What was the US plan for ending the Pacific War? The Manhattan Project What was the US plan for ending the Pacific War?

II. Developing the A-Bomb A. 1939: Germans begin work on atomic bomb (a-bomb) B. 1940: FDR authorizes a secret plan, “Manhattan Project” to build an A-bomb 1. Led by Gen. Leslie R. Groves & physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer & developed at Los Alamos Ntl Lab in New Mexico 2. could release more energy than 20,000 tons of TNT 3. 07/16/45: “Trinity Test”- 1st bomb called “Gadget” was tested (Alamogordo, NM) Trinity Test

Pros & Cons of dropping the Atomic Bomb For Pros & Cons of dropping the Atomic Bomb Against The two targeted cities would have been firebombed anyway Firebombing not as bad as the radiation from an atomic bomb Japanese would not quit, wanted to fight to the death including kamikazes Japan was ready to call it quits. home islands were being blocked so they couldn’t get anything Invasion of Japan would have caused more casualties than the death toll at Hiroshima & Nagasaki Casulaties due to invasion would have mostly been military and not civilian Japan was warned to surrender or face destruction and did not Japan would surrender with right terms, one bomb could have been used in Tokyo Harbor as a demo The bomb's use impressed Soviet Union enough that they did not demand joint occupation of Japan Civilians were sacrificed simply for power politics between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

4. Second bomb was named “Little Boy” C. August 6, 1945: B-29 (bombing plane) named the Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy” on the city of Hiroshima, Japan D. Japan doesn’t surrender. Three days later, a B-29 named Bockscar dropped the third bomb named “Fat Man” on Nagasaki, Japan E. Japan surrenders on August 14th, 1945