The Third Atomic Bomb Threat In 1945

Introduction 

As the deadly battles were occurring in 1945 across the Pacific, Japan had decided and made it clear that they were not going to surrender but, would fight to their death. In other words, there was no chance for concession or any other option other than more bloodshed as the fight approached Japan. In efforts to avoid more deaths of the American Soldiers while trying to invade the main island of Japan that had approximately 80 million people, President Harry Truman opted to use an atomic bomb that had been invented recently. He had just become the president after the death of President Franklin Roosevelt. The test on the ability of the atomic bomb to work had been done in late July 1945 and three weeks later the president ordered an atomic bomb to be dropped in August on Hiroshima and a second one in the same month on Nagasaki, Japan. It was the start of the nuclear age and also the first military application of atomic weapons. After the two nuclear attacks, the United States threatened to drop a third bomb. Archival records indicate that the third bomb was being assembled at Tinian which is in the Mariana Island. It is said that the bomb was destined to be used to attack Kokura which was the original target of the second bomb. The bomb was regarded as Fat Boy and was scheduled to be dropped on August 19 th with more bombs being available throughout the months of September and October. However, on August 15 th , Japan surrendered. 

Key Players in the scenario 

The key players in this situation included Hirohito who was the emperor of Japan at the time of the attack. He had refused to accept the terms of the United States to surrender, which led to the second atomic attack on Nagasaki on the 9 th of August. The attacks led to a mass murder of civilians and were believed to be one of the most inhuman acts in history. 

The second key player is the United States. At the start of the World War II, the United States was a country that was considered to be neutral until when Japan attacked Pearl Harbour. During this time, the Pearl Harbour was its naval base that was found on the Hawaiian Island. In the year 1941, the Pearl Harbour was attacked by the Japanese forces. It was after the United States had received a message from the Japanese that indicated to them that their relationship had ended. The shocking attack resulted in the death of approximately 2400 Americans and around 1200 that got injured. In addition, approximately 200 aircraft vehicles were ruined and some ship vessels were either damaged or sunk together with three destroyers and four battleships. The main intention of the attack by Japan was to help it to advance to the Dutch East Indies and Singapore because the US naval fleet would not be able to intrude after the attack. However, the action made the US become a key player in the atomic attacks on Japan. In the year 1945, the US used atomic bombs on the country on two occasions and had threatened to attack for the third time if Japan did not agree to surrender. 

The third key player in the scenario was President Truman who had the authority to give permission for the attack. After on the US base, Truman decided to drop atomic bombs on Japan despite the likely effect. The action was mainly to force Japan to surrender. Truman also had the motive to drop the bombs because the risk of Japan’s land invasion was high in places such as Singapore, and the United States wanted to save lives. In addition, the land invasion would have likely taken months so the president saw that releasing a nuclear bomb would have stopped it in a short period of time and would have finished the World War II. Finally, the US saw that the land invasion was costly and thus wanted to finish Japan before Russia could get the chance to enter in the country. 

Gainers and Losers in the scenario 

Gainers 

The threat of a third atomic bomb attack on Japan had is gainers and losers. The gainers in the incident included the United States because the threat led to the surrender of Japan which was determined to fight to their death. In addition, the situation prevented Russia from gaining more territories. In addition, the scenario led to the end of the World War II that would have cost the country in terms of the death of its army and an increase in expenses in terms of increase in the manufacturing and purchase of weapons. 

As indicated above, Dutch East Indies and Singapore were also big gainers in the situation because the surrender by Japan prevented its advancement to these countries. It is worth noting that the main reason why Japan had attacked the US base was to prevent its naval fleet from intruding as they proceed to the two countries. However, the attack led to retaliation from the US with a series of atomic attacks that eventually led to the surrender of Japan. 

