"VJ" day : August 14, 1945 : a day never to be forgotten

Abstract

Without any shadow of doubt, the Second World War proved to be one of the most terrible and tragic human upheavals that struck mankind during the last millennium. In the six years of warfare from 1939 up to 1945 the conflict involved most of the countries of the world and which threw against each other with sustained intensity large well equipped armies, backed by powerful air forces and modern navies. Millions of civilians from every continent of the globe were also involved, resulting in massive loss of life and property which knew no precedent in the annals of human history. Total war was the order of the day and weapons of mass destruction helped to achieve this objective. The Second World War was the era of heavy carpet bombing including sophisticated anti-shipping radio controlled bombs, ballistic missiles, rockets, acoustic mines until finally the ushering at the very end of the war of nuclear warfare with the dropping of two atomic bombs in Japan -one on Hiroshima and another on Nagasaki. [excerpt]