The Soviet Declaration Of War - 1352 Words

The Soviet declaration of war on Japan exerted even more pressure on Japan, triggering even the emperor to urge the government to just accept the Potsdam Declaration and surrender. Its involvement meant that Japan might be fighting a two-front war as the Soviets had already settled in Japanese-held Manchuria, and had orders to attack Japan s northern and southern isles. This influenced Japan s unconditional surrender as no strategy remained and it may not hope for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to mediate for an appropriate peace. On August 15, Japan surrendered unconditionally based on all the Potsdam terms. C. Evaluation of source: Source A - Five Days in August: How World War II Became a Nuclear War by Michael Gordin.†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, the source mentions plans for further nuclear weapons, indicating that the Nagasaki attack was not carried out with the intention of decisively ending the war and therefore not necessary. However, it may be limited by the fact that it does not reference enough primary sources that originate from Japanese officials; or directly provide evidence of Japans impending surrender from credible Japanese sources, only using statistics to claim Japan was ready to surrender – but doesn’t take into account the Japanese spirit or determination to continue the war; which suggests there may be an element of bias against the American perspective. (Historynewsnetwork.org, 2015) Source B: The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb by Henry Lewis Stimson Written by Stimson, who was secretary of war in 1947, an article was released in response to the being questioned to comment on the use atomic weapons and whether their use was justified. As a source released only two years after the end of the war, it is valuable because it is indicative of the mind frame of the U.S. government during the time: Stimson s account is vital when considering the nuclear attacks because of his direct involvement; he led the project and his analysis details why the atomic bombs were used and how the project developed, providing insightful information on how the U.S. government wanted the bombing to be perceived as well as the psychological impact of the bomb on surrender. However, the