49, No. Two of these new and unusually high numbered divisions, the 206th and 212th have appeared in Kyushu . (Plate No. It was estimated that the bulk of the enemy fleet remnants would be withdrawn to the Yellow Sea or to the western side of the Japan Sea. From abroad perspective, it was argued, immediate invasion was considered to be "the quickest way to assure the end of the war. PRIOR TO THE 20th CENTURY, armies on campaign typically lost more men to disease than battle. While the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki cost the lives of upwards of 250,000 Japanese civilians, historians agree that a protracted ground campaign would have killed millions. Then the Americans accepted this conditional surrender, the day after the two bombs were dropped. Then, after an appropriate period of preparation, an amphibious landing could have hit Englands shores in 1941 or even 1942. The Japanese realized that their defense plans contained numerous weak points but their situa-, PLATE NO. See estimated casualties. The first phase Operation Olympic, scheduled for November 1945 called for seizing airfields on the southernmost Japanese island of Kyushu. If the situation permitted, two divisions from the Nagoya district would also be placed in the Tokyo-Yokohama area. Landing Beaches, Roads, Railroads, and Critical Defiles, Kanto Plain. "Olympic," the Invasion of Kyushu, had similar responsibility for maintaining all naval forces and, in addition, was to furnish the organizational equipment and to mount the supplies necessary for the Marine corps passing to Army control. The Fifty-sixth Army occupied northern Kyushu, with most of its strength distributed along the northwestern coast from Moji to Sasebo. A secondary attack was expected on Fukiagehama on the Satsuma Peninsula. Like Okinawa, the question is not whether the Allies will capture Kyushu, but what price they will pay for it. Operation Downfall consisted of two parts: Operation Olympic. g. The trend of reinforcements from North to South (Kyushu) is unmistakable. Operation Downfall the codename for the proposed amphibious invasion of Japan in 1945 would have made the D-Day invasion of Normandy look like a cakewalk. Could Operation Downfall have succeeded The complexion of the war would have been vastly different, with the bulk of anti-Axis forces coming from the east and south. The Twentieth Air Force would handle its own logistics.43. In April 1945, the accelerated preparations for the defense of the Homeland brought about a reorganization of the Japanese army command. Reconnaissance was to be conducted on a day and night basis along a 600-mile radius of the Homeland by 140 naval reconnaissance planes augmented by army air reconnaissance elements. Fred was imprisoned not very far from ground zero, in a reinforced concrete cell with a tiny window & heavy steel door. The loss of the Marianas and the Ogasawara chain, left Japan without bases from which to carry out patrolling activities and, consequently, the Japanese air forces had little or no warning of impending raids. The first course, he felt, provided greater air power and a high degree of pre-assault neutralization, in addition to achieving the eventual isolation of Japan, but it had the great disad-. Japan 45 is a battalion-level simulation involving thousands of U.S. Army and Marine, Japanese, British and French units maneuvering over a 2-D map of Kyushu. I think it would be hard to estimate casualties but the Allies would have taken the losses and still prevailed. have After the fall of France a year earlier, the Fuhrer had his military chiefs come up with a plan for an assault on the United Kingdom, an operation dubbed Sea Lion. Largely because they had been fighting alongside the US Army in New Guinea and eastern Indonesia since the US finally entered World War II in early 1942 (following Pearl Harbour in December 1941). 56 Corps: Headquarters established at Iizuka (east of Fukuoka) during June 1945. The two-part invasion was set to commence in October of 1945. He was a crew chief on B25s, stayed ion the Air Force Reserve after the war, retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. It was assumed that new forward bases for air and naval action would be seized in the northern Ryukyus, the Izu Islands, and possibly Quelpart Island. In Japan 45, the map of Kyushu is studded with rice paddies, forests, hills, villages, rivers and streams. Re-supply and the bulk of construction materials would come directly from the United States, augmented as necessary from Pacific bases. What would happen if it failed? Here are some remarkable details about Operation Downfall: Interesting blog! Of course it would've succeeded unless there was some kind of major political decision(change) in the U.S. (loss of political will to continue) or Japan (decision to surrender earlier than expected). Had Sea Lion succeeded, a likely scenario would have seen the British government and monarchy flee to Canada. Operation Downfall These divisions have since made their appearance, as predicted, and the end is not in sight. Resistance in the Philippines was