| Operation codename: Olympic |
Operation Olympic. Planned, but not executed landing of U.S. forces on the first of the Japanese home islands, Kyushu.
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Article on English Wikipedia| Scenario in dates: |
| June 9, 1944: |
United Kingdom - an Avro Lincoln, four-engined heavy bomber intended to play a role in British bombardment of the Japanese mainland, first flew. |
| June 14, 1944: |
Over Japan - The first raid on Japan by American B-29 Superfortress bombers is carried out. A total of 48 planes from the US 20th Air Force (of which 4 are lost) make an ineffective strike on the Yawata iron and steel works during the night from bases in China. |
| August 26, 1944: |
United States - The first prototype of the new US Navy attack aircraft, Martin AM Mauler, takes off, one of the largest single-seat, single-engine machines ever built. Equipped with a new Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major engine, a four-star 28-cylinder, the most powerful piston engine in operational service. Delays in development will eventually mean that the type ordered primarily to support the US invasion of Japan will not be able to enter service until 1947, and will eventually be pushed out by its competitor, the AD-1 Skyraider, smaller, simpler and more pleasant to pilot. |
| February 4, 1945: |
In the Soviet Union - The Yalta Conference begins. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin and their senior military and political advisors meet to discuss the postwar order and the war with Japan. Yalta is a recently liberated Crimean resort. |
| March 11, 1945: |
Over Japan - During a dramatic reconnaissance flight, the crew of a US B-29 bomber over the Gulf of Hiroshima and the Kure berth discovers a Japanese fleet that the Americans have reported no news from since the Battle of Leyte Five months ago. Of the more than 70 warships, the crew identifies the battleship Yamato and several other large ships by measuring dimensions using special slide rulers, the inventor of which, 25-year-old physicist Alex E. S. Green, coincidentally is on board. All members of the aircraft crew will be awarded the Medal of Freedom, the accompanying citation will talk about "the longest and most risky reconnaissance flight during the war." |
| March 27, 1945: |
In Japan - US Army Air Forces launches Operation Starvation, mining Japanese coastal waters. B-29 bombers drop 1,000 acoustic and magnetic mines on parachutes on day one. Japanese shipping will be soon paralyzed and more Japanese ship tonnage (1,250,000 in total) will sink on these mines by the end of the war than will be destroyed by all other Allied forces combined in the same period. |
| April 3, 1945: |
In the United States - Washington announces that General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz will command land and sea forces, respectively, for the Allied invasion of Japan. |
| April 26, 1945: |
Japan - After the American raid on Nagasaki, local radiologist Takashi Nagai helps with the Dianostika of many injured with his X-ray equipment. Due to the lack of film in the war, he cannot take pictures and is forced to be exposed to the effects of radiation when viewed directly, which causes him leukemia. In August of the same year, he witnessed the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki and wrote a book about his horrific experiences, The Bells of Nagasaki (長崎の鐘 Nagasaki no Kane). |
| May 25, 1945: |
In Washington - The American armed forces Chiefs of Staff set November 1, 1945 as the start date for the invasion of Japan -- Operation Olympic. |
| June 29, 1945: |
In Washington - President Truman approves the plan, devised by the joint chiefs of staff, to invade Japan. The plan calls for 5 million troops, mostly Americans. Kyushu is to be invaded on November 1st with some 13 divisions (Operation Olympic) and Honshu is to be invaded on March 1, 1946 with some 23 divisions (Operation Coronet), including forces of the US 1st Army from Europe. The British will deploy a very long range bomber force in support of the invasion. |
| July 1, 1945: |
Over Japan - Some 550 B-29 Superfortress bombers -- the greatest number yet to be engaged -- drop 4000 tons of incendiary bombs on the Kure naval base, Shimonoseki, Ube and Kumanoto, on western Kyushu. |
| July 3, 1945: |
Over Japan - American B-29 bombers attack Himeji, on Honshu, and the towns of Takamatsu, Tokushima and Kochi, on Shikoku Island, to the south of Honshu. |
| July 6, 1945: |
Over Japan - Some 600 US B-29 Superfortress bombers struck Osaka, Kofu, Chiba, Shimizu (near Tokyo), Shimotsu and Akashi, all on Honshu. Nearly 4000 tons of bombs are dropped. |
| July 7, 1945: |
In the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea - US Navy Privateer patrol bombers (modified B-24 bombers) damage or sink numerous small Japanese vessels. |
| July 12, 1945: |
