Atom Bombings: Right or Wrong?

We believe that it was the right thing to do because it saved many US lives and the war might have been longer if the US hadn't dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagaski. If the lasted longer both countries would also have to spend more money for supplies. If we invaded Japan even Japan could have lost more people since if we invaded we might have had to invade Japan from all sides.

Bombing of Hiroshima

Hiroshima was bombed by the United States of August 6, 1945. Harry Truman approved the bombing of Hiroshima to end the war quickly and save as many Amercian lives as possible. It was chosen after many other cities that were considered by the U.S. It had many military camps nearby and was a communications center. The Hiroshima population was approximately 255,000 at the time of the bomb. There were about 70,000 people injured. It took the bomb about 57 seconds to drop to it's detonation height of 1,900 ft. It missed the target because of wind. It had an explosive force of about 13 kilotons of TNT. It killed about 66,000 people.

Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki

http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/nuclear/radevents/1945JAP1.html

Battle of Okinawa

It is also known as operation Iceberg. It was the largest amphibious assult in the Pacific Theater of World War II.

The battle had the highest number of casualities of any WWII engagement. 1/4 of civilian population died due to the invasion.

Japan set an operation called Ten-Go so that Japan could get Okinawa back. In this attempt US submarines shot Japanese ships down shortly after the ships left Japanese waters.

The battle was the bloodiest that the US forces experienced. Second bloodiest battle in WWII. US forces suffered highest casualty rate for combat stress reaction. Okinawan's helped US capture Japanese fighters.

Japan used seven kamikaze attacks for defense using 1,500 Japanese planes.
US Navy greatest casualty rate in the war.

Allied land forces were all US units. Britian provided a quarter of allied naval air power. Britian neutralized Japanese airfields. Smaller vessels were able to last longer than bigger vessels.

Japanese hid in caves armed with machine guns and explosives. US often last many men before clearing out each cave or hiding place. Japnese used Okinawan's to get supplies, increased civilian casualty rate.

Battleships, cruisers, and destroyers joined bombardment, 650 Navy and marine planes attacked using napalm, rockets, bombs, and machine guns.

US got both hills next to Shuri which exposed Japanese on both sides.

US got Shuri Castle, major milestone of the war.

Navy had more dead than wounded.

Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Okinawa

http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-okinawa-operation-iceberg.htm

Battle of Okinawa

The objective of the Battle of Okinawa was to seize a large island only 340 miles away from the mainland Japan.

Japan’s lost
-Japanese lost over 100,000 troops
-About 107,000 Japanese were killed
-20,000 Japanese were sealed in the caves alive

Allies Lost
-Mostly the United States Suffered with more than 50 casualties
-12,000 killed in action
-Total fleet was...
*1,600 Ships
*40 Aircraft carriers
*18 Battleships
*32 Cruisers
*200 Destroyers
-On land the United States lost over 225 tanks

Links:

• http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/okinawa-battle.htm
• http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_okinawa.htm
  

Soviet Atomic Bomb Project Secret Cities

In the Cold war the Soviets Created Secret cities called Atomgrads. The soviets kept these secret cities top secret to research and create bombs. The secret cities were usually named in the cold war oblast and a number.

1. The first city in the cold war was called Arzamas
-Now the city's Current name is Sarov
-It was established in 1946
-The purpose of the city was to Design weapons and to research the warhead assembly

2. The name of the city in the cold war was called Sverdlovsk-44
-Now the city's Current name is Novouralsk
-It was established in 1946
-The purpose of the city was Uranium enrichment

3. The name of the city in the cold war was called Chelyabinsk-40 and later on it changed to 65
-Now the city's Current name is Ozyorsk
-It was established in 1947
-The purpose of the city was Plutonium production and component manufacturing

4. The name of the city in the cold war was called Sverdlovsk-45
-Now the city's Current name is Lesnoy
-It was established in 1947
-The purpose of the city was Uranium enrichment and warhead assembly

5. The name of the city in the cold war was called Tomsk-7
-Now the city's Current name is Seversk
-It was established in 1949
-The purpose of the city was Uranium enrichment and component Manufacturing

6. The name of the city in the cold war was called Krasnoyarsk-26
-Now the city's Current name is Zheleznogorsk
-It was established in 1950
-The purpose of the city was Plutonium production

7. The name of the city in the cold war was called Zlatoust-36
-Now the city's Current name is Tryokhgorny
-It was established in 1952
-The purpose of the city was Warhead assembly

8. The name of the city in the cold war was called Penza-19
-Now the city's Current name is Zarechny
-It was established in 1955
-The purpose of the city was Warhead assembly

9. The name of the city in the cold war was called Krasnoyarsk-45
-Now the city's Current name is Zelenogorsk
-It was established in 1956
-The purpose of the city was Uranium enrichment

10. The name of the city in the cold war was called Chelyabinsk-70
-Now the city's Current name is Snezhinsk
-It was established in 1957
-The purpose of the city was Weapon design and research

Links:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/russia/secret-cities.htm

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/13677