Operation Olympic + Bonus Q&A

About this episode

This episode discusses Operation Olympic, the planned Allied invasion of Japan during World War II, and its historical context.

Operation Olympic was the first phase of Operation Downfall—the Allied plan to invade Japan and end World War II. Set for November 1, 1945, this massive amphibious assault on Kyushu was canceled after Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union’s declaration of war. In this episode, MacArthur Memorial historians Amanda Williams and Jim Zobel break down the operation’s objectives, scale, and historical context. This episode also includes a bon...

People in this episode

Host: Amanda Williams

Guest: Jim Zobel

Topics covered

• World War II
• military history
• Operation Olympic
• Japan
• historical context

Keywords

• Operation Olympic
• World War II
• Japan
• military history
• amphibious assault

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Japan, Kyushu

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