The Decision to Drop
 Nazi
Germany surrendered unconditionally at 2:41 a.m., May 7, ending
World War II in Europe. At midnight May 8, the guns stopped firing.
The Pacific war with Japan, who was Germany's ally, continued.
U. S. President Harry S. Truman, English Prime Minister Winston
Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin met in Potsdam, Germany
between July 17 and August 2, 1945, to discuss strategies to end
the war in the Pacific.
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The Potsdam Conference
The decision to use atomic weapons against Japan emerged
at the end of this conference. More |
| Little Boy and Fat Man
The first nuclear weapons were dropped during World War II.
More |
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Enola Gay
The B-29 Bomber that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. More |
| Charles Sweeney
Airplane Commander Charles Sweeney piloted the Bockscar
to Nagasaki. More |
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Hiroshima
The atomic bomb Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima on August
6, 1945. More |
| Nagasaki
Japan surrendered five days after the second atomic bomb
was dropped on Nagasaki. More |
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- Harry Truman Becomes President
April 12, 1945
The ultimate decision became President Truman's, following
the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In March 1945, Henry Stimson,
Secretary of War, had informed President Roosevelt that the bomb
would be ready for testing in July.
- Military Considerations
June, 1945
During the bloody struggle to take the Philippines and Okinawa,
President Truman and his military were concentrating on an invasion
of Japan. The U.S. Navy was cruising off the Japanese coast and
submarines were patrolling the Sea of Japan. Those in power in
Tokyo were making plans for a house-to-house resistance to any
invasion. Japan had over 5 million men under arms, of which 2
million were stationed on the home islands. Based upon the dogged
resistance at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the allies determined that
as many as 500,000 to one million allied soldiers would die if
the invasion, scheduled for November 1, 1945 took place.
- The Potsdam Proclamation
July 26, 1945
The Potsdam Declaration was broadcast to the Japanese by the
Allied Forces. The demands of the Declaration created a crisis
in Japan.
- Prime Minister Suzuki
July 28, 1945
The Prime Minister announced he would ignore the proclamation.
- Interim Committee Formulates Policy
April through June 1945
A committee of scientific, corporate, military and government
leaders was formed by Secretary of War Stimson to formulate policy
on "the whole field of atomic energy, in its political, military
and scientific aspects." The committee's major function was
to determine if the bomb should be used with or without warning.
On June 1, 1945, the Interim Committee submitted its report to
President Truman after agreeing unanimously:
- The bomb should be used against Japan as soon as possible.
- It should be used against a military target.
- It should be used without prior warning.
- The First Bomb
President Truman held off for a few more days the final orders
that would result in the use of the bomb.
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