The Decision to Drop Atomic Bombs on the Japanese was Correct

The Decision to Drop Atomic Bombs on the Japanese was Correct

The decision to drop the atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was certainly justified. Not only did this act swiftly end the war but it showed the Russians who held the upper hand.

There was simply no other way to win without dropping the bombs. It was evident at the time that the only way to end the war quickly, as well as establish an advantage over the Russians, was to provide a spectacular demonstration of American military power. Demonstrating the nuclear weapon to the Japanese with a “surrender or this will happen to you” type of ultimatum would have done nothing but made the Japanese fight harder and longer, causing hundreds of thousands of American deaths. The American military forces were at the end of their tethers, so invasion would have been impossible without significant loss of life.

Through the years of island hopping and fighting the fortified Japanese forces, the Americans knew that the Japanese fought to the last man. In the months prior to the atomic bombings, Japanese civilians were being trained with basic weaponry and hustled into the military, ready to ward of invasion to protect their emperor. Without demonstrating with a firm hand what was demanded by “unconditional surrender,” the Japanese would never have given up. When faced with total destruction, they chose to lay down their arms and allowed a peaceful invasion to take place. Since then, Ja...