I have written the history of World War II and the Pacific War in two parts, but this time I would like to write about the process by which Japan lost the war in the Pacific War.
The beginning of the American attack on the mainland
April 18, 1942 The first air raid on Japan by the US military, the bombing of Tokyo by 16 B25 bombers, has begun. After that, the air raids stopped, but the American B29 bomber With the completion of production, the mainland attack will begin in earnest in November 1944.
US Army Movement
The United States is Saipan, Tinian, Guam occupied by Japan. After regaining, these three islands were used as bases for air strikes on the mainland of Japan. 1000 B29 aircraft at the Mariana base in northern Tinian Has been deployed and will bomb Tokyo many times.
The targets of the US airstrikes were Tokyo, Kawasaki, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe . was. At that time, munitions factories and military facilities were concentrated in this city, so it seems that they were targeted for bombing.
To win the battle, it is a standard to steal the opponent's weapon.
To that end, it was necessary to target cities where military facilities were concentrated.
However, as the battlefield progresses, it will also attack urban areas with residential areas. The purpose was to attack the residential areas where the Ministry of Labor lives a lot, lead to labor shortages, and discourage war.
The bombing of the city area is to bomb evenly like carpets, so [ indiscriminate carpet attack ] Was called. Residential areas were also targeted by the bombing, causing much damage to the general public.
Intensifying air raids
March 9, 1945 A large-scale air raid by the US military began from midnight to early dawn on the 10th. 300 fighters that appeared over Tokyo will drop bombs around downtown Tokyo. The bombing killed about 100,000 people, killed about 1 million people and burned 270,000 homes.
This amount of civilian damage in a short period of time was the second largest after the atomic bombing in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Furthermore, the bombing continued for two days on May 24th and 25th, Shibuya / Shinjuku / Meguro-ku . Half of the city was burned down by a large-scale bombing of the Yamanote area.
These air raids were repeated, and by the end of the war, there were about 130 bombings that hit Tokyo. Of course, during that time, not only in Tokyo, but also in Nagoya, Osaka, and Hamamatsu Also followed by large-scale air strikes. By the end of the war, about 200 cities, towns and villages were hit by air raids nationwide, and 67 cities were devastated.
The U.S. military has launched 33,000 fighters, including the B29, dropped bombs, etc. amounted to 160,000 tons, and the casualties are said to be about 600,000.
In this way, Japan was hit by air raids in many cities, but was excluded from the attack because only Kyoto has many important cultural properties sleeping. Therefore, for Kyoto, wartime means [Onin War].
https://rekisi-daisuki.com/entry/2016-11-09-205430
To Okinawa ground battle ...
What you must know in this Pacific War is Okinawa Ground War is.
Until today, the base problem has led to the ground battle at this time.
In August 1944, mass evacuation began in Okinawa ahead of the mainland.
At this time, a schoolchild who was evacuated from Okinawa to the mainland was carried [ Tsushima Maru . ] Was sunk by the attack of a US military submarine. This event means that the US military is already ready to launch a submarine attack in the waters near Japan.
March 26, 1945 The US military landed from the Kerama Islands west of the main island of Okinawa To do.
Over the next three months, the place of life of the inhabitants will become a battlefield and a tragic battle will be fought. Many boys and girls, such as the cornered residents, the Himeyuri students, and the Tekketsu Kinnōtai, have [ group self-determination . ] The tragedy to do was born.
Eventually, June 23 Systematic resistance continued in Okinawa until Commander Mitsuru Ushijima decided to commit suicide. At the end of the Pacific War, Okinawa was at the forefront of landing defense on the mainland and suffered great damage.
Atomic bomb drop and Potsdam Declaration
Due to repeated large air raids and ground battles in Okinawa, the whole of Japan was completely wounded.
In the United States, as a means of driving Japan into surrender, [Mainland Japan landing operation] [Atomic bomb drop] [Soviet Union participation in Japan] I was considering.
Italy 1943 Unconditionally surrendered after Mussolini's dismissal, May 1945 Nazi Germany surrenders Did. Under such circumstances, from July 17th to August 2nd, in Potsdam, a suburb of Berlin, the leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union talked about postwar processing [ Potsdam Conference . ] Was done.
During the meeting, President Truman of the United States, Prime Minister Churchill of the United Kingdom and President Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China made a joint statement [ Unconditional Surrender of All Japanese Army 】 Potsdam Declaration consisting of 13 articles Was issued.
Formally, final declaration of surrender request to Japan So, in honor of the three countries that issued the declaration, [ US-UK-China Tripartite Joint Declaration ] It is also said. In response to this Potsdam Declaration, Japan did not accept it due to its stance of a thorough fight.
This refusal to declare became the cause of the dropping of the atomic bomb, August 6, 1945 . Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima Was done. As many as 140,000 people were killed in Hiroshima City.
August 9 In, the Soviet Union unilaterally abolished the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty and invaded Manchuria, the Korean Peninsula, and South Karafuto. In response to this, Japan will hold a meeting to accept the Potsdam Declaration, but Nagasaki will also drop the atomic bomb . In response to the news, we will move toward accepting the Potsdam Declaration at once.
Then, on August 15, 1945, the Jewel Voice Broadcast of the End of the Great East Asia War Rescript, which informs the people of Japan's surrender in the Pacific War, was broadcast on the radio. In Japan, this Jewel Voice Broadcast was August 15 End of War Officially, World War II (Pacific War) Ended on September 2nd, when the surrender text was signed It will be the thing.