Short And Long Term Effects Of Hiroshima Bombing

On August 6th, 1945, at 8:16 a.m. Japanese time, an American B-29 bomber, Enola Gay, drops the world’s first atom bomb, over the city of Hiroshima. Upon the explosion of the bomb, Approximately 80,000 people are killed as a direct result of the blast, and another 35,000 are injured. At least another 60,000 would be killed by the effects radiation poisoning and starvation from the fallout. Despite of the great effort of the Air-force through the use of the atomic bomb, Japan refuses to surrender. But the United States was determined to end the war swiftly without the loss of many American life. President Harry S. Truman addressed the public by saying “We are now prepared to obliterate more rapidly and completely every productive enterprise the Japanese have above ground in any city. We shall destroy their docks, their factories, and their communications. Let there be no mistake; we shall completely destroy Japan's power to make war” (Truman). Five days later, after the dropping
The battle of Okinawa made Japan lost more than 77,000 soldiers while the Allies suffered more than 65,000 casualties—including 14,000 dead. The battle of Okinawa was one of the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War. The casualties suffered at Okinawa later assisted the authority in the decision to use the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Truman chose Hiroshima and Nagasaki because they were to two major military and industrial targets. He chose Hiroshima and Nagasaki to avoid an invasion of Japan, because he knew that there would be massive Japanese civilian loss. If he hadn’t dropped the atomic bombs it would resulted in “An Okinawa from one end of Japan to another” (Truman). This means the Allied forces would have to fight the rest of Japan on land. Eventually, resulting in an increase number of