IDEA

In the face of certain defeat: “Fight to the death!”

The geniuses

BEHIND IT:

Japanese political and military leaders

The brainstorm

STRUCK;

Bring on the

BLUNDER:

July 28, 1945

American incendiary bombs rain hell-fire on Japanese cities. Civilian casualties mount. Homes are reduced to ash. Manufacturing plants collapse into rubble. The economy tumbles as morale wanes. The world is witnessing the final harrowing act of World War II.

But Japanese leaders see things differently. Rising from the smoke and flames of their beaten country, they issue an audacious directive—a directive to the battle-weary Japanese people that defies the obvious and denies the inevitable: “Fight on! Fight to the death!”

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Michael N. Smith and Eric Kasum

Germany’s surrender already in hand, U. S. president Truman and Allied leaders, on July 26, issue the Potsdam Declaration, which outlines the terms of surrender for Japan. It threatens “the complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces and the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland.”

From bad to WORSE:

Dumb

LUCK:

After

THOUGHTS

Two days later, Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki states that his government intends to ignore the declaration. At the same time, in the face of incessant, deadly Allied air raids, Emperor Hirohito nonetheless orders his people to battle on—at all costs.

The result is death and destruction of historic proportions: On August 6, an Allied atomic bomb levels Hiroshima. Three days later, a second nuclear explosive obliterates Nagasaki. Over 200,000 are killed. Less than a week hence, Japan surrenders, finally ending the Second World War.

Japan’s resolve to fight to the last is evident in the rise of Kamikaze suicide missions near the conclusion of the conflict. Almost 4,000 Japanese pilots give up their lives by intentionally crashing their aircraft into Allied ships. Historians, studying what inspired Japanese men in the prime of their lives to act in this way, point to a unique mixture of Japan’s ancient warrior tradition, societal pressures of the day, economic necessity, and sheer desperation.