to be maintained as long as possible to delay the advance of the United States forces toward these key positions. Naval preparations also included intensified production of special-attack boats and midget submarines.29, With the final loss of Okinawa in late June. Some argue that Truman was haunted by estimates that Operation Downfall-- the proposed invasion of Japan in 1945 -- would cost a million American casualties. Operation Downfall, the American-led plans to invade Japan; Proposed Japanese invasion of Australia during World War II; What would happen if it failed? Russia Is Eager To Sell Its Sophisticated T-14 Armata Tank. It has been estimated that approximately 125,000 of these are available in Southern Kyushu and approximately 450,000 in Northern Kyushu . Operation Downfall was the name given to the planned invasion of Japan. An assault on Kyushu for the purpose of further reducing Japanese capabilities by containing and destroying major enemy forces and further intensifying the blockade and air bombardment in order to establish a tactical condition favorable to: c. The decisive invasion of the industrial heart of Japan through the Tokyo Plain.1, On 29 March, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, working on the assumptions that the war in Europe would be over by 1 July 1945 and that the forthcoming Okinawa operation would be concluded by mid-August of 1945, set a tentative schedule for the invasion of Japan. The Invasion That Didnt Happen | Air & Space Forces Magazine Historians Bemoan Publics Fading Interest in Past Conflicts, Filmmaker Explores Smallpox and the Franco Prussian War, Picketts Charge 12 Remarkable Facts About Gettysburg's Deadly Climax, The Shot That Set the World on Fire How George Washington Started History's First "World War", Armistead and Hancock Rethinking the Storied Friendship Between Two Opposing Gettysburg Generals, Condemned Men Meet Hitlers Penal Battalions, Bloody First Contact When Vikings Clashed with Native North Americans. Air, naval, and logistic support was outlined along the same general pattern as "Olympic" except on an enlarged scale. But owing to widespread German patriotism, this scenario is quite improbable. "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, and air forces. And so on, until the savagery is enough for some part. would the casualties for operation downfall have As soon as the invasion convoy entered its anchorage, the destroyers would attack in co-ordination with air force planes and surface and underwater special-attack units. Some may find it incongruous that a Nagasaki survivor was the weapons officer on B58 Hustlers. Operation Olympic would have seen the capture of the lower third of the southernmost main Japanese island, Kyushu. Logistic requirements to support the large forces involved necessitated good port facilities; the western shores of Tokyo Bay offered the best in Japan. Japan must press forward courageously, seeking Life in Death: certain victory was not assured, but neither was utter defeat. Downfall As was to be expected in the consideration of an assault of such magnitude, there were numerous and varying opinions as to the best strategy to follow in developing the final plans. Surgery cures most breast cancers, while chemotherapy, radiotherapy and endocrine therapy can reduce the long-term risk of dying in cases where some disease remains. Disposition of Japanese Army Ground Forces in the Homeland, April 1945, Marshal Shunroku Hata. While nearly four years of war had seen the Japanese fleet decimated, the Emperors forces planned to throw their remaining six carriers, four cruisers and one battleship, along with 350 midget submarines, 400 manned torpedoes and 800 suicide speed boats, into action against the Allied armada. The 40th Division was also given the mission of making preliminary landings in the four islands of Tanega, Make, Take, and Io off the southern tip of Kyusyu. Hitlers invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 proved to be his undoing, but it didnt have to play out the way it did. Orders of battle for Downfall In addition, he stated: [It] would fail to utilize our resources for amphibious offensive movement; assumes success of air power alone to conquer a people in spite of its demonstrated failure in Europe, where Germany was subject to more intensive bombardment than can be brought to bear against Japan, and where all the available resources in ground troops of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia had to be committed in order to force a decision.6. 