Most dispicable attacks during WWII?

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I buzzed through these looking for this one; if this is redundant my apologies:
The 1944 Russian halt outside of Warsaw and everything connected with that event.
 

Khill

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the activities Unit 731

SS Jean Nicolet

Bangka Island beach massacre

i guess there are too many to list really
 

MAS01

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What would you say if one of the combatants eradicated a town of civilians, causing between 90,000 and 166,000 deaths?

Rich

I am making the assumption you are speaking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If so, put yourself in Truman's shoes. You have the choice of of the following:

a) Dropping two atomic bombs, killing between 90,000 and 166,000 civilians, causing the Emperor to intervene and end the war (althougth this was unknown to Truman).
b) Directly invading the Japanese mainland, with 250,000 US fatalities (they produced a half million Purple Hearts for the invasion) and a couple million (?) Japanese fatalities.

Make a decision between (a) and (b) please. No bs about how it bad nuclear war is, etc. Just take a stand and make a decision.

I'm with Truman.
 

aiabx

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I am making the assumption you are speaking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If so, put yourself in Truman's shoes. You have the choice of of the following:

a) Dropping two atomic bombs, killing between 90,000 and 166,000 civilians, causing the Emperor to intervene and end the war (althougth this was unknown to Truman).
b) Directly invading the Japanese mainland, with 250,000 US fatalities (they produced a half million Purple Hearts for the invasion) and a couple million (?) Japanese fatalities.

Make a decision between (a) and (b) please. No bs about how it bad nuclear war is, etc. Just take a stand and make a decision.

I'm with Truman.
Those weren't the only alternatives.
There were other options:
1) Drop an a-bomb on a non-civilian target
2) Wait a few more weeks between bombings to give the shock time to sink in
3) A blockade of Japan to starve them out (considerably less humane than the a-bombs, imho)
4) Offer Stalin aid in seizing the Kuriles
5) other things I haven't thought of off the top of my head.

That's not to say Truman did the wrong thing; just that the only this or that scenario is weak.
 

freightshaker

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Deliberately rocketing and bombing civilians is pretty harsh.
By which side?

I am making the assumption you are speaking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If so, put yourself in Truman's shoes. You have the choice of of the following:

a) Dropping two atomic bombs, killing between 90,000 and 166,000 civilians, causing the Emperor to intervene and end the war (althougth this was unknown to Truman).
b) Directly invading the Japanese mainland, with 250,000 US fatalities (they produced a half million Purple Hearts for the invasion) and a couple million (?) Japanese fatalities.

Make a decision between (a) and (b) please. No bs about how it bad nuclear war is, etc. Just take a stand and make a decision.

I'm with Truman.
The A-bombs were child's play. The March 45' raids on Tokyo killed more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Tokyo
 

R Hooks

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Those weren't the only alternatives.
There were other options:
1) Drop an a-bomb on a non-civilian target
2) Wait a few more weeks between bombings to give the shock time to sink in
3) A blockade of Japan to starve them out (considerably less humane than the a-bombs, imho)
4) Offer Stalin aid in seizing the Kuriles
5) other things I haven't thought of off the top of my head.

That's not to say Truman did the wrong thing; just that the only this or that scenario is weak.
I agree Andy.. but I'm 100% sure I wanted it to end.. my father was in Northern Okinawa training to drive an unarmored bulldozer up a Japanese invasion beach to clear mine fields.:scream:
His men were to start clearing 5 minutes before the first wave of marines landed:umbrella:
 
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MAS01

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Those weren't the only alternatives.
There were other options:
1) Drop an a-bomb on a non-civilian target
2) Wait a few more weeks between bombings to give the shock time to sink in
3) A blockade of Japan to starve them out (considerably less humane than the a-bombs, imho)
4) Offer Stalin aid in seizing the Kuriles
5) other things I haven't thought of off the top of my head.

That's not to say Truman did the wrong thing; just that the only this or that scenario is weak.

