What were the major events leading to the bombing of Hiroshima?

Bomb exploding over Hiroshima

On December 1941, the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, starting World War II. During the year 1942, a secret project started that was suppose to make and test an atomic bomb. This project was originally started to repress Germany. Three years later however, on May 7, 1945, the war in Europe ends when Germany agrees to surrender. After Germany surrendered,The United States detonates the worlds first atomic bomb in the desert of New Mexico, at the Trinity test site, on July 16, 1945. When August 6, 1945, arrived, the first atomic bomb to be used in a war, nicknamed “Little Boy” is released from a B- 29 bomber over Hiroshima killing eighty thousand people instantly, and many more after.

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What effect did the bombing have on the war?

This deadly new technology, the atomic bomb, eventually brought the war to an end. Hiroshima's bombing caused around 80,000 people to die because of heat and radiation. On August 6, President Truman released a statement to the United States, stating that they have developed a new type of bomb. Truman also warned that if the Japanese didn't surrender, they would have to keep bombing them. On August 9th, American aircrafts dropped off leaflets over Japan, informing them that they “are in possession of the most destructive explosive ever devised by man...We have just begun to use this weapon against your homeland. If you still have any doubt, make inquiry as to what happened to Hiroshima when just one atomic bomb fell on that city.”

This destructive bomb showed what Americans were capable of. The bomb destroyed thousands of people, and even more from radiation over the next five years. Eventually, the Americans dropped another bomb, which led to the surrender of the Japanese emporor.

Hiroshima Before the Bombing

Hiroshima After the Bombing

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