Operation downfall and the invasion of japan 194547. Theres nothing inherently wrong with this, but sutherland is a primary source, and as such needs to be used with care. By this time hitler had begun to reverse the treaty of versailles by rebuilding his army and moving troops into the rhineland. Difference between primary and secondary data with. National security archive electronic briefing book no. The main argument in support of the decision to use the atomic bomb is that it saved american lives which would otherwise have been lost in two ddaystyle land invasions of the main islands of the japanese homeland.
White house meeting invasion of japan 18 june 1945. Russian regional, local and family history sources. Strategic plan for operations in the japanese archipelago by ghq us army forces in. This is the lesson man and leaders everywhere must learn, and i believe that when they learn it they will find a way to lasting peace. Prisonerofwar interrogations had been a source of intelligence for allied. Operation downfall the campaign to conquer japan would. Recent work in japanese military history, february 16, 1998 dropping the bomb on japan. Operation downfall would have involved hundreds of ships, thousands of planes and hundreds of thousands of troops in the largest amphibious assault in history, easily dwarfing the dday landings operation overlord of june 1944. Giangreco w orld war ii ended with the dropping of the bomb on hiroshima and nagasaki. Under this directive, general macarthur was given the primary responsibility for the conduct of the entire operation including control, in case of exigencies, of the actual amphibious assault through the appropriate naval commander.
Operation downfall the invasion of japan, november, 1945. General krueger, sixth army, with nine divisions 3 more in reserve was to invade three beaches in southern kyushu, the southernmost of the four japanese home islands. These documents, now declassified, are the plans for operation downfall, the. Operation downfall was the proposed allied plan for the invasion of the japanese home. Downfall, the grand plan for the invasion of japan, contemplated a gargantuan blow against the islands of kyushu and honshu, using the entire available combined resources of the army, navy.
The hiroshima operation was originally slated to begin in early august depending on local conditions. About 5,000 ships and,000 aircrafts were involved in dday. A survey of primary sources from the summer of 1945 and the months afterward reveals a variety of opinions, arguments, and justifications regarding the use of atomic weapons. This document gave me a detailed description of the planning and ideas surrounding operation downfall. Dropping the atomic bomb primary sources operation. Preface v marine amphibious corps planning for operation. Operation downfall, the invasion of japan, was in two components scheduled for the fall and spring of 194546. Powered by create your own unique website with customizable templates. What if operation downfall had happened spacebattles forums. Operation downfall was the proposed allied plan for the invasion of the japanese home islands near the end of world war ii in asia. He had certainly read extremely widely in the authors from the ancient world. In real history, the japanese military had almost successfully took over japan the kyujo incident.
While the war was being fought in the philippines and okinawa, plans were ripening rapidly for the largest amphibious operation in the history of warfare. The invasion never needed to be carried out, but the plans had reached a very advanced stage by the time the two atomic bombs. Operation downfall itself was divided into two parts operation olympic and operation coronet. The failure of german troops to defeat soviet forces in the campaign signaled a crucial turning point in the war. His depth of scholarship in analysing primary and secondary sources, including the g2 intelligence estimates of the enemy situation on kyushu and the analysis of japanese planes for the defense of kyushu. Operation downfall should the atomic bombs have been. Operation downfall and its smaller phases like operation olympic. Lesson plan atomic bombs the war in the pacific 85 procedure 1. Operation wetback by george stith 1952 there were about 25,000 mexican nationals hired in 1949 operation wetback by juanita garcia 1952 the ranchers and companies have always taken over youngstown v. It discusses the us plans, preparations and additionally. There arent supporting secondary sources deployed to back up the interpretation of sutherland thats given, or to support the prominence of the use of the source in the first place.
