Why did U.S. choose Hiro. and Nagasaki as targets for 1945 A-bombs, instead of Tokyo??

Answer 1

the idea was to scare the Japanese military regime into surrendering, convincing them that fighting to the "glorious" death would be futile. the intent was never to lop the head off the snake, to kill Japan's government and emperor. also, we wanted to send a message to the Soviet Union, telling them to back off with their blasted Communist Imperialist policies. the bombs were dropped to scare, not to kill (excessively; if you think about 120,000 total dead isn't that much from 2 nukes compared to other bombings of WW2; not to be totally indifferent to loss of life or anything).

Answer 2

You must remember the purpose of war is NOT to kill people.
The purpose of war is to FORCE the Enemy to do YOUR will.
You make his life so horrible that he will do whatever you say just so you will STOP. Based that, the Atomic Bomb as used was the best available weapon to end the war QUICKLY. The Estimates of Allied Casualties for a Invasion of the Japanese Home Islands ran into the MILLIONS!!!
Given that the choice of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was based off of various reasons some of which are:
1 Tokyo was the center of the Japanese Political and Command System. If we wiped out all the Commanders or the Emperor, No one would be left to Surrender.
2 If we killed the Emperor the chances of a Final Suicidal Defense of Japan and a Unwillingness to Surrender goes way up.
3 Both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were Industrial Centers, as much as any industry was left in Japan.
4 We really didn't know what we were dealing with in terms of just what sort of weapon we had created. The creators knew what they had, but the Military Command didn't in fact Gen Marshall once ask about using Atomic Bombs to clear a beach so his troops could conduct a Landing on Japan.

Answer 3

Early in the development of the weapons, four cities were selected as possible targets including Tokyo. As the war progressed, Tokyo was bombed repeatedly as was a second city but Hiroshima and Nagasaki were spared for military/scientific reasons.
The US Military/Scientific/Industrial complex needed pristine cities for bomb effects assessments. The people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had no idea they were the subjects of a monstrous experiment. The US wanted to see exactly the amount of destruction of property and human life the bombs could achieve. They lived normal lives and actually thought they were blessed by God to have not been bombed while all the cities of their size were systematical destroyed by the US air fleets.
Cruel and evil by today's standards, but necessary to the minds of 1945 to end the war before an invasion and millions of more lives lost.

Answer 4

Tokyo had already been leveled by incendiary bombing prior to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The fire storm produced by that bombing killed more people than died at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Hiroshima was a prime target because it was a military city. Nagasaki was the third target of three on the list because cloud cover over the other two cities interfered with proper aiming of the bomb.

Answer 5

i read that Hiroshima was chosen for 2 reasons. It had NOT been bombed before, it was a Military town. They wanted to see what the effect of the bomb would be on a city that had no other damage from bombings. The second was if I recall correctly it was more or less a horseshoe shaped city and they wanted to see how the bomb would effect that type of a target.. Not sure about Nagasaki was chosen I seem to recall it was the clearest weather wise of the targets chosen for that day.

Answer 6

Why did we not use Tokyo for an A-bomb "demonstration"... because the Empirial PALACE and the Emperor was in Tokyo !!

YES we'd firebombed the city, but the Palace was NEVER targeted... and an A-Bomb would have hit the Palace... perhaps creating a "Martyr" for the Japanese.

I've visited Nagasaki twice, and though I was a special-wep load master, I pray we NEVER use them again.

Answer 7

They targeted relatively intact cities with miltary value to evaluate the blast damage accurately. Tokyo had already been firebombed and they also did not want to devastate or render useless for many years Japan's capital city which they would need after the war for reconstruction efforts. They wanted to minimize any vengeful feelings in the Japanese for doing this to their capital. The American nuclear scientists were not sure of what the long term damage would be.

Answer 8

Primarily for some reason the US politicians, not the military, decided that Japan's Emperor Hirohito had his palace in Tokyo, and we did not want to further irritate the Japanese by possibly killing the Emperor, who was revered by the Japanese, as their "god". Beside I believe that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were prime military targets.

Answer 9

If I understand correctly, the cities selected did have to do with targeting industry; specifically, Nagasaki had a big Mitsubishi plant that helped build the Japanese airforce.

Answer 10

the objective Committee at Los Alamos on could 10–11, 1945, suggested Kyoto, Hiroshima, Yokohama, and the arsenal at Kokura as achievable targets. The committee rejected using the weapon against a strictly militia purpose through possibility of lacking a small objective no longer surrounded via a greater robust city section. The psychological outcomes on Japan have been of super magnitude to the committee contributors. in addition they agreed that the preliminary use of the weapon could desire to be sufficiently concepts-blowing for its magnitude to be the international over known. The committee felt Kyoto, as an psychological midsection of Japan, had a inhabitants "greater advantageous waiting to get exhilaration from the magnitude of the weapon." Hiroshima replaced into chosen through fact of its super length, its being "an important military depot" and the potential that the bomb might reason greater advantageous destruction through fact the city replaced into surrounded via hills which might have a "focusing result". Secretary of conflict Henry L. Stimson struck Kyoto from the checklist through fact of its cultural magnitude, over the objections of everyday Leslie Groves, head of the ny undertaking. in accordance to Professor Edwin O. Reischauer, Stimson "had everyday and fashionable Kyoto ever on condition that his honeymoon there numerous many years until now." On July 25 everyday Carl Spaatz replaced into ordered to bomb between the targets: Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata, or Nagasaki as quickly after August 3 as climate approved and the relax cities as added weapons became attainable. regardless of the incontrovertible fact that they surrendered previously we bombed greater targets. Hiroshima and Nagasaki, basically got here approximately to be the 1st 2 attainable targets through climate.