Operation Downfall | Past to Future

This video presents Operation Downfall, the codename of the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese homeland near the end of World War II.

Chapter:
00:00 Introduction
00:44 Historical Background
02:07 Operation Downfall
04:46 Estimated Casualties

The late 19th century marked the beginning of Japan's territorial expansion, giving the country control over many parts of the Asia-Pacific region by 1939. Upon the outbreak of WWII, Japan joined the Axis powers.

Japan continued its expansion towards the western Pacific, but its advances were halted after losing the Battle of Midway to the US, marking the turning point of the war.

After the battle of Okinawa island in the Ryukyus, it became clear that Japan would not surrender unconditionally, and the US was ready to go ahead with its plan for a gargantuan blow toward the Japanese mainland.

Assuming that by August 1945, Japan continued to refuse an unconditional surrender, here is how the US-led invasion of the Japanese mainland would have played out.

The US overall invasion plan was codenamed Operation Downfall, led by General Douglas MacArthur as Chief of US Army Forces in the Pacific.

The invasion was then divided into two main operations: Operation Olympic, an amphibious landing on Kyushu, the Japanese southernmost island, and Operation Coronet, the subsequent attack against Honshu, the Japanese main island.

Operation Olympic was scheduled on November 1, 1945, with the staging areas located in Hawaii, the Marianas, the Philippines, and the Ryukyus.

Operation Coronet tentatively set on March 1, 1946, would have been even bigger, involving more than one million US combat forces, twice the size of the initial operation.

The capture of Tokyo would be assumed to bring out the total surrender of Japan, putting an end to World War II.
If in an alternate timeline, Operation Downfall had happened, it would have been the most ruthless fighting remembered in the minds of the American public.

But the US’s atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945 brought about Japanese unconditional surrender, cementing total victory in the Pacific theater for the Allied powers and making Operation Downfall just a plan that would never happen.

What do you think would happen if Operation Downfall did happen as planned?
Tell us in the comment section below.
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