Cyberpope wrote --
Canada was most responsible for saving the day in WW1 (Vimy Ridge was the turning point, all scholars agree) & in WW2, most of Europe credits Canada more than any other.
But if it hadn't been for the US supplying arms, munitions, tanks,
ships, food, etc none of that would have happened.
This is the substance of endless non-completable debates. My response is usually "Let's agree to disagree &/or leave it open for further evidence"
I'm always reading, so I may, at any time, change my position, when the facts force me to.
I may not not always be right, but I'm never wrong.
I thought I was wrong once. . .but I was mistaken.
Japan was separate from WW2 -- that was a private economic+power struggle disagreement between Japan & USA. Japan gave written two week notice before attacking Poearl Harbor. (a military target; Nagasaki & Hiroshima had no military bases)
Japan had been overrunning Asia since 1931.
Japan had no coal or oil (to speak of), which ran its manufacturing, whereas other parts of Asia did.
So Japan desperately needed access to Middle Eastern oil to maintain their industroal age growing population/society. The USA blockaded it to Japan, so the emperor said unless the blockadse was lifted, they were going to attack the USA's Pacif naval base on 7 December of that year (1941)
Japan was an ally of Germany, but this was a separate issue & not done in supportr of Hitler's designs on global dominance. (he was clear -- first Europe, then the Middle East, Africa, & only after they were secured(including obliteration of Jews, gays, et al), the Americas.
The warnings were rather cryptic (somewhere, someday) and our military leaders didn't think carriers would be used to launch air attacks. Their collective eyes were on Australia and Philippines, not expecting a end run "behind the lines on Hawaii.
See above. It was a clear date, but, yes,no time on it -- I would've been ready for 2am, myself, not expecting it to begin past dawn.
Of course, Japan would use a carrier -- how else do you support a trans-ocean military engagement? USA does the same: step one is to move at least one carrier into position (c.f. Baghdad, 2003)
I know rthis, so why didn't your high level generals & the CinC?
While Nagasaki and Hiroshima had no military bases they were manufacturing areas. To help end any war knock out the places the bombs, etc were
made.
Fair play.
The US also gave warnings of the attacks with Japan ignored. They still ignored the warnings after Nagasaki, believing the A Bomb was just a bigger bomb and we had only one. When the second hit they started to change their minds.
'twas Hiroshima first (the A-Bomb; the H-bomb was 3 days later on Nagasaki) & the Japanese, naturally, expected a normal military response; their main military forces were close enough to respond to a naval+air attack, & so they weren't really expecting a lone plane to unleash such hell.
The 2nd attack came while they were still gathering data on the first.
I get it; once the decioson was made to employ nukes, the second was a done deal (tested the A-bomb, but one needs to see what an H-bomb does to a civilian target, too, to complete the reports.)
Overall it wass a sh*tty thing for all concerned. At least one of the pilots was completely psychologically messed up ever after.
Hoping we're done, as a species, with using such doomsday weapons. . .
Japan was in the South Pacific separate from WW2. It was all part of the oingoing Sino-Japanese wars that were of no defense concern to the West.
Japan also threatened the West's supply of rubber for one thing.
How so? I've not heard that one -- most rubber is from South America -- Japanese were nowhere near the Atlantic side of South America, where most of the ports that rubber is exported through are.
Maybe there was a secondary supply from Africa, but Italy(Mussolini & co.) was the main stopper there.
Your friend,
<+]:{)}
Cyberpope, Bishop of ROM
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