that ended the war? Islandss? Stalingrad works for me. AS a side show , it should be recognized that a few months before the A-bomb was deliverd on Japan a B-29 firebomb raid burned a huge X in the city of Tokyo. This raid did more damage than both A-ombs and was much cheaper to conduct. The two Japanese targets were selected because they hadn't been bombed as yet. Therefore damage assessment would be more accurate. The co-pilot of the first A-bomb attack is written in the history books as saying "Oh my god look what we've done" when seeing the blast. The tail gunner recorded the intercome and has the co-pilot dsaying, "Jesus christ, look at at son-of a- bitch go". There is a minority view on the actual effect of the A-bombs as a parameter Japans in decision to surrender. Approximately three weeks before the A-bomb attacks the Soviet Union invaded one of the Japanese northern islands with little resistance offered. Japan did not want an occupying force made of Soviet military forces. Therefore, a major parameter leading to the decision to surrender was the Japanese desire to avoid Soviet occupation. One must remember that the Japanese army was basically intact at the end of 1945. The losses of a few Islands in the Pacific had a trivial effect on the Japanes to defend against an invading force. They were going to make the Allies pay dearly for the invasion (US estimates were in the order of 500,000 casualties expected), even though the Japanese leadership all agreed that the they had effectivley lost the war.The leaders were merely holding out for a better deal. There was no substantial military losses from the A-bomb attacks as both cities were militarily insignificant. :shrug:
