Which phase of planned Operation Downfall was intended to invade southern Kyushu?

Operation Olympic was the planned phase of Operation Downfall intended to invade southern Kyushu. Allied planners scheduled its initial landings for November 1, 1945, but Japan surrendered before the operation began.

Downfall was the proposed Allied invasion of Japan’s home islands. Olympic would have captured the southern third of Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island, and secured airfields and staging areas for the next phase. The plan used Okinawa as an important forward base.

The second phase, Operation Coronet, was scheduled for spring 1946 and aimed at the Kanto Plain near Tokyo on Honshu. Together, Olympic and Coronet would have required a massive concentration of Allied troops, ships, aircraft, and supplies.

Because Japan surrendered after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet entry into the war against Japan, neither invasion occurred. “Operation Downfall” is the overall plan; “Olympic” is the Kyushu phase, while “Coronet” is the planned Honshu phase.