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reflection on the attack on pearl harbor
critical analysis of pearl harbor
critical analysis of pearl harbor
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America responded to the attack at Pearl Harbor in a resounding manner. America won the race to nuclear weapons decisively. America made a profound statement to the world, placing all on notice who may think about attacking us ever again. “Early on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, killing more than 2,400 Americans. They destroyed or heavily damaged eight battleships, three cruisers, three destroyers, and almost two hundred airplanes (Henretta, p.732).” That day caught America off guard and by surprise. Nobody expected someone to attack us on our own soil. It is one thing to attack our Soldiers throughout the world, but to come to our country was a brazen act that almost certainly demanded …show more content…
This one was larger than the first and given the nickname of “Fat Man” as a reference to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Nagasaki initially was not a city targeted by America due to where it was located geographically. Nagasaki was located over a stretch of hills and valleys, and was determined to be problematic as the landscape would dampen the blow of the bomb not allowing the greatest affect to be reached. An article on the History Learning Site, “The Bombing of Nagasaki”, gave the following explanation why it was a secondary target as well as some of the presumed issues with it as a target for attack. “Nagasaki was a major shipbuilding city and a large military port. But it was not a favored target as it had been bombed five times in the previous twelve months and any damage caused by an atomic bomb would have been difficult to assess. Also, the way Nagasaki had grown as a port meant that the impact of a powerful bomb might be dissipated as the city had grown across hills and valleys (Trueman, 2000).” In the aftermath of this bombing it was determined that around 74,000 were killed and about the same amount of individuals were wounded. After Japan was struck these blows by America it surrendered to the Allies shortly after on the 14th of
It was believed that dropping an atomic bomb on Nagasaki would resolve a number of problems in a simpler fashion than prolonging the conventional warfare until Japan finally ceded defeat. The primary goal of this extreme force was to bring a swift end to the war in the Pacific,(Walker) but a secondary goal was to display the military and technological might of the United States to allies and rivals around the world (Walker,). The use of multiple nuclear weapons made it clear to Japan and the world that Truman's threat of “utter destruction” was intended to be carried out unless Japan delivered what the United States wanted―unconditional surrender (Cite).
The Battle of Pearl Harbor was one of the most atrocious events that happened in U.S. history. On December 7, 1941, Japan made a surprise aerial attack on the United States naval base and airfields at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. More than two thousand Americans died and a thousand two hundred were wounded. Eighteen ships were badly damaged, including five battleships. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt with the support of the Congress, declared war on Japan. It led United States’ official involvement in World War II. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because of a deteriorating relationship with the U. S. The “New World Order”, expansion and resources, and economic sanctions were factors that conducted to another disaster on the Second World War.
At that time, the schedule was delayed for fifteen minutes. Bockscar carried the atomic bomb which was Fat Man. The top target was Kokura and Nagasaki was the second target for dropping the atomic bomb. The captain who operated Bockscar had orbited for forty-five minutes around Yakushima. Then he decided to go to Kokura. At 10:20 a.m., Bockscar was flying over Kokura; however, Kokura was covered by heavy clouds and smoke because on August 8 at night, B-29s had dropped the bombs at Yawata. The captain of Bockscar thought that dropping the atomic bomb was extremely difficult and it had a chance to fail. Also, Bockscar did not have enough fuel to keep flying. Then, Bockscar changed the target from Kokura to Nagasaki. At 11:02 a.m., the second atomic bomb was dropped at Nagasaki (Harder). From a height of 9600 meter, the atomic bomb was dropped and exploded at a height of 503 meter. The power of the atomic bomb was more than the first atomic bomb. However, the damage was less than Hiroshima because of the geographical features of Nagasaki. Nagasaki was surrounded by mountains, so the mountains blocked the heat rays, radiation, and blast ("Overview.") In short, the damage in Nagasaki was less than Hiroshima even Nagasaki was exploded by the atomic
On December 7th, 1941, Japanese aircrafts attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor (Axelrod 148). Before this, the United States had not entered World War II, but this changed everything. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, which consisted of two waves. By the end of the day, many United S...
Naturally, American citizens did not take the bombing of Pearl Harbor lightly. This was a threat, a threat that eventually led to an agreement of war and that led to the infamous anti-Japanese sentiment of World War II in America.
It’s a beautiful sunny morning, on a tropical island that everyone would love to take a vacation at. It’s approximately 6:00 am, December 7, 1941, when a first group of 181 kamikaze planes attacked; targeting key naval bases stationed at Hawaii; a sustained crippling of U.S. naval forces for about 6 months. The death toll was 2,500. Out of the 9 battleships, 8 were heavily damaged by the assault on Pearl Harbor and out of the 8, three were unrepairable, USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, and the USS Utah. 160 aircrafts were put out of commission, and nearly 130 were heavily damaged. This was the first incident in which there was an act of war, committed on U.S. soil, outside of the American Revolution and the Civil War. The world was at war, and the U.S. remained neutral until now. Before the attack, the U.S. was in great debate whether to enter the war or to stay out of it. The act of war forced the U.S. into the War and triggered a controversial debate in whether to retaliate against Japan with the use of nuclear arms.
