The Real Reason Japan Surrendered | Best WW2 Documentary

The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remains to this day, the only time in history in which nuclear weapons have been used against civilian targets, with over 200,000 people dying as a direct result of the attacks. Five days later, Japan, a nation that hadn't been defeated in over 2,000 years, issued their surrender, and for the first time was occupied by a foreign power. But is this the real reason they surrendered or are there other factors that have been overlooked?

Why did President Harry Truman believe the use of such a devastating weapon was the only thing capable of forcing them to surrender and what effect did the Soviet Union's entry into the war have on Japan's key decision makers?

What were the American invasion plans for the Japanese home islands had the atomic bombs not worked and how many millions of Japanese civilians were prepared to sacrifice their lives in the defense of the homeland?

Why did it take Japan so long to surrender and how did a military coup manage to take control of the entire imperial palace and come close to destroying the Emperor’s peace plans on the very day that surrender was announced?

From Pearl Harbor to the Manhattan Project, from the Bushido Code to Operation Downfall, join us as we take you step by step and chapter by chapter, through the real reasons Japan surrendered and how the most deadly conflict in human history came to an end.

#ww2 #history #worldwar2 #thelifeguide #worldwarii #wwii #japan #japanww2
#japanese #imperialjapan

📽 Timestamps:

Intro: 0:00
Japan’s Surrender Introduction 0:46

PRELUDE: JAPAN’S DREAMS OF EMPIRE 5:00

Conquest of the Pacific 5:11
Japanese Atrocities 6:54
American Industry 8:27
Turning the Tide 10:17
The Bushido Code 12:15
State Shinto 14:13

PART 1: THE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE 20:12

Firebombing Japan 20:24
Firebombing of Tokyo 21:40
The Bombing Continues 22:51
American Strategy 24:25
Operation Downfall 25:49
Japanese Defensive Plans 27:36
Kamikaze 28:46
The Manhattan Project 31:20
The Potsdam Declaration 33:42
No Response 37:26
Dropping the Bomb: The American Perspective 38:14
Primary Reasons 38:37
Additional Benefits 39:56
Hiroshima 41:44
Nagasaki 45:40

PART 2: THE JAPANESE PERSPECTIVE 48:55

Role of the Emperor in Japanese Politics 50:17
The Supreme Council 51:40
The Sakomizu Report 54:24
First Signs of Peace 57:16
Soviet Ambassador Malik 59:40
Back to War 1:00:47
Kido Breaks Protocol 1:02:38
An Ambassador to Moscow 1:07:18
Ketsu-Go 1:10:16
Potsdam: The Japanese Perspective 1:11:40
Negotiating with Stalin 1:14:40
Hiroshima: The Japanese Perspective 1:15:47
The Soviet Invasion 1:18:07
“Let Us End the War” 1:21:08
Nagasaki: The Japanese Perspective 1:22:29
One Condition vs Four Condition Offer 1:23:16
The Cabinet Meets 1:25:33
“To Bear The Unbearable” 1:27:48
Hirohito Speaks 1:32:20
The Byrnes Note 1:35:00
Mayhem 1:36:57
August 13th 1:39:22
The Fate of Japan 1:40:56
The Coup 1:45:23
Hirohito’s Speech to the Nation 1:51:38
Aftermath 1:55:03
The Real Reason Japan Surrendered 1:56:35

📚 Sources:

The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945, by John Toland

Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire, by Richard B. Frank

The Japanese Empire: Grand Strategy from the Meiji Restoration to the Pacific War, by S.C.M. Paine

Eagle Against the Sun: The American War with Japan, by Ronald H. Spector

Hirohito’s War, by Francis Pike

All Hell Let Loose: The World at War 1939-1945, by Max Hastings

The Second World War, by John Keegan


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