Bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Essay ExampleThe situation was standardized to the initial years of World War II when Germ either was annexing one country after an an other(a)(prenominal) without any equitable resistance.Had not the States dropped the two atomic bombs, in all likelihood, the war could pay back keep for weeks or months, adding to the miseries worldwide. Except for Russia, European powers had almost come to a standstill. The involvement of Russia in Japan had America not dropped the bombs, could easily have made the conflict bloodier and more widespread. It is debatable whether so many lives could have been lost had Russia invaded Japan. However, it is certain the conflict could have dragged on longer in such an eventuality.While other powers of the Axis viz, Germany and Italy had been vanquished, the battle with Japan was far from over. Japan was holding to ransom the rest of the world through with(predicate) its brazen show of power. Nothing seemed to hold the Ja panese march. In spite of suffering reverses, Japan held on and was in no hurry to surrender. The Japanese juggernaut was so strong that it held most of Far eastern United States Asia. However, at the closing stage, Japan was losing its grip although it was not ready to admit defeat.Japan was given comme il faut time and incentive to surrender. The Potsdam Proclamation issued on July 26, 1945, was very clear about the ramifications in the event of no surrender. The ultimatum declared, We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese build up forces, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is instigate and utter destruction (Bill Gordon, 2000). But Japan did not surrender. The Japanese, or those at the helm in Japan, were in no mood to listen. They may have been materially demolished, but mentally they had enough capacity to constrict on. It took two atomic bombs a nd a week later, Japan surrendered and that too on the prompting of the emperor.I am not condoning the horrors of the atomic bombs. America had other alternatives besides the atomic bombs. But it is debatable if these alternatives could have worked and produced the aforesaid(prenominal) results that the atomic bombs did. The alternatives were these (1) utilise in manner most effective from a host point of skyline to bring about prompt Japanese surrender while minimizing the loss of American lives, (2) give military manifestation to Japan with opportunity for surrender before full use of weapon, (3) give experimental demonstration in this country with opportunity for surrender before full use of weapon, (4) do not use militarily but make public the experimental results, or (5) maintain as secret as possible and refrain from using the bombs in the war. President Truman chose alternative 1, even though only 15 percent of the scientists supported it (Bill Gordon, 2000).President Tr umans choice of alternative 1 was at best akin to tenderness killing. However beastly this alternative might have appeared, it is difficult to fathom the efficacy of any other alternative. Japan needed a live demonstration. Even after the atomic bombs were dropped Japan dithered on the conclusiveness to surrender. It was only at the intervention of the Japanese