HIROSHIMA, NAGASAKI
The part of the war between the United States and Japan seemed like it would never end. In an effort to force Japan’s surrender and end any more American deaths, President Truman believed using atomic force on Japan would be the best option. Also the US wanted to be the first to use atomic bombs (raced with Soviet Union) to assert dominance. Two well known officers General Grove and Admiral Purnell both believed that after one and, if necessary, two bombings would result in Japan’s surrender.
An atomic bomb works by nuclear fission, basically splitting large atoms like plutonium and uranium into smaller particles. This causes a chain reaction which has tremendous energy. The effects are intense heat, radiation, and electromagnetic disruption.
The Manhattan project finally perfected the atomic bomb and tested it, so with Truman’s approval on August 6, 1945, the ‘Little Boy’ bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. It is estimated that 60,000-70,000 died and over 140,000 were injured.
After no surrender from Japan, the US used the bomb ‘Fat Man’ on Nagasaki. Nagasaki was not originally the first target though, Kokura was but because of weather conditions, the US had to bomb Nagasaki as a second choice, on August 9th. Approximately the same amount or slightly more were affected as Hiroshima. Finally Emperor Hirohito had no choice but to surrender, thus marking the end of the part of the war in the Pacific.
After no surrender from Japan, the US used the bomb ‘Fat Man’ on Nagasaki. Nagasaki was not originally the first target though, Kokura was but because of weather conditions, the US had to bomb Nagasaki as a second choice, on August 9th. Approximately the same amount or slightly more were affected as Hiroshima. Finally Emperor Hirohito had no choice but to surrender, thus marking the end of the part of the war in the Pacific.