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Sub extracted from file and improved by
Se7enOfNin9 for addic7ed.com
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For almost four years,
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American soldiers and Marines
in the Pacific
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have struggled across beaches,
through jungles
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and atop mountains to subdue
a nation that refuses to surrender.
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The effort has been immense.
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More is required.
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In the spring of 1945,
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the United States
will start the final push
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to defeat the Japanese empire.
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All wars changed the world,
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but none of them changed the world
like the Second World War did.
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Japan's on the march,
Germany's on the march.
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No one can imagine the nightmare
they're about to unleash.
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The most destructive war
in human history.
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Suddenly the world
is turned upside down
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and all hell is let loose.
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The West is stunned by
the speed of the advance.
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You get the allies
led by the big three:
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Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin.
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Men who are dealing with immensely
complicated questions.
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It's the biggest military
operation of human history.
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The allies have to come together,
not just militarily,
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but industrial scale.
It's a global perspective.
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They have to fight in every climate,
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from the Arctic
to the jungles of the Pacific,
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to the deserts of Africa
and the depths of the ocean.
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But there was no certainty of victory.
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It was going to be
a horrific bloodbath.
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We see humans at their absolute worst,
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how they treat other human beings,
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and we see them at their absolute best,
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willing to give their lives
that others might live.
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World War II was a struggle
in which there could be one victor
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and one vanquished.
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With the Rhine's west bank secured,
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Britain expects other crossings
of Germany's river of destiny,
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after a law to build up
our own strength,
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and after that, the end of the
European war should not be far off.
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In America in the spring of 1945,
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there is hope that the war
in Europe is nearing its end.
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Husbands and fathers,
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boyfriends and brothers
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might finally be coming home.
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It is front and centre
on the American mind.
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How quickly can we get to Berlin
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and get the soldiers home?
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The public get this sort of
an attitude that,
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you know, hey, the war's almost over.
They'll be coming home,
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but it's almost like a marathon
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and you see the finish line
in the distance,
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and so you know you
can give one last kick
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and then somebody says,
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"Actually there's another
three miles to go."
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Victory in Europe seems within reach.
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Victory over Tokyo
remains on the far horizon.
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For months, hundreds of B-29s
have been striking Japanese cities
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to marginal effect.
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The army air forces believed
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that a sufficient amount of
pinpoint bombing from high altitude
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would take out Japanese industry
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and make it impossible for them
to continue the war.
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It didn't work.
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Bombing from 30,000 feet,
the winds were too strong,
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blew the bombs all over the place.
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Under the command
of General Curtis LeMay,
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the Air Force alters its tactics.
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On March 9th, 1945,
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LeMay's B-29s will attack Tokyo from
only 5,000 feet using a new weapon.
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Bombs filled with napalm.
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Napalm is this gel combined with
gasoline that will stick to things
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and then it catches fire and it
makes it very, very hard to put out.
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It's for starting fires that are
designed to just go out of control.
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And the reason it's gonna be
so destructive is that Tokyo is
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mostly made of wooden paper
and this is just going to explode.
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It'll be incredibly inflammable.
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The argument was that
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if you destroy the housing units
of the Japanese workers,
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they wouldn't be able to go to work
and build the planes and tanks.
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They needed to continue the conflict.
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But the outcome
was absolutely horrific.
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It is just complete
devastation in Tokyo.
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100,000 people were killed.
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We think of Dresden as
being the worst single moment
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in the European Theatre of Operations.
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The fire storm at Dresden,
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25,000 were lost there,
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but in Tokyo
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there's a 100,000 killed
in a single operation.
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The whole city was a sea of fire.
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It was so hot that canals start to boil
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and the fires eat up so much of
the oxygen that a lot of the people
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who die asphyxiate
because there's no oxygen left.
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A huge proportion of the city
is simply gone in one night.
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The destruction is immense.
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16 square miles of Tokyo
are obliterated.
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After this one raid, a million
Japanese no longer have a home.
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It's unprecedented.
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General LeMay later I recall that
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he would've been tried
as a war criminal
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if United States lost in the war.
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To survey the damage,
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Emperor Hirohito emerges from his
bunker beneath the Imperial Palace.
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Emperor Hirohito has been pretty
isolated throughout the war,
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but he does have a sense
that the war is not exactly
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going as his generals
and admirals are telling him.
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So when the fire bombing
in Tokyo happened,
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that only intensifies his desire
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to start looking for ways
to end the war.
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For Emperor Hirohito,
the big concern is not what might
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happen to the ordinary Japanese people,
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but if the Americans
make it onto Japanese soil,
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what might happen to him?
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What might happen to the imperial line
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that goes back centuries in Japan?
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He says,
"I can't possibly face my ancestors
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having sacrificed the throne."
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The emperor of Japan
is considered to be divine
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with immense authority over his people.
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But Hirohito rarely
exerts that authority
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in political or military matters.
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There's the committee for the
supreme direction of the war,
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which is six people,
two people from the army,
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two people from the navy, the prime
minister and the foreign minister.
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Those six are the only six that
had any real say within Japan.
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The civilian leaders understood
they couldn't win the war,
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but the military
are determined to fight on.
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Japanese military leaders
have lived their whole life
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under a professional code.
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That surrender is so dishonourable
you would rather die,
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no matter what the suffering,
the warrior does not surrender.
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For all the firebombing,
for all the destruction
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already rained on Japan,
there's no sign of surrender.
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The American high command
now believes that the Japanese
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would not surrender
short of an invasion
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and occupation of the Japanese
home islands.
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The United States is gathering
its forces for the next phase
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of its assault on Imperial Japan.
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The capture of Okinawa,
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the largest island on the Ryukyu chain.
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Okinawa is just 400 miles
south of Kyushu,
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which is the most southerly
of the Japanese home islands,
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and therefore can be used
to launch an invasion fleet.
