Operation Olympic was the planned first stage of the Allied invasion of Japan, targeting southern Kyushu.
Olympic was scheduled to begin on November 1, 1945. The plan called for Allied forces to seize the southern third of Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island, and use captured airfields to support a later advance toward Tokyo.
The operation was part of the larger Operation Downfall plan. Its second stage, Operation Coronet, was intended to attack the Kanto Plain near Tokyo in spring 1946. Olympic was canceled when Japan accepted surrender terms in August 1945.
The planned landings reflected military geography: Kyushu was closer to existing Allied bases and offered sites from which aircraft could support later operations. Allied planners expected intense resistance because Japanese forces were preparing to defend the home islands against invasion.