Deep in the recesses of the National Archives in Washington, D.C.,
hidden for nearly four decades lie thousands of pages of yellowing and
dusty documents stamped "Top Secret". These documents, now
declassified, are the plans for Operation Downfall, the invasion of
Japan during World War II. Only a few Americans in 1945 were aware of
the elaborate plans that had been prepared for the Allied Invasion of
the Japanese home islands. Even fewer today are aware of the defenses
the Japanese had prepared to counter the invasion had it been launched.
Operation Downfall was finalized during the spring and summer of 1945.
It called for two massive military undertakings to be carried out in
succession and aimed at the heart of the Japanese Empire.
In the first invasion - code named "Operation Olympic"- American combat
troops would land on Japan by amphibious assault during the early
morning hours of November 1, 1945 - 61 years ago. Fourteen combat
divisions of soldiers and Marines would land on heavily fortified and
defended Kyushu, the southernmost of the Japanese home islands, after an
unprecedented naval and aerial bombardment.
The second invasion on March 1, 1946 - code named "Operation Coronet"-
would send at least 22 divisions against 1 million Japanese defenders on
the main island of Honshu and the Tokyo Plain. It's goal: the
unconditional surrender of Japan. With the exception of a part of the
British Pacific Fleet, Operation Downfall was to be a strictly American
operation. It called for using the entire Marine Corps, the entire
Pacific Navy, elements of the 7th Army Air Force, the 8 Air Force
(recently redeployed from Europe), 10th Air Force and the American Far
Eastern Air Force. More than 1.5 million combat soldiers, with 3
million more in support or more than 40% of all servicemen still in
uniform in
1945 - would be directly involved in the two amphibious assaults.
Casualties were expected to be extremely heavy.
Admiral William Leahy estimated that there would be more than 250,000
Americans killed or wounded on Kyushu alone. General Charles
Willoughby, chief of intelligence for General Douglas MacArthur, the
Supreme Commander of the Southwest Pacific, estimated American
casualties would be one million men by the Fall of 1946. Willoughby's
own intelligence staff considered this to be a conservative estimate.
During the summer of 1945, America had little time to prepare for such
an endeavor, but top military leaders were in almost unanimous agreement
that an invasion was necessary. While naval blockade and strategic
bombing of Japan was considered to be useful, General MacArthur, for
instance, did not believe a blockade would bring about an unconditional
surrender. The advocates for invasion agreed that while a naval
blockade chokes, it does not kill; and though strategic bombing might
destroy cities, it leaves whole armies intact.
So on May 25, 1945, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after extensive
deliberation, issued to General MacArthur, Admiral Chester Nimitz, and
Army Air Force General Henry Arnold, the top secret directive to proceed
with the invasion of Kyushu. The target date was after the typhoon
season.
President Truman approved the plans for the invasions July 24. Two days
later, the United Nations issued the Potsdam Proclamation, which called
upon Japan to surrender unconditionally or face total destruction.
Three days later, the Japanese governmental news agency broadcast to the
world that Japan would ignore the proclamation and would refuse to
surrender. During this same period it was learned -- via monitoring
Japanese radio broadcasts -- that Japan had closed all schools and
mobilized its school children, was arming its civilian population and
was fortifying caves and building underground defenses.
Operation Olympic called for a four pronged assault on Kyushu. Its
purpose was to seize and control the southern one-third of that island
and establish naval and air bases, to tighten the naval blockade of the
home islands, to destroy units of the main Japanese army and to support
the later invasion of the Tokyo Plain. The preliminary invasion would
began October 27 when the 40th Infantry Division would land on a series
of small islands west and southwest of Kyushu. At the same time, the
158th Regimental Combat Team would invade and occupy a small island 28
miles south of Kyushu. On these islands, seaplane bases would be
established and radar would be set up to provide advance air warning for
the invasion fleet, to serve as fighter direction centers for the
carrier-based aircraft and to provide an emergency anchorage for the
invasion fleet, should things not go well on the day of the invasion.
As the invasion grew imminent, the massive firepower of the Navy - the
Third and Fifth Fleets -- would approach Japan. The Third Fleet, under
Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, with its big guns and naval aircraft,
would provide strategic support for the operation against Honshu and
Hokkaido. Halsey's fleet would be composed of battleships, heavy
cruisers, destroyers, dozens of support ships and three fast carrier
task groups. From these carriers, hundreds of Navy fighters, dive
bombers and torpedo planes would hit targets all over the island of
Honshu. The 3,000 ship Fifth Fleet, under Admiral Raymond Spruance,
would carry the invasion troops.
