Was the Hiroshima bombng a good thing to do?

Answer 1

Probably. As one Japanese general pointed out after the war, "If we had it we would certainly have used it". Using the simple calculus of the death toll anticipated from an invasion of Japan's home islands, the Hiroshima/Nagasaki casualties were very small in comparison. On the other hand, Japan might have surrendered in any case. From the evidence of Japanese preparations for invasion, this is highly unlikely, and an invasion would have resulted in about a million American casualties and tens of millions of Japanese casualties. From a personal point of view, as the descendant of member of the US Marine 1st Division, it was a very good thing, because that division was one of the spearhead divisions for the planned 1946 invasion, and it's men would have suffered near 100% casualties. From the perspective of the terrifying nuclear age that began with Hiroshima and Nagasaki , it was a tragedy.