This day in History: Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki (Happy Nagasaki Day!)

History Channel ^ | August 9, 2008 | Staff

[abb]

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.

[seoul62]

My sincerest apologies, this is a very sensitive subject to me and my Mother is very dear to me and she went through alot. My half Irish temper got the best of me, again my deepest apologies to you./Just Asking - seoul62......

[steve86]

Best wishes to your mother. You completely misunderstood my comment.

[seoul62]

Steve86, thank you for your kind understanding and wishes for my Mother./Just Asking - seoul62......

[AmericanInTokyo]

Yes, an invasion, full scale of Japan, would have been absolutely disastrous for both American troops and so many civilians in Japan, down to old men, women and babies. There can be no doubt about that.

It was horrific enough as it was. The human death toll in those two cities bombed was horrendous, even worse in Tokyo with the firebombings. This would have also only been an entree for even more huge civilian casualties if the War Cabinet had not been brought to their knees. The leaders in Tokyo were no friend to the average Japanese, starving and scared shitless, who just wanted that damned war to end. Thank goodness many of their leaders who took Japan down that path, were later hanged in Sugamo.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Unwittingly, perhaps, you proved my point. Thanks for posting that.

[stuartcr]

Still sounds relative to me.

[murphE]

Thank-you for post, finally some sanity after 34 posts.

[PhilDragoo]

Planning was intensive as the invasion became ever more imminent. Operation Downfall: The Planned Assault on Japan

Barry Farber on his program today indicated the U.S. did not go beyond the unconditional surrender in the fashion common to the history of war.

To the contrary, the U.S. stood up Japan as a democracy and assisted its economic rise to prominence.

It may well serve as the critical countervailing force--with South Korea and India--to PRC aggression.

[potlatch]

Oh my gosh, I had long forgotten it happened on August 9th!!
Betty Boop’s birthday too, of all silly things.

Thank you for your kind good wishes Phil.

Heading for bed!

[ntnychik]

Happy Birthday/Nagasaki Day. What a combination. I hope your day was better than theirs.

[MeekOneGOP]

bump Phil !!!

[AmericanInTokyo]

A Christian upbringing will do that to you.

Thank you.

[LibLieSlayer]

Only in your own mind... the reality of my post escapes you... but I do understand why you feel the way that you do. At least you were civil during our posts... thank you.

LLS

[LibLieSlayer]

BTW, I have another deceased Uncle (in law) that survived the Bataan Death March and years of torture in captivity. I will be happy to educate you on the evil that our Nation was fighting at the time. Like I said earlier, today's Japan would not exist if we had not done what we did... and that in itself is justification for everything we were forced to do.

LLS

[rollo tomasi]

Big difference just from a self defense standpoint.

Was America the aggressor?

Who started the war?

Who raped China?

Who dropped malaria bombs on China?

Who was defeated materially but refused to surrender and promised to fight till the death, including Japanese civilians the allies would come across (Emperor's "orders", through a military puppet regime)?

Who expected 500,000/1,000,000 (Conservative estimates) of deaths from Operation Olympic/Coronet?

Who was planning Operation Ketsugo?

Did you read my post?

Is your screen name stuartcr?

All sound like truth to me.

[rollo tomasi]

Sorry, materially= militarily, but it is all just relative anyways.

[stuartcr]

When things happen, is true...why things happen, is relative.

[indcons]

Military history ping

[Tolkien]

I love the Japanese people and I say it had to be done. Those bombs saved potentially millions of people.

[GATOR NAVY]

Frank is an excellent writer. Downfall really makes clear the number of lives saved by the bombs, not just American and Japanese but also Chinese, Indonesian, Vietnamese, etc. In every country the Japanese still occupied in August 1945 countless lives were saved by forcing the Japanese to a quicker surrender than invasion and/or blockade would have accomplished.

I highly recommend his Guadalcanal too.