Lessons Learned: The Firebombing of Tokyo | Tokyo
Information | History | View | Sightseeing | Video
On March 9, 1945, B-29 bombers in the U.S. Air Force began dropping incendiary bombs on the city of Tokyo. This raid, known as "Operation Meetinghouse," caused incredible destruction, killing perhaps 100,000 people aand burning out fifteen square miles of the city. Incendiary bombings continued in the months to come, targeting other Japanese cities and killing hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians. James M. Lindsay, CFR's senior vice president and director of studies, says the firebombing of Tokyo should remind us of the destructive power of conventional weapons. During the war, he points out, conventional bombings accounted for far more civilian deaths in Japan than did the nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He argues that more recent conflicts, from the Rwandan genocide to fighting in Iraq, continue to illustrate the destructive power of conventional arsenals. This video is part of Lessons Learned, a series dedicated to exploring historical events and examining their meaning in the context of foreign relations today: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF2F38E5941910270&feature=plcp For more analysis from CFR's James M. Lindsay visit The Water's Edge blog: http://blogs.cfr.org/lindsay/
Comments
-
What's new? The world terrorist leader killed many people along the way..
-
Did everyone suddenly forget Nanking? or did that never happen and the US are the only bad guys?
-
Came here from Gaijin Goombah.
-
Unfortunately, the civilian population, in many cases, supports the military objectives of governments. In those cases, the civilian will to fight must be broken. Sherman's March to the Sea, Dresden, and Tokyo are all examples of breaking the will of the people to support their government's war. In the case of Japan, the emperor was simply not able to stand by and watch his people suffer any longer. The atom bomb probably did much less destruction to the population than the fire raids. But it was a huge psychological blow to the emperor, and it brought about the early end to the war, avoiding the horrible invasion that was to come.
-
Sponsoring this video is the CFR!!?? I wouldn't believe a fucking thing those haughty globalists spew.
-
What is the lesson of the bombings? Uh, don't start a war with a nation that has the potential to wipe you off the face of the Earth.
-
The role of any government is to minimize your own losses, while maximizing enemy's losses. Any people who say, that "we should've invade using ground troops", are soviet style war criminals. Soviet soldiers died by millions, because they were treated as cannon fodder. American government (despite whatever you may say about it) at least cares for its soldiers.
If I am a soldier I want my government to care for me, not for my enemy.
Not to mention that Japanese war crimes were even bigger than Hitler Germany ones. They fully deserved nuclear bombing, firebombings etc. Not to mention the fact, that Japanese still consider themselves 'superior race'. -
lol get rekt japan usa #1
-
The Japanese emperor Hirohito (1901 - 1989) was 100% responsible for this bombing, not American people. I live in Brazil.
-
We were hypocrites. FDR promised not to attack civilian populations.
-
Jim Lindsay doesn't blink.
-
2500 soldiers vs 1000000 civilians. It's not a crime if you have won.
-
The Doolittle Raid was extremely important to the war. It forced japan to try to spread their territory to the east instead of finishing their invasion of Indonesia and Australia. The Doolittle Raid led directly to Midway which was only 6 months after Pearl Harbor. Japan lost 4 carriers and most of their top pilots. Japan never won another major battle.The main reason for fire bombing Japanese cities was that Japan put their military production in the middle of the cities figuring that they wouldn't be bomb. Were they ever wrong.
-
Don't have to feel sorry for Japan.
-
morons. You say America was the biggest war criminal for bombing Japan, yet, they were the ones to bomb Pearl Harbor and start the war.
-
All you can eat!
-
serve them right.
-
Before any more asinine statements are made here, answer this question.....why haven't we (or anyone else) used nuclear weapons and/or firebombed a major city since World War II? We certainly would have ended the Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, etc. with one nuclear bomb or firebombing of cities quickly and neatly without great loss of American lives. I strongly suspect our leaders (and others) realized the inhumanity of targeting noncombatants. Action and words without careful thought only shows inherent stupidity, and possibly worse.
-
I learned to do it again
-
Shouldn't have started a war with half the world and refused to surrender when their cities were wooden. Dumbasses.