That would have meant that fifteen thousand more men would have been taken away from their families. That is one of the many pros for the dropping of the atom bombs. This is one of the cons for the atomic bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Because of the atom bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki millions of people were killed, and the radiation led illness, birth defects, and death. When the atom bombs were dropped most of the cities in the radius of the blast were leveled.
Three days later, another atom bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. It is estimated that between 150,000 and 250,000 people were killed as a result of the bombings. However, once the Japanese government witnessed the destructive power of the bombs, they had no choice but to surrender. Had the bombs not been used, the war would have gone on for much longer.
At this conference, the Soviet Union promised to begin helping in the battle in the Pacific Theater three months after the defeat of Germany. At that time, there was no knowledge of whether an atom bomb was even possible, and especially possible to create in time for the use as an offensive tool in the war. The way the date was set up for this bombing, merely 2 days before the Red Army was to join in the war, would seem to indicate that the US dropped the bomb to end the war without the need of help from the Soviets. Japan at the time of the bombing in Hiroshima was a country in shambles. The bombing runs of the Allies had destroyed over 2 million homes, and much of the Japanese industry had already been destroyed (Document B).
Gar Alperovitz, another revisionist, says that Truman’s main purpose in dropping the bombs was to demonstrate its power in order to intimidate the Russians (127). Even American generals, such as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur and Curtis LeMay have stated that the A-bombs were unnecessary (Dower 92), arguing that Japan could have been forced to surrender by conventional means. If these charges are true, than Truman committed a war crime against Japan and its people. However, the historical record shows that in the summer of 1945 Truman was concerned only
The city of Hiroshima was the primary target. The city held at that time an estimated population of 300,000 to 400,000 people. According to the United Nations in 1976, the death toll of the 'Little Boy' had reached 140,000 people, give or take a couple tens of thousands of people. All buildings near Ground Zero were completely destroyed and anyone near four-kilometers of the explosion was killed and the deadly gamma radiation spread many miles out. The former economic house of Japan was left with bloody pools and rooting dead bodies.
In fact, the debates behind using the atomic bombs against Japan began even before the decision was made. Many of the scientists such as Leo Szilard and Dr. James Franck, who made great contributions towards the creation of the bomb, campaigned against its use. President Truman said “We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Amercicans”. It is completely understandable that President Truman’s aim was always to save the lives as many American people, but was it necessary to do it by dropping the atomic bombs on Japan? 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’?
I disagree that the Japanese in WW2 were defeated more because of their weakness rather than the strength of the Allied forces. The Japanese weaknesses included their incapability in managing the empire they took on. The strengths of the allied powers included their intelligent military strategies, an example was the "Island Hopping Strategy of Attack" used by America. Also, the dropping of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had an impact on Japan which caused them to surrender. The term "defeated more" refers to the factor which had the greatest impact on Japan, causing them to be drove to a state of devastation and have no other way than surrender unconditionally.
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?
The United States should not have dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. The decision to use the atomic bomb was made by President Truman. President Truman was fully aware of the criticism and questions he was to face and that he had the most responsibility over the decision. The atomic bomb would go down in history as one of the devastating attacks ever. The attack produced tens of thousands of deaths.
Controversy still exists about dropping the two atomic bombs on Japan. Killing 100,000 or more innocent people just to have an influence in war. The atomic bomb is considered the most powerful mass destructive weapon since the 1940’s. The Creation of the bomb took approximately 63 years ago. (Rodreyer, Smith) The creation of the bomb was considered by many scientists during the 1930’s and 1940’s.