Hiroshima was the main target of the first atomic bomb used against Japan in 1945.
The United States dropped the uranium bomb nicknamed Little Boy on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The bomb exploded at approximately 8:15 a.m. local time, causing catastrophic destruction across the city. Hiroshima was a military headquarters and an important industrial and transportation center, which influenced its selection as a target.
Three days later, on August 9, the United States dropped the plutonium bomb Fat Man on Nagasaki. These attacks occurred alongside the Soviet Union’s declaration of war against Japan and invasion of Japanese-held Manchuria. Together, these developments intensified the crisis facing Japanese leaders.
The bombings remain central to historical discussions about Japan’s surrender, although historians continue to debate the relative importance of the atomic attacks, the Soviet entry into the war, the naval blockade, and Japan’s internal political struggle. Hiroshima was the first city attacked with an atomic weapon in warfare; Nagasaki was the second.