AUGUST 6, 1945
EXCEPTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
On August 6, 1945, America effectively ended World War II by triggering the downfall of Imperial Japan. My previous post, Trinity, described how, through the unprecedented project code-named Manhattan, the United States had harnessed nuclear energy. Secondly, we successfully tested the first atomic bomb in New Mexico on July 16, 1945. Thirdly, the question arose about what to do with the revolutionary technology. It was developed at the express order of the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Furthermore, had the weapon become available earlier, FDR would have not hesitated to use it against Nazi Germany. Moreover, he enforced his policy of unconditional surrender. His aim was the absolute eradication of the Axis Powers and fascism. Consequently, FDR’s humble successor from Missouri had no qualms in following through with national and allied policy toward Imperial Japan.
THE POTSDAM DECLARATION
President Harry Truman met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin at Potsdam, Germany. Their summit coincided with Trinity. Certainly, Churchill and the United Kingdom were partners in Manhattan. Also, because he had infiltrated Manhattan, Stalin knew of the successful test before Truman told him. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union was neutral in the war against Japan. Although his advisors were divided, Truman led America, Britain, and China in issuing an ultimatum to Japan. Consequently, the Potsdam Declaration threatened utter destruction unless Japan unconditionally capitulated. However, seeing it as a war-weary bluff, the Japanese military leadership confidently rejected the ominous threat. On the other hand, many in Tokyo, including the Foreign Ministry and the Imperial Household, had serious concerns. Also, many in Washington were deeply conflicted.
MOSCOW REJECTS TOKYO
American diplomatic and military leaders were committed to ending the grotesque global tragedy and rebuilding a liberal democratic postwar world. The language of the Atlantic Charter between America and Britain, and the historic United Nations Declaration, included explicit postwar objectives. Firstly, the complete defeat of the Axis Powers. Secondly, a post-colonial world consisting of sovereign independent nations. Thirdly, free trade and social justice. Therefore, with Nazi Germany defeated, the question was how to end the war against Japan. Against the militant wishes of the military, a desperate Japanese Foreign Ministry sought mediation through the Soviet Union. But Moscow rejected them. As it turned out, the Machiavellian Stalin was preparing to opportunistically seize valuable Manchuria and Korea, which Japan occupied. He knew America had a nuclear weapon. It was only a matter of days before the USSR would attack Japan’s vulnerable occupied territories.
JAPAN BESIEGED
It was objectively clear that Japan had lost the war. Having secured Okinawa, America occupied part of the Japanese homeland and a staging area for invasions of Honshu and Kyushu. But as the Americans closed in, the cost in casualties was horrific. Okinawa saw the deployment of Kamikaze suicide pilots, resulting in heavy casualties at sea as well as on land. For Operation Downfall, American planners projected two invasions, Operation Olympic and Operation Coronet, under the command of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. The navies led by Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz now laid siege to the Home Islands. Thus, America might conceivably and eventually starve Japan into submission. Carrier-based planes and fighters from Iwo Jima and Okinawa could attack anything moving in Japan. Meanwhile, prowling American submarines had all but eliminated Japan’s Maru merchant fleet.
NATIONAL SEPPUKU
In Operation Olympic, the Sixth U. S. Army and Marine Corps divisions would invade Kyushu on November 1, 1945. In Operation Coronet, the First, Eighth and Tenth U. S. armies, with Marine Corps and British Commonwealth forces would invade Honshu on March 1, 1946. Thus, five million UN troops faced four million Japanese Army defenders and a thirty-one-million-person national civilian defense militia. The military government in Tokyo was prepared to commit national seppuku (ritual suicide). They risked the extinction of Japan by resisting the forthcoming invasions. Japan was already doomed to starvation due to a naval blockade. The utter obliteration of their cities by Army Air Forces B-29s was certain.
KETSU-GO
Meanwhile, American intelligence estimated Japanese troop strength on Kyushu at 350,000 and projected at least half a million Allied casualties. They had actually underestimated the sophisticated Japanese defensive preparations. Actually, there were over 750,000 troops on Kyushu as part of the massive defense plan Ketsu-Go. Moreover, the Americans were surprised to learn how many more airplanes were available for Kamikaze attacks. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall was horrified. Meanwhile, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Ernest King and Adm. Nimitz voiced serious concerns about moving forward with Operation Olympic. Returning from Potsdam on August 6, 1945, President Truman had weighed the alternatives and made his decision to force Downfall. The U. S. broadcast 24/7 warnings for Japanese civilians to abandon their cities. B-29s dropped millions of leaflets. These leaflets warned the people about what was about to occur on August 6, 1945. This event was the imminent downfall of Imperial Japan.
LITTLE BOY
After sunrise on Monday, August 6, 1945, Col. Paul Warfield Tibbets of Miami crossed into Japanese airspace. He commanded a specially equipped Boeing B-29 Superfortress named for his mother, Enola Gay. Two B-29s with scientific and photographic equipment accompanied Enola Gay. At first, Japanese air defense coordinators thought the high-altitude formation was a weather reconnaissance mission. They decided it was not worth scrambling fighters to intercept. Carrying an armed uranium-gun device nicknamed Little Boy, the formation soon arrived over the city of Hiroshima. Tibbets sharply turned Enola Gay away. Citizens below could see the reflection of the sun from the silver B-29. Finally, at 8:16 a.m., Little Boy completed a forty-three second fall. The device detonated 1,900 feet above Shima Hospital, releasing a blast equivalent to 12,500 tons of TNT. A blinding flash of light, lasting one-tenth of a second, measured 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit.
JAPAN HESITATES
Following the attack on August 6, 1945, American broadcasts and leaflets announced the imminent downfall of Imperial Japan. The Americans acknowledged the nuclear catastrophe and existence of the atomic bomb to the Japanese people. The Potsdam Declaration was now, clearly, no bluff. However, the leadership in Tokyo was confused. They were hesitant and did not fully understand the profound development that had just fallen upon them. Around the war-weary world, news of the nuclear attack shocked and dismayed humanity. However, It provided great relief. This brought salvation to American soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and their families. But there was much more to come before Japan capitulated. I will continue the developments and consequences next week with Victory.
In conclusion, you will find more detailed information about the events of August 1945 in my book. America Ascendant, the Rise of American Exceptionalism is available from fine booksellers everywhere. Image courtesy of the White House Historic Association, for America Ascendant, the Rise of American Exceptionalism.