Strategic plan for operations in the japanese archipelago by ghq us army forces in the pacific, 28 may 1945. The operation was canceled when japan surrendered following the atomic bombing of hiroshima and nagasaki, and the soviet unions declaration of war against japan operation downfall consisted of two parts operation olympic and operation coronet. Had the invasion not been preempted by the dropping of the atom bombs on hiroshima and nagasaki, almost all agree that the campaign would have stood as the bloodiest chapter of the second world war, adding as much as. The cost of this victorious dday was dreadful killing and wounding about 100,00o military men. Use the overview essay to introduce your students to the us development and use of atomic weapons and to the debate among historians over the reasons for dropping the bombs, the alternatives that existed at the time, and whether the bombs were necessary to end the war. The invasion never needed to be carried out, but the plans had reached a very advanced stage by the time the two atomic bombs ended the war. Also used as a primary source were records from the u. This video takes a look at operation olympic, which was part of operation downfall the invasion of japan and focused on the island kyushu. This sudden and unanticipated conclusion to the conflict was greeted with joy by the entire nation, not least by the 2. In the first invasion code named operation olympic american combat troops.
That did not include the millions of japanese casualties that would far exceed that as the japanese government was equiping the entire population for fanatical. Declassified plans for world war ii invasion of japan 2011. The japanese plans for the defense of kyushu by hq sixth army, 31 december 1945. Richard hacken, european studies librarian, harold b. Primary sources 1 leopold trepper, the head of the red orchestra, kept joseph stalin and the red army informed of the planned german invasion of the soviet union. Operation downfall and the invasion of japan tillmann, barrett. Throughout this time he made passionate speeches about expanding german territory. In history, before the two atomic bombs were dropped on nagasaki and hiroshima, the u. These words and deeds worried some foreign observers. The final months of the war with japan central intelligence. The first invasion, operation olympic, called for fourteen combat divisions of soldiers and marines into the very heavily fortified japanese home island of kyushu. Operation downfall was the codename for the allied plan for the invasion of japan near the end of world war ii. Downfall strategic plan for operations in the japanese archipelago. Operation olympic, nov 1, 1945, after the hurricane season, before winter.
The first, against the southern island of kyushu, had been scheduled for november 1 operation torch. Why did the us bomb japan in wwii instead of invading. Forces in the pacific, operation coronet staff study. Jul 07, 2008 according to allenpolmar, codename downfall, p. Operation downfall project gutenberg selfpublishing. Learn more about operation barbarossa in this article.
Set to begin in october 1945, operation olympic was intended to. If not needed to reinforce the primary landing beaches, the american reserve. Unfortunately, the numbers in these documents usually 30day estimates have. Us plans and japanese countermeasures, at the university of kansas symposium beyond bushido. This assault was to be split into two parts, operation olympic and operation coronet. The planned operation was cancelled when japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki, the soviet declaration of war and the invasion of manchuria. Operation downfall was the name given to the planned invasion of japan. Operation downfall and the invasion of japan, 19451947, by d.
Downfall strategicplan for operations in the jmpenesearchipelago table of contents paragraph 1directive paragraph 2assumptions hostile b. Operation downfall and the invasion of japan, 19451947 is the most comprehensive examination of the myriad complex issues that comprised the strategic plans for the american invasion of japan. Force would attempt to seal the source of japans industrial potential by. Down below are two primary source links on operation overlord also known as dday. Whirlwind the air war against japan 19421945 spector, ronald h eagle against the sun the. By mid1945, it was apparent that the collapse of japan was near and the allies had to plan for the invasion of the japanese mainland something that they knew would be very costly in terms of lives lost. After the united states dropped the atom bomb on hiroshima, emperor hirohitos cabinet rejected the idea of surrender. Operation downfall the alternative to the use of atomic bombs as published in the oak ridgers historically speaking column on october 7, 20 3 have another war. Operation downfall projected us casualties could run over a million killed and wounded. Apr 21, 2017 this video takes a look at operation olympic, which was part of operation downfall the invasion of japan and focused on the island kyushu. Primary data is available in the raw form whereas secondary data is the refined form of primary data.
