The story begins in 1939 when Roosevelt receive a letter from Albert Einstein who has left is country to take refuge in the USA after the beginning of war; the letter says that it should be possible to make a powerful radioactive bomb. It also suggest that the Americans should make researches on it since the Germans are already one step ahead. The Manhattan project is thus started and directed by general Groves and the research begins seriously the morning after Pearl Harbor in three centers: Hanford (Washington), Oak Ridge (Tennessee) and Los Alamos (New-Mexico).
The first finding by the american scientists is that plutonium is an element easier to make react than uranium 235 which was used until then. Two bombs are made and name after what they look like: Little Boy filled with U-235 and Fat Man filled with plutonium. July 16th 1945 the scientists of Los Alamos under the supervision of Robert Oppenheimer are ready for the first essay which happens at Alamogordo (New-Mexico) with general Groves' presence. At 5h30 the essay is conclusive and so president Truman (succeeding at Roosevelt who is dead) receive a missive to confirm that the atomic bomb is operational and ready to be used.
Truman and its ministers have then to take a decision: they take many facts in account. First they take in account the landings at the Philippines, at Okinawa and at Iwojima where each time the Japanese fought to death rather than surrendering. They also take in account the new japanese tactic: the Kamikazes. Estimates show that the operations Olympic (landing at Kyushu) and Coronet (landing at Honshu) should cost about 1 million american lives with 2 millions men harmed - in fact the operations are planned to send 6 millions soldiers against the 4 millions japanese soldiers and even more civilians. Even Emperor Hirohito is asking himself how he could convince to capitulate 4 millions soldiers fanatised by the sacrifice of their pairs (the Kamikazes). Even so MacArthur receive the order to ready the landings operations: at fall 1945 12 divisions are to conquer the Kyu-Syu islands ; at spring 1946 19 infantry divisions, 2 tank divisions and 3 Marines divisions are to land at Hondo and march towards Tokyo. They also take in account the fact that if the war is not over soon, the l'USSR could very probably enter the dance since Roosevelt has already ask the help of Staline and that would be bad since the Soviets would get huge political power and take as much land as they can (like in Europe - the Cold War is emerging). With all that in mind and more (traditional facts like the public opinion, the civilians' fate...), Truman send a message to Japan July 26th at the Postdam conference: the Japanese have the possibility to capitulate without conditions otherwise they will suffer a fast and total destruction. He can't negociate with the Japaneses since April 16th he had declared: There can't be any misunderstanding. Germany like Japan can be confident that the USA will continue to fight for freedom as long as resistance will survive. We still ask for a capitulation without conditions. No negociations are possible with Peace-destroyers... America will never become part of a plan for partial victory, our victory shall be total (this is not the exact words but close).
There is then two possibilities: the atomic bomb which has been tested once and of which no one knows manythings; or the Air Command suggests to destroy with napalm the next rice harvest in combination with a naval blockade to yield a genocide by famine.
A comity is thus created to study the most humane action: the atomic bomb. Their conclusions are that no demonstrations nor warnings are to be given since the scientists are not sure that the bomb will work again (and if it was to fail before the eyes of a public...). Also the comity suggests that the target should be a city that has never been before bombed.
In September 1944 the 509th bombing squadron is created with the best B-29 teams. The squadron is sent to Cuba for an intensive training and then is sent in the Mariannes at Tinian in June. Two bombs are transported to Tinian aboard the cruiser Indianapolis and the parts are assembled on the island so that August 1st both are ready. Since he gets no response to is ultimatum, Truman authorise July 28th the second part of Sylver Plate operation (drop of one atomic bomb on Japan).
