Week 305 - Operation Olympic - 100,000 US Casualties in 60 days? - WW2 - June 29, 1945

The casualty projections for the planned November invasion of Kyushu, Japan are in... or are they? They might have been 'massaged' a little to sell the operation more easily. The fight in the field still goes on, though, with parachutes flying over Luzon as more American troops land, and an Australian advance on Borneo.
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Hosted by: Indy Neidel
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Written by: Indy Neidell
Research by: Indy Neidell
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A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

[@TheKoreanWarbyIndyNeidell]

Mark your calendars! Episode two of the Korean War arrives this Tuesday. Subscribe and stay tuned: www.youtube.com/@TheKoreanWarbyIndyNeidell

[@somerandomboibackup6086]

rename channel to The Korean War pls

[@Losantiville]

Is Tuesday going to be the normal release date?

[@WorldWarTwo]

@@Losantiville For the foreseeable future yes!

[@rlg050967]

The Truman Library Institute estimated that 495,000 were left after the war, medals that would go on to be awarded to service members and families through the Korean War, Vietnam War, and on.

[@ralphranzinger4197]

Prima Donna McArthur 😂😂😂 oh my God, Truman really made a to the point description of his 5 Star General! And for the many informations regarding Olympic, I am so thankful of you guys!

[@gunman47]

A rather interesting sidenote this week on June 26 1945 is that Prime Minister of South Africa Jan Smuts will become the only person to have signed the documents forming the League of Nations and the United Nations when he affixed his signature to the United Nations Charter at San Francisco, California, in the United States.

[@lc1138]

Did he stay in power this whole time ?

[@bendover6785]

Does this mean he started them? Sorry I’m not smart

[@gunman47]

@@lc1138 No, he just happened to be serving as the Prime Minister of South Africa during both periods. His first stint was from 1919 to 1924, and then his second stint was from 1939 to 1948.

[@lc1138]

@@gunman47 ok ! Thank you

[@robtoe10]

The Boer commander-turned British Imperial loyalist - strange chap, Smuts

[@ethanbramptom2700]

It’s pretty surreal to me how, after years of the episodes growing in length as the war grew in size, they are now getting shorter as the war is winding down.

[@WorldWarTwo]

It will depend on the week, but this was one of the shortest in awhile.

[@OscarGarcia-yj8xh]

​@@WorldWarTwoit's still longer than the latest 1940s or early 1941s episodes

[@therideneverends1697]

the in real time format of presentation really is remarkable

[@nigellawson8610]

Olympic would have been an absolute bloodbath. Kyushu’s terrain was mountainous and scored with deep valleys. Its roads were also very poor, which would have placed serious tactical and logistic constraints when came to the employment of tanks and their supporting forces. In short, the terrain was ideal for conducting defensive operations. The beaches suitable for supporting the landing were also limited. The island would have been a very tough nut to crack. The Americans would have had the problem of subduing the six hundred thousand man garrison. In addition to the garrison, the Japanese had over two and a half thousand suicide planes ready to attack the invasions force, along with hundreds of suicide boats, and midget submarines. Taking all of these factors into consideration, the American invasion force and its naval support would have taken major losses? American losses in all probability would have conformed to Navy’s higher estimate of a third of the landing force?

[@Mikethemerciless11]

My grandfather was a 2nd LT at Guadalcanal, and was wounded twice there, and missed out on Iwo Jima. He was a Captain at Okinawa, and became a Major there. He told me that his job, as far as his commanding officer said it, was to prepare Marines for the invasion of Japan. He instructed his guys there that this will be brutal, that they may have to shoot women and children because they might have anything from bamboo spears to vests of explosives to run underneath tanks and trucks to repel the invasion. He told me that he was honest and direct, that there be no illusions about how bad this invasion was going to be. He personally estimated 200,000 casualties. He told me his experiences on Okinawa, how he couldn't stop civilians from throwing themselves off of cliffs to their deaths, because they were told that Americans would ravage and torture them, and they believed it. It was one thing I caught when, after the invasion of Okinawa was successful, that men and women went to him in tears thanking them for not being merciless. My great-grandfather was at Verdun, and that was horrendous. But what my great-grandpa-pere said about Verdun, awful as it was, cannot necessarily compare to seeing women holding their babies in their arms as they jumped off of high cliffs into the sea. I think that has an effect on a person. Grand-pere adopted my Aunt Aiko from Okinawa, and she's still alive. She told me that she was terrified of the Americans, but afterward, she loved them dearly. She said they made certain she was fed, even after her entire family was wiped out. As much as I might have my misgivings about America, at the same time I always remember how good Americans can be.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you so much for sharing, loved your comment (although it speaks of horrors)! -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@welcometonebalia]

Thank you.

[@keithscott1957]

To quote Confucius, "Man who bomb Pearl Harbour, shall see mushrooms".

[@JLAvey]

Have to wonder if everyone who thought the plan would work weren't eating mushrooms.

[@AlbertComelles1970]

I would like to recommend this book "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" by Ruth Benedict. Please explore its background.also, it's amazing.

