What two Allied invasion operations made up the planned 1945 invasion of Japan under Operation Downfall?

Olympic and Coronet were the two planned invasion operations within Operation Downfall.

Operation Olympic was scheduled as the first phase and would have attacked southern Kyushu. Operation Coronet was planned as the follow-up assault on the Kanto Plain near Tokyo. Together, they formed the proposed large-scale invasion of Japan if the country did not surrender.

Olympic was projected for November 1945, while Coronet was planned for March 1946. Allied planners expected enormous forces and anticipated severe casualties because Japanese defenses and civilian mobilization were being prepared for a homeland battle.

Japan’s surrender in August 1945 meant neither operation took place. Operation Downfall is therefore a plan rather than a battle. It is often confused with Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944, but Overlord belonged to the European war and had already succeeded.