Several days before the invasion, the battleships, heavy cruisers and
destroyers would pour thousands of tons of high explosives into the
target areas. They would not cease the bombardment until after the land
forces had been launched. During the early morning hours of November 1,
the invasion would begin. Thousands of soldiers and Marines would pour
ashore on beaches all along the eastern, southeastern, southern and
western coasts of Kyushu. Waves of Helldivers, Dauntless dive bombers,
Avengers, Corsairs, and Hellcats from 66 aircraft carriers would bomb,
rocket and strafe enemy defenses, gun emplacements and troop
concentrations along the beaches.
The Eastern Assault Force consisting of the 25th, 33rd, and 41st
Infantry Divisions, would land near Miyaski, at beaches called Austin,
Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, and Ford, and move inland to
attempt to capture the city and its nearby airfield. The Southern
Assault Force, consisting of the 1st Cavalry Division, the 43rd Division
and Americal Division would land inside Ariake Bay at beaches labeled
DeSoto, Dusenberg, Essex, Ford, and Franklin and attempt to capture
Shibushi and the city of Kanoya and its airfield.
On the western shore of Kyushu, at beaches Pontiac, Reo, Rolls Royce,
Saxon, Star, Studebaker, Stutz, Winston and Zephyr, the V Amphibious
Corps would land the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Marine Divisions, sending half of
its force inland to Sendai and the other half to the port city of
Kagoshima.
On November 4, the Reserve Force, consisting of the 81st and 98th
Infantry Divisions and the 11th Airborne Division, after feigning an
attack on the island of Shikoku, would be landed -- if not needed
elsewhere -- near Kaimondake, near the southernmost tip of Kagoshima
Bay, at the beaches designated Locomobile, Lincoln, LaSalle, Hupmobile,
Moon, Mercedes, Maxwell, Overland, Oldsmobile, Packard, and Plymouth.
Olympic was not just a plan for invasion, but for conquest and
occupation as well. It was expected to take four months to achieve its
objective, with the three fresh American divisions per month to be
landed in support of that operation if needed. If all went well with
Olympic, Coronet would be launched March 1,1946. Coronet would be twice
the size of Olympic, with as many as 28 divisions landing on Honshu.
All along the coast east of Tokyo, the American 1st Army would land the
5th, 7th, 27th, 44th, 86th, and 96th Infantry Divisions, along with the
4th and 6th Marine Divisions. At Sagami Bay, just south of Tokyo, the
entire 8th and 10th Armies would strike north and east to clear the long
western shore of Tokyo Bay and attempt to go as far as Yokohama. The
assault troops landing south of Tokyo would be the 4th, 6th, 8th, 24th,
31st, 37th, 38th, and 8th Infantry Divisions, along with the 13th and
20th Armored Divisions.
Following the initial assault, eight more divisions - the 2nd, 28th,
35th,
91st, 95th, 97th, and 104th Infantry Divisions and the 11th Airborne
Division -- would be landed. If additional troops were needed, as
expected, other divisions redeployed from Europe and undergoing training
in the United States would be shipped to Japan in what was hoped to be
the final push.
Captured Japanese documents and post war interrogations of Japanese
military leaders disclose that information concerning the number of
Japanese planes available for the defense of the home islands was
dangerously in error. During the sea battle at Okinawa alone, Japanese
Kamikaze aircraft sank 32 Allied ships and damaged more than 400 others.
But during the summer of 1945, American top brass concluded that the
Japanese had spent their air force since American bombers and fighters
daily flew unmolested over Japan.
What the military leaders did not know was that by the end of July the
Japanese had been saving all aircraft, fuel, and pilots in reserve, and
had been feverishly building new planes for the decisive battle for
their homeland. As part of Ketsu-Go, the name for the plan to defend
Japan -- the Japanese were building 20 suicide takeoff strips in
southern Kyushu with underground hangars. They also had 35 camouflaged
airfields and nine seaplane bases.
On the night before the expected invasion, 50 Japanese seaplane bombers,
100 former carrier aircraft and 50 land based army planes were to be
launched in a suicide attack on the fleet. The Japanese had 58 more
airfields in Korea, western Honshu and Shikoku, which also were to be
used for massive suicide attacks.
Allied intelligence had established that the Japanese had no more than
2,500 aircraft of which they guessed 300 would be deployed in suicide
attacks. In August 1945, however, unknown to Allied intelligence, the
Japanese still had 5,651 army and 7,074 navy aircraft, for a total of
12,725 planes of all types. Every village had some type of aircraft
manufacturing activity. Hidden in mines, railway tunnels, under
viaducts and in basements of department stores, work was being done to
construct new planes.
