4 ms·
Yep, one of the reasons Hiroshima and Nagasaki were selected as targets was because they were one of the few major Japanese cities that /hadn't/ been firebombed
by christudor 12y ago
Yep, one of the reasons Hiroshima and Nagasaki were selected as targets was because they were one of the few major Japanese cities that /hadn't/ been firebombed in the preceding weeks. People forget that the deadliest 24 hours in the Second World War was not either of the atomic bombings (which killed c. 120,000 people), but the firebombing of Tokyo, which burned down 12 square miles of a city which had average population density of 100,000 people per square mile.
- pilsetnieks 12y agoAlso, Kyoto was one of the original targets but because of its cultural significance it was replaced with Nagasaki.
- gwern 12y agoThank goodness, though. The bombings were a bad idea, but at least they didn't bomb Kyoto!