Okinawa’s ferocity convinced the US atomic bombs was necessary

The atomic bombs dropped on Japan had massive human costs

The US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 killed around 210,000 people—more than 38,000 of them estimated to be children—with tens of thousands more later dying from radiation-linked illnesses, leaving lifelong trauma and increased cancer risks.

The first atomic bomb used in war destroyed much of the Japanese city of Hiroshima

On August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay dropped the Little Boy atomic bomb on Hiroshima—the first combat use of a nuclear weapon. It leveled five square miles and killed tens of thousands, with accounts from both American and Japanese witnesses.

Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor caused heavy losses but failed to cripple the US navy

Japan’s air assault sank or damaged 18 warships (including eight battleships) and destroyed 188 aircraft, killing 2,403 Americans, yet all three Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers were absent and survived, and vital infrastructure like oil depots and repair yards remained intact—preserving core US naval power and enabling a rapid recovery. Watch original reporting here.

A list of reasons against dropping the bomb on Japan

One of the perennial moral debates, the dropping of nuclear bombs on Japanese cities prompted strong, polarizing reactions at the time. This article breaks down one side of the argument: that the bomb was designed for defense, using it was illegal and racist, and that there were alternatives.

The Battle of Midway flipped the balance of power in Pacific naval dominance

Between June 4–7, 1942, U.S. carrier-based aircraft, aided by broken Japanese codes and radar detection, ambushed and sank all four Japanese fleet carriers while losing only one, decisively undermining Japan's offensive capacity and marking the turning point in the Pacific War.

World War II's Battle of Savo Island was the worst wartime naval defeat in US history

On Aug. 9, 1942, a larger, radar-equipped Allied fleet lost four heavy cruisers off Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater without sinking a single Japanese ship. The Navy kept the humiliating rout secret from the public for years. Experts argued failure resulted from fractured command, not inferior arms or ships.

US intelligence failures contributed to the success of the Japanese attack

Despite breaking Japan’s diplomatic codes, US agencies failed to integrate warnings, successfully track Japan’s carriers, or even believe a Hawaii strike was possible (they also had not cracked Japan’s naval codes). Missed signals, ignored reports and poor coordination led to one of the worst intelligence failures in US history.

Learn how Japan used the jet stream to launch attacks on US soil during World War II

In the final two years of the war, over 9,000 Fu-Go balloon bombs were launched from Japan, with about a thousand estimated to have reached North America. Six civilians killed by a Fu-Go bomb in Bly, Oregon, on May 5, 1945, became the only known deaths on American soil by enemy action during the war.

A single bomb on the USS Arizona killed 1,177 crew members in seconds

When a Japanese armor-piercing bomb triggered the explosion of the USS Arizona’s forward magazine during the attack, the blast killed 1,177 crew members within moments—accounting for nearly half of all American deaths at Pearl Harbor.

The attacks prompted a quick jump in American public support for war

In a Gallup poll taken days after the attack, an extraordinary 97% of Americans approved Congress declaring war on Japan—reflecting overwhelming national unity in the wake of the strike.

The US asked Japan to leave China less than two weeks before Pearl Harbor

On Nov. 26, 1941, Secretary of State Cordell Hull issued a note calling on Japan to withdraw from China and Indochina—terms Tokyo saw as impossible. The note confirmed to Japanese leaders that diplomacy had collapsed, accelerating plans for the Pearl Harbor strike (which had been formally approved Nov. 5).

Japan committed mass war crimes during its invasion of China

During the 1937 invasion, Japanese forces carried out systematic atrocities—including mass executions, rape, torture, forced labor, and chemical warfare. The Nanjing Massacre alone killed tens of thousands over a span of six weeks, with some estimates claiming 300,000.

A downed Japanese pilot sparked a violent three-day standoff on the island of Niʻihau

After a Japanese pilot crash-landed on the Hawaiian island of Niʻihau, residents first sheltered him. Once news of the Pearl Harbor attack arrived, two locals tried to help him escape, leading to a violent struggle in which Native Hawaiians ultimately stopped and killed him.

