Diplomatic in Word War 2

Introduction

World War II was a disastrous, worldwide problem that affected every portion of the earth. After VE Day in Europe, the war proceeded for over three months, until VJ Day in mid-August of 1945. This war in Japan finished a short time after the nuclear bombing of two cities in Japan. Nonetheless, the decision to drop a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima was a diplomatic measure calculated to intimidate the Soviet Union in the post-Second World War period, rather than a strictly military measure designed to force Japan's unequivocal surrender.

Diplomatic Intentions in World War II

The United States, at the time of the bombing of Hiroshima, was led by Harry S. Truman, who had been thrust into the position of leadership by the passing of Roosevelt. The nuking was almost three months to the day after the defeat of Germany in Europe. This date is of real significance when considering the connection between the dropping of the bomb and the impact on Russia, due to part of the agreements made at the Yalta Conference. The Yalta Conference was a meeting of the "Big Three" – the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain – to discuss plans for winning the war. At this meeting, the Soviet Union promised to start helping in the fight in the Pacific Theatre three months after the defeat of Germany. At that time, there was no acknowledgment of whether a nuclear bomb was even possible and especially if it could be made in time for use as an offensive device in the war.

The way the date was set up for this nuking, only two days before the Red Army was to participate in the war, seems to indicate that the US dropped the bomb to end the war without the need for assistance from the Soviets. Japan, at the time of the bombing in Hiroshima, was a nation in chaos. The bombing runs of the Allies had destroyed more than 2 million homes, and a great part of the Japanese industry had already been destroyed (Document B). In 1945, James Byrnes knew "that Japan was essentially defeated and that [the US] could win the war in another six months" (Document F). Both these documents suggest that the dropping of a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima was not necessary as a purely military strategy. Japan had been fighting a two-front war against China and the US for three years, and with mine emplacements preventing necessary supplies from arriving (Document B), numerous industries were unable to produce the tools required for the Japanese forces to continue fighting. Based on this data, Japan was already on the verge of defeat, and it was not necessary to drop the bomb as a strictly military measure.

The US did not want the Soviet Union to enter the war in Japan. According to General Eisenhower, the reports transmitting the battleground showed the "imminence of Japan’s collapse," and the United States "ought not to put ourselves in the position of requesting or begging for Soviet aid" (Document C). The US was reluctant to involve Russian interest in the war against Japan (Document E).

Political Strategy and Post-War Concerns

This reluctance was driven by multiple factors; one reason was the fear that the Soviets would seek to extend their communist ideology into the region of China as well as Eastern European countries. The US government was "concerned about the spreading of Russian influence in Europe" (Document F) if the Red Army joined US forces in an assault on the mainland of Japan. As Churchill recalled in 1953, the Russians were not expected to win the war. This indicates the bomb was used to control the spread of Russian influence in Europe and Asia. The US chose to use the bomb not as a simple military action against Japan, but rather as a tool to intimidate the Soviet Union in the post-WWII period. The timing of the bombing, the state of Japan before the attack, and the desire by the US to curb Russian influence in Europe all demonstrate that it was not a military strategy, but rather a political tactic.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while the use of nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked a significant turning point in warfare, the decision was deeply rooted in diplomatic and political considerations. The US sought to assert its dominance in the post-war world and limit Soviet influence in both Europe and Asia. This perspective offers a more nuanced understanding of the motivations behind the use of atomic bombs during World War II.