It can also be said that secondary data is obtained when statistical methods are applied to the primary data. Only after the soviets invaded japaneseheld manchuria and the second at. Transcript of operation downfall us invasion of japan. Downfallstrategic plan for operations in the japanese. Whirlwind the air war against japan 19421945 spector, ronald h. Apr 30, 2020 primary sources related to wwii 19391945 sources related to the normandy invasion, 1944. Department of the navy headquarters united states marine corps washington, dc 203800001 26 september 1991 foreword 1. Strategic plan for operations in the japanase archipelago, is published to ensure the retention and dissemination of useful information which is not intended to become doctrine or to be published. This website was very helpful in primary source documents and giving their own analysis of what happened. The invasion of japan operation olympic downfall youtube. Purpose fleet marine force reference publication fmfrp 1239,do wnfa. Im or document to embed this object, paste this html in website. These missions included operation of antiaircraft sites around key. The operational plans, staff studies and intelligence estimates produced by general macarthurs staff, admiral nimitzs staff, the u.
The final months of the war with japan central intelligence agency. In its final form, operation downfall called for a massive allied invasionon a scale dwarfing ddayto be carried out in two stages. Embracing the variety of opinions while also presenting a narrative that depicts the decision and its effects from multiple perspectives is a nearimpossible task. Operation downfall the invasion of japan, november, 1945 an invasion not found in the history books by james martin davis, the omaha world herald, november, 1987 deep in the recesses of the national archives in washington, d. Operation downfall was the overall allied plan for the invasion of japan near the end of world war ii. Military plans for the invasion of japan, thomas fensch editor this is a very useful collection of official american documents relating to operation downfall, the plan for the invasion of japan. The primary considerations that the planners had to deal with were time and casualtieshow they could force japans surrender as quickly as possible.
Lee library, brigham young university, provo, utah, usa. Sawyer 1952 there is no statute that expressly authorizes the president to take possession of property as he did here. Olympic, 8 august 1945, naval historical center, the portion of the total forces to be landed in the invasion were in 14 divisions with at most some 350,000 troops. Home world war ii operational documents downfall strategic plan for operations in the japanese archipelago. Us and japanese documents shed light on first use of atomic.
Operation downfall the alternative to the use of atomic bombs. World war ii education resources macarthur memorial. Main article primary sources 1 leopold trepper, the head of the red orchestra, kept joseph stalin and the red army informed of the planned german invasion of the soviet union. He wrote about this in his autobiography, the great game 1977 on december 18, 1940, hitler signed directive number 21, better known as operation barbarossa. Operation downfall and the invasion of japan, 19451947, by d m giangreco annapo lis, md. Operation downfall the campaign to conquer japan would have. Operation downfall and the invasion of japan, 19451947 at. Data collected through primary sources are more reliable and accurate as compared to the secondary sources. Operation barbarossa, during world war ii, code name for the german invasion of the soviet union, which was launched on june 22, 1941. Dropping the atomic bomb primary sources operation downfall. There arent supporting secondary sources deployed to back up the interpretation of sutherland thats given, or to support the prominence of the. Strategic plan for operations in the japanase archipelago, is published to ensure the retention and dissemination of useful information which is not intended to become doctrine or to be published in.
Sep 29, 2010 in its final form, operation downfall called for a massive allied invasionon a scale dwarfing ddayto be carried out in two stages. Sixth army would lead the southernmost assault on the home island of kyushu preceded by the dropping of as many as nine atom bombs behind the landing beaches and. Sixth army, v amphibious corps, and various navy commands in the pacific were used as primary sources. The second invasion, coronet, was to involve at least twentytwo divisions against one million japanese defenders at honshu and the tokyo plain.
1383 467 241 1005 1079 1284 748 509 303 1495 264 151 284 1195 342 1551 437 1387 848 149 1270 1262 736 1319 1056 507 1401 1005 393 340 175 1242