What political and military factors led President Truman to order the atomic bombing on Japan?

Answer 1

An instant war victory, or letting the world see the strength of the U.S. would be the most obvious.

Answer 2

Among others, when Truman was advised of the successful test of the A-Bomb he was in Potsdam, Germany, meeting with Stalin and Churchill. Truman issued the "Potsdam Declaration" calling on Japan to surrender immediately, or face "prompt and utter destruction", "the like of which the world has never seen". The Japanese rejected this demand that they surrender two days later, as they had rejected all previous demands to surrender.

Plans were on the drawing board for the amphibious invasion of the first of the Japanese Home Islands November 1, 1945. Projections were for a million American casualties, and it was assumed that all the Japanese would have to be killed, including the civilians. There was no reason to doubt these estimates, as Japanese defenders had fought to the death of the last man on every island as the US fought its way across the Pacific in the previous three years. Recent experience on Iwo Jima and Okinawa showed the Japanese to be even more fanatical the closer the US approached to their homeland.

Finally, if it became known that the US government had spent over one billion 1940 dollars (the equivalent of many times that amount today) on a weapon, which worked, and which might have won the war and saved the American bloodbath in invading the Home Islands, then Truman would regarded as a fool and a butcher of all the Americans needlessly killed. To say nothing of the Japanese who would die in the millions in the invasion.

Answer 3

Japan refused to surrender, because, it was against their national policy to surrender. Pres. Truman ordered the dropping of two atomic bombs and Japan surrendered. It was either two atomic bombs or invasion of Japan. Invasion of Japan would have made the war last another year, and killed a lot more people than the atomic bombs did.

Answer 4

Reports from the "front", specifically the "Battle for Okinawa", influenced his decision to order the "atomic" weapon used.

Answer 5

To end the war with Japan and to save lives by avoiding an invasion of the Japanese mainland .

Answer 6

The train