![]()
The “Trinity” Test.
south of Los Alamos, New Mexico, July 16, 1945
https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/trinity-test-1945
I don’t know. Seems pretty impressive to me! And combined with matter-of-fact, middle-of-the-road negotiations.
And there's this image:
And this almost didn't work, as mentioned, attempted coup.
I hear what you're saying, but the Japanese leadership were not the most... Logical people. They could argue that what they were seeing was some form of deception and come to the conclusion "If they have this bomb, why haven't they used it?" sort of dealio.
There's less room for denial when your city is in ruins and thousands are dying of an unknown poison.
I mean, Japan took two direct hits from the atomic bombs and still wasn't quite enough. There was an expectation within the senior leadership that mass civilian casualties were inevitable and acceptable.
You are dealing with a clique of men who are driven by grim fanaticism that didn't want to negotiate to surrender, they still thought there was a chance at negotiating some sort of peace that recognized their Empire, not just the Emperor. They
But to not ruin your OP maybe there's other targets that aren't cities? Like big naval formation or ground troop concentrations away from the cities? Or what about if America nukes Germany instead? The Japanese are witness to the destruction without being the subject of it? Perhaps Germany is doing a bit better in 45 (somehow better performance in the East? idk) and American rolls out the A-Bombs against German targets, then they are like "Hey Japan see this pile of rubble, used to be Nuremberg, one bomb, give up or youre next"
Last edited: