While the bomb dropping on Japan was commonly advocated as a military measure to force Japan to surrender unconditionally, the state of Japan before this event and the presence of the USSR leads to the belief of a calculated diplomatic measure stopping the USSR from influencing Japan. After the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, the United States were forced to enter the war, starting to send troops to Japan to keep it in check while Germany was on the brink of defeat. After V-E day marking the victory in Europe, the US was still waging war in the Pacific Theater, and as the war continued, the option to end the war quicker arose with the newly developed atomic bombs. The decision to force Japan’s surrender in the war using the atomic
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Originally, due to the Manhattan Project’s early success in 1940 after the Potsdam Conference’s meeting, the option to utilize the atomic bomb on Japan was a strong possibility. With the large naval battles such as the Battle of Midway with Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the island hopping campaigns, and the Battle of Iwo Jima taking a toll on countless American lives. Henry L. Stimson, the US Secretary of War, believed that the operations to “destroy… an armed force of five million men… might be expected to cost over a million casualties, to American forces alone” (Doc A). The prospects for the future of the war were devastating, the Japanese not giving up their battle for their land, with the “ability to fight literally to the death” (Doc A). Stimson’s view on the effects of the atomic bomb were focused on quickly ending the war as opposed to extending it indefinitely. A report to the Secretary of War also displayed …show more content…
The military measures to end the war quickly due to a possible indefinite extension of the war and numerous possible American deaths were a viable cover-up for the effects of the atomic bombs. However, the facts of the diplomatic reasons disproved the ability for the war to extend too much longer, and one of the bigger motives for ending the war—refusing Russia’s interference over Japan and China—is revealed. The US nonetheless saved countless American lives, although dooming many Japanese ones, and resulted in V-J day, or the Victory in Japan. The global end of World War II was hence marked after the A-bomb explosions and the Japanese white flag of
Originally, due to the Manhattan Project’s early success in 1940 after the Potsdam Conference’s meeting, the option to utilize the atomic bomb on Japan was a strong possibility. With the large naval battles such as the Battle of Midway with Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the island hopping campaigns, and the Battle of Iwo Jima taking a toll on countless American lives. Henry L. Stimson, the US Secretary of War, believed that the operations to “destroy… an armed force of five million men… might be expected to cost over a million casualties, to American forces alone” (Doc A). The prospects for the future of the war were devastating, the Japanese not giving up their battle for their land, with the “ability to fight literally to the death” (Doc A). Stimson’s view on the effects of the atomic bomb were focused on quickly ending the war as opposed to extending it indefinitely. A report to the Secretary of War also displayed …show more content…
The military measures to end the war quickly due to a possible indefinite extension of the war and numerous possible American deaths were a viable cover-up for the effects of the atomic bombs. However, the facts of the diplomatic reasons disproved the ability for the war to extend too much longer, and one of the bigger motives for ending the war—refusing Russia’s interference over Japan and China—is revealed. The US nonetheless saved countless American lives, although dooming many Japanese ones, and resulted in V-J day, or the Victory in Japan. The global end of World War II was hence marked after the A-bomb explosions and the Japanese white flag of