The Ethical Justification behind the use of Atomic Weapons in World War II

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the most ethical choice to end the Second World War. Despite their disproportionate targeting of civilian infrastructure, more lives were saved on both sides as a result. An invasion was the only alternative and it would have killed and injured far more as the allies fought across Japan. The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought about the most ethical end to the most destructive war in human history and the use of atomic weapons was a just way of doing so.

In the beginning of August, 1945, America dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, destroying both and bringing about a decisive end to the most devastating war in human history. After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, America fought its way across the Pacific Ocean until it was within bombing range of the Japanese home islands. Americas military was exhausted after years of brutal, hard fighting and was unwilling to take part in a devastating ground invasion of mainland Japan. Atomic bombs were dopped twice against Japan to end the war quickly and with minimal life lost. The decision to employ atomic weapons is a controversial one, the number of civilian lives lost and critical infrastructure damaged would be immense, and Japan may have been on the verge of surrendering due to conventional bombardment anyways. However, the decision to drop two atomic weapons of Japan was made and carried out on August 6th and 9th, killing between 129,000 and 226,00 Japanese civilians and soldiers. The decision to use atomic weapons against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the most ethical course of action to end the Second World War as it was the least costly decision for America and Japan, and although it destroyed non-military targets disproportionately, brought about a quick and decisive end to World War 2.

On December 7th, 1941, the Japanese navy launched a surprise attack on a US military facility in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Shortly after, it also attacked other targets of British and American vulnerability in the Pacific Ocean. This was done by Japan as an attempt to remove western powers from the area in order to secure much needed resources to fuel its war machine in Asia and the Pacific. Declaring December 7th as a day that would “live in infamy,” America counterattacked with its aircraft carriers who avoided detection in the Pacific. The Dolittle Raid launched against Tokyo in April of 1942 saw minor damage of Japan by carrier launched American bombers. While little was done to stop the Japanese military war fighting ability, the attack was seen as a major morale booster for a surprised and horrified American civilian population. However, the retaliation by Japan against the attackers and their helpers was horrific. 250,00 civilians were killed as a result, either as efforts to find and capture the aircrews after they landed in China, or as revenge for Japan’s damaged reputation after its capital was bombed. The brutal attacks were reminiscent of the earlier Rape of Nanjing. This level of savage reprisals and lack of morals would remain consistently high for the rest of the fighting in the Pacific. America would fight from island to island across the ocean, getting ever closer to mainland Japan. Japanese resistance was stubborn and fanatical at times with surrender rates low and entire units wiped out. America took heavy casualties, especially in places such as Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Tarawa as America fought to capture airfields and destroy Japan’s ability to deny access to the Pacific. Each of these battles brought the Japanese mainland closer to bombing range in anticipation for the final, decisive battle of World War 2. Realizing the heavy casualties sure to result from another amphibious landing far away from home and not wanting to suffer an early defeat in what would become the Cold War, American President Harry Truman made the decision to employ an unconventional weapon against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hiroshima was chosen because it was virtually untouched by the horrific firebombing due to a river running through its center and because it was home to the Japanese military unit designated to oversee the defense of the home islands. Nagasaki was originally a backup target, but chosen over Kyoto due to the latter’s cultural importance and cloud coverage, while it also avoided devastating bombing raids. This was done to showcase the devastation an atomic weapon could do against an urban area. On August 6th, Hiroshima was destroyed, killing 20,000 soldiers and between 70,000 and 126,00 civilians. When Japan did not surrender, Nagasaki was bombed on August 9th. Between 39,000 and 80,00 civilians were killed along with between 100 and 200 Japanese soldiers. Six days after the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, Japan would surrender on August 15th, bringing about a decisive end to the most destructive war in human history.

