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include thousands of additional landing craft of all types and sizes.

Several days before the invasion, the battleships, heavy cruisers and destroyers would pour thousands of tons of high explosives into the target areas, and they would not cease the bombardment until after the landing forces had been launched.

During the early morning hours of November 1, 1945, the actual invasion would commence.  Thousands of American soldiers and marines would pour ashore on beaches all along the eastern, southeastern, southern and western coasts of Kyushu.

The Eastern Assault Force, consisting of the 25th, 33rd and the 41st Infantry Divisions, would land near Miyaski, at beaches called Austin, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler and Cord and move inland to attempt to capture this city and its nearby airfield.

The Southern Force, consisting of the 1st Cavalry Division, the 43rd division and American Division would land inside Ariake Bay at beaches labeled Desoto, Dusenberg, Essex, Ford and Franklin and attempt to capture Shibushi and to capture, further inland, the city of Kanoya and its surrounding airfield.

On the western shore the Kyushu, at beaches Pontiac, Reo, Rolls Royce, Saxon, Star, Studebaker, Stutz, Winton and Zephyr, the V Amphibious Corps would land the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Marine Divisions, sending half of its force inland to Sendai and the other half to the port city of Kagoshima.

On November 4th, the reserve force, consisting of the 81st and 98th Infantry Division, and the 11th Airborne Division, after feigning an attack off the island of Shikoku would be landed, if not needed elsewhere, near Kaimondake, near the southern-most tip of Kagoshima Bay, at beaches designated Locomobile, Lincoln, LaSalle, Hupmobile, Moon, Mercedes, Maxwell, Overland, Oldsmobile, Packard, and Plymouth.

The objective of "Olympic" was to seize and control the island of Kyushu in order to use it for the launching platform for "Coronet", which was hoped to be a final knockout blow aimed at Tokyo and the Kanto Plain.  "Olympic" was not just a plan for invasion, but for conquest and occupation as well.  It was expected to take four months to achieve its objective, with three fresh American Divisions per month to be landed in support of that operation if needed.  These additional troops were to be taken from the units scheduled for "Coronet."

If all went well with "Olympic", on March 1, 1946, "Coronet" would be launched.  "Coronet" would be twice the size of

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"Olympic", with as many as 28 American Divisions to be landed on Honshu, the main Japanese island.

On March 1, 1946, all along the coast east of Tokyo, the American 1st Army would land the 5th, 7th, 27th, 44th, 86th and 96th Infantry Divisions along with 1st, 4th and 6th Marine Divisions.

At Sagami Bay, just south of Tokyo, the entire 8th and 10th Armies would strike north and east to clear the long western shore of Tokyo Bay, and attempt to go as far as Yokohoma.  The assault troops, landing to the south of Tokyo would be the 4th, 6th, 8th, 24th, 31st, 32nd, 37th, 38th and 87th Infantry Divisions, along with the 13th and 20th Armored Divisions.

Following the initial assault, eight more Divisions-the 2nd, 28th, 35th, 91st, 95th, 97th and 104th Infantry Divisions and the 11th Airborne Division-would be landed.  If additional troops were needed, as expected, other Divisions redeployed from Europe and undergoing training n the United States would be shipped to Japan in what was hoped to be the final push.

The key to victory in Japan rested with the success of "Olympic" at Kyushu.  Without the success of the Kyushu campaign, "Coronet" night never be launched.  The key to victory in Kyushu rested with our firepower, much of which was to be delivered by carrier launched aircraft.

At the outset of the invasion of Kyushu, waves of Helldivers, Dauntless Dive Bombers, Avengers, Corairs and Hellcats would take off to bomb, rocket and strafe enemy defenses, gun emplacements and troop concentrations along the beaches.  In all, there would be 66 aircraft carriers loaded with 2,649 naval and marine aircraft to be used for close-in air support for the soldiers hitting the beaches.

These planes were also the fleet's primary protection against Japanese attack from the air.  Had "Olympic" begun, these planes would be needed to provide an umbrella of protection for the soldiers and sailors of the invasion.  Captured Japanese documents and post-war interrogation of Japanese military leaders disclose that our intelligence concerning the number of Japanese planes available for the defense of the home islands was dangerously in error.

In the last months of the war, our military leaders were deathly afraid of the Japanese "kamikaze" and with good cause.  During Okinawa alone, Japanese aircraft sank 32 ships and damaged over 400 others.  During the summer months, our top brass had concluded that the Japs had spent their air force, since American bombers and fighters flew unmolested over the shores of Japan on a daily basis.

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