[@jorgemartinpaez4376]

The last days of the battle of Okinawa were a mess there were still pockets of 15, 0000 Japanese Troops, meanwhile, the airfields yon tan and others were being built as the US ARMY USN USMC built new port stations in Okinawa as a staging area for Operation Olympic the Invasion of Southern Japan, Meanwhile in Luzon the battle still rages as the US Army, continue to root out the Japanese, and some US divisions prepare for deployment to Okiwanwa from the Philippines, The Australians attack Japanese on Borneo, near Tarakan, now with an oil pump restored under allied control. The numbers examined for Operation Olympic??? vs the Fanaticism of Japan or can there be a way with the son of heaven, the emperor?

[@patwiggins6969]

Wondering how many are still buried in Okinawa. Also wonder how many Japanese were listed as missing whose bodies were never recovered.

[@johnhallett5846]

Considering the Kamikazees and the Banzai charges that would have come, I think more likely 100,000 casualties in less than thirty days. and probably a million dead japanese

[@JustSomeCanuck]

Tension between Truman and MacArthur? Oh well, at least Indy won't need to discuss that in any other channels! 😉😉

[@rajeshkanungo6627]

I wonder what would have happened if they had put McArthur and Montgomery together.

[@Joshua-fq9tm]

​​@@rajeshkanungo6627 imagine if dwight eisenhower and douglas macarthur was swapped positions, the fiasco that will be the allied european theater lol considering Patton would be there as well

[@flargus7919]

​@@rajeshkanungo6627Get Patton in the room and the collision of those three massive egos might have resulted in the end of existence as we know it.

[@ernestcline2868]

​@@rajeshkanungo6627 We now know what happens when you get a critical mass.

[@friedrichweitzer3071]

@@rajeshkanungo6627 What about promoting MacArthur to seven-star General equalling Washington and electing Eisenhower to President?

[@elbeto191291]

"Mr. Prima Donna, Brass Hat, Five Star MacArthur" . Well... nothing more to say, right?

[@professorsogol5824]

The assessment of Acting Secretary of State Joseph Grew should be given serious consideration. He was the US Ambassador to Japan from 1932 to 1942 and observed the principal players in the Japanese leadership closely for ten years. He probably knew more about Japan, its leadership and culture than anyone else in Washington.

[@noahwiener2491]

I don't understand why we act as if we have to rely on second-hand accounts and the assumptions of American diplomats for information on what terms the Japanese leadership might have accepted before August 1945. We have the archives, we have the primary sources- individual Japanese diplomats were trying to make that offer, and their superiors shot them down. It is very clear that until the twin blows of the bombs and August Storm the Japanese were holding out for avoiding an occupation of Japan at the very least. This is what Richard Frank and Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, who actually studied the Japanese archives, will tell you in their books- and Hasegawa is certainly no fan of the US military. you can certainly debate whether the bombs were necessary for Japan surrendering- Hasegawa certainly thinks it was the Soviet invasion- but this is an argument from hindsight, and in any case it's certain that before these two events they were never going to surrender

[@danielstickney2400]

Yes and no. Joseph Grew was very familiar with the Japanese aristocracy and ruling class. He knew next to nothing about about the average Japanese citizen other than what those aristocrats told him and they pushed the idea of emperor worship as a way to protect their own interests. By this point the average Japanese citizen worried a lot more about starvation than the emperor and were quite surprised when MacArthur failed to have him shot.

[@ChaptermasterPedroKantor-kv5yw]

@@danielstickney2400 But on the flipside the average Japanese citizen had no power and the Japanese political and military aristocrats did. And they would fanatically herd the average Japanese citizen into a slaughter to protect the Emperor.

[@karlbrundage7472]

@Turnipstalk If you knew of the deliberations of the Imperial War Council during this period you might not be as flippant. There was a literal "Death Cult" among the Imperial General Staff who vowed to never surrender, regardless of Allied offers, including the continuation of the Chrysanthemum Throne. Any serious historian has long ago settled the necessity for the two atomic bomb strikes.

[@bingobongo1615]

@@noahwiener2491 Did you not watch the crimes against the humanity episode? The emperor asked twice already to find a way to end the war and Japan tried to get the Soviets to negotiate for them. The issue was that they werent ready to accept unconditional surrender

[@maynardcarmer3148]

An uncle of mine was killed, and buried at sea, on 25 June 1945. So close, and yet too far away.

[@stevenbrooks6930]

Thank you for your family’s sacrifice. It matters, 80 years later.

[@Jay-ho9io]

That's just awful. Damn.

[@maynardcarmer3148]

@Jay-ho9io What makes it worse is that, like so many others, he lost his job during the Depression, so in 1938, he enlisted in the Navy. He should have gotten out in 1942.

[@cheesedetectiverook5950]

Ah, Borneo. The last days of my great grandfather in the war. He had truly seen so much of the world during the war. From the deceptively cold desert nights in North Africa, to the most tenacious of the Japanese in the Pacific. Just a few more days and he and his mates get to finally enjoy some proper rest

[@TrailBlazer65]

A lot of people would be surprised to know that many of the units shown here liberating Borneo from the Japs were veterans of major battles in the North African campaign, including the Rats of Tobruk.

