Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki: A Military Perplexity?

Maria Gonzalez

US History 6

Medrano

April 21, 2017

Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki: A Military Perplexity?

August 3, 1945 was a day the United States initiated one of America’s unforgettable blunders. The Japanese civilians of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, victims of the American assault. World War II, America’s bloodiest war in all of american history, was prevailed by none other than the Allies, which evidently included the United States. Japan had staggering support, little to no knowledge in how to utilize an aircraft during the time, and at the verge of yielding their dignity in the hands of the Allies. The United States was at the point of promised triumph, thus making the atomic bombing of the Japanese cities unnecessary.

The “Bataan Death March” was a march by the prisoners of the Bataan Peninsula to a prison camp near Cabanatuan. Posters were made to show the people who participated during the march. A WWII-Era U.S. poster stated the following, “5200 Yank Prisoners Killed by Jap torture in Philippines; Cruel ‘March of Death’ Described…” (Document B). Here, Americans depict the Japanese protesters as cold-blooded murders for annihilating the lives of the Yank Prisoners. Within the image, a Japanese soldier is illustrated beating a prisoner and several helpless victims in the background being escorted by the Japanese soldiers. Allegedly, the brutality of the Japanese soldiers gave the Americans every reason to defend the helpless victims of the unjustifiable killings of about 80,000 Filipinos and Americans. The poster was a visual representation to encourage Americans to fight for the sake of justice and for the casualties that perished within the march. Notably, the Bataan “Death March” occurred before the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. America’s hate towards the Japanese was already manifested, due to the attack of Pearl Harbor. Overtime, “The USS Arizona burned for two days after the Japanese attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. The wreckage of the Arizona remains at the bottom of Pearl Harbor…” (Document A). Eventually, he United States navy decided to leave the disaster as a burial for the lives that were lost during the attack. There was no talk of the American ship to being salvaged in regards to how severe the damage was. With this taken into accord, it was only a matter of time until Americans fought back.

In addition to the Bataan “Death March,” there was the Japanese Kamikaze attacks on the United States ships. A year before the atomic bombing, the USS Essex experienced an explosive surprise attack of it’s own. Based on the fact that a Japanese kamikaze pilot sacrificed his life for a U.S battleship to sink, the desperation of the bloodiest war to end was crucial for the Japanese. (Document C). By 1944, the Japanese were at a fault; most the Japanese soldiers were unable to sustain themselves from the American soldier's advanced technology. The only option for the Japanese was to utilize aircraft overseas with a living soldier maneuvering the airplane to the weak spot of the navy ship. The Japanese surrender was more than affirmative at this point.

The United States lost much during WWII, especially daring American soldiers who just wanted to protect the idea of what America really was. Steadily, American’s were progressing in terms of technology, which was bad news for the Japanese. The Boeing B-29, also known as the “Superfortress”, was a larger, faster bomber used by the American Army air force in the last months of World War II. (Document F). The innovation was able to withhold a quantitative size than other bombers