The Japanese planned an all-out defense of Kysh, with little left in reserve for any subsequent defense operations. [53] The Okinawa experience was bad for the USalmost two fatalities and a similar number wounded per sortieand Kysh was likely to be worse. The B-29 Superfortresses were then withdrawn from China to bomb Japan from the Marianas. Soviet declaration of war. Plan 3 has the Japanese invading North America through the Panama Canal, then proceeding up through Mexico to the West Coast of the United States. 'Every precaution must be taken not to give the enemy cause for a pretext to use gas,' the commanders were warned. "[61], By the time of surrender, the Japanese had over 735,000 military personnel either in position or in various stages of deployment on Kyushu alone. By August, the count was up to 600,000, and Magic cryptanalysis had identified nine divisions in southern Kyshthree times the expected number and still a serious underestimate of the actual Japanese strength. War against Japan, 1945 In South East Asia, by late 1944, British and Commonwealth, US and Chinese forces had begun the reconquest of Burma (Myanmar). The Japanese would have lost at least 12 million men killed, due to the enormous losses fighting, from the nuclear bomb, and the mass of Kamikaze attacks. Barton, Charles A. Ending the war quickly would prevent Russian participation in the fighting and expansion into parts of Asia. This page was last edited on 30 April 2023, at 20:51. As president, it was Harry Truman's decision if the weapon would be used with the goal to end the war. [citation needed], The main defense against Japanese air attacks would have come from the massive fighter forces being assembled in the Ryukyu Islands. Opposition from the United States and doubts within the Soviet high command caused the plans to be cancelled before the invasion could begin. Once the atomic bomb became available, General Marshall envisioned using it to support the invasion if sufficient numbers could be produced in time. These were responsible for attacking Japanese airfields and transportation arteries on Kyushu and Southern Honshu (e.g. Tiger Force was to have included the elite 617 Squadron, also known as "The Dambusters", which carried out specialist bombing operations. [3] In the wee hours of Aug. 24, 1945, Soviet long-range bombers would take off from their air base not far from the Far Eastern port of Vladivostok and fly east, across the Sea of Japan, dropping. President Harry Truman received news of itwhilst at the Potsdam Conference. 11 World War II in Eastern Europe, 1942-1945. Japan holds the G-7 presidency this year, and Kyodo News reported last week that such a step is being . . [41] Despite its inability to conduct large-scale fleet operations, the IJN still maintained a fleet of thousands of warplanes and possessed nearly 2 million personnel in the Home Islands, ensuring it a large role in the coming defensive operation. [18] With one corps assigned to each landing, the invasion planners assumed that the Americans would outnumber the Japanese by roughly three to one. Militarily Japan was finished (as the Soviet invasion of Manchuria that August showed). The Soviet invasion of Manchuria and other Japanese colonies began at midnight on August 8, sandwiched between the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Operation Coronet, the invasion of Honshu at the Kant Plain south of the capital, was to begin on "Y-Day", which was tentatively scheduled for 1 March 1946. Top Image: Remains of a Shinto Shrine, Nagasaki, Japan, October 1945. A devastating typhoon in October 1945 would have delayed Allied invasion preparations, while bad weather in the winter and spring of 1946 would have hampered operations and logistics. In addition, Japan had about 100 Kry-class midget submarines, 300 smaller Kairy-class midget submarines, 120 Kaiten manned torpedoes,[41] and 2,412 Shin'y suicide motorboats. [67], Although chemical warfare had been outlawed by the Geneva Protocol, neither the United States nor Japan was a signatory at the time. Mutual support was essential in defence and attack by either side. As at Hiroshima, thousands more were to die from their injuries or the after-effects of radiation. In total, 368 ships, including 120 amphibious craft, were badly damaged, and another 28, including 15 landing ships and 12 destroyers, were sunk, mostly by kamikazes. In comparison, the Soviet Union had about 11 divisions available, comparable to the 14 divisions the US estimated that it would require to invade southern Kyushu. [24] This was rejected by U.S. commanders and even the initial plans for Coronet, according to U.S. historian John Ray Skates, did not envisage that units from Commonwealth or other Allied armies would be landed on the Kant Plain in 1946. Soviet soldiers in front of Harbin railway station. If the US casualty rate during the invasion of Japan had been only 5% as high per unit area as it was at Okinawa, the US would still have lost 297,000 soldiers (killed or missing). There is strong evidence that Marshall remained committed to an invasion as late as 15 August. 