What was the planned Allied operation to invade Japan’s island of Kyushu in 1945?

Operation Olympic was the planned Allied operation to invade Kyushu, Japan, in November 1945. It was the first stage of the proposed invasion plan known as Operation Downfall.

Olympic would have landed American forces on southern Kyushu and established bases for the next phase. Operation Coronet, planned for March 1946, was intended to attack Honshu near Tokyo. Japan’s surrender in August 1945 meant that neither operation was carried out.

Operation Downfall is therefore the name of the overall invasion plan, not the specific Kyushu operation. This distinction is a common source of confusion. Allied planners developed the operations because Japan had not yet accepted surrender terms and an invasion was considered a possible alternative to continued blockade and bombing.