Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!cbnews!military
From: donnelly@cod.nosc.mil (Thomas F. Donnelly)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: USS Wisconsin
Summary: Japan invasion casualty estimate
Message-ID: <1990Aug21.025400.2322@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 21 Aug 90 02:54:00 GMT
References: <1990Aug14.033546.8342@cbnews.att.com>
Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker)
Organization: Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego
Lines: 17
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: donnelly@cod.nosc.mil (Thomas F. Donnelly)

Duane Mantick writes that 
        "An invasion of the mainland (Japan) was considered to cost
	the lives of approx. one MILLION soldiers.  This has often
	been stated as a reason why the use of the Atomic Bomb 
	became attractive as a way to end the war."

The latest issue of Technology Review claims that American estimates
of casualties of an invasion were much lower than this, around 50,000
(I think this is the number in the article).  Japan was quite weakened 
at this late point in the war, and both sides knew the end was near. 
The article states that political reasons for using the bomb may also 
have been important to Truman, such as holding a trump card over the 
Soviets.