The war in the Pacific began on December 7, 1941 when the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. The war continued until VJ Day, September 2, 1945, when the Japanese surrendered. One of the key factors in the Japanese surrender was the dropping of the atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If the United States had not dropped the atomic bomb, the war would have lasted much longer. The atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki hastened the end of the war, ultimately saving more lives than if the Japanese mainland were invaded.1. The War in the PacificFor the United States, the War in the Pacific began with the attack on Pearl Harbor. The war in the Pacific theater would last more than three years, resulting in millions of deaths on both sides. There were battles at sea and on land for strategic locations and resources. Influential battles include the Battles of Midway, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima. Toward the end of the war, the United States was blockading Japan with submarines and bombing cities with B-29s in an attempt to get the Japanese to surrender (Japan's Defeat). This took a heavy toll on Japanese citizens, but it was not enough to cause them to surrender.2. Ending the War By the end of the war, the United States had pushed the Japanese out of non-Japanese territories, such as the Philippines, and back into its own territory. The United States sought to end the war in the Pacific and had several options to choose from. The first option was to invade the Japanese mainland. The United States had captured key islands and "by early 1945, American forces were then in a position to attack Japan itself" (UXL Encyclopedia of US Histo...... middle of article. .....and nationalism would have driven The Japanese had to fight to the death, resulting in huge losses for both the Americans and the Japanese Although the atomic bombings were an extremely effective tool in ending this. at war, they sparked an era of extreme tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union would acquire nuclear technology through espionage, which would lead to more than four decades of uncertainty and. an endless arms race. This era would be known as the Cold War and would cause paranoia throughout a generation. If you asked Katherine Philips, she would tell you that the atomic bomb was a great invention. someone from the Cold War era would tell you that this would cause an unnecessary standoff between two superpowers. So was dropping the bomb really the right thing to do? it just depends on what generation you ask.