Next year, humanity will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, which showed many examples of unprecedented cruelty, when entire cities disappeared from the face of the earth for several days or even hours and hundreds of thousands of people died, including civilians. The most striking example of this is the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the ethical justification of which is questioned by any sane person.
Japan during the final stages of World War II
As you know, Nazi Germany capitulated on the night of May 9, 1945. This meant the end of the war in Europe. And also the fact that the only opponent of the countries of the anti-fascist coalition was imperial Japan, which at that time officially declared war on about 6 dozen countries. Already in June 1945, inas a result of bloody battles, its troops were forced to leave Indonesia and Indochina. But when on July 26 the United States, along with Great Britain and China, presented an ultimatum to the Japanese command, it was rejected. At the same time, even during the Y alta Conference, the USSR undertook to launch a large-scale offensive against Japan in August, for which, after the end of the war, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were to be transferred to it.
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 well-known Manhattan Project, launched a year earlier and aimed at creating nuclear weapons, began to function with renewed vigor, and work on creating its first samples was completed by the time hostilities in Europe ended.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki: reasons for the bombing
Thus, by the summer of 1945, the United States became the only owner of atomic weapons in the world and decided to use this advantage in order to put pressure on its old enemy and at the same time an ally in the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR.
At the same time, despite all the defeats, the morale of Japan was not broken. As evidenced by the fact that every day hundreds of soldiers of her imperial army became kamikaze and kaiten, directing their planes and torpedoes at ships and other military targets of the American army. This meant that during the land operationon the territory of Japan itself, the allied forces expect huge losses. It is the latter reason that is most often cited today 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, J. Stalin informed him of the Japanese attempts to establish a peaceful dialogue. Obviously, representatives of this country were going to make similar proposals to both the Americans and the British, since the massive bombing of large cities brought their military industry to the brink of collapse and made surrender inevitable.
Select targets
After obtaining agreement in principle to use atomic weapons against Japan, a special committee was formed. Its second meeting was held on May 10-11 and was devoted to the choice of cities that were to be bombed. The main criteria that guided the commission were:
- obligatory presence of civilian objects around the military target;
- its importance to the Japanese not only from an economic and strategic point of view, but also from a psychological point of view;
- a high degree of significance of the object, the destruction of which would cause resonance throughout the world;
- the target had to be undamaged by the bombing so that the military could appreciate the true power of the new weapon.
Which cities were targeted
The number of “applicants” included:
- Kyoto, which is the largest industrial and cultural center and the ancient capital of Japan;
- Hiroshima as an important military port and a city where army depots were concentrated;
- Yokahama, which is the center of the military industry;
- Kokura is home to the largest military arsenal.
According to the surviving memories of the participants in those events, although Kyoto was the most convenient target, the United States Secretary of War G. Stimson insisted on the exclusion of this city from the list, as he was personally acquainted with its sights and represented their value for world culture.
Interestingly, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not initially planned. More precisely, the city of Kokura was considered as the second goal. This is also evidenced by the fact that before August 9, an air raid was carried out on Nagasaki, which caused concern among residents and forced the majority of schoolchildren to be evacuated to the surrounding villages. A little later, as a result of long discussions, spare targets were chosen in case of unforeseen situations. They became:
- for the first bombing, in case Hiroshima fails to hit - Niigata;
- for the second (instead of Kokura) - Nagasaki.
Preparation
The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki required careful preparation. During the second half of May and June, the US Air Force 509th Composite Aviation Group was redeployed to the base on Tinian Island, in connection with which exceptional security measures were taken. A month later, on July 26, an atomic bomb was delivered to the island.“Kid”, and on the 28th part of the components for the assembly of “Fat Man”. On the same day, George Marshall, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, signed an order directing the nuclear bombing to be carried out any time after August 3, when the weather conditions were right.
First atomic strike on Japan
The date of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki cannot be named unequivocally, since the nuclear strikes on these cities were carried out with a difference of 3 days.
The first blow was de alt to Hiroshima. And it happened on June 6, 1945. The "honor" to drop the "Kid" bomb went to the crew of the B-29 aircraft, nicknamed "Enola Gay", commanded by Colonel Tibbets. Moreover, before the flight, the pilots, confident that they were doing a good deed and their “feat” would be followed by a speedy end to the war, visited the church and received an ampoule of potassium cyanide in case they were captured.
Together with Enola Gay, three reconnaissance aircraft took off, designed to determine weather conditions, and 2 boards with photographic equipment and devices for studying the parameters of the explosion.
The bombing itself went off without a hitch, as the Japanese military didn't notice the targets heading towards Hiroshima, and the weather was more than favorable. What happened next can be observed by watching the film “The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - documentaryfilm edited from newsreels made in the Pacific region at the end of World War II.
Specifically, it shows a nuclear mushroom that, according to Captain Robert Lewis, who was a member of the crew of the Enola Gay, was visible even after their plane flew 400 miles from the bomb site.
Nagasaki bombing
The operation to drop the bomb “Fat Man”, carried out on August 9, proceeded quite differently. In general, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, whose photos evoke associations with well-known descriptions of the Apocalypse, was prepared extremely carefully, and the only thing that could make adjustments to its implementation was the weather. And so it happened when, in the early morning of August 9, a plane took off from Tinian Island under the command of Major Charles Sweeney and with the Fat Man atomic bomb on board. At 8 hours 10 minutes, the board arrived at the place where it was supposed to meet with the second - B-29, but did not find it. After 40 minutes of waiting, it was decided to bomb without a partner aircraft, but it turned out that 70% cloud cover was already observed over the city of Kokura. Moreover, even before the flight, it was known about the malfunction of the fuel pump, and at the moment when the plane was over Kokura, it became obvious that the only way to drop the Fat Man was to do it during the flight over Nagasaki. Then the B-29 went to this city and dropped the atomic bomb, focusing on the local stadium. Thus, by chance, Kokura was saved, and the whole world learned aboutthe atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Fortunately, if such words are at all appropriate in this case, the bomb fell far from its original target, quite far from residential areas, 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 a radius of 800 m from the epicenters of the explosions died. Then the fires started, and in Hiroshima they soon turned into a tornado due to the wind, the speed of which was about 50-60 km / h.
The nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki introduced mankind to such a phenomenon as radiation sickness. The doctors noticed her first. They were surprised that the condition of the survivors first improved, and then they died from an illness whose symptoms resembled diarrhea. In the first days and months after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, few could have imagined that those who survived it would suffer various diseases all their lives and even produce unhe althy children.
Following events
August 9, immediately after the news of the bombing of Nagasaki and the declaration of war by the USSR, Emperor Hirohito called for immediate surrender, subject to the preservation of his power in the country. And after 5 days, the Japanese media circulated his statement on the cessation of hostilities in English. Moreover, in the text, His Majesty mentioned,that one of the reasons for his decision is that the enemy has a “terrible weapon”, the use of which can lead to the destruction of the nation.
