why was hiroshima chosen as the bombing site

The first target city chosen was Hiroshima, which had an important port on southern Honshu and was headquarters of the Japanese Second General Army with 40,000 military personnel in the city. Hiroshima was also very important from a military perspective since it was home to the 2nd Army Headquarters, which were responsible for the defense of southern Japan. This firebombing took place overnight on March 9 and 10, 1945. Our next post marks the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima with an account of the bombing and its immediate devastating effects. Hiroshima, Then Nagasaki: Why the US Deployed the Second A-Bomb The explicit reason was to swiftly end the war with Japan. [91] Nilgata, an increasingly important port city, was also offered as an option. "They want people to understand that this is something different, and so picking a place that will showcase how different it is, is very important," Wellerstein says. Shaded regions indicate the city's most devastated sectors. The attack. But they wanted it to be horrible, to end the war and to try to stop the future use of nuclear bombs. Kyoto was another ideal target: it had a population that amounted to 1,000,000 people, it was a major industrial center, and it was Japan’s intellectual center and former capital. stipulated the U.S. Air Force would deliver the first bomb “after around August 3, 1945 on one of the targets” as the weather permitted. Hiroshima was chosen as a target also because it had mountains around it that would help concentrate the effects of the bomb on the city. But in early 1945, the U.S. was still months away from building its first bomb and certainly didn't know what to hit. "It did have that effect on the decades that followed," says Robert Norris, a longtime arms control advocate and fellow with the Federation of American Scientists who also studied the history of the first bombings. Three days later the U.S. released another on Nagasaki, devastating the city and ushering in the nuclear age. Historians say the United States picked it as a suitable target because of its size Yokohama was an urban area that had escaped attack so far and hosted important industrial activities, including aircraft manufacturing, docks and oil refineries. The bomb was ready for military use. The Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks on the Empire of Japan during World War II (WWII). At the time the bombs were going to be dropped, Tokyo had already been devastated by Operation Meetinghouse. In May 1945, the committee issued their recommendations. There were factories and other facilities there. Why was Hiroshima bombed? Japan was a fierce enemy of the US and its allies — Britain, China and the Soviet Union — during the World War II. He says that in the spring of 1945, the military convened a target committee, a mix of officers and scientists, to decide where the bomb should fall. This photo diagram shows the extent of the damage at Hiroshima. It was an important center of storage, communications, and assembly of soldiers. In the minds of the people who dropped the bombs, the more damage the better. Should you be just displaying the bomb, without killing anybody?" The atomic bomb was still top secret, but the scientists had an even more frightening secret. he asks. That second goal was especially important to the researchers choosing the target. A. Hiroshima was a major Japanese military hub with factories, military bases and ammunition facilities. This photo diagram shows the extent of the damage at Hiroshima. The bomb, code named " Little Boy ", possessed a force equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT. The initial list included a remote military installation and Tokyo Bay, where the bomb would have been detonated as a demonstration. Hiroshima before the bombing. Historians say the United States picked it as a suitable target because of its size On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped a nuclear weapon on Hiroshima, Japan – the first time such a catastrophic weapon was ever used in conflict. But it was also intended to send a message to the Soviets. "Hiroshima is compact," Wellerstein says. The bomb was ready for military use. Rushay said that Hiroshima was one of four potential targets and that Truman left it up to the military to decide which city to strike. These are questions that were yet to be decided, says Alex Wellerstein, a historian at the Stevens Institute of Technology. Also, Hiroshima was a real military target. The Target Committee identified the top four Japanese target cities, including Hiroshima shown here before the bombing. Three days later the U.S. released another on Nagasaki, devastating the city and ushering in the nuclear age. The United States and the Allies were fighting against Japan and slowly winning. The bomb was assembled in secret and loaded on the Enola Gay. At 11.02am, the Bockscar dropped a 4.5-ton (10,000-pound) plutonium bomb dubbed Fat Man from 31,500ft (9,600 metres). Nilgata, an increasingly important port city, was also offered as an option. The name Hiroshima is so tied to the atomic bomb that it's hard to imagine there were other possible targets. Physicist Edward Teller wasn't on the committee, but a letter he wrote sums up the anxiety of the bomb builders: "Our only hope is in getting the facts of our results before the people. It would be horrible. Hiroshima’s weather report for August 6 showed a clear day and plans moved forward. The bombs were dropped in order to get Japan to surrender. At the time, they believed H-bombs on top of missiles could destroy the world. "Hiroshima is compact," Wellerstein says. Targeting was finalized on July 25, 1945: Hiroshima, Kokura, Nilgata, Nagasaki. But Norris adds that thousands of bombs are still on alert, and the military still has war plans to use them. After the bombing of Hiroshima on August … Targeting was finalized on July 25, 1945: Hiroshima, Kokura, Nilgata, Nagasaki. Further, because of the firebombing, many industri… hide caption. A. Hiroshima was a major Japanese military hub with factories, military bases and ammunition facilities. U.S. strategists wanted to flatten an entire city with a single atomic bomb: Hiroshima was the right size. The attack order stipulated the U.S. Air Force would deliver the first bomb “after around August 3, 1945 on one of the targets” as the weather permitted. On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped a nuclear weapon on Hiroshima, Japan – the first time such a catastrophic weapon was ever used in conflict. Nagasaki, another important port, was chosen as its replacement. It was the second nuclear bomb dropped by the US, three days after the attack on Hiroshima. GEOFF BRUMFIEL, BYLINE: The name Hiroshima is so tied to the atomic bomb that it's hard to imagine there were other options. For this purpose actual combat use might even be the best thing.". Internal deliberations and weather conditions ultimately led the U.S. to use a nuclear weapon on Hiroshima and, later, Nagasaki. This is the fifth post in our series “‘My God What Have We Done:’ The Legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”. In preparation for dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the Oppenheimer-led Scientific Panel of the Interim Committee decided against a demonstration bomb and against a special leaflet warning. Based on three qualifications, “a large urban area of more than three miles in diameter…capable of being damaged effectively by the blast and…likely to be unattacked by [August 1946]”. Historians say the United States picked it as a suitable target because of its size hide caption. This might help to convince everybody that the next war would be fatal. AP But they wanted it to be horrible, to end the war and to try to stop the future use of nuclear bombs. As in Hiroshima, most of the victims were civilians, including many children and elderly. After the conclusion of the World War II in 1945, the relations between Japan and the US worsened, especially as Japanese forces decided to take an aim at Indo-china with the intention of capturing the oil-rich areas of the East Indies. At the time, American bombers were already firebombing many cities, killing tens of thousands. First, it was a strategic decision. A. Hiroshima was a major Japanese military hub with factories, military bases and ammunition facilities. NPR's Geoff Brumfiel has the story of why that city was chosen as a target. Hiroshima’s weather report for August 6 showed a clear day and plans moved forward. 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