The U.S. believed that if the atomic bomb ended the war, the U.S. would establish postwar supremacy over the Soviets. In addition, the atomic bomb had cost 2 billion dollars and mobilized, at its peak, over 120,000 people. Linking this weapon to the end of the war would help justify that expenditure. In addition to the desire to force Japan's surrender, these considerations led the U.S. to proceed with the atomic bombings. (2) Why did it happen?
And was the reason behind the decision to drop the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki purely to ‘save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans’? “We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans.” One of the biggest arguments in the debate on the necessity of dropping the atomic bombs is the argument that it saved American lives, which would have otherwise been lost in the proposed alternative: a land invasion of Japan. It was necessary to ‘completely destroy Japan’s power to make war’, and the best way to do this, to save American lives, was to drop the bombs. “Operation
Both I think backfired somewhat because they caused America to come together and fight the enemy. On a calm Sunday morning on December 7, 1941, the Japanese shocked the world by bombing the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. The bombing happened because the U.S. Pacific Fleet based in Pearl Harbor could foil their plans to attack the American mainland. As insurance, the Japanese navy undertook an operation to cripple the Pacific Fleet by a surprise air attack. It succeeded.
Discuss the decision made to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. By August 1945 the Second World War was as its final stages. Only one last victory was need for the Allies in order to win the war, a victory over Japan. Ending the war with Japan during World War 2 was both difficult and problematic for the Americans. The decision to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had many influential factors effecting the decision.
Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle’s plan to attack the Japan Empire was to use B-25 aircrafts to drop on Japan and then to land in China were there would be Chinese Aircrafts to help guide and refuel the B-25s to the Chongqing Chinese military base. The aircraft carrier could get away without being destroyed because the B-25s did not come back to land on it. The B-25s were to take off 450 miles away from the coast of Japan. On the morning of April 2 1942 the USS Hornet, left the safety of the United States to bomb Japan. The USS Hornet 71 Officers and 130 Enlisted men were aboard.
The atomic bomb was a big part in World War 2, there were more deaths from a long distance and the people who did not get hit still had some sort of effect. The air warfare was introduced in World War 2, they were called Fighter Jets. They carried deadly bombs and took out numerous of enemies. The sea warfare was also introduced in World War 2. Ships called Corvettes were popular; they were mostly used for shipping ammunition from North America to Europe.
The atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945, brought World War II to a close. However, it is debated as to whether or not these bombings were absolutely necessary in order to force Japan into surrender. Japan experienced many victories after the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941, yet it was both the American desire to avenge Pearl Harbour; the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, Japanese unwillingness to accept unconditional surrender – and Allied refusal to discuss alternative surrender terms; and the desire to end the war whilst also saving numerous American lives, that ultimately led to the use of atomic weaponry. Several alternative methods had been considered by the Allies, and these methods have been discussed by historians in regards to their possible effectiveness at concluding the war, and as such whether the use of atomic bombs was inevitable. Rather than employing the atomic bombs, the Allies could have continued with incendiary bombings, planned an invasion of the home islands, and employed the strength of the USSR in order to force Japan into surrender.
An invasion of Japan could have caused tens of thousands of Allied casualties, while the bombs could be carried over and dropped by planes. Since Japan is an island nation, in order to invade it, the Allies would have to storm the beaches. When troops are all running in the same direction from one point, like from the beaches onto the land, they are basically running into the line of fire with no protection. In regards to a diplomatic solution to end the war, Arthur Compton, the co-creator of the atomic bomb said that “Though the possibility of a demonstration that would [end that war and] not destroy human lives was attractive, no one could suggest a way in which it could be made so convincing that it would be likely to stop the war.” (Alperovitz
This event was a result of a Japanese fishing ship sailing into the range of an American hydrogen bombing test site (Roberto). This hydrogen bomb was nearly one thousand times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, resulting in casualties and economic struggles in the Japanese fishing industry, due to fear of radiation poisoning (Roberto). Japan, caught in the crosshairs of the two superpowers was skeptical that a nuclear devastation was right around the corner. The psychological impacts of this skepticism had profound enough effects on Japanese society that it is clearly reflected in cinema in the following years. “Gojira”, directed by Ishiro Honda, was created in the realm of this era, sending a message to the world regarding the buildup of nuclear arms.
The final and quite possibly the most damaging consequence of the bombing of Pearl Harbour was the USA nuclear attack on Japanese cities Nagasaki and Hiroshima which in theory resulted in the end of the second world war. Japan has for a long time been an aspiring imperial nation, inspired by the historically powerful empires of the likes of Britain, Spain and Portugal. Particularly as she wanted to expand her territory in order to acquire access to resources and to begin with she looked to her close neighbours. Japan took her first steps of aggression in the Manchurian region of China in 1931 where their army