What was the overall Allied plan for invading Japan's home islands in World War II?

Operation Downfall was the overall Allied plan for invading Japan's home islands in World War II.

The proposed operation had two main stages. Operation Olympic called for an invasion of southern Kyūshū, while Operation Coronet planned a much larger landing on Honshū near Tokyo. Olympic was scheduled for November 1945 and Coronet for March 1946.

Downfall was never carried out. Japan surrendered before the planned invasion, following the atomic bombings, the Soviet entry into the war, and the Japanese government's decision to accept the Potsdam terms. The plan nonetheless shaped Allied military preparations in the final months of the war.

Operation Downfall is sometimes confused with Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Overlord concerned the liberation of Western Europe; Downfall was the proposed invasion of Japan.