Hiroshima And Nagasaki, Japan, And Japan

Hiroshima was such an ideal target for American bombing. According to the book, this was because the city was considered an important place for establishing a military command center. Another reason was that it was a place where communication would be coordinated from. It was the perfect city for militaries to station their operations in.

Intense moral justification was needed in order to make the decision to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki however, President Truman was ultimately the man who made the final decision to launch ‘Little Boy’ and destroy Hiroshima, Nagasaki and their civilians, thus forcing an end to the war. Although there were many alternatives presented to President Truman, it is unknown as to whether they would have actually succeeded in ending the war or producing less casualties. Truman made the decision to drop these bombs in the heat of war but his justification of having a military target appeared extremely unrealistic, as both cities were full of innocent civilians. The morality of the bombs have been debated over the years, however the publication of the actual damage to civilian life caused a strong voice opposed to the usage in the 60 years following the action.

On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the Atomic Bomb “Little Boy” on Hiroshima. On August 9, 1945, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb “Fat Man” on Nagasaki. The first bomb was dropped to scare the Japanese into surrendering when it didn’t work the second bomb was dropped causing destruction and the surrender of Japan. In a time of need and anguish, Harry S Truman made the courageous decision to drop the first atomic bombs on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The big question is whether America was justified in dropping the bombs and it was because it would help stop the war, save American lives, and avenge those who were sadly murdered or hurt in the process.

During World War II Americans dropped atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing nearly 200,000 people. This resulted in Japans surrender in World War II. J. Samuel Walker analyzes this historical event in his book Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs. Over the past 70 years’ extensive research has been conducted and there is an understanding that Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombs is inconclusive. It is impossible to determine that the use of the bomb was the quickest way to end the war. An analysis of President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb reveals one challenge: was the decision to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki a show of good judgment.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki altered the course of world events by starting the Cold War, ushering advancements in technology, and by influencing cultures worldwide. Occurring on August 6 and August 9 in 1945, the bombing of the cities set of a series of events that would forever change history. The United States and the Soviet Union emerged from the war as superpowers with seemingly limitless power. Their ideologies, however, contrasted greatly, and the once allied nations would turn against each other, setting the entire world into a period of uncertainty. The atomic bomb, alone, would influence countless decisions, technologies, and policies in the following years and strike fear and awe into many around the world.

World War II spanned from September 1, 1939 to September 2, 1945 and resulted in approximately 80 million deaths. This infamous war was born out of a thirst for power and control by Nazi Germany, their fascist allies, and Japan. The war ended in 1945 after one of the most destructive weapons ever created was used to decimate regions of Japan. On August 6th, 1945 the United States dropped the first ever atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, and dropped the second one August 9th on Nagasaki. These two nuclear weapons destroyed entire cities: people were literally dissolved on the spot, buildings collapsed as if they were made of dust and paper, and the two bombs resulted in approximately 200,000 deaths (not counting those who died after the bomb of radiation exposure). The decision to drop the atomic bomb was and still is highly controversial as the destruction that it caused was devastating, to say the least, and its destructive nature exceeded everyone’s predictions. However, as disastrous as the bomb was, it seemed to be the only weapon and act great enough to end the world war. Veterans, historians, and scientists still debate over both the ethics and necessity, or lack thereof, of the bomb being a solution to end the war, but when examined, it truly was the only thing powerful enough to push Japan to surrender. This investigation will take a close look at the events of World War II, the conditions in

In his work, military historian Paul Walker examines recently declassified government documents regarding the projected number of losses expected in an invasion of Japan. He uses these numbers, as well as scenarios from other battles with Japanese forces to argue that the Atomic bomb was necessary to end the war in the pacific. Walker also addresses the usual arguments for and against the bomb, but does so only after establishing the necessity of the use of the bomb from a strictly statistical perspective.

To fully examine the factors that led to the United States to drop an atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki, one can look at the event as a result of two major decisions. The first decision concerned the use of newly developed nuclear weapons in lieu of other military techniques to secure a timely Japanese surrender. The second decision was to use several of these weapons instead of only one. Although the Truman administration displayed little hesitation or ambivalence over the decision to use atomic weapons (Walker, 51), it is important to examine what factors contributed to these swift actions.

