On August 6, 1945, the news broke that the United States had dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, destroying that city. Like the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor some 44 months earlier, this came as a complete surprise. The crew of the Star Duster, having finished their tour of duty, were already home and reunited with their families. The Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb, had been such a tight military secret even Harry S. Truman, when he was sworn in as the 33rd President after the death of President Roosevelt in April 1945, only learned of it when he was briefed a few days after taking the oath of office.
To most people the destructive power of this weapon was almost beyond comprehension. Actually, some of the larger fire raids had destroyed more area and killed more people than either of the two atomic bombs (not considering the aftereffects of radiation), but these missions had involved hundreds of planes and thousands of men. What was clear was that one plane had dropped one bomb and destroyed one city. Warfare had entered a new era. Now the question on everyone's mind was would Japan surrender?
The Atomic Bomb
In July 1945 the U.S. had an arsenal of three atomic devices. On July 15 the Indianapolis set sail for Tinian. Among its cargo was a crate containing an atomic bomb. Very few people knew what was in that crate. The planes of the 509th Composite Group, the unit assigned the task of delivering the atomic bomb, were already on Tinian, shrouded in secrecy, preparing for their upcoming missions. (Incidentally, the Indianapolis was attacked and sunk by the Japanese just a few days after it delivered its cargo and departed Tinian.)
The morning after the Indianapolis left San Francisco another atomic device was exploded over the New Mexico desert. The explosion was heard by people as far away as 100 miles with the flash of the explosion seen 180 miles away. Ten days later Truman, Churchill, and Stalin called for Japan's unconditional surrender in the Potsdam Declaration. To the six members of the Japanese Supreme Council, unconditional surrender was unthinkable. Determined to keep Emperor Hirohito in power they responded indirectly to the Potsdam Declaration with a phrase that was interpreted by the Allies as a call to kill the enemy with contempt.
With the planned invasion of Japan a mere three months away the stage was set to repeat the massacres already seen at places like Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okanawa, simply because of the Japanese will to fight to the very end. Truman had been hoping to find an alternative to invasion that would still cause Japan to accept the Allied terms of surrender and prevent a staggering loss of life. The atomic bomb was that alternative.
Hiroshima
On August 5, 1945, the atomic bomb that had been delivered by the Indianapolis, code named "Little Boy," was loaded on a modified B-29 named Enola Gay. The plane was named for the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. This bomb was a gun-fission device using Uranium235, and had never been tested before. Around 8:15 the next morning the bomb exploded high over Hiroshima. Forty thousand people instantly ceased to exist. One hundred thousand more people died over the next few days from burns and radiation (an additional one hundred thousand died from radiation poisoning within five years).
On August 8, the Soviet Union, which had remained neutral with Japan throughout the war, declared war against Japan. Japan now faced invasion from the north as well as the south, but the Supreme Council was at an impasse. Three members wanted to accept the Allied terms of surrender. The other three were resolved to continue fighting. The Emperor chose not to intervene.
Nagasaki
Three days after Hiroshima was destroyed another B-29, this one named Bockscar, delivered a second bomb to Nagasaki. This bomb, code named "Fat Man," was an implosion device using Plutonium239, and was identical to the device tested in New Mexico. The devistation was similar to that at Hiroshima, and the Supreme Council still remained divided. That evening they called the emperor and apologized for failing to reach a decision.
Surrender
What the Supreme Council and the Japanese military leaders did not know was that the U.S. had no more atomic bombs. It would be weeks before another could be constructed. Fearing a third bomb and an invasion on two fronts Emperor Hirohito broke his council's deadlock and ordered his nation to surrender. At first Japan requested terms of conditional surrender. These were rejected by the Allies. During this time raids using conventional bombs continued. The world may had been holding its collective breath to see what the Japanese leaders would decide, but the Allies were still fighting a war. On August 14, five days after the destruction of Nagasaki, Japan accepted terms of unconditional surrender.
The Invasion That Never Was
The surrender of Japan was the first time in history one nation surrendered to another without a ground invasion taking place. Some ask today if the United States should have used weapons of mass destruction to end the war. Looking back Japan had lost much of its capacity to wage war and had no hope of winning the conflict. The fighting merely continued to keep the emperor in power. Questions have been raised asking if President Truman really was using these bombs as a last resort to end the war, after all, around half a million people died from the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some wonder if Truman had other alternatives he could have used in place of these weapons and achieved the same results. These are good questions to ask because it reminds us of the responsibility that comes with the power of possessing weapons like these. When tackling this issue there are many things to consider.
It Had Been a Long, Bloody War
When the atomic bombs were dropped the U.S. had officially been at war for almost four years. Casualties had been appallingly high. Many had given their lives in this war. In the summer of 1945, with the invasion of Japan looming in the future, it looked like this would continue well into 1946 — maybe longer. Some estimated this invasion would claim as many as one million American lives (the estimated death toll for the Japanese was much higher). Tired as they were of the war and of receiving news of those killed or missing in action, the vast majority of the American people still wanted nothing less than Japan's unconditional surrender.
The atomic bombs stopped the war without warning. Suddenly, the end was here. Soldiers would not die, but would come home to the families who loved them. Americans were surprised by the abruptness of it and elated by the outcome. The war was over! I have yet to meet anyone who lived during the 1940s that says the use of the atomic bombs, horrible as they were, was a bad thing. They simply ended the war. When this is debated today one must consider that many of us did not live through WWII. We can never know how we would have felt being a product of that time.
