[May 21, 2021] World War II was a war that no one, today, who was not part of it, can imagine in their wildest of dreams. Total war is new to humanity, and we don’t like it. WWII amassed a staggering amount of death and destruction. But it was to be the firebombing of Tokyo on the night of 9-10 March 1945 that raised the specter of destruction higher than ever thought possible.
The war in the Pacific was not going well. After Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies on May 7, 1945, Imperial Japan continued to fight. Unlike Germany, whose military was weaker as the onslaught of the U.S. Britain, Russia, and other allies closed in Berlin, the Japanese fought with more incredible determination than ever.
General Curtis LeMay, U.S. Army Air Force, was plucked from the European theater, where he made a success out of strategic bombing and sent to the Pacific to “get the war back on track.” The new Boeing B-29 Superfortress was online but had severe mechanical problems, The plane was rushed into production without adequate time to work out those problems. LeMay’s job was to fix the B-29 problem and take the war to Japan’s homeland.
Gen. LeMay came up with an ingenious plan to bomb Japan with a new tactic. He would line up the planes (not in formation like in Germany) and fly over the target cities at night, at low altitude, without defensive guns, and use incendiary bombs (as opposed to high explosives). His first big test would be on the city of Tokyo.
This was to be the most critical military mission of the entire war, and LeMay was using an untested tactic. If successful, it could prevent an invasion where estimated American causalities would exceed 1 million.
The first planes took off on March 9, 1945, starting at 4:36 in the afternoon. In total, 325 B-29s took off and headed for Tokyo.1 Over a thousand miles to the north of the Mariana Islands (where the bombers were stationed), an unprecedented event was about to occur.
The Japanese did not believe the Americans were capable of bombing from this great distance. They had never built adequate bomb shelters for the civilian population. At 12:15 am on March 10, the bombers began their attack. Citizens of Tokyo had never seen bombers so low, nor so many. There was fire falling from the sky, as witnessed by a German Catholic priest. The raid lasted three hours.
As it was known as the time, Operation Meetinghouse became the single most destructive bombing raid in human history. Of central Tokyo, 16 square miles were destroyed, leaving an estimated 100,000 civilians dead and over one million homeless.
Many will argue that the atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima were what persuaded Japan to agree to unconditional surrender. But it was this raid on Tokyo that woke up the Japanese leadership to the futility of furthering the war.
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- This was the same time that Gen. LeMay was notified of the Manhattan Project and the atomic bomb.
Great article.
I didn’t know. More people died in this bombing than in any other event in recorded history in such a short time.
Post-raid analysis of the B-29 raid stated that Tokyo’s ability to produce war materiel, or any materiel really, was cut in half. Morale among the citizens of Tokyo plummeted. For the first time, many came to the realization that the war was lost.
Many realized immediately that the war was lost, without any doubt whatsoever yet the fought on. Why?
This is the real question that must be answered and it is no simple answer. The leaders of Japan would not cede the fact they had miscalculated and failed.
I was not an easy choice by Gen. LeMay. Those who look back and criticize the decision are working from an echo chamber of supreme ignorance. If you don’t like it, tough. You were not there. You are probably the kind of person who cannot even decide what to have for dinner, much less order a raid that would kill thousands. I have no sympathy for folks who are mentally weak and would criticize this decision.
You got that right Ben. Thanks! 👍
The B-29s were designed to fly at altitudes so high that most enemy fighters could not reach them, and to cascade bombs on targets with ultimate precision and lethality.
If you want to get a much better view of this bombing and much of the overall bombing by allied forces during WW2, then I highly recommend the book, “Curtis LeMay: Strategist and Tactician” by Warren Kozak. He gives plenty of background, mainly focused on Gen. LeMay. But I read the book last year and found it excellent. Oh, don’t buy it on Amazon but anywhere else.
Yep, Curtis LeMay, was a national hero for bringing success to the Air Force bombing campaigns in the war. He was also the youngest and longest-serving general in modern American history, rose from obscurity, lacking social graces, old-boy connections. or lineage, to become America’s most innovative and – to this day – controversial military commander.
Here is some basic info: Hellfire on Earth: Operation MEETINGHOUSE
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/hellfire-earth-operation-meetinghouse
Another reference that readers might find interesting. It gives additional background.
There are times where we humans must do those things that are horrific in order to avoid something even more horrific. This was one of those times.
… and that is exactly what too many folks simply do not understand. And, many will never understand it because they have mental snowflakes supporting them in their wallowing ignorance.
So very true.
A tragic but very necessary event.