5. Certainly American voters were divided on war. On 9 February, just a few days before the historic Three-Power meeting at Yalta, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill were informed of the conclusions reached at Argonaut. held up the scheduled commitment of troops to that area pending further developments. To conduct the preliminary operations of clearing the routes of approach to the landing beaches, seizing emergency anchorages, and initiating the shore bombardment, an Advanced Attack Force would be launched from the Philippines to arrive off Kyushu on X-4. In a non detailed explanation, the USA and its allies would have succeeded. This is a BETA experience. The various area armies were called upon to protect all points strategically important for tactical defense, for production, and for communications and to complete their preparations to crush any American invasion.20, By April 1945, the course of events made it increasingly probable that Japan would be invaded in late summer or autumn. In scenario 1 the soviets probably continue the expansion against Turkey and Arabian Peninsula, enter India and liberate the country by brittish colonists, enter Korea. Short answer is yes, Olympic/Coronet landings would have succeeded, but very high price in primarily US casualties (basically very few Commonwealth land forces involved, just sea/air). 116 Should these four corps prove insufficient to accomplish the tasks assigned, a build-up from the elements earmarked for "Coronet" would be instituted at the rate of three divisions per month beginning about X+30. A miracle. Only after the action at Kujukuri-hama was completed would the Japanese offensive move to other battle fronts. WebHave you ever heard of Operation Downfall? Even these halfway measures were soon vitiated by the tremendous plane and ship losses incurred in the Philippines Campaign. have Japanese military and civilian casualties would have been far heavier. 7. These invasions would have resulted in the deaths of millions of allied troops and an larger, untold number of Japanese military personnel and civilians. IT COULD BEcalled the worlds greatest battle that never happened. The invasion plan was assigned the cover name "Downfall" and consisted of two main operations: "Olympic," the preliminary assault on the southern island of Kyushu, which was slated for 1 December 1945, and "Coronet," the subsequent landing on Honshu, which was scheduled for 1 March 1946. Whats more, Hitler wanted to attack Russia sooner rather than later. Only by an accurate assessment of the timing and strategy projected in United States plans and by a correct disposition of their own strength, could Japan's military leaders hope to upset or repel an invasion of the mainland. The ridges immediately to the rear of the anticipated landing areas were fortified by a network of large caves and tunnels covered by a series of strong artillery and mortar emplacements and manned by large forces of coastal-combat ground troops. 8. 1e (4), " These factors (detailed discussion of critical defiles traversed by east and west coast road and railroad routes from Northern to Southern Kyushu and the part-way alternate route Yatsushiro-Kokubu)-lead to the conclusion that the blocking of a limited number of defiles, i.e., destruction of critical bridges, tunnels, cuts, and fills, by concentrated aerial bombing and vigorous maintenance of interdiction by both air and naval bombardment will render it exceedingly difficult for the Japanese either to reinforce Southern Kyushu with elements of the Northern Kyushu Garrison, or to supply and maintain their forces which are in Southern Kyushu prior to the blocking of their only two lines of overland communication. WebOperation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. According to Military History Now, if executed, Operation Downfall would've been the deadliest campaign of World War II. Airbases on Kyushu captured in Operation Olympic would have allowed land-based air support for this second phase of the attack. "Coronet," the invasion of the Kanto Plain area of Honshu, was scheduled for 1 March 1945.53. There simply werent enough boats capable of transporting and supplying an invasion force in the whole of occupied Europe. It wasnt suspicion of Jewish science that prevented the Nazis from developing the atomic bomb first, but a batch of impure graphite they initially tried the graphite pile of the sort the U.S. built at U. Chicago, but impurities in their graphite absorbed too many neutrons and British sabotage thinking graphite would not work as a moderator for a nuclear reactor, the Nazis tried heavy water, which eventually worked (their reactor went critical a few days after Germanys surrender) but was delayed by British commandos sabotaging the heavy water plants in Norway. Two good novels about Operation Downfall are: Operation Downfall MilitaryHistoryNow.com would like to thank Mr. Dvorsky for granting us permission to reprint it. The remaining roads were narrow, primitive, one-way dirt tracks virtually impassable in wet weather. - Quora Something went wrong. In the summer of 1945, U.S. leaders expected one million American soldiers would soon be dead or wounded. c. They have fully recognized the precarious nature of the land and sea routes by which they must concentrate and support their forces in Southern Kyushu. The 3,000 square miles thus marked off were deemed sufficient to provide the air bases necessary for short-range support of the final operations planned against the industrial centers of Honshu.33, In this southern portion selected for invasion under " Olympic " plan, there were four lowland areas suitable for the development of major airfields. By mid January 1945, it had become apparent to the Japanese High Command that a new and comprehensive defense policy was imperative. It is probable that the Japanese may resort to night barge movement. For this reason, Iwo Jima and the Ryukyu Islands were regarded as almost certain targets for future assault.17, At the beginning of 1945, Japan was far from ready to meet a full-fledged Allied invasion. