During World War II, which started in 1939, American scientists became concerned about the nuclear weapons research being conducted by Nazi Germany in Europe.
In 1940, the United States government joined the war and initiated a secret atomic weapons development program under the Office of Research and Development and the War Department.
The project, known as the ‘Manhattan Project,’ took place in a research laboratory located in the Manhattan district. This project focused on the production of uranium and plutonium, the primary materials for nuclear fission.
Under the leadership of Robert Oppenheimer, the team successfully developed an atomic bomb, which was tested on the morning of July 16, 1945.
World War II commenced on September 1, 1939, and concluded on September 2, 1945. The Nazi German army, led by Germany’s dictator Adolf Hitler, conquered numerous countries in Europe and expanded into Asia and Africa.
The Allied forces, led by Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States, played a pivotal role in combating Hitler’s Nazi army.
Japan’s performance in World War II
In the early 1940s, Japan initiated a campaign to occupy numerous countries and islands across the Pacific Ocean, taking control of Borneo, Thailand, Burma, Singapore, and other parts of Asia.
Tensions escalated when Japan carried out a devastating attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, resulting in the destruction of about 200 American warplanes and seven warships, as well as the loss of 2400 American lives.
This attack provoked the United States to retaliate, leading to a series of strategic bombings on Japanese cities.
By 1944, the United States had secured key islands near Japan, such as Tinian, Mariana, Saipan, and Guam, and conducted intensive air raids on Japanese cities, causing significant casualties and widespread destruction.
As the conflict intensified, the United States sought the consent of the United Kingdom to carry out a plan to drop atomic bombs on Japan as part of the Manhattan Project.
This decision was made in the aftermath of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour, with the United States aiming to bring a swift end to the conflict.
The atomic bomb project was set into motion in December 1944, under the leadership of Colonel Paul Tibbets.
After meticulous planning and preparation, including the training of a specialised team and the development of suitable aircraft, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, resulting in Japan’s surrender and the conclusion of World War II.
America’s plan to undermine Japan
Kokura was home to one of Japan’s biggest arms factories and served as a major military headquarters and port. Hiroshima was also known as an industrial centre with aircraft manufacturing, machine tools, shipyards, electrical equipment, and oil refineries.
Nagasaki was a major war port city that housed one of Japan’s largest shipbuilding and repair centres and a large factory that produced naval weapons.
On July 25, instead of targeting Kyoto, the city of Nagasaki was designated to be bombed. The date was August 6, 1945.
The atomic bomb “Little Boy” was designed at the Los Alamos Laboratory and manufactured at the Naval Ordnance Plant in Michigan. It weighed 9,700 pounds, measured 10 feet in length, and had a diameter of 28 inches.
Hiroshima Nagasaki Attacks
Colonel Paul Tibbets and Captain Robert A. Lewis put the bomb into action at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, Hiroshima time. ‘Little Boy’, containing 141 pounds of Uranium-235, was dropped from the aircraft at an altitude of 31,000 feet.
After 44 seconds, the bomb exploded 1,900 feet above the city, and the shock waves are said to have spread more than 11 miles.
Hiroshima’s location on flat land greatly increased its damage, and it is said that the explosion of the bomb burned everything within 1 mile to ashes.
More than 66,000 people were killed and another 70,000 were mortally wounded in the attack. Japan had also stated that 20,000 of the dead were military personnel.
Despite this attack, Japan did not surrender. As a result, the second bomb was launched on August 9, targeting the city of Kokura in Japan.
However, the sky was covered with thick clouds which hindered the plane from landing properly. Consequently, the target was changed and the bomb landed at 11:02 a.m. Japan time on the city of Nagasaki.
The immediate death toll from the attack was 40,000. Japanese records show that some 60,000 were mortally wounded, and a significant number of them later died.
Emperor Hirohito Special Judgement
America made history as the first country to use the atomic bomb as a nuclear weapon in an armed conflict.
Following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, America planned further attacks on Japan until September, but the decision was cancelled after Japan’s Emperor Hirohito made a special announcement.
On August 12, 1945, Japan announced its surrender and withdrawal from the war. Japan also reported that up to 226,000 people had died in the atomic bombings and that many survivors suffered from radiation-related illnesses, including cancer.
Hiroshima was designated as the Peace Memorial Park in 1949, within which the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum was established in 1955. Similarly, a Peace Pagoda was installed in 1966.
The opening of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum in the mid-1990s sparked global discussions on nuclear weapons. Reports indicate that in 1986, the United States had 23,317 nuclear weapons and the Soviet Union had 40,159. As of 2020, nine nations were known to possess nuclear weapons.
Despite more than 120 countries agreeing to adopt the United Nations Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2017, many powerful nations have not taken steps to abandon their nuclear arsenals.
Additionally, the rise of powerful organisations like Hezbollah and Hamas has heightened concerns about the use of nuclear weapons.
Europe will be like Hiroshima
Eighty years have passed since the end of World War II. The world has made significant progress since then.
The United Nations was established with the hope of promoting global peace, but unfortunately, numerous conflicts and wars continued to occur, resulting in the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives.
The world became divided, and the Allied countries from World War II were split into two power blocs, with the United States siding with one and Russia with the other.
These blocs evolved into NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Following the dissolution of the Russian Federation, the Warsaw Pact ceased to exist, leaving NATO as the dominant force.
Today, the threat of a third world war looms large. NATO’s hostility is primarily directed at Russia due to its involvement in the conflict with Ukraine, effectively leading to an unofficial declaration of war by NATO against Russia.
NATO has begun providing weapons to be used against Russia, resulting in heightened alert levels in all NATO member countries, as well as increased scrutiny of countries with friendly ties to Russia.
Under these circumstances, the possibility of World War III breaking out at any moment is very real. If it does occur, the same devastating atomic bombs that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II could potentially be deployed across all of Europe this time.