[@Adonnus100]

I met a war veteran from the 7th division who also went that same path. Joined in September 39, went through Crete and the ME, ended up in Borneo. Such a long journey. But he wasn't repatriated I believe until the following year... must have been painful to have to stick around with duties after it's all officially over.

[@cheesedetectiverook5950]

@@Adonnus100 Consider yourself lucky. The men of the 2AIF are getting rarer as more days pass. And yeah, having to stick around was a pain for my old man in the 9th Div as well. They apparently did just about everything to distract themselves until it was their turn to return home

[@davidhatton583]

@@Adonnus100Wow… thru 7 years of mostly war. Should’ve been given a 20 year career retirement for That!

[@Adonnus100]

@@davidhatton583 Well he did tell me that Australia treats its veterans best in the world, settled here in Canberra in 1967, so I think he was pretty happy with how things turned out. That generation is so amazing to me, they never complain, it's just "oh well we gotta do this, so let's do it".

[@ives3572]

"War's tragedy is that it uses man's best to do man's worst." - Harry Emerson Fosdick

[@WorldWarTwo]

A great quote, thanks for sharing and thanks for watching.

[@Turf-yj9ei]

It's weird seeing episodes under 20 minutes. You can tell things are winding down. Well on to Korea gents

[@WorldWarTwo]

Some will be under, others will be over. Depends on the week!

[@stankles7688]

What’s weird is that you have some sort of expectation that needs to be met as if it’s a rule somewhere that every video MUST be 20 minutes. What a lame comment.

[@x_x_x_an_intersting_name_x_x_x]

I don't think it's an expectation, it's more that for the past few months there's been so much going on that they've had to make specials just to keep the run time down, and now some episodes are under 20 min

[@BossDropbear]

Through April the episodes were jam packed and just getting longer. Now there is not so much jammed in so they are shorter. Can't control how much jam comes along.

[@LugborG]

Tell Indy he's the David Attenborough of war documentary. I don't think I could imagine a different voice (or vest) doing these.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for the comment!

[@matthewmcmacken6716]

Marshall to MacArther: 'These are not the casualty numbers you are looking for...'

[@porksterbob]

I hope we get some stuff about the Japanese preparations on Kyushu. They are successful in guessing most of the invasion plan and they end up putting a lot more forces there then the US expected. This all become clear by mid July and suddenly every casualty estimate talked about in this episode looks low.

[@llywrch7116]

Heh. My Dad's unit was slated to participate in Operation Olympic, because although they saw serious fighting in Italy, the division was relatively intact & easily re-deployable. He once told me that they were told the invading forces expected total casualties to amount to one million KIA, wounded & MIA. (I don't know if this was what their leadership knew, or just rumors amongst the troops.)

[@rajeshkanungo6627]

That is how most wars start. There is generally a gross underestimation of force required, leading to a gross estimation of casualties. Then you throw in reserves. Then you raise new divisions. And so on and so worth. Eisenhower was more astute about casualties.

[@extrahistory8956]

Then again, it wasn't that hard to figure out where the Americans would land. There wasn't nearly as many adequate landing places.

[@bingobongo1615]

The Japanese troops were in an absolutely sorry state and preparations weren’t at all finished… Its something the Tenno also addressed in his surrender speech. But this doesnt fit in the common narrative…

[@johnbenson4672]

It's weird to not have the European side of this after such a long time. For Europe, the long process of reconstruction and the slide into the cold was would begin along with the dismantling of the Nazi state and arrest and trial of those involved in war crimes. But most of that would happen quietly, away from the bright spotlight of grand maneuvers.

[@johnhemphill1938]

My father was apart of a bomber crew in France, after Germany surrendered they ended up going to Okinawa. A lot of planes were arriving there back then. Amazing you all covered this.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for sharing and thanks for watching.

[@Red_Four]

Surely Truman's opinions of MacArthur won't have ramifications in the future right? Right?

[@p.strobus7569]

Of course not. Gen. Arthur MacArthur’s son is doing great things to show himself an inept nepobaby who just managed to give public opinion the Heroic Warfighter they wanted in the Philippines and time will eventually erode The Glory.

[@andmos1001]

In context, the Purple Hearts that was produced in preparation for Operation Olympic, has only recently begun producing again

[@NathanDudani]

Damn

[@anttibjorklund1869]

So it took 79 years to "deplete the reserves"?

[@deeznoots6241]

@@anttibjorklund1869I don’t think they even ran out, its just the stockpiled Purple hearts were getting pretty worn down by age

[@anttibjorklund1869]

@@deeznoots6241 Thanks for the clarification.

[@rlg050967]

The Truman Library Institute estimated that 495,000 were left after the war, medals that would go on to be awarded to service members and families through the Korean War, Vietnam War, and on.

