It must be August and time for the annual anti-nuke-nut festival to start ranting about how Japan was/might/could surrender instead of the US dropping the bomb(s).
So, here is my annual answer to those revisionist historians who "know better" than anyone alive at the time.
Since you like historical facts, here is a suggestion for you.
Take a trip to Okinawa and visit Peace Prayer Park.
It's easy to find. It's right next to the Suicide Cliffs just down the road a ways from the Japanese Naval Underground Headquarters.
There you will see the names of 200,656 men women and children inscribed on black marble slabs who died on that tiny island in the last battle of World War II.
Japanese 188,136
From other prefectures (soldiers and civilian employees) 65,908
From Okinawa (soldiers and civilian employees) 28,228
From Okinawa (civilians fighting in battles) 56,861
From Okinawa (non-fighting civilians) 37,139
Americans 12,520
Following the battle there was not one thing on the island growing or man-made that was over 24 inches high. The entire population of the island was 574,368 and there were 4.72 artillery shells fired per person during the battle.
Keep in mind that this is a time when the Japanese had no problem finding enough volunteers for their Kamikaze planes and submarines.
While you are there be sure and view the Naval Underground Headquarters. While there you will see a room into which the high command entered with hand grenades and pulled the pins on themselves rather than surrender. The pock marks remain in the walls from the grenade fragments. Of course, they only go down so far because of the mound of bodies that "protected" the bottom of the wall from getting any fragments. This was only days after the Japanese soldiers there had slit the throats of the babies of civilian employees, who willingly gave their children to the soldiers, to keep them from crying and giving away their position to the Americans.
Be sure to enjoy the crystal clear waters under the Suicide Cliffs. They were not always so clear. In June of 1945 civililians and soldiers alike jumped to their deaths rather than surrender to the Americans. The bodies were so thick in that part of the bay, one could have walked on them.
Then consider that not one but two bombs had to be dropped on the mainland before the Japanese surrendered and how many lost their lives compared to Okinawa, one tiny little island. And all without one American casualty.
Oh! By the way. The civilians who died on Okinawa. They were not a part of any industrial base either. But they fought, and died, just as energetically as their cousins on the main Japanese islands most certainly would have.
Pretty good summary. The Army estimated that for Operations Olympic, the invasion of Kyushu, and Coronet, the invasion of Honshu, American and allied casualties ranged from 500,000 to a million killed and wounded. That was why Truman ordered the bombs dropped.
A "What a great post" BUMP!
I guess in their minds FDR would never use such a horrific weapon. He probably ordered the thing built as a planter, but the scientists went beyond what he intended.
No casualties amongst the bomber crews but American and Allied POWs were killed at both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.