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So Okinawa is absolutely
vital to the Americans.
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Okinawa would be defended
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by about 100,000
Japanese frontline troops
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and also native Okinawan
militia forces.
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They know that the Americans
have overwhelming superiority
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in the air and at sea.
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The plan for the defence of Okinawa
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is don't go for a Banzai charge.
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Instead, they will prepare
these defensive fortifications,
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let the Americans come to them
and take them out that way.
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Using native
Okinawans as forced labour,
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the Japanese build a network
of bunkers and tunnels.
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And the idea
was kill four, five Americans
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before you are killed yourself.
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The Japanese overall strategy
is to make the Americans pay
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so much for Okinawa that an invasion
of the Japanese home islands
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would be unthinkable.
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The garrison on Okinawa
is only half the Japanese strategy
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for defending the island.
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The other element of the plan
is to use kamikaze,
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but in far greater numbers
than ever been used before.
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The Japanese recognise that
when the Americans conduct
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these amphibious landing operations,
the ships offshore are the lifeline
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that's keeping the battalions ashore
in the fight.
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So they came up with this idea
of these organised waves
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of kamikaze attacks.
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And if you launch 300
kamikaze at the American fleet
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and you take out seven aircraft
carriers or something,
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that is a war-changing thing.
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The Battle of Okinawa
starts with the largest invasion
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of the war in the Pacific.
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A massive effort combining
naval, air and ground support.
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60,000 soldiers and marines are
bound for Okinawa's western beaches.
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The invasion force
will land on Hagushi Bay,
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then the Marines will sweep north,
and the army south,
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to take control of the entire island.
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The biggest danger
in an amphibious operation
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is the actual landing because
you are incredibly vulnerable.
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You are out in the open.
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The combat troops going up first.
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Both Marine and Army have been
told to expect up to 80% casualties.
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So if you've drawn the unlucky straw
of being one of the first units,
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you're pretty convinced not
many of you're gonna survive.
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They get to the beaches
start walking up it,
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body's tense waiting
for the bullets to come...
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...and there is nothing.
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They're experiencing
virtually no opposition.
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And so there was a thought that
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hey, maybe Okinawa's not gonna turn
out to be a big bloodbath after all.
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The first few days go
very well for the landing forces.
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They cut across all the way
to the other side of the island
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against minimal opposition.
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It's looking too good
to be true at this stage.
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Military leaders believed
that Japan must fight to protect
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the honour of the country.
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And these kamikaze pilots
are the chosen ones
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to go to this divine mission
to protect their homeland.
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They really believe that that
would turn the tide of the war.
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The pilots are young,
many of them are teenagers,
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they're ill-trained.
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They don't even have enough fuel to come
back from this flight if they wanted to.
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They know they're going to die.
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So when they get to the first
American ship they see,
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they attack.
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For the first five days
of the invasion of Okinawa,
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there's no opposition to the massive
US fleet surrounding the island.
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But just after noon on April 6th,
the Japanese arrive in force.
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Imagine we're on the bridge
of one of these destroyers
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80 miles north of Okinawa.
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The kamikaze come from starboard,
from port, from high, from low.
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So you feel like you're in a boxing
ring with about five other boxers
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attacking you from every direction.
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Hundreds of kamikaze at a time
thrown against the invading fleet.
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They thought with the sheer numbers,
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they could take out the capital ships;
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that's battleships
and aircraft carriers
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and drive off the US fleet
in its entirety.
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The kamikaze don't
really have much success
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against aircraft carriers...
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...but 300 ships
are targeted by the kamikazes.
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More than 36 of them sink.
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It is more devastating than
any conventional bombing attack
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has been in the war so far,
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but it's not enough.
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What the kamikaze tells me is that
the Japanese knew the war was lost,
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at least by conventional means.
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There's nothing more dangerous
in warfare than a cornered enemy.
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The Japanese
are gonna go down in flames
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but will never surrender, never.
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For the US Navy,
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the battle against the kamikaze
at Okinawa
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is bloodier than any
previous confrontation
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of the entire Pacific War.
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And American ground forces
are now facing
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increasing resistance as well.
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The force that had landed on
the beaches is pushing south toward
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a place called Kakazu Ridge
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where they encounter
the first line of Japanese defences.
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It's the first time the
Americans meet serious opposition
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and it stops them dead.
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The Japanese have created
a defensive system that
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goes right across the whole
width of the island,
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so they can't be out-flanked.
247
00:16:07,378 --> 00:16:12,009
American troops endure
days of non-stop enemy fire.
248
00:16:14,659 --> 00:16:19,205
This is attritional,
grizzly, meat grinding fighting,
249
00:16:20,236 --> 00:16:23,205
and that's just the first line
of defence.
250
00:16:23,231 --> 00:16:26,045
There are gonna be
many more beyond this.
251
00:16:26,254 --> 00:16:29,632
What we thought was gonna
be a cakewalk is anything but.
252
00:16:33,678 --> 00:16:35,096
April 12th.
253
00:16:35,513 --> 00:16:38,850
The American people learn
Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
254
00:16:39,100 --> 00:16:42,687
the man they elected four times
is dead.
255
00:16:46,350 --> 00:16:48,797
Vice president Harry S. Truman,
256
00:16:48,823 --> 00:16:51,883
a former judge and senator from Missouri
257
00:16:51,932 --> 00:16:54,073
is sworn in hours later.
258
00:16:54,817 --> 00:16:58,347
Roosevelt had led the country
through the Great Depression
259
00:16:58,348 --> 00:17:00,121
and through the war.
260
00:17:01,372 --> 00:17:04,979
In the 82 days that Truman
had been vice president,
261
00:17:04,980 --> 00:17:07,732
he met with Roosevelt all of twice.
262
00:17:07,733 --> 00:17:11,610
He really knows nothing about
what's going on with the war effort.
