What if the Invasion of Japan happened?

Hey I'm new here and I was wondering what would have happened if the Invasion of Japan had happened? My grandpa would have been in it(thank god he wasn't).

 

If Olympic had gone off as planned it would have been very bad. The Japanese had guessed correctly where the US would invade and had prepared pretty well for it. On the other hand US intelligence was starting to get the picture and it may well have resulted in Olympic being canceled. If that happens then it's back to square one. The US might not have been able to plan and execute a different invasion before Japan surrendered (weather alone would probably have meant that it had to wait until March of 46 or later), There are quite a few good web sites on it. Look for Operations Olympic, Coronet, and Downfall.

 

There would have been hundreds of thousands of dead, even a potentialself anhiliation of the population of Japan. Compare Okinawa and Iwo Jima.

 

They just need to keep up the fire bombing
More died in them raids than on the atom bomb raids

 

I just wonder what America thought about the Battle of Berlin and how the Germans fought to the bitter end when you think this was a city. Alarming number of body bags from there latter stages of the war with Japan must have made them stop and think.

I just wonder what if there was no option on the A-Bomb if the tests failed, would America really invade or may be around the clock bombing campaign?

 

If I was Truman I´d use my- "surprise surprise Hiro!" - Stalin card which I think the Japanese were truly scared of. There´s enough A-power and B-power as well....

 

The US wanted the war over so an invasion was likely. However if it became apparent that the Japanese had guessed right as to where we were going to invade (which they had) then Olympic might have been canceled. Given that that wouldn't have happened before September there isn't really time to plan another invasion until the weather improves in the spring. If the noose had tightened all winter given the food deficit Japan was facing they might well have surrendered before the US invaded.

 

A horrible, horrible, bloody, mess.
More stupid waste of life at the instigation of a regime that was the aggressor/instigator of all it's wars.
The potential, after any point to Japan continuing to fight was long past, provides (for me) more than enough justification for the Atom bombs. Even disregarding other factors.

Cheers,
Adam.

 

Projected casulties in both Military and Civilian on both sides at 2 million.

 

Like Eisenhower, I think that Japan was on the verge of surrendering.


Japan would have surrendered before the US could even start the invasion.

 

I must say that I too am leaning towards this assumption which is based on the Soviet breaking the non-aggression pact signed with Japan and the liberation of Manchuria. By this time Japan must have known that not only was she stuck by herself in a loosing campaign against the Americans but now will also be facing the full might of a country which she had signed a non-aggression pact with after the loss at the battle of Khalkin Gol.

Which is why I also believe that the dropping of the atomic bombs, while it might have been a legitimate excuse for the invassion, had a secret meaning as well..... To show the Soviet Union that the Allies possesed a new weapon.

 

You are completely wrong on one thing the Atomics were used primarily because had President Harry S Truman not used them and sanctioned the invasion of Japan and the US suffered massive casualties President Harry S Truman would have been impeeched. Also another thing Japan for all it is worth was prepared to fight to the last if an invasion was to have occured, Japan has something like 80+ fully equiped divisions on home soil, and as turned out she also had a vast array of aircraft alloted for Kamikaze missions, it was projected that it could have taken up 18 months to finally subdue Japan with a conventional invasion.

 

The Russians would have gotten involved, for sure, by this point. I doubt the US would allow them to launch an attack on Japan, but based on the way Russia fought in the war, they could have done it, but death toll would have been in the Millions on both sides. For the US it would have been a bloodbath. Think about if the Germans had invaded Britain. Every civilian would take to arms (though i am sure countless Japanese would kill themselves). It would have been a bloody mess, thats for sure. Both countries involved would be taking a loooong time to recover from such an invasion.

 

And this hypothesis of yours is based on what?

I seriously doubt that the American people would punish their leader for defeating the same country which a few years earlier launched a surprise attack which killed thousands of US boys

Well Operation August Storm proved that not all were willing to die.......

Operation August Storm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not bad bad results for only a month of fighting eh?

 

im ot sure about this but was the soviet offensive of manchuria, a diversion to get some japanese reinforcements away?

 

Not to my knowledge, but im sure it had the effect as those troops would have been used to reinforce the islands.... Stalin just held up his end of the bargain and after the fall of Berlin turned his troops to Manchuria......

A force of 1 million destroyed in a month, not bad

 

It took a month? Slackers, with what they had they could have done it in two weeks!

 

It was actually closer to 3 weeks

 

still when the soviets declared war on japan, it put japan in a very tight spot because they were like hitler war on two fronts.

 

Correct on one thing the Allies at Potsdam agreed that the subjugation and invasion of Japan was to an exclusive American mission.