• As the Japanese forces were losing the Second World War, Russian and U.S. forces began to move closer to the Japanese mainland.
• However Japan would likely not surrender until totally defeated, thus leading to the deaths of thousands of more soldiers.
• Thus the U.S. who had been developing the atomic bomb decided to use it on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on the 6th of August 1945.
• This was to end the war quickly and show off the strength of the U.S., threatening the Soviet Union.

• Japan planned to surrender after this bombing due to the immense destruction it had caused but they wanted to make sure that the Emperor Hirohito would not face trial due to the humiliation it would cause (as the emperor was seen as divine).
• However this led to a misunderstanding (likely due to poor translation or other problems), and the U.S. sent another atomic bomb to the city of Nagasaki in the 9th of August 1945.
• The bombs caused a total of 129,000 to 229,000 people, and it is still the only example of nuclear weapons being used in an armed conflict.
• The bombings caused Japan to surrender, finally ending the Second World War.