263
00:17:11,611 --> 00:17:13,487
He didn't think he was up to the job
264
00:17:13,488 --> 00:17:16,199
and there are people
who would say he was right.
265
00:17:16,408 --> 00:17:19,160
The new president
is immediately confronted
266
00:17:19,161 --> 00:17:21,309
with enormous challenges.
267
00:17:21,893 --> 00:17:25,082
It's important for the wartime
president to demonstrate
268
00:17:25,083 --> 00:17:28,294
that he has a plan for bringing
this war to a successful conclusion
269
00:17:28,295 --> 00:17:30,212
and as rapidly as possible.
270
00:17:30,213 --> 00:17:32,798
It's clear to the American
population that Germany
271
00:17:32,799 --> 00:17:36,553
is on its last legs,
but Japan is still fighting hard.
272
00:17:36,970 --> 00:17:38,472
The question really is,
273
00:17:38,638 --> 00:17:42,298
how many American lives am
I going to lose to end this war?
274
00:17:42,455 --> 00:17:45,082
That's the whole ball game
for Harry Truman.
275
00:17:50,869 --> 00:17:54,321
Truman meets with
Secretary of War Henry Stimson
276
00:17:54,347 --> 00:17:57,053
and Army General Leslie Groves.
277
00:17:57,428 --> 00:17:59,575
The agenda is classified.
278
00:17:59,576 --> 00:18:02,099
They hand Truman a document.
279
00:18:02,496 --> 00:18:04,205
Truman opens it up and reads it
280
00:18:04,206 --> 00:18:06,624
and the memo begins
with these dramatic words.
281
00:18:06,625 --> 00:18:10,420
"Within four months, we shall,
in all probability,
282
00:18:10,446 --> 00:18:14,840
have completed the most terrible weapon
ever known in human history,
283
00:18:14,841 --> 00:18:18,950
one bomb which can
destroy a whole city."
284
00:18:19,999 --> 00:18:22,084
The Manhattan Project,
285
00:18:22,669 --> 00:18:24,893
the top secret American program
286
00:18:25,143 --> 00:18:28,412
to develop the world's
first atomic bombs.
287
00:18:29,648 --> 00:18:33,484
For three years, thousands
of scientists and engineers
288
00:18:33,485 --> 00:18:36,801
have worked on the most powerful
weapon in history.
289
00:18:37,343 --> 00:18:40,075
It is set to be tested mid-summer.
290
00:18:40,979 --> 00:18:44,220
Truman and his commanders
are ready to pay any price
291
00:18:44,246 --> 00:18:46,163
to bring this war to an end.
292
00:18:46,164 --> 00:18:48,707
But an invasion of
the Japanese home islands
293
00:18:48,708 --> 00:18:51,420
will be bloody
on an unimaginable scale.
294
00:18:51,461 --> 00:18:54,355
Higher losses than
any previous campaign,
295
00:18:54,381 --> 00:18:57,989
either in the Pacific War
or in the war in Europe.
296
00:18:58,384 --> 00:19:00,324
The Manhattan project,
297
00:19:00,630 --> 00:19:04,182
the attempt to develop atomic weapons.
298
00:19:04,516 --> 00:19:07,243
If that proves to be successful,
299
00:19:07,269 --> 00:19:09,328
if those tests prove out,
300
00:19:09,876 --> 00:19:11,892
then that is an alternative.
301
00:19:17,218 --> 00:19:19,637
The war in Europe is over.
302
00:19:20,139 --> 00:19:22,690
The Nazi Third Reich
has been destroyed.
303
00:19:28,342 --> 00:19:31,366
But for war-weary America
and its allies,
304
00:19:32,700 --> 00:19:35,203
the war in the Pacific continues,
305
00:19:35,829 --> 00:19:38,598
and many of the men
who helped defeat Germany
306
00:19:38,624 --> 00:19:41,876
may now be required to fight Japan.
307
00:19:42,418 --> 00:19:44,650
At this point,
people in the military knew
308
00:19:44,705 --> 00:19:47,583
that a lot of these units are
gonna need to be transferred.
309
00:19:47,695 --> 00:19:51,114
Just because the war in Europe
is over, don't get excited.
310
00:19:51,115 --> 00:19:53,596
We're gonna need those troops
in the Pacific.
311
00:19:58,730 --> 00:20:01,642
After two months of ceaseless combat,
312
00:20:01,875 --> 00:20:04,127
Marine and Army units break through
313
00:20:04,128 --> 00:20:07,402
the main Japanese defensive line
on Okinawa.
314
00:20:08,361 --> 00:20:11,050
Japanese troops are forced to retreat
315
00:20:11,051 --> 00:20:14,887
and attempt a last stand
on the Kiyan Peninsula.
316
00:20:14,888 --> 00:20:17,598
By this point,
the Japanese soldiers on Okinawa
317
00:20:17,599 --> 00:20:19,225
are low on ammunition,
318
00:20:19,226 --> 00:20:22,073
they are starving, they're exhausted,
319
00:20:22,375 --> 00:20:25,790
but they realise that the next step
for the allies after Okinawa
320
00:20:25,816 --> 00:20:27,151
is the home islands.
321
00:20:27,177 --> 00:20:31,863
They are all that stand between the
allies and their families, their homes.
322
00:20:31,864 --> 00:20:36,389
They are the last line of defence
and everyone is depending on them.
323
00:20:42,252 --> 00:20:45,273
Although the Americans
have gained ground...
324
00:20:47,751 --> 00:20:51,341
...the more you push and the more
terrain that has been captured,
325
00:20:51,508 --> 00:20:54,657
the more dangerous and costly
the battle is becoming.
326
00:20:56,370 --> 00:20:58,640
But the Americans know
we're making progress.
