Strategic bombing

Nagasaki, three days apart from one another. According to a Pew Research Center survey composed in 2015, 56% of American citizens believed that the bombing…

The United States’ decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki remains controversial amongst the public. Traditionalists, also referred to as Orthodox historians, argue that the use of atomic bombs against Japan is justifiable on military grounds in order to prevent the costly invasion of the Japanese home islands. On the other hand, revisionists claim that the bombs were unnecessary in defeating Japan and were dropped in order to gain an advantage over the Soviet Union, their…

In the first week of August 1945, the world saw the first and only use of nuclear weapons in warfare. The United States use of the atomic bombs on Japan, One of the most controversial decisions in history, resulted in the death of over 130,000 people and caused un-predicted effects on physical health and economic relations upon the world. Historians contrast the effects brought upon the world and justifications for using the atomic bombs as a solution to ending the war. The atomic bombs changed…

the U.S. did not give enough time for word to filter out its devastation before bombing Nagasaki”. The bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were only a few days apart and it didn’t give Japan enough time to prepare for the massacre that was going to occur. “Some military analysts insist that Japan was on its knees and bombing was simply unnecessary”(Decision to Drop the Bomb). If military analysts can say that bombing wasn’t needed and that Japan was on its knees shows the mass destruction…

Americans. After the bombing in Pearl Harbor in 1941 by the Japanese the tension between these two countries grew incredibly. But the years 1944 and 1945 are huge for the war in the Pacific. So much happens that leads to the surrender of the Japanese forces. It also forever changes military tactics with the production and use of the atomic bomb. This paper will discuss the firebombing of Tokyo, the dropping of the atomic bombs and lastly the surrender of Japan. The bombing of Tokyo was one of…

The use of the air force in strategic bombing runs was key in dealing ‘heavy blows at the foe’s wartime economy’ (Kennedy). The movement away from precision bombing which was ‘proving relatively ineffective for the defeat of Japan’ (Spector) towards low-altitude attacks using incendiaries in March 1945 meant that American bombing offensives became increasingly effective such that by the end of the war ‘43.46% of 63 major Japanese…

Hiroshima was demolished and over 70,000 people were instantly killed. This disaster was then followed by the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9th. Numerous factors involved in the decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The motives of politicians, key events before the attack and effects of the bombing can provide evidence to if…

man’s understanding of nature’s forces.” This statement above was by President Harry S. Truman and was featured in his official White House press release for the Hiroshima bombings on the 6th of August 1945. The heart of this statement poses countless questions about the nature of the bombings; as did the justification for bombing a non-military city bring a means to an end or an end to the means. There are lingering questions surrounding the ethics of atomic and nuclear weapons, asking whether…

Why did Japan ultimately surrender during World War 2? For the last seventy years, Japanese and American public have hung onto the idea that the atomic bombs ended the war. For the Japanese, these bombings helped symbolize their nation as a victim, obscuring their role as the aggressors, while for Americans they have always been a means justifiable by the end. On the surface it’s easy to believe that the bombs paved way for the end, but there is a problem with the timing that shows otherwise.…

One of the main countermeasures used against the V-2 attacks was the misinformation campaign used by the British. In this case, the British would turn German spies against the Nazis and would have false information given to the launch teams . One commonly used piece of misinformation was that the rockets were overshooting the launch target of London by between 20 to 30 miles. As a result of this, rockets would fall short of the larger built up areas of London and impact in much more rural areas,…