Today, a modest floral monument in a downtown park honors the spirits of the 105,400 confirmed dead, many interred in common graves. Almost 16 square miles in and around the Japanese capital were incinerated, and between 80,000 and 130,000 Japanese civilians were killed in the worst single… Still, the erasure of the Tokyo firebombing from Americans' collective memory is not a noble thing. He said he survived because he didn't jump in the water, but his burns were so severe he was in and out of hospital for 15 years. Like other survivors, Nihei, who escaped the fire with her family intact, said the bombing showed that war is never justifiable. It was also seen as payback for the Pearl Harbour attacks and the mistreatment of Allied prisoners of war. But the burning of the capital, which resulted in more immediate deaths than either of the nuclear bombings, stands as a horrifying landmark in the history of warfare on noncombatants. After the war, the United States St… Superheated air created a wind that sucked victims into the flames and fed the twisting infernos. But the attack, and similar ones that followed in more than 60 other Japanese cities, have received little attention, eclipsed by the atomic bombings and Japan's postwar rush to rebuild. On This Day: U.S. firebombing of Tokyo leaves more than 100,000 dead On March 9, 1945, more than 300 American B-29 bombers attacked Tokyo … "We saw a fire truck heaped with a mountain of bones. Yamabe, the historian, said authorities "are reluctant to acknowledge civilian suffering from the wartime leaders' refusal to end the war earlier.". Because of people like you, another world is possible. The Bataan Death March 1942 The Doolittle Raid, 1942 The Battle of Midway 1942 Attack on an Arctic Convoy, 1942 Reconnaissance Patrol, 1943 Bombing Raid on Ploesti, 1943 The Bloody Battle of Tarawa, 1943 A GI's trip to London, 1944 The Nazi Occupation Of Poland "Loose Lips Sink Ships" Life and Death Aboard a B-17, 1944 Shot Down Over France, 1944 Bombed under the direction of American Commander Curtis LeMay; Had been bombed with normal, not incendiary, explosives since 1942 From January 1944 to August 1945, the U.S. dropped 157,000 tons of bombs on Japanese cities, according to the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey. I could see an arm. Common DreamsP.O. The Tokyo firebombing raid was a relatively slow (compared to an atomic bomb), massively-distributed attack. Over the course of the bombing raid, American planes dropped an estimated 2,000 tons of explosives on the city, creating a massive firestorm which killed countless numbers of civilians. Keeping the Curtains Drawn on Canada's Secretive Factory Farm Industry... Trump’s Vilest Legacy: Impunity and Unaccountability, ‘Freedom Is Blossoming’: After Dismembering a Journalist, Saudi Arabia Goes on a PR Spree. I'm asking this because people kept say firebombing in Tokyo killed more than two nukes. Edoin proves the military clique of Japan made the civilian work force an acceptable military target. "The Americans certainly weren't out of step in that sense.". "It was a hellish frenzy, absolutely horrible. "The bombs were raining down on us. Bombing of Tokyo The was a series of firebombing air raids by the United States Army Air Forces during the Pacific campaigns of World War II. Some 16 square miles of the city were razed by incendiary and other strikes by U.S. warplanes March 9-10, 1945. We need you. Subsequently, the Japanese would dub this event the Night of the Black Snow. resulted in many civilian deaths - apex The stakes have never been higher. The full fury of firebombing and napalm was unleashed on the night of March 9-10, 1945 when LeMay sent 334 B-29s low over Tokyo from the Marianas. T… The horse balked and the cargo on its back caught fire, then its tail, and it burned alive, as the owner just stood there and burned with it," she said. TOKYO . It was the deadliest conventional air raid ever, worse than Nagasaki and on par with Hiroshima. The "Operation Meetinghouse" firebombing of Tokyo on the night of March 9–10, 1945, was the single deadliest air raid of World War II. But the non-atomic attacks have been largely overlooked. At its heart it was psychological warfare For mercy, see an aged Spanish ballerina with Alzheimer's dance to Swan Lake from her wheelchair - grace, grit, hope, sorrow incarnate. Common Dreams has been providing breaking news & views for the progressive community since 1997. I don't think we'll still be around for the 80th anniversary," Ohtake said. In his vivid, unsparing paintings, U.S. warplanes shower the sky with rivulets of fire, and thousands of corpses -- many of them women and children -- clot Tokyo's main river. Almost 90% of the bombs dropped on the home islands of Japan were delivered by this type of bomber. And I'm running for my life.". But World War II was about to rouse them violently from their fitful dreams into a waking nightmare. Estimates of the number of people killed in the bombing of Tokyo on 10 March differ. does incendiary bombs produce more damage? Firefighter Isamu Kase was on duty at a train parts factory. I saw a baby catch fire on its mother's back, and she couldn't put out the fire. A single firebombing attack on Tokyo in March 1945 killed more than 80,000 people. The evil cretin lies and golfs - current tab: $151.5 million - as America burns. "At this stage, everybody had been burning down cities," said Thomas Searle, a historian at the Airpower Research Institute, at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. The firebombing of Tokyo was designed to terrorise and bomb the Japanese into surrender. An estimated 100,000 people perished in the firebomb raid on Tokyo in the night of March 9-10, 1945. "We are not just statistics. Every day of the week, we publish the most important breaking news & views for the progressive community. Planners also wanted to wipe out small factories and drive away their employees as a way of choking the economy. Please help. The only thing that keeps us going is support from readers like you. Britons and Americans often feel a measure of guilt about