Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Why did the US use nuclear weapons in WWII?

Slims · 10-03-2010, 06:13 PM

I don't know a whole lot on the subject but it is my understanding the bombs were dropped in part to bring about an immediate end to the war.

Firebombing campaigns on Hiroshima and Nagasaki would have killed far more people and caused far more damage (they were horrendous in other Japanese cities as the building materials were extremely flammable and fires tended to spread out of control). They also would have been easier to implement, cheaper, and already proven.

We chose to drop nukes instead which we knew would do less damage.

My understanding of War is that it is mostly psychological. By leveling two cities with two bombs we provided a show of force the world had never seen before. That would have sent a powerful and immediate message to the people of Japan (and the Generals) that the war could no longer be won under any circumstances.

Also, the Japanese routinely refused to admit defeat and were often unwilling to change tactics which they knew to be broken....To do so would involve admitting they were wrong and would thus be a dishonor. By changing the rules and introducing a nuclear weapon it may have enabled the leaders of Japan to save face. It had been obvious to everyone for a while prior to Hiroshima that the war was lost, but still the Japanese fought and were likely stuck in a rut, of sorts.

I would expect that some of our top generals may have felt that a surrender would be ignored by many of the Japanese unless something shook them to their core...

I am sure there were other additional considerations as well, such as displaying our military dominance world-wide, etc.

10-03-2010, 06:13 PM	#6 (permalink)
Slims Eccentric insomniac Location: North Carolina	I don't know a whole lot on the subject but it is my understanding the bombs were dropped in part to bring about an immediate end to the war. Firebombing campaigns on Hiroshima and Nagasaki would have killed far more people and caused far more damage (they were horrendous in other Japanese cities as the building materials were extremely flammable and fires tended to spread out of control). They also would have been easier to implement, cheaper, and already proven. We chose to drop nukes instead which we knew would do less damage. My understanding of War is that it is mostly psychological. By leveling two cities with two bombs we provided a show of force the world had never seen before. That would have sent a powerful and immediate message to the people of Japan (and the Generals) that the war could no longer be won under any circumstances. Also, the Japanese routinely refused to admit defeat and were often unwilling to change tactics which they knew to be broken....To do so would involve admitting they were wrong and would thus be a dishonor. By changing the rules and introducing a nuclear weapon it may have enabled the leaders of Japan to save face. It had been obvious to everyone for a while prior to Hiroshima that the war was lost, but still the Japanese fought and were likely stuck in a rut, of sorts. I would expect that some of our top generals may have felt that a surrender would be ignored by many of the Japanese unless something shook them to their core... I am sure there were other additional considerations as well, such as displaying our military dominance world-wide, etc. __________________ "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill "All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence