Truman's Atomic Bomb Decision. An Attack on Japan's Center of Gravity.

Abstract

Truman's decision to use nuclear weapons to end the War in the Pacific is the subject of much debate. The purpose of this paper is to look at the debate between traditional and revisionist historian views on the subject and gain a better understanding of Truman's decision. The paper shows support for the theory that Truman's decision was appropriate because it was his best available option. It also shows that the Atom bomb actually attacked Japan's center of gravity, the will of the elite Japanese leadership team who administered the war. It did this while at the same time protecting what had become the United States center of gravity by the end of the War--the will of the people of the United States to continue a protracted, costly war.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 07, 1996
Accession Number
ADA308515

Entities

People

  • Jerry D. Johnson

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Bombs
  • Center Of Gravity
  • Fission
  • Governments
  • New York
  • Nuclear Bombs
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Personnel Management
  • Prisoners Of War
  • Second World War
  • United States
  • Ussr
  • War
  • War Colleges
  • Weapons

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.