Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two <a href="/facts/Atomic_bombs/QVdBcMdm">atomic bombs</a> over the Japanese cities of <a href="/facts/Hiroshima/WuFDhz14">Hiroshima</a> and <a href="/facts/Nagasaki/5HMR4mnp">Nagasaki</a>, respectively, during <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only uses of <a href="/facts/Nuclear_warfare/HLRLRh4F">nuclear weapons in an armed conflict</a>. <a href="/facts/Surrender_of_Japan/SM4dd1M9">Japan announced its surrender</a> to the Allies on 15 August, six days after the bombing of Nagasaki and the <a href="/facts/Soviet%25E2%2580%2593Japanese_War/NSlTETtI">Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan</a> and <a href="/facts/Soviet_invasion_of_Manchuria/BlqFWoub">invasion of Manchuria</a>. The Japanese government signed an <a href="/facts/Japanese_Instrument_of_Surrender/lysPUaFR">instrument of surrender</a> on 2 September, <a href="/facts/End_of_World_War_II_in_Asia/vj5zvooG">ending the war</a>.
In the final year of World War II, the <a href="/facts/Allies_of_World_War_II/YzCdtjDY">Allies</a> prepared for a costly <a href="/facts/Operation_Downfall/JL1FCMRQ">invasion of the Japanese mainland</a>. This undertaking was preceded by a <a href="/facts/Air_raids_on_Japan/986l9aub">conventional bombing and firebombing campaign</a> that devastated 64 Japanese cities, including an <a href="/facts/Bombing_of_Tokyo/UurCEHkm">operation on Tokyo</a>. The <a href="/facts/European_theatre_of_World_War_II/aEuP3KdV">war in the Europe</a> concluded when <a href="/facts/Nazi_Germany/8kRbqRpo">Germany</a> <a href="/facts/German_Instrument_of_Surrender/p0pH3Wd3">surrendered</a> on 8 May 1945, and the Allies turned their full attention to the <a href="/facts/Pacific_War/yNu6op98">Pacific War</a>. By July 1945, the Allies' <a href="/facts/Manhattan_Project/gtg8yRK2">Manhattan Project</a> had produced two types of atomic bombs: "<a href="/facts/Little_Boy/4XAsA7xT">Little Boy</a>", an <a href="/facts/Enriched_uranium/vSb2Tcsb">enriched uranium</a> <a href="/facts/Gun-type_fission_weapon/e5g6L4gL">gun-type fission weapon</a>, and "<a href="/facts/Fat_Man/2vlxvS9a">Fat Man</a>", a <a href="/facts/Plutonium/4bUw9zH3">plutonium</a> <a href="/facts/Implosion-type_nuclear_weapon/gw0LEc74">implosion-type nuclear weapon</a>. The <a href="/facts/509th_Composite_Group/rLLpwUkH">509th Composite Group</a> of the <a href="/facts/U.S._Army_Air_Forces/0mtva6Cw">U.S. Army Air Forces</a> was trained and equipped with the specialized <a href="/facts/Silverplate/mpQGeCDm">Silverplate</a> version of the <a href="/facts/Boeing_B-29_Superfortress/79pXKprr">Boeing B-29 Superfortress</a>, and deployed to <a href="/facts/Tinian/k1laa5kg">Tinian</a> in the <a href="/facts/Mariana_Islands/BNdPBDQg">Mariana Islands</a>. The Allies called for the <a href="/facts/Unconditional_surrender/X1VX7Txb">unconditional surrender</a> of the <a href="/facts/Imperial_Japanese_armed_forces/Ba8C4NaP">Imperial Japanese armed forces</a> in the <a href="/facts/Potsdam_Declaration/57B81dGB">Potsdam Declaration</a> on 26 July 1945, the alternative being "prompt and utter destruction". The Japanese government <a href="/facts/Mokusatsu/quJA3Fcf">ignored</a> the ultimatum.
The consent of the United Kingdom was obtained for the bombing, as was required by the <a href="/facts/Quebec_Agreement/WIgnmYrL">Quebec Agreement</a>, and orders were issued on 25 July by <a href="/facts/General_(United_States)/xepv3HkX">General</a> <a href="/facts/Thomas_T._Handy/E0u4gWdT">Thomas T. Handy</a>, the acting <a href="/facts/Chief_of_staff_of_the_United_States_Army/aDFtQtl1">chief of staff of the U.S. Army</a>, for atomic bombs to be used on Hiroshima, <a href="/facts/Kitakyushu/QhQxhqgG">Kokura</a>, <a href="/facts/Niigata_(city)/0kKBcpPU">Niigata</a>, and Nagasaki. These targets were chosen because they were large urban areas that also held militarily significant facilities. On 6 August, a Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima. Three days later, a Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki. Over the next two to four months, the <a href="/facts/Effects_of_nuclear_explosions/cReYEzPg">effects of the atomic bombings</a> killed 90,000 to 166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000 to 80,000 people in Nagasaki; roughly half occurred on the first day. For months afterward, many people continued to die from the effects of burns, <a href="/facts/Acute_radiation_syndrome/oNFArLna">radiation sickness</a>, and other injuries, compounded by illness and malnutrition. Despite Hiroshima's sizable military garrison, estimated at 24,000 troops, some 90% of the dead were civilians.
Scholars have extensively studied the effects of the bombings on the social and political character of subsequent world history and <a href="/facts/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki_in_popular_culture/oFb3Chxr">popular culture</a>, and there is still <a href="/facts/Debate_over_the_atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki/P3xpdIUT">much debate</a> concerning the ethical and legal justification for the bombings. According to supporters, the atomic bombings were necessary to bring an end to the war with minimal casualties and ultimately prevented a greater loss of life on both sides; according to critics, the bombings were unnecessary for the war's end and were a <a href="/facts/War_crime/36qQAugC">war crime</a>, raising moral and ethical implications.

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki open-in-new

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki