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| -Land of the Free |
| 09 August: Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki |
| 2016-08-07 |
| [History.com] On this day in 1945, a second atom bomb is dropped on Japan by the United States, at Nagasaki, resulting finally in Japan's unconditional surrender. The devastation wrought at Hiroshima was not sufficient to convince the Japanese War Council to accept the Potsdam Conference's demand for unconditional surrender. The United States had already planned to drop their second atom bomb, nicknamed "Fat Man," on August 11 in the event of such recalcitrance, but bad weather expected for that day pushed the date up to August 9th. So at 1:56 a.m., a specially adapted B-29 bomber, called "Bock's Car," after its usual commander, Frederick Bock, took off from Tinian Island under the command of Maj. Charles W. Sweeney. Nagasaki was a shipbuilding center, the very industry intended for destruction. The bomb was dropped at 11:02 a.m., 1,650 feet above the city. The explosion unleashed the equivalent force of 22,000 tons of TNT. The hills that surrounded the city did a better job of containing the destructive force, but the number killed is estimated at anywhere between 60,000 and 80,000 (exact figures are impossible, the blast having obliterated bodies and disintegrated records). General Leslie R. Groves, the man responsible for organizing the Manhattan Project, which solved the problem of producing and delivering the nuclear explosion, estimated that another atom bomb would be ready to use against Japan by August 17 or 18--but it was not necessary. Even though the War Council still remained divided ("It is far too early to say that the war is lost," opined the Minister of War), Emperor Hirohito, by request of two War Council members eager to end the war, met with the Council and declared that "continuing the war can only result in the annihilation of the Japanese people..." The Emperor of Japan gave his permission for unconditional surrender. |
| Posted by:Blossom Unains5562 |
| #8 After photos of G.I. beheadings started filtering back to the U.S. rules of war were out the window--little mercy was shown to the Japanese during the Pacific islands campaigns. Today, there does not seem to be the outrage with regards to beheadings, burning prisoners alive, drownings in cages or rapes of civilian women by ISIS. PC has run amok. There are no consequences anymore. Photos. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2016-08-07 14:18 |
| #7 Then there is the theory that Truman dropped the bomb to convince Stalin not to mess with him. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2016-08-07 14:10 |
| #6 Alternative explanation: USSR Declares War on Japan August 08, 1945. Japanese high officials had a Forlorn Hope that Stalin could be persuaded to soften the US position. The atomic bombs did serve as an balm to Japanese pride: it wasn't that their Army, Navy, and Industry was overwhelmed, No!, The US Cheated! With A-Bombs! Cheaters! |
| Posted by: magpie 2016-08-07 13:01 |
| #5 It |
| Posted by: Shipman 2016-08-07 12:08 |
| #4 Indeed P2k. My father was a CB on Saipan and the only war story he ever told me after having a few drinks at the bowling alley 30 years later was about cleaning up the rocks and beaches after the Japanese defeat. Dealing with dead women and children left deep scars. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2016-08-07 08:40 |
| #3 Notice that the evil is never call upon those who knew they had lost the war, but refused to take the opportunity to do the unthinkable till after the bombs were dropped. Never hold the Japanese militarists responsible. They could have called it quits when Germany surrendered. Instead they were training Japanese school girls to die holding a bamboo pole with knife in the end of it*, to try to save their worthless skins. Make no mistake. They were the evil. They didn't care about civilians deaths. They ordered their own citizens at Saipan and Okinawa to commit suicide rather than be captured by Americans. Remember Manila. *see World at War, episode Japan, last two minutes for the archival film. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2016-08-07 08:24 |
| #2 The days when we didn't f&ck around with wars. We ended them in a win. They didn't drag on forever. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2016-08-07 07:45 |
| #1 There was a coup attempt on the 15th by junior officers, who were going to "free" the Emperor from the clutches of the Japanese diplomats but it collapsed when the General commanding the Home Guard wouldn't support them. The General committed seppukku later that day. |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2016-08-07 01:49 |
