Why did USA drop TWO atomic bombs on Japan?

The invasion of Japan's home islands was set for October/November 1945. The US would invade with

many more troops than in Normandy. 'Best' estimates were that ONE MILLION soldiers would die with

as many as 3/4 more wounded to take Honshu where Tokyo is. That excludes the other islands.

President Truman opted for the bombs. Once the decision was made to drop ONE dropping the other

was 'experimental' as much as Strategic. The Manhattan Project Scientists wanted to see what the

REAL effects were on a city.

Each mission had a LIST of cities to target. Hiroshima was bombed because the weather was near

perfect for aiming. On the second attack Nagasaki was an alternate target; the 'primary' was covered

with SMOKE and clouds. The Smoke was from earlier 'Firebomb' attacks that had blown across the

second A-bomb Primary target!

The bombs used were 'Gun Type' where conventional explosives 'shot' a mass of radioactive material

into a second mass causing immediate chain reaction explosion. The 'implosion' type was a 'semi-

critical' ball of Plutonium. When the outside layer of conventional explosives detonated the force

'compressed' the plutonium into 'dense, compacted' critical mass and the chain reaction went off.

After the surrender ""experts"" sent to assess the effects were surprised to learn that NEITHER bomb

produced the expected 'power' they were supposed to.

After the first bomb was dropped US planes dropped leaflets all over Japan stating that if Japan didn't surrender another bomb would be dropped. Three days later Japan hadn't surrendered so the second bomb was dropped. Even then it still took Japan 6 more days and the threat of a third bomb for Japan to finally surrender.

Because one was dropped on Hiroshima where all of the Japanese Military High Command were stationed and then the SECOND was dropped on the huge naval base in Nagasaki where the Allied troops would have to come from the south and strike Nagasaki, the huge naval base. The shock and destruction of the atomic bombs, ended up saving lives in the long run.---- The U.S.struck out the LEADERSHIP stationed in Hiroshima and the HUGE NAVAL BASE at Nagasaki.---I had the opportunity to live for a year in Fukuoka, Japan, (on the Southern island of Japan, some miles from Nagasaki for a year in 1955, when my husband was stationed there while in the U.S. Army, and I did as much research as I could re the war.-----I had never heard the idea (above) that the US had planned on only the first bomb--as the U.S. wanted to neutralize the LEADERSHIP, AND THE HUGE NAVAL BASE at the southern end of Kyushu--where the U.S. and Allied troops would have to strike first.--- I was born in 1929, and learned to read the newspapers as the Second World War developed, and followed the news closely as I learned to read. Later, as a young adult, I was able to live in Fukuoka, Japan, for a year when my husband's Army Unit was stationed there, in 1955. I tried to learn more when there...but it was too "touchy" of a subject, so I didn't "push it!" The Japanese people were all very eager to practice their English with me, but we all stayed "away" from talking about the war!

A couple of reasons:

1. Japan invaded Singapore (my home) and various parts of China-many of which are friends of USA.

2. Japan attacked Pearl Harbour ( a USA harbour ).

3. Japan was not scared by the first bomb ( Dr Strangelove alternate title)

I can add that had Japan NOT surrendered, a THIRD atomic bomb was to be dropped on Tokyo itself. Then our immediate stockpile of atomic weapons would've been used up until more could be produced, but whether or not Stalin knew that is unclear. Thanx.

In short, the Soviets were about to launch a full attack on Japan. Seeing how cemented the Soviets were in Germany, Truman had no interest in seing a repeat on Japanese soil.

That was the real geopolitical reason why the bomb was used.

Why two? Because the Japanese military had not surrendered yet. The Emperor had to personally intervene to bring the war to an end.

Only after the second a-bomb on Nagasaki did Japan make serious overtures towards surrender. Note also that that hundreds of American and British bomber aircraft, and dozens of American warships, had been pounding Japanese cities for several weeks (months?) before the a-bomb on Hiroshima, with vast loss of life and destruction to buildings and war factories etc, and that did not result in any hint of surrender by the Japanese military high command.

They would have dropped a third bomb on Aug 19 if there was no surrender.

They were showing their strength and that they couldn't be opposed, why they hit civilian targets goes back to the promises the Japanese Government made that the homeland would not be hit (same reason as the Doolittle raids much earlier).

One bomb says we can make these things, the second says "Yes we can make more than ONE"

Only after the second a-bomb on Nagasaki did Japan make serious overtures towards surrender.“It was Truman who made the difficult decision to drop the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, the rationale being that only such a devastating, horrendous display of destructive power would convince Japan that it had to surrender. Truman also made the decision to drop the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, the rationale being, hey, we had another bomb.” – Dave Barry

The Japanese were not ready to surrender because their military code Bushido forbid surrender. It was more honorable to commit harikari than to surrender. Because of this code very few Japanese soldiers became prisoners and they despised any enemy who surrendered and treated prisoners harsher than any other participants in the war. And also they were planning to fight to the last man so an invasion would have been very costly. Though the two bombs took lives it saved many more than it took by ending the war before it was necessary to invade the Japanese homeland.