Invasion Plans
Another thing to consider are the U.S. plans to invade Japan. While we can never know what would have happened had the atomic bombs not been dropped, these plans, and the Japanese defensive plans, can give us a lot of insight on what might have happened. The invasion was considered a go as early as May 25, 1945, as it was felt that a naval blockade and aerial bombardment would not bring an unconditional surrender. An outline of these plans is presented here. This does not consider what might had happened had the Soviet Union simultaneously invaded Japan from the north. Had that happened Japan might have been divided into two parts, much like Germany was after World War II and Korea in the 1950s.
Operation Downfall
The Allied invasion plans, code named Operation Downfall, would have been the largest military operation of the war and an almost totally American operation. Roughly 40% of the American servicemen in uniform would have been involved with the invasion in some way. The invasion was divided into two parts, and would have utilized the entire Pacific fleet of the Navy, three elements of the Air Force (the 7th, 8th, and 20th Air Forces), and 1.5 million soldiers (including the entire Marine Corps) in the assault. Millions more would have supported the invasion by other means.
The first phase of the invasion, code named Operation Olympic, was scheduled to start on November 1, 1945 — after typhoon season was over. (Some preliminary operations would have taken place prior to this.) The objective was to seize the southern third of Kyushu and establish a foothold with naval and air bases from which the main invasion could be launched. This operation would have landed 14 combat divisions on Japanese soil.
Military planners estimated there would be 250,000 American casualties from this operation alone. Based on previous experience some felt the fighting would be so fierce that the death rate of American and Japanese soldiers combined would be as high as 1,000 men per hour. A timeline of four months was given for Operation Olympic to achieve all its objectives.
The second and larger part of the invasion, code named Operation Cornet, hinged upon the success of Operation Olympic. Operation Cornet, scheduled to launch on March 1, 1946, would send 22 combat divisions in an assault of Honshu and the Tokyo plain. This operation would have been the push to seize control of Tokyo and force Japan's unconditional surrender.
Ketsu-Go
The Japanese defensive plan was called Ketsu-Go (Decisive Operation). The goal was to make the invasion as costly as possible for the American forces and make the Allies settle for an end of hostilities that would keep the Emperor in power.
Ketsu-Go employed three strategies in defending Japan — the first two involving the military. The Japanese leadership knew an invasion was eminent and had been building up their forces. They had three million soldiers in uniform, some 12,000 planes camouflaged or hidden in caves, and enough of a navy left to make a serious defense of the islands. Furthermore, the Japanese war council had brilliantly deduced where Allied landings were likely to occur and had placed them accordingly, giving them time to dig in and create an elaborate system of caves and tunnels to fight from.
When the invasion did happen the Japanese planned for their soldiers to use suicide tactics in defending their homeland. These plans included human guided torpedos, frogmen acting as suicide bombers, and kamikaze aircraft targeting U.S. troop transport ships and landing craft. Soldiers on the ground were expected to use similar tactics against American soldiers before they could establish a beachhead.
The third part of this plan called for the creation of the Patriotic Citizens Fighting Corps. All men between the ages of 15 and 60 as well as women from 17 to 40 were expected to enlist in Volunteer Fighting Units. These citizens were trained with the weapons that were available — even if that weapon was a bamboo spear. As U.S. intelligence learned about this the Air Force printed a pamphlet to reassure pilots concerning the upcoming missions. With this civilian army the U.S. regarded all Japanese as enemy combatants. All of Japan was now seen as a proper military target. An invasion would have involved about 28 million Japanese citizens in fighting against the U.S. military. The result could have appeared to have been genocide.
The Divine Wind
In 1281 Mongol Emperor Kublai Kahn sent a huge force to invade Japan. Out manned, out gunned, and against all odds the Japanese repelled the invaders. Then a large typhoon blew in and destroyed the rest of the Mongol armada. The Japanese believed this was a "divine wind" sent to protect them, and that it would return to protect them from invasion again. The Japanese were praying for this in 1945.
On October 4, 1945, Typhoon Louise was developing near the Caroline Islands, but was not seen as a threat to the ships of the U.S. occupation force anchored off Japan. Four days later this storm unexpectedly changed course for Okinawa and gathered strength. The storm passed over the U.S. fleet at Buckner Bay (Nakagusuku Wan), doubled back, and struck again. The storm killed 36 with an additional 47 missing and 100 seriously wounded. The fleet suffered too with 12 ships sunk, 222 grounded, and 32 seriously damaged. Almost all supplies and housing that was ashore was damaged as well. Had Japan not surrendered in September this storm would have had a serious impact on the invasion.
Related Articles
- U.S. Involvement in the War
- Fighting on Two Fronts
- Island Hopping
- Bombing Raids against Japan
- The End of the War
Additional Resources
- The War, pages 370-372, 409-412, and 413-416 (see book information on the books resources page).
- B-29 Superfortress, pages 50-51 (see book information on the books resources page).
- The Story of the Invasion of Japan by James Martin Davis. Submitted to the Sallyann's Boys web site. (This site is built with frames. You can find the article here but it will not have the navigational elements of the site as a whole.)
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