the firebombing of Dresden, in which at least 35,000 Germans died, but there is much less remorse about the far greater casualties in Tokyo. Our Mission:To inform. It is widely considered to be the most devastating air raid in history. Magazine-styled website about contemporary culture, politics, and business history, crafted to engage readers on topics ranging from civil rights history to the power of the entertainment industry, environmental politics, sports history, music, film, and the media. While critics in Japan and elsewhere decry such attacks as war crimes, others say the Tokyo assault took place against a backdrop of the increasing brutality of total war fueled by the militarism of the Axis powers. The anniversary of the Tokyo firebombing provides an opportunity to do so. A series of Allied firebombing raids begins against the German city of Dresden, reducing the city to rubble and flames, and killing as many as 135,000 people. Please support our End-of-Year campaign to make sure we are here to bring you the news in 2021. Nihei often travels from the distant suburbs to the Tokyo Air Raid center to share her story with students and other visitors. Even before the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the March 1945 firebombing of Tokyo left more than 100,000 dead. Survivors say Japan has been slow to come to terms with the bombing's place in history, in part because of the reticence of survivors. On March 10, 1945, U.S. B-29 bombers flew over Tokyo in the dead of night, dumping massive payloads of cluster bombs equipped with a then-recent invention: napalm. Such massive groups of B-29s could be heard and tracked from a considerable distance. The saturation bombing of Japan took much fiercer tolls and wrought far and away more havoc than the atomic bomb. The Tokyo police force and fire department estimated that 83,793 people were killed during the air raid, another 40,918 were injured and just over a million lost their homes; postwar estimates of deaths in this attack have ranged from 80,000 to 100,000. No specific government agency handles civilian survivors of firebombings or keeps their records, because there is no legal basis for that, said Manabu Oki at the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry. All her family survived. The Japanese later called this the “Night of the Black Snow.” Survivors of the Tokyo firebombing feel their pain has been forgotten, by history and by the government. Box 443Portland, ME 04112-0443USA, Common Dreams is a small nonprofit with a big mission. "So the 70th anniversary is pretty much the last chance for us to speak up. The March 9 raid, code-named “Operation Meetinghouse,” marked a shift in American bombing strategy. The Man Who Won’t Let the World Forget the Firebombing of Tokyo As a child, Katsumoto Saotome barely escaped the air raids over Tokyo that killed as … miles Tokyo, killing 100,000 and leaving more than 1 million homeless. 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Firebombing also killed or made homeless many workers who had been taking part in war industry. The Great Tokyo Air Raid and the Bombing of Civilians in World War II. On March 10, 1945, U.S. B-29 bombers flew over Tokyo in the dead of night, dumping massive payloads of cluster bombs equipped with a then-recent invention: napalm. Damage to Tokyo's war production was also substantial. Burning large parts "This allowed them to avoid addressing some very important questions.". Nihei, now 78, was mesmerized as she watched from a railway embankment. Two days later, 457 bombers went back to Nagoya and destroyed another 3.8 square miles. U.S. casualties were painful but small in proportion to the magnitude of the mission’s success. Neera Tanden and Antony Blinken Personify the 'Moderate' Rot at the Top of the Democratic Party... Is the Distribution of Vaccines the Biggest Trump Screw-Up Yet? Its stricken people get sick and go hungry and lose their homes; its hurting children act out a "horror story about American poverty" by asking Santa Claus for a coat, mask, bed, cure for "crona"; its billionaires double their unholy fortunes. Yet it remains one of the forgotten horrors of the Second World War. The Tokyo firebombing raid was a relatively slow (compared to an atomic bomb), massively-distributed attack. More people were killed in the Tokyo firebombing of March 9-10 than in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki five months later. But I was numb to that by then," she said. COVID Christmas. CFR’s James M. Lindsay remembers the firebombing of Tokyo during World War II and discusses the destructive power of conventional weapons. The paintings are a gripping testament to the destruction as Japan prepares to mark the 60th anniversary this week of the March 9-10, 1945, air raid that killed an estimated 100,000 people in a single night of fire. The Tokyo raid involved hundreds of B-29 bombers arriving and attacking over the course of several hours. "If they don't disclose such data, it can't be discussed. "It was as if the world had ended," said Nihei, whose father sheltered her under his body, as others piled on top and were burned and suffocated. It was the highest death toll of any air raid during the war, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now, as their numbers dwindle, survivors are determined to tell their stories while they still can. Support Independent Journalism. We don't want clicks or ad dollars. Sixty years ago tonight, American forces bombed Tokyo. The key development for the bombing of Japan was the B-29 Superfortress strategic bomber, which had an operational range of 3,250 nautical miles (3,740 mi; 6,020 km) and was capable of attacking at high altitude above 30,000 feet (9,100 m), where enemy defenses were very weak. The firebombing of Tokyo killed more people than the atomic bombs at Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Other estimates are significantly higher. Almost 16 square miles in and around the Japanese capital were incinerated, and between 80,000 and 130,000 Japanese civilians were killed in the … More people were killed in the Tokyo firebombing