alternatehistory.com

Imagine an alternate TL in which the Manhattan project was either delayed for a year or so, and the United States was not aware of the extent of Japanese buildup on Kyushu to repel the allied invasion or at least make it extraordinarily costly. Without the intelligence provided by decoded Japanese communications, there was an excellent chance Operation Olympic might have been mounted against far greater odds, both on the ground and in kamakazi defenses, than planned.

Although they realized the war was effectively lost, the Japanese intended to place a final all-out and suicidal effort into the defense of Kyushu, hopefully to defeat the invasion and force a negotiation of peace far more lenient than an unconditional surrender. In this context, it is also important to remember that US units slated for Olympic had losst a fair degree of unit cohesion by the demolbilization and reassignment processes instituted after VE day.

If the invasion failed - or became a hopless morass - what would this do to US morale and the ultimate course of the war. Was the Japanese hope to force a Versailles-like settlement completely unrealistic or could this have occurred? Would the Soviets have just marched into lightly defended Hokaiddo and eventually gobbled up most of lightly defended Japan anyway? Would there even be a Japan today?
Top