Operation Olympic was the first planned phase of Operation Downfall, the proposed Allied invasion of Japan.
Olympic was scheduled to begin on November 1, 1945, with an invasion of southern Kyushu. The plan called for Allied forces to seize beaches and airfields that could support later operations. The intended invasion area included the southern part of Kyushu, Japan’s westernmost major home island.
The second phase, Operation Coronet, was planned for March 1, 1946, and would have targeted the Kantō Plain near Tokyo on Honshu. Together, Olympic and Coronet formed the broader invasion plan known as Downfall.
Neither phase took place. Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration in August 1945 and formally surrendered on September 2, before the projected invasion dates. The existence of the plans is sometimes confused with an actual battle, but Olympic was never launched. Its preparation helps explain why the surrender was evaluated alongside expectations of a costly invasion of Japan’s home islands.