During
World War II,
Operation Downfall was the overall
Allied plan for the invasion of
Japan. This plan had its genesis in
1943 and the “Strategic Plan for the Defeat of Japan.” It envisioned two subordinate attacks in
1946;
Olympic, the invasion of the southern island of
Kyushu, and
Coronet, the attack of the main island of
Honshu. These invasions would have dwarfed the
Normandy invasion in terms of the number of troops involved, the difficulty of logistics and projected casualties. This operation was canceled as a result of the surrender of Japan.