Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Operation Downfall: The annihilation of Japan and X-Day

This is insane. In 1945, when Hirohito was planning on surrendering to the Allies, there was a conspiracy by Japanese hardliners to assassinate him and prevent the Japanese surrender. Had this attempt been successful, the war would have continued, and the Allies would put in place Operation Downfall, which included the use of 7 nuclear weapons (not including the 2 already dropped).

Operation Downfall
Operation Downfall was the overall Allied plan for the invasion and destruction of Japan near the end of World War II.

Casualty predictions varied widely but were extremely high for both sides: depending on the degree to which Japanese civilians resisted the invasion, estimates ran into the millions for Allied casualties and tens of millions for Japanese casualties.

On Marshall's orders, Major-General John E. Hull planned to use tactical nuclear weapons for the invasion of the Japanese home islands (even after dropping two strategic atomic bombs on Japan, Marshall did not think that the Japanese would capitulate immediately).

Colonel Lyle E. Seeman reported that at least seven bombs would be available by X-Day, which could be dropped on defending forces. Seeman advised that American troops not enter an area hit by a bomb for "at least 48 hours"; the risk of fallout was not well understood, and such a short amount of time after detonation would have resulted in substantial radiation exposure for the American troops.
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