President Truman made the ultimate decision to drop the atomic bombs, citing the need to save both American and Japanese lives. Despite being president for only a short time after the death of President Roosevelt, President Truman did not want to see another brutal slaughter on the beaches, mountains, and cities of mainland Japan. He knew that heavy American losses this late in the war would only demoralize a civilian population just learning about Nazi death camps. American losses in the Pacific during World War 2 totaled 111,606 killed and 253,000 wounded. Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of mainland Japan, would add an estimated 1,700,000 to 4,000,000 casualties, including roughly a million dead. Due to missing or destroyed records, Japan is thought to have lost over 2,500,000 million soldiers and had an unknown number of wounded. It had also lost about 1,000,000 civilians and an unknown number of wounded as well, mostly do to bombing campaigns and civilians being caught in crossfire. Operation Downfall allotted for almost 4,000,000 million Japanese combatants and over 30,000,000 Japanese civilians conscripted to fight in an auxiliary role against American troops. Their casualties were expected to range from between 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 and expected to prolong the war by at least a year. This was due to Japan’s militaristic total mobilization, which was prefaced by several years of heavy propaganda and focused on indoctrinating their entire population, both civilian and military, to view themselves as a superior race that was destined to rule over the Pacific Ocean and large parts of Asia. They viewed surrender as a dishonorable act that brought immense shame to themselves and their families. Resistance to unconditional surrender was so fierce, that in the weeks leading up to the atomic bombings school children across Japan were sharpening sticks to repel the Americans. By early August, President Truman had made his choice, the bombs would be dropped.

President Truman’s reasons for dropping the bomb were twofold, he wanted to save as many American and as many Japanese lives as possible. He knew, based on previous battles, that American losses would be high due to Japanese defensive postures and fanatical resistance. Of the 20,000 Japanese soldiers who defended Iwo Jima, just over 1,000 were captured. The rest fought till the bitter end. Reports on Okinawa are uncertain, but over 110,000 Japanese soldiers died while just 10,000 were captured. 4,690 Japanese soldiers on Tarawa were killed in combat, with just 17 being captured. These numbers were taken into account when Operation Downfall was planned. President Truman also knew that millions of Japanese civilians would die as well. Millions would be conscripted and they would be poorly armed and led, but fanatical to the point of suicide. American soldiers would have to kill thousands of children armed with little more than sharpened sticks as they fought their way from the beaches to Tokyo. While President Truman had moral obligations to save as many American lives under his command as possible, the atomic bombs could also save millions of Japanese soldiers and civilians at the cost of hundreds of thousands. Since Japan had shown unwillingness to surrender after immense conventional bombing attacks, President Truman had to either use atomic weapons or launch a ground invasion. The atomic bombs saved more lives, both soldiers on two sides, as well as civilians. Since President Truman had the authority to make such a call, he chose to do the most good for the greatest number on both sides, sacrificing upwards of 226,000 Japanese civilians and soldiers for 14,000,000 Japanese and American lives, both civilian and soldier. President Truman knew that losses were going to happen regardless, but chose to employ atomic weapons based on predictions determined through previous battles in the Pacific Ocean that were likely to accurately foretell the implementation of Operation Downfall.

The large number of Japanese casualties were linked to Japan’s militaristic and racial society at the time. Japanese perceived racial superiority was responsible for its conduct in combat. Prisoners of war were tortured, killed, starved, experimented on, and worked to death in camps across Asia. Abuses against Chinese soldiers and civilians was brutal, among the worst atrocities ever committed in history. Japanese soldiers often never surrendered, preferring to be killed in needless suicide charges or pointless defensive stands instead of being captured. Millions would have been killed in close combat in cities or trenches. Child soldiers would have been conscripted, leaving American soldiers with little choice in the heat of combat between saving their lives or the lives of their comrades over those of young civilians. These moral conundrums in regards to child soldiers, brainwashed conscripts, and pointless military tactics would have led to the needless deaths of millions of Japanese and American lives with the same results being achieved with less bloodshed from an atomic weapons detonation. The American public has always been heavily opposed to casualties on any side of warfare and President Truman was obligated to uphold the wishes of his constituents.