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Fortunately, Downfall never happened. In fact, the Japanese Government formed a National Militia to defend the home islands in case of invasion. The russian continues west but the americans has the bomb in july. Ill definitely drop by more often. The Soviet Union would have probably still defeated Germany, but it would have taken considerably longer. I cover defense issues and military technology. After the beachheads were safely established, reserve and service troops would be brought forward, land-based aviation installed progressively, and logistic facilities developed. Since these three areas were geographically cut off from each other, it was believed that the Americans would seek to divide and contain the Japanese units therein. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. "13 These operations would be expanded and continued until all organized resistance in the Japanese Home Islands could be brought to an end. The general strategy called for the coastal-combat divisions to send their entire resources against the American assault head-on, with the underlying objective of merging all lines into an interlocking and continuously fluid struggle in which American air, artillery, and naval gunfire would be seriously hampered in choice of targets. WebIt is reasonable to assume, however, that Operation "Downfall" could have been successfully concluded only after a hard and bitter struggle with no quarter asked or given. Pentagon planners warned that that Allied troops mostly American, but supported by British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand contingents could suffer up to one million casualties. It was not, PLATE NO. It was estimated that, if Honshu should be assaulted first, sixty-five days would be required to shift the necessary divisions from Kyushu to the Nagoya district, with ten additional days required to arrive at the battlefield.24. Then, in spring 1946, Operation Coronet would hit the Kanto Plain, near Tokyo. To keep this picture up to date, new information was filled in as rapidly as it was received from the various intelligence sources. The various views fell into two main categories: one maintaining that the United States would initiate a long-range program of intensified blockade and strategic air bombardment to destroy completely Japan's combat potential, while the other considered that the war would be brought to a decisive stage by an immediate amphibious invasion of Japan Proper. For starters, it became painfully obvious that more time and preparations were needed. Opinions within Imperial General Headquarters differed on the question of impending Allied operations. July 5, 2023, 6:00 a.m. Edited by Marc Georges , Paige Cowett and Lisa Chow. Operation Downfall, the American-led plans to invade Japan; Proposed Japanese invasion of Australia during World War II; The History Learning Site, 19 May 2015. By mid July 1945, the Fortieth Army was deployed along the Satsuma Peninsula in southwest Kyushu below Sendai. Following the successful completion of the assault phase, the Kyushu ports of Kagoshima and Shibushi would be developed as soon as possible to support further penetration inland and to the north. The surface special-attack forces, in conjunction with air and other naval units, were ear-marked for strong mass assaults on American transports in the invasion area. Worse, it retrenched and further radicalized Nazi party. Landings made in other regions would require overland movements through narrow, easily defended corridors.56, The capital of Tokyo is the hub of a widespread network of roads and railroads radiating outward along the Kanto Plain to northern, western, and southwestern Honshu. What if the A-bomb hadnt been invented, or Japan chose to fight on regardless, and the Allies had storm Tokyo? Road and Railroad Net, Kyushu, PLATE NO. A Commonwealth corps would include units from Australia, Britain and Canada. Operation Downfall Theres been much debate over what might have happened had Hitler been killed in the wars final year. Been Invented And America Invaded What if what if what If Hitler was smart enough to actually understand geopolitical outcomes? Given Hitlers penchant for so-called wonder weapons, theres little doubt he would have used the atomic bomb if he had it. Reserve and follow-up divisions for "Coronet" would be obtained by redeployment, either directly or via the United States, of troops and equipment from the European Theater.2, On 3 April 1945, the Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a directive in which General MacArthur was instructed to complete the necessary operations in Luzon and