The Most Destructive Attack in History - Night of the Black Snow

It was March 9, 1945. The island nation of Japan, its judgment clouded by pride and ancient traditions, continued to defy the Allies and refused to surrender. Little did they know a storm of overwhelming proportions was inbound to the very heart of Japan.

From the far-flung Mariana Islands, a dark armada took to the skies. Thundering engines roared as 300 B-29 Superfortress bombers climbed into the heavens, their bellies brimming with over half a million napalm and petroleum jelly canisters. The mission, code-named "Operation Meetinghouse," marked a significant shift away from the careful targeting of precision bombing.

This came after months of surgical strikes by the United States Twentieth Air Force on military targets within Japan had yielded little. The decision was made to change tactics. Careful consideration would give way to sheer, overwhelming force - a strategy that had brought both Hamburg and Dresden to their knees.

As the sun set, a stiff wind spread across the archipelago. Despite their stubbornness, the Japanese had actually little left in the way of defenses. Their air force was a shadow of its former self, and their anti-aircraft measures were not ready for the torrent of flames about to be unleashed.

The night sky was covered by the spreading wings of the American bombers, and a storm of fire was unleashed upon the city. Entire neighborhoods were lit aflame, the sky turned black as night, and the snow began to fall - but this was no ordinary snow. They were the black ashes of war.

Tokyo, with its many wooden and bamboo structures, was particularly vulnerable. Over 16 square miles of the heart of Tokyo were enveloped by the firestorm. The unnerving event, which would come to be known as The Night of the Black Snow, would make the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki pale in comparison to the destructive power unleashed that day. Even now, it is regarded as the single most destructive bombing raid in human history…

[thelonesomefisherman]

A formal U.S. apology for bombing Tokyo??

"We're sorry that your attack on Pearl Harbor forced us to firebomb Tokyo and atomic bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

[kevinmccue]

My father served in the 3rd Marine Expedition in the Pacific during 1944-45. He also had stated to me that the U.S. has no reason to apologize for it's wartime actions against Japan. In his words, "To hell with those Devils, they were ruthless and inhumane monsters that had committed atrocities against millions of civilians as well."

[lyedavide]

Apologise? For a war you started? For the cruelty of your military? No apologies will be forthcoming just because you lost the war.

[VeyseyMoffatt]

My late father was a prisoner of the Japanese for four years. The way that he was treated is unbelievable.Enough said!🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇬🇧

[JamesDuffey-fu]

My Dad served on aB- 29 out of Tinian from April till the end in August, flew these night raids as senior gunner. Was neither glad or sad about the destruction, a job that had to be done and as he quoted many other, " they started it "

[loristephens]

When the mouse kicks the cat, it should not be surprised to find itself eaten.

[lawrencemay]

My wife, born in Tokyo in 1944, to KOREAN Parents. Brought to Japan to work in their war production. It’s amazing they survived this attack. They later returned to Korea after the Cease Fire. Her first husband was a Korean Army Vet. Vet of VIETNAM. He later became a Paralegal and tragically died in a traffic accident. She alone brought up her two children. Both now Citizens of the US.

[dspatchin]

After the rape of Nanjing, Japanese atrocities in Korea and Philippines, Perl Harbor, the Bataan death march, and horrific abuse of American POW's, this massive bombing was inhumane but essential. Even a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima was not enough to get Japan to surrender. They required proof of ongoing nuclear capabilities with the bomb on Nagasaki to finally surrender. Their greatest strength, their will, was what required the utter destruction of their homeland.

[danwindsor]

How wonderful to listen to a narrator who knows what he's doing. Very clear and well spoken.

[marcdenton]

No apology need be forthcoming considering their criminal treatment of the Chinese, Filipino, and Americans.

[egnbigdave]

To date Japan has not appologised (and in fact denied and deflected) its own war crimes against civillians and captured allied soldiers. So my heart isn;t exactly bleeding.

[daystatesniper]

I remember chatting to a vet' who participated in these raids at Pima, i asked him about the losses, his reply and i quote "Payback is a bitch eh "

[jguenther]

In 1948, I met Capt. Ted Lawson, the pilot of Plane #7 on the Doolittle raid and author of "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo." The war seemed a long time before, but it was only 6 years since the raid. Lawson had a relative at our school and came to speak to us. I asked him a question about journalism, which he answered succinctly. He also told us he lost his leg as a result of an injury when he exited the aircraft. He didn't mention that he left the craft through the windshield.

[briansmith]

Issue an apology? The Japanese should be grateful every day that we allowed them to survive. The heinous war crimes committed by the Japanese against Chinese, Americans, British, Australians, and others remain the most despicable acts ever committed to this day. The Japanese people brought this war upon themselves and they were let off easy.

[TheRetirednavy]

My dad almost died as a POW of Japan. They got off lucky.

[brucehilton]

Our 10th grade book club read "hiroshima". Admittedly, a horror story if there ever was one. But the sheer destructiveness, the bombing of Hiroshima pales beside the night of the black snow and the fire bombing of Dresden or Hamburg among others. Because people were hurt by something different seemed to make a difference. I tried to argue that Hiroshima and Nagasaki actually saved lives, the majority of them Japanese, but my audience wasn't listening, and seemed horrified at ME instead. Oh Well.

[Arthur_Pint]

The suffering of the people of Tokyo was unimaginably terrible, but it was not for the Americans to apologise, but rather the Japanese Emperor and the military elite, whose fanaticism had led a level of inhumane evil in Japanese occupied areas that was on a par with Nazi Germany.

Not only that, but at the time of the bombing it was obvious that Japan was going to lose, and yet for the next 5 months the Japanese leadership put their warped sense of pride in not surrendering, ahead of preventing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of more Japanese civilians.

[ed]

Nothing to apologize for. If the Rape of Nanking never happened then the bombing never happened either.

[JohnWilliams-iwoq]

It's amazing that when the Germans, Italians and Japanese bombed civilians and leveled cities it was fair game but as soon as the boot was on the other foot it was criminal.

[stephen]

My neighbor across the street from our house was captured at Corigedor after they ran out of food and ammuninition they were forced to surrender.
He was one of those who were in the Bataan Death March.
They were were shipped to Japan under inhumane conditions and forced to mine coal and sufferer the inhumane conditions of the prison camp. His camp was liberatred by a B-29 raid and our troops fought their way to the camp three days later.

He has been dead 30 or more years by now. I suppose he would say, "They shouldn't have bombed Pearl Harbor with that sneak attack they pulled on us."