There has been a long standing debate on why the atomic bomb was used to
             defeat Japan. The threat of Russian advancement in Europe and in Asia was
             enough to worry the top officials in the United States and British governments.
             Wherever the Russians moved through they took for themselves. The imminent
             invasion of mainland Japan and the allied casualties that came with it were also
             a factor in the decision to drop the bomb, as said in document A. The dropping
             of the bomb was not entirely used to stop the Russian advancement.
             If the allied forces had invaded mainland Japan, many lives on both
             sides would have been lost. Most probably more than were lost in the bombing of
             Hiroshima and Nagasaki put together. The tactics that the allies had used up to
             this point had cost hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides. This was
             when the Japanese only had maybe two or three thousand men on an island; whereas
             on the mainland millions of people who would fight until their death to protect
             their country. Can you imagine if the Americans invaded mainland Japan where
             they had not only soldiers to fight against but the citizens of Japan loyal to
             Hirohito? Massive destruction, immense loss of life, and prolonging of the war
             until late 1946, as stated in document A, would result from invading on foot
             Revenge also played a role in the decision to bomb Japan. The Japanese
             were not following the Geneva convention in regards to treatment of prisoners of
             war. Which says that the prisoners are not to be put through torture of the
             psychological or physical nature. The Japanese did these things anyway, they
             would decapitate American prisoners, or they would shove bamboo shoots under
             their fingernails. The American government also wanted revenge for the surprise
             attack on Pearl Harbor. No warning was given by the Japanese to the Americans
             and no war was declared until after the incident.
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