August 6th 1945 at 2h45, the B-29 Enola Gay piloted by colonel Paul Tibbets (the leader of the 509th squadron), take off at Tinian with 29 000 liter of gas and with the atomic bomb Little Boy. It is escorted by 2 observation B-29s and one weather bomber. At 1h37 that morning 3 planes had made a recognition of the region. Colonel Tibbets fly towards Hiroshima and towards the first nuclear raid. At 7h09 the weather plane, while passing over the target, start the anti-raid alarms. At 8h15 the bomber-major Thomas Ferebee take control of the B-29 Superforteress of the 509th squadron of the 20th Bomber Command and drop the only bomb aboard (U-235, built at Oak Ridge in Tennessee) from 9630m of altitude. Its exact target is the Aioi Bridge which pass over the river Ota in the center of Hiroshima, a city in the West of the Honshu island. The bomb, equivalent to 35 000 tons of TNT, explode 43 seconds later at 600m of altitude and destroy EVERYTHING in a radius of 1km while producing a big flash. The atomic cloud climbs higher than the planes which were 9750m high and 750km around people could see it. After the chock wave and the heat created by pikadon (name given by the Japaneses), the survivors had to deal with the radioactivity. 71 000 people died and 75 000 others were injured initially - this is 12km square (81%) of the city destroyed.
Truman who was returning to the United-State on board of the cruiser Augusta receive the news and as soon as the ship docked he made a press conference where he told the origin of the explosion (atomic bomb) and its calculated power (20 000 tons of TNT minimum). Then he finished by talking directly to the japanese nation: "Let there be no mistake, we shall completely destroy Japan power to make law. It was to spare the japanese people from uther destruction that the ultimatum of July 26th was issued at Postdam. Their leader constantly rejected that ultimatum. If they do not now accept our terms they may expect a rain of ruins from the air the like of which has never been seen on this earth."
Sound- Truman talks to the Japanese nation at the Atomic Bomb press conference -Sound
Video- Truman tells the american nation that an atomic bomb has exploded -Video
To show the Japaneses that it wasn't luck and to increase the civilians' fear, the Americans send a second bomber to a nuclear raid on August 9th. Major Chuck Sweeney piloting the B-29 Bock's Car (usually piloted by Fred Bock) since its usual plane The Great Artist has mecanical problems, take off at 3h45 and goes toward Kokura, its target. After joining two of the three bombing group's planes (the 3rd one is missing and lead the Tinian airbase to think that the mission is canceled) Bock's Car passes over Kokura but the smoke from a steel factory bombed two days earlier hinder any dropping even after three passes. So he is forced to change its target: the new one is Nagasaki (100 miles of his current position) on the Kyushu island. On its way there a bad connection activates the bomb but the team onboard repair the problem. Once over Nagasaki it's no better: the city is clouded at 80% and the targeter has to wait for a hole in the clouds before targeting two Mitsubishi factories producing arms. The bomb, Fat Man (plutonium bomb built at Hanford, Washington) is finally dropped and explode at 11h01: the mounts around the city greatly reduce the wave shock and so only 38 000 people die while 60 000 others are harmed. The bomber's problems are not over yet: Tinian (who thinks that there is no mission going on) is not responding and the bomber is running out of gas. Using technics to save the gas left, Charles Sweeney direct its plane towards Okinawa which is closer. He finally gets to the airport at the same moment as he is out of gas and so he lands at 140mph and avoid a few B-24 parked at the end of the runway.
This second bomb increase the speed of the japanese capitulation which will happen with the help of the Emperor on September 2nd.
Could we have avoid the use of the atomic bomb? Yes of course but we have to consider the following facts:
- the Japaneses on August 5th 1945 are far from wanting to capitulate. The army is reenforcing Japan and teaching the civilians to defend themselves. The Americans estimate their losses for a landing in Japan at about 1 million soldiers, even if they have total superiority in the air and water. On their side the Japaneses are readying some 20 millions people to fight and this is without adding the civilians that will prefer to die fighting rather than being "slaved" by the Americans (this idea is increased by the existence of the Kamikazes). We can then estimate the human losses to a minimum of 5 millions people to take control of Japan. With the atomic bomb 100 000 people died: this is one tenth of the losses estimated for the Olympic and Coronet operations.
- the capitulation process has been greatly increased by the "atomic bomb" fact: the peace side is helped by this fact and it removes any honors or logic to continuing the fights until death.
- excepting the following radiations, the two atomic bombs are in fact only big bombs: they are accounted for only 3 percent of the total destruction of Japan.
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