of March 9-10 than in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki five months later. Over 50% of Tokyo's industry was spread out among residential and commercial neighborhoods; firebombing cut the whole city's output in half.The destruction and damage was especially severe in the eastern areas of the city. The Tokyo raid involved hundreds of B-29 bombers arriving and attacking over the course of several hours. It estimated that 333,000 people were killed, including the 80,000 killed in the Aug. 6 Hiroshima atomic bomb attack and 40,000 at Nagasaki three days later. Haruyo Nihei, just 8 when the bombs fell, was among many survivors who kept silent. "When I crawled out I was so cold, so I was warming myself near one of the piles that was still smoldering. Some survivors now refuse to be anonymous. It was hard to understand how so many bodies could be piled up like that," said Ohtake. "Our parents would just say, 'That's a different era,' " Nihei said. Help Common Dreams tell the right stories, report the painful realities, and work towards the better future we know is possible. Michiko Kiyo-oka, a 21-year-old government worker living in the Asakusa district, survived by hiding under a bridge. The Tokyo attack was aimed in part at demolishing Japanese morale and hastening a surrender. In just two days, more than 100,000 people were killed, a million were maimed … An aerial view of Tokyo after it … After about two hours and 40 minutes, the B-29s left. More than 300 B-29 "Superfortress" bombers dropped nearly a half-million M-69 incendiary cylinders over Tokyo that night and early morning, destroying some 16 square miles of the city. Survivors speak of the hush as dawn broke over a wasteland of corpses and debris, studded by chimneys of bathhouses and small factories. "The smell is one that will never leave me.". American airmen who took part in the 1945 firebombing missions grapple with the particular horror they witnessed being inflicted on those below. The Tokyo firebombing has long been overshadowed by the U.S. atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki which preceded the Japanese surrender that ended World War II the following August. Because of people like you, another world is possible. Kimura, a 7-year-old, escaped the flames as he was blown into the entrance of a big department store while running toward the Sumida River, where tens of thousands of people died: burned, crushed, drowned or suffocated in the firestorm. Support Our Work -- Join the small group of generous readers who donate, keeping Common Dreams free for millions of people each year. The firebombing of Japanese cities, notably Tokyo, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It shouldn’t take a global pandemic to show the world that we really are in this together. Where earlier raids targeted aircraft factories and military facilities, the Tokyo firebombing was aimed largely at civilians, in places including Tokyo's downtown area known as shitamachi, where people lived in traditional wood and paper homes at densities sometimes exceeding 100,000 people per square mile. We want the world to be a better place. Is there a different landscape between those two cities? The dead from that one night's bombing numbered 80,000 to 100,000—more than later died in Nagasaki (70,000 to 80,000), and more than half the number who died in Hiroshima (120,000 to 150,000). Operation Meetinghouse, which was conducted on the night of 9–10 March 1945, is the single most destructive bombing raid in human history.Of central Tokyo 16 sqmi were destroyed, leaving an estimated 100,000 civilians dead and over one million homeless. There is no public memorial solely dedicated to those who died in the air raid, which started just after midnight on March 10, 1945. "The United States went too far with the firebombing, but I don't quite understand why the Japanese government and the rest of the Japanese don't talk about this very much," he said. Estimates for the death toll in the firebombing of Tokyo range from 70,000 to almost 200,000, with most historians settling for around 130,000. To remain an independent news source, we do not advertise, sell subscriptions or accept corporate contributions. Exactly 66 years ago, the U.S. Airforce conducted the largest single firebombing in history over Tokyo which killed at least 100,000 residents and injured up to one million people. The horrors Nihei saw that night were the result of Operation Meetinghouse, the deadliest of a series of firebombing air raids on Tokyo by the United … A total of 267,171 buildings were destroyed, a quarter of all of the buildings in Tokyo… They went to bed hungry, the distant wailing of air-raid sirens lulling them to sleep. The bombing of Dresden was a British-American aerial bombing attack on the city of Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony, during World War II.In four raids between 13 and 15 February 1945, 722 heavy bombers of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and 527 of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) dropped more than 3,900 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices on the city. Years ago, Ohtake began walking the city to draw up guide maps of areas destroyed by the bombings — maps the resource center now uses. "It was a blazing firestorm. Common Dreams is not your normal news site. Yet it remains one of the forgotten horrors of the Second World War. A thoughtful read. Another departure from earlier raids: the bombers flew low. By dawn, more than 100,000 people were dead, a million were homeless, and 40 square kilometers of Tokyo were burned to the ground. Masaharu Ohtake, then 13, fled his family's noodle shop with a friend. It was the highest death toll of any air raid during the war, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But perhaps 2020 will be the wake-up call our planet needed to come together. As a way of choking the economy out I was warming myself one. Million - as America burns a burning bridge on par with the particular horror they witnessed being on... 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