Were the atomic bombs necessary

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Orm

What I do not understand is why you think that the Russian people reacted differently than the Americans?

And why is it a excuse that the Soviet leadership should have seen it coming? Should not the US leadership have seen it coming? Should not the US military have seen it coming?

I must say that I do not get it.[:(] Even less so when I consider the enormous losses that USSR suffered during the war.

warspite1

There is nothing to get - your analysis is fine. The arguments he has put forward are simple - completely wrong - but simple, namely:

- no European country has ever been stabbed in the back and invaded without a declaration of war.
- when this was shown to be false (but of course not acknowledged) the argument changed to the sheer scale of the Pear Harbor attack, civilians casualties, diplomatic shenanigans etc
- the fact that the scale and ferocity was no different for any country so invaded - well that clearly doesn't matter [8|]
- then of course came the totally bizarre argument that all those countries so invaded should have known they were about to attacked anyway (because of course the US had no idea the Japanese would choose war) and so that doesn't count either.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Hotschi

I think what makes Pearl Harbor so special in the minds of our fellow American wargamers here is.... that it was also one of the very rare attacks on U.S. territory.

How Stalin reacted - or not - when Germany attacked, and the issue some here might have with declarations of war or no declarations of war, or about "European rhinking" and "American thinking", are only sidetracking the A-bomb theme.

Warspite, I am somehow disappointed of you. You are better than that as shown above, and you know it. What others think about Churchill is also irrelevant in regard to the A-Bomb theme. Please don't appear to work on getting this thread locked just because you think someone has insulted Winston Spencer Churchill.

Thanks to you, Bullwinkle, for very informative posts, and thanks to you, Canoerebel, for an excellent summary (post 245).

Happy New Year everyone.

warspite1

Hotschi if I have disappointed you then I am sorry as I respect your opinion. But a few things:

1. Absolutely agree re side-tracking the A-bomb theme - and the lack of relevance has been my point all along.....
2. I have absolutely no wish to see this thread locked - there has been some interesting comments put forward and an interesting debate - spoiled by Bullwinkle ignoring valid posts - which has been very frustrating.
3. The attacks on the British generally are simply trademark Bullwinkle - there is no need to bring Churchill into the equation every other post when, as Bullwinkle says himself, the decision was Truman's alone. There is just no need for it at all.

[wdolson]

There have now been a number of calls to lock the thread. I think this has pretty much run its course at this point.

Bill