What was the name of the planned invasion of Japan towards the end of World War II?

The story behind the answer

Operation Downfall was the Allied plan to invade Japan at the end of World War II. It comprised two massive amphibious assaults: Operation Olympic (the invasion of Kyushu, targeted for November 1945) and Operation Coronet (the invasion of Honshu, planned for spring 1946). Anticipated casualties on all sides were staggering, given Japan’s fortified defenses and expected kamikaze attacks. The plan was ultimately canceled after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet declaration of war on Japan.

A memory tip: “Downfall” signals the intended downfall of Imperial Japan. By contrast, Operation Ironclad was the 1942 Allied invasion of Madagascar; the other options don’t match major WWII code names. Knowing these distinctions helps place late-war strategies and why the conflict ended without a mainland invasion.