aug 6, 1945 - Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Description:
The US drops a fission bomb on the city of Hiroshima on August 6, and another on Nagasaki three days later. In total, about 129,000 - 226,000 people died from the attacks, mostly civilians. The reason for the bombing is disputed. Some say that Japan forced their hand, that it was necessary to minimize American casualties, and the civilian death count would have been far more severe had the US gone with their original plan of a firebombing campaign in Tokyo. Others say it was simply a means to demonstrate US power to the Soviet Union, and that such an attack was unnecessary because the Japanese may have been about to surrender due to Soviet declaration of war against them.
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US History Timeline
An outline of major events from (mostly early) US history.
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