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Kasz216 on 31 May 2012
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rocketpig said:
Kasz216 said:
rocketpig said:
Mr Khan said:
rocketpig said:
bouzane said:
2. This may be true but it doesn't change the fact that the Axis was crushed almost entirely by the Soviets with comparatively little being accomplished by the British.

I find it a little difficult to swallow that the Soviets singled-handedly crushed the entirety of the Axis powers when they fought neither Italy nor Japan in force. Italy was almost a laughing stock, for sure... Japan, not so much.

Threat of the Soviet Union (despite their nonagression pact) did hurt the Japanese war effort, as they had significant resources invested in Manchuria awaiting the invasion, which could have been used to build control over the Aleutians or make the difference on Guadalcanal.

They distracted the Japanese, yes. But distraction without major conflict is not the same thing as actually defeating the enemy.

 

There are a lot of historians that suggest a lot of things. Was Japan afraid of Russia? Oh, I'm sure they were. Did Japan not want assets captured by Russia? I'm pretty certain of that as well, especially when the other option is surrendering to the United States, a much more forgiving and progressive nation.

But let's be realistic about this. The United States killed over a quarter of a million people in three days without losing a single life. Japan was going to surrender. They had absolutely no other option. Did Russia help them along with that process? Possibly, but it wouldn't have mattered much in the end. Japan was going to surrender in the coming days or weeks anyway. The threat of atomic weaponry was too real and too imminent not to surrender, lest they face total and complete annihilation.

Well it wasn't so much assets as it was northern Japan.  The Japanese had planned on an all out southern defense and were afraid of a "split country" scenario like Korea, or Germany.

Japanese mindset at the time was kind of.... well crazy honestly.  The mindset of the Japanese leaders at the end of WW2 is facinating as hell... I mean before the bombs dropped they were in a situation that 90% of countries would surrender in.  They had no food, had the war ended weeks later, millions more would starved to death.  Quick US mobilization to save the japanse civilians is an untold story... and likely why the US and Japan have such an interesting cultural connection.

By historians suggest, i mean documents actually more or less say that.  It's just a matter of "were the japanese honest with themselves."