Was the Bataan death march a cause of the atomic bombing?

Answer 1

As terrible as it was, we really don't cite the Bataan death march as a cause for the dropping of the atomic bomb. The generally accepted rationale for the dropping of the atomic bomb was to avoid what would have doubtless been the bloody battle that would follow the landing of US troops on the Japanese mainland. The Imperial Army was fanatical, and would fight to the death. American troops would have died along with them, and many civilians, too. Yes, casualties were high owing to the nuclear bombing, but few believe that there wouldn't be more casualties if the landings had come off.