RE: Another little tidbit the biased left wing media forgot to mention
September 19, 2016 at 12:26 pm
(September 17, 2016 at 12:10 pm)Thumpalumpacus Wrote:(September 17, 2016 at 12:48 am)Minimalist Wrote: A handful of junior officers tried a coup. A regiment of soldiers followed the orders of their officers without really knowing why... as is usually the case. It was crushed by loyal elements. The insurrectionists killed themselves. It was hardly "the military" trying to stop the surrender.
It was far more about the Russians than it was about the Japs.
It was the Ministry of War and the Imperial Guard, no? Toland as well documents the intransigence of quite a few generals.
I agree that it was more about the Russians, both to secure the islands from them quicker and to send a message to them, but the bombs were certainly cheaper in lives than either an outright invasion or continued submarine blockade.
It was the generals, specifically general Shizuichi Tanaka which ended the coup led by several majors and captains.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2005/08...-AOODV6ZjM
General Mori was killed by the conspirators.
Toland's opinion was that IIRC the Japanese were relying on Russian assistance to such a degree that when Stalin, who was punctual to the day in keeping his promise to Roosevelt, attacked the Manchurian army they would have surrendered. They were already talking about it. Sure there was an inbred fanaticism that they had gone a long way to fostering but in fact the leaders knew it was over and, as happened historically, when the Emperor spoke the army obeyed. But Truman was not Roosevelt. He had not built up any sort of understanding of Stalin during the war years and was far more concerned with the post-war phase rather than just ending the fighting.