Andy:

I appreciate the points, but I'm not really sure that it wasn't simply an "a" or "b" scenario to Truman. Sure, there were the post-war problems with the Soviets to consider, but by that time, most things I have read always made mention that the American people were wanting the conflict to be over with as quickly as possible. If we had waited weeks between the bombings, would the Japanese have thought we didn't have many bombs? Blockade could have taken months, if not longer. As for inviting Stalin in, how well did that work in post-war Germany? I think that the two bombs in three days shocked the Emperor into action. Most Japanese had never even heard his voice when he made the surrender announcement. If we had invaded, how long would the guerrilla war had gone on (three soldiers held out until the early 1970s)

This is the problem with trying to look at history through today's eyes. How can we, more than 60 years later, even think to know what Truman truely thought?

Good arguements in any case. Makes you think.
 

Kevin Kenneally

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Andy:

I appreciate the points, but I'm not really sure that it wasn't simply an "a" or "b" scenario to Truman. Sure, there were the post-war problems with the Soviets to consider, but by that time, most things I have read always made mention that the American people were wanting the conflict to be over with as quickly as possible. If we had waited weeks between the bombings, would the Japanese have thought we didn't have many bombs? Blockade could have taken months, if not longer. As for inviting Stalin in, how well did that work in post-war Germany? I think that the two bombs in three days shocked the Emperor into action. Most Japanese had never even heard his voice when he made the surrender announcement. If we had invaded, how long would the guerrilla war had gone on (three soldiers held out until the early 1970s)

This is the problem with trying to look at history through today's eyes. How can we, more than 60 years later, even think to know what Truman truely thought?

Good arguements in any case. Makes you think.
Truman truly hated the military.

Now as for his goals,

1. End the war at the cheapest cost.

2. Downsize the Military machine he despised.

3. Make sure Missouri got plenty of money from the US Government.
 

MAS01

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Truman truly hated the military.

Now as for his goals,

1. End the war at the cheapest cost.

2. Downsize the Military machine he despised.

3. Make sure Missouri got plenty of money from the US Government.


Hell, the state already had its own battleship!
 

Kevin Kenneally

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Hell, the state already had its own battleship!
Why do you think the Peace Treaty was signed on that ship?

Also, the State of Tennessee refused to allow the Mississippi River to be deepened to allow the Battleship to be anchored at St. Louis....

Iowa could care less about the "Ole Rosebud"....
 

MajorDomo

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I am making the assumption you are speaking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If so, put yourself in Truman's shoes. You have the choice of of the following:

a) Dropping two atomic bombs, killing between 90,000 and 166,000 civilians, causing the Emperor to intervene and end the war (althougth this was unknown to Truman).
b) Directly invading the Japanese mainland, with 250,000 US fatalities (they produced a half million Purple Hearts for the invasion) and a couple million (?) Japanese fatalities.

Make a decision between (a) and (b) please. No bs about how it bad nuclear war is, etc. Just take a stand and make a decision.

I'm with Truman.
All I am saying is:

A. Partisans from a town ambush, kill, capture and torture survivors from a couple of squads. The offended company retaliates and ravage/kill the town to stop said activity from happening again.

B. Enemy suicides an invasion force at every opportunity, the offended leadership decides to kill 90,00 - 160,000 civilians to convince enemy to stop said activity from happening again.

I just don't see how A. is a war crime, punishable by death and B. is a smart decision; unless you factor in who won and who lost the war.

Rich
 

trevpr1

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Truman truly hated the military.

Now as for his goals,

1. End the war at the cheapest cost.

2. Downsize the Military machine he despised.

3. Make sure Missouri got plenty of money from the US Government.
And he had Patton and Glenn Miller "taken care of," so they wouldn't make up the '48 dream ticket!
 

The Cisco Kid

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I am making the assumption you are speaking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If so, put yourself in Truman's shoes. You have the choice of of the following:

a) Dropping two atomic bombs, killing between 90,000 and 166,000 civilians, causing the Emperor to intervene and end the war (althougth this was unknown to Truman).
b) Directly invading the Japanese mainland, with 250,000 US fatalities (they produced a half million Purple Hearts for the invasion) and a couple million (?) Japanese fatalities.

Make a decision between (a) and (b) please. No bs about how it bad nuclear war is, etc. Just take a stand and make a decision.

I'm with Truman.
Truman was deceived, that's why he made the decision he did.....
 
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