[@minhmeo9506]

We can only guess about how destructive and bloody the Operation: Downfall would be if it came real… 😢

[@aaronishii5874]

About a million casualties

[@dobridjordje]

75-90k KIA just for Kyushu for the US troops, not even counting Honshu, Shikoku and Hokaido. Tokyo would have been worse than Stalingrad.​@@aaronishii5874

[@DouglaszillaAweome]

Indeed, a never ending tide of carnage in Japan. A battle beyond annihilation of annihilations.

[@jaimepatena7372]

My father was Filipino American and was in the US Army Signal Corp. on Adak island in the Aleutians in the summer of 1945. My father said he was personally happy when the Japanese surrendered. He had heard about the massive casualties that were projected.

[@DouglaszillaAweome]

As a Filipino too, who is always fascinated about the stories/battles of WW2 in Asia and the Pacific that should never be forgotten, is shocked and relieved that there are no more further bloodbaths beyond the surrender. I have to say, It's always do the 'Extraordinary' to make it 'Extraordinary' and it is real.

[@MM22966]

Massive operation in the Philippines and they have a Tagalog-speaking signalman posted to Alaska. That's the Army for you!

[@jaimepatena7372]

@@MM22966 My father was rare..he was American born and spoke Visayan. The Army was smarter than that. The Filipino Americans formed a battalion early in the war and were sent to spy on the Japanese in the Philippines. My dad was too young after Pearl Harbor. My uncle went to serve and was in the Philippines. Google him. Leo Giron. He was a war hero.

[@jaimepatena7372]

@@MM22966 My uncle Leo Giron was dropped by sub off into occupied Philippines. He was in Army and he mapped out all Japanese positions and installations. Army was not dumb.

[@jaimepatena7372]

@@MM22966 My father was too young to join the Filipino regiments the Army was recruiting right after Pearl Harbor. My uncle joined them. My dad turned 18 in in 1944 and was placed in a Texas unit. They called my dad "chief" because they thought he looked Native American.

[@21bugger]

I think we've been spoilt in the last few months, I was so used to 20+ mins videos that i'm surprised that this one is "short" at 16 odd minutes. Keep up the good work!

[@rajeshkanungo6627]

Yup. Maybe I’ll delay watching the Korean War to Saturday. Perun for Sunday.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Well, with Korea and WW2 coming out each week we are averaging a similar if not more amount of content, thanks for the comment!

[@ChrisCrossClash]

There really isn't that much fighting left in WW2 now.

[@ChaptermasterPedroKantor-kv5yw]

It really is a lull in the major campaigns of the Pacific, and nothing major would happen between now and Hiroshima except for the Australian Borneo campaign and Halsey's cruise past the Japanese East Coast. Unless something big happens too in China, which I am not that familiar with. With the war in Europe over it's most conferences and plannings for now.

[@karoltakisobie6638]

I'm a little disappointed that team didn't cover some very much unknown aspects of rebuilding Europe just after war ended. How did Wehrmacht in Norway surrendered and were moved back to Germany. What were the actions of neutral countries right after war? What is happening in Balkan and central European countries? Is Greece peaceful already?

[@briantarigan7685]

the differing opinion about the status of Japan is fascinating, the fact that a person as high ranking as William Leahy doubt the the cost of forcing Japan to an unconditional surrender and try to make his colleagues look at another peace alternative while at the same also oppose the occupation of Japan and even Truman kinda keep the question open to the congress for alternative is very interesting, there was so much doubt before the guaranteed soviet invasion and atomic bomb being tested

[@ChaptermasterPedroKantor-kv5yw]

The atomic bomb really was untested in that regard, and not that more destructive then the average 20th Air Force air raid with firebombs like Tokyo had been. And I reckon the speed and shock of the Soviet invasion of Manchuria when it happened probably surprised many in Washington to its success.

[@jeffyoung60]

The American invasion of Kyushu, Operation Olympic, intended to occupy the southern one-third of the island. While the Americans held this line, the occupied bottom third of Kyushu would be rapidly transformed into a massive array of American military bases and ports to support the March 1946 invasion of Honshu, Operation Coronet. How events would have turned out becomes very unpredictable when after the war, it becomes known the Imperial General Headquarters in Tokyo shoehorned close to one-million men onto Kyushu. The Japanese government knew the Americans intended to attack Kyushu first. The American invasion strategy had been predicated on the existence of about 350K plus of Japanese defenders on Kyushu. Soon U.S. military intelligence began detecting massive reinforcement, upping the number of anticipated defenders to around 660K. This greatly worried American invasion planners as it meant intense combat operations with higher casualties. But little could be done about it. The Kyushu invasion was on and had to go ahead. The American attackers, estimated at around 500K, not all of which would be frontline troops, would be confronting nearly one-million fanatical Japanese defenders. What this boiled down to was that American casualties as a result would be indeed higher than conservative estimates. Could the American invasion force have coped with one-million Japanese defenders? Once the Americans were shocked by the massive numbers of frontal assaults everywhere by waves of attacking Japanese infantry, everything would have to be thrown against the Japanese. This would include heavy and medium bombers, hundreds of fighter-bombers, off-shore bombardment from battleships and cruisers, heavy and medium massive artillery bombardments, and hundreds if not thousands of armored fighting vehicles ranging from tanks, tank destroyers, self-propelled artillery, armored cars, etc. And this would have to go on 24/7 in the initial weeks of the Kyushu invasion. Indeed the undertaker's count on both sides would be high. In order to minimize losses, Americans would have to hunker down behind a literal shield wall of fiery steel consisting of aerial bombs, ship artillery and land artillery shells. Experience from the later Korean War showed that this necessity would indeed work in rebelling human wave infantry attacks. Still it would not be a surprise if American casualties did rise into the 30 to 50 thousand range due to the intense infantry combat operations in the first month of Operation Olympic.