For more than four years after the events of Pearl Harbor, Americans sacrificed their lives to the war against the country of Japan. The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7,1941 achieved complete surprise and success. It was Pearl Harbor that unified American opinion and determination to see the war through on the Japanese who still maintained its position of being an aggressive enemy against Allied Powers. The U.S. fleet was rebuilt with astonishing speed, and its chain of defenses (Sakamoto). At the Potsdam Conference, a conference between the Allied forces to discuss war options, Truman learned of the successful test explosion of the atomic bomb and informed the other Allied leaders, that the atomic bomb was complete and ready. The United States, Britain, and China then issued a statement threatening to destroy Japan unless it surrendered
“My God, what have we done?” were the words that the co-pilot of Enola Gay wrote in his logbook after helping drop two bombs, one in Hiroshima and one in Nagasaki, that killed an estimated two-hundred thousand individuals. The bombings were completely unnecessary. Japan was already defeated because they lacked the necessary materials to continue a world war. The Japanese were prepared to surrender. There was no military necessity to drop the atomic bombs nor is there any factual information stating that the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were dropped to “save the lives of one million American soldiers.” The United States bombed Japan in August of 1945. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were uncalled for and could have been avoided.
In August of 1945, both of the only two nuclear bombs ever used in warfare were dropped on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. These two bombs shaped much of the world today.
The bombing of Pearl Harbor has always been considered a major Japanese victory. President Roosevelt called December 7, 1941 the “day that will forever live in infamy” because of the destruction following this assault. Japanese forces brutally impaired the American naval fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor and caused unimaginable horror for both the citizens of Hawaii and the United States as a whole. As a result of this attack, the United States entered World War II and four years later, was able achieve victory against the Axis Powers. However, was the bombing of Pearl Harbor truly a Japanese success? I will explore this question by studying journal entries written by Japanese officials involved in the attack, the writings of American military officials, informational texts, and an outlook by the American Department of Defense.
In retaliation with the unethical events occurring in Pearl Harbor, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945. They felt that dropping these bombs would prevent more casualties
The U.S. should have never dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima nor Nagasaki, the U.S. claimed that they wanted to drop the nuclear bomb on the military and manufactures to cripple Japan, but in fact there was barely any military in Hiroshima or Nagasaki. And most of the people there were Cristian. The U.S. also claim that they gave warning to people to get out of the city. It was taught that the U.S. dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in order to end The Second World War and save American and Japanese lives. But most of the top American military officials at the time said otherwise. General Dwight Eisenhower who later became Supreme Commander of All Allied Forces, and the officer who created most of America’s Second World War
On August 6th, 1945, the Enola Gay, a B-29 bomber carried an atomic bomb code named “Little Boy” to Hiroshima. The bomb was dropped onto the city of Hiroshima and the bomb caused cataclysmic damage. The bomb single handedly killed roughly 140,000 thousand people by the end of 1945 due to a variety of effects, like fire and radiation. At 11 A.M. on August 9th, 1945, a day after Little Boy detonated and decimated the city of Hiroshima, a second bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. Code named “Fat Man”, it killed roughly 74,00 people by the end of 1945. Totaling the death count to a roughly 250,000 people. Less than 10 days after the bombs fell, Japan surrendered. Respectively, leaving the United States the country who fired the last shot of WWII, and the first shot of the Cold War. But why? What led the United States to dropping the atomic bombs on Japan?
Military advisers warned Truman of the possible fatalities of thousands of American soldiers. If the war was to be efficiently reduced and the survival of numerous United States soldiers was to be saved, it was vital to produce a strong blow against the Japanese. The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were virtually untouched by test bombings, but were specifically chosen as targets by military specialists. A B-29 plane – the “Enola Gay” controlled by Paul W. Tibbets – dropped a uranium atomic bomb (“Little Boy”) on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Within minutes, 60,000-70,000 people were killed; hence, half the city disappeared with 140,000 injured and several made homeless as a result of the blasting. Within the blast, thousands died instantly and 100,000 came in contact with radiation. With over 60,000 buildings ruined, the city was completely distressed. The B-29 bomber “Bockscar” – piloted by Sweeney – three days after Hiroshima, the plane changed from its original course (Kokura) to Nagasaki. The “Fat man” bomb exploded over the north factory district to attain the maximum blast outcome; hence, many buildings collapsed, electrical systems were cut, and a wave of secondary fires occurred
Hiroshima was selected as the first bombing target due to information that stated it did not have American prisoners of war in its vicinity. The earliest the bomb could be dropped was August 1st, 1945. However, weather delayed the operation by a few days. Finally, on the day August 6th, 1945 the Enola Gay embarked out on its journey to deliver the first bomb blow. Hiroshima is situated five hundred miles south of Tokyo, Japan’s capital. The city is located within the deltas of the Honshu island, next to the Inland sea. It served as a communication center and military base during the war. With a population of roughly three hundred thousand people, Hiroshima was one of the largest remaining cities yet to be raided. A little after 8 am the uranium