In the months leading up to the Allies being on Japan’s doorstep however there was Okinawa. After 80 days of fighting there, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians were dead or dying. The bloodshed there was seen by US generals as a precursor to an even more deadly engagement on the Japanese homeland. You know what happens next.
In this, the penultimate instalment of the In Focus 20-part series on World War 2 we see the fall of Imperial Japan. It was hastened into being by the dropping of two of the most devastating nuclear weapons ever used in a time of war. [In Focus]
attila
Monday, October 24, 2011 at 3:35 PM“two of the most devastating nuclear weapons ever used in a time of war”
So there have been other nuclear weapons used in a war which were less devastating? ;-)
Liam
Monday, October 24, 2011 at 4:25 PMThis is something that gets me. For all the attention heaped on the nuclear bombs, correct me if I’m wrong, far more destruction and death was being wrought through the carpet/firebombing of Japanese cities by Lemay. Not saying that nuclear warfare isn’t terrible, it is, but then war is terrible.
olearymo
Monday, October 24, 2011 at 5:09 PMFair point Liam – but human brains and emotion tend to respond depending on ‘bang for buck’ kind of events, if you’ll pardon my insensitive sounding term. I mean, more people may die from car accidents than an earthquake, but which gets more attention (I don’t just mean from news services, I mean from our minds).
Same as the whole ‘scared to fly but happy to cross the road’ phenomenon I guess.
WhiteDaemon666
Monday, October 24, 2011 at 6:44 PMI agree. I think that the simultaneous death caused by a single explosion is just more terrifying.
To put it another way would you rather be zapped by a 1.5V AA battery 1500 times, or once by 2250V?
Scott
Monday, October 24, 2011 at 6:53 PMAgree with both of you.
I also feel its the insidious and “unseen” threat from radiation/fallout that can destroy peoples lives years later and destroy the lives or their yet to be born children that that gets to people. Its like the fear you might feel towards poisonous snakes and spiders. Its that idea that they can can cause terrible and painful harm to your body from the inside that you cant do much about once it has been initiated.
Then again I could be way off the mark. ;)