Losers 

The main losers in the scenario included Japan which remained defenseless in the mid-1945 that led to its surrender. Before the threat by the United States, the Japanese fleet had been destroyed in 1944 at Leyte Gulf. In addition, the United States got the chance and the ability to continuously bomb cities in Japan that included the firebombing of Osaka and Tokyo. The first two atomic bombs in the country had led to the loss of lives and infrastructure. The loss was so great to the extent that country found itself approaching Russia so that it can mediate a deal to end the war. The government of Japan knew that the war could not continue and the main question was how it would end the war on the best terms possible considering the threat of a third bomb. The result of the surrender was the loss of the territories that it has acquired including Vietnam, parts of Indonesia and Malaysia, various islands in the Pacific, a big portion of eastern China, Burma, and Korea. 

Circumstances that led to deception 

As indicated above, the United States had threatened Japan of a third atomic attack if it does not surrender unconditionally. It further stated that the bomb would have been dropped in the same month of August. The statement led to the surrender of the Japanese people. However, there have been increased controversies on the truth behind the statement that the United States had a third atomic bomb. Reports indicate that the United States only had two atomic bombs and the third threat was just a deception aimed at fooling the Japanese into surrendering. 

The circumstances at the time led to the deception. The United States was mainly under increased pressure from its people who were tired of the war and also were disgusted with Japan for making them endure so much in terms of loss of people and weapons. They mainly wanted the war to be over as soon as possible. It also means that the cause of the deception is to prevent further loss of American lives. 

Another circumstance that led to the deception was the fact that the Japanese seemed to be determined to fight until the end. They were not willing to surrender even after being attacked by the United States (Lynch, 2010) . In addition, President Truman and the United States only wanted an unconditional surrender from Japan and to make it possible, the decision was to deceive Japan with the threat of another attack so that it can be pressured into surrendering. 

Finally, the United States saw that the continuation of the war would have given Russia the opportunity to gain more territories. Therefore, the deception was as a result of trying to shorten the war ( Shyam, 2003). The deception worked because it pressured Japan to surrender and led to the end of the World War II. 

The intention of deception 

Considering the circumstances that led to the deception, it becomes clear on the intentions of the deception which was mainly to end the war. The intention was achieved because it resulted in the end of the World War II. The other intention of the deception was to pressure the Japanese people to surrender unconditionally ( Maddox, 2007).. Evidently, if the Americans had not dropped the first two bombs and if it had not threatened to drop the third one, then Japan would have never surrendered. The fight would have continued for a long period of time and more lives would have been lost. It means that the third intention of the deception was to save the lives of Americans who were losing their lives in the war. 

The measures that were taken to advance the deception 

By August 15 th, 1945, Japan had not surrendered and there were threats that the United States would hit it with a third, more powerful atomic bomb a few days later. The deception of a third attack was advanced by the fact that it was made days after the first two atomic attacks that were dropped in the same month of August. Considering the closeness of the first two attacks, Japan had no choice but to believe that a third one would have been dropped. 

Another measure that was taken to advance the deception was the special target committee that was established in the spring of the year 1945 aimed at debating on the main cities in Japan to attack because the officials believed that the regime had been clear of its unwillingness to surrender at any price. Such a meeting gives legitimacy on the deception (Hanhimaki, 2004) . 

One of the best measures that were taken by the United States to advance the deception was taken by the then President Truman who went on radio and television to announce his willingness to order more atomic bombs from the third one to be dropped on Japan until when the country would be willing to surrender and cease hostilities. As the president and considering that he has the powers to make the orders, it made the claims of the third atomic bomb seem genuine ( Kennedy, 2011). However, at the time of the threat, the country had only manufactured three bombs, two of which had already been used in Japan and one had been used as a test in Alamogordo in New Mexico. In addition, the manufacture of an atomic bomb would have taken a long period of time meaning that there is a low possibility that the country had the weapon at the time the president was making the threat. However, considering the legitimacy of the position that he holds, the Japanese Emperor believed him and agreed to the terms provided to surrender unconditionally. 

