Originally posted by Holden McGroin
Operation Downfall, the invasion of Japan was scheduled to begin on November 1, 1945
Admiral William Leahy estimated that there would be more than 250,000 Americans killed or wounded on Kyushu alone.
Admiral Leahy was (I think) in the Navy. Here was an admiral who was planning for invasion, not seige.
As for The cold war being blamed entirely on the USA (or atleast anti-Soviet countries) the USA and its allies had a nuclear monopoly from 1945 to 1949. The reason the Soviets built the bomb is because they feared us having it, but the USA could have used nuclear blackmail or nuclear war against the soviets during that period without fear of nuclear counterattack if that were our intent.
Instead we went from a navy of 105 carriers to 6 aircraft carriers and resulted in a wholesale resignation of many Navy leaders in 1949 in protest to the Navy downsizing.
In 1946 we went from 557 billion in military spending to 52.4 billion in 1947.
I can see how Uncle Joe could have been concerned with the USA cutting military spending by 90%.
When in 1946 the USA, Canada and the UK issued a joint declaration asking for int'l controls and cooperation regarding nuclear weapons and technology I can see how that was threatening to Joe.
Thank You, it's very interesting, I didn't know about mil budget cuts. I appreciate any information that adds to the complete picture.
USSR didn;t have any intentions of starting a war on the "allies". Before maybe 1950 it was impossible, after 1945 USSR also cut down it's military several times, and the country was literally in ruins, we have reached 1940 level only in 1947, and then came the last starvation, bad harvest 1947.
Joint declaration for international control - nice, I didn't know it too. In 1947 Molotov said to Western scientists who visited USSR that there is no such thing as a "secret of an atomic bomb". Another interesting fact is that USSR didn't boast the Bomb, American RB-29s discovered increase in radiation when flying spy missions over Kamchatka several weeks ago. Doesn't it show that Soviet side was quite self-confident?