2,500 Army aircraft (conventional as well as suicide), together with 2,900 Naval trainers for, 2,000 Army and Navy "air superiority" fighters to escort the. By the end of the war, these bombing raids burned 66 cities, destroying 20% of the housing and leaving about 15 million homeless. More than 170,000 US servicemen took part in the islands capture, it was the most costly operation in the Pacific war. President Truman had four options: 1) continue conventional bombing of Japanese cities; 2) invade Japan; 3) demonstrate the bomb on an unpopulated island; or, 4 . Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. In 1939, the armies of Japan and the Soviet Union clashed . On 15 January 1945, the U.S. Army Service Forces released a document, "Redeployment of the United States Army after the Defeat of Germany." However, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 forced the suspension of this plan: the Soviets had to divert most of their resources to fighting the Germans and their allies, primarily on land, throughout most of the war, leaving their navy relatively poorly equipped. Even if he wanted to grab as much territory in Asia as possible, he was too much focused on establishing a beachhead in Europe more so than Asia."[83]. Thankfully, Japan surrendered, unconditionally on Aug 15, 1945, some 77 days before the invasion was set to take place. What had led to the fateful decision to deploy these new weapons of mass destruction? Part 8, pp. There were two unsuccessful Japanese counterattacks which ultimately weakened the capability of the defending forces to resist the American onslaught. Through April, May, and June, Allied intelligence followed the buildup of Japanese ground forces, including five divisions added to Kysh, with great interest, but also some complacency, still projecting that in November the total for Kysh would be about 350,000 servicemen. While decolonisation across South and South East Asia seemed inevitable, the territory of the British Empire was at its apogee in 1945 and the journey to independence for countries in this region was not simple. ", "That approximately three (3) hostile divisions will be disposed in Southern Kyushu and an additional three (3) in Northern Kyushu at initiation of the Olympic operation. [94] Admiral Leahy, more impressed by the Battle of Okinawa, thought the American forces would suffer a 35% casualty rate (implying an ultimate toll of 268,000). [82], According to Thomas B. Allen and Norman Polmar, the Soviets had carefully drawn up detailed plans for the Far East invasions, except that the landing for Hokkaido "existed in detail" only in Stalin's mind and that it was "unlikely that Stalin had interests in taking Manchuria and even taking on Hokkaido. Nimitz planned a pre-invasion feint, sending a fleet to the invasion beaches a couple of weeks before the real invasion, to lure out the Japanese on their one-way flights, who would then find ships bristling with anti-aircraft guns instead of the valuable, vulnerable transports. [39] However, General George Marshall argued that forcing surrender this way might take several years, if ever. For the failed Mongol invasion attempts, see, "Soviet invasion of Japan" redirects here. The Soviet invasion of the Kuril Islands (18 August 1 September 1945) took place after Japan's capitulation on 15 August. [25] The first official "plans indicated that assault, followup, and reserve units would all come from US forces".[25]. In a conference with President Truman on June 18, Marshall, taking the Battle of Luzon as the best model for Olympic, thought the Americans would suffer 31,000 casualties in the first 30 days and ultimately 20% of Japanese casualties, which he estimated would include the entire Japanese force. Weapons, training and uniforms were generally lacking: many were armed with nothing better than antiquated firearms, molotov cocktails, longbows, swords, knives, bamboo or wooden spears, and even clubs and truncheons: they were expected to make do with what they had. On 5 Apr 1945, the Soviet Union informed Japan that the Soviet Union would . Initially the US undertook daylight precision bombing raids, but on the nights of 9-10 March,a change of strategy began with low level mass incendiary attacks on Japanese cities. [84] From analysis of the replacement schedule and projected strengths in overseas theaters, it suggested that Army losses alone in those categories, excluding the Navy and Marine Corps, would be approximately 863,000 through the first part of 1947, of whom 267,000 would be killed or missing. In my opinion, there should not be the slightest thought of changing the Olympic operation.