Did the U.S. really understand how much damage the atomic bomb would cause?
Estimates of the damage that would be caused varied a great deal. That was one reason why Hiroshima and Nagasaki were among the short list of Japanese cities identified as potential targets. They had been relatively unscathed up to that point, so the effects of an atomic bomb would be more easily gauged in those cities. 6) Some feel it hastened the end of the war, while others felt it entirely unnecessary. How does history view the destruction of Nagaski now, 65 years later? The effects of the bombings is highly controversial to this day. Some argue that conventional means (strategic bombing, naval blockade, etc.) would have forced the Japanese to capitulate. Others argue that it was the declaration of War by the Soviet Union on August 8, 1945, and the subsequent attack by the Soviets on the Kurile Islands that proved most decisive in causing the Japanese to surrender. I tend to believe that these factors, while important, were not as significant in the Japanese decision as were the tw
