Was World War II: Necessary Or Justified?

was fully justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, because of the unprovoked and brutal attacks on civilians, grounded airplanes, and the docked U.S. Pacific fleet by the Japanese. By retaliating with the atomic bomb to end the war the United States showed the world the power and weapons of mass destruction that it possessed and that it was not afraid to use them. This also issued a warning to the Soviet Union, who at the time was our ally, but was slowly turning into an enemy. In addition to showing the world the United States power, the atomic bombs crushed Japan not just physically, but also morally giving them no other option, but to surrender. Japan was on the edge of surrender with a great amount of inner turmoil, but Japans military leaders had declared no surrender and ordered their people to fight to the death of the last man, woman, and child, so in using the atomic bomb we forced them to the breaking point and saved millions of lives. Without the dropping of the atomic bombs the U.S. would have invaded the Japanese homeland in Operation Downfall where a great slaughter would have ensued. Nearly 500,000 Purple Heart medals were pre-made in anticipation of the invasion, but the atomic bombs saved this massive loss of life. The results brought about by the atomic bombs were very devastating and gruesome; they caused thousands of deaths and injuries and should not be employed except in the most dire

On the 6th and 9th of August, 1945, the United States of America dropped the Atomic Bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The use of these bombs brought a quick end to World War 2, yet caused extensive damage to the two Japanese cities. There have often been disputes as to whether the USA was justified in the dropping of the atomic bombs because of the damage they caused, not only to the cities, but to the people of Japan as well. Many people believe that the USA should not have dropped the bombs because of the damage they caused, and they also claim that Japan was already defeated. However, Japan did not surrender, and prolonging the war was not an option for America, as it believed it would cause even more casualties, not only to American troops, but to Japan as well. Thus the USA was justified in dropping the bombs on Japan.

On August 6, 1945, the United states have dropped the atomic bomb on Japan city of Hiroshima and three days after The United States have dropped the second bomb on Japan city of Nagasaki to end World War II. The United States should not have dropped the atomic bombs on Japan to end World War II because it was inhumane, unnecessary, and brutal.

When the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki all living things in a five square mile radius of where the atomic bombs impacted died instantly, it ended the war and saved thousands lives. The following documents tell you about the importance of dropping the atomic bomb and the thinking behind there strategies. The US wanted Japan to surrender and wanted no more bloodshed and wanted the Soviet Union to be surprised. As stated in document 13 the Americans concern for Japan's unwillingness to resign, “imminent threat of a landing, on Japan proper by us, to convince them of the hopelessness of their situation”1. and again in document 16 shares thoughts for Russia involvement, “atomic attack against Japan would shock the Russians”2 finally document 17 shows the stubbornness of “Japan to agree Japanese leadership would probably not have surrendered if the Truman administration had clarified the status of the emperor when it demanded unconditional surrender prolongation of the war and cost a large number of human lives”3. Although some people think dropping the atomic bombs on Japan wasn’t justified, I think that dropping the atomic bombs on Japan was justified.

There were 26,000 casualties and 6,800 dead Americans at Iwo Jima, with 20,000 casualties and 1083 dead Japanese. (1. "Battle for Iwo Jima, 1945." The Navy Department Library) At Okinawa there were 65,000 American casualties and 14,000 dead, while the Japanese lost 70,000 soldiers out of the 130,000 stationed on Okinawa. (2. "Battle of Okinawa." History.com) The bloodshed from these two battles gave the Americans a taste of the militaristic Japanese, and that a battle for the homeland of Japan would be astronomically worse. The Japanese were prepared to use any means necessary to stop the Americans because of “Yamato Damashii”, which was a virtue of the samurai that went hand in hand with the Bushido code, and it made the Japanese value the country and the emperor above all else, and that fighting to the death was greater than surrender. and it came in the form of Kamikaze attacks, suicide troops, and guerilla warfare. At Okinawa, 193 kamikaze attacks were launched at the Americans damaging 368 ships and destroying 36. (3. "The Battle of Okinawa." History Learning Site) The Japanese were prepared to sacrifice everything they had to destroy American ships and troops. The Japanese also used their own people to fight against the Americans.

World War II began September 1, 1939 and ended September 2, 1945. When this war began, many young boys and men were drafted into the war. Most of them left what they were doing and all they’ve known, to fight in the war. It was the war that advanced technology and created social changes. The United States was the first country to use the atomic bomb in warfare. On August 6, 1945, the first of two atomic bombs were dropped. The first bomb was named, “Little Boy,” and was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. The second bomb was named, “Fat Man,” (History.com Staff 2009) and was dropped on the city of Nagasaki three days later. The bombs resulted in thousands of casualties and radiation among the civilians. Dropping the atomic bomb was the right decision because the bomb would end the war, it was revenge for Pearl Harbor, and it saved the lives of more Americans.