[@Wayne.J]

Maybe MacArthur could have let some forces from Britain, Australia NZ and China be involved in the invasion to lessen the blow on the Americans? Instead of leaving them ALL is side show or long dormant theatres

[@ralphranzinger4197]

Currently working on a wargame with just that scenario, facing the same problem.

[@UncleJoeLITE]

Fell asleep waiting for the premiere again. Such is life in the Canberra/Tokyo time zone!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Hope you enjoyed what you did catch!

[@Pandacous]

Im glad the U.S. didn't have to invade the main land.

[@JLAvey]

One item I came across years ago really put in perspective the magnitude of the blood bath. The invasion plan has one of the Marines' activities planned out for five days on account that the regiment was expected to be destroyed by the sixth. Not necessarily dead, just enough casualties to reduce it to battalion or company strength.

[@wrestle4life234]

Battalion strength means 2/3 destruction of a regiment or more. Company strength means 8/9 destruction or more. Just approximations for anyone who needs context

[@MrNicoJac]

​@@wrestle4life234 Appreciated! ^^

[@Zorn27]

How fast the Americans built up Okinawa is incredible

[@dariuszgaat5771]

On the occasion of the fights for northern Borneo, I recommend the quite forgotten but quite good film "Farewell to the King" with Nick Nolte, loosely telling the story of these events.

[@moss8448]

good flick

[@darvennej4495]

Yes one of my favorites with Nolte , the ''Cannibal Army'' of ragged Japanese "'Scarecrows '' a version not like Lee's ''Glorious Scarecrows''

[@DSS-jj2cw]

If anyone wants to watch a movie about the suffering of stranded Japanese soldiers in the Philippines during WWII "Fires on the Plain " is a nightmarish watch. There are 1959 and 2014 versions.

[@ceberskie119]

My grandfather joined the army in 45 and was training to be in operation olympic...he told me when I expressed my interest in the war that they would tell him how bad it was expected to be and that they were going to have to be ruthless because the enemy would be. He never spoke much of it though I wonder what happened?

[@ZER0ZER0SE7EN]

My dad's situation was the same as your grandfather's. While training as an Army landing boat coxswain, my dad was told to expect 70% casualties in the first hour of the amphibious landing.

[@ceberskie119]

@ZER0ZER0SE7EN That's crazy! My grandfather used to say he thanked the Lord for Atom bombs everytime he spoke to his old army buddies about the war. He never felt like he was cut out to be an infantryman and thought he would've died on those beaches for sure.

[@Danogil]

My Dad was 11th Airborne Div was told he would not survive if we go in.

[@shaneboardwell1060]

King was particularly worried about losses transport ships would suffer to kamikazes. They were the most sensitive targets all while being essential for the invasion for obvious reasons. Studies suggested 1/3 -1/2 could be destroyed during the initial invasion. It’s no wonder he leaned toward the blockade and bomb approach.

[@pax6833]

He was right to be worried. The Japanese had way more planes and fuel than was estimated. And the Japanese had changed strategy to focus on transports. Also of note, all of the army's blood supplies would be centralized to just 3 ships, one for each beachhead. If any of these hospital ships were hit, it would dramatically increase the amount of dead.

[@srcarranza]

This channel is one of KZbin's all time greats!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Wow thank you!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you!

[@InnerProp]

The 33rd Infantry Division was an Illinois National Guard unit created for WWI. After WWII it was changed into an Infantry Brigade and then an Area Support Group (a Brigade sized logistics unit). I deployed with the 33rd ASG to Afghanistan in '04

[@brucechynoweth]

Ah, you moved the watch, about time...

[@finchborat]

This time 5 yrs ago on my 27th birthday, the Axis appeared unstoppable. Now today on my 32nd birthday, the Axis are on the brink of final defeat.

[@archlich4489]

Happy Birthday! Cheers from NC.

[@finchborat]

@@archlich4489 Thank you!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Happy birthday!

[@DabaksolGuardPost]

Eastern Front: "Huh, rookie number"

[@CARL_093]

I m looking forward to our nxt journey indy and crew see ya there

[@WorldWarTwo]

See you there!

