Around 8:15 a.m. on Aug 6, 1945, in the morning time, a B-29 bomber Enola Gay launched “Little Boy,” a nuclear weapon (atomic bomb) dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The bomb exploded during the day when the city streets were crowded with people. They were busy with daily routine work and doing their regular day-to-day work. Overnight, perhaps as many as 70,000 people died from the atomic bomb.
Some who made it through the initial explosion were met by a devastating wave that destroyed practically every building within a mile from where it hit. The city was then consumed by a conflagration brought on by the extreme heat. Earlier that day, President Harry S. Truman notified the American people about the United States.
The military deployment of this particular type of weapon promised more attacks if Japan would not surrender immediately, as specified in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26, 1945. In response to Japan’s inaction, the United States detonated a second nuclear bomb, codenamed “Fat Man,” well over the city of Nagasaki early on the morning of August 9.
Approximately 35,000–40,000 lives were lost. On the same day, Soviet forces attacked Japanese-occupied Manchuria in China, severely debilitating the Japanese armed forces. Ultimately, on Aug 15th, the Potsdam Declaration’s terms were officially recognized by an Imperial Rescript issued by the Japanese Emperor. Japan’s withdrawal finally concluded World War II on September 2, 1945.
Why were Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombed?
The most important question is: why were Hiroshima and Nagasaki chosen. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were precedents to a new style of war, the full consequences of which were not realized.
While these cities were bombed in August 1945, it marked the beginning of the nuclear era and the conclusion of World War II, but at a horrific cost to the Japanese civilian population. Why did they make the unfortunate choice to use these brand-new apocalyptic weapons in the first place?
Were Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombed on the same day? :
With a blast radius of 13 kilometers, the “Little Boy” bombshell dropped on Hiroshima was comparable to detonating between 12,000 and 15,000 tons of TNT (5sq miles). But Japan did not give up. Three days later, at 11:02 a.m. local time in Japan, the United States unleashed another atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki.
Both cities of Japan were bombings at different times on different days. The first military use of nuclear weapons occurred during World War II when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945).
Wrapping It Up:
Both nuclear bombs delivered the desired results, satisfying the Allied objectives. On August 10th, the Japanese government signaled its willingness to accept defeat under specific circumstances. On August 14th, it gave in to demands for total and complete surrender.
Even though the Japanese surrender was not confirmed in its entirety until September 2, the next day was celebrated as “Victory over Japan Day,” or VJ Day, officially ending World War II.
