I'd argue that WWII carpet bombing of Tokyo and later the slaughter at Hiroshima and Nagasaki did exactly that.
The GI's that fought all the way up the chain of islands leading to shores of Japan and the Navy grunts that took out the Japanese Imperial Navy might have had something to do with it.
The total defeat of Japan along with unheard of slaughter was imminent one way or the other. The military machine was not going to give up even in the face of the threat of nuclear annihilation. It took the authority of the emperor of Japan to force his military cabinet to accept the terms of surrender. A different person in charge might have kept it all going until everybody was dead. Hitler would have.
Japan was not brought to its knees by conventional bombing. No matter how severe, they rebuilt and continued on. The terrorist organizations are doing the same today.
The nuclear bomb became an overwhelming factor in our war with Japan and most certainly communicated to the emperor that his island's maniacal plans for defense of their homeland could not affect the resolve of the US, so I get your point.