In August 1945, the Japanese empire was on the verge of defeat but still refused to surrender. Even after the first atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima, the Japanese military showed no signs of yielding. Just three days later, on August 9, a second atomic bomb was dropped over Nagasaki. As a result of these missions and other wartime considerations, Imperial Japan surrendered to the United States and its allies. | The National WWII Museum