Chilperic
Banned
Introduction
In 1945, Japan was prepared to fight its final battle and make its last stand against the Allies. Having been driven back from the Pacific after 4 years of bitter conflict, defeated at Midway, Guadalcanal, New Guinea and eventually even Iwo Jima and Okinawa, both part of Japanese sovereign territory, Japan readied itself for the final onslaught.
The Imperial Japanese Navy had lost all its aircraft carriers, and was a shadow of the fleet which had gone to war in December 1941. The Marianas 'Turkey Shoot', the fighting at Leyte Gulf, had wrecked the IJN. This left 23 destroyers and two cruisers to face the American invasion. They had now prepared new tactics such as human torpedoes, midget submarines and the Shin'yo suicide boat.
The Japanese Air Force was now resorting to desperate measures, including the kamikaze (divine wind). This had been used to devastating effect; in the battle of Okinawa alone, 26 American ships were destroyed by these attacks.
Japan itself was running out of oil and had only limited resources to fall back on. Being cut off from raw materials by a US trade embargo was one of the reasons Japan attacked the US.
Additionally, there was the threat of chemical weapons; they had been used by Japan before in China.
Meanwhile, the US had attempted to test the atom bomb in July but the detonation was too weak and the test was considered a failure. The scientists on the program told Truman that they would have to fix the problem, and this would be done by February 1946. So the Allies prepared for Operation 'Downfall', the invasion of Japan.
The first part of the operation would involve a landing on Kyushu, known as Operation Olympic. The objective of this was not to capture the island, but to secure airstrips for the bigger attack: on Tokyo itself, known as Operation Coronet. The main operation was set to begin on 1st November, known to historians as X-Day.
In 1945, Japan was prepared to fight its final battle and make its last stand against the Allies. Having been driven back from the Pacific after 4 years of bitter conflict, defeated at Midway, Guadalcanal, New Guinea and eventually even Iwo Jima and Okinawa, both part of Japanese sovereign territory, Japan readied itself for the final onslaught.
The Imperial Japanese Navy had lost all its aircraft carriers, and was a shadow of the fleet which had gone to war in December 1941. The Marianas 'Turkey Shoot', the fighting at Leyte Gulf, had wrecked the IJN. This left 23 destroyers and two cruisers to face the American invasion. They had now prepared new tactics such as human torpedoes, midget submarines and the Shin'yo suicide boat.
The Japanese Air Force was now resorting to desperate measures, including the kamikaze (divine wind). This had been used to devastating effect; in the battle of Okinawa alone, 26 American ships were destroyed by these attacks.
Japan itself was running out of oil and had only limited resources to fall back on. Being cut off from raw materials by a US trade embargo was one of the reasons Japan attacked the US.
Additionally, there was the threat of chemical weapons; they had been used by Japan before in China.
Meanwhile, the US had attempted to test the atom bomb in July but the detonation was too weak and the test was considered a failure. The scientists on the program told Truman that they would have to fix the problem, and this would be done by February 1946. So the Allies prepared for Operation 'Downfall', the invasion of Japan.
The first part of the operation would involve a landing on Kyushu, known as Operation Olympic. The objective of this was not to capture the island, but to secure airstrips for the bigger attack: on Tokyo itself, known as Operation Coronet. The main operation was set to begin on 1st November, known to historians as X-Day.
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