What was the planned Allied invasion of Kyushu called during the 1945 Japan campaign?

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The planned Allied invasion of Kyushu during the 1945 Japan campaign was called Operation Olympic.

Olympic was the first stage of Operation Downfall, the wider plan to invade Japan’s home islands. It was scheduled to begin on 1 November 1945, with Allied forces landing in southern Kyushu and using the captured territory as a base for later operations.

The plan assumed that Okinawa would serve as a staging area. Allied planners intended to seize airfields and coastal positions in Kyushu so aircraft could support the later invasion of Honshu. The proposed naval force would have included hundreds of major ships and escorts.

Olympic was never launched. Japan announced acceptance of the Allied surrender terms in August, and the formal surrender followed on 2 September. Operation Coronet, the planned second stage near Tokyo, was therefore canceled as well.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026

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