What was the codename for the planned first phase of the Allied invasion of Japan, targeting Kyushu?

Operation Olympic was the planned first phase of the Allied invasion of Japan, targeting Kyushu.

Olympic was scheduled to begin on November 1, 1945. The operation would have landed Allied forces on southern Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island, to seize airfields and establish bases for later operations. It formed the opening stage of the larger Operation Downfall plan.

The second stage was Operation Coronet, scheduled for March 1946. Coronet would have attacked the Kantō Plain near Tokyo. Olympic and Coronet were therefore related but distinct plans, while Downfall was the overall invasion concept.

Japan surrendered before Olympic began. The planned operation is historically important because it shows how seriously Allied leaders prepared for continued resistance. Its cancellation also meant that many troops, ships, aircraft, and logistical resources prepared for the invasion were redirected or demobilized instead of being committed to a campaign on Japan’s home islands.