[75]. [3], Responsibility for the planning of Operation Downfall fell to American commanders Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur and the Joint Chiefs of StaffFleet Admirals Ernest King and William D. Leahy, and Generals of the Army George Marshall and Hap Arnold (the latter being the commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces). The Allies decided to launch a two-stage invasion. Following the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, plans were also made to transfer some of the heavy bomber groups of the veteran Eighth Air Force to airbases on Okinawa to conduct strategic bombing raids in coordination with the Twentieth. But tempering Marshall's personal commitment to invasion would have been his comprehension that civilian sanction in general, and Truman's in particular, was unlikely for a costly invasion that no longer enjoyed consensus support from the armed services.[76]. And it was, indeed, the death blow U.S . Plan Your Visit Current Exhibitions Calendar of Events . A study done for Stimson's staff by William Shockley estimated that invading Japan would cost 1.74 million American casualties, including 400,000800,000 fatalities, and five to ten million Japanese fatalities. The provinces of Henan, Hunan and Guangxi were taken and by October 1944 Sichan was the last large province still held by the Chinese Nationalists. 372-374, 391, atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific, debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, U.S. Army, Sixth Army Field Order 74, 28 July 1945, Staff Study Operations "Coronet" 15 August 1945, Combined Arms Research Laboratory: Downfall, "USSBS Report 62, Military Analysis Division, Japanese Air Power | PDF p. 25", "Okinawa, Harry Truman, and the Atomic Bomb", "By any means necessary: the United States and Japan", "World War II plan to poison Japanese crops revealed", "America Nearly Attacked Japan With Chemical Weapons in 1945", "Did Hiroshima Save Japan From Soviet Occupation? It was Germany's largest invasion force. Colonel Lyle E. Seeman reported that at least seven Fat Man-type plutonium implosion bombs would be available by X-Day, which could be dropped on defending forces. The Americans considered Okinawa a dress rehearsal for the invasion of the Japanese home islands, for which the United States was finalizing a two-stage plan. [95] Of these estimates, only Nimitz's included losses of the forces at sea, though kamikazes had inflicted 1.78 fatalities and a similar number of wounded per kamikaze pilot in the Battle of Okinawa,[96] and troop transports off Kysh would have been much more exposed. By August, they had 14 divisions and various smaller formations, including three tank brigades, for a total of 900,000 men. [12], Physically, Japan made an imposing target, distant from other landmasses and with very few beaches geographically suitable for sea-borne invasion. More than 10,000 aircraft were ready for use in July (with more by October), as well as hundreds of newly built small suicide boats to attack Allied ships offshore. Stalin had agreed to enter the war against Japan at the Teheran Conference in 1943. The same day, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. "[87] This assessment included neither casualties suffered after the 90-day mark (US planners envisioned switching to the tactical defensive by X+120[88] ), nor personnel losses at sea from Japanese air attacks. Figures for Coronet exclude values for both the immediate strategic reserve of 3 divisions as well as the 17 division strategic reserve in the U.S. and any British/Commonwealth forces. Stavros Atlamazoglou. [74] Attacking northern Honshu would have the advantage of a much weaker defense but had the disadvantage of giving up land-based air support (except the B-29s) from Okinawa. the Kanmon Tunnel) and for gaining and maintaining air superiority over the beaches. Unknown to the Americans, the Soviet Union also considered invading a major Japanese island, Hokkaido, by the end of August 1945,[77] which would have put pressure on the Allies to act sooner than November. The Soviets planned an invasion of Hokkaido in August 1945 At the Yalta Conference, Franklin Roosevelt secured a promise from Stalin to invade Japan, which was reiterated to Truman during the Potsdam Conference. The G-7 consists of the United States, Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Canada. This area would then be used as a further staging point to attack Honshu in Operation Coronet. ", "The Final Months of the War With Japan: Signals Intelligence, U.S. Here's what the U.S. Army had planned in case that didn't happen. 