Quote:
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Originally Posted by P_Funk
It is true that it ended the war prematurely, but I don't see why they couldn't have first made a demonstration of the bomb by dropping it on say an all military target and said "see that? Tokyo is next." At the very least attempting to avoid killing 150k civilians outright.
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After the Hiroshima bombing, President Truman announced, "If they do not not accept our terms, they may expect a rain of ruin from the air the likes of which has never been seen on this earth." On
August 8,
1945, leaflets were dropped and warnings were given to Japan by
Radio Saipan. (The area of Nagasaki did not receive warning leaflets until
August 10, though the leaflet campaign covering the whole country was over a month into its operations.)
[35][36]
The Japanese government still did not react to the
Potsdam Declaration. Emperor
Hirohito, the government and the War council were considering four conditions for surrender : the preservation of the
kokutai (Imperial institution and national polity), assumption by the Imperial Headquarters of responsibility for disarmament and demobilization, no occupation and delegation to the Japanese government of the punishment of war criminals.
(Wikipedia)
Hiroshima was also the HQ to the Second Army and Regional Army; was a major weapons depot and was a "key centre to shipping".