The US Dropping Atomic Bombs on Japan

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         The U.S. Was Justified By Dropping the Atomic Bombs on Japan during WW2

         On August 6, 1945, four super fortress B-29 bombers took off from their base in Tinian, a small Pacific Island. One of the B-29's, the Enola Gay, was carrying the most destructive weapon the world had ever known, the atomic bomb. The Pacific Theater was one of the bloodiest campaigns ever fought in World War Two (Cross 227). To end this bloody campaign, the United States had to drop the atomic bombs on Japan in order for Japan to declare unconditional surrender. Dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is still a highly debated topic in the historical society. Factors that justified the U.S. dropping the atomic bombs on Japan were Japan starting war in the Pacific, Japan's numerous war crimes, the relentless fighting that occurred, amounting U.S. and Allied casualties, and the bomb's ability to end the war quickly. These situations all justified the United States dropping the atomic bombs on Japan during World War Two.

         Before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States had not been majorly involved in World War Two. The United States was not at war with any nation, nor had any hostilities whatsoever. The United States had been focusing on trying to crawl out of poverty, in which the Great Depression had buried with it (Decarie 236). Then came Pearl Harbor, then came Japanese bombers, then came the deaths of United States sailors and soldiers, and then came the war. History documents that, "The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941." Pearl Harbor was a clear attempt by the Japanese to eradicate the United States military might as well as the United States' influence in the Pacific Ocean. Although it was a massive attack, Pearl Harbor was just the beginning: "The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia against overseas territories" (Boundless US History). The Japanese were preparing for an all-out war against the United States and Allied countries. It was just the beginning for both sides; there would be more death and destruction.

The ferocity of the attack stunned many Americans. Many thought that America was at peace and did not institute any ill will towards any country. As many Americans were still reeling from the fact that their country had been attacked, FDR addressed the American people:

"Yesterday, December 7th, 1941- a date which will live in infamy- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific." (Transcript of Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Japan)

The nature of the attack mirrored the nature of the aggressor, it was deadly and it was dangerous. Something had to be done about the attack, which was then answered with a formal declaration of war against the Empire of Japan. Japan had successfully pulled a peaceful and prosperous nation like the United States into what would be a long, drawn out war that would claim the lives of hundreds of thousands of US lives.

The United States of America was not the first nation to feel Japan's wrath in their pursuit for world conquest. China and many other Asian countries were feeling the brutal aggression that Japan had instilled in many of its soldiers. The beginning of Japan's conquests started with China, Japan would try to invade China for natural resources, manpower, and geological position. Although Japan had a relatively modern army, China's massive number of manpower bogged down the Japanese with pure numbers (Leckie 298). This created much tension and anger within the IJA (Imperial Japanese Army) because events were not going accordingly to plan, which ultimately upset the high command. Japan's army then proceeded to march into Nanking, a major city in China that the Japanese had a hard time taking, and basically raze the city. Historians record that, "In December of 1937, the Japanese Imperial Army marched into China's capital city of Nanking and proceeded to murder 300,000 out of 600,000 civilians and soldiers in the city. The six weeks of carnage would become known as the Rape of Nanking" (The History Place). The city as well as the world was shocked to see such brutality on civilians and prisoners of war. Never again would anyone underestimate Japanese carnage.

When the war finally did come to an end, many found out how destructive the war really was to both the country of China as well as the world. Historians have roughly estimated that, "From the invasion of China in 1937 to the end of World War Two, the Japanese military regime murdered nearly 3,000,000 to over 10,000,000 people" (Rummel). These final results of the devastation that Japan put China through only shows how brutal the Japanese could be. Japan did not distinguish men from women or adult to child. If one was in Japan's way to world conquest, they would simply be mowed down with the rest of the masses. As Japan continued with its atrocities in Asia, the United States now more determined than ever. Although, it would have to fight a merciless and battle hardened enemy that would fight to the death.

