When comparing operation downfall to the normandy invasion, it is difficult to grasp the horror and tragedy that would have ensued. The planned operation was abandoned when japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki, the soviet declaration of war and the soviet invasion of manchuria. The operation was canceled when japan surrendered following the atomic bombing of hiroshima and nagasaki, and the soviet unions declaration of war against japan. What would operation downfall have looked like if it had been. Actual us casualties at iwo jima and okinawa compared to estimated losses for operation downfall planned for nov 1945. There would have been used up to 12 nuclear bombs in this operation and the estimated casualties of japanese people was 6 million. This is an interesting question worthy of a detailed response and before proceeding i would like to state that, as an amateur, i could find no japanesesourced authoritative website substantially devoted to this issue. The planned operation was abandoned when japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki and the soviet declaration of war. The oftenrepeated common wisdom holds that there were only 5,500, or at most 7,000, aircraft available and that all of japans best pilots had been killed in earlier battles, writes historian d. Had the invasion not been preempted by the dropping of the atom bombs on hiroshima and nagasaki, almost all agree that the campaign would have stood as the bloodiest chapter of the second world war, adding as much as. The planned operation was abandoned when japan surrendered following the soviet invasion of manchuria and the atomic bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki. Aug 28, 2017 operation downfall, the proposed allied plan for the invasion of japan, would have been the largest amphibious operation in history. Operation downfall was the codename for the allied plan for the invasion of japan near the end of world war ii.
Marshall foundation and the virginia military institute. Operation olympic, to be launched from okinawa in november 1945, would capture the southern third of the island kyushu, which could then be used as a base for air attacks. The estimated casualties for such an operation are truly horrific. By mid1945, it was apparent that the collapse of japan was near and the allies had to plan for the invasion of the japanese mainland something that they knew would be very. Operation downfall and the invasion of japan, 19451947 is the most comprehensive examination of the myriad complex issues that comprised the strategic plans for the american invasion of japan. A few images below help depict the size of the normandy invasion. Set to begin in october 1945, operation olympic was intended. Operation downfall was the proposed allied plan for the invasion of japan near the end of world war ii. Transcript of operation downfall us invasion of japan. Operation downfall was the codename for the planned but never executed american invasion plan for the japanese mainland islands during the end stages of world war ii in the pacific theatre. For operation downfall, the us military envisaged requiring more than 30 divisions for a successful invasion of the japanese home islands.
Giangreco w orld war ii ended with the dropping of the bomb on hiroshima and nagasaki. It was set to occur in october of 1945 and if it had taken place it would have been the largest amphibious attack in human history. Giangrecos objective is to justify use of the two atomic bombs with a comprehensive compilation of quantitative historical data. Operation downfall the invasion of japan, november, 1945. Recent work in japanese military history, february 16, 1998 dropping the bomb on japan. Operation downfall the invasion of japan naval historical. Therefore, assuming that 87,500 casualties have been estimated for the assault on the tokyo plain, then the casualty estimates for the attack on southern kyushu is 106,000 193,500. The invasion of normandy is known as the largest invasion in modern history, and is known to have been very brutal. It seems one of the reasons, besides the american casualties, why the atomic bombs were used, was fear that the soviet union would grab a huge chunk of japan. Performing organization names and addresses national defense university,institute for national strategic studies,260. In all fairness, the title of giangrecos book is hell to pay. Operation downfall was the overall allied plan for the invasion of japan at the end of world war ii.
Operation downfall was the name given to the planned invasion of japan. The estimate for americans would have been about 1 million at least. Military plans for the invasion of japan, thomas fensch editor this is a very useful collection of official american documents relating to operation downfall, the plan for the invasion of japan. May 19, 2015 operation downfall was the name given to the planned invasion of japan. Coronet was planned as a massive amphibious landing on beaches near to tokyo.
Operation olympic, to be launched from okinawa in november 1945, would capture the southern third of the island kyushu, which could then be. Without those estimates, world war ii would have extended for more than two years and claimed at least a few more million lives. That being said, a strong case can be made that operation downfall, at least as it was planned, wouldnt have been necessary even if the u. Operation downfall was the allied plan for the invasion of japan near the end of world war ii. It addresses the controversial subject of estimated casualties if downfall had been carried out. Us plans and japanese countermeasures, at the university of kansas symposium beyond bushido. Operation downfall and the invasion of japan, 19451947. Operation downfall the campaign to conquer japan would have. Olympic, 8 august 1945, naval historical center, the portion of the total forces to be landed in the invasion were in 14 divisions with at most some 350,000 troops. Aug 07, 2018 some argue that truman was haunted by estimates that operation downfall the proposed invasion of japan in 1945 would cost a million american casualties. It was scheduled to occur in two parts operation olympic, the invasion of kyushu, set to begin in november, 1945. Operation downfall the campaign to conquer japan would.
