Hiroshima, a city in southern Honshu, Japan, became the target of the first atomic bomb attack on 6 August 1945, which resulted in the virtual obliteration of the city centre and the deaths of about one-third of the population of 300,000. The atomic bombing by the US of Hiroshima, together with that of Nagasaki three days later, led directly to Japan’s unconditional surrender and the end of World War II.