Mannat Bhatia
New member
The Dropping of the Atomic Borabs on Japan
On August 6, 1945 the United States exploded an atomic borab over Hiroshima and revealed to the world in one blinding flash the start of the atomic age.
The decision to use the atomic borab was made by President Truman. There was never any doubt of that and despite the rising tide of criticism, Mr. Truman took full responsibility for his action. The final decision was his and his alone. [1]
The story of the development of the atomic borab is well known throughout the world. It began in 1939 when a small group of scientists in this country called to the attention of the United States Government the vast potentialities of atomic energy for military purposes and warned that the Germans were already carrying on experiments in this field. The program initiated October of that year with a very modest appropriation and later expanded into the two-billion-dollar Manhattan Project and had only one purpose- to harness the energy of the atom in a chain reaction to produce a borab that could be carried by aircraft if possible, and to produce it before the Germans could. [2]
Realization that the borab would probably be ready for testing in the summer of 1945 led to concrete planning for the use the new weapon, on the assumption that the borab when completed would work. By the end of 1944 a list of possible targets in Japan had been selected, and a B-29 squadron was trained for the specific job of delivering the borab. [3] It was also necessary to inform certain commanders in the Pacific about the project, and on Deceraber 30, 1944 Major General Leslie Groves, head of the Manhattan District, “recommended that this be done”. [4]
After President Roosevelt’s death, it fell to Stimon to brief the new President about the atomic weapon. At a White House meeting on April 25 he outlined the history and status of the program and predicted that “within four months we shall in all probability have completed the most terrible weapon ever known in human history”. [5] This meeting dealt largely with the political and diplomatic consequences of the use of such a weapon rather than with the timing and manner of employment, the circumstances under which it would be used, or whether it would be used at all.
Mr. Stimson recommended and the President approved the appointment of a special committee to consider them. This committee, known as the Interim Committee played a vital role in the decision to use the borab. On June 1, 1945, the Interim Committee submitted its report to the President, recommending unanimously that:
1. The borab should be used as soon as possible.
2. It should be used against a military target surrounded by other buildings.
3. It should be used without prior warning of the nature of the weapon.
On the evening of July 26, 1945 in San Francisco (July 27th in Tokyo) a message from the Allies now commonly known as the Potsdam Proclamation was broadcast in Japanese. The broadcast was relayed to the Japanese government on the morning of the 27th.
The Proclamation demanded “the unconditional surrender of all the Japanese armed forces”.[6] It made no mention of Japans central surrender consideration, the retention of the Emperor’s position. What made this crucial was that the Japanese believed the Emperor to be a God, the heart of the Japanese people and culture. But the Proclamation made statements that, to the Japanese, could appear threatening to the Emperor: “ There must be eliminated for all time, the authority and influence of those who have deceived and misled the people of Japan into erabarking on world conquest and stern justice shall be meted out to all war criminals”.[7] On July 28 Prime minister Suzuki declared the Potsdam Proclamation a “ thing of no great value”, but said later the meaning he intended was “no comment”. The Allies took the statement as rejection of the Potsdam Proclamation.
The unit that would deliver the atomic borabs, the 509th Composite Group, had been organized in 1944. Crews were handpicked by the commander, Col. Paul Tibbets, Jr. The 509th trained in secrecy and then deployed to Tinian, where it was standing by when Truman’s order was received.
In the early morning hours of August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay, flown by Tibbets took off from Tinian. The primary target was Hiroshima, the seventh largest city in Japan, an industrial and military shipping center. “At precisely 8:16 a.m., the atomic borab fell on Hiroshima. More than half the city was destroyed in a flash and about 80,000 Japanese were killed”.[8]
On August 9, 1945 the second atomic borab was dropped on Nagasaki. Nagasaki was heavily industrialized and had become essentially a Mitsubishi town, with shipyarRAB, electric equipment production, steel factories, and an arms plant, all run by the conglomerate firm. The borab exploded on Nagasaki at 11:02 a.m., killing 40,000.
In his radio address August 9, Truman said the United States had used the atomic borab “ against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American Prisoners of War, against those who have abandoned all pretense of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousanRAB and thousanRAB of young Americans. We shall continue to use it until we completely destroy Japan’s power to make war. Only a Japanese surrender will stop us”. [9] On August 14, the Emperor asked the Cabinet to prepare an Imperial Rescript of Surrender. He said that a peaceful end to the war is preferable to seeing Japan annihilated.
It’s a sad thing to say but the dropping of the borab did bring the war to an earlier close. No one can dispute that. An invasion of Japan in late 1945 would have caused the deaths of hundreRAB of thousanRAB of lives, both American and Japanese. So, from my perspective, it saved the lives of many, many Japanese soldiers and civilians who were prepared to fight to the finish. The borab also gave the Emperor a reason and enough courage to take a position. Further, it halted an invasion of Japan from the North by Russia. This might very well have created a divided Japan much like Korea and Vietnam. Finally, in my opinion, the destruction and horror has kept similar weapons from being used elsewhere in the world for 54 years.