327
00:20:58,641 --> 00:21:00,809
If war is a clash of wills,
328
00:21:00,976 --> 00:21:04,250
the United States is a nation
willing to fight it out to the end.
329
00:21:07,639 --> 00:21:11,966
Organised resistance on Okinawa
ends On June 22nd.
330
00:21:12,592 --> 00:21:14,990
The Japanese army's commanding general
331
00:21:15,157 --> 00:21:20,302
and his chief of staff both
commit suicide by ritual seppuku.
332
00:21:20,856 --> 00:21:24,187
100,000 Japanese servicemen are killed.
333
00:21:25,417 --> 00:21:29,150
On the American side, the casualties
are 50,000 killed and wounded.
334
00:21:29,797 --> 00:21:34,906
These are the worst of battle casualties
in the Pacific War for the Americans,
335
00:21:36,345 --> 00:21:39,765
worse than all of that are
the number of civilians killed.
336
00:21:40,094 --> 00:21:42,533
Up to 125,000,
337
00:21:42,559 --> 00:21:46,297
which is a third of the population
caught in the crossfire.
338
00:21:46,793 --> 00:21:48,481
This is just Okinawa.
339
00:21:48,482 --> 00:21:50,859
What happens when we
get to their home islands?
340
00:21:51,026 --> 00:21:53,800
The cost is gonna be enormous.
341
00:21:54,174 --> 00:21:56,156
This war ain't over.
342
00:21:56,182 --> 00:21:58,373
It's not even close to being over.
343
00:22:02,819 --> 00:22:06,375
American leaders understand
the Battle of Okinawa
344
00:22:06,542 --> 00:22:09,128
is a frightening preview
of what to expect
345
00:22:09,294 --> 00:22:12,129
when Japan's home islands are invaded.
346
00:22:12,131 --> 00:22:14,423
Truman has a meeting
with General Marshall
347
00:22:14,424 --> 00:22:17,553
and the joint chiefs of staff
on Operation Downfall;
348
00:22:17,719 --> 00:22:20,556
the invasion of the Japanese
home islands.
349
00:22:20,722 --> 00:22:23,517
This plan goes back to
the Roosevelt presidency.
350
00:22:23,684 --> 00:22:25,498
Planning is going forward
351
00:22:26,082 --> 00:22:29,230
and the most interested person
at the meeting is George Marshall.
352
00:22:29,231 --> 00:22:31,983
He wants Truman to sign off on it.
353
00:22:31,984 --> 00:22:35,152
Operation Downfall will be
a two-pronged operation,
354
00:22:35,154 --> 00:22:37,343
the first called Operation Olympic.
355
00:22:38,144 --> 00:22:42,093
The idea of Operation Olympic is to
invade the southern island of Kyushu
356
00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:46,926
and seize naval bases and air bases
while pushing Japanese forces north.
357
00:22:46,957 --> 00:22:49,500
The critical phase, though,
of Operation Downfall
358
00:22:49,501 --> 00:22:51,919
is what's code-named Operation Coronet.
359
00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:55,214
It's the invasion of Honshu,
which is where Tokyo itself sits.
360
00:22:55,215 --> 00:22:57,692
So this would inevitably
end in either the destruction
361
00:22:57,718 --> 00:22:59,534
or capture of the Japanese capital.
362
00:23:01,597 --> 00:23:04,640
Think about the scale of
Operation Downfall as a whole.
363
00:23:04,641 --> 00:23:06,434
5 million men involved,
364
00:23:06,435 --> 00:23:09,020
up to a million British
and Commonwealth troops,
365
00:23:09,021 --> 00:23:12,732
4 million American troops,
and this is gonna dwarf D-Day
366
00:23:12,733 --> 00:23:16,652
in the logistics and the naval of
forces that are gonna be involved.
367
00:23:16,653 --> 00:23:18,988
Then the forces that
are actually gonna land
368
00:23:18,989 --> 00:23:22,680
and most importantly of all is gonna
dwarf the number of casualties.
369
00:23:24,824 --> 00:23:27,014
If the allies had to invade Japan,
370
00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:31,272
that would be the largest amphibious
assault ever undertaken.
371
00:23:31,710 --> 00:23:35,589
And the Americans were gonna
bear almost the entire weight of it,
372
00:23:36,638 --> 00:23:40,719
and the President understood that better
than most of the American public did.
373
00:23:42,450 --> 00:23:45,264
Truman specifically
says to his chiefs of staff,
374
00:23:45,265 --> 00:23:48,998
I don't want an Okinawa from
one end of Japan to the other.
375
00:23:52,981 --> 00:23:57,632
So Truman,
in June of '45, is looking at
376
00:23:57,927 --> 00:24:00,821
a brutal final act against Japan.
377
00:24:00,822 --> 00:24:03,388
But it is very important
to Harry Truman
378
00:24:03,930 --> 00:24:06,494
that he always be seen as the decider.
379
00:24:06,495 --> 00:24:08,434
The buck stops here.
380
00:24:09,268 --> 00:24:13,376
Truman understands that this
war with Japan needs to end,
381
00:24:13,377 --> 00:24:15,628
the invasion looks horrible.
382
00:24:15,629 --> 00:24:18,528
But what's option B in this situation?
383
00:24:18,986 --> 00:24:21,092
Even at this late date in June,
384
00:24:21,093 --> 00:24:24,553
there's no sense that the Manhattan
Project is going to work.
385
00:24:24,554 --> 00:24:26,994
They really don't know
if they have a bomb yet.
386
00:24:27,370 --> 00:24:30,935
And so Truman signs off
on Operation Downfall,
387
00:24:30,936 --> 00:24:33,230
the two big invasions of Japan.
388
00:24:33,546 --> 00:24:38,256
Stage one, Operation Olympic
is set for November 1st.
389
00:24:38,282 --> 00:24:39,783
The clock is ticking.
