Operation Downfall: The Devil Was in the Details
Abstract
World War II ended with the dropping of "the bomb" on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This sudden and unanticipated conclusion to the conflict was greeted with joy by the entire Nation, not least by the 2.5 million Americans slated to invade Japan's Home Islands including Tokyo itself. The invasion forces were not only to come from the Pacific; First Army, which had pummelled its way from Normandy to the heart of Germany, and Eighth Air Force, which was based in England, were on the way. Morale was not good among veterans of the Battle of the Bulge, Guadalcanal, and other campaigns. As James Jones later wrote: "What it must have been like to some old-timer buck sergeant...[knowing] that he very likely had survived this far only to fall dead in the dirt of Japan's Home Islands, hardly bears thinking about."
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA528442
Entities
People
- D. M. Giangreco
Organizations
- National Defense University