the rest of the Philippines, prepare for the occupation of North Borneo, and "make plans and preparations for the campaign in Japan." #1 idontlikesand The planned us invasion of the Japanese home islands. Whether or not these desperate but extensive defense measures would have made an invasion prohibitively expensive in American lives is a matter for speculation. A computer wargame suggests an invasion of Japan would have been a bloodbath. WebVDOM DHTML tml>. The struggle certainly would have turned out quite differently had the Soviet Union fallen. The Japanese Navy had little power left to oppose an Allied assault. The possibility of a diversionary feint at Hokkaido to cover the main landings was also taken into account.30. Your donations help keep MHN afloat. Sarah Ferguson: Duchess of York recovering after breast cancer op After first stating that the final decisive battle would be waged in Japan Proper, the outline called for an immediate fortification in depth of Japan's defense perimeter. And what nature cant provide, Japanese shovels will. It was calculated that by the Fall of 945, the United States would be able to mount a total of thirty divisions for amphibious operations against the Homeland and that a cumulative total of fifty divisions could be massed by the Spring of 1946. My father, in British RN , was headed to Japan, for a 5 year tour of duty as part of operations Olympic and Downfall. St.@martyr(in Auschwitz) Fr.Maximilian Kolbes -who built it while being there as a missionary- chaple also survived the blast, My high school physics teacher was a PW in a camp outside of Nagasaki. Indian T-90 Tanks Face Chinese Armor. The assault on Kyushu was assigned to the veteran Sixth Army under General Krueger. The veteran First Army of Gen. Courtney H. Hodges, redeployed to the Pacific from the battlefields of Europe, would strike at the Kujukuri beaches about fifty miles east of Tokyo, provide protection for the northeastern flank, and then strike out to the west and south to clear the eastern shores of Tokyo and Sagami Bays. Operation Downfall itself was divided into two parts Operation Olympic and Operation Coronet. 120 A new General Air Army Command was established for unified control of army air operations in Japan and Korea with headquarters for the First General Army and for the General Air Army in Tokyo, while Second General Army Headquarters was set up in Hiroshima.25, Under the command of the First General Army were the Eleventh (northern Honshu), Twelfth (Tokyo-Yokohama), and Thirteenth (Tokai) Area Armies. For decades, controversy has surrounded the decision to drop The Bomb. It would require 1,700,000 U.S. troops, according to the plan. (Plate No. 118), The 40th Division, reinforced, was named as the advance attack force and given the mission of seizing positions in the Koshiki Island group located off Kyushu's southwest coast opposite Sendai. The entire transportation network was subject to complete disruption to prevent movement by attacker and defender alike.32, The American plan for the invasion of Kyushu contemplated the seizure of only the southern part of the island below a line drawn from Tsuno on the east coast to Sendai on the west. "Human torpedoes" (Kaiten) would execute, PLATE NO. How much more fanatical would have been their defense of the sacred Japanese homeland, including thousands of kamikaze aircraft and boats that would have taken a heavy toll of Allies ships. Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. Operation Downfall itself was divided into two parts Operation Olympic and Operation Coronet. In their planned policy of playing for time, the Japanese were aided by the strong resistance on Okinawa, which they felt would further delay the invasion date. Although these routes were important factors to the Japanese in reinforcement potential, they were relatively vulnerable to air attack. 2. use the bomb Training of pilots was stressed, primarily to develop quickly the ability necessary to fly these craft on suicide missions. If necessary, General Eichelberger would turn back his armor to strike at Tokyo from the rear. A second ran northward from Shibushi on Ariake Bay, through a twisting valley to Miyakonojo; the third started at Kanoya, east of Kagoshima Bay and followed along the coast of Ariake Bay. The Allied player can only gnash his teeth as bombs, napalm and one-ton shells from battleships barely scratch Japanese troops embedded deep in their fortifications. Stalins Red Army persistently pushed the Wehrmacht back towards Germany, gobbling up territories that would later form the Iron Curtain. A longstanding debate among historians is whether or not Operation Barbarossa could have actually succeeded. The decisive operation in the projected campaign to bring about the final collapse of Japan was the invasion of Honshu. Not only did it fail in its primary objective, but it led to the capture of 7,000 people, of which 4,980 were executed. The command relationships established between General MacArthur, Admiral Nimitz and General Spaatz were to continue.
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