Why We Had to Drop the Atomic Bomb - Essay Example

Pavel Kaliadka Young, R Core 100 Assignment # 2 November Why We Had to Drop the Atomic Bomb? The President of the United States Harry S. Truman had taken a decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan during the World War II. Therefore, on the 6th and 9th of August, the atomic bombs were dropped. After six months of intense fire-bombing of 67 other Japanese cities, the nuclear bomb “Little Boy” was dropped on the city of Hiroshima on Monday 6th August, 1945, which was duly followed on August 9th by the detonation of the “Fat Man” nuclear bomb over Nagasaki. These are to date the only attacks with nuclear weapons in the history of Japanese warfare. [1] There were a lot of discussions and debates regarding the use of nuclear weapons against any enemy nation. Some politicians were of the opinion that the Japanese were ready to quit the war without using atomic bombs, because more than 60 of its cities had been destroyed by conventional bombing. Some of them also thought that Japan would never surrender, because the Japanese had demonstrated near-fanatical resistance, fighting to almost the last man on the Pacific islands, committing mass suicide on Saipan and unleashing kamikaze attacks at Okinawa. [2] I think that President Truman had taken the right decision which helped the US to finish this war much earlier and without enormous casualties on both sides. Given below are some factual support points which explain why we should drop the atomic bomb on Japan: Harry S. Truman and other officials claimed that the bombs would help them to avoid a bloody invasion, and also would help US to make the Soviet Union “more manageable”. [14] According to Bill Dietrich who was a reporter during the Trumans presidency we can see that an invasion of Japan would have caused casualties on both sides that could easily have exceeded the toll of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[3] During the War the militarism held effective power over the Japanese government and were capable of defying the emperor Kamikazes who had played a major role in defending Japan. These people were ready to sacrifice their own lives in order to protect their lands against the invaders. They also had dispatched the super battleship Yamato on a suicide mission to Okinawa. Yamato was sunk shortly after leaving port, but its mission symbolized Japans willingness to sacrifice everything in order to win. Before taking the decision, Truman considered many other ways which would end the war without making use of the atomic bomb, on Kyushu, because already a bloody invasion of Okinawa had been completed by the American forces and their next target was Kyushu, which was located about 350 miles away from Okinawa. His most trusted military adviser George C. Marshall who was Army Chief of Staff General argued that an invasion of “Kyushu appears to be a least costly worthwhile operation of Okinawa”. He also recommended a target date of November 1st for the first phase, because delay would give the Japanese more time to prepare and also because bad weather might postpone the invasion up to six months. Truman unexpectedly began to doubt right after the Joint War Plans Committee (JWPC) estimated that the invasion of Kyushu, would follow, but that of Honshu would cost approximately 40,000 dead, 150,000 wounded, and 3,500 missing in action for a total of 193,500 casualties.[4] After the JWPC reported the results, Truman changed his mind and was now ready to consider dropping off an atomic bomb as a preferable way against the Japanese because 193,500 casualties was a huge sacrifice in order to end the war. Another reason for using the bombing measures was because the Japanese would make a serious effort to use the U.S.S.R. as a mediator in ending the war. As a result, the prediction was right, Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo instructed Ambassador Naotaki Sato in Moscow to inform the Soviets that the emperor wished to send a personal envoy in an attempt “to restore peace with all possible speed”.[5] On the other hand, Moscow would play a vital role in restoring peace which might help to satisfy the Japanese. So, Truman had to make a final decision before the Japanese could convince the Russians to stop the war. He created a special committee which played a vital role in the decision to use the bomb. [6] The work of the Interim Committee was completed on 1st June 1945 and its results were submitted to the President. Based on the results, it was decided that the bomb should be used against Japan as soon as possible, and also it should be used against a military target that is surrounded by other buildings. In addition to this, the bomb should be dropped without any prior warning because of the nature of the weapon. The United States had no other choice but to drop the atomic bomb in order to end the war. The Russians also keep silence and showed no action in solving this issue. Japanese only hope in ending the war was the Soviet participation. They knew that U.S.S.R. had a great influence over the world that time, and successfully expanded their policy to the Eastern Europe. The Japanese could be expected to defend their sacred homeland with even greater fervor if the US decided to invade Japan by the regular military ways of fighting by making use of aircrafts, soldiers and navy instead of using the atomic bomb. The Japanese had more than 2,000,000 troops in their home island and were training millions of irregulars, who for some time had been conserving aircraft that might have been used to protect Japanese cities against American bombers. [6] The United States could also finish this war by sea and air power alone, discarding the necessity of an actual invasion of the Japanese home island by ground troops and avoid spending a lot of money, time, and troops, if only one drop of a bomb would stop the war? Truman knew well that either an unexpected invasion or using of an atomic bomb would bring the war to a close. He also considered the Soviets participation in the war and was persuading them to take a stand against the Japanese, mainly because the Russian entry would have a profound military effect and almost certainly it would shorten the war period and save a lot of Americans lives. However, Stalin was trying to delay his decision regarding the Soviet participation in the war.