390
00:24:43,386 --> 00:24:48,349
The Japanese army's plan
is to fight to the bitter end
391
00:24:48,509 --> 00:24:54,147
with a decisive and final battle
in the home islands.
392
00:24:54,746 --> 00:24:57,317
For a while now,
the Japanese army had been planning
393
00:24:57,344 --> 00:25:00,881
what they call Operation Ketsugo,
which means operation decisive.
394
00:25:00,882 --> 00:25:03,968
It's a plan to defend Kyushu.
They think they've got
395
00:25:03,969 --> 00:25:07,243
perhaps a million men that
they can put into the field.
396
00:25:08,161 --> 00:25:11,247
They also want to put civilians
into the field.
397
00:25:11,768 --> 00:25:15,062
Their idea is that they will
make things so terrifying,
398
00:25:15,063 --> 00:25:17,189
that it will stop the Americans
399
00:25:17,190 --> 00:25:19,922
trying to do anything anywhere else
in the home islands.
400
00:25:20,339 --> 00:25:24,865
Women and children were
going through the military drills
401
00:25:24,891 --> 00:25:27,367
where everybody was
given a bamboo spear.
402
00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:34,979
They are essentially mobilising
everybody older than 12 years old...
403
00:25:36,460 --> 00:25:38,729
...to fight to the death.
404
00:25:53,452 --> 00:25:56,099
In July, for the first time,
President Truman
405
00:25:56,100 --> 00:25:59,311
meets with both British Prime
Minister Winston Churchill
406
00:25:59,312 --> 00:26:02,962
and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin
at Potsdam,
407
00:26:03,253 --> 00:26:07,424
formerly the home of Prussian kings
and the German Kaiser.
408
00:26:08,300 --> 00:26:10,427
Europe is devastated.
409
00:26:12,226 --> 00:26:14,937
It's a massive disaster zone.
410
00:26:16,266 --> 00:26:18,789
The point of the Potsdam Conference
411
00:26:18,790 --> 00:26:21,230
is for these three governments
to come together
412
00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:24,775
and figure out how these countries
are gonna be rebuilt.
413
00:26:25,693 --> 00:26:29,655
But Truman has his eyes on
a completely different problem.
414
00:26:29,905 --> 00:26:32,469
He huddles with
Secretary of War Stimson,
415
00:26:32,470 --> 00:26:34,243
and what are they talking about?
416
00:26:34,493 --> 00:26:36,787
They're talking about the Pacific.
417
00:26:40,009 --> 00:26:42,604
With Operation Downfall months away,
418
00:26:42,605 --> 00:26:45,566
President Truman seeks
assurance that the Soviets
419
00:26:45,567 --> 00:26:49,758
will participate in the war
against Japan as pledged.
420
00:26:50,009 --> 00:26:54,241
All this time, Japan and
the Soviet Union had been neutral.
421
00:26:54,242 --> 00:26:56,619
They had not been at war
with one another.
422
00:26:56,903 --> 00:27:01,207
Stalin promised within 90 days
of the end of the war in Europe,
423
00:27:01,208 --> 00:27:03,083
he'll join the war against Japan.
424
00:27:03,084 --> 00:27:05,794
He promised that to Roosevelt
back at Yalta.
425
00:27:05,795 --> 00:27:08,193
So Truman hopes that's a go.
426
00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:11,049
But at the start of the conference,
427
00:27:11,050 --> 00:27:15,325
Stimson receives a coded cable
from the War Department.
428
00:27:15,617 --> 00:27:17,661
"Operated on this morning,
429
00:27:17,964 --> 00:27:19,917
diagnosis not yet complete,
430
00:27:20,094 --> 00:27:22,186
but results seem satisfactory.
431
00:27:22,339 --> 00:27:24,508
Dr Groves is pleased."
432
00:27:25,683 --> 00:27:30,591
Truman now knew that the atomic bomb
had been detonated successfully.
433
00:27:33,052 --> 00:27:34,532
In this moment,
434
00:27:34,558 --> 00:27:37,075
we have this amazing window
into Truman's thinking,
435
00:27:37,076 --> 00:27:39,224
because he was keeping a diary.
436
00:27:40,559 --> 00:27:45,272
Truman realises this bomb could be
a short circuit to ending the war.
437
00:27:46,523 --> 00:27:51,278
When Truman hears that
the atomic bomb actually works,
438
00:27:51,528 --> 00:27:53,634
he knows they have to use it,
439
00:27:53,635 --> 00:27:55,636
but he wants to give the Japanese
440
00:27:55,637 --> 00:27:58,243
one last chance to surrender
before he does.
441
00:27:59,453 --> 00:28:03,310
President Truman, along
with Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek,
442
00:28:03,311 --> 00:28:08,253
the leader of the Republic of China,
issue the Potsdam Declaration,
443
00:28:08,288 --> 00:28:10,525
a warning to Japan of what awaits
444
00:28:10,526 --> 00:28:13,112
if they don't surrender
unconditionally.
445
00:28:13,383 --> 00:28:15,113
But Stimson suggests
446
00:28:15,114 --> 00:28:19,056
they consider allowing Hirohito
to keep his throne.
447
00:28:19,473 --> 00:28:23,538
Stimson understands the
constitutional and cultural position
448
00:28:23,539 --> 00:28:27,834
that the emperor plays in Japanese
life, this kind of demigod status.
449
00:28:27,835 --> 00:28:31,421
So he insists on inserting
into the declaration,
450
00:28:31,422 --> 00:28:34,675
assurance that they won't try
the emperor for war crimes.
451
00:28:34,676 --> 00:28:37,761
But beyond that, it will be
unconditional surrender,
452
00:28:37,762 --> 00:28:40,202
and no other terms will be acceptable.