Additionally, the Japanese were building newer and more effective models
of the Okka, a rocket-propelled bomb much like the German V-1, but flown
by a suicide pilot. When the invasion became imminent, Ketsu-Go called
for a fourfold aerial plan of attack to destroy up to 800 Allied ships.
While Allied ships were approaching Japan, but still in the open seas,
an initial force of 2,000 army and navy fighters were to fight to the
death to control the skies over Kyushu. A second force of 330 navy
combat pilots were to attack the main body of the task force to keep it
from using its fire support and air cover to protect the troop carrying
transports. While these two forces were engaged, a third force of 825
suicide planes was to hit the American transports.
As the invasion convoys approached their anchorages, another 2,000
suicide planes were to be launched in waves of 200 to 300, to be used
in hour by hour attacks. By mid-morning of the first day of the
invasion, most of the American land-based aircraft would be forced to
return to their bases, leaving the defense against the suicide planes to
the carrier pilots and the shipboard gunners.
Carrier pilots crippled by fatigue would have to land time and time
again to rearm and refuel. Guns would malfunction from the heat of
continuous firing and ammunition would become scarce. Gun crews would
be exhausted by nightfall, but still the waves of kamikaze would
continue. With the fleet hovering off the beaches, all remaining
Japanese aircraft would be committed to nonstop suicide attacks, which
the Japanese hoped could be sustained for 10 days. The Japanese planned
to coordinate their air strikes with attacks from the 40 remaining
submarines from the Imperial Navy -- some armed with Long Lance
torpedoes with a range of 20 miles -- when the invasion fleet was 180
miles off Kyus hu.
The Imperial Navy had 23 destroyers and two cruisers which were
operational. These ships were to be used to counterattack the American
invasion. A number of the destroyers were to be beached at the last
minute to be used as anti-invasion gun platforms. Once offshore, the
invasion fleet would be forced to defend not only against the attacks
from the air, but would also be confronted with suicide attacks from
sea. Japan had established a suicide naval attack unit of midget
submarines, human torpedoes and exploding motorboats.
The goal of the Japanese was to shatter the invasion before the landing.
The Japanese were convinced the Americans would back off or become so
demoralized that they would then accept a less-than-unconditional
surrender and a more honorable and face-saving end for the Japanese.
But as horrible as the battle of Japan would be off the beaches, it
would be on Japanese soil that the American forces would face the most
rugged and fanatical defense encountered during the war.
Throughout the island-hopping Pacific campaign, Allied troops had always
out numbered the Japanese by 2 to 1 and sometimes 3 to 1. In Japan it
would be different. By virtue of a combination of cunning, guesswork,
and brilliant military reasoning, a number of Japan's top military
leaders were able to deduce, not only when, but where, the United States
would land its first invasion forces.
Facing the 14 American divisions landing at Kyushu would be 14 Japanese
divisions, 7 independent mixed brigades, 3 tank brigades and thousands
of naval troops. On Kyushu the odds would be 3 to 2 in favor of the
Japanese, with 790,000 enemy defenders against 550,000 Americans. This
time the bulk of the Japanese defenders would not be the poorly trained
and ill-equipped labor battalions that the Americans had faced in the
earlier campaigns.
The Japanese defenders would be the hard core of the home army. These
troops were well-fed and well equipped. They were familiar with the
terrain, had stockpiles of arms and ammunition, and had developed an
effective system of transportation and supply almost invisible from the
air. Many of these Japanese troops were the elite of the army, and they
were swollen with a fanatical fighting spirit. Japan's network of beach
defenses consisted of offshore mines, thousands of suicide scuba divers
attacking landing craft, and mines planted on the beaches. Coming
ashore, the American Eastern amphibious assault forces at Miyazaki would
face three Japanese divisions, and two others poised for counter attack.
Awaiting the Southeastern attack force at Ariake Bay was an entire
division and at least one mixed infantry brigade.
On the western shores of Kyushu, the Marines would face the most brutal
opposition. Along the invasion beaches would be the three Japanese
divisions, a tank brigade, a mixed infantry brigade and an artillery
command. Components of two divisions would also be poised to launch
counterattacks. If not needed to reinforce the primary landing beaches,
the American Reserve Force would be landed at the base of Kagoshima Bay
November 4, where they would be confronted by two mixed infantry
brigades, parts of two infantry divisions and thousands of naval troops.
