War is always accompanied by cruelty and destruction. In the global conflict of World War II, countless cities and lives were consumed by the flames of war. Japan, as one of the initiators of World War II, was also devastated by the flames of war. For example, the atomic bombing caused the deaths of more than 200,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians.
But before that, Japan also experienced an even greater casualty, and that was the bombing of Tokyo. The bombing campaign, known to later generations as the "Limay Attack," killed nearly 500,000 people and displaced 8 million civilians, even more so than the subsequent atomic bombings.
At the end of World War II, with the end of the European theater, Japan continued to hold out in the Asian theater and the Pacific theater. In order to force Japan to surrender and reduce the losses of the landing operation, the US military decided to carry out a large-scale bombing of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. In charge of the operation was U.S. Army General Curtis Lemay.
This is also one of the retaliatory actions of the United States against Japan, you must know that in 1941, Japan traveled thousands of miles and brazenly attacked the Pearl Harbor base in the United States, which not only caused the US military to lose several warships and killed more than 2,000 people, but also caused the United States to lose face in the international community.
In the Pacific theater, the U.S. military has also won many battles. Eventually, warships were sent to land on the Japanese mainland, but they met with stubborn resistance from the Japanese army. Therefore, in order to strike at the strength of the Japanese army, the United States planned to first launch a wave of air strikes.
After the initial bombing effect was not good, Li Mei discovered the small workshop-style production mode of the Japanese military industry and the characteristics of wooden houses. So, he changed his strategy and decided to use incendiary bombs for low-altitude bombing.
On March 9, 1945, in the darkness of the night, the U.S. military dispatched 334 modified B-29 bombers, carrying more than 2,000 tons of incendiary bombs to Tokyo, dropping incendiary bombs like raindrops. Suddenly, the center of Tokyo was in flames, and countless civilians struggled and wailed in the flames.
The bombing claimed 100,000 lives in one night, leaving 25% of Tokyo in ruins and more than a million homeless. But there was still no sign of surrender for Japan. Then the United States did not stop bombing. Subsequently, the major cities around Tokyo were bombed in turn. In this way, Japan still fought to the death and refused to admit defeat.
On May 9, the frustrated US military launched another fierce bombing campaign against Tokyo. This time, 60% of Tokyo was in ruins. However, Japan's air defense forces have basically collapsed, and they are powerless to resist the US bombing, and US fighter planes are in Japan's airspace. You think that Japan should be subdued this time, but in fact, there is no reaction.
The United States could not wait for Japan's relent, and then on May 26, Boda came and dropped 4,000 tons of incendiary bombs on Tokyo at one time, and this once prosperous metropolis has become a ruin, with hardly a single intact house to be found, and charred corpses everywhere.
The destructive power of these bombings was astonishing, not only destroying a large number of houses and military industrial facilities, but also causing huge casualties. In total, nearly 500,000 people were killed in the bombing, and 8 million lost their homes. This figure even exceeded the casualties caused by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki later.
However, the assessment of the bombing is mixed. On the one hand, it did accelerate the surrender process of Japan and reduce the possible losses of the American army in landing operations; On the other hand, countless civilians lost their lives and homes in this bombing, which the Japanese side condemned.
Regarding this surprise attack, General Li Mei said: "I don't feel any guilt, and I don't care how many Japanese people die. Such an attitude makes the Japanese feel angry, but it really does not deserve sympathy, and it is entirely the result of Japan's own fault.
Japan did not think about who provoked World War II, who invaded more than 30 countries in Asia, causing tens of millions of deaths, and who slaughtered 300,000 people in Nanjing in six weeks. Isn't their life their life?
War is inherently cruel, both for the victorious and the defeated. General Li Mei's approach, although cruel, was also aimed at ending the war as soon as possible and reducing the loss of more innocent lives. From a strategic point of view, his decision was undoubtedly the right one.