Operation Olympic
Invasion Information
Planning
Strategy
Defenses
Casualties
Olympic Facts
Olympic Maps
Books
1945
Burning Mountain
Codename Downfall
Death Is Lighter Than a Feather
Downfall
MacArthur's War
The Invasion of Japan
| Our Other Military Sites |
| World War II |
| Operation Barbarossa 1941 German Invasion of Russia |
| Operation Citadel 1943 The Battle of Kursk |
| Operation Dragoon 1944 Invasion of southern France |
| Operation Varsity 1945 Crossing the Rhine |
| Invasions That Never Were |
| Operation Sealion 1940 German invasion of England |
| Operation Olympic 1945 US invasion of southern Japan |
| Operation Coronet 1946 US invasion of northern Japan |
| Special Forces |
| Operation Entebbe 1976 Entebbe Airport Rescue |
| Operation Nimrod 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege |
| British Cold War Operations |
| Operation Musketeer 1956 Suez Crisis |
| Operation Corporate 1982 Falklands War |
| Operation Black Buck 1982 Vulcan raids on Port Stanley |
| Operation Granby 1990-91 Persian Gulf |
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| Operation Olympic > Invasion Information > Strategy |
Strategy for the Invasion
Operation Olympic was to be proceded by a deception plan intended to draw away as many Japanese forces as possible. This deception plan was known as "Operation Pastel", and the idea was to convince the Japanese that no direct invasion was planned, and instead the allies were going to size Chinese ports with a view to a blockade/siege strategy.
The next step in the invasion would be the seizure of three Japanese offshore islands (Koshikijima, Tanegashima, and Yakushima), begin five days before the main invasion. The purpose of this was so that these islands would be available as secure anchorages for ships that were either not being used during landings or were damaged by air attack.
The invasion proper would then begin on November 1st, "X-Day". A total of fourteen US divisions of the the US Sixth Army would take part in the initial landings, with a corps landing at each of three points (Ariake, Kushikino and Miyazaki) using a total of 35 landing beaches, each of which was codenamed after a particular type of automobile.
The invasion would have been supported by the largest naval armada in history. The fleet combined US and Commonwealth (the British Pacific Fleet included British, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian ships) naval units, including 42 aircraft carriers, 24 battleships, and hundreds of destroyers and escorts. Furthermore, three US Air Forces (5th, 7th and 13th), perhaps augmented by the Australian First Tactical Air Force, would have provided close air support. Additionally, the US 20th Air Force would have continued in its strategic bombing role, and been reinforced with 10 Commonwealth squadrons of heavy bombers ("Tiger Force")
The ultimate objective in Operation Olympic was not to capture the whole of Kyushu, but rather to capture the southern third of the island. This would be then be used as a base (and airbase) for the follow-up, Operation Coronet.
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