Why Weren’t Atomic Bombs Dropped on Bigger Cities?

When the clocks showed 02:45 on the night of 6 August 1945, when the war bled the Far East; The world was not yet aware of the fact that it would encounter an event that could not shake off its impact for years. Prepared for Japan after long negotiations “Little Boy” The nuclear bomb, named nuclear bomb, is from the American base in the Atlantic Ocean. “Enola Gay” loaded on a bomber.

When Enola Gay entered the skies of Hiroshima; Although the Japanese detected three aircraft, one of which was carrying an atomic bomb, on radar, conventional bombings were quite commonplace in those days, so they could not keep this small fleet. the plane would not be worth lifting.

With the first explosion hundreds of thousands Innocent people were destroyed in seconds.

Before Hiroshima was bombed

The force of the explosion was unbelievable. Peoples the last thing they saw But in the burning blindness there was a bright white light.

So why were Hiroshima and Nagasaki chosen?

Hiroshima Prefectural Building after the bombing

Considering that a nuclear weapon will be used for the first time in history, we can understand that every step to be taken is very critical. Therefore, the cities to be bombed will end the war. strategic importance should have had.

The list prepared by the Atomic Bomb Target Committee initially included Kokura, Kyoto, Yokohoma, Nagasaki and Hiroshima. 17 cities existed. Later, as a result of negotiations, this number was reduced to 4.

Enola Gay and Crew carrying the nuclear bomb

Tokyo was eliminated because the city was already badly damaged by conventional bombs. atomic bomb ultimate purpose The aim was to cause the Japanese to give up by inflicting great damage in a short time.

The Americans wanted to observe for themselves what kind of destruction the bomb, which was used for the first time in history, would cause, as well as the damage caused. fully They wanted to have a deterrent effect by proving to the Japanese that it was caused by the atomic bomb.

For this reason, a large proportion of conventional bombers An undamaged city should have been chosen. Tokyo was already in ruins.

Bombing Kyoto is not unthinkable.

Kyoto, the cultural center of Japan

The reason why Kyoto was removed from the list, which the Atomic Target Investigation Committee focused on as the second option, is that the city’s historically and culturally it was of great importance.

According to the information we can obtain from the diary of former US Secretary of State Henry Stimson, if this city, which is the cultural and artistic center of Japan, was destroyed in seconds by nuclear power, it would cause such moral pain that in the long run after the war, Japan would replace the USA. He could push for a compromise with Russia. For this reason, they decided not to touch Kyoto.

Thus, Hiroshima and Kokura were settled.

But on the morning of August 6, due to foggy weather Visual contact could not be achieved. So the arrows were pointed at Nagasaki. This natural event in the skies of Kokura had changed the fate of hundreds of thousands of people.

Why was the atomic bomb used?

According to many historians, this historical event, which is the beginning of the Cold War, seems to be a short way for America to end the war in the Pacific with the least loss according to their own calculations and to stop the unyielding Japanese, on the other hand, it gave the Soviets a monopoly of nuclear armament. intimidation to give It had become his intended vehicle.

Things didn’t quite go as planned…

With the bombing of two cities approximately two hundred thousand people died. The radioactive effects of the bomb were reflected in the lives of millions of people. Although the war ended on the Far East front as Japan decided to surrender after the great destruction, in 1949 the Russians also got the atomic bomb.

Thus, countries entered into an unbelievable nuclear arms race. one of the most current and important problems of today made it.