Realizing the need to stop the Japanese onslaught in the Pacific, the United States was now preparing to fight one of the most deadliest and tenacious foe that it had ever dealt with. Even when facing an enemy that was as relentless as the Japanese, the United States' military proved to be a fearsome opponent to the Empire of Japan. The United States, after some initial heavy losses, started to turn the tide on the Japanese empire by taking back island by island. This in turn changed the way the Japanese were going to fight the war. If they were going to fight, it would be on their terms. With the United States turning the tide, the Japanese were changing tactics:

"The first great American offensive in the western Pacific, however, brought a major change in Japanese tactics that did not bode well for the rest of the war. Recognizing that they could not match American firepower and tactical skill in the air, on the sea, and in conventional land warfare, the Japanese decided to fight on new terms... The Japanese turned what might have been another week-long battle into a bitter two-month campaign." (Millet 445)

In other words, the Empire of Japan and its military forces were now going to make the war a living hell for any that dared to challenge it. The Japanese would fight for every inch of land and stop at nothing to drive back the enemy.

With this mindset, the Japanese were able to inflict maximum casualties onto the United States and Allied countries. The fighting now became barbaric and desperate, the Japanese would only accept surrender if they were dead. In an invasion of a small Pacific island, participants recall the horrors of war:

"On the leftward beaches Marines who reached them blundered into the point-blank fire of guns poked through sea-wall firing ports. They had waded down avenues of death. Some were hung up on offshore barbed wire and killed. Still they came on, the wounded clinging to the burning pier, working their way inshore hand over hand. They did reach the beaches, even the wounded, even the dying youth who fell on the sand with his chest torn open, crying for a cigarette" (Leckie 575).

With stubborn Japanese forces hunkering down in bunkers and fox holes, fighting to the last man, many US and Allied troops were paying the ultimate price to remove them. Although the Japanese troops were entrenched and fortified, some of the difficulty came from the weather "Two platoons from Charlie Company crossed the bridge. Machine guns in the high ground fired down upon them. Mortar shells began to explode. Charlie Company was pinned down. The mud, rain, and cloud cover impeded support from the battalions of artillery and the ships onshore" (Ambrose 14). The bad weather and the relentless, fortified Japanese made US and Allied progress in the Pacific very slow at times. With troops getting bogged down, came Japanese counter-offensives, which even slowed the campaign down more. With the hard fighting and poor weather many US and Allied troops were facing either death or being wounded (Cross 197). As the war intensified, many more troops were either being killed or wounded which increased the casualty rates for the Pacific Theater of the Second World War.

With the Japanese being well-trained and battle hardened, the United States was taking severe casualties in trying to take back the Pacific. The Pacific campaign was a very slow and gruesome theater of war. Many soldiers would not just die or be wounded by the enemy directly, but also experienced situations of booby traps and disease. War takes a toll on those who are participating, "Casualties are the brutal reality of warfare. The number of deaths resulting from the Second World War remains uncertain, but was around 70 million persons. Casualties in the Pacific War numbered around 36 million or 50 percent of the total casualties of the Second World War." As the Pacific War intensified, so too did the number of casualties the United States and Allied forces were taking. Reports of the number of casualties were soon becoming overwhelming "An estimated 386,328 casualties for the war in the Pacific for the United States. Approximately, 111,606 of the amount were killed or missing in action, 253,142 of the stated amount were wounded in combat, and 21,580 were prisoners of war" (Budge). This was a staggering number to say the least. Japan had defended the land it had captured until the very last man, costing the United States and Allied forces dearly. With the collapse and victory over the German Reich in early May, 1945, the Allied Powers now looked on to the stubborn Japanese who still would not give up (Cross 204-205). It would take the United States and its new atomic weapon to break the will of the Japanese and finally prevail in the Pacific.

