rigsby
Life President⭐
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2014
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I will avoid politics but here is a history lesson based on facts.
The last Island to be taken before mainland Japan was Okinawa. The battle had lasted nearly 3 months and had only just finished 6 weeks before Hiroshima.
That cost 20,000 US lives and 60,000 wounded, many dying at later date or over the next 10 years. Japanese soldiers killed 90,000+..... Civilians killed 150,000, from a population of 300,000, thats 50%. Dozens of ships were sunk and over 300 damaged.
The British also suffered losses at sea because our Pacific fleet were also part of the action, screening the US ships from Kamikaze attacks......Figures can be disputed but the Okinawa memorial has over 240,000 names on it.
The thing that alarmed the generals and the politicians at the time was the behaviour of the Japanese. Not just how the military were prepared to die. The fact they would forcefully conscript the locals, starve the rest and execute others for having hidden a cup of rice for their children. Some would be used as human shields, they would make the women do suicide attacks with spears and expect those they didn't to kill themselves and their children rather than be taken prisoner.......Which of course they never were going to be.
When the Japanese navy realised they had lost the battle of Manilla just months earlier, they went on a rampage of murder and rape, with some estimates of well over 200,000 victims.....We have all heard about Hiroshima and Nagasaki but how many of you knew that the Japanese murdered more people in Manilla than died in both Bombs?
Another great myth that has grown over the years was that Japan was about to surrender....Absolute nonsense. The military even tried to murder Emperor Hirohito after the second bomb because he was going to surrender.
For the defence of the mainland they had 22 million people lined up to fight to the death. Despite shortages they had managed 1000's of planes and crude flying missiles.....They would have only had to fly a few miles to be effective. Like wise they had done the same for mini subs and manned torpedo's hidden in the mango swamps.
A conventional attack would have meant the US, now joined by the British and the rest of the allies landing on mainland Japan......Every inch of ground and every Japanese soldier and civilian would have been burned from the face of the earth. The Allies had learnt the hard way not to take prisoners or not to get shot in the back by someone hiding in a bush or spider hole.
Every house in every city would have been bombed, napalmed, fire tanked or flame thrower.......No basement or cupboard hiding women and children would have been spared.....Think about that for a second. The powers that be could simply not let that happen.....Nor did we have the stomach for it after 6 years of war. It is highly likely we would have used gas if there was no A bomb.
Thats why they adjusted the figures to 500,000 casualties for the allies and thats why the only option and the best was the bomb. Ultimately it saved millions of lives and rightly or wrongly it scared the big boys into not using their toys in the last 75 years......Fingers crossed.
Even after Hiroshima they would not surrender and in fact believed the US had no more bombs.....If they had not bombed Nagasaki that would have proved the point and would have made them fight on.
By claiming its a war crime you belittle the event. Its easier to blame a small group of people than to deal with how and why you got to the situation......By telling the truth you have more chance of preventing the next war.
Right now its popular to rewrite history, blame others and look for revenge......Its a very dangerous thing to do.
VJ day is not to celebrate war it a timely reminder that history always repeats he itself.....If your to ignorant and blinkered to find out the truth.
In the meantime, lets not forget the likes of Charlie Bracey, Arthur Marchant or Tom at Lentern Aircraft and all those poor souls he never came back. As the forgotten army, they carried their pain with great dignity. Sadly they never did get their compensation they deserved........God bless them all.
The last Island to be taken before mainland Japan was Okinawa. The battle had lasted nearly 3 months and had only just finished 6 weeks before Hiroshima.
That cost 20,000 US lives and 60,000 wounded, many dying at later date or over the next 10 years. Japanese soldiers killed 90,000+..... Civilians killed 150,000, from a population of 300,000, thats 50%. Dozens of ships were sunk and over 300 damaged.
The British also suffered losses at sea because our Pacific fleet were also part of the action, screening the US ships from Kamikaze attacks......Figures can be disputed but the Okinawa memorial has over 240,000 names on it.
The thing that alarmed the generals and the politicians at the time was the behaviour of the Japanese. Not just how the military were prepared to die. The fact they would forcefully conscript the locals, starve the rest and execute others for having hidden a cup of rice for their children. Some would be used as human shields, they would make the women do suicide attacks with spears and expect those they didn't to kill themselves and their children rather than be taken prisoner.......Which of course they never were going to be.
When the Japanese navy realised they had lost the battle of Manilla just months earlier, they went on a rampage of murder and rape, with some estimates of well over 200,000 victims.....We have all heard about Hiroshima and Nagasaki but how many of you knew that the Japanese murdered more people in Manilla than died in both Bombs?
Another great myth that has grown over the years was that Japan was about to surrender....Absolute nonsense. The military even tried to murder Emperor Hirohito after the second bomb because he was going to surrender.
For the defence of the mainland they had 22 million people lined up to fight to the death. Despite shortages they had managed 1000's of planes and crude flying missiles.....They would have only had to fly a few miles to be effective. Like wise they had done the same for mini subs and manned torpedo's hidden in the mango swamps.
A conventional attack would have meant the US, now joined by the British and the rest of the allies landing on mainland Japan......Every inch of ground and every Japanese soldier and civilian would have been burned from the face of the earth. The Allies had learnt the hard way not to take prisoners or not to get shot in the back by someone hiding in a bush or spider hole.
Every house in every city would have been bombed, napalmed, fire tanked or flame thrower.......No basement or cupboard hiding women and children would have been spared.....Think about that for a second. The powers that be could simply not let that happen.....Nor did we have the stomach for it after 6 years of war. It is highly likely we would have used gas if there was no A bomb.
Thats why they adjusted the figures to 500,000 casualties for the allies and thats why the only option and the best was the bomb. Ultimately it saved millions of lives and rightly or wrongly it scared the big boys into not using their toys in the last 75 years......Fingers crossed.
Even after Hiroshima they would not surrender and in fact believed the US had no more bombs.....If they had not bombed Nagasaki that would have proved the point and would have made them fight on.
By claiming its a war crime you belittle the event. Its easier to blame a small group of people than to deal with how and why you got to the situation......By telling the truth you have more chance of preventing the next war.
Right now its popular to rewrite history, blame others and look for revenge......Its a very dangerous thing to do.
VJ day is not to celebrate war it a timely reminder that history always repeats he itself.....If your to ignorant and blinkered to find out the truth.
In the meantime, lets not forget the likes of Charlie Bracey, Arthur Marchant or Tom at Lentern Aircraft and all those poor souls he never came back. As the forgotten army, they carried their pain with great dignity. Sadly they never did get their compensation they deserved........God bless them all.
