Bombs

“Someday science may have the existence of mankind in its power, and the human race commit suicide by blowing up the world. - The Letters of Henry Adams, Volumes 1-3: 1858-1892.

Formed by the realities of the Civil War, Adams came to believe in the prevalence of destruction. But to arrive at such a prediction was amazingly profound, a prediction that would long outdate him.

Were he alive in 1945 he would obviously see his prediction come true.

The Bomb

There will always be historical arguments regarding the use of nuclear weapons during WWII. Many claim their use necessary, diverting a whole scale invasion of Japan. Others would claim their use unnecessary, including those that had actually produced the bombs.

Truman would follow through with the project’s initiative, though there were major realities that were overlooked. Interestingly, Truman did not officially issue an explicit written order to drop the bombs. Instead he authorized an interim committee’s recommendation for their direct military use. This, though little talked about, absolved him legally.

Precursor

Before the bombs were dropped Japan was seeking surrender terms, primarily because of the Russian invasion of Korea and the reality that they were destitute. That reality was significantly ignored, propaganda stating that the Japanese would fight to the very last woman and child, a reality that was disproven when the United States took control of Japan.

The two bombs dropped on Japan are the only two nuclear weapons ever employed in human history. In total they killed approximately 240,000 people. Some 250,000 others would eventually die as a result of the bombings.

Siege Mentality

Had the United States simply surrounded Japan its fate would have been dire. Japan wholly relied on foreign oil, thus the depletion of its industry would have been massively significant. It would have been forced Japan to wholly rely on highly antiquated practices to do with agriculture for example, never mind any advanced military ambitions. By 1945 the Japanese were spent and they knew it, though the arrogance of the high command would strive to turn the nation into the equivalent of a suicide vest.

So simply wait them out. A tactic that great military minds have employed for millennia.

By the spring of 1945 the Japanese Air Force was basically incapable of air combat resistance. This was due to extreme shortages of fuel and a significant lack of trained pilots. And while they had a significant inventory, some 11,000 aircraft, their use, even slated for kamikaze missions, had basically collapsed.

In short, while they posed a minor threat, leaving them alone to wallow in their own degradation would have been a far sounder plan.

As far as the Japanese navy is concerned, by 1945 it was utterly decimated. In July of 1945 the air raids on Kure and the Inland Sea would sink or disable nearly all remaining major Japanese vessels.

The end of Japan was assured and anyone in their right mind could see it. But the notion of a massive blockade was overlooked. Instead the need to invade Japan became the focal point, and summarily to avoid it the use of nuclear weapons.

The Result

The second that Hiroshima was bombed the Cold War began, even if it wasn’t acknowledged at the time. By 1949 the Russians would test their first nuclear weapon, the RDS-1, in an effort to establish nuclear parity with the United States. That’s not to say that the Russians wouldn’t have explored a nuclear option, only that it was profoundly accelerated.

And so the world would go silently to war.