[8] So, Truman decided not to wait for the Russian participation, instead he ordered to start preparations for dropping the bomb. The final decision had been made, but the original plan was to carry out the operation on 4th August, but General LeMay deferred the attack because of bad weather over the target. On 6th August the bomb was released over Hiroshima. The age of atomic warfare had opened. [9] On 7th August the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. On 9th August the second bomb was released on Nagasaki. On 10th August, Japan sued for peace. Some politicians believed that the main reason for using a nuclear weapon was to forestall Soviet intervention in the Far Eastern war. Many believed that Soviets entry against Japan was playing a significant role in ending the war. I prefer to believe that both factors played crucial roles in ending the war. The United States dropped the first atomic bomb, but Japan still did not surrender because they hoped to convince the U.S.S.R. to restore peace. Only after the second bomb had been dropped and Soviet declared war against Japan, the Japanese finally decided to quit. It was a right decision anyway. The United States did ask Japanese to surrender and even rejected the Potsdam Declaration. An invasion of Japan would have caused casualties on both sides that could easily have exceeded the toll at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Trumans decision to drop the bomb was 100% justified because fire bombing was not effective at all. Fire bombing had killed 100,000 in Tokyo with no discernible political effect, so as a result; only the atomic bomb could jolt Japans leadership to surrender. [10] Kamikazes also played a significant role in defending their homeland. It was a surprise for United States to fight against them. After the fall of Saipan in July, 1944, Admiral Takijiro Oneshi, commander of the First Air Fleet in the Philippines, created the Special Attack Groups of suicide dive-bombing pilots, known as kamikazes. Young men who wished to die for their country were inspired to volunteer. Pilots were trained in just over a week to fly their Mitsubishi A6M fighters. During April 1945 kamikaze pilots under Admiral Soema Toyoda launched 1,400 suicide missions. More than 2000 kamikaze missions were also flown against the US fleet at Okinawa (April-July 1945). Many young men sacrificed themselves by their own free will because their belief and their love for the home land were the most important things for them. Many of them were so excited to go to combat, that they became very sad and violent if they couldnt go because of bad weather or for other reasons. A special ceremony before going to combat usually took place. Pilots drank sake and ate a ball of rice. They were given medals, and a katana sword. They put on a headband with the rising sun, and a sennibari, a "belt of a thousand stitches" made by a thousand women, who made one stitch each. [11] You have to be insane to keep fighting those kamikazes. They killed thousands of Americans, and would never stop under any circumstances because they are people whose mentality and belief are completely different from ours. According to some historical facts, United States had planed invasion of Kyushu right after the completed action against Okinawa. If that happened it would be a huge mistake, merely because the Japanese had more than 2,000,000 troops in their home islands, and were also training millions of them. In addition, no one knew how many kamikazes they had at that time. In addition, Japanese were anticipating help from the Soviet Union. They hoped that the Soviets would directly approach the United States and ask them for peace. Even after the bombing at Hiroshima, the foreign Ministry continued to seek the Soviets help. This meant that the Soviet Union could change the sequence of the war and give an opportunity for the Japanese to end the war in the way they wanted. Ut this could never take place because at the Alta Conference, Roosevelt and Stalin had agreed on the terms of Soviet participation in the Far Eastern war. Thus by June 1945, the Americans could look forward to Soviet intervention, at a date estimated as three months after the defeat of Germany. [12] So, the Soviet intervention would be necessary only in case the United States decided not to use the atom bomb because even though Japan was seriously crippled by air bombardment and naval blockade and its armed forces were critically deficient in many of the resources of war, Japan was still far from surrender. Japan had ample reserves of weapons and ammunition and an army of 5000,000 troops, 2000,000 of them in the home islands. I think that the Trumans decision to make use of the atomic bomb against the Japan was 100% justified in every sense of the word. The United States had offered the Japanese to end the war under the Potsdam Declaration, but they had refused. The US clearly understood that the bomb was the instrument that, by its sheer power of distraction, would impress on the Japanese Government the hopelessness of any course but surrender. In addition, the new weapon would end the war in one sudden blow and save countless American lives without a bloody invasion to Japan. Another good point which justifies the using of the bomb was the Soviet expansion in Europe, where the Red tide had successively engulfed Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. [13] The US assumed that the bomb would make “Russia more manageable in Europe.” Another good reason to drop the bomb was “The Manhattan Project”. This project employed more than 130,000 people and cost nearly $2 billion USD ($24 billion in 2008 dollars) and was established in 1939. You can just take that money from people and show them nothing. As a result, it was another good reason to prove to the people that the money and time was not spent for nothing. This was one of the most justified decisions of the United States which helped to end this war in a few days without a bloody invasion. References [1]Radiation Effects Research Foundation HTTP://www.rerf.or.jp/general/qa_e/qa1.html [2] Dropping the Bomb. Http:// seattletimes.nwsource.com [3] 50 Yeas from trinity by Bill Dietrich, Seattle Times. Http:// seattletimes.nwsource.com [4] “The Biggest Decision” by Robert James Maddox, American Heritage May/June 1995 [5] “The Biggest Decision” by Robert James Maddox, American Heritage May/June 1995 [6] Stimson, “The decision To Use the Atomic Bomb,” Harpers, p.100. [7] “The Biggest Decision” by Robert James Maddox, American Heritage May/June 1995 [8] Ltr, Stimson to Grew, 21 May 45, reproduced in Grew, The Turbulent Era, Vol. 2. p. 1458, and in the Entry of the Soviet Union into the War against Japan, pp. 70-71. [9] Two other dates can be said to have opened the atomic age: 2 December 1942, when Enrico Fermi succeeded in establishing a chain reaction; and 16 July 1945, when the test bomb was exploded in New Mexico. [10] 50 Yeas from trinity by Bill Dietrich, Seattle Times. Http:// seattletimes.nwsource.com [11] Axell, Albert; Kase, HideakI (2002). “Kamikaze, Japan Suicide Code” New York: Longman ISBN: 0-582-77232-x p.16 [12] “ The Strange Alliance by Deane, pp.263-265. “ I was There” by Leahy, pp.318, 339. [13] Szilard, “A Personal History of the Atomic Bomb,” pp. 14 -15. [14] Hand out: Szilard, “A Personal History of the Atomic Bomb,” pp. 14-15. Read More