MtHoodMan t1_jegfi2b wrote on March 31, 2023 at 8:49 PM

Reply to comment by ChristopherGard0cki in Japan and China Connect Military Hotline to Reduce Tensions by bloomberg

I would encourage you to read the Operation Downfall wiki, specifically the Japanese defense of the islands section, Operation Ketsugo. I'm not disagreeing with you that the nation was beaten militarily, and they knew it, however they still had considerable military assets at their disposal. Their navy was heavily damaged but still useable for home island defense, and their airforce was still going to be a problem. By the time Okinawa was captured, Japan was already losing. That didn't stop Okinawa from being an absolute bloodbath for the Allied forces.

I would also add that Japan being an island is exactly why it wasn't beaten as badly as Germany. There's no denying that. Just by virtue of the differences of the theaters, Japan losing was never going to be as bad as Germany losing without a fullscale naval invasion.

ChristopherGard0cki t1_jeggiob wrote on March 31, 2023 at 8:56 PM

Japan still had some hardware, yes. What they didn’t have was trained and experienced military personnel to operate said equipment. Nor did they have any fuel.

notrevealingrealname t1_jegmvny wrote on March 31, 2023 at 9:39 PM

That being said, I feel like as Russia is currently demonstrating, lacking personnel and even equipment doesn’t mean you can’t make it a difficult fight for the opponent.

ChristopherGard0cki t1_jegpopt wrote on March 31, 2023 at 9:59 PM

Definitely. An invasion of mainland japan would have been a bloodbath.

MtHoodMan t1_jeh3wym wrote on March 31, 2023 at 11:46 PM

At the end of the day, they weren't beaten in a way that beat the nationalism out of them. Germany had Soviet and Allied Troops marching through their towns, their cities sieged, their industry completely toppled. It was clear they were losing. To many in Japan, the lack of an invasion meant it felt like they could still fight. Yes, their cities were bombed but they fought for over a year while that was the case. So when one day they were just told the war was over and that they had lost, it came as a shock. Many didn't hear about the nukes until weeks or months after the war had ended. All they had to blame was weak politicians and weak generals, not the fact that they, as a nation, had lost.