- Cheesusslice
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- Noble Heroic Member
Yes, it was a terrible thing to do, and everyone involved knew that it was, but there was more to it that Japan's emperor not being willing to surrender.
The Japanese people had a steady diet of propaganda throughout the entire war.
Japanese civilians were throwing themselves off of cliffs when American soldiers tried to give them food because they were told that they would be tortured and raped to death by soldiers.
They were even killing their own children.
The loss of life on both sides would have been significantly higher had the U.S. tried to take back every island with an invasion.
America couldn't win on willpower in the pacific. Firepower was the last resort.