As World War II was coming to an end, the U.S. was searching for a way to finish the war with Japan. The U.S. went about doing this by first dropping 2,000 tons of flammable bombs on Tokyo, Japan on March 9th, 1945. As a result of these fire bombings, between 80,000 to 130,000 innocent Japanese civilians were killed, which was the worst single firestorm in history. After this overwhelming event occurred, Japan didn’t chose to surrender unconditionally; however, the U.S. was well aware that Japan was already largely defeated due to the fire bombings. The U.S. was ready to potentially invade Japan, but an invasion of Japan couldn’t begin for another three months, so the U.S. had an opportunity to wait and see if Japan would surrender before
Before World War 1 started, the United States was forced to abandon its neutrality and that is when congress voted in favor of the U.S. entry into World War 1. The government had abandoned its neutrality that America had maintained for three years and the United States felt many pressures that would also end up leading the nations of Europe to a devastating warfare. The western world were deeply influenced by the concept of nationalism because nationalism led was what led to the competitive and antagonistic rivalries among the nations. Many different colonies had supplied the European imperial powers with raw materials and manufactured goods. The growth of nationalism and imperialism led to the increased military spending and the imperial powers
One of the most controversial events from World War II (WWII) was the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On August 6, 1945, America dropped the world’s first atomic bomb, code name “Little Boy, over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion resulted in over 90,000 deaths. August 9th, 1945, a second bomb was dropped, code name “Fat Man”, on Nagasaki, instantly killing an estimated 70,000 people. On August 15, Japan surrendered unconditionally. President Truman decision to drop these atomic bombs on these cities changed the course of history and modern warfare. After this pivotal moment begun an arms race to develop the most nuclear bombs between many nations. The decision to drop the atomic bombs over Japanese cities had to involve a lot of pros and cons. This paper will discuss the reason why the bombs were dropped, how historians look back on that decision, how the culture of the time affected that decision, and what, in my opinion, was the deciding factor. “It is an awful responsibility that has
Canadians have fought heroically in many battles throughout history. Canada’s troops continue to persevere no matter how difficult the battle may be. The battle, which Canada fought on June 6, 1944, was no exception. D-Day refers to the day when a military operation commences, such as the landings on the Normandy beaches did. The landing area code-named Juno Beach was approximately 10 km (6 miles) wide and stretched on either side of the small fishing port of Courseulles-sur-Mer. Two smaller villages, Bernières and Saint-Aubin, lay to the east of Courseulles. Smaller coastal villages lay behind the sand dunes and had been fortified by the occupying Germans. From the D-Day landings on June 6th through to the encirclement of the German army at
The Royal Air Force Bomber Command would run attacks at night and the United States Army Air Force squad would run attacks on the Germans during the daytime. The RAF Bomber Commander felt that if they dispatched over 1,000 aircraft each night against the German objectives, it would destroy the industry of the city in hours and then the invasion of Europe would be unnecessary. In one night of bombing, over 1,000 aircraft used over 2,000 tons of bombs on Munich, destroying over 13,000 homes.
The Black May in World War II had been a major turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic for the Allied countries. Until May of 1943, the Germans had led a massive U-boat campaign that devastated the Allies vessels. Great Britain especially was hurt by the U-boats as Britain had relied on supplies from other nations in order to not only fight in the war, but also protect itself from a Nazi invasion. The German U-boats were effective because of the lack of proper armorment on shipping vessels moving to and from Great Britain and that the U-boats often hunted in wolf-packs, where multiple submarines would stay close together to hunt and sink specific targets. England was losing
World War II was an intense time for all. The destruction and death count of soldiers and civilians was at all time high with the aid of new technology. Although the war started with Nazi Germany’s attack on Poland in September 1939, The US did not enter the war until after
The First World War ended on November 11th, 1918 when the German government signed an armistice treaty with the Allied powers, leaving 9 million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded. This has lead World War I to be commonly known as the “war to end all wars”. There several key reasons as to why the Central Powers lost the war. Generally, it was a mixture of the Central Powers weakness and the Allied power’s strength. However, more specifically, the Central Powers had weak and unreliable Allies such as Austro - Hungary and the Ottoman Empire which both collapsed, leaving Germany isolated. While on the other hand the Allied Forces had powerful allies such as the USA which could contribute greater resources of men and materials. Furthermore, the British had put in place a Naval Blockade prevent the passing of cargo of any ships that attempted to pass through, this was very effective and starved much of Germany’s population. Lastly, Germany’s two front with Russia greatly weakened German forces and had larger repercussions later on. Although these are all important causes, the most factor that
In the company photograph of the 130th Chemical Company the three friends are pictured sitting together shoulder to shoulder, just as they joined the Army together, trained together, and stationed together in London, where on July 3, 1944, died together.
