Japanese leaders wouldn’t accept defeat; some went to the extent to commit suicide before falling from an Allied soldier. If any civilian official were to talk openly of ending war would be faced with disgrace or sometimes execution. For the citizens that didn’t talk about ending the war, they talked of destroying the United States; “would it not be wondrous for this whole nation to be destroyed like a beautiful flower.” The Allied forces had no other choice but to use their newly invented atomic bombs to bring the Japanese to surrender. There was a message sent to Japan before the first bombing, warning them of what was to come, but not directly; “prompt and utter destruction” were to follow a refusal to surrender. Japanese General Korechika Anami wouldn’t surrender after the first bombing in Hiroshima but instead called for one last great battle from Japan.
Atomic Bomb Justification On the 6th of August, 1945, “Little Boy” was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. “Little Boy”, a nickname used by the United States, was one of the most disastrous bombs used in history. For decades, there have been feuds over whether or not the United States was justified for bombing Japan. Many people say that the U.S. killed poor innocent civilians, but both soldiers and civilians, were going to die in the war no matter what. The decision to drop the bomb on the two Japanese cities was what kept the war from prolonging.
American people have different perspective that some people said that the use of atomic bomb had unnecessary because they believe the war cannot be won by destroying women and children. On the other hand it destroyed the innocent human population of Japan. Also they said the reason use should use the atomic bomb is because Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender. Most Americans haven’t paused to ponder something rather striking to anyone seriously concerned with the issue not only did most top U.S. Military leaders think the bombings were unnecessary and unjustified, many
The bomb at Hiroshima was in no way used to intimidate the Soviet Union or any ally but was only used as a means to an end. The Japanese had shown before that they were willing to fight to the death, we could not take the chance that they continued the war instead of surrendering. It was important to save as many American, Asian, and European lives as possible which would be hard to do while engaged in a war with Japan. Dropping the atomic bomb was only used as a military decision meant to assure japans
The people who are questioning Truman’s motives are known as Revisionists, because they attempt to revise common perceptions of history, coming up with alternate theories and motives. These people believe that Truman had ulterior motives for dropping the bombs. Most people that were alive at the time of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings believe that Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs solely for military reasons. Dropping the bombs saved many American lives considered there would be no need for a land invasion of
In this essay the bombing of Japan by the US will be analysed and justified in my personal opinion. The bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 9th 1945 and August 8th 1945 was completely necessary. The result of the atomic bomb being dropped meant that it ended the devastating Second World War, Japan learnt the error of its ways: they were barbaric and cruel to the allied prisoners they had captured; they did not follow the Geneva Convention. Also it ended many other conflicts with Japan. On August 9, 1945, President Harry Truman decided to drop and atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan.
Dropping of the Bomb? There are very distinct views between many historians about whether the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justifiable to end the war against Japan. There are the historians that believe it was justified because it brought about an end to the war and saved the lives of many. Other historians believe that the dropping of the bombs were unjustified because the war could have been ended with the military power of the Allied Powers. With both of these views out there I believe that the dropping of the atomic bomb was justified.
Truman’s military advisors also predicted an alarming casualty rate of between 500,000 to 1,000,000 American soldiers if they were to directly invade the Japanese mainland. On July 26, 1945, the Allied leaders proposed the Potsdam Declaration as an ultimatum, which issued the terms for Japan’s full and unconditional surrender, and if Japan were to refuse, the Allies threatened Japan with “prompt and utter destruction”. But unfortunately, despite their threat of destruction, Japan took their chances and once again refused to surrender, vowing to fight to the bitter end, despite that their chances of winning were clearly
The act of saving lives in the pretext of killing more does not fit into any logic Truman could have done without the atomic bombing , as Japan had already become weak and it was understood of the fact that America had gained control over the airspace and water space of Japan . The country was already on its knees and it was negotiating its surrender to keep its imperial rule . The defense chief and advisors were against the atomic bombing of Japan as they had an idea of Japan already being weak by then . Also after Pearl Harbor , America made no concession of bombing Japanese cities , which had caused lots of destruction . The point that arises is , when it was known that Japan had already succumbed and an official announcement was on the cards anyhow , then why destruction of such nature was unleashed .
Many people, including Leo Szilard opposed or disagree with the use of the atomic bomb on Japan. I find it hard to believe that Szilard could oppose the use of a weapon that would quickly end a bloody conflict. I understand the moral strife associated with knowing that something you worked to create would end the lives of thousands but consider the alternative. If the bomb isn’t dropped, then an invasion of mainland Japan would have been required. D-day in the European theater had proved costly enough and that was to an enemy that didn’t mind surrendering if the situation called for it.