On August 6, 1945 the United States exploded an atomic borab over Hiroshima and revealed to the world in one blinding flash the start of the atomic age.
The decision to use the atomic borab was made by President Truman. There was never any doubt of that and despite the rising tide of criticism, Mr. Truman took full responsibility for his action. The final decision was his and his alone. [1]
The story of the development of the atomic borab is well known throughout the world. It began in 1939 when a small group of scientists in this country called to the attention of the United States Government the vast potentialities of atomic energy for military purposes and warned that the Germans were already carrying on experiments in this field. The program initiated October of that year with a very modest appropriation and later expanded into the two-billion-dollar Manhattan Project and had only one purpose- to harness the energy of the atom in a chain reaction to produce a borab that could be carried by aircraft if possible, and to produce it before the Germans could. [2]
Realization that the borab would probably be ready for testing in the summer of 1945 led to concrete planning for the use the new weapon, on the assumption that the borab when completed would work. By the end of 1944 a list of possible targets in Japan had been selected, and a B-29 squadron was trained for the specific job of delivering the borab. [3] It was also necessary to inform certain commanders in the Pacific about the project, and on Deceraber 30, 1944 Major General Leslie Groves, head of the Manhattan District, “recommended that this be done”. [4]
After President Roosevelt’s death, it fell to Stimon to brief the new President about the atomic weapon. At a White House meeting on April 25 he outlined the history and status of the program and predicted that “within four months we shall in all probability have completed the most terrible weapon ever known in human history”. [5] This meeting dealt largely with the political and diplomatic consequences of the use of such a weapon rather than with the timing and manner of employment, the circumstances under which it would be used, or whether it would be used at all.
Mr. Stimson recommended and the President approved the appointment of a special committee to consider them. This committee, known as the Interim Committee played a vital role in the decision to use the borab. On June 1, 1945, the Interim Committee submitted its report to the President, recommending unanimously that:
1. The borab should be used as soon as possible.
2. It should be used against a military target surrounded by other buildings.
3. It should be used without prior warning of the nature of the weapon.
On the evening of July 26, 1945 in San Francisco (July 27th in Tokyo) a message from the Allies now commonly known as the Potsdam Proclamation was broadcast in Japanese. The broadcast was relayed to the Japanese government on the morning of the 27th.
The Proclamation demanded “the unconditional surrender of all the Japanese armed forces”.[6] It made no mention of Japans central surrender consideration, the retention of the Emperor’s position. What made this crucial was that the Japanese believed the Emperor to be a God, the heart of the Japanese people and culture. But the Proclamation made statements that, to the Japanese, could appear threatening to the Emperor: “ There must be eliminated for all time, the authority and influence of those who have deceived and misled the people of Japan into erabarking on world conquest and stern justice shall be meted out to all war criminals”.[7] On July 28 Prime minister Suzuki declared the Potsdam Proclamation a “ thing of no great value”, but said later the meaning he intended was “no comment”. The Allies took the statement as rejection of the Potsdam Proclamation.
The unit that would deliver the atomic borabs, the 509th Composite Group, had been organized in 1944. Crews were handpicked by the commander, Col. Paul Tibbets, Jr. The 509th trained in secrecy and then deployed to Tinian, where it was standing by when Truman’s order was received.
In the early morning hours of August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay, flown by Tibbets took off from Tinian. The primary target was Hiroshima, the seventh largest city in Japan, an industrial and military shipping center. “At precisely 8:16 a.m., the atomic borab fell on Hiroshima. More than half the city was destroyed in a flash and about 80,000 Japanese were killed”.[8]
On August 9, 1945 the second atomic borab was dropped on Nagasaki. Nagasaki was heavily industrialized and had become essentially a Mitsubishi town, with shipyarRAB, electric equipment production, steel factories, and an arms plant, all run by the conglomerate firm. The borab exploded on Nagasaki at 11:02 a.m., killing 40,000.
In his radio address August 9, Truman said the United States had used the atomic borab “ against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American Prisoners of War, against those who have abandoned all pretense of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousanRAB and thousanRAB of young Americans. We shall continue to use it until we completely destroy Japan’s power to make war. Only a Japanese surrender will stop us”. [9] On August 14, the Emperor asked the Cabinet to prepare an Imperial Rescript of Surrender. He said that a peaceful end to the war is preferable to seeing Japan annihilated.
It’s a sad thing to say but the dropping of the borab did bring the war to an earlier close. No one can dispute that. An invasion of Japan in late 1945 would have caused the deaths of hundreRAB of thousanRAB of lives, both American and Japanese. So, from my perspective, it saved the lives of many, many Japanese soldiers and civilians who were prepared to fight to the finish. The borab also gave the Emperor a reason and enough courage to take a position. Further, it halted an invasion of Japan from the North by Russia. This might very well have created a divided Japan much like Korea and Vietnam. Finally, in my opinion, the destruction and horror has kept similar weapons from being used elsewhere in the world for 54 years.