It is worth noting the United States took a big risk in the deception and advancing it because its credibility would have been negatively affected if Japan had not surrendered because there would not have been any good explanation if the US had delayed in implementing its threat ( Alperovitz, 1995). In addition, the World War II would not have ended. But by good luck, President Harry Truman was believable when he gave the threat. The threat was more believable because of the reason that was given to be behind the bombing of Japan which was to save the lives of American and also to end the War (Sherwin, 2003). These reasons seemed to be good enough to encourage the United States to attack Japan. 

The defeat of the protective measures 

The protective measures that had been used in advancing the deception were not defeated because they led to the defeat of Japan when it surrendered unconditionally ( Croddy, 2005). However, there have been many people over the years who have questioned the availability of the third atomic bomb and the ability of the United States to attack Japan. 

The Discovery of the deception efforts 

When the people of Japan were deceived about the possibility of a third atomic bomb with others following afterward , every individual believed that the attack was possible. People believed in the threats because of the efforts that were taken in making sure that it was believable. The efforts as identified above included the fact that the threat was made days after the first two atomic attacks. The second effort was the establishment of a special target committees in the spring of the year 1945 aimed at debating on the main cities in Japan to attack (Hamblin, 2005). The final effort was President Truman who went on radio and television to announce his willingness to order more atomic bombs from the third one to be dropped on Japan until when the country would be willing to surrender and cease hostilities. The efforts had both short term and long term results. The short term results of the efforts included the surrender of the Japanese people that led to the end of the World War II. In addition, it saved the lives of American soldiers who did not have to fight after Japan surrendered. The long term result included the continuous controversy that surrounds the event. Many people still question the threat and if the United State could have been in a position to implement the threat considering the fact that it had already used its atomic bombs at the time. Many scholars have tried to analyze and study the threat while trying to prove that it was a deception that was believed by the Japanese people (Bulliet, 2011). 

Opinion and Conclusion 

After Japan attacked the United States , President ordered an atomic bomb to be dropped in August on Hiroshima and a second one in the same month on Nagasaki, Japan. It was the start of the nuclear age and also the first military application of atomic weapons. In addition, it threatened to drop a third bomb if Japan did not surrender. The gainers in the incident included the United States because the threat led to the surrender of Japan which was determined to fight to their death. Dutch East Indies and Singapore were also big gainers in the situation because the surrender by Japan prevented its advancement to these countries. The main losers in the scenario included Japan which remained defenseless in the mid-1945 that led to its surrender. Before the threat by the United States, the Japanese fleet had been destroyed in 1944 at Leyte Gulf. The threat of a third atomic bomb was a deception that was aimed at pressuring Japan to surrender. To maintain the deception, efforts were taken that included fact that the threat was made days after the first two atomic attacks. The second effort was the establishment of a special target committees in the spring of the year 1945 aimed at debating on the main cities in Japan to attack. The final effort was President Truman who went on radio and television to announce his willingness to order more atomic bombs from the third one. The efforts were a complete success because it was able to achieve its intention of pressuring Japan to surrender intentionally. Japan did not question the ability of the United States to bomb it for the third time and to continue thereafter. 

Reference 

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Bulliet, R. W. (2011).  The Earth and its peoples: A global history . Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. 

Croddy, E., & Wirtz, J. J. (2005).  Weapons of mass destruction: An encyclopedia of worldwide policy, technology, and history . Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. 

Hamblin, J. D. (2005).  Science in the early twentieth century: An encyclopedia . Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. 

Hanhimaki, J, M. (2004). Henry Kissenger and American Foreign Policy. Cary, NC, USA: Oxford University Press. 

Kennedy, D. M., Cohen, L., & Piehl, M. (2011).  The brief American pageant: A history of the Republic . Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. 

Lynch, T. J.(2010) . The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Military and Diplomatic History. New York: Oxford University Press. 

Maddox, R. J. (2007).  Hiroshima in history: The myths of revisionism . Columbia: University of Missouri Press. 

Sherwin, M. J. (2003).  A world destroyed: Hiroshima and its legacies . Stanford, Calif: Stanford Univ. Press. 

Shyam, C. R. (2003).  History of Japan . New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors.