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History of strategic bombing
The use of the atomic bomb in World War II
The use of the atomic bomb in World War II
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But he had no compelling reason to do so. The bomb provided a promising way to bring about a prompt Japanese surrender without the disadvantages of other alternatives, and in Truman’s mind, its use did not require a lengthy consideration” (Walker pg. 96). After the bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, people decided that the bombs were actually required. The people thought that if the bombs weren’t dropped, thousands of American lives would have died while America invaded Japan. The problem with this logic is that many people died in those bombings.
1,000 British civilians died during the war due to zeppelin bombing, but over half of the Zeppelins were destroyed and 40% of crew members perished, so it was decided that the costs greatly outweighed the benefits. However, during World War II, strategic bombing was utilised to great effect by both sides, especially by the Allies during the last years of the war. 75% of Hamburg and 83% of Bochum were destroyed by strategic bombing. In many ways, the Allied Strategic Bombing of Germany becomes the precedent to the use of strategic bombing in many conflicts today because of the mass devastation the Allied strategic bombing of Germany caused during World War II, for example the damage on industrial output and morale, as stated previously. The NATO bombing of ISIS in the Middle-East can be compared to the strategic bombing of Germany during World War II which shows how the latter affected war strategy 70 years later.
As stated in document A, President Truman believed that it was his duty as president to use every weapon available to save American lives. By making the decision to employ atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it successfully brought an end to World War II. Now, while these bombs did ultimately spare thousands of American lives, it did also put an end to about 200,000 lives as shown in document E. Document A stated that Admiral William Leahy, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, opposed using the bomb because it killed civilians indiscriminately. He believed that an economic blockade and conventional bombing would convince Japan to surrender. As an opposite end of the spectrum though Truman’s advisor, James Byrnes thought that the use of “the A-bombs would not only cause Japan to surrender, but also impress the Soviet Union, and hopefully stop its expansion” (Doc C).
On August 6, 1945, the U.S. made history with a fatal blow to the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended WWII. To this day there is a controversy on whether the dropping of the atomic bomb, ordered by President Harry S. Truman, was justified or not, but in fact, it was. Thousands of Japanese would perish, but this act would, in turn, saved American lives and end the war. Throughout various battles, the Japanese consistently crossed lines of ethics of warfare, and in an attempt to bring justice and an end to the war Truman put forth a plan to bomb Japan. President Truman warned Japan of the upcoming attack and gave demands, but in the end, the Japanese denied those negotiations which led to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
As the Japanese forces were considered the aggressors of the conflict by the Allies and Japanese veterans alike, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was justified. Their aggression previous to the bombing was demonstrated through the attack on Pearl Harbour, which led to America’s involvement in World War II. The attack was not one born out of vengeance and was not strategically logical, whereas there was a reason behind the bombing of Hiroshima, that reason being that the Japanese military would not agree to the clauses presented in the Potsdam Declaration. This declaration was given to the military officials as an invitation to surrender before the first bombing, providing ample time for them to make a decision to hopefully end the
The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Harry S. Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb is one of the biggest and deadliest controversial turning points in history. America’s president, Truman, decided that on August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb would be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II. President Truman’s choice to drop the bomb on Japan was considered one of the most debatable turning points. The settlement to drop this bomb was a wrong decision because this bomb killed more than 70,000 innocent people with 10,000’s dying later. Also, bombing a country that was going to surrender in a few months would not be necessary, and last but not least, the atomic bomb could give ideas for the world to start nuclear warfare.
2. Tim O’Brien considers the difference between courageous and cowardice in the eyes of the people at home to be warped compared to how relatively close they are. These terms sum up soldiers into two groups when every single soldier experiences more than that in a war. In the story of Norman Bower returning home with his medals, he write from Norman’s perspective.
Some of the reasons why the United States should have used the bomb on japan is because the United states have given Japan multiple times to surrender and they refused each offer. So since President Truman believed that using the bombs would help end the war sooner. One benefit of bombing Japan would mean that there would be fewer deaths because if they were to continue to fight it out many more lives would have been lost. So since President Truman believed that this would make Japan surrender easier the first bomb was dropped over Hiroshima and then the second one was dropped over Nagasaki. Many people beloved that the bomb should not have been used on Japan and one reason why was because it did take the lives of many innocent people.
After Hiroshima, Japan still refused to surrender so Truman dropped another bomb at Nagasaki. Nagasaki ended up with around 80,000 casualties and it ended up being the last bomb that Truman dropped because Japan unconditionally surrendered. With a death toll of over 210,000 Japanese and an estimated 12 Americans, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings have left a large mark in history as some of the deadliest bombings in history. Truman had other options aside from bombing large cities in Japan. This is why many people are split on whether he was justified or not.
In an attempt to get Japan to surrender to the Allies, in August 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the nation. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and the second on Nagasaki. Although these bombs did contribute to Japan’s surrender and the end of the war, the use of this atomic weapon was an irrational and horrible decision. The United States should have abstained from using the two atomic bombs on Japan for the sake of civilian lives and possible alternatives to their decision. These bombs not only had detrimental effects on Japan, they also led to an arms race amongst several nations.
The use of the atomic bomb when strategically compared to a land invasion, in fact prevented the loss of any U.S. soldiers lives, as well as the death of many Japanese citizens. Excerpts from “Three Narratives of our Humanity” by John W, debates whether or not the nuclear bombing was necessary to shock the Japanese into surrender and describes how the Japanese recall the war through a lens of their own victimization. An excerpt claims, “it is argued that the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima was necessary to shock the Japanese to surrender”. This presents a compelling argument supporting the ethicality of the bombings through its logical and strategic worth.
On August 6th, 1945, The United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing many people. The president at the time, President Truman said that he only wanted to use the bomb in military warfare because it would hurt women and children. The bombing at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was morally incorrect because the Japanese were ready to surrender, it was a crime against humanity, and it affected their physical self. The bombing at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was unsuitable because the Japanese were ready to surrender.
In the Pacific Theatre, similar bombing raids were conducted against the major cities in Japan. Operation “Meetinghouse”, conducted on 9-10 March 1945, killed between 90,000
During the War World II, the war split the majority of the world 's nations into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It involved the mobilization of over 100 million military personnel, making it the most widespread war in history, and placed the participants in a state of "total war", which erased the distinction between civil and military resources and resulted in the complete activation of a nation 's economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities for the purposes of the war effort. Over 70 million people, the majority of them civilians, were killed, making it the deadliest conflict in human history. And their were a event that caused this war end, the U.S. government decided to drop two atomic bombs on Japan. After all we started to think about one question.
There are many reasons why it could be argued that the dropping of the atomic bomb was justified. One reason is that Japan was warned, they were given plenty of opportunities to surrender such as the Potsdam declaration. The Declaration was issued to Japan by President Truman and the Allies of America after America had tested the Atom bomb on July 26th. The declaration was a proposition of surrender to Japan that linked directly to the dropping of the atomic bomb.
