Orders of battle for Downfall
The units listed to participate in Operation Downfall — the planned Allied invasion of Japan — as planned in August 1945 were:
Order of Battle for Olympic
Allied
- United States Ground Forces
- Sixth Army (Gen. Walter Krueger)[1]
- 40th Infantry Division, landing on Yakushima and Koshikijima Islands
- 158th Infantry Regiment, landing on Tanegashima
- I Corps (Maj. Gen. Innis P. Swift), landing at Miyazaki:[1]
- V Amphibious Corps (Maj. Gen. Harry Schmidt), landing at Kushikino:[1]
- XI Corps (Maj. Gen. Charles P. Hall), landing at Ariake:[1]
- IX Corps (Reserve afloat) (Maj. Gen. Charles W. Ryder):[1]
- Follow-up units:
- Sixth Army (Gen. Walter Krueger)[1]
Should these four corps prove insufficient to accomplish the tasks assigned, elements earmarked for "Coronet" would be used to reinforce Sixth Army at the rate of three divisions per month beginning about 30 days after the initial landings.
- United States Naval and Air Forces
- Third Fleet (Adm. William F. Halsey):
- Fifth Fleet (Adm. Raymond A. Spruance):
- Seventh Fleet (Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid):
- Far East Air Forces (Gen. George C. Kenney) (119,000 men): - 14 bomber groups, 10 fighter groups
- United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific (Gen. Carl A. Spaatz, Maj. Gen. Curtis LeMay)
- Twentieth Air Force (Lt. Gen. Nathan Twining) (77,000 men)
- 1,000 B-29 Superfortresses
- Eighth Air Force (Lt. Gen. Jimmy Doolittle)
- Twentieth Air Force (Lt. Gen. Nathan Twining) (77,000 men)
- British Commonwealth Forces
- British Pacific Fleet (operating as part of Third Fleet):
- 6 fleet and light fleet carriers
- Tiger Force (detached from RAF Bomber Command):
- 480–580 Avro Lancaster bombers (about half to be used as tankers for in-flight refuelling)
- Australian First Tactical Air Force
- 20 fighter/attack squadrons from the Royal Australian Air Force
- British Pacific Fleet (operating as part of Third Fleet):
Japan
- Second General Army (Field Marshal Shunroku Hata)
- 16th Area Army (Lt. Gen. Yokoyama Isamu) (600,000 men)
- Northern Kyūshū—56th Army (Lt. Gen. Ichiro Shichida) (365,000)[2]
- 145th Division
- 312th Division
- 351st Division
- 124th Independent Mixed Brigade
- 57th Division (20,000 men)
- 4th Tank Brigade
- Southeastern Kyūshū—57th Army (Lt. Gen. Nishihara Kanji) (150,000 men):
- Tanegashima—109th Independent Mixed Brigade (5,900 men)
- Miyazaki—154th Division, 156th Division, 212th Division[2] (55,000 men)
- Ariake—86th Division, 98th Independent Mixed Brigade, 1 regiment, 3 infantry battalions (29,000 men)
- 25th Division, 5th Tank Brigade, 6th Tank Brigade[2]
- Southwestern Kyūshū—40th Army (Lt. Gen. Nakazawa Mitsuo) (85,000 men):
- 303rd Division (12,000 men) (Sendai)
- 206th Division (Fukiage)
- 146th Division, 125th Independent Mixed Brigade (S. Satsuma Peninsula)
- 77th Division[2] 1 tank regiment
- 216th Division[2] 4 brigades
- Northern Kyūshū—56th Army (Lt. Gen. Ichiro Shichida) (365,000)[2]
- 16th Area Army (Lt. Gen. Yokoyama Isamu) (600,000 men)
- Air General Army (Gen. Masakazu Kawabe)
Order of Battle for Coronet
Allied
- United States Ground Forces:
- First Army (Gen. Courtney H. Hodges):[1]
- Eighth Army (Lt. Gen. Robert L. Eichelberger):
- United States Army Forces Pacific reserve:[1]
Thirty days after the initial assault, each army would be reinforced by a corps of 3 divisions. Five days later an airborne division and a United States Army Forces Pacific Reserve Corps of 3 divisions would be made available. Strategic reserve for the entire operation would consist of a corps of 3 divisions located in the Philippines and divisions from the United States to permit reinforcement at the rate of 4 per month.[1]
Unsourced listing of the aforementioned reinforcements:
- United States Ground Forces:
- for First Army:
- Unnamed follow-on corps:
- for Eighth Army:
- Unnamed follow-on corps:
- United States Army Forces Pacific reserve:
- 11th Airborne Division
- Unnamed follow-on corps:
- Strategic Reserve:
- for First Army:
- British Commonwealth Ground Forces:
Japan
All Japanese formations on Honshu were badly understrength and lacking in equipment. The American First Army's landings would likely have been opposed by the Japanese 52nd Army and the Eighth Army's landings by the Japanese 53rd Army.
- First General Army (Field Marshal Hajime Sugiyama
- Twelfth Area Army (Gen. Shizuichi Tanaka)
- 36th Army - Urawa, Saitama
- 51st Army - Tsuchiura, Ibaraki
- 44th Division - Ogawa
- 151st Division - Mito
- 221st Division - Kashima
- 115th Independent Mixed Brigade - Shibasaki
- 116th Independent Mixed Brigade - Hokota
- 7th Independent Armored Brigade - Ogawa
- 52nd Army - Sakura, Chiba
- 3rd Imperial Guards Division - Naruto
- 147th Division - Mobara
- 152nd Division - Choshi
- 234th Division - Sōsa
- 3rd Independent Armored Brigade
- 8th Artillery Headquarters
- 53rd Army - Isehara, Kanagawa
- 84th Division - Odarawa
- 140th Division - Kamakura
- 316th Division - Isehara
- 117th Independent Mixed Brigade - Numazu
- 2nd Independent Armored Brigade - Tsudanuma
- 11th Artillery Headquarters - Hiratsuka
- Tokyo Bay Garrison - Choshi, Chiba
- 321st Division - Tokyo
- Twelfth Area Army (Gen. Shizuichi Tanaka)
Notes
- "Chapter XIII "Downfall" The plan for the invasion of Japan". US Army Center of Military History. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- The majority of these units (86,000 men total) would have been ordered to counterattack at Ariake, though it is questionable how many of the tanks would have been able to survive an air attack.