In early 1943, the United States began work on a top secret investigation into a new type of bomb, one that would forever change the world. The Manhattan Project, so it became to be called, was the top secret creation of the atomic bomb which would ultimately be dropped on Japan to end the war in the Pacific. In the summer of 1945, the defeat of Japan was certain. With the occupation of Okinawa, an island within close proximity to Japan, the United States was now on Japan's doorstep. The methods in which generals wanted to end the war was varied though. Some wanted to carpet bomb Japan into submission, while others thought that would take too long and urged for a full invasion of the Japanese mainland (Leckie 941). President Truman was briefed on an alternative option, the use of the atomic bomb "The First occasion on which the newly-developed atom bomb was used in warfare, the aim being to force the unconditional surrender of Japan and so to avoid the need of a costly Allied ground invasion of the Japanese home islands" (Cross 229). President Truman now had a difficult decision to make, either invade mainland Japan taking enormous casualties or use the newly developed bomb, which was to cause unsurpassed destruction. History tells that President Truman chose the latter, Truman knowing that the invasion would cost the United States massive casualties which would be hard to swallow for the US public. Truman's decision ultimately ended fighting in the Pacific Theater and World War Two, "More than 1,000 miles, and months of potentially devastating combat, lay between the farthest Allied advances and Japan's home islands. Then came Hiroshima, and a flash of fire that ended the war in a matter of days and changed the world forever." President Truman's decision saved an estimated one million casualties for the United States and Allied nations (Decarie 242). The dropping of the atomic bombs finally ended the war in the Pacific as well as the Second World War.

Although the destruction was horrific and gruesome, the bombs were necessary in preventing massive Allied casualties. As one historian wrote, "Three days later a second atom bomb fell upon Nagasaki, Japan was finished... World War Two was history" (Decarie 243). If President Truman would have decided to proceed with the invasion of mainland Japan, many families today would not exist. The bombs provided a quick, reliable way to end the war in the Pacific, as well as World War Two. Japan had dragged the United States into a costly and horrific war that the US did not want any part of. Now the Empire of Japan had faced the consequences of starting a war with a sleeping giant (Millet, Reed, and Maslowski 403). Japan had ultimately started the war with a surprise attack, the United States ended it with a surprise weapon.

The Pacific Theater was one of the most fearsome fronts in World War Two. Many battles were ferocious and deadly to those who served on the battlefield. To end this deadly and relentless struggle, the United States had to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. Japan was going to fight until the last man, and many more Allied casualties were expected. With factors such as Japan starting war in the Pacific, Japan's numerous war crimes, the relentless fighting that occurred, amounting U.S. and Allied casualties, and the atom bomb's quick way to end the war, all justified the United States dropping the atomic bombs on Japan during World War Two. World War Two seen many bloody fronts, but the Pacific Theater was one that saw horrific scenes of relentless fighting and fierce opposition from the Japanese. It was because of this fierceness that the authorization of using the atomic bombs on Japan was ordered. This order was to save US and Allied lives from a mass slaughter that was the Pacific War.

Works Cited

Ambrose, Hugh. The Pacific. New American Library, 2009.

Boundless. "Boundless US History." Lumen, 6 July 2018, courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ushistory/chapter/the-early-war-in-the-pacific/.

Budge, Kent G. "Casualties." The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia: Casualties, The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia, 2008, www.pwencycl.kgbudge.com/C/a/Casualties.htm.

Cross, Robin. Warfare: a Chronological History. Greenwich Editions, 1998.

Decarie, Graeme. Our Glorious Century. Readers Digest Association, 1996.

"Genocide in the 20th Century: Rape of Nanking 1937-38." The History Place, The History Place, 2000, www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/nanking.htm.

Leckie, Robert. Delivered from Evil: the Saga of World War II. Harper & Row, 1987.

Millett, Allan Reed, and Peter Maslowski. For the Common Defense a Military History of the United States. Free Press, 1984.

Rummel, R. J. "STATISTICS OF JAPANESE GENOCIDE AND MASS MURDER." Statistics of Democide, 23 Nov. 2002, www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.CHAP3.HTM.

"Transcript of Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Japan (1941)." Our Documents - Transcript of Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Japan (1941), www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=73&page=transcript.