What if America Had Invaded Japan? (Operation Downfall)

Should've named it Operation: Sunset

I remember my grandpa telling me he was terrified of having to invade the Japanese home islands.

A colossal bloodbath avoided. Best scenario took place. Japan rebuilds, Russian influence halted, our grandfathers come home in 1945 instead of dying in ‘46.

missed the opportunity to call it Operation Sunset, fitting for the Land of the Rising Sun

Iwo Jima was one of the most devastating battles in all of the Corps’ history. The invasion of Japan would be almost unimaginable.

If there had been a land invasion of Japan, then we would have regular anime and communist anime

I remember talking with a WWII vet who fought in the Pacific Theater. He said that he was glad the Japanese surrendered or he and countless others would have died in the invasion of Japan.

The USA was preparing by creating that many purple hearts to the point that those purple hearts are still in surplus

'The war would have been extended by a year' Mad Jack Churchil intensifies

My grandfather earned two bronze stars fighting the Japanese in WW2. When asked about dropping the nuclear bombs he never wavered that it was, 'the best thing that could have happened for both sides'. The one thing this video failed to address was the fanatic japanese military AND citizenship. Every man, woman, and child would have been used in a variety of suicide attacks: detonation packs, traps, etc etc. The loss of japanese life would have been unlike anything seen before. My grandfather would have been involved in that invasion, and my whole line might not exist.

My Father’s best friend was in the 1st Marines. Served from Guadalcanal onward..... He was training for the Japanese invasion. After Okinawa everyone knew what it would mean, casualty wise, to invade the home islands. After the Atomic Bombs were dropped and the surrender was announced he was stunned as he had already counted himself as a future casualty. As he walked around his base he saw tough men crying like little girls. He then sat down and for the first time he began to think about going home, marriage to his G/F and having a family...

Operation Downfall would have been very costly. I was told Japan had held back substantial amounts of their newest and best weaponry for this eventuality. Also that civilians including women and children had mandatory training to resist to the end. There might have been a knife or pointed stick around every corner.

Hey everyone. Two reasons for my absence. 1) Finals suck. And going to classes and finishing papers/projects took up most of my time the last month. 2) Learning new technology. I'm trying to make this content more engaging and am learning new programs to do that. The learning curve took time but I finally 'mastered' it enough to make new videos. This video is basically the dam holding all the content back. Everything you've been waiting for (Alternate Countries, Germany Pt. 2) that'll be out in the next few weeks. I'm not taking a holiday break because I gotta make it up to you guys somehow. Thanks for the support. -Cody

1. What if the USSR won the Afghan War? 2. What if NATO accepted the 1952 "Stalin Note"? 3. What if the Kuomintang won the Chinese Civil War? 4. What if Tsar Alexander II was not assassinated in 1881? 5. What if Brazil remained a monarchy? 6. What if the Watergate scandal never happened? 7. What if Russia won the Russo-Japanese War? 8. What if the United States joined the League of Nations? 9. What if the Ottoman Turks won the Battle of Vienna? 10. What if Austria won the Austro-Prussian War?

This is going to be buried but I think its just a fun fact. My Grandpa was with the 1st Marine Division and has initial assignment was to be apart of the invading force in Operation Downfall. Though since Japan surrendered he was sent to China to be somewhat of a police force defending the Nationalist from the Communists. (Some of my timeline may be wrong it is a story from my dead Grandpa. And family stories are often inconsistent but hey something that is fun to share)

For everyone who would cry about how we shouldn’t have bombed Japan, it was either that or this.

You left out a very important aspect of this operation: because the US anticipated very high casualties, the military was preparing to deploy chemical weapons on Japan to help in expediting victory.

Honestly, I'd like to see this be a mini series on HBO or something

My father signed up for this operation. Got him out of occupation duties in Europe. Canadian army. Got him home in time for university in September. Meanwhile my uncle who served in the Aleutian, Italy and NW Europe didn't get home till spring 1946