The us estimated 1 million casualties in the campaign, which could increase or decrease depending on civilian resistance in japan. Evolution of downfall while the war was being fought in the philippines and okinawa, plans were ripening rapidly for the largest amphibious operation in the history of warfare. The final months of the war with japan central intelligence. Operation downfall history crunch history articles. Depending on the degree of japanese resistance, estimates ran into millions of allied casualties and tens of millions of japanese. To reduce the number of casualties and lessen the chance of a stalemate, the launch of coronet would await the arrival of two armored divisions from europe. Operation downfall the invasion of japan, november, 1945 an invasion not found in the history books by james martin davis, the omaha world herald, november, 1987 deep in the recesses of the national archives in washington, d. I couldnt agree more as a matter of fact, extrapolation from okinawa yields startling casualty rates. Nov 29, 2014 out of curiosity, how much casualties would the soviets have taken had they decided to try to grab hokkaido, if downfall occurred. The operation was canceled when japan surrendered following the atomic bombing of hiroshima and nagasaki, and the soviet unions declaration of war against japan operation downfall consisted of two parts operation olympic and operation coronet. Most of the civilian casualties on okinaowa were from suicides and civilians murdering their own families then killing themselves. Oct 09, 2019 operation downfall would have made okinawa look like a picnic. Operation coronet was the second part of operation downfall the planned invasion of japan.
Operation downfall would have been much more horrendous to carry out. The planned operation was cancelled when japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki, the soviet declaration of war and the invasion of manchuria. How well prepared were the japanese for operation downfall. Giangreco in the journal of military history, 61 july 1997. Operation downfall should the atomic bombs have been. Operation downfallan even more horrendous alternative to. The failure of german troops to defeat soviet forces in the campaign signaled a crucial turning point in the war.
Okumiya matsake and horkioshi jiro with martin cadin, zero. The planned operation was canceled when japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki, the soviet declaration of war and the invasion of manchuria. Downfall, the grand plan for the invasion of japan, contemplated a gargantuan blow against the islands of kyushu and honshu, using the entire available combined resources of the army, navy. Dropping the atomic bomb primary sources operation downfall. Wounded, killed and total casualties shown as a % of us invasion forces 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 us invasion force. Penguin group, 1999 this is the single book to own on operation downfall.
Operation downfall project gutenberg selfpublishing. Pacific fleet pushes on with its island hopping campaign across the pacific, pushing the weakened imperial japanese army and navy back to their homeland, there are high hopes that the war will be over soon and the empire of. How hiroshima and nagasaki saved millions of lives the diplomat. Responsibility for planning operation downfall fell to american commanders hap arnold the latter being the commander of the us army air forces. Jul 07, 2008 according to allenpolmar, codename downfall, p. Army were formed, or even that specific methodologies. A general estimated american casualties from the entire operation would be one million men by the fall of 1946. While the war was being fought in the philippines and okinawa, plans were ripening rapidly for the largest amphibious operation in the history of warfare. As the invasion grew imminent, the massive power of the united states navy would approach japan two awesome fleets, the third and the fifth. In short, operation downfall would have been one of the largest invasions in history and the largest from sea. Where us estimates of casualties for operation downfall. Operation downfall and the invasion of japan 194547.
In comparison, the soviet union had about 11 divisions available, comparable to the 14 divisions the us estimated it would require to invade southern kyushu. Others say that japan was starving and exhausted, the casualty estimates were exaggerated, and that truman had ulterior motives for dropping the bomb, namely intimidating the soviet union. Operation downfall was the overall allied plan for the invasion of japan near the end of world war ii. Operation olympic, the invasion of kyushu, set to begin in november 1945. Joint chiefs of staff set the date for the kyushu invasion, called operation olympic, as xday, november 1, 1945, and for honshu, operation coronet, as yday, march 1, 1946.
The atom bombs dropped on japan in 1945 killed by some estimates more than 200,000 people. It was planned in two phases on the few beaches that were adequate for a landing force. Operation downfall itself was divided into two parts operation olympic and operation coronet. Where us estimates of casualties for operation downfall reasonable. Vital air cover from bases in kyushu, taken in operation olympic, would greatly assist the landings, according to the planning. Apr 26, 2019 this is an interesting question worthy of a detailed response and before proceeding i would like to state that, as an amateur, i could find no japanesesourced authoritative website substantially devoted to this issue. Dec 22, 2012 it addresses the controversial subject of estimated casualties if downfall had been carried out. Giangreco in recent years, historians looking into the reasons behind the decision to drop the atomic bombs have been hampered by a lack of understanding of how the casualty projections given to president harry truman by the u.
Giangreco argues that the alternative, a land invasion of. Learn more about operation barbarossa in this article. Operation downfall was the proposed allied plan for the invasion of the japanese home islands near the end of world war ii in asia. These estimates were based on the idea that the japanese civilian population would resist the invasion with extreme. Are there any objective, official, authoritative japanese. The operation was canceled when japan surrendered following the atomic bombing of hiroshima and nagasaki, and the soviet unions declaration of war against japan operation downfall consisted of two partsoperation olympic and operation coronet. Nov 29, 2014 in planning its invasion of the japanese home islands in 1945, the us military and government estimated a huge number of us military and japanese civilian casualties between 250k and 1 million for the former, and as many as ten million for the latter. The invasion never needed to be carried out, but the plans had reached a very advanced stage by the time the two atomic bombs ended the war. Operation downfall, the proposed allied plan for the invasion of japan, would have been the largest amphibious operation in history. This is twice of the total us casualty count in the pacific, europe, and africa combined during the war, and probably would have led to some form of negotiated settlement where japan could keep korea and parts of china. Jan 16, 2010 the atom bombs dropped on japan in 1945 killed by some estimates more than 200,000 people. Operation barbarossa, during world war ii, code name for the german invasion of the soviet union, which was launched on june 22, 1941. This sudden and unanticipated conclusion to the conflict was greeted with joy by the entire nation, not least by the 2. By mid1945, it was apparent that the collapse of japan was near and the allies had to plan for the invasion of the japanese mainland something that they knew would be very costly in terms of lives lost.