<Ul> <Li> Kantokuen </Li> <Li> Manchuria (1945) </Li> <Li> Mutanchiang </Li> <Li> Sakhalin Island </Li> <Li> Kuril Islands </Li> <Li> Shumshu </Li> </Ul> <Li> Manchuria (1945) </Li> <P> During the final stage of World War II, the United States detonated two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively . The United States dropped the bombs after obtaining the consent of the United Kingdom, as required by the Quebec Agreement . The two bombings killed at least 129,000 people, most of whom were civilians . They remain the only use of nuclear weapons in the history of warfare . </P> <P> In the final year of the war, the Allies prepared for what was anticipated to be a very costly invasion of the Japanese mainland . This undertaking was preceded by a conventional and firebombing campaign that destroyed 67 Japanese cities . The war in Europe had concluded when Germany signed its instrument of surrender on May 8, 1945 . As the Allies turned their full attention to the Pacific War, the Japanese faced the same fate . The Allies called for the unconditional surrender of the Imperial Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26, 1945--the alternative being "prompt and utter destruction". The Japanese ignored the ultimatum and the war continued . </P>

Japanese city that was the site of the first atomic bomb drop