453
00:28:40,953 --> 00:28:43,642
Also in this document is wordage
454
00:28:43,643 --> 00:28:45,958
that does not mention the atomic bomb,
455
00:28:46,208 --> 00:28:50,935
but it does say that if
unconditional surrender is not coming,
456
00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:55,175
the destruction was
going to be historic and massive.
457
00:28:59,322 --> 00:29:04,393
The Office of War Information
releases the Potsdam Declaration
458
00:29:04,977 --> 00:29:08,772
and the Japanese receive it
via radio from San Francisco.
459
00:29:10,107 --> 00:29:14,589
Prime Minister Suzuki
and Emperor Hirohito
460
00:29:14,590 --> 00:29:17,072
are of the opinion that
461
00:29:17,531 --> 00:29:24,246
the Potsdam Declaration
is not really vindictive.
462
00:29:24,315 --> 00:29:26,665
They see some...
463
00:29:27,586 --> 00:29:28,851
...hope.
464
00:29:29,414 --> 00:29:32,315
Emperor Hirohito himself,
at this point,
465
00:29:32,316 --> 00:29:34,317
he is open to accepting it,
466
00:29:34,318 --> 00:29:39,072
but he understands
his role as an emperor.
467
00:29:39,073 --> 00:29:42,827
There are only certain times
for him to weigh in.
468
00:29:43,348 --> 00:29:44,995
The emperor and the Peace Party
469
00:29:44,996 --> 00:29:46,621
are in an impossible position here.
470
00:29:46,622 --> 00:29:49,666
I mean, if they respond
positively to the ultimatum,
471
00:29:49,667 --> 00:29:51,209
the military might turn against them,
472
00:29:51,210 --> 00:29:52,919
but if they completely ignore it,
473
00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:57,341
there's a danger that the Americans are
actually gonna carry out what they suggest.
474
00:29:58,002 --> 00:29:59,469
Two days later,
475
00:29:59,740 --> 00:30:04,578
Japan's Prime Minister Kantaro
Suzuki holds a press conference.
476
00:30:05,329 --> 00:30:08,874
When press asks
about Potsdam Declaration,
477
00:30:09,041 --> 00:30:11,960
Suzuki uses the word "mokusatsu."
478
00:30:12,794 --> 00:30:16,501
The best translation for that
is "no comment"
479
00:30:16,527 --> 00:30:20,427
or I'm not going to respond
to that question.
480
00:30:20,969 --> 00:30:25,807
However, the word mokusatsu can
also mean we're going to ignore it.
481
00:30:25,974 --> 00:30:29,019
I think the Japanese media,
they're very quick to interpret it
482
00:30:29,186 --> 00:30:31,438
in the most hostile and negative way.
483
00:30:32,231 --> 00:30:34,123
Then the American media pick it up,
484
00:30:34,149 --> 00:30:37,819
then that becomes the view of the
American administration as well
485
00:30:37,958 --> 00:30:41,365
that the Japanese are rejecting
the Potsdam Declaration.
486
00:30:41,551 --> 00:30:45,514
And to Truman, the Japanese
response is plain and clear.
487
00:30:45,786 --> 00:30:49,456
He believes that the Japanese
told him to go to hell.
488
00:30:55,395 --> 00:30:57,710
By early 1945,
489
00:30:58,029 --> 00:31:03,445
Tinian Island in the Marianas
is the largest air base on Earth.
490
00:31:05,071 --> 00:31:07,532
Hundreds of B-29s have taken off
491
00:31:07,699 --> 00:31:10,368
from its multiple runways
to bomb Japan.
492
00:31:17,250 --> 00:31:20,921
But there's a very mysterious
restricted area
493
00:31:21,087 --> 00:31:22,923
at one part of the base.
494
00:31:23,173 --> 00:31:26,129
No one really knows
what's going on up there.
495
00:31:26,155 --> 00:31:30,263
It belongs to some unit called
the 509th Composite Group.
496
00:31:30,513 --> 00:31:35,268
These are the preparations
for the arrival of the atomic bomb.
497
00:31:37,103 --> 00:31:41,232
Components for the atomic
bombs are delivered in late July
498
00:31:41,608 --> 00:31:44,986
and carefully assembled
over the following days.
499
00:31:46,599 --> 00:31:50,598
So the Manhattan Project was
able to produce enough uranium
500
00:31:50,638 --> 00:31:52,976
and plutonium for three bombs.
501
00:31:53,057 --> 00:31:54,724
And after the Trinity test,
502
00:31:54,725 --> 00:31:57,981
the Americans only had
two bombs in the arsenal.
503
00:31:58,249 --> 00:32:00,961
Truman makes
the decision to drop the bomb.
504
00:32:01,127 --> 00:32:03,666
He legitimately wants
to save US casualties
505
00:32:03,692 --> 00:32:05,840
and bring this war to an end rapidly.
506
00:32:06,257 --> 00:32:10,553
At the same time, he wants to assert
his authority as president.
507
00:32:16,556 --> 00:32:20,355
It is one of the most
consequential decisions that...
508
00:32:21,982 --> 00:32:25,026
...any nation has ever made,
509
00:32:26,695 --> 00:32:30,740
and no one knows what was gonna happen.
510
00:32:31,992 --> 00:32:34,661
But President Truman did understand
511
00:32:34,995 --> 00:32:38,164
that this was of a different
scale and scope.
512
00:32:38,540 --> 00:32:41,918
He compares it to the biblical flood
in his diary,
513
00:32:42,085 --> 00:32:46,464
"As the world was once destroyed
by water for Noah,
514
00:32:46,673 --> 00:32:50,010
perhaps now it'll be destroyed
by fire and destruction."
515
00:32:54,723 --> 00:32:58,388
By design, the target
of the first atomic bomb is a city
516
00:32:58,414 --> 00:33:00,979
relatively unscathed by the war.
