What did the atomic bomb achieve that conventional military force had not yet done?
A. eliminated Japan’s entire naval force
B. forced the Japanese to surrender
C. destroyed Japan’s oil reserves
D. forced the Japanese to retreat from China
B. forced the Japanese to surrender
Which nation had the best natural geographic protection against German ground forces?
A. the Soviet Union
B. France
C. Britain
D. Belgium
A. the Soviet Union
Which of the following actions did the Nazis take specifically to implement Hitler's "Final Solution"?
A. They used the blitzkrieg to overwhelm the countries they invaded.
B. They broke the pact with Stalin and invaded the Soviet Union.
C. They passed the Nuremberg Laws to strip German Jews of citizenship.
D. They built six special camps in occupied Poland.
D. They built six special camps in occupied Poland.
The correct answer is B. The atomic bomb forced the Japanese to surrender.
To arrive at this answer, we need to understand the historical context of the atomic bomb's use during the final stages of World War II. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 led to the almost immediate surrender of Japan, which effectively ended the war in the Pacific.
To determine that the atomic bomb achieved something that conventional military force had not yet done, we can consider the previous efforts made by the Allies to defeat Japan. Before the atomic bomb, the Allies had been engaged in a long and costly campaign in the Pacific, battling Japanese forces island by island.
Conventional military force had managed to push the Japanese back and regain some territory, but Japan showed no signs of surrendering. The use of the atomic bomb was seen as a last resort to bring about a swift end to the war and avoid the need for a costly invasion of the Japanese mainland.
By dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the devastating power of these weapons was made clear to the Japanese, prompting them to surrender. The bombings marked the first and only use of nuclear weapons in warfare to date.
Therefore, the correct answer is B. The atomic bomb forced the Japanese to surrender, achieving what conventional military force had not yet accomplished.