Keith Willshaw wrote:

That just whacked a huge number of civilians.



Well no.

Are you saying that a large number of civilians was not killed in that
bombing?


Hirsohima was not only the home port for much of the
Japanese Navy it was also the home of 2nd Army Headquarters,
which commanded the defense of all of southern Japan.
There were large numbers of troops based there. At
least 3 divisions IRC

The bombing did not target any specific military facilities. According
to the Japanese figures, military casualties from the attack accounted
for less than 3% of the overall casualties. Thus, for every Japanese
soldier killed in the Hiroshima bombing there was 97% of "collateral
damage." So, no, it was not the greatest strategic air mission.

Getting the enemy to surrender unconditionally is about as
strategic as it gets.

The Soviet advances were the primary reason for the fact that the Japs
were even considering a surrender. They figured maybe Stalin won't stop
with the Kurils. Same situation as with the Germans trying to surrender
to the Americans and nobody nuked them.

--
Regards,

Venik

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