Still, it was not the bomb that forced the hand of the militarists. At 2300 hours Trans-Baikal time the night before, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov called Japanese ambassador Naotake Sato to his offices, where he informed the ambassador that the Soviet Union had declared war on the Empire of Japan, that from one minute past midnight, Trans-Baikal time on August 9, the Soviet government would consider itself to be at war with Japan. At exactly that time, the Red Army, led by Marshal of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Vasilevsky, commenced its invasion of the Japanese puppet state of Manchuoko, exactly 90 days after the surrender of Germany, exactly as Stalin had promised at Yalta. The news of the attack was flashed to Tokyo at 0400 hours, Tokyo time.
Not sure how much of a consideration it was, but millions had fled the cities for the countryside with dodgy prospects for food and shelter with winter on the way. That was another aspect of the untenable situation and the leadership must have been aware of it.
Oh yes, they were very aware of that. The possibility of mass civil disorder during the coming winter, and the inability of the government to deal with it, was a major argument on the side of the Realists.
I have always thought of Japan as an American ally. Because of that I had to re-read, sometimes more than once, key passages while reminding myself that they were the enemy. TC, your depth of knowledge/detail is astounding!
Not sure how much of a consideration it was, but millions had fled the cities for the countryside with dodgy prospects for food and shelter with winter on the way. That was another aspect of the untenable situation and the leadership must have been aware of it.
Oh yes, they were very aware of that. The possibility of mass civil disorder during the coming winter, and the inability of the government to deal with it, was a major argument on the side of the Realists.
I have always thought of Japan as an American ally. Because of that I had to re-read, sometimes more than once, key passages while reminding myself that they were the enemy. TC, your depth of knowledge/detail is astounding!