Chapter 4: The Direct Effects of Bombing

The main attack from the air began on June 15, 1944. Some factories were bombed but with not much damage.

The Japanese, though, were beginning to wake up to the fact that they weren't so invulnerable after all.

March 9, 1945 brought the war home to those in the capital city of Tokyo, though, with a massive firebombing attack by the U.S.

From March 9 to 18, four major cities experienced the same type of firebombing. 32 square miles of those cities were destroyed.

The attacks continued until 102 square miles of cities were pretty much totally destroyed.

Once the biggest cities had been hit hard, then it was the turn of the smaller cities to feel the air attacks.

It was hoped that the massive air raids would eventually force Japan to surrender.

66 cities were attack with an average destruction of 43% of each city, the highest being 90% of one of the cities.

Almost 70% of the Japanese population experienced the bombing in one way or another.

It is logical to assume that a lot of people decided that the cities were not the healthiest place to be. Some 8,500,000 people fled the cities to countryside places.

The best way to find out the effects was to ask the people.

This chart has the results.

Another chart relating to the bombing.

The anticipation of being bombed also caused the fear level to rise.

There were superstitious ways used to prevent being hurt by the bombs.

The only practical solution for the people seemed to be to escape the cities.

When the bombs fell people ran to shelters and didn't really help to try to put out the fires.

Some got used to the raids, some didn't.

A chart of the results.

The fear rose as the number of attacks and the power of them increased.

The people were much more afraid of night attacks than day attacks.

What kinds of bombings people feared.

The people blamed the leaders for what was happening.

A chart looking at that very thing.

Many felt Japan itself was responsible.

There was nothing set up to protect the people from air raids.

The government abdicated its role in trying to protect its own citizens from the bombing.

There was no major attempt to use planes to resist the attacks (only a very few of them could get to t he height that the B-29's flew out anyhow.)

The vast majority felt that the air raid protections were inadequate.

Some plans had been made to help people after the bombings but the effort wasn't big enough.

All this helped to reduce people's confidence in how the war was going.

A report from the thought police.

The air raids brought the war home to the civilians who had figured nothing America could do would actually touch them.

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