Which operation was the planned Allied invasion of southern Kyushu in November 1945?

Operation Olympic was the planned Allied invasion of southern Kyushu in November 1945.

Olympic formed the first stage of Operation Downfall, the larger proposed invasion of Japan’s home islands. Its objective was to capture the southern third of Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island, using Okinawa as a staging base. The operation was scheduled to begin on November 1, 1945.

The captured territory and airfields were intended to support the second phase, Operation Coronet. Coronet would have attacked the Kanto Plain near Tokyo on Honshu in spring 1946. Japan’s surrender in August 1945 meant that neither invasion took place.

Operation Olympic is sometimes mistaken for the entire Downfall plan. Downfall was the overall invasion concept, while Olympic was its Kyushu phase. The operation also had a related deception plan called Operation Pastel, designed to mislead Japanese planners about the Allies’ intended invasion route.