HistoricalBackground

__** Historical Background **__

It all started in //Pearl Harbor//, December 7th, 1941 early in the morning.The United States decrypts a message from Japan, ending diplomatic relations. Only an hour later, they intercepted orders from Japan to attack. Roosevelt, president at the time, wasn't sure what to make of this information, and, while the American forces were still scrambling for information, the bombs fell on Pearl Harbor and the casualties began.

Naturally, the United States consulted with Britain and, on December 8th, 1941, they declared war on Japan. Of course, Germany was not far behind.

Two years before Pearl Harbor, Einstein sent a letter to President Roosevelt about his idea for a super weapon- the atomic bomb. In 1942- after the United States had been at war with Germany and Japan for a year- there was finally reason to pursue such a weapon. As a scientist himself, **Albert Einstein** came from Germany to inform the government of U.S. that Germany had pursued to make the bombs. He worked together with the head scientist of //The Manhattan Project//, **J. Robbert Oppenheimer,** to make and develop the atomic bombs.

The United States and Allied powers were fighting back Germany and their tyrant leader, the Manhattan Project's scientists tested and failed many atomic bomb the prototypes. Within three years of trial, error and more than two million dollars spent, the first successful atomic bomb was created and tested in Los Alamos, New Mexico.The choice to use the atomic bomb lurked above **President Truman's** head. The decision to bomb Germany is out of the question, as they have already fallen at the might of the Allied forces, leaving Japan as the only threat against the United States.

J. Robert Oppenheimer was chosen, "to direct what became known as Los Alamos Laboratory" (Astore 1). Oppenheimer, "fosterd a spirit of collaboration, camaradere, and open communication" (Astore 1). "At a cost of $2 billion, MANHATTAN project scientists and engineers had achieved the seemingly impossble-producing [two additional atomic bombs] by August 1945 that fundamentally changed the nature of warfare, vastly enlarging humanity's capacity for destruction" (Astore 2). The first one was a test so it was tested in Mexico and it was a success. Now, the decision to drop the bombs or not is up to President Truman or in this case, you.



One of the most destructive battle in the Pacific is the Battle of Iwo Jima. "Iwo Jima housed a large radar facility that gave Tokyo advance notice of impending air attacks" (Frisby 1). The Americans knew that this island is necessary to gain a foothold in Japan if they wanted to end the war with Japan. For the American Troops, the island's, "airstrips would provide emergency landing facilities for bombers returning from Japan and also allow U.S. fighters stationed there to escort bombers the entire length of their missions" (Frisby 1). So, the U.S commanders began Operation DETACHMENT to seize Iwo Jima. However, the Japanese knew that the Americans would try to capture it so, they were ready and prepared to fight a battle of attrition. Beginning in August 1944, the U.S troops, "subjected Iwo Jima to air strikes, and from December 8, the island came under daily attack" (Frisby 1). It wasn't until February 19, that the ground invasion of Iwo Jima began. The troops, "encounter Iwo Jima's coarse, black volcanic sand," finding it difficult to continue the invasion. The Japanese continued to fire artillery rounds at the U.S troops so, they had no choice but to fight inland. By March 26, 1945, "nearly 70,000 Marines had conquered most of the island, at a cost of approximately 6,500 dead and 20,000 wounded" (Frisby 2). They had fought through the kind of war in Iwo Jima but the result, now, gave the U.S. troops an upper hand in beating Japan. This island became an important base when the time came for the atomic bombs. Oppenheimer went to President Truman and informed him that the Manhattan Project was a success and tells him that the bombs are ready.