Which part of Operation Downfall was planned as the November 1945 invasion of Kyushu?

Operation Olympic was the planned November 1945 invasion of Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island. It was the first stage of the larger Allied invasion plan known as Operation Downfall.

Allied planners intended to capture the southern third of Kyushu and use airfields there to support a later assault. Okinawa, which Allied forces had captured in June 1945 after a devastating battle, was expected to serve as a major staging area for the operation.

The second stage of Downfall was Operation Coronet, scheduled for spring 1946 against the Kantō Plain near Tokyo on Honshu. These plans were never carried out because Japan surrendered in August 1945 after the atomic bombings, the Soviet entry into the war, and mounting military pressure.

Operation Olympic is often mistaken for the entire invasion plan. Downfall was the umbrella operation; Olympic was its Kyushu phase. The invasion was expected to involve enormous forces and potentially severe casualties on both sides, though exact estimates varied widely among planners.