What topic could you give a 20-minute presentation on without any preparation?

@Byron8by7 😲👏

@Byron8by7 That's an amazing study. More people should know about it.

@sarabee1995 It would have been the largest military operation in history, with [i]six[/i] landings - each the size of the D-Day landing - with a total of about 1 million American troops. Casualties would very likely have been astronomical.

I refer you to this book:

Hell to Pay: Operation DOWNFALL and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947 (Revised and Expanded Edition), by D. M. Giangreco

https://www.amazon.com/Hell-Pay-Operation-DOWNFALL-1945-1947/dp/1682471659/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

@Byron8by7 Thank you. I've read and studied much about Operation Downfall in the context of the decision to use atomic bombs.

@sarabee1995 Another aspect of using atomic bombs: General George Marshall wanted to use several atomic bombs as tactical battlefield weapons on Japanese positions, followed up 48 hours later by American troops to "mop up." There was little knowledge at the time about the effects of radiation. So, tens, if not hundreds of thousands of American troops would have been exposed to radiation from "tactical nukes," with eventually disastrous health results.

@Byron8by7 Thankfully cooler heads prevailed.

@sarabee1995 Indeed.