Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
	Part of the Pacific War of World War II
	; Atomic bomb mushroom clouds over ; Hiroshima (left) and Nagasaki (right)
Date	August 6 and August 9, 1945
Location	Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Empire of Japan
Result	Allied victory
Belligerents
United States; Manhattan Project:; United Kingdom; Canada	Japan
Commanders and leaders
William S. Parsons; Paul W. Tibbets, Jr.; Charles Sweeney; Frederick Ashworth	Shunroku Hata
Units involved
Manhattan District: 50 U.S., 2 British; 509th Composite Group: 1,770 U.S.	Second General Army:; Hiroshima: 40,000 (5 Anti-aircraft batteries); Nagasaki: 9,000 (4 Anti-aircraft batteries)
Casualties and losses
20 British, Dutch, and American prisoners of war killed	Hiroshima: 20,000 soldiers killed; 50,000–60,000 civilians killed; Nagasaki: 35,000–40,000 killed; Total: 105,000–120,000 killed

The Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks on the Empire of Japan during World War II (WWII). The United States and the Allies were fighting against Japan and slowly winning. Two nuclear weapons were dropped on Japan, one on the city of Hiroshima and the other on the city of Nagasaki. The generals wanted to bomb Kokura instead of Nagasaki, but it was too cloudy over Kokura that day. U.S. President Harry S. Truman ordered these attacks on August 6 and 9, 1945.^[1] This was near the end of WWII.

The mushroom cloud over Hiroshima after the dropping of Little Boy

The Fat Man mushroom cloud resulting from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rises 18 km (11 mi, 60,000 ft) into the air from the hypocenter.

The atomic bombs had been created through the Manhattan Project. They created two bombs. The first bomb was called Little Boy, and was to be dropped on Hiroshima, and the second bomb was called Fat Man, and was to be dropped on Nagasaki.^[2] Nuclear bombs are much more powerful than other bombs.^[3] Six days after the explosion over Nagasaki, and after the Soviet invasion of Manchukuo, Japan surrendered to the Allied Powers on August 15. Japan signed the surrender paper on September 2. This officially ended the Pacific War and World War II.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were chosen for several reasons. First, both cities were unsuitable for firebombing, mainly due to the river deltas preventing firestorms from being very effective. Second, both cities had areas which provided a good measurement for damage caused by the nuclear bombs.^[4] Third and finally, both cities contained strategic personnel and installations; Hiroshima was the headquarters of the 2nd General Army and 5th Division with 40,000 Japanese combatants stationed within the city's limit, and Nagasaki contained two large Mitsubishi armament factories and many other medium-to-small workshops and plants providing vital war components for Japan's military.

Several other cities were selected for similar reasons and some of those were rejected due to bad weather. As with other Japanese cities, these targets were mixed in with civilian homes, schools, and temples. Sources said that at least 54% of the deaths in Hiroshima were combatants and slave laborers while 72% of the deaths in Nagasaki were war industry employees and slave laborers, however these figures at various points mix soldiers, enslaved POWs and victims of Japanese occupations and do not necessarily correspond to the overall population of the cities and the overall casualties^[5]

Many say that the atomic bombs actually saved many lives in the long run because it prevented the invasion of Japan. However, Japan had lost a huge part of its food resources and the majority of its navy. Many of these people suggest that Japan may have lacked the strength to carry out major fighting. US military commanders made statements during and immediately after 1945 that they believed Japan was effectively defeated prior to the dropping of the bomb.^[6] Before the bombs, Japan offered to surrender, on condition that their leaders had to stay in charge. America said the Emperor of Japan leader could stay in power, but the Japanese had to take orders from American soldiers placed in Japan, making it an occupied territory. More people would have been killed in a full battle in Japan. Some give different guesses of deaths in an invasion and deaths by the atomic bombs, and say that the bombings were not necessary. People still argue about this. No nuclear weapon has ever been used against a target since August 9, 1945.

The decision to use nuclear weapons on Japan was made after an analysis showed that more than a million people—combatants and civilians of both nations—would die if Japan was invaded by Allied forces. The nuclear bombings, while shocking and unprecedented, actually paled in comparison with the Operation Meetinghouse firebombing of Tokyo on March 9/10, 1945, which killed 100,000 civilians and destroyed 16 square miles in a single night. Doing nothing or waiting for surrender was not an option because hundreds of thousands of combatants, civilians, and prisoners of war were dying each month in the territories of the Empire of Japan.^[7]^[8]

Partly because of the atomic bombings, Japan adopted the Three Non-Nuclear Principles after the war. These principles said that Japan could not create or try to get nuclear weapons. A scientist Albert Einstein wrote a letter about the atomic bomb on August 2, 1939.^[9]^[10] But he said later, "I made one great mistake in my life, when I signed a letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made."^[11]

Atomic Bombings Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki Media

Situation of the Pacific War on 1 August 1945. White and green: Areas still controlled by Japan included Korea, Taiwan, Indochina, and much of China, including most of the main cities, and the Dutch East Indies* Red: Allied-held areas* Grey: Neutral Soviet Union
Following Germany's defeat Japan remained the sole power against the Allies in World War II. Japan Western Allies Soviet Allies
U.S. Army propaganda poster depicting Uncle Sam preparing the public for the invasion of Japan after the end of the war with Germany and Italy
A B-29 over Osaka on 1 June 1945
The Operation Meetinghouse firebombing of Tokyo on the night of 9–10 March 1945, was the single deadliest air raid in history, with a greater area of fire damage and loss of life than either of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima or Nagasaki.
Leslie Groves, Manhattan Project director, with a map of Japan
The "Tinian Joint Chiefs": Captain William S. Parsons (left), Rear Admiral William R. Purnell (center), and Brigadier General Thomas F. Farrell (right)
Aircraft of the 509th Composite Group that took part in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. Left to right: Big Stink, The Great Artiste, Enola Gay
The mission runs of 6 and 9 August, with Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Kokura (the original target for 9 August) displayed
Various leaflets were dropped on Japan, three versions showing the names of 11 or 12 Japanese cities targeted for destruction by firebombing. The other side contained text stating "... we cannot promise that only these cities will be among those attacked ..."
The Hiroshima ruins in March and April 1946, by Daniel A. McGovern and Harry Mimura
Life among the rubble in Hiroshima in March and April 1946. Film footage taken by Lieutenant Daniel A. McGovern (director) and Harry Mimura (cameraman) for a United States Strategic Bombing Survey project.