Over Japan - Targets on the Japanese home islands of Shikoku and Honshu are heavily bombed. |
| July 14, 1945: |
In Japan - Over 1000 US naval aircraft raid Hokkaido and the port of Kamaishi. Also, the American battleships USS South Dakota (BB-57), USS Indiana (BB-58) and USS Massachusetts (BB-59), as well as 2 heavy cruisers and 4 destroyers, bombard the Kamaishi steel works in the first naval gunfire directed against the Japanese home islands. |
| July 21, 1945: |
From the United States - American radio broadcasts call on Japan to surrender or face destruction. |
| July 21, 1945: |
In the Tsushima Strait - US Navy aircraft attack shipping. |
| July 22, 1945: |
In Japan - US Task Force 92 bombards Paramushiro in the Kurile Islands. During the night (July 22-23), 9 American destroyers penetrate Tokyo Bay under the cover of a storm and attack a Japanese convoy. Other Allied task forces are being resupplied in the largest resupply at sea operation of the war. A party of USS Barb (SS-220) submarine crew members lands ashore at Karafuto (Sakhalin) and plants an explosive charge that subsequently wrecks a train in the only US ground operation on the Japanese home islands for the entire Pacific conflict. |
| July 22, 1945: |
From Tokyo - The Japanese government announces that it is open to peace negotiations but not to threats. |
| July 24, 1945: |
In Japan - British and American carriers start five days air raids campaign. There are 15 American and 4 British carriers available for air operations against targets in the Inland Sea area, including the naval base at Kure and Kobe. Some 1600 planes are engaged. In addition, there is an Allied naval bombardment during the night (July 24-25) aimed at Kushimoto and Shionomisaki. It is estimated that more than 100 Japanese ships are sunk including battleship Hyuga and heavy cruisers Tone, Aoba and Iwate. |
| July 24, 1945: |
Over Japan - The Osaka-Nagoya area, the second largest population center in Japan, is bombed by 600 B-29 Superfortress bombers. |
| July 25, 1945: |
In Japan - American cruisers USS Pasadena (CL-65), USS Springfield (CL-66), USS Wilkes-Barre (CL-103) and USS Astoria (CL-90) bombard Japanese air bases in southern Honshu. Meanwhile, aircraft from the US 3rd Fleet attack Kure naval base and the airfields at Nagoya, Osaka and Miho for a second day. There is not noticeable Japanese resistance to the strikes. |
| July 26, 1945: |
Occupied Germany - The so-called Potsdam Declaration is being adopted at a conference in Potsdam near Berlin, calling on Japan to surrender according to the conditions, otherwise it will face complete destruction. The declaration is signed by US President Harry Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek. The Soviet Union is not a signatory of the declaration because it is not in war with Japan, but it is bound by the secret conclusions of the Yalta Conference to attack Japan within three months after the end of the war in Europe. During the conference, Truman generally mentions to Stalin "a powerful new weapon," but he does not show signs of surprise becouse he is informed about the US nuclear weapon by his agents. At the same time, the results of the June elections in Britain, after the counting of the overseas votes, are published. Winston Churchill recieves a crushing defeat and leaves the conference and the post of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. His successor becomes Clement Attlee. |
| July 26, 1945: |
In the Marianna Islands - The heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA-35) delivers the consignment of Uranium-235, needed to assemble the first operational atomic bomb, to the American base on Tinian. |
| July 27, 1945: |
In Japan - British and American carriers conduct extensive air strikes. During the night (July 27-28), US B-29 bombers drop some 600,000 leaflets over 11 Japanese cities which warn inhabitants that the cities are on the target list for bombing raids. |
| July 28, 1945: |
In Tokyo - Premier Suzuki holds a press conference in which he says that the government of Japan will "take no notice" of the Potsdam Declaration. While it is possible that the wording he used was intended to mean "make no comment on for the moment," it is clear that the Japanese government does not intend to surrender immediately and unconditionally, which is the implicit expectation of the Allied declaration. |
| July 28, 1945: |
In the Ryukyu Islands - The Japanese attack American ships around Okinawa, in response to the Allied strikes on Japan. The American destroyer USS Callaghan (DD-792) is sunk by a Japanese suicide plane. It is the last ship to be destroyed by a Kamikaze attack. The obsolete Yokosuka K5Y biplane was made easier to attack by its wood-canvas structure, which, thanks to the small amount of metal, did not initiate the explosion of American anti-aircraft grenades controlled by proximity fuzes. |
| July 28, 1945: |
