Atomic bombardment of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: causes and consequences

Next year, humanity will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, which has seen many examples of unprecedented cruelty, when for days or even hours entire cities disappeared from the face of the earth and hundreds of thousands of people, including civilians, died. The most striking example of this is the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, whose ethical justification is questioned by any sane person.

Japan during the final phase of World War II

As you know, fascist Germany capitulated on the night of May 9, 1945. This meant the end of the war in Europe. And also that the only opponent of the countries of the anti-fascist coalition remained Imperial Japan, which at that time officially declared war on about six dozen countries. Already in June 1945, as a result of bloody battles, her troops were forced to leave Indonesia and Indochina. But when on July 26 the United States, together with Great Britain and China, issued an ultimatum to the Japanese command, he was rejected. At the same time, during the Yalta Conference, the USSR committed itself in August to launch a large-scale offensive against Japan, for which, after the end of the war, it was to be transferred to Southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.

Prerequisites for the use of atomic weapons

Long before these events, in the autumn of 1944, at a meeting of the leaders of the United States and Great Britain, the question of the possibility of using new super-destructive bombs against Japan was considered. After that, the famous Manhattan project, launched the year before and aimed at creating nuclear weapons, began to function with renewed vigor, and the work on the creation of its first models were completed by the time of the end of hostilities in Europe.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki: reasons for the bombing

Thus, by the summer of 1945, the United States had become the sole possessor of nuclear weapons in the world and decided to use this advantage in order to exert pressure on its longtime adversary and at the same time an ally of the anti-Hitler coalition, the USSR.

At the same time, despite all the defeats, Japan's morale was not broken. As evidenced by the fact that every day hundreds of servicemen of her imperial army became kamikaze and kaiten, sending their planes and torpedoes to ships and other military purposes of the American army. This meant that when conducting a ground operation on the territory of Japan itself, Allied forces expect huge losses. The latter reason is most often quoted by US officials as an argument justifying the need for such a measure as the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. At the same time, it is forgotten that, according to Churchill, three weeks before the Potsdam conference , Stalin informed him of the Japanese attempts to establish a peaceful dialogue. Obviously, representatives of this country intended to do such proposals to both Americans and British, since the massive bombing of large cities put their war industry on the brink of collapse and made the surrender inevitable.

Selecting Goals

After receiving the principle consent to the use of atomic weapons against Japan, a special committee was formed. His second meeting was held on 10-11 May and was devoted to the selection of cities that were to be bombed. The main criteria that guided the commission were:

• Mandatory presence of civilian targets around the military target;
• Its importance for the Japanese not only from the economic and strategic point of view, but also from the psychological;
• A high degree of significance of the object, the destruction of which would cause resonance all over the world;
• The goal was not to be damaged by bombing, so that the military could assess the true power of the new weapons.

Which cities were considered as targets

Among the "applicants" were:

• Kyoto, which is Japan's largest industrial and cultural center and the ancient capital of Japan;
• Hiroshima as an important military port and the city where the army warehouses were concentrated;
• Yokagama, which is the center of the military industry;
• Kokura is the location of the largest military arsenal.

According to the surviving memories of the participants of those events, although the most convenient goal was Kyoto, the United States War Minister G. Stimson insisted on the exclusion of this city from the list, as he was personally acquainted with his sights and represented their value for world culture.

It is interesting that the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not initially banned. More precisely, as the second goal, the city of Kokura was considered. This is evidenced by the fact that before August 9, an air raid on Nagasaki was carried out, which caused concern among residents and forced the evacuation of the majority of students to the surrounding villages. A little later, as a result of long discussions, reserve goals were chosen, in case of unforeseen situations. They were:

• For the first bombing, in case Hiroshima can not be hit, - Niigata;
• For the second (instead of Kokury) - Nagasaki.

Preparation

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki required careful preparation. During the second half of May and June, the 509th Air Force mixed group was redeployed to the base on Tinian Island, and exceptional security measures were taken. A month later, on July 26, the atomic bomb "Malysh" was delivered to the island, and some of the components for the assembly of "Tolstyak" on the 28th. On the same day, George Marshall, who at that time was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, signed under an order ordering a nuclear bombing at any time after August 3, when the weather conditions are right.

Japan's first nuclear strike

The date of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki can not be called unequivocally, since the nuclear strikes on these cities were committed with a difference of 3 days.

The first blow was dealt by Hiroshima. And it happened on June 6, 1945. "Honor" to drop the bomb "Kid" went to the crew of the B-29 aircraft, nicknamed "Enola Gay", which was commanded by Colonel Tibbets. And before the flight, the pilots, confident that they are doing a good deed and for their "feat" will be followed by the speedy end of the war, visited the church and received an ampoule with cyanide in case of falling into captivity.

Together with the "Enola Gay", three reconnaissance planes were deployed to clarify the meteorological conditions, and two sides with photographic equipment and devices for exploring the explosion parameters.

The bombing itself was completely unproblematic, as the Japanese military did not notice the objects that were rushing to Hiroshima, and the weather was more than favorable. What happened next can be seen by watching the tape "The Atomic Bombardment of Hiroshima and Nagasaki" - a documentary film, mounted from newsreels made in the Pacific region at the end of World War II.

In particular, it shows a nuclear mushroom, which, according to Capt. Robert Lewis, who was a member of the crew of "Enola Gay", was visible even after their aircraft flew from the 400-mile bomb drop location.

The bombardment of Nagasaki

The operation on the dropping of the "Tolstyak" bomb, carried out on August 9, was quite different. In general, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the photo of which causes associations with the well-known descriptions of the Apocalypse, was prepared extremely carefully, and the only thing that could make adjustments to its conduct was the weather. This is what happened when, on the early morning of August 9, an airplane under the command of Major Charles Sweeney and the atomic bomb "Tolstyak" flew from Tinian Island on board. At 8 o'clock 10 minutes the board arrived to the place where it was supposed to meet with the second one - the B-29, but did not find it. After 40 minutes of waiting, it was decided to make a bombing without a partner airplane, but it turned out that 70% of cloudiness was already observed over the city of Kokura. Moreover, even before the departure, it was known about the malfunction of the fuel pump, and at the time when the board was over Kokura, it became obvious that the only way to drop the "Fat Man" was to do this during the flight over Nagasaki. Then the B-29 went to this city and dumped the atomic bomb, focusing on the local stadium. Thus, by the will of the case Kokura was saved, and the whole world learned that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had taken place. Fortunately, if such words are generally appropriate in this case, the bomb fell far from the original target, far from residential quarters, which somewhat reduced the number of victims.

The consequences of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

According to eyewitness accounts, within a few minutes everyone who was within 800 meters of the epicenters of the explosions died. Then fires started, and in Hiroshima they soon turned into a tornado due to wind, the speed of which was about 50-60 km / h.

The nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki introduced mankind to the phenomenon of radiation sickness as well. The first to notice it was the doctors. They were surprised that the state of the survivors first improved, and then they died from a disease whose symptoms resembled diarrhea. In the first days and months after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, few could have guessed that those who experienced it will suffer a lifetime of various diseases and even produce unhealthy children.

Subsequent events

On August 9, immediately after the news of the bombing of Nagasaki and the declaration of war on the part of the USSR, Emperor Hirohito advocated an immediate surrender, subject to the preservation of his power in the country. And after 5 days, the Japanese media spread his statement on the cessation of hostilities in English. And in the text, His Majesty mentioned that one of the reasons for his decision is the presence of the enemy "terrible weapons", the use of which can lead to the destruction of the nation.