517
00:33:01,855 --> 00:33:06,693
American military leaders
want the Japanese to understand
518
00:33:06,754 --> 00:33:10,592
the awful destructive power
of this new weapon.
519
00:33:10,593 --> 00:33:13,761
That morning in Hiroshima
is an ordinary morning.
520
00:33:13,762 --> 00:33:15,346
People are going about their business.
521
00:33:15,347 --> 00:33:17,807
Some people are going
into the factories to work.
522
00:33:17,808 --> 00:33:20,743
They're still wondering why
they've not yet been bombed
523
00:33:20,769 --> 00:33:23,168
and they're expecting it
more or less any day.
524
00:33:23,585 --> 00:33:27,000
And then people see
this light in the sky,
525
00:33:27,026 --> 00:33:30,216
sun shining off a single aircraft.
526
00:34:04,407 --> 00:34:08,617
The first thing is the flashing light
527
00:34:08,643 --> 00:34:10,812
as if sun explodes,
528
00:34:11,236 --> 00:34:14,990
then a noise and a shock.
529
00:34:18,315 --> 00:34:21,758
The people who were near
the epicentre...
530
00:34:22,420 --> 00:34:23,796
evaporate.
531
00:34:25,563 --> 00:34:28,770
The casualties mount
until you get between 90,000
532
00:34:28,796 --> 00:34:31,569
and 160,000 people who've died.
533
00:34:33,113 --> 00:34:36,903
The dominant image that
survivors give of Hiroshima
534
00:34:36,929 --> 00:34:39,452
is of one of the Buddhist hells.
535
00:34:44,958 --> 00:34:47,768
One thing really difficult
for historians to jive with
536
00:34:47,794 --> 00:34:51,464
is this idea that Truman
has chosen military targets
537
00:34:51,631 --> 00:34:55,468
and he writes even in his diary, the
words, "And not women and children."
538
00:34:56,261 --> 00:34:58,199
We'll never really know.
539
00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:01,933
Did he really feel that
this was a military target
540
00:35:02,475 --> 00:35:05,681
or was he writing that in his diary
understanding that
541
00:35:05,708 --> 00:35:09,274
history for generations
was gonna judge him for this?
542
00:35:13,945 --> 00:35:16,884
Truman is at sea
coming home from Potsdam
543
00:35:16,885 --> 00:35:18,700
when he received the news.
544
00:35:18,950 --> 00:35:22,223
Later that same day,
he goes on the airwaves to address
545
00:35:22,224 --> 00:35:24,934
the American people and to tell them
what has just happened.
546
00:35:24,935 --> 00:35:29,230
He says it's a new type of bomb
that America has used it
547
00:35:29,231 --> 00:35:32,567
and will continue to use it
until Japan surrenders.
548
00:35:32,568 --> 00:35:35,403
If they do not now accept our terms,
549
00:35:35,404 --> 00:35:38,490
they may expect a rain of ruin
from the air,
550
00:35:38,525 --> 00:35:41,431
the like of which has never
been seen on this earth.
551
00:35:48,688 --> 00:35:53,401
Even with Hiroshima in ruins,
Japanese leaders do not surrender.
552
00:35:53,651 --> 00:35:57,442
The peace camp
pushed for immediate acceptance
553
00:35:57,468 --> 00:35:59,415
of the Potsdam Declaration,
554
00:35:59,447 --> 00:36:03,305
but the military side insists
on continuing the war.
555
00:36:03,523 --> 00:36:07,985
The reasoning is that may be
the only atomic bomb that they had.
556
00:36:08,277 --> 00:36:10,905
So they're still at the stalemate.
557
00:36:11,923 --> 00:36:15,082
And then the Soviet Union
declares war on Japan.
558
00:36:21,512 --> 00:36:23,598
Just as Stalin promised,
559
00:36:23,863 --> 00:36:27,547
exactly 90 days after
the surrender of Germany,
560
00:36:29,030 --> 00:36:32,130
one and a half million Soviet troops
561
00:36:32,155 --> 00:36:36,389
pour across the border into
Japanese occupied Manchuria.
562
00:36:37,032 --> 00:36:39,703
The Japanese aren't
aware that for months the Soviets
563
00:36:39,705 --> 00:36:43,455
have amassed their armour
on the borders with Manchuria.
564
00:36:43,622 --> 00:36:46,712
But now the Russians
are rolling into Manchuria
565
00:36:46,750 --> 00:36:48,734
and they're rolling over the Japanese.
566
00:36:48,985 --> 00:36:51,632
And now you've got the prospect
of the Soviets,
567
00:36:51,633 --> 00:36:53,884
not just making their way
into Manchuria,
568
00:36:53,885 --> 00:36:56,826
but possibly across to the Japanese
home islands.
569
00:36:57,451 --> 00:37:00,246
For Japan, it's a complete disaster.
570
00:37:05,862 --> 00:37:09,514
On the same day the Red Army
moves into Manchuria,
571
00:37:12,493 --> 00:37:15,729
B-29s appear over Nagasaki.
572
00:37:16,956 --> 00:37:19,483
One carries an atomic bomb.
573
00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:23,904
The US has
just one more atom bomb left.
574
00:37:24,613 --> 00:37:28,012
But the whole idea is to give Japan
the impression
575
00:37:28,092 --> 00:37:30,994
that the US has an unlimited stock
576
00:37:31,969 --> 00:37:34,409
and that if Japan won't surrender,
577
00:37:34,435 --> 00:37:39,044
the US will continue to unleash
atom bombs on Japan.
578
00:37:42,891 --> 00:37:47,135
Between 60 and 70,000 people
are killed instantly.
579
00:37:59,106 --> 00:38:02,395
Prime Minister Suzuki
convenes the war council
580
00:38:02,421 --> 00:38:07,030
and the discussion is, are we gonna
accept the Potsdam Declaration?
