Nagasaki

Introduction

In the year 1945, Japan experienced the worst attacks it had never seen before. The city of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed, by the United States. Nagasaki, which was a ship building centre was bombed at exactly 11:02 a.m. The atomic bomb unleashed the corresponding force of 22,000 tons of TNT after it was dropped at a height of 1,650 feet from the city. The bomb led to huge number of deaths, and it is estimated that 60,000-80,000 people died of the attack (Ham, 2014). The exact number of deaths could not be figured, simply because most of the victims’ bodies were ripped apart. The US army reached the decision of attacking the town after Japan ignored the Allies request of surrendering from Pacific war.

The attack on Hiroshima saw Japan surrendering from the Pacific war, after it had decided to continue with the war, despite being warned by the US. Nagasaki was not the US main target, the US had planned to attack Kokura as its second target after the attack on Hiroshima on the previous day (Chappell, 2015). The US had targeted three other towns where it was also supposed to launch massive attacks, these towns were Niigata, Kokura and Kyoto. Niigata was however withdrawn from the plans, after it was discovered that its distance was far great. In addition, Kyoto was also withdrawn from the list due to its religious relations (Horner & O'Neill, 2010). Nagasaki became the target after Kyoto was withdrawn from the list, thus making the targets to be Nagasaki and Niigata.

Nagasaki became the target since it was the main shipbuilding city, and it also had a very large military base (Horner & O'Neill, 2010). The US therefore plotted to greatly weaken Japan’s military strength through bombing the city since it was a very strong military base. It was not a highly targeted city, since it had been earlier on bomb for five consecutive times in the preceding twelve months. On the other hand, the city had widely developed, and it stretched over hills and valleys, with a very huge population. Dropping an atomic bomb in such an area was therefore going to be very effective, since most people would die. The geographical setting of the city really helped in reducing the effect of the atomic bomb, thus making it hard for the bomb to affect most parts of the city. The Urakami valley and some parts of downtown Nagasaki were the ones which were only affected. The water deposits in the city really helped in reducing the spread of the fire, thus helping in saving the train station which was not affected at all (Ham, 2014). The effect of bomb in the city was however not very bad as compared to the situation in Hiroshima which had been bombed on the previous day.

The attack was however very devastating, since 22.7% of the city’s buildings were consumed by the fire, and the death rates were however lesser as compared to the number of deaths registered in Hiroshima (Chappell, 2015). The military base in Nagasaki was also consumed by the flames, thus further weakening the strength of the city. Ironically, Nagasaki was a well-equipped military city, which had bomb resistant systems, but due to negligence, the city was easily bombed. The city also had hiding spaces, where soldiers would in case of a bomb attack (Ham, 2014). Due to frequent attacks on the city, the military had devised ways of protecting the city from any attacks. The soldiers were however reluctant to take action even after sirens were heard, warning of the nuclear attack.

After the attack, Japan withdrew from the Pacific war, thus making the US a super power, after its efforts led to the end of the war. The US dropped two atomic bombs in the country, not only because Japan had refused to withdraw from the war, but it also wanted to test the effectiveness of the atomic bomb (Horner & O'Neill, 2010). The US had just concluded making atomic bombs, and it therefore wanted to test them, this was therefore a very good ground for the US to conduct its nuclear bombs tests. It was necessary to bomb Nagasaki using nuclear bombs in order to better understand the effectiveness of the bombs. Moreover, the US also wanted to show to the world how powerful it was due to the types of bombs that it had created (Chappell, 2015).

The bomb did have very serious health implications on the victims, as survivors experienced incidents of Leukaemia (Horner & O'Neill, 2010). In addition, the rates of cancerous diseases in the city were also very high. Mothers who were pregnant during that period were very likely to experience miscarriages or otherwise their children would die immediately after birth. Infant mortality rates were also very high in the city during that period (Ham, 2014). The rates of blood disorders were also on the rise, with a very high number of patients suffering from anaemia. Most of the effects would appear either two or three and some would also appear ten years after the attack was launched in Nagasaki.

The effects of cancer on Hiroshima residents were very unique as compared to that of other people in different cities (Horner & O'Neill, 2010). Their conditions seemed to be worsening faster as compared to those living in areas far from Nagasaki. On the other hand, in early 1946, the tissues which covered healed burnt areas of the victims begun swelling and growing abnormally. The condition worsened and led to other complications within the bodies of the victims (Ham, 2014). The bomb seemed to have not only led to the destruction of property and the loss of lives, but it had also led to the heath complications of the survivors. The city was therefore in ruins, with most people being affect health wise.

Bomb radiation illnesses were also reported from the victims, who had suffered after radiation penetrated into their body, hence injuring cells, leading to death of cells, and the abnormality of intercellular molecules (Chappell, 2015). This has therefore resulted in the birth of physically challenged children by most victims. Due to abnormality of intercellular cells, most people are therefore at the risk of contracting different diseases and complications. In addition, victims might also give birth to children with abnormal hormones thus passing it through to different generations (Ham, 2014).

Conclusion

The atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki will therefore remain in the minds of the Japanese, due to the effects that it had on the residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan learnt a lesson that it will never again repeat. On the other hand, the citizens of Japan suffered even though they had nothing to do with the Pacific war. The US military should not have used such a weapon, bearing in mind that they did not understand the long-term effects of such a bomb.

Reference

Chappell, J. (2015). Before The Bomb: How America Approached the End of the Pacific War. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky.

Ham, P. (2014). Hiroshima, Nagasaki: The real story of the atomic bombings and their aftermath.

Horner, D. M., & O'Neill, R. J. (2010). World War II. New York: Rosen Pub.