Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Mushroom clouds over Hiroshima (left) and Nagasaki (right)

On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear weapons, killing around 200,000 civilians. It was the only time nuclear weapons have ever been used in warfare. In 1946, the U.S. Department of War admitted that the bombings were not necessary and that Japan would have surrendered in 1945 without either the bombings or a ground invasion. General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower also opposed the bombings.