Building the first atomic bomb required unprecedented coordination

Creating the first atomic bombs demanded breakthroughs in physics, engineering, and logistics—uniting elite scientists with tens of thousands of workers across the US. This in-depth history explains how the Manhattan Project overcame those challenges.

Teenager Guy Gabaldon captured the most prisoners in US military history

After the vicious battle of Saipan outside Japan in World War II, the Japanese were opting for suicide rather than surrender. Gabaldon, a Marine with a track record for skillfully convincing the enemy to surrender, managed to capture 800 Japanese single-handedly.

Hear the story of the daring Doolittle Raid, America’s first strike back at Japan

This podcast recounts the 1942 Doolittle Raid, when US airmen launched a risky bombing mission over Japan just months after Pearl Harbor. The episode also highlights Jimmy Doolittle’s leadership, piloting skills, and his lifelong impact on aviation.

A Marine’s-eye view of the Battle of Iwo Jima

February 19, 2023, marked the 78th anniversary of the beginning of the battle of Iwo Jima. A decisive battle in World War II's Pacific Theater, most American's associated the iconic "raising of the flag" photo with the fight. This five-minute video provides a glimpse of what the six-week fight was like from the vantage of an individual US Marine.

The US sent an iconic photographer to document the Japanese-American internment

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, 120,000 Japanese-Americans were removed from their homes and businesses and sent to internment camps across the American West and Arkansas. This nearly 15-minute video explores how the US government sent famed photographer Dorothea Lange to document the transfer and internment, only to restrict or impound many of her photos when they seemed less than positive.

The failed Bay of Pigs invasion led to the Cuban Missile Crisis, which brought the world to the brink of nuclear annihilation

Moscow's decision to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba—just 90 miles from the US—pushed the world to the brink of nuclear war. To prevent future crises, both sides later set up a direct hotline and boosted arms-control diplomacy

See what it was like to live in the United States during World War II

In America, life was transformed by total war: sixteen million service members left civilian life, while massive industrial production demanded labor. Women, minorities, and teens filled factories, fueling boomtown growth and breaking social barriers. Simultaneously, rationing, recycling drives, Victory Gardens, ration stamps, blackout drills, and war bond campaigns permeated daily routines.

The Pacific Northwest's last 'really big one'

More than 300 years ago, a shift in the Cascadia subduction zone caused the seafloor near the Pacific Northwest coast to drop by three to six feet. The force generated a massive tsunami that traveled across the Pacific and devastated Japan.

The president has the sole authority to call for a nuclear strike

Under current US policy, the president alone can order the use of atomic weapons at any time without requiring prior approval from Congress—a power rooted in the president's role as commander in chief.

The female samurai of feudal Japan

This article examines the role of Japan's female samurai throughout history, specifically the Battle of Aizu, a deadly civil conflict between traditionalists and reformers in 1868 in which one side had halberds and swords and the other had guns....

Explaining the final battle of World War I

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the last battle of the First World War. Beginning in September and ending November 11, 1918, the battle was a tumultuous event and the first time the American Army fought on the world's stage. America simultaneously achieved victory and discovered new methods to fight a war. This Apple History podcast provides the details.

Why the First Gulf War occurred—and how it played out

This video navigates the conflict’s core—from Iraq's August 2, 1990 invasion of Kuwait through Operation Desert Shield’s buildup, to the decisive air and ground assault of January–February 1991. It spotlights coalition tactics and rapid liberation of Kuwait, highlighting how precision bombing and advanced tech reshaped modern warfare.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in terms of casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

The deadliest aspect of volcanic eruptions is often not lava, but pyroclastic flows—avalanches of ash, gas, and rock that can move more than half the speed of sound.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Poison ivy's characteristic rash is caused by an allergic response to an oily compound in the plant called urushiol.

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.