Quote:
Originally Posted by futballman
I am majoring in Secondary Social Studies Education at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. I am writing a paper where I must argue the point that the dropping of the Atomic bombs in world war 2 actually save hundreds of thousands of lives.
I am arguing that an all out invasion would have lead to several more losses for both the United States as well as Japan.
Please share your opinions on the subject.
Also, i am having a hard time finding legitimate references for my topic. If anyone knows of any books and / or websites that i may use as sources please post them here.
anyone on here familier with "operation olympic"?
Thank you! i look forward to future discussions on these forums as a new member
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If you want to discuss this question in any meaningful way, it's absolutely essential that you obtain a copy of Richard B. Frank's book titled
"Downfall: The End of The Imperial Japanese Empire". Frank has simply done the best job of historical research I have ever run across on exactly the issue you are concerned with. Frank has collected a huge body of statistical data and collated it with logic and understanding to prove beyond any shadow of rational doubt that the atomic bombs saved not hundreds of thousands of lives, but very probably millions.
"Downfall" was the overall code name for the invasion of the Japanese Home Islands; Operation Olympic (the invasion of Kyushu) and Operation Coronet (the invasion of Honshu) were the two operations comprising "Downfall". Franks book is heavily footnoted and contains an extensive bibliography of both secondary and primary sources. In my opinion it's the finest example of outstanding historical research in the last 30 years. "Downfall" was published in 1999 by Penguin Books.
Some of the sources Frank used are available on line, the links below will lead you to a few of them.
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/research/evolving
Documents Relating to the Development of the Atomic Bomb and Its use on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Transcript of "OPERATION DOWNFALL [US invasion of Japan]:* US PLANS AND JAPANESE COUNTER-MEASURES" by D. M. Giangreco, US Army Command and General Staff College
PS, On a personal level, I'm certainly grateful that the atomic bomb was used. My father was a carrier pilot in the Pacific war serving from before Pearl Harbor until the very end. I think it's quite possible that he might have been killed had the fighting gone on another year.