OPERATION DOWNFALL

This site is dedicated to gathering data pertinent to Operation DOWNFALL, the Allied amphibious assaults on Japan (Operations OLYMPIC and CORONET) planned for 1945 and 1946 and providing them in one place. The site focuses on this in two ways: (1) describing the state of Allied land, naval, and air forces on/about 1 August 1945—before the impeding surrender began to influence operations and (2) excerpting sections various plans for the execution of Operation DOWNFALL—with emphasis on the later versions of those plans.

Map showing Japan's planned defense forces, including principal bases, divisional mounts, and areas for the invasion of Japan during 1945-1946. The map features regions such as Korea, China, the Philippines, and Taiwan, with annotations indicating military movements and dates.

To date the website has been focusing on USA, USN, USMC, AAF documents with more to come. Future plans for the site include addition of documents related to Japanese plans, projected use of new weapons (atomic bombs, gas, airborne early warning, early cruise missiles), alternate plans, and deception plans.