[@michigangeezer3950]

I'm a Leahy. It's pronounced with a long A. Lay-hee. (After nearly 55 years of hearing it mispronounced I just always chime in). Also, thanks for mentioning him at all. There's almost NO knowledge out there about him and I always thought the guy bearing my family's name was just a rose garden butt kisser who never did anything meaningful during the war. While I'd rather have seen him commanding ships that delivered pain to the enemy, knowing he was genuinely useful makes me pretty happy. A fellow is never too old to learn new stuff! Thanks! 🤘

[@julesjames593]

Admiral Leahy was Old Navy. Diplomacy over combat. He had his day of combat off Cuba in 1898, but his career's primary value to his country involved wisdom and patience. A true patriot. A good man.

[@curtinj98]

I know a few Leahys, and they all go with Lee-Hee. But then it's an Irish name, and one that's anglicised at that, so you will get different pronunciations from one county to the next. Who's to say which is right or wrong. Both pronunciations may be right for the regions they are from.

[@RaymondCore-ts5jl]

I'm from SE Louisiana and it's pronounced 'Lay-hee' here.

[@SomeBigFatGuy]

​@@RaymondCore-ts5jl I've heard it mangled as "leah-hee", "lee-hi", and "lee-hee" a lot. From watching the few KZbin videos I've seen on the Admiral he was introduced by my family's pronunciation "Lay-hee".

[@ZER0ZER0SE7EN]

Admiral Leahy's name is pronounced LAY hee. General Yamashita's name is pronounced : yah MAHSH tah. Admiral Leahy knew FDR when the future President was Assist Sec of the Navy. Leahy was later chief of naval operations and pushed to increase the US Navy fleet tonnage by 20% in the late 1930's. He retired right before WW2, but FDR said he might need him back. President Roosevelt made him Governor of Puerto Rico then ambassador to Vichy France before recalling him to the Navy from retirement as Chief of Staff to the President. He held the very first 5-star rank in the US, senior to all military officers including Marshall, King, MacArthur, Nimitz, Eisenhower and Arnold (in this order).

[@pattygman4675]

Giving permanent members of the security council a veto power. What could possibly go wrong with that?

[@rajeshkanungo6627]

And Russia inheriting the Soviet veto power was probably the worst thing that happened. A superpower that degenerated into a powerless country led by a dictator with visions of regaining their “rightful” status as the leader of their empire; visions of grandeur. No difference between the two countries that allied to consume Poland.

[@leogazebo5290]

​@@rajeshkanungo6627In all fairness you don't wanna insult a country with enough nukes on its playbook.

[@graceneilitz7661]

@@rajeshkanungo6627 I highly doubt you would have been okay with the alternative.

[@rajeshkanungo6627]

@@leogazebo5290 so why not give India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel superpower status? After all, denying any status to 1.4 billion people from India is also not fair. I know my arguments are loaded with heavy sarcasm and you may be right; no one could have anticipated the rise of Putin.

[@addickland5656]

If we're being honest, going by simple global influence and shear economic and military power, only China and the US should have a veto these days. Maaaaaybe you could make a case for France as the Nuclear-armed UN-represenative of the EU (an entity that rivals those other big two at least economically), but that's it. The top 5 world powers of 1945 are not the same as the ones today, something that the UN was not designed to account for, and it shows.

[@indianajones4321]

Excited to now be watching both this and Korea at the same time!

[@WorldWarTwo]

See you Tuesday!

[@patwiggins6969]

According to an article from forensic science international in 2021. There are around one million Japanese troops whose bodies have not been recovered. That's a hell of a lot of missing in action.

[@extrahistory8956]

That's quite true. The rather unfavorable conditions that many of those troops in the 6th, 7th, 8th, 14th and Burma Area Armies meant that a lot of Japanese troops never got a proper resting ground of any sort

[@BillBird2111]

If you want to view one small example of this, I refer you to the first season of the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, Season 1, Episode 14. The title of this episode is called Lagoon of Lost Ships. It is the investigation of Japanese ships lost to enemy fire during two raids at Truk Island during the war. Thousands of Japanese soldiers and sailors died there, and those bodies remained entombed on those sunken ships for decades. Truk Lagoon is not very deep. Those ships had been visited by many diving expeditions in the 1950's and 1960's. It was only after the episode aired in 1971 that Japanese authorities launched an expedition to recover these victims, reduced to mere skeletons now, and give them a proper burial. All of the victims, however, were not recovered. Those ships remain at the bottom of Truk Lagoon. Diving expeditions there take place to this very day.

[@enriquealvarado9938]

An interesting side-note: The Mexican Expeditionary Airforce 201st Fighter Squadron sees action this week during the fight in Cagayan Valley in the Philippines. Next they will be moved to escort duties in Okinawa.

[@andromeda331]

Really? That's cool!

[@APerson-dq4hl]

The key point in Indy's final quote is that Okinawa convinced Japan that the US had the determination to see the war through despite massive casualties. The material part was never in doubt. That's why fighting to take the entire island mattered. It changed the Japanese surrender calculus and ultimately their willingness to accept the humiliation of occupation and political control - if it had only been a victory of material with blockade and A-bombs the Japanese would have considered US victory illegitimate. For cultural reasons the US had to demonstrate a spiritual commitment to victory.

