The Planned Invasion of Japan, Ww2

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Operation Downfall was the proposed invasion of mainland Japan by Allied Forces near the end of WWII..  It was canceled because the atomic bombs were dropped and Japan surrendered, thereby removing the need for a military conquest.  It would have been the largest amphibious invasion in history, and it would have been the first time that any foreign power had set foot on mainland Japanese soil in the country’s 2500 year history.

The Pacific War, or pacific theater, began in July 7, 1937 when the Empire of Japan attacked and over whelmed Pacific nations. The war had already been going on for 4 years before the U.S. joined the fight. The U.S. became involved after the bombings of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In the next three years the U.S.  pushed the Japanese out of the Philippines, Borneo, New Guinea, Iwo Jima, southeastern Asia, and many other East Indian islands. The sacrifice was 106,000  American casualties, and 250,000 wounded or missing.

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In 1945, the United States was at the gates of their enemy, the Japanese mainland. The Japanese navy and air force was destroyed, and there was little hope that Japan would even survive. To get the Japanese to surrender, an around-the-clock bombing campaign on Japan began. The air raids flown, alone  killed around 500,000 Japanese people, and made 5 million others homeless or wounded.  They also destroyed key manufacturing plants, and created enormous firestorms that destroyed 67 cities. But, even though Japan had been defeated they refused to surrender.

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Since the air raids were not enough to made Japan surrender another solution was sought. The plan was to drop atomic bombs on Japan, but only a few hundred of people knew about it. Because the atomic bombs were not known of a land invasion was suggested. So because there looked to be no other way, in the summer of 1945 the top military leaders unanimous agreed upon a land invasion. It was code named Operation Downfall.