Over the past half-century or so, the public has long accepted the "fact" that the two atomic bombs of the U.S. military ended World War II. However, with the continuous declassification of classified documents, many people found that this statement was too simple, in fact, this is only the first step in the United States to implement "nuclear blackmail" after the war at the cost of 300,000 Japanese lives.
From the beginning of the Pacific War to the defeat of Germany, the ruling class led by the emperor was always looking for an opportunity to end the war, even the "one hundred million jade fragments" of the main war faction proposed the "one hundred million jade fragments" of the local decisive battle plan was based on this.
In 1942, the US military won successive victories in the Battles of Midway and Guadalcanal in the Pacific, and since then entered the stage of strategic counteroffensive. At the same time, the European battlefield also ushered in a turnaround with the Victory of the Soviet Army in the Defense of Stalingrad. By early 1945, the fascist defeat was already known, especially the successful landing of American troops on Okinawa on April 1, and the Japanese mainland was in jeopardy.
The changing tide of the war situation was also reflected in the growing number of advocates of peace in Japan. Minister Kidouchi said:
"In the second half of the year, the country will completely lose the ability to wage war; the air defense forces and facilities will be pitifully scarce, the enemy will fiercely attack the enemy, the urban and rural areas will be widely destroyed, the grain and clothing will be destroyed, and the storage will be almost completely destroyed; the people's hearts will be seriously disturbed, and the development of the situation will be unmanageable; if the opportunity to make peace is lost, it will re-embark on the fate of Germany, and the national system will be difficult to protect."
Therefore, he formulated a "Draft Countermeasures for Cleaning Up the Situation", advocating that he go to Moscow in a letter written by the Emperor himself and invite the Soviet Union to mediate. The Emperor appreciated Kido's plan and demanded that he put aside the decision of the main war faction and come up with a plan to end the war as soon as possible.
On June 18, Prime Minister Suzuki presided over the Supreme War Guidance Council to convey his views on ending the war. Although the main war faction had previously claimed the ability to eliminate 40% of its military strength before the US army landed, it did not object to entrusting neutral countries to mediate, but insisted that the war could only end after the US military was dealt a blow on the mainland, so the meeting finally decided
"It is most appropriate to end the war around September."
Japan's every move was under the control of U.S. intelligence, and it was also detected that "retaining the emperor" was the bottom line for Japan's surrender. What the United States is most worried about at this time is not how to force the Japanese army to surrender, but the Soviet Union has experienced the baptism of World War II, the military strength and international prestige have been unprecedentedly improved, and once the war is over, it will become a superpower on an equal footing with the United States.
With the defeat of fascism, the basis for allied alliances also disappeared, and the United States and the Soviet Union inevitably shifted from cooperation to competition. As early as the early days of Germany's surrender, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill suggested that US President Harry Truman have a meeting with the Soviet Union before the US military withdrew from Europe. But Truman repeatedly shirked, because he had to wait for the atomic bomb to be successfully developed, and he once said privately to his assistants:
"If the atomic bomb exploded, I would definitely knock on that guy."
Before the atomic bomb was successfully developed, the U.S. military predicted that the occupation of the Japanese mainland might cost 1 million casualties, so it had been seeking political means to force Japan to surrender. The successful development of the atomic bomb allowed the United States to re-plan its Far East strategy, and the US military wanted to occupy Japan alone and turn it into an outpost of the US military in the Pacific.
Presidential Office Secretary of War Stimson also said:
"We want to get Japan to surrender as soon as possible before the Russians reach the Japanese mainland ... It is of great significance to take the Japanese mainland into our hands before the Russians may make any substantive demands on the occupation and domination of Japan. ”
Possessed of the atomic bomb, at the Potsdam Conference, Truman showed an almost vitriolic toughness toward the Soviet Union:
"We now possess a weapon of war that not only completely turns the tide of the war, but also shifts the course of history and civilization."
During the Pacific War, the Us Far East strategy underwent many adjustments, from the initial reliance on the Chinese battlefield, to seeking COOPERATION between the United States and the Soviet Union, forcing Japan to accept unconditional surrender, and finally occupying Japan alone to achieve the development of containing Soviet power, and the atomic bomb was undoubtedly an important factor affecting the strategic transformation.
Anticipating Japan's capitulation and insisting on dropping atomic bombs twice is enough to show that the U.S. military's use of nuclear weapons is not purely for military purposes, but has far-reaching political intentions behind it, but it also opens the door to the strategy of nuclear blackmail during the Cold War.