Daisaku Ikeda said “Japan learned from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that the tragedy wrought by nuclear weapons must never be repeated and that humanity and nuclear weapons cannot exist.” The United States ended World War II by bombing Japan which caused radiation damage and devastation to all of Japan. The United States had three main reasons why they dropped the atomic bomb in such a rush. They wanted to limit American casualties from fighting future battles. The United States wanted to establish dominance over the war before Russia could join in. Lately they wanted to see what kind of damage it would really do what what the aftermath would be like. In fact the atomic bombs used in World War II against Japan were the only atomic
Hundreds of thousands died, almost half of the population of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The effects were devastating for the slowly dying, and family and friends of the dead. In document “Effects of Atomic Attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki” it shows a burned corpse and miserable doctors. But all would agree that the American government announced the Potsdam Declaration and warned Japan that “prompt and utter destruction” would follow the refusal of surrender. The US also dropped leaflets around the city telling citizens that “So, in accordance with America's humanitarian policies, the American Air Force, which does not wish to injure innocent people, now gives you warning to evacuate the cities named and save your lives.” The leaders of Japan unwisely ignored the declaration and ordered that whoever had in their possession a pamphlet, be sent to jail. In the end, it was the Japanese government's fault for keeping information from their people and delaying an inevitable defeat. The Japanese also procrastinated the end of the war by using Kamikaze pilots. These pilots were suicide bombers that crashed into US ships and killed more than 700 US soldiers. They damaged ships and cost thousands of dollars in repair. In document “Japanese Kamikaze Pilots”, it states, “The Japanese pilots became “guided” missiles taking out American ships”. Japan's strategy with the kamikaze pilots
However, this is a weak defence when taking Japan’s imminent defeat and peace efforts, as well as the likelihood of Japan’s surrender before the land invasion, into consideration. Furthermore, the usage of the bombs only accelerated the surrender of an already defeated enemy and resulted in high civilian casualty rates. This, along with the ulterior motives in the bomb’s usage, undermines any kind of justification even further. The usage of the atomic bombs was both highly immoral and militarily unnecessary, and had no function in bringing the war to an
There have been few national catastrophic events that have remained relevant to each new generation of people. Some of these circumstances occurred naturally while others caused great damage purposefully. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings of World War II are among the moments in time that are recognizable to each person worldwide. Although these bombings were extremely significant during the war and lead to Japanese surrender, there are many speculations concerning whether or not the bombings were crucial for the victory of the United States. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings were both extremely necessary because other strategies of the United States to end the war would not have been as effective, the United States needed a way to intervene
The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki devastated the people of these cities. This, however, ended the conflict between the U.S. and Japan, but was it a good idea for the U.S.? Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed, and over one-hundred fifty thousand people were killed in the atomic bombings of Japan. The bombings by the United States were necessary because Japan was a powerful adversary that the United States needed to overcome in order to defeat Germany. They had started World War Two and put the Jewish people and gypsies and people they deemed not good enough for society in concentration camps. They were torturous places that starved, over-worked, and killed these people. It was oppressive in the extreme.
Back in World War One, airplanes were a thought of the future, but they became extremely prominent in World War Two, and essentially ruled the offensive and defensive strategies of the European and Pacific Theater. The Germans were able to defeat many countries through their use of advanced military equipment, as they notoriously demolished France, Belgium, Poland, Norway, and Denmark. Hitler was able to utilize many successful tactics such as the Blitzkrieg and the Sitzkrieg. Those deadly tactics, when combined with the use of airplanes and tanks, was virtually unstoppable. Germany kept advancing its technology until it matched Britain, who was able to consistently match and fend off Germany’s shiny new weapons. In the Pacific Theater, the scientific breakthrough of the atomic bomb controlled the war, as Japan, who would’ve fought to their death, was forced to surrender after this devastating technology hit them. In the end, uses of new technology evidently swayed the war and proved that the more advanced country had the advantage over the less-equipped