Hiroshima Bombing Effects

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The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks on Japan during World War II. The United States and the Allies were fighting against Japan and slowly getting closer to winning to the war. Two nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan, one of the bombs were dropped at Hiroshima, and the other bomb was dropped at Nagasaki. President Harry S. Truman ordered the bombs to be dropped on August 6 and 9, 1945. This caused the end of WWII. The atomic bombs had been created through the Manhattan Project. Nuclear bombs were the most powerful weapons the USA had during the war.. Approximately 66,000 people were killed during the bombing of Hiroshima, and 39,000 people were killed during the bombing of Nagasaki, totaling in about 105,00 deaths. Six days after the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan surrendered on August 15. Japan signed the surrender paper on September 2. …show more content…
First, both cities were unsuitable for firebombing targets, mainly due to the river deltas preventing the firestorms from being very effective. Second, both cities had terrains which provided a good measurement for damage caused by the nuclear bombs.[4] Third and finally, both cities contained strategic personnel and installations; Hiroshima was the headquarters of the 2nd General Army and 5th Division with 40,000 Japanese combatants stationed within the city's limit, and Nagasaki contained two large Mitsubishi armament factories and many other medium-to-small workshops and plants providing vital war components for Japan's war machine. In both cities, as with other Japanese cities, these targets were mixed in with civilian homes, schools, and temples. For example, at least 54% of the deaths in Hiroshima were combatants and slave laborers while 72% of the deaths in Nagasaki were war industry employees and slave