Okinawa
Japan was being defeated at sea, in the air, and on the ground in virtually all theaters of combat. Despite yhese obvious defeats and the impending invasion of Japan itself, the Japanese Army resisted all discussions of ending the war (on any likely terms). The United States was aware of this, and wanted to avoid a final bloody invasion of Japan. The US President agreed with the key allied military & diplomatic leaders, and decided to jolt or shock the Japanese government or Japanese Emperor into deciding on the surrender, with the use of the atomic bombs against the Japanese cities. This strategy worked. The Japanese Emperor had to force the Japanese military leaders to accept the terms of surrender.
to save american lives by ending the war sooner.
Based upon numerous intelligence sources, the Japanese would not surrender in the event of an Allied invasion. It was calculated that as many as 100,000 Allied troops would die in an invasion of the Japanese islands. For all practical purposes, Japan was already defeated by the time the U.S. was ready to invade. It was simply a matter of time. Dropping the atomic bombs convinced the Japanese leadership to surrender, saved untold numbers of Allied troops, and hastened the war's end.
History has already justified two important actions by US President Harry Truman. The atomic bomb attacks on Japan ending WW 2 was necessary as japan was dug in to defend any invasion. Millions of lives could have been lost in an invasion of Japan. As with Imo Jima in the Pacific Ocean, there was from Tokyo a "no surrender" policy. Also, Japanese "dedication" resulted in suicide attacks from Japanese air pilots. Reportedly, the US had already manufactured 1 million coffins in case there was an invasion of Japan. More people would have died in an invasion then by forcing Japan to surrender after being hit with two atomic bombs.As for the Korean War, Truman led the UN forces in counter attacking the North Korean invasion of South Korea.
Because Japan refused to surrender. Japan did not believe in surrender. They felt every Japanese person, men women children, civilian, military should die to save the emperor. It was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki or the invasion of Japan. The invasion of Japan would have killed a lot more people than the two atomic bombs did. Japan surrendered after Nagasaki was bombed. It was the lesser of two evils and saved countless Allied and Japanese lives. There was No other way other than invasion to defeat Japan.
It prevented an American invasion.
It started with the German invasion of Poland and ended with the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay.
The invasion of Russians into Manchuria against the Japanese and the dropping of the two Atomic Bombs finally brought the Japanese to their knees, to surrender.
That it would make the Japanese surrender instead of a full scale invasion.
It saved millions of Japanese civilian lives that would have been lost in the planned year long invasion of Japan, had the bomb not forced the leaders to surrender.
Three factors forced the Japanese into defeat. The final factors were the nuclear strikes against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This made the Japanese calculus a choice between the end game of a Soviet or American invasion of the home islands. The Japanese instrument of surrender however allowed them to avoid full either and retain their leadership (Emperor Hirohito) by becoming subject to American military administration under MacArthur.
Japan was being defeated at sea, in the air, and on the ground in virtually all theaters of combat. Despite yhese obvious defeats and the impending invasion of Japan itself, the Japanese Army resisted all discussions of ending the war (on any likely terms). The United States was aware of this, and wanted to avoid a final bloody invasion of Japan. The US President agreed with the key allied military & diplomatic leaders, and decided to jolt or shock the Japanese government or Japanese Emperor into deciding on the surrender, with the use of the atomic bombs against the Japanese cities. This strategy worked. The Japanese Emperor had to force the Japanese military leaders to accept the terms of surrender.
World War II began on September 1, 1939 and ended on September 2, 1945. It began with the German invasion of Poland and ended with the Japanese signing the "Japanese Instrument of Surrender"
to save american lives by ending the war sooner.
Japanese invasion of Malaya happened on 1941-12-08.
Japanese invasion of Thailand happened on 1941-12-08.
September 1, 1939 (German invasion of Poland) to September 2, 1945 (Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay) = 6 years, 1 day (plus leap years in 1940 & 44) = 2,193 days x 1440 minutes in day = 3,157,920 minutes. I suppose this could be further refined if someone wanted to research the exact times of the German invasion and Japanese surrender.