In times of war, especially in cases where one or both sides are unwilling relinquish on any diplomacy, the only plausible action left is to demolish the opponent militarily. By not submitting to the relatively fair diplomatic option the Allies were offering, Japan could only be reasoned with through the use of the utterly devastating destructive for promised by the allies. Even after the first bomb was dropped, and Japan would not surrender, President Truman continued to warn and plead with the Japanese people to force the government to relent. In leaflets (AB-11) dropped across Japan, warnings of another event like in Hiroshima happening to other cities, the true magnitude and events of the weaponry destruction that transpired, and for the people to evacuate their cities were given, and pleas were made for the Japanese people to stop the war before another bombing had to ensue (Doc F). Again Japan did not comply with the peaceful option and America had no other choice but to bomb Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. This information is important to America’s final decision on utilizing the

Hiroshima is an outstanding recreation of the complete annihilation and devastation of during the aftermath and the year following the United States’ dropping of the atomic bomb. As the war in the east carried on, many thought this desolated war might last a lifetime, all the while hoping for an end and praying it not mean their own end. To end the war, Americans had to pick a target that would leave the Japanese government with nowhere to retreat, allowing for a crippling effect that would essentially cause their collapse and surrender. In his writings, John Hersey proclaims that Hiroshima was a “… inviting target - mainly because it had been one of the most important military command and communications centres in Japan …” (HERSEY, P. 107). In the minds of American strategists, this must have seemed a flawless method to force the Japanese military into a corner, not allowing withdrawal without laying down of arms. There was surely no doubt that dropping this bomb of god-like destructive power would, at a minimum, tear into the souls of Japanese, causing catastrophic devastation.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the US decided to march towards Japan. The pivotal battles of Midway, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa exhibited Japan’s unrelentless nationalism through the use of kamikazes and their bushido philosophy . Furthermore, this manifestation of imposed pride caused great fear for the Allies. President Truman felt that invading Japan would be a huge struggle, for Japan would do anything to protect their homeland. Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs on Japan, which were originally intended to be dropped on Germany if they did not surrender. On August 6, 1945, the atomic bombs, Fat Man and Little Boy were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the obliteration of the two cities,

Imagine a road. The horrid smell and images of bloodshed flash through your head as you try to focus on walking down this path. You soon come to the disgusting realization that you are walking upon dead soldiers. Trenching forward you approach a fork in the road. Surrounded by death you try to keep your head clear, and focus on making a clear decision. Seemingly both roads end in traumatic loss of human life. You soon realize you are on the path of war, the most destructive path in human history. The metaphorical road we walk upon is analogous to the pacific war, a war that became Americas focal point after the fall of the third Reich in Berlin. With this war came Harry Truman’s dilemma, to bomb, or not to bomb. The decision would be questioned for decades to come. The pacific war ended with the first and last atomic bomb to ever be discharged. Although whether Truman’s decision was the right one is arguable, you may find that through investigation of this war, many compelling reasons to use the atomic bomb jump out at you. To draw the conclusion that the Japan bombing was the correct decision, one must examine these five topics: Japan’s culture and values during world war two, Japan’s tactical military strategies, the culture of world war two, alternatives to bombing and the arguments that are against using the atomic bomb.

The event that brought forth the Idea to attack japan and destroy the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was Pearl Harbor. Japan had a history of executing surprise attacks before declaring war; one main example is when japan invaded Port Arthur in the Russo- Japanese war which would prove to be very successful . Many books were written prior to 1941 predicting an invasion of the Hawaiian Islands to gain access to the United States mainland including ‘The conflict of nations’, and ‘The valor of ignorance’ . The United States saw the military base on Hawaii as a point of power in the pacific and a last defense of their home land. Japan saw Hawaii as at point of expansion and an easy way for the United States to launch an attack on them. Attacking Pearl Harbor was not the original plan for japan. Japan wanted to bring the United States to them, but Japanese commander- in –Chief Isoroku Yamomoto pushed for an attack on the United States .pearl harbor was the home to the United States naval fleet and many fuel reserves. One of the main objects of japan was to destroy aircraft carriers and sink battle ships to put the United States fleet out of action and to discourage the people of the United States to not join the World War. The Japanese army spent over a year planning the attack and training pilots. The Japanese even created special torpedoes to operate in pear harbors shallow waters .

Tojo, Hideki, 1884–1948, was Japanese general and statesman. Tōjō was a dictator in Japan during WWII. He was military general and the Prime Minister of Japan from October 18, 1941 until July 18, 1944. Tōjō was also one of the most aggressive leader in the Japanese history. He led Japan to attack on the Pearl Harbor where the U.S. military base is located on December 7, 1941. (Tojo Hideki, Britannica.com)

Would you kill a thousand to save millions? Well the drastic actions taken by the United States did save millions. There were two actions that had to occur to save the millions and end the war, the dropping of the two atomic bombs being the first of their kind were to be the most powerful bomb ever invented using atomic and nuclear forces so create it and packed over 20,000 tons of TNT and was about ten feet long. The bomber that transported and dropped them was called the 'Enola Gay’. The two Japanese cities’ that were struck by such creations were Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In this essay I will be discussing on how the actions taken by the United States of America were completely justified in dropping the two bombs as is established a future power image, saved millions, ended the war and ended the axis of evil.