Atomic bombs were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 in an attempt to force Japan's surrender and avoid the Allied invasion of the Japanese mainland. At least 129,000 people were killed as a result of the two bombings, and the ethics of the attack are still debated to this day. President Truman's announcement of the bombings, the effects of the bombings, and Japan's surrender after the bombing of Nagasaki are included in the following documents.