[@Dustz92]

This would be a good time to watch the 2017 movie Unbreakable, with the last part of the film taking place during these last months of the war

[@duckwhoasksunpleasant]

And with Mikolajczyk joining the Polish government this week, it looks like the troublesome Polish issue might be resolved...

[@TheGrenadier97]

Olympic would be necessary if the siege of Japan was faulty; it wasn't. Apparently every US admiral knew that, except Halsey.

[@tw27242]

An interesting move by Marshall considering in the European Theatre he was very conscious about not needlessly wasting American lives on things such as driving on Berlin. Now with Olympic here, he's willing to skew numbers of casualties.

[@Danogil]

My Dad was 11th Airborne Div.(1945-47) He always said he was told - If we go in you Will Not Survive. The training of school children to use spears against Allied Forces is NOT a myth. Every Person able to carry a stick was to Fight. 一億人の栄光の死 "The Glorious Death of One Hundred Million". Up to 900000 US Casualties were expected. Revisionists have changed this to the 20000-35000 or so casualties now preached by those people.

[@extrahistory8956]

Then again, in the video, members within the US government at that time were estimating anything from 11,000 to 1 million casualties. So even within the government there was a lack of certainty about the casualties.

[@younf]

The creation of UN being mentioned in details in the war against humanity series. The joke practically writes itself.

[@martijn9568]

Not really. The UN wasn't that important during this war and would really come into existence due to this war's horrors.

[@Clippidyclappidy]

@@martijn9568Pretty sure he was referencing the fact it’s a neutered establishment with no real power or interest to stop war and atrocities such as the Holocaust. Even to this day.

[@indianajones4321]

Is it just me, or does the thumbnail look kinda like Wolverine when he was in WW2?

[@brettl9314]

Happy 50 years of WOLVERINE😊

[@indianajones4321]

@@brettl9314 🥳

[@JohnJohn-pe5kr]

@@indianajones4321you excited for Deadpool and Wolverine?

[@indianajones4321]

@@JohnJohn-pe5kr yup! Hopefully it’ll be the best movie of phase five as in my opinion the movies have not been great

[@arthurvane3901]

Week 305 only 8 episode left Because the war went on for 313 weeks and 2 days.

[@Altrantis]

There may be a final wrap up one with how things articulaed after

[@82dorrin]

We STILL haven't used all the Purple Hearts they made in preparation for Olympic.

[@rdunc1586]

That is a very intresting stat …

[@jackmoorehead2036]

My Father and his Crew and aircraft were departing Wendover Utah on a series of hops to Tinian. They would arrive there on the 16th of July. He would make 2 Missons over Japan bringing his total Mission count to 54, 52 in B 24s and 2 in B 29s before the 509th and the Soviet Union ends the War.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for sharing a bit of your father's story.

[@LightFykki]

The July episodes will truly be a 'calm' before the storm. The storm that will hit in August

[@DylanPelzer-lq7oy]

The American casualties for Operation Olympic would have been horrific. The Japanese casualties would have been outright genocidal. If the US hadn't dropped those nukes, then there would likely have been far fewer Japanese alive today. I think the Japanese who see themselves as the victims of the US and decry the use of the atomic bombs fail to realise how total the destruction of their people and nation would have been had the US landed on the home islands. The Americans would have killed every man, woman and child who took up arms against them, which would have been most of the country. Besides bullets, bombs and incendiaries, the US would absolutely have resorted to mass starvation to snuff out the Japanese populace. It sounds callous, but the communists regimes in China, Russia Cambodia and elsewhere have collectively (laugh at my cheap communism joke) murdered at least 70 million people between them through starvation alone. Not firing squads or labour camps. Starvation alone killed that many.

[@whatchaface]

​@marcel-ifc17 Well side, Thank You

[@garymathena2125]

During the occupation of Japan, more equipment, arms, planes and suicide boats were found than intelligence estimated. My uncle was in the occupation force also, have fought from the Philippines on in the Army. Also, not all of the JN 25 codes had been decrypted until long after the war was over.

[@aaronpaul9188]

Wow, I never knew about Grew. Rarely do you see a US decision maker actually know what hes talking about and be exactly correct on an issue.

[@MM22966]

If that was actually true, the United States would not be where it is now, let alone at the head of the largest alliance system in huan history.

[@aaronpaul9188]

@@MM22966 The largest alliance is basically the US. Maybe two other countries have the ability to be regional powers. America rose despite their political class, not because of it.

[@MM22966]

@@aaronpaul9188 The US's successful wars have always been because of coalitions of allied countries, and that takes patient and smart diplomacy. Likewise, country's can have natural strengths, but if the leadership is bad, you're never going to get anywhere. I could give dozens of examples of this, but look at Argentina from its independence to now. At one point they were on the same level as the US, and it was successive bad leadership that brought them down. The US hasn't always had the smartest guy in charge, but the total AVERAGE of leaders has been well above the norm, and we have a system of government that has limited any damage when it isn't.