Over Japan - Some 2000 Allied planes bomb Kure, Kobe and targets in the Inland Sea. The air strikes sink the Japanese aircraft carrier Amagi, battleships Ise and Haruna, the old cruiser Izumo, the light cruiser Oyodo and demage aircraft carriers Kaiyo and Katsuragi. The destruction of japanese warships in Kure and the inland sea in last few days is considered as the Japanese Navy´s Pearl Harbor and leaves Nagato at Yokosuka as the only remaining capital ship in Japan´s inventory. The weak Soviet Pacific Fleet has dispelled the threat in the Japanese Sea. |
| July 30, 1945: |
In Tokyo - Food shortages lead the government to call on the civilian population of Japan to collect 2.5 million bushels of acorns to be converted into eating material. The average Japanese is presently surviving on a daily intake of about 1680 calories, or 78 percent of what is considered the minimum necessary to survive. |
| July 31, 1945: |
In Washington - US Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, sends President Truman a memorandum on how to persuade Japan to surrender. As part of a package of measures which also includes conventional bombing, invasion and diplomacy, he takes for granted that America will use the atomic bombs now under production. |
| July 31, 1945: |
In Japan - The Japanese are warned by the Americans that eight cities will be leveled if the government refuses to surrender. |
| August 2, 1945: |
In Occupied Germany - The Potsdam conference ends. Attlee, Truman and Stalin agree to limit German industrial growth and transfer a significant amount of eastern German territory to the USSR and Poland (in return for land annexed by the Soviet Union). Allied reparations are to be paid for by German assets and major war criminals are to be brought to trial soon. German cartels, as well as war industries, are to be broken up. Going some way to accepting the controversial proposal of the US Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morgenthau Jr., the Big Three propose that the German economy should "give primary emphasis to agriculture" and "domestic industries." In addition, Stalin confirms that the Soviet Union will join the war against Japan while also mentioning Japanese efforts to have the USSR mediate peace talks with the Americans and British. |
| August 2, 1945: |
Over Japan - During the night (August 1-2), 820 US B-29 Superfortress bombers drop a record total of 6632 tons of bombs on five Japanese cities including Hachioji, Nagaoka, Mito, Toyama and the petroleum center of Kawasaki. Most of Toyama is obliterated. Also, Americans claim to have sunk 26 ships in the raids. |
| August 3, 1945: |
In Guam - An American communique announces that US B-29 Superfortress bombers dropping mines over Japan have now sealed off all of the main ports, leaving the country totally blockaded. In a report by the US 20th Air Force, it is noted that every harbor of consequence in Japan and all those in Korea have been mined and it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of tons of shipping have been sunk or damaged since the mining program began in March. |
| August 4, 1945: |
Over Japan - American aircraft drop leaflets warning of air attacks on 12 more cities. |
| August 4, 1945: |
From Washington - The area of command under General MacArthur is extended to include the Ryukyu Islands, south of Kyushu. |
| August 5, 1945: |
In the Marianna Islands - On Tinian, at about 0210 hours, seven American aircraft take off for Japan. One of the aircraft is the specially modified B-29 Superfortress -- the Enola Gay -- carrying the "Little Boy" atomic bomb and heading for Hiroshima. |
| August 5, 1945: |
Over Japan - Aircraft from the US 5th and 7th Air Forces, based in Okinawa, raid Tarumizu in the south. About 325 planes take part in the attack. Another 12 Japanese cities have leaflets dropped on them by B-29 bombers, warning of coming raids. During the night, American bombers strike Imabari, Ube, Mayobashi, Saga, Nishinomiya and Mikage, fulfulling the threat made by leaflet drops. |
| August 6, 1945: |
Over Japan - At about 0930 hours, the first atomic bomb (nicknamed "Little Boy") is dropped on the city of Hiroshima by a specially equipped B-29 from the 509th Composite Group of the US 12th Air Force and piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets. The plane is named by Tibbets after his mother, Enola Gay. The bomb is a uranium fission weapon and the yield is in the region of 20,000 tons on TNT. Sixty percent of the city is destroyed in the blast and the firestorm that follows. About 80,000 Japanese are killed (respectively, seventh of victims are Korean labor slaves). Many more are severely burned and others become ill later, from exposure to radiation. It is not the most devastating bombing attack of the war but the economy of the effort involved in sending only one plane on a mission to destroy a city shows only too well the complete change in military and political thinking which has begun. Meanwhile, other American aircraft raid Tarmuizu, Kagoshima and Miyakonojo. |
