Japan was near defeat, but many question how close Japan was to surrender (Jennings). Although some do not agree with the actions of the United States, the bombs were dropped, altering the history of World War II, our country, and the rest of the world. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and war is definitely no exception to this
Moreover, other countries claimed the right of nuclear weapons to defend their citizens. Consequently, the tragic bombings became the example of an arm’s race instead of peace. Furthermore, since Japan was already on the brink of collapse the bombing was unnecessary, and peace talks would have taken place within a decent time frame (even after the cancelled Hawaii summit). The millions of deaths calculated by Operation Downfall [the codename for the Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of the Second World War, which was abandoned when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki] actually show that only desperation and honour stood between Japan and unconditional
The ones who believe this, do not comprehend the many different factors in war and how the route that was chosen was best for both parties that were directly affiliated with the bombings. The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would have been fire bombed if the atomic bombs were not dropped, causing similar damage and death counts to the atomic bombs. According to Kyoko Iriye Selden, "The most influential text is Truman's 1955 Memoirs, which states that the atomic bomb probably saved half a million US lives— anticipated casualties in an Allied invasion of Japan planned for November. Stimson subsequently talked of saving one million US casualties, and Churchill of saving one million American and half that number of British lives"(1). With this amount of casualties projected, a land invasion would have trumped the death toll of D-Day.
Many people will argue that the United States was justified in the dropping of the atom bomb. These people believe that dropping the atomic bomb was necessary for Japan's surrender and the end of World War II. Before the bombing, Japan refused to accept the unconditional surrender offered to them by the Potsdam Declaration, and in response to the Declaration Japan prepared every man, woman, and child to fight till death. There was no possibility that Japan would surrender. The pride of the Japanese was so great that it would not allow them to surrender and many of Japan's soldiers fought in a kamikaze style which they would go to the extreme of killing themselves in order to kill at least one enemy soldier.
The Japanese were seen as bloodthirsty savages willing to die rather than give up. Their defense of Okinawa and the thousands of kamikaze pilots only confirmed this fear in the eyes of the Americans. Truman felt the bomb would save more lives in the long run, due to avoiding another six or more months of carnage that the war was known for. Truman later said he estimated fighting losses numbered in the several hundred thousands, while bomb losses numbered in the tens of thousands since he intended to spare as many women and children as humanly possible. Using the bomb pretty much guaranteed that the U.S. would occupy Japan without the Soviets as well as sending a clear message to the Soviets to go slow and careful in Europe and it’s territories.
The only real problem that prevented the Japanese from surrendering was the unconditional surrender the Americans demanded. The Japanese thought the emperor to be descended from the sun god and would protect the emperor at any cost. If President Truman had agreed to leave the emperor alone and taken more time to negotiate Japan’s surrender, they probably would have. Instead, after the testing of the first atomic bomb, it was decided after a few days that Japan would be bombed. Even if Truman had decided to use the bomb, there was no reason to bomb Hiroshima.
After Germany and Italy were defeated, only Japan stood standing. When the Japanese refused to surrender, The United States was not left with many options. They could continue to send men and machines to fight and die, or end the war quickly. It was a smart move for the United States to bomb Japan. During a war, a country has to think of themselves before
Why did President Truman decide to drop the atomic bomb in August 1945? On August 6 and 9, 1945, the U.S. President Harry Truman decided to drop 2 atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Japan which then ending World War II. It caused a lot of casualties and disasters, killing 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki. It has remained the only time atomic bombs have ever been used in warfare. The decision by the United States to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II remains one of the most controversial topics in Japanese history.
• Even though they were going to use the bomb the government kept recruiting people into the army. • Many people argued that if the government were going to use this amazing weapon why not just stop investing so much money into the military. E. Conclusion • The United States cannot be fully responsible for the bombing for Hiroshima but they do play a major role of the bombing. • Japan was warned that they would be bombed if they did not comply to American terms but because of this Japan refused to accept the terms and in return an atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima • President Truman had many other options that bombing Japan in order for them to surrender but since America is such a nationalistic country they wanted to prove to Russia their enemy before and after WWII that they were the stronger country. • Even though the bomb was dropped and Japan refused to surrender.
Evaluate the view that the United States had no option but to use the atomic bomb in 1945. The United States clearly had no option but to use the atomic bomb in 1945 since it was the only way they could end the war. Due to the failure of conventional warfare, the US needed to resort to the use of the atomic bomb since it was the only viable means of ending the war. There was also a need to avoid a land invasion which would come at the cost of thousands of lives, particularly due to the existing military strength of Japan. Furthermore, Japan’s rejection of the Potsdam declaration meant there was the possibility of a conditional surrender and Soviet involvement in the post-war administration of Japan – both of which were consequences the US did not want to face.