soc.history.war.world-war-ii

edward ohare wrote:

>A man at work ex USAF, 20 years, thinks any war can be won by dropping
>atomic bombs, citing the fact the USAAF won WWII by dropping two big
>bombs. So I asked if it would have won the war had the USAF had the
>bombs and a means to reach Japan with them in, say, January 1942. His
>answer? "Probably."
>
>How can logic possibly compete with this type of indoctrination?

Umm, unfortunately, he's correct.

The only reason atomic bombs have not been
used in war since 1945 is political blowback
and the balance of terror.

That the Bomb would be of overwhelming
military effect is so obvious it goes
unstated.

If the U.S. had atomic bombs and bombers
capable of hitting Japan in January 1942,
the war would have been over in a few weeks.

Even if Japan refused to surrender after
the destruction of 10 or 12 cities, the
Bomb would have been used to obliterate
the bases and facilities of the Japanese
armed forces.

However, that's not the issue here. The
USAAF of the 1940s had very impressive
new capacities. They had yet to realize
what their limitations were. Their actions
were in a fluid context, usually at a
distance, where results were not rigorously
known. Overclaiming was the natural result.
--
| People say "There's a Stradivarius for sale for a |
| million," and you say "Oh, really? What's wrong |
| with it?" - Yitzhak Perlman |