Hiroshima 1945 – Right or Wrong?

At fifteen minutes past eight on the morning of August 6, 1945, an United States B29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. However, 45 seconds later the bomb exploded in a blinding flash. A massive mushroom-shaped cloud climbed high into the sky above Hiroshima, the Japanese city abruptly had been, burned a ball of fire.

It was 1,800 feet across and the temperature at its center was more than 100 million degrees. In a blink, “The war’s over” loud shouted by one of the bomber’s crew “Oh My God,” said another, “what have we done, everything had burnt?” United States President Truman ordered the atomic bomb to be used over the Japanese major cities. As he had strongly believed that using atomic bombs saved lives by finishing the war quickly.

At that time and since people have been arguing fiercely about the bombs whether he was right or wrong. Some believe that he was right. However, some believed his decision was wrong and not safe for humanity. Without Hiroshima, they say, the United States would have had to invade Japan to end the war.

More than 2,000k people than died at Hiroshima and Nagasaki attacks, both Japanese and United States, would then have been killed. Nevertheless, other people do not accept his reasoning. They argue that the Japanese government was ready to surrender before the bombings. More than half a century after the massive destruction of Hiroshima, but the arguments still continue.

Japan’s first blow came in May 1942. When in the battle of the Coral Sea Aircraft from United States carriers drove back a massive Japanese invasion fleet that was threatening to Australia. Therefore, in June the Japanese suffered all even worse defeat in their history. Their main battle fleet attacked an important United States base called Midway Island. Hence, again United States warplanes heat them off with heavy losses. In the Battle of Midway, the Japanese lost four aircraft carriers and many of their best pilots.

By the beginning of 1943, the United States their Australian and British allies had agreed upon a long-term plan to defeat the Japanese. They decided on a three-pronged attack. From Australia, one prong ‘would push northwards towards Japan through the Philippines. From Hawaii, another prong would strike westwards through the islands of the central Pacific.

Finally, the two Pacific offensives would be supported by a drive through Burma into the lands that the Japanese had conquered in Southeast Asia. By June 1943, the Pacific offensives had started. United States forces advanced towards Japan by “island-hopping” that is, they captured Islands that was strategically very important but passed others. In the remainder of 1943 and throughout 1944, Allied forces fought their way closer to Japan itself.

In June 1944, an enormous United States task force won control of the important Mariana Islands. In October United States troops returned to the Philippines and cut off Japan from its conquest of Southeast Asia. By 19415 Japan was within range of air attacks. United States bombers made devastating raids on its cities. In June the island of Okinawa, less than 375 miles from the Japanese coast, fell to the United States.

The American troops prepared to invade Japan itself. But the invasion never came.  On July 16, 1945, when the allied scientists are at work on the Manhattan Project tested the world’s first catastrophic atomic bomb. Even they were heavily shocked by the result. They had been invented the most destructive weapon of the world, that had never seen before.

Thus, on August 6, 1945 – the United States bomber dropped an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. After a few days later, on August 9, a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. Both cities were devastated and almost 200,000 civilians were killed in this massive atomic bombing. On August 14, 1945, the Japanese government has no option to surrender. Hence, the Second World War ‘was over.