Before the outbreak of World War II, American scientist were worried about the research of nuclear bombs in Nazi Germany. Hence, the U.S government began to conduct and fund their own researches on atomic weapon developments. This was called ‘The Manhattan Project’ which was a top secret facility in which the research and development of atomic weaponry created the first nuclear weapon. The morning of August 6th, 1945, represented a significant change in history in which a Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Enola Gay, dropped the first atomic bomb ‘Little Boy’ on Hiroshima which immediately destroyed the city along with approximately 146,000 people. Three days later on August 9th, the second atomic bomb, ‘Fat Man’ was dropped on the city of Nagasaki
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The attacks are considered to be inhumane as it caused a widespread of death and left devastating results. The main reason as to why two atomic bomb attacks were unnecessary was because historians believed that there were alternative actions that should have taken place. The bomb’s main objective was to force Japan in surrendering. However, at the time, Japan was on the verge of defeat and was ready to surrender. During Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour, they were at its peak of power. The United States were able to push the Japanese back with the strategy of ‘island-hopping’ which was effective as American forces were able to reach Japan’s mainland within a few years. As a result, Japan was limited to its mainland and essentially lost their capability to fight back. Furthermore, it will continuously be debated as to why it was necessary to drop the second bomb on Japan. Many have accepted the use of ‘Little Boy’ yet continue to criticise Truman’s decision for ‘Fat Man’ simply because he knew the dangers of the atomic bomb, stating himself in his diary that “it seems to be the most terrible things ever …show more content…
Not only did it force Japan to surrender but it led to shocking outcomes. Firstly, the bomb ‘Little Boy’ was dropped on Hiroshima where its geographic location was unable to minimise the initial explosion due to its lack of surrounding mountains. As the bomb was dropped on the city centre where numerous businesses and residential homes were located, it meant that the death toll and amount of destruction were large. The bomb was dropped at approximately 8:15am and the initial blast of the bomb killed up to 70,000 innocent citizens. It was then recorded that up to 146,000 people died in Hiroshima as a result of the atomic bomb. The detonation was marked by an ‘intense flash of light and searing wave of heat’ that instantly killed thousands. Those who were close to the explosion either burnt to ash or completely disintegrated and many were blinded by the flash or had suffered from severe burns. The bomb had demolished almost every single building within an 18 square kilometre radius and soon after, nuclear fallout in the form of black rain descended in a sticky, dark matter. This contaminated water sources such as rivers and was also ingested by breathing which caused radioactive poisoning. Similarly, the bomb dropped on Nagasaki killed up to 80,000 people which left them defenseless eventually leading to Japan’s unconditional surrender to the United
The attacks are considered to be inhumane as it caused a widespread of death and left devastating results. The main reason as to why two atomic bomb attacks were unnecessary was because historians believed that there were alternative actions that should have taken place. The bomb’s main objective was to force Japan in surrendering. However, at the time, Japan was on the verge of defeat and was ready to surrender. During Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour, they were at its peak of power. The United States were able to push the Japanese back with the strategy of ‘island-hopping’ which was effective as American forces were able to reach Japan’s mainland within a few years. As a result, Japan was limited to its mainland and essentially lost their capability to fight back. Furthermore, it will continuously be debated as to why it was necessary to drop the second bomb on Japan. Many have accepted the use of ‘Little Boy’ yet continue to criticise Truman’s decision for ‘Fat Man’ simply because he knew the dangers of the atomic bomb, stating himself in his diary that “it seems to be the most terrible things ever …show more content…
Not only did it force Japan to surrender but it led to shocking outcomes. Firstly, the bomb ‘Little Boy’ was dropped on Hiroshima where its geographic location was unable to minimise the initial explosion due to its lack of surrounding mountains. As the bomb was dropped on the city centre where numerous businesses and residential homes were located, it meant that the death toll and amount of destruction were large. The bomb was dropped at approximately 8:15am and the initial blast of the bomb killed up to 70,000 innocent citizens. It was then recorded that up to 146,000 people died in Hiroshima as a result of the atomic bomb. The detonation was marked by an ‘intense flash of light and searing wave of heat’ that instantly killed thousands. Those who were close to the explosion either burnt to ash or completely disintegrated and many were blinded by the flash or had suffered from severe burns. The bomb had demolished almost every single building within an 18 square kilometre radius and soon after, nuclear fallout in the form of black rain descended in a sticky, dark matter. This contaminated water sources such as rivers and was also ingested by breathing which caused radioactive poisoning. Similarly, the bomb dropped on Nagasaki killed up to 80,000 people which left them defenseless eventually leading to Japan’s unconditional surrender to the United