In the year 1939, tensions between eastern countries led to the start of the second world war. Eastern countries were beginning to invade one another due to results of the Treaty of Versailles such as poverty and loss of diplomatic power. Japan began growing rapidly and causing many military and diplomatic problems. In 1941, Japan organized an attack on the United States naval base of Pearl Harbor. The US was outraged. Bringing and end to the horrid war was the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in 1945. Although some historians argue that the decision made by the United States to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was a military measure to force Japan’s surrender and end the war, it was actually a

The Atomic Bomb was the deadliest weapons in the history of war. Throughout World War II one of the most stubborn countries to surrender was Japan who relentlessly fought against the United States of America. After failing to defeat America, Japan was overwhelmed by allied forces. Staying with tradition however, Japan would rather die in battle than to surrender. The Soviet Union also fought against America but that was towards the end of the war. The United States dropped both of the Atomic Bombs in order to intimidate the Soviet Union and to make Japan to surrender unconditionally.

World War II caused millions of deaths, civilian and otherwise. The death toll could have been much higher if the atomic bombs were not dropped. The United States made the correct decision to drop the atomic bombs. If the U.S. had not dropped these bombs the war could have carried on for years and taken millions more lives. If an invasion of Japan had taken place it would have likely taken years and millions of soldiers to cause surrender. No one wanted to prolong the war or cause more deaths than necessary, if the bombs had not been dropped history would likely be completely different.

The Japanese had a military code which stated that, “A soldier who surrendered was a traitor”6. In other words, the Japanese soldiers would not surrender by themselves because they would rather be killed than look as cowards among the community. John Falconer stated that, “One Jap infantry private was so exhausted that he stumbled and fell in front of us Americans….two riflemen came up, picked up the fallen soldier, took him off the road …. then we heard a shot and the two Japs returned alone”7. The Japanese were not willing to give up their honor system, which forced the American army to use atomic weapons. In the beginning, the American army attempted to use peaceful solutions to end war, but because of the honor system, atomic weapons were needed. The Japanese not only fought with fierce actions, they also mistreated American soldiers and acted uncivilized. Captain Mark Wohlfeld shared his experience of how he was mistreated. “I quickly dropped it on the ground. The Jap took his rifle and cracked me across the head. I fell. My head was covered in blood”8. Wohlfeld and his perspective demonstrates that the japanese wanted to fight and were unwilling to surrender or fight friendly. Another perspective that proved the mistreatment to the Americans came from Sergeant Ralph Levenberg. Levenberg argued that the Japanese, “Would be riding on the back of a

I think it was necessary to drop the atomic bomb to end World War II because it would end the war earlier and stop the potential deaths of hundreds of thousands. Although critics state that the estimated casualties of the home island invasion are exaggerated, I do not agree with their assessment. Japan had millions of troops on the home islands along with millions of potentially armed civilians. The Japanese had a sheer devotion to their homeland and they were willing to fight to the death. Along with the invasion of Okinawa and its high casualty count, the invasion of Japan would create an enormous amount of death for both sides. In addition to the bombing of civilian targets, prolonging the war would definitely result in a higher death count.

The U.S. dropped an A-Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945 and another on Nagasaki, Japan 3 days later. The Japanese Army and Government already knew they were going to lose the war, but they didn’t want to surrender immediately because they feared having harsh punishments and reparations like those of the Treaty of Versailles. Sure, there could have been other options that might not have as many deaths, but there is no guarantee that there would be success in ending the war. Historians on the opposing side of this debate say that there were too many Japanese civilian deaths and that the Japanese didn’t kill as many American civilians. This may be true but if the US would have used plan B which could have been a large invasion similar to D-Day, more casualties would have been caused. The U.S. made a great decision to drop the Atomic Bombs to end World War Two.

On August 6th and 9th of the year 1945, the United States destroyed the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki through the use of atomic bombs. Many people believe that these atomic bombs ended World War II. However, the use of these nuclear weapons were completely unnecessary and barbaric. Without the atomic bombs, Japan would have still surrendered shortly due to several factors. The Japanese were fearful of the planned invasion by the Soviet Union and were also already in a weak state and willing to surrender. Also, their allowance to keep their emperor would have been enough to end the war. The murder of thousands of Japanese people could have been avoided.

August 6th 1945, the United States dropped the first of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima, Japan. World War Two was practically over, but Japan and the United States weren’t getting along due to Japan bombing Pearl Harbor. The President of the United States (Truman) and U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill Issued the Potsdam Declaration which was the declaration that was put on the table for Japan after Germany had surrendered. Earlier in the war we had been putting together atomic weapons in case the war was getting out of hand. Since Japan wouldn’t surrender after the Potsdam we dropped the 1st bomb. Japan had still not surrendered so we dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. There was a combined total of casualties after the 1st bomb of 140,000. The second bomb totaled out to 120,000 casualties. Dropping these bombs helped the United States win the war. In my Opinion, the decision to drop both bombs on Japan was the best alternative the United States had to remain stable and to hold military lives.