| August 7, 1945: |
In Japan - Japanese radio condemns the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and denounces the United States, as the first country to employ the new weapon, as "the destroyer of mankind and as public enemy number one of social justice." Meanwhile, the first flight of the Nakajima Kikka (Orange Blossom) jet bomber takes place. The plane is based on the German Me 262. |
| August 7, 1945: |
Over Japan - More than 200 B-29 Superfortress bombers raid Yahata, Tokyo and Kukuyama. |
| August 7, 1945: |
In the Philippines - On Luzon, officers from the headquarters of the US 1st Army meet in readiness for the coming invasion of Japan. |
| August 8, 1945: |
In Moscow - The Soviet Union declares itself to be at war with Japan as of midnight (August 9th), citing the Japanese failure to respond to the Potsdam Declaration. Commissar Molotov says that the USSR has declared war because Japan is the only great power preventing peace. He indicates that it was in the interests of shortening the war and bring peace to the world that the Soviet Union has agreed to the Allied request made at Potsdam to join the war. Furthermore, Molotov states that the Soviets had been asked to mediate by Japan, but that proposal had lost all basis when Japan refused to surrender unconditionally. |
| August 8, 1945: |
In Tokyo - The Japanese Supreme War Council agrees, late that night, that they should accept the Potsdam Declaration if the monarchy is preserved. Some of the objections from the military are overruled by the Emperor himself. |
| August 8, 1945: |
In Washington - President Truman makes a public radio broadcast in which he threatens Japan with destruction by atomic bombs. During the day, he also signs the United Nations Charter, making the United States the first country to ratify its original signature. |
| August 9, 1945: |
Over Japan - The second atomic bomb (nicknamed "Fat Man") is dropped, due to cloudy weather over the primary target Kokura, on port of Nagasaki by a specially equipped B-29 named "Bock´s Car" and piloted by Major Charles Sweeney. This is a plutonium fission device similar to the one tested at Alamagordo, New Mexico. The bomb weighs about 10,000 pounds and its detonation yields an explosion equivalent of about 20,000 tons of TNT. About 40,000 Japanese ultimately die from the attack and 60,000 are injured. |
| August 9, 1945: |
In Tokyo - Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki says that the entry of the USSR into the war "makes the continuance of the war impossible." Towards midnight Emperor Hirohito calls the Supreme Council together and tries to make the military leaders accept the proposed surrender. At about 0300 hours, the meeting breaks up with nothing decided other than a cautious sounding of the possibilities of peace through Sweden and Switzerland. |
| August 9, 1945: |
In Japan - US and British battleships bombard the city of Kimaishi Kamaishi, cocentrating on the steel mills. |
| August 10, 1945: |
In Tokyo - The government of Japan announces that a message has been sent to the Allies accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration provided this "does not comprise any demand that prejudices the prerogatives of the Emperor as sovereign ruler." |
| August 11, 1945: |
In Washington - US Secretary of State, James Byrnes, replies to the Japanese offer to surrender with a refusal to make any compromise on the demand for unconditional surrender. His note states that the Allies envisage an unconditional surrender as one where the emperor will be "subject to" the supreme commander of the Allied powers and the form of government will be decided the the "will of the Japanese people." |
| August 11, 1945: |
In Manila - General MacArthur says that the atomic bomb was unnecessary since the Japanese would have surrendered anyway. |
| August 12, 1945: |
Over Japan - B-29 Superfortress bombers continue attacks on targets. |
| August 13, 1945: |
From Washington - Japanese surrender documents, approved by President Truman, are sent to General MacArthur. |
| August 13, 1945: |
In Japan - in home waters, Japanese submarine I-504 shoots down American bomber B-25 Mitchell. It is a bizarre event since last downing Allied aircraft by Axis vessel throughout the Second World War is reaching by the Italian operators whose serve on the board under flag of the third loser Navy. This is because originally it was the Italian submarine Torelli which became part of Kriegsmarine after the surrender of Italy and subsequently handed over to the Japanese after Germany surrendered. |
| August 13, 1945: |
Over Japan - About 1600 American aircraft fly over Tokyo and other Japanese cities dropping millions of leaflets explaining the position reached in the surrender negotiations and the state of affairs in Japan. Most Japanese "hawks" still refuse to admit defeat. Japanese Sub-Lieutenant Saburo Sakai, the one-eyed fighter ace (with 64 victories), shoots down a B-29 near Tokyo during the night (August 13-14). |
