- 07 Mar 2018 01:38
#14894171
At present, Japan is the most important strategic, economic and political ally of the United States. Tokyo places great hopes on these relations and, despite its vassal status, seeks to fulfill all demands of Washington. Given the huge number of Japanese civilians killed in the American bombing in World War II, such friendly relations between the two countries are suggestive.
It is not just about the nuclear bombing of Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. The US military operation "Meetinghouse", which is hardly discussed in Japan, is perhaps one of the cruelest episodes of the war in the history of mankind. Moreover, it was planned and implemented by the USA, the best ally of Tokyo at present.
Preparation for the operation were the previous bombing of the Land of the Rising Sun. Japanese cities were being bombed by US aircraft since April 18, 1942. It was then that the first air raids on Yokohama and Tokyo took place. Later, on June 15, 1944,47 American aircraft bombed Japan. Washington quickly recognized the ineffectiveness of such sorties: many aircraft simply did not reach the site of the bombings, crashed, some of the pilots were captured.
The transfer of American airbases to Guam, Saipan and Tinian solved the problem of the range of flights. The development of a new tactic to eliminate as many Japanese as possible was undertaken by the Commander-in-Chief of the US Air Force General Curtis LeMay. It was he who led the operation, code-named "Meetinghouse".
Following the tactics chosen by the general, aircraft had to fly three lines and drop bombs every 15 meters, which provided the greatest probability of hitting the target. Aircraft dropped containers with a chemical fluid in addition to bombs for maximum efficiency. This caustic viscous fluid gave off a pungent black smoke, causing suffocation, in addition, napalm practically did not succumb to extinguishing.
The operation was decided to be conducted on the night of 9 to 10 March 1945. 334 bombers flew from the Mariana Islands. Three squadrons of twelve bombers dropped the first canisters with an incendiary mixture at certain points. The fires were connected to fire crosses, serving as a landmark for the next three hundred aircraft. According to Japanese data, about 300,000 people were killed because of a two-hour bombardment.
The calculation of the Americans was accurate: close-standing wooden buildings quickly ignited, and thanks to the northeasterly wind, the separate fires were combined into a huge fire. People had nowhere to run. According to eyewitnesses, the water in Sumida River became hot. During the bombing, 41 square kilometers of the city were destroyed, 330,000 houses burned down.
According to a public poll conducted by Populus, 61% of respondents expect Americans to apologize for the events of 1945. 74% of respondents believe that the attack can not be justified by war. They emphasized that during the bombing many civilians were killed.
At the same time, only 11% of Japanese considered that it was not necessary to apologize for military actions. About 30% doubted their answer.
Everything that reminds about those terrible events for today in Japan is a museum and a memorial. Despite the huge sacrifices incurred in the course of the US operation, Tokyo does not like to remember this and prefers to keep silent about the sad page of Japanese history, indulging its best ally, the United States.
It is not just about the nuclear bombing of Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. The US military operation "Meetinghouse", which is hardly discussed in Japan, is perhaps one of the cruelest episodes of the war in the history of mankind. Moreover, it was planned and implemented by the USA, the best ally of Tokyo at present.
Preparation for the operation were the previous bombing of the Land of the Rising Sun. Japanese cities were being bombed by US aircraft since April 18, 1942. It was then that the first air raids on Yokohama and Tokyo took place. Later, on June 15, 1944,47 American aircraft bombed Japan. Washington quickly recognized the ineffectiveness of such sorties: many aircraft simply did not reach the site of the bombings, crashed, some of the pilots were captured.
The transfer of American airbases to Guam, Saipan and Tinian solved the problem of the range of flights. The development of a new tactic to eliminate as many Japanese as possible was undertaken by the Commander-in-Chief of the US Air Force General Curtis LeMay. It was he who led the operation, code-named "Meetinghouse".
Following the tactics chosen by the general, aircraft had to fly three lines and drop bombs every 15 meters, which provided the greatest probability of hitting the target. Aircraft dropped containers with a chemical fluid in addition to bombs for maximum efficiency. This caustic viscous fluid gave off a pungent black smoke, causing suffocation, in addition, napalm practically did not succumb to extinguishing.
The operation was decided to be conducted on the night of 9 to 10 March 1945. 334 bombers flew from the Mariana Islands. Three squadrons of twelve bombers dropped the first canisters with an incendiary mixture at certain points. The fires were connected to fire crosses, serving as a landmark for the next three hundred aircraft. According to Japanese data, about 300,000 people were killed because of a two-hour bombardment.
The calculation of the Americans was accurate: close-standing wooden buildings quickly ignited, and thanks to the northeasterly wind, the separate fires were combined into a huge fire. People had nowhere to run. According to eyewitnesses, the water in Sumida River became hot. During the bombing, 41 square kilometers of the city were destroyed, 330,000 houses burned down.
According to a public poll conducted by Populus, 61% of respondents expect Americans to apologize for the events of 1945. 74% of respondents believe that the attack can not be justified by war. They emphasized that during the bombing many civilians were killed.
At the same time, only 11% of Japanese considered that it was not necessary to apologize for military actions. About 30% doubted their answer.
Everything that reminds about those terrible events for today in Japan is a museum and a memorial. Despite the huge sacrifices incurred in the course of the US operation, Tokyo does not like to remember this and prefers to keep silent about the sad page of Japanese history, indulging its best ally, the United States.