What would have happened if Japan was invaded?

The U.S. government estimated that invading the Japanese Home Islands would cost 5 to 10 million Japanese lives. In addition, Japan was faced with a major famine during the winter of 1945/1946 and beyond. The November 1 invasion would have a “force to be landed” of about 766,000.

What kind of casualties did the allies expect if they invaded the Japanese home islands?

A study done for Secretary of War Henry Stimson’s staff by William Shockley estimated that invading Japan would cost 1.7–4 million American casualties, including 400,000–800,000 fatalities, and five to ten million Japanese fatalities.

How many lives would a land invasion of Japan cost?

A July 1945 U.S. government report estimated that invading the Japanese Home Islands would cost five million to 10 million Japanese lives. The U.S. landing, planned for Nov. 1, 1945, was to be substantially larger than the 1944 Normandy landing in Europe. More than 156,000 Allied troops landed on D-Day.

Did the US ever invade Japan?

On April 1, 1945, the United States invaded the Japanese island of Okinawa. This was the last major battle of World War II. It was a costly victory. It was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific during World War II.

How many Americans would have died if they invaded Japan?

The Japanese also planned, that in the event of an invasion of Japan, all Allied prisoners of war were to be executed; that would have been about 15,000 dead Americans (and 100,00 total Allied), not counting any in the invasion force.

How many Japanese died in Operation Olympic?

In late July 1945, the War Department provided an estimate that the entire Downfall operations would cause between 1.7 to 4 million U.S. casualties, including 400-800,000 U.S. dead, and 5 to 10 million Japanese dead.

How many Japanese died in Operation Downfall?

Operation Downfall — The Campaign to Conquer Japan Would Have Dwarfed the D-Day Landings. The plan to invade the Japanese home islands in 1945 and 1946 would have been the deadliest campaign in military history costing nearly 1 million Allied dead and up to 10 million Japanese.

What was the downfall in WW2?

Details of Downfall. Downfall was the brainchild of Admiral Chester Nimitz and generals Douglas MacArthur and George Marshall. It was comprised of TWO mammoth amphibious operations. The first phase, dubbed Operation Olympic was planned as a November, 1945 assault on the southernmost Japanese home island of Kyushu.

What were the two main operations of the invasion of Japan?

The invasion plan was assigned the cover name “Downfall” and consisted of two main operations: “Olympic,” the preliminary assault on the southern island of Kyushu, which was slated for 1 December 1945, and “Coronet,” the subsequent landing on Honshu, which was scheduled for 1 March 1946.

What was Operation Downfall and why was it important?

Operation Downfall itself was divided into two parts – Operation Olympic and Operation Coronet. By mid-1945, it was apparent that the collapse of Japan was near and the Allies had to plan for the invasion of the Japanese mainland – something that they knew would be very costly in terms of lives lost.