(December 4, 2022 at 9:42 am)Helios Wrote: I have heard the Soviet theory and I don't buy it.
Toland in The Rising Sun documents that the Soviets joining the war against Japan was indeed a big factor in Japanese cabinet discussions regarding surrender, alongside the A-bombs. From Wiki:
Quote:These "twin shocks"—the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the Soviet entry—had immediate profound effects on Prime Minister Kantarō Suzuki and Foreign Minister Shigenori Tōgō, who concurred that the government must end the war at once.[95] However, the senior leadership of the Japanese Army took the news in stride, grossly underestimating the scale of the attack. With the support of Minister of War Anami, they started preparing to impose martial law on the nation, to stop anyone attempting to make peace.[96] Hirohito told Kido to "quickly control the situation" because "the Soviet Union has declared war and today began hostilities against us."[97]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrender_...d_Nagasaki