5 A mushroom cloud rose above Nagasaki Japan after a US bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the city CHAPTER ONE MAKING HISTORY By the summer of 1945 World War II had been raging for nearly six years But the Allied forces including the United States the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union had begun to take control Germany had surrendered on the European front Japan’s leaders knew they couldn’t win in the Pacific But still they refused to give up
US President Harry S Truman Truman’s Options US President Harry S Truman had a tough decision before him The Soviet Union had joined the Allies fighting in Europe in 1941 But the Soviets had not yet declared war on Japan Truman knew that their help could make all the difference But for the moment Soviet leaders remained undecided 6
A Warning Some historians think that the United States had two goals in dropping the atomic bombs on Japan The first was to end the war as quickly as possible But the United States also might have wanted to show the Soviet Union the power of its military Relations between the two countries were declining around this time When the United States bombed Japan it showed the Soviets that it had a weapon of mass destruction and that its leaders would use the weapon if necessary 7 Truman also knew that he could invade Japan That might help end the war But at what cost More than 55,000 Americans had already died fighting the Japanese An invasion would mean even more casualties And it would extend the war But Japanese Emperor Hirohito was refusing to surrender Ending the War Truman’s top concern was to end the war as soon as possible Doing so would save the lives of many American soldiers Truman also had access to the most powerful weapon the world had ever seen The atomic bomb had only recently become ready for use This nuclear weapon was thousands of
