Operation Downfall
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Operation Downfall was the Allied plan, led by the United States and supported by Britain, to invade the Japanese home islands near the end of the Second World War. Using Okinawa as a staging area, it envisioned Operation Olympic against southern Kyushu in November 1945, followed by Operation Coronet near Tokyo in spring 1946, but Japan's surrender made it unnecessary.
In depth
The plan combined the Navy's preference for blockade and bombardment with the Army's argument that an invasion could end the war more quickly. Olympic was designed to seize airfields in southern Kyushu for the subsequent Coronet assault on the Kantō Plain of Honshu. The heavy losses at Okinawa and Japan's preparations for homeland defense raised the projected cost; Japan surrendered after the atomic bombings and the Soviet entry into the war, so the plan was abandoned.
Related historical events
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) (supports the definition, two-part structure, Okinawa staging role, planned dates, and cancellation)
- nationalww2museum.org (supports the Army-Navy strategic compromise, the Olympic and Coronet timetable, and Okinawa's influence on planning)