581
00:38:07,989 --> 00:38:10,659
And the answer from the military is no.
582
00:38:13,388 --> 00:38:15,350
You've had two atomic bombs.
583
00:38:15,351 --> 00:38:18,116
You've had the Soviet
invasion of Manchuria,
584
00:38:18,142 --> 00:38:21,106
and yet the Supreme War Council
is still split.
585
00:38:21,107 --> 00:38:23,275
The war faction, the military,
586
00:38:23,276 --> 00:38:26,567
they're absolutely not willing to
consider unconditional surrender.
587
00:38:26,734 --> 00:38:32,592
That's when Prime Minister
Suzuki makes the very important move
588
00:38:32,618 --> 00:38:36,893
saying that we need to ask the emperor.
589
00:38:37,546 --> 00:38:39,441
This is a standout moment.
590
00:38:39,467 --> 00:38:41,459
This is something you
would never normally do.
591
00:38:41,460 --> 00:38:44,297
There's a sense Hirohito is semi-divine
592
00:38:44,323 --> 00:38:47,656
and shouldn't be troubled with
the decision making process.
593
00:38:48,238 --> 00:38:50,219
It's a really extraordinary step.
594
00:38:50,907 --> 00:38:54,139
But Hirohito, I think,
sees the gravity of the situation.
595
00:38:54,140 --> 00:38:57,476
He sees that this is a moment
where it's his responsibility
596
00:38:57,557 --> 00:39:00,083
to step up as the leader effectively.
597
00:39:01,126 --> 00:39:03,606
And he says,
598
00:39:03,608 --> 00:39:09,074
"We must bear the unbearable
and suffer the insufferable.
599
00:39:09,593 --> 00:39:13,555
We will end the war and then move on."
600
00:39:24,876 --> 00:39:26,961
I have received this afternoon
601
00:39:27,128 --> 00:39:29,797
a message from the Japanese government.
602
00:39:30,113 --> 00:39:35,139
I deem this reply, a full acceptance
of the Potsdam Declaration,
603
00:39:35,670 --> 00:39:39,956
which specifies the unconditional
surrender of Japan.
604
00:39:40,999 --> 00:39:42,729
And people go nuts.
605
00:39:42,730 --> 00:39:46,630
Tens of thousands of people gather
at the gate of the White House.
606
00:39:47,589 --> 00:39:51,635
The world has been holding
its breath since the war began.
607
00:39:52,427 --> 00:39:57,849
Now it is over
and there is great celebration.
608
00:39:59,059 --> 00:40:01,873
One of the crucial factors
in ending this war is that
609
00:40:01,874 --> 00:40:05,210
you have Harry Truman, an accidental
president who had to be briefed
610
00:40:05,211 --> 00:40:08,061
on the wartime situation
when he enters the Oval Office.
611
00:40:09,077 --> 00:40:14,241
And Hirohito, who has never
really made political decisions.
612
00:40:14,647 --> 00:40:19,767
They assert themselves and bring
the war to an end in August of 1945.
613
00:40:22,359 --> 00:40:23,691
Batan,
614
00:40:23,899 --> 00:40:25,624
Guadalcanal,
615
00:40:25,797 --> 00:40:27,340
Iwo Jima,
616
00:40:27,480 --> 00:40:28,904
Okinawa,
617
00:40:29,621 --> 00:40:32,153
once obscure points on a map,
618
00:40:32,154 --> 00:40:35,780
now each place has a new meaning.
619
00:40:41,952 --> 00:40:44,788
In Japan on August 15th,
620
00:40:44,913 --> 00:40:50,151
Emperor Hirohito addresses a nation
that has never surrendered.
621
00:40:51,152 --> 00:40:54,609
Most Japanese had never
heard the emperor's voice before,
622
00:40:54,635 --> 00:40:57,637
but the Jewel Voice Broadcast
as it became known,
623
00:40:57,638 --> 00:41:02,267
is essential to getting most
Japanese used to the idea
624
00:41:02,268 --> 00:41:05,584
of laying their arms
and admitting surrender.
625
00:41:20,852 --> 00:41:23,496
When the Japanese
hear that the war is over,
626
00:41:23,497 --> 00:41:25,788
there has to be a combination
of feelings.
627
00:41:25,814 --> 00:41:28,525
We sacrificed all these people,
all this money
628
00:41:28,551 --> 00:41:32,110
and these cities of Japan, and we lost.
629
00:41:32,986 --> 00:41:35,530
Shock, sadness,
630
00:41:36,948 --> 00:41:42,972
but also this incredible sense of
grief that we let the emperor down.
631
00:41:43,652 --> 00:41:46,291
Our lack of effort let
the emperor down.
632
00:41:47,542 --> 00:41:50,899
The Japanese accepted
the idea of surrender.
633
00:41:50,900 --> 00:41:53,501
The allies accepted
the idea of Hirohito
634
00:41:53,527 --> 00:41:57,594
remaining on the Japanese throne,
and that was the end of the war.
635
00:41:58,666 --> 00:42:01,562
September 2nd, 1945,
636
00:42:01,588 --> 00:42:05,635
on the deck of the USS Missouri
anchored in Tokyo Bay,
637
00:42:05,637 --> 00:42:09,203
the Japanese sign the instrument
of surrender,
638
00:42:09,515 --> 00:42:11,778
the largest conflict in world history
639
00:42:11,779 --> 00:42:14,803
closes with a signature and a speech.
640
00:42:15,947 --> 00:42:18,157
Douglas MacArthur marks the occasion.
641
00:42:18,324 --> 00:42:21,830
"It is my earnest hope
and indeed the hope of all mankind,
642
00:42:21,831 --> 00:42:23,790
that from this solemn occasion,
643
00:42:23,791 --> 00:42:28,859
a better world shall emerge out of
the blood and carnage of the past."