Since then, however, historians saw that the United States quickly turned from fighting the Japanese to challenging the Soviet Union. Recognizing that after the surrender of Germany, the Soviets were pledged to join the war against Japan, the United States had sought to end the Pacific war quickly before Soviet forces could move into East Asia. The atomic bomb was meant both to prevent Soviet expansion into the Pacific and to demonstrate to Joseph Stalin that the United States possessed a weapon which could destroy any city in the world.
Since then, however, historians saw that the United States quickly turned from fighting the Japanese to challenging the Soviet Union. Recognizing that after the surrender of Germany, the Soviets were pledged to join the war against Japan, the United States had sought to end the Pacific war quickly before Soviet forces could move into East Asia. The atomic bomb was meant both to prevent Soviet expansion into the Pacific and to demonstrate to Joseph Stalin that the United States possessed a weapon which could destroy any city in the world.
