Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The Causes and Consequences of World War II HIST 1301 | History Hiroshima and Nagasaki The Japanese army and navy decided to implement their first-ever combined action plan early in 1945. In order to defend against the Japanese in the Pacific, Operation Ten-go, or "heaven," ordered suicide strikes by air and ground forces. A month later, these attacks were paired with the shukketsu, or "bleeding," tactic in the Battle of Iwo Jima. The Japanese had feared that heavy losses would demoralise American forces, who they thought could not bear pain and loss, for the entirety of the war. The Japanese murdered twenty-one thousand men on Iwo Jima and injured twenty-six thousand U.S. Marines (seven thousand dead and the remainder wounded). However, the American forces persevered and once more suffered heavy losses before taking Okinawa. Using the civilian population of the island as leverage in the battle for Okinawa, Japan killed 100,000 people while proving their will to defend their main islands. In addition to shukketsu and devotion to the emperor, the motto gyokusai (meaning "honourable death") was personified by kamikaze, or suicide pilots, who were effectively human bombs attempting to elude American naval troops. U.S. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson and U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall calculated that an invasion of Japan might result in between 500,000 and one million U.S. losses and extend far into 1946 in the face of such near-fanatical defensive operations. These figures were given to President Truman and were hotly debated among staff members and military planning circles. But the authorities of Japan refused to entertain the possibility of an unconditional surrender, which may have resulted in the emperor being prosecuted for war crimes among other things. They concluded that there will inevitably be an invasion of the home islands. There were attempts, both public and covert, to have the Soviet Union to broker a peace agreement between the US and Britain. The final Allied summit meeting was held at Potsdam, a Berlin suburb, from July 17 to August 2, 1945. This time, the late Franklin Roosevelt was succeeded by Harry S. Truman, while Britain's recently elected prime minister Clement Attlee took over for Winston Churchill. Already worried by Soviet moves in Europe was Truman. He disapproved of the compromises Roosevelt had made to enable the Soviet Union to impose a communist regime in Poland. Additionally, he disagreed with Stalin's intentions to seek significant reparations from Germany, which were revealed during the Yalta Conference. Truman was concerned that the strain on Germany as a result might start up another cycle of hostility and rearmament. Following a demand for Japan's unconditional surrender, the conference's focus shifted to what would happen to post-World War II Europe. The leaders of the Allies decided to demilitarise Germany and split the captured country, including Berlin, into four zones of occupation: one in the east for the USSR and three in the west for the United States, Britain, and France. To oversee occupied Germany, an Allied Control Council was established; however, it was eventually determined that reaching a majority decision was impractical. Decentralised and centred on nonmilitary sectors and agriculture, the German economy was to be decentralised. The Yalta Conference reparations discussions were resolved with a proposal to swap Germany's industrial production in the west for its agricultural output in the east. In reality, though, this strategy resulted in the implementation and management of economic policies for individual zones instead of the country as a whole, further dividing the Allies. At last, a denazification programme involving the punishment of war criminals was confirmed for Germany and Austria. Although the ultimate borders of Poland were not settled, Poland was granted permission to acquire selected German territory by the United States and Britain. Prior to becoming office, Truman had limited knowledge of the Manhattan Project and now depended on the counsel of his specialists. They both agreed that using technology to end the conflict was a good idea and that the United States had a valid cause. Upon learning of the Trinity Test's success at the conference, Truman wrote in his journal entry from July 25, 1945, that he was considering deploying the bomb. He supported just use it against military targets—not civilian ones: From this point until August 10, this weapon will be utilised against Japan. I have instructed Mr. Stimson, the secretary of war, to use it to target soldiers and sailors rather than women and children in order to achieve military objectives. We, as global leaders, cannot unleash this horrific weapon on either the ancient or new capital of Japan, regardless of how barbaric, vicious, cruel, and fanatical the Japanese people may be. I am in agreement with him. We will release a warning statement requesting that the Japanese surrender and save lives, and the target will be strictly military. Though we will have given them the opportunity, I'm confident they won't do it. The fact that neither Stalin's nor Hitler's gang discovered the atomic weapon is undoubtedly wonderful news for the entire planet. Although it appears to be the worst invention ever developed, it has the most potential for improvement. The bomb was dropped on two cities that were home to people, including women and children: Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki three days later. Truman's choice was probably influenced by a number of reasons. The biggest factor was probably the desire to safeguard American lives. He was probably also inspired by the need to defend the Manhattan Project's high costs. There are others who argue that Truman wanted to show the Soviet Union how much better the US was at technology. Some think that the desire for retaliation for Pearl Harbour was also involved. Some have stated that the deployment of the atomic bomb on Japan seemed less awful than it would have against Europeans because of the longstanding anti-Asian feeling in the United States. The United States bomber Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb, known as Little Boy, on Hiroshima. August 6 was dubbed "the day of two suns" by survivors because the explosion was so intense that it seared the victims' shadows into the concrete and walls. In a moment, about 70,000 individuals were slain. Shortly later, the dust and debris floating in the air caused the sky to become purple, grey, and even black. Numerous paper and wooden homes were set on fire. The flesh of thousands of horrified and bewildered individuals had burnt away, and they started to wander around, gravitating towards any pool or stream of water practically without thinking. More over 100,000 people died as a result of their wounds and injuries throughout the course of the next few days, weeks, and even years. Three days later, the second bomb, Fat Man, dropped on Nagasaki in a similar manner, instantly killing forty thousand Japanese. Seventy thousand people died there, including those in the aftermath. In the meanwhile, the Soviet Union invaded Korea and Manchukuo after breaking their non-aggression treaty with Japan, honouring the pledge made at Yalta. This was done following the bombing of Hiroshima. Tens of thousands of Japanese losses caused the Japanese defences to soon collapse, dashigning any hopes the Soviets may mediate a peaceful solution with the Allies. Japan soon after submitted.