All along the invasion beaches, American troops would face coastal
batteries, anti-landing obstacles and a network of heavily fortified
pillboxes, bunkers, and underground fortresses. As Americans waded
ashore, they would face intense artillery and mortar fire as they worked
their way through concrete rubble and barbed-wire entanglements arranged
to funnel them into the muzzles of these Japanese guns.
On the beaches and beyond would be hundreds of Japanese machine gun
positions, beach mines, booby traps, trip-wire mines and sniper units.
Suicide units concealed in "spider holes" would engage the troops as
they passed nearby. In the heat of battle, Japanese infiltration units
would be sent to reap havoc in the American lines by cutting phone and
communication lines. Some of the Japanese troops would be in American
uniform; English-speaking Japanese officers were assigned to break in on
American radio traffic to call off artillery fire, to order retreats and
to further confuse troops.
Other infiltration with demolition charges strapped on their chests or
backs would attempt to blow up American tanks, artillery pieces and
ammunition stores as they were unloaded ashore.
Beyond the beaches were large artillery pieces situated to bring down a
curtain of fire on the beach. Some of these large guns were mounted on
railroad tracks running in and out of caves protected by concrete and
steel. The battle for Japan would be won by what Simon Bolivar Buckner,
a lieutenant general in the Confederate army during the Civil War, had
called "Prairie Dog Warfare." This type of fighting was almost unknown
to the ground troops in Europe and the Mediterranean. It was peculiar
only to the soldiers and Marines who fought the Japanese on islands all
over the Pacific -- at Tarawa, Saipan,
Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Prairie Dog Warfare was a battle for yards, feet and sometimes inches.
It was brutal, deadly and dangerous form of combat aimed at an
underground, heavily fortified, non-retreating enemy. In the mountains
behind the Japanese beaches were underground networks of caves, bunkers,
command posts and hospitals connected by miles of tunnels with dozens of
entrances and exits. Some of these complexes could hold up to 1,000
troops. In addition to the use of poison gas and bacteriological
warfare (which the Japanese had experimented with), Japan mobilized its
citizenry.
Had Olympic come about, the Japanese civilian population, inflamed by a
national slogan - "One Hundred Million Will Die for the Emperor and
Nation" - were prepared to fight to the death. Twenty Eight Million
Japanese had become a part of the National Volunteer Combat Force. They
were armed with ancient rifles, lunge mines, satchel charges, Molotov
cocktails and one-shot black powder mortars. Others were armed with
swords, long bows, axes and bamboo spears. The civilian units were to
be used in nighttime attacks, hit and run maneuvers, delaying actions
and massive suicide charges at the weaker American positions. At the
early stage of the invasion, 1,000 Japanese and American soldiers would
be dying every hour.
The invasion of Japan never became a reality because on August 6, 1945,
an atomic bomb was exploded over Hiroshima. Three days later, a second
bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.
Within days the war with Japan was at a close. Had these bombs not been
dropped and ha d the invasion been launched as scheduled, combat
casualties in Japan would have been at a minimum of the tens of
thousands. Every foot of Japanese soil would have been paid for by
Japanese and American lives.
One can only guess at how many civilians would have committed suicide in
their homes or in futile mass military attacks. In retrospect, the 1
million American men who were to be the casualties of the invasion, were
instead lucky enough to survive the war. Intelligence studies and
military estimates made 50 years ago, and not latter-day speculation,
clearly indicate that the battle for Japan might well have resulted in
the biggest blood-bath in the history of modern warfare.
Far worse would be what might have happened to Japan as a nation and as
a culture. When the invasion came, it would have come after several
months of fire bombing all of the remaining Japanese cities. The cost in
human life that resulted from the two atomic blasts would be small in
comparison to the total number of Japanese lives that would have been
lost by this aerial devastation.
With American forces locked in combat in the south of Japan, little
could have prevented the Soviet Union from marching into the northern
half of the Japanese home islands. Japan today could be divided much
like Korea and Germany. The world was spared the cost of Operation
Downfall, however, because Japan formally surrendered to the United
Nations September 2, 1945, and World War II was over. The aircraft
carriers, cruisers and transport ships scheduled to carry the invasion
troops to Japan, ferried home American troops in a gigantic operation
called Magic Carpet.
In the fall of 1945, in the aftermath of the war, few people concerned
themselves with the invasion plans. Following the surrender, the
classified documents, maps, diagrams and appendices for Operation
Downfall were packed away in boxes and eventually stored at the National
Archives. These plans that called for the invasion of Japan paint a
vivid description of what might have been one of the most horrible
campaigns in the history of man. The fact that the story of the
invasion of Japan is locked up in the National Archives, and is not told
in our history books is something for which all Americans can be
thankful.
Rewritten by Ben Johnson