140 reconnaissance planes to detect the approach of the Allied fleet. [78][79][80] As a result, in Project Hula (1945), the United States transferred about 100 naval vessels out of the 180 planned to the Soviet Union in preparation for the planned Soviet entry into the war against Japan. The Soviets had arrived to train on the first of 149 vessels the U.S. Navy was transferring to the Soviet . This implied a total of 70,000 American casualties in the battle of Kyushu using the June projection of 350,000 Japanese defenders. Japanese intelligence predicted fairly closely where the invasion would take place: southern Kysh at Miyazaki, Ariake Bay and/or the Satsuma Peninsula. The Soviets had arrived to train on the first of 149 vessels the U.S. Navy was transferring to the Soviet Union. In 1944, early planning proposed a force of 5001,000 aircraft, including units dedicated to aerial refueling. Operation Olympic would attack southern Kysh. A number of surrender ceremonies took place across South East and East Asia culminating on 2 September when the formal instrument of surrender was signed by Allied and Japanese representatives on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. By the time the war ended, the Army was still trying to determine the optimal dispersal height to cover a wide enough area. On 29 July, MacArthur's intelligence chief, Major General Charles A. Willoughby, was the first to note that the April estimate allowed for the Japanese capability to deploy six divisions on Kyushu, with the potential to deploy ten. [70], On Marshall's orders, Major General John E. Hull looked into the tactical use of nuclear weapons for the invasion of the Japanese home islands, even after the dropping of two strategic atomic bombs on Japan (Marshall did not think that the Japanese would capitulate immediately). The capture of the Mariana Islands in November 1944 meant that air bases could be established to bomb Japan. Giangreco 7/19/2017 Daunting terrain and fanatical resistance threatened to take a horrific toll on GI invaders. The capital Rangoon was retaken in May 1945. A study done by General MacArthur's staff in June estimated 23,000 US casualties in the first 30 days of Olympic and 125,000 after 120 days, fighting an assumed Japanese force of 300,000[91] (in actuality some 917,000 Japanese troops were on Kyushu,[92]). Set to begin in November 1945, Operation Olympic was intended to capture the southern third of the southernmost main Japanese island, Kysh, with the recently captured island of Okinawa to be used as a staging area. This declaration was made by Soviet Foreign Prime Minister Vyacheslav Molotov to Japanese ambassador Naotake Sat at 11pm Trans-Baikal time. Victory over JapanDay marked the end of the Second World War in August 1945. Ultimately, the Army's viewpoint prevailed. General Umezu Yoshijiro, the army chief of staff, signed on behalf of the Imperial Japanese Army in front of the newly appointed Supreme Commander, Allied Powers in Japan, General Douglas MacArthur. Their surrender was caused by the dropping of two nuclear bombs by the United States on Aug 6 and Aug 9, on the cities of . Background An Army estimate in May was 3,391 planes; in June, 4,862; in August, 5,911. In Hell To Pay, military historian D.M. They hoped that at least 15 to 20% (or even up to a half) of the US transport ships would be destroyed before disembarkation. Kanto (Tokyo) 950,000 The plans for war with Japan may have been related to a longstanding territorial dispute concerning the strategically. The entry of the U.S. into the Alliance meant the scope of the planned cross-Channel invasion would grow. The Cold War Notes. [43], The Navy trained a unit of frogmen to serve as suicide bombers, the Fukuryu. [68], Fear of Japanese retaliation [to chemical weapon use] lessened because by the end of the war Japan's ability to deliver gas by air or long-range guns had all but disappeared. [25] Following negotiations, it was decided that Coronet would include a joint Commonwealth Corps, made up of infantry divisions from the Australian, British and Canadian armies. [citation needed], The Japanese had kamikaze aircraft in southern Honshu and Kyushu which would have opposed operations Olympic and Coronet. The Soviets invaded Japan-held Manchuria on Aug. 9.
