War stories

I read with interest Brian M Quail’s letter in The Scotsman (8 August) of how the drop of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima did not bring an end to the Second World War. This matter has been debated extensively since the end of the war and opinions still differ. His account up to the victory of the Soviet army over Japanese forces in Manchuria is accurate, but the assertion that the Japanese capitulated for fear of a Soviet invasion is incorrect as they were totally unable to muster the battleships for onshore bombardment and landing crafts to land the forces needed for a successful campaign. More likely, the Japanese feared a combined US, UK and Soviet invasion force if his became a reality.

Per USN Admiral Samuel Morrison, in his book The Two-ocean War, the US army found after the war that on capitulation, Japan still had a million soldiers fully armed in Japan proper. An invasion force the size of the D-day and Okinawa landings combined would probably have been required. Only the combined of the US and UK navies would have been able to provide the bombardment and logistics required.

As for the statement, “Japan did not have a single plane flying”, per Admiral Morrison, the US army also found that Japan still had 5,350 kamikaze planes left, with as many more left for orthodox use, as well as plenty of ammunition spread around the country. An invasion would have been very costly indeed.

Having written a 15-volume history of the US Navy’s involvement in the war, he concludes from his studies that the nuclear bomb was the “keystone” in ending the war in the Pacific because up to that point the Japanese army was still resisting a surrender, despite the Emperor’s wish for peace. There can be no doubt that the United States of America defeated Japan.

As for the US desire to “nuke” the Soviet Union, they had plenty of opportunity before the Soviets themselves acquired atomic weapons. The US atomic weapons were held as a deterrent to prevent a Soviet invasion of Western Europe and not used. We should all be grateful for that. There is no basis for suggesting that USA might have attacked the Soviet Union with nukes as an aggressor. JOHN PETER

Monks Road Airdrie, Lanarkshire