>>64089360
>Why nuke Berlin and make Stalin's path to the Rhine that much easier when victory against Hitler through conventional means was all of a few months out

In August 1945, no one could have realistically known that Nazi Germany would gone within a year.

The upside to nuking Berlin is that it would have immediately removed the biggest barrier to a German surrender (Hitler himself) as well as destroying the nerve centers of the German government's institutions, and this occurring mere weeks after the failure of the July 20 plot means that it's not a forgone conclusion that the frontlines in the West would basically dissolve as the Wehrmacht and Nazi Party organs like the SS start fighting each other and the Western Allies can basically just roll up to the German border without any serious resistance (German troops in the East would likely keep fighting regardless).

Also, use of the atomic bomb against Germany first would mean that Japan could likely be made to surrender without using them at all. They'd take one look at Berlin being vaporized, realize that Tokyo is literally also within range of American aircraft and decide to just cut their losses awhile they're ahead.