| August 13, 1945: |
In Japan - Tokyo radio says that Japan will surrender. |
| August 14, 1945: |
In Tokyo - At a government meeting with Emperor Hirohito, the emperor states that the war should end. He records a radio message to the Japanese people saying that they must "bear the unbearable." During the night, begining about 2300 hours, a group of army officers lead forces number over 1000 in an attempt to steal the recording and prevent it being broadcast but fail to overcome the guards at the Imperial Palace. Coup leader, Major Kenji Hatanaka, who killed the commander of the imperial guard, commits suicide after its failure. The Japanese decision to surrender is transmitted to the Allies. |
| August 14, 1945: |
Over Japan - In the last air raid of the war, during the night (August 14-15) US B-29 Superfortress bombers strike Kumagaya and Isezaki, northwest of Tokyo, and Akita-Aradi oil refinery. Personal command of the last strategic raid against Japan is entrusted to General Frank A. Armstrong, who commanded the strategic air force in Europe and personally led the first US strategic air strike from England in August 1942. His person will be inspired by the main character in the novel and film Twelve O´Clock High, where actor Gegory Peck will perform it. Also during this night, the crew of the night fighter Northop P-61 Black Widow nicknamed "Lady in the Dark" achieves the destruction of the Japanese fighter Nakajima Ki-44 "Tojo" the last Allied kill of World War II. |
| August 15, 1945: |
Over Japan - US Task Force 38 launches massive air strikes on the Tokyo area, encountering numerous Japanese fighters but the aircraft are recalled upon receipt of the surrender announcement. Meanwhile, Vice-Admiral Ugaki, commanding Kamikaze operations, leads a final mission but the 7 dive-bombers are shot down off Tokyo before they can reach Okinawa. |
| August 15, 1945: |
In Japan - The recorded message of Emperor Hirohito is broadcast to the Japanese people. Many cannot at first accept what has happened. The tight control of the government has prevented civilians from knowing the full extent of the weakness of Japan´s position. This is VJ Day. |
| August 16, 1945: |
In Tokyo - The Emperor issues an Imperial Rescript (decree) at 1600 hours (local time) ordering all Japanese forces to cease fire. The Cabinet resigns. General Prince Higashikuni becomes the prime minister of Japan and forms a new government. He orders the Imperial Army to obey the Emperor´s call and lay down their arms. Naruhiko Higashikuni is the uncle of the Japanese emperor Hirohita and the only member of the imperial family to ever become head of government, even for only 54 days. |
| September 2, 1945: |
In Tokyo - The Japanese surrender is signed aboard the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay. Foreign Minister Shigemitsu leads the Japanese delegation. MacArthur accepts the surrender on behalf of all the Allies. Admiral Nimitz signs for the United States and Admiral Fraser for Britain. There are representatives of all the other Allied nations. Also present are Generals Percival and Wainwright who have been Japanese prisoner since they surrendered at Singapore and Corregidor, respectively and who then flew to the Philippines to accept the surrender of General Jamashita giving up on the same day with 50,000 remaining men. |
| October 9, 1945: |
Japan - The Japanese islands are hit with the devastating effects of Typhoon Louise, with 377 deaths officially reported. In American-occupied Okinawa, the US fleet of auxiliary vessels in Nakagusuku Bay (also Buckner Bay) is taken aback by the typhoon. 12 ships are sunk in more than ten-meter waves, another 222 vessels are stranded and 32 are wrecked off the coast. Among the destroyed ships is the USS Southard (DMS-10) minesweeper, on which he serves as executive officer Herman Wouk, later a famous writer who, inspired by his experience on minesweepers, writes the bestseller The Caine Mutiny (1951), for which will receive a Pulitzer Prize, later added by novel saga The Winds of War (1971). Wouk will die in 2019 at age of 103. |
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| Literature sources: |  | Sakaida, Henry, Takaki Kódži: Genda s Blade: 343. Kokutai - Japan s Squadron of Aces, Deus, 2008, Praha |  | Hubáèek, Miloš: Válka konèí v Pacifiku II (War ends in Pacific II - Conquest of Okinawa), Paseka, 2000, Praha, Litomyšl |  | Hrbek, Jaroslav, Hrbek Ivan: Vítìzství pøichází z moøe (Victory comes from sea), Naše vojsko, 1999, Praha | Dvoøák, Pavel: Grumman F8F Bearcat, HPM No. 10 a 11/1998
Pejèoch, Ivo: Ko-Hyoteki japonské miniponorky (Ko-Hyoteki Japanese minisubmarines), HPM No. 12/2005
Pejèoch, Ivo: M18 Hellcat, HPM No. 7 a 8/2001
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