[@huma474]

and thus we see the beginnings of what allowed some of the worst war criminals of the war to be let off with no repercussions.

[@crazygame2724]

My father worked for DuPont at Hanford Nuclear Facility during World War II. He finished his part of the project in January 1945. He was drafted in February 1945. He was almost 29 years old. It was a happy day in his life when the second bomb, plutonian, which detonated over Nagasaki on August 9. Ironically he missed the boat ride to Wake Island in September 1941 due to a major surgery to work as a construction crewman. Twist and turns in a man's life. The Japanese killed his two buddies in Wake. Dad never said much about the Manhatten project. He felt guilt over his two buddies at Wake Island.

[@zaboomafool1911]

So will the Korean war continue on Tuesdays for its duration, or only as long as WW2 is going concurrently?

[@WorldWarTwo]

For the time being it will be on Tuesday, no plans have been discussed to swap days yet!

[@uniball5667]

I'm genuinely surprised there isn't more animosity from Okinawans towards Japan. Imagine hearing all the propaganda about the evil Americans, watching entire families either end their lives or get killed in the fighting trying to hide from said Americans... and then they build a port lol. And basically start rebuilding Okinawa. I know occupation wasn't perfect, but man. Considering some Japanese soldiers would kill those who DID surrender, talk about a horrific lie.

[@parsifal6094]

We all know what we want after the WWII series come to end: The 100 years war - week by week!

[@stevenbrooks6930]

😮😵

[@keithscott1957]

That would be less than a thousand episodes. I'd like to see a week by week coverage of trouble in the Middle East from the Battle of Kadesh (1274 BC) to the modern day.

[@stevenbrooks6930]

@@keithscott1957 now you’re just trying to stupify the internet into depression…🤣

[@ShubhamMishrabro]

Indie skeleton hosting week by week hundred years war

[@jeffthemercenary]

Honestly it wouldn’t be as long as most would expect, since the actual fighting is actually really rare

[@BruceJones-i9z]

I read a while back that the Japanese military was fully prepared to lose well over 10 million soldiers and civilians in a fight to the death defense of the home islands. They believed the American public would never accept the high casualties it would cost to conquer the Japanese homeland. The methods they used to deceive the Germans of the Normandy invasion weren’t working also. The Japanese planned on turning all the landing zones into Omaha Beach type of landings. It’s easy to see why Truman decided on the A-bomb.

[@extrahistory8956]

If the Japanese are looking for trouble, they won't just get double, but triple the woes.

[@ChaptermasterPedroKantor-kv5yw]

Unlike France, where the Allies could land on a multitude of beaches the US was more limited in its options with Japan. And the Japanese knew this. They correctly identified the right beaches and that Kyushu was going to be the next step, and reinforced it accordingly. I am not sure they were going to turn those beaches in Omaha beaches, if anything Omaha beach was more like Tarawa beach, or the various island hopping landings in the central pacific. With Iwo Jima and Okinawa the Japanese stopped turning beaches into Omaha beach and instead dug in into the rugged interior. Because where the German's best chance was to stop the Allies at the beaches, because there was no rugged interior to fall back into, Japan did have that options times a hundred.

[@GRB-tj6uj]

​@@ChaptermasterPedroKantor-kv5yw and in Japan they wouldn't have had a resistance network for intelligence and sabotage. This would've been the first time that they would've had to deal with a hostile populace after an amphibious landing (I don't count the Pacific island that had some Japanese civilians on them)

[@MrNicoJac]

​@@ChaptermasterPedroKantor-kv5yw Perhaps there was no rugged terrain to fall back to, but those hedgerows still kept the Allies stuck for a loooong while. It's kinda crazy just how many casualties it took to break out of that area...

[@MrNicoJac]

Omaha Beach was actually not _that_ deadly. (it _was_ for the first waves, but if you compare percentages for losses of the total landing force, it's not as high as many battles in the Pacific were) Also, with the US navy being _so_ dominant, the Japanese really would not have stood a chance until the fighting advanced beyond the range of the naval artillery. Having said all that, total casualties would still have been.... 'Disheartening.' So yeah, you are right to say that it is easy to see why the bomb was used :)

[@curtislowe4577]

D M Giangreco's book Hell To Pay is an excellent read for understanding the differences in estimates of the human cost of Operation Downfall. Indy mentioned that some estimates were based on earlier battles rather than later battles. Another failing of the all pre-occupation estimates is the reliance on inaccurate aerial photo intelligence in assessing Japanese capabilities. Giangreco provides data from post-occupation interviews and inventories that the highest estimates were the most likely. It could have run to 1M dead Americans and 20M dead Japanese. One of the more interesting facts that was discovered during post-occupation interviews was that the Japanese had hoarded a very great quantity of aviation fuel and had far more serviceable aircraft and pilots than our estimates predicted. Many of the planes were of wood and fabric construction which does not return as much signal as an all-metal plane and thus our proximