The two options for the United States to win the war were to continue the naval blockade and invade the mainland, or to drop the new, highly destructive atomic bombs. In the long run, the naval blockade would have deteriorated the entire country by starving the citizens, killing hundreds of thousands if not millions. Along with all of the civilian lives lost in the blockade, the amount of troops lost would be even more unimaginable. According to a very credible textbook, The Decision to Drop the Bomb, which is used to educate young adults on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, "Japan had an army of 2 million strong stationed in the home islands guarding against invasion." This huge army would have withstood a Normandy-type amphibious landing on the beaches of Japan that "might be expected to cost over a million casualties to American forces alone" (Walker 2). President Truman, the President of the United States at the time, knew both of these facts and picked the easier, more life-conservative approach of using the atomic bombs. By using the atomic bombs, Truman "saved 'the lives of hundreds of thousands of Japanese boys and millions more of Japanese people" (Walker 4), not to mention all the lives of American men who had not seen their families since the first gunshot fired of the second world war. Even after the Americans preserved countless lives by avoiding an invasion of Japan, many Japanese officers and soldiers still wanted to continue fighting the war in the Pacific. The Japanese were willing to fight to the last man despite having lost hundreds of thousands to conventional firebombing. The only way for the United States to get an unconditional surrender, a surrender in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party, was to drop the atomic bombs. .
Japan was struck hard by the war, which pushed the nation to the verge of collapse even without the bombs.
Hiroshima was the first of 2 cities targeted for atomic attacks. ... Little Boy was the first atomic bomb dropped at 1,900 feet above the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. ... The atomic bomb weighed nearly 9,000 pounds. ... One month after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. ... The two atomic bombings were devastating. ...
On that day the United States of America detonated an atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima. ... In Hiroshima this atomic bomb killed 100,000 people mostly civilians and in Nagasaki three days later it killed 40,000 people. ... The atomic bomb would penetrate every fabric of American existence, from our politics to our educational system, our industry and our art. ... This book is a non-fiction account of the bombing of Hiroshima and the immediate aftermath. ... His work was the transiton between works that glorified the dropping of the atomic bomb, to those that focused on its amazing destru...
The purpose of this research paper is to answer the question could have the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki been avoided? ... I believe that the atomic bombings that occurred in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was needed to end the Pacific war, but at what cost? ... There are many different factors that played a part leading up to the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. ... President Truman made one of the hardest decisions in United States history when he decided to drop two Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. ... Ultimately, the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced th...
That was the Hiroshima bombing. ... That letter convinced him to make the atomic bomb before Germany. ... The Hiroshima Bomb measured in length three meters, and in diameter zero point seven meters. ... On August 6, 1945 the first atomic bomb was dropped, then later on August 9 the second bomb was dropped. ... The decision to bomb Japan was mainly a political and military one, but scientists built the atomic bomb. ...
Nuclear war was brought about through the invention of the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb was first thought of in 1939. ... The atomic bomb was again set off in Hiroshima on August 4th, 1945. ... The Ota River along with the Atomic Dome are located in the "peace park" in Hiroshima. ... The bomb in Hiroshima will be remembered forever. ...
This great weapon of mass destruction had clearly decimated the city in which the bomb was dropped upon - Hiroshima. ... The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were hit hard by the atomic bombs. ... "Cornerstones of Freedom Hiroshima and Nagasaki", 1995 p.25) Also, the Japanese were afraid of the third atomic bomb being dropped and were not prepared to face the wrath of another battered city. ... (Yass, Marion, "Hiroshima", 1972, p. 64.) ... Even though the horrible explosions over Hiroshima and Nagasaki left dark marks on the citizens below, the atomic bomb was wisely used. ...
The decision that was made to bomb the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was very irresponsible and immoral of the United States government. The use of, not one, but two atomic bombs was absolutely avoidable. The effects of the straight bombing of Japan, as well as the effects of the atomic bombs themselves on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, show how the decision to drop the bombs on the Japanese people had nothing to do with morals or respect for human life. ... The United States tried to justify the use of the atomic bombs by saying that, "The Survey has estimated that the damage and casualtie...
The atomic bombs were being developed to use against Japan towards the end of World War II. ... Truman's goal was to spend less on American casualties, so the best solution to accomplish his objective was to drop the bomb on Hiroshima after the intense fire-bombing of about 37 Japanese cities (Langley 17). ... August 9, 1945 was when another atomic bomb, "Fat Man", was dropped on Nagasaki because Japan failed to surrender after the first atomic bomb and it was estimated that 39,000 civilians were killed (Lewis 11). The war was going to end anyway, but the amount of deaths w...
The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War Two, and the events leading up to the attack, had terrifying consequences on the people of Japan. ... The United States attacked Japan in many different ways, but the two strategies that deemed to be most successful were the use of B-29 bombers and the atomic bomb. ... On August 6th, a single American plane flew over, and dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, destroying nearly 60% of the city. ... Michihiko Hachiya wrote, in the article "Surviving the Atomic Attack on Hiroshima, 1945". ... It was necessary for Roosevel...
