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Article: A-Bombs Left Top Councils Of Japan Split; Military Pressed the Fight; Civilians Persuaded Hirohito Series: REMEMBERING WORLD WAR II Series Number: 2/2
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- July 17, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Three days after a U.S. B-29 dropped the first atomic bomb on
Hiroshima nearly 50 years ago, instantly killing about 65,000 people
and destroying the city, the Japanese army's chief of staff assured a
Supreme War Council meeting in Tokyo that his troops could turn back
an invading American force and get better terms than the
unconditional surrender demanded by the Allies.
After the Aug. 9, 1945, meeting began in the prime minister's bomb
shelter, an officer interrupted Gen. Yoshijiro Umezu to announce that
the United States had dropped a second nuclear weapon, on Nagasaki.
Nonetheless, Umezu continued: "I can say with confidence that we will
be able to destroy the major part of an invading ...