The operation had two parts, Operation Olympic, intended to capture the southern third of the southernmost main Japanese island,
Kyūshū, and Operation Coronet, the planned invasion of the
Kantō Plain, near
Tokyo, on the main Japanese island of
Honshu. Olympic was scheduled for November 1945, to be followed by Coronet in early 1946.
Theatre and ground force commanders for the invasion of Japan
Gen. Douglas MacArthur
Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger
Supreme Commander, Allied Forces Pacific General Douglas MacArthur
Ground forces
Should these four corps prove insufficient to accomplish the tasks assigned, elements earmarked for Coronet would be used to reinforce Sixth Army at the rate of three divisions per month beginning about 30 days after the initial landings.
Thirty days after the initial assault, each army would be reinforced by a corps of 3 divisions. Five days later an airborne division and a United States Army Forces Pacific Reserve Corps of 3 divisions would be made available. Strategic reserve for the entire operation would consist of a corps of 3 divisions located in the Philippines and divisions from the United States to permit reinforcement at the rate of 4 per month.[3]
Unsourced listing of the aforementioned reinforcements
All Japanese formations on
Honshu were badly understrength and lacking in equipment. The American First Army's landings would likely have been opposed by the Japanese 52nd Army and the Eighth Army's landings by the Japanese 53rd Army.
^Giangreco, Dennis M. (2009). Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945–1947. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. p. xvi.
ISBN978-1-59114-316-1.
^
abcdeThe majority of these units (86,000 men total) would have been ordered to counterattack at Ariake, though it is questionable how many of the tanks would have been able to survive an air attack.
The operation had two parts, Operation Olympic, intended to capture the southern third of the southernmost main Japanese island,
Kyūshū, and Operation Coronet, the planned invasion of the
Kantō Plain, near
Tokyo, on the main Japanese island of
Honshu. Olympic was scheduled for November 1945, to be followed by Coronet in early 1946.
Theatre and ground force commanders for the invasion of Japan
Gen. Douglas MacArthur
Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger
Supreme Commander, Allied Forces Pacific General Douglas MacArthur
Ground forces
Should these four corps prove insufficient to accomplish the tasks assigned, elements earmarked for Coronet would be used to reinforce Sixth Army at the rate of three divisions per month beginning about 30 days after the initial landings.
Thirty days after the initial assault, each army would be reinforced by a corps of 3 divisions. Five days later an airborne division and a United States Army Forces Pacific Reserve Corps of 3 divisions would be made available. Strategic reserve for the entire operation would consist of a corps of 3 divisions located in the Philippines and divisions from the United States to permit reinforcement at the rate of 4 per month.[3]
Unsourced listing of the aforementioned reinforcements
All Japanese formations on
Honshu were badly understrength and lacking in equipment. The American First Army's landings would likely have been opposed by the Japanese 52nd Army and the Eighth Army's landings by the Japanese 53rd Army.
^Giangreco, Dennis M. (2009). Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945–1947. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. p. xvi.
ISBN978-1-59114-316-1.
^
abcdeThe majority of these units (86,000 men total) would have been ordered to counterattack at Ariake, though it is questionable how many of the tanks would have been able to survive an air attack.