The US nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 claimed the lives of at least 130,000 people and wounded thousands more. 05.11.2022, Sputnik International
With Washington not thinking twice before accusing Moscow of nuclear blackmail amid Russia’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine, it is worth stressing that it is the US that remains the only country in the world to have used nuclear weapons in an armed conflict.Less than a month before the September 2, 1945 end of the Second World War, the US dropped nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing at least 130,000 people. Now let’s look into what was behind Washington’s decision to drop nukes on Japan on August 6 and August 9, 1945. To better understand what prompted the US to take such a step, one should bear in mind that by the summer of 1945, America, which was Japan’s arch foe at the time, already possessed a total of three atomic bombs, including “Little Boy” and “Fat Man”, which were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively.This was preceded by Japan’s attempts in the early 1940s to strengthen its clout in the Asia and Pacific region, where Tokyo attacked UK and US military bases and invaded an array of countries, including Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, Indonesia, and New Guinea.The Japanese offensive, however, saw signs of stalling in late 1942 and a year later, British and American troops launched a counteroffensive, trying to recapture the initiative.
