History's deadliest air raid happened in Tokyo during World War II (2020)

Re:History's deadliest air raid happened in Tokyo during Wor... by mc32 on Wednesday February 16, 2022 @11:06AM (#30361767)

And? If Japan could have, they would have done what they had at their disposal to neutralize us as their enemy.

War is not fine. Dropping bombs is not fine. But they would have. They had plans to build bombs for exactly that, to drop on US cities. they also had plans to engage in biological warfare on US soil. So, yes, they would have. Japan was indiscriminate when they attacked China. If they had had the ability to reach US soil, they would have waged the same here, no doubt about it at all.

Germany would have done the same too. I mean, those guys were not fooling around. Do you think the US, the UK and the SU should have taken it easy with Germany because eventually we would have won a "kinder" (no pun intended) war?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:History's deadliest air raid happened in Tokyo during Wor... by mmustapic on Wednesday February 16, 2022 @11:13AM (#30361849)

My question is: if Japan would have done that, would you consider it a war crime, or an atrocity?

We can use phrases like "neutralise the enemy", but the reality is, hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed in order to defeat the enemy.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:History's deadliest air raid happened in Tokyo during Wor... by mc32 on Wednesday February 16, 2022 @11:16AM (#30361893)

War is crime. It's preposterous to frame it as not a crime. Crimes will happen in war, whether a "good" war or war on the "bad" side. War is crime. There should be no confusion about that.

In the end, would have the Japanese population suffered more with a conventional ground war vs firebombings or atomic bombings? I believe the consensus is stopping the war as quickly as possible spared the population the worst of it.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:History's deadliest air raid happened in Tokyo during Wor... by mmustapic on Wednesday February 16, 2022 @11:22AM (#30361963)

Then we agree, and that was my point, Allied bombings of mostly civilians is a crime.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:History's deadliest air raid happened in Tokyo during Wor... by mc32 on Wednesday February 16, 2022 @11:24AM (#30361992)

Not "Allied" but all bombings, including Axis bombings of purely civilians were a crime. However, you have to make a decision do you engage or sit back and watch the larger crime happen?

In great wars like this the distinction between military and civilian is tenuous. Japan, like Germany, was thoroughly a martial economy.

If you start a fire, don't complain later you got burnt.

[ Parent | on HN ]