Originally posted by Razorwing
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't WWII pretty much over by the time the US unleashed weapons of mass destruction on Japanese civilians?
Yes. and No.
There's a LOT of "what ifs" surrounding the issue, of course. But the basic factors were this:
1) Japan did not want to unoconditionally surrender, and was prepared to fight the US to the last man to avoid it.
2) Japan was prepared for an conditional surrender, and was actively seeking to have Russia broker the deal.
3) The US did not want to keep certain promises made to Russia if Russia entered the Pacific War. (Truman didn't agree with some of the promises FDR made at the Yalta Conference)
4) Russia wanted those promises to hold, so was stringing Japan along so that the war would drag out and Russia could enter.
So, the plan was, the US drops The Bomb, Japan surrenders, Russia gets the shaft. Unfortunately, it didn't work that way. The US dropped The Bomb, Japan ignored it, Russia ignored Japan. The US drops ANOTHER bomb, again Japan ignores it, Russia declares war on Japan. The US prepares for an invasion, Russia gets the concessions for entering the war, and a stunned Japan (who never expected Russia to declare war) resigns itself to an Unconditional Surrender.
So was the pretty much over? maybe...maybe not....Japan woulda fought the US with pitchforks if they had to, but the didn't want to fight both the US and Russia. The US wanted the war over before Russia could get in, but their terms were unacceptable to Japan. Russia wanted to get into the war with Japan before it was over, but wanted to minimize casualties and expected the US to invade, not drop a big bomb.
Pretty wacky stuff all around.