President Truman made his decision to drop atomic weapons because the alternative was an invasion of Japan. Operation Downfall would have prolonged the war by about a year and led to the deaths of millions more. The first landings in November of 1945 would have been preceded by years of bombs against Japan. Amphibious landings would have dwarfed the landing on French beaches during D-Day, in which thousands of Americans were killed by machine gun fire while wading through chest deep water and across open beaches. German losses were also high as bunkers were cleared with explosives and flamethrowers, with prisoner counts small even amongst low quality Nazi soldiers. The Americans would also have to fight through underground caves connected with interlocking sectors of machine gun fire, avoid kamikaze attacks from the Japanese air force, and detain millions of Japanese civilians who were conscripted. The levels of brutal combat were thought to reach so high that allied commanders allegedly considered using chemical weapons against entrenched Japanese soldiers in a tactical setting and against crops and food supplies as a strategic component of the invasion. This would have led to untold deaths as a result of starvation, again both civilian and military alike. President Truman did not want to be responsible for this immoral alternative undertaking, citing the unique ability of atomic weapons to end the war quicker and with less lives lost.

President Truman was the legitimate head of the American government and thus had the ultimate authority to use atomic weapons. His decision to bomb Hiroshima resulted in the deaths and injury of over a hundred thousand Japanese soldiers and civilians. While it did destroy the Japanese military headquarters in charge of the mainland defense, the vast majority of its victims were civilians. However, it is likely that most of these soldiers and civilians would have been killed or wounded if Operation Downfall was ever implemented. President Truman had the morally right intention when deciding this outcome and was well informed on the effects and magnitude of an atomic explosion. He was correct in perceiving it as a last resort as the other realistic option of forcing Japan to surrender was a year long series of landings and close quarters combat that would have killed many more times the number of soldiers and civilians then the use of the bomb. When the first bomb failed to compel Japan to surrender, President Truman authorized the destruction of Nagasaki. Fully knowing the effects of an atomic weapons against a Japanese city, Nagasaki was destroyed several days later. This was the main factor in the surrender of Japan, as further resistance would have led to more atomic weapons being used against a greater number of Japanese cities. This shows that President Trumans intentions behind using the bomb in the first place were correct, as Japan surrendered right after Nagasaki was destroyed. The high chance of success did indeed succeed and saved millions of lives from being lost. The Japanese military did not have to be defeated by killing the vast majority of its soldiers and supporting civilians and a larger percentage of the Japanese population was left to rebuild after the war. This decision was the lesser of the two realistic options and the most moral one in a devastating and taxing global conflict.

Even though atomic weapons are unproportional and target civilian, their use saved lives on and off the battlefield on both sides. President Truman saw their use as the only way to save the lives he was elected to save and justly end the war Japan unjustly started. The use and continued use of atomic weapons was the only way to do so. Without precedent, President Truman has no legal or moral examples to base his decision on. While disproportional to any military targets in the area, a ground invasion would have killed more Japanese and American soldiers then absolutely necessary. Atomic weapons also prevented more civilian infrastructure from being destroyed by a destructive total war waged on the Japanese mainland. Despite numerous chances to surrender, Japan refused to do so only until compelled by both atomic weapons. This was the last chance America had to avoid an even more costly land invasion, and justly made the right decision. It is unfortunate that so many lives were lost a result, but America, Japan, and the world are better off as a result.

World War II was the deadliest event in human history. No army acted entirely justly, with many soldiers committing war crimes against opposing soldiers and civilians. Civilian governments authorized genocide and ethnic cleansing on an industrial scale not matched prior or since. Civilians suffered immensely from new developments in firepower, maneuverability, and general indifference. The only way this war was to be brought to an end was violently, with many soldiers and civilians being lost in the final cumulative battles in Europe and Asia. This world war saw the free world raise a global pledge to never let this happen again. However, before peace could be worked toward, war had to be finished. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and August of 1945 were the only way to avoid a costly land invasion of mainland Japan. The Japanese mindset at home and in the Pacific cast too deadly a shadow to fight from Japanese beaches to Tokyo. Although atomic weapons killed a disproportionate number of civilians and destroyed noncombatant infrastructure, a Japan that was unwilling to surrender otherwise left President Truman no other choice. World War II was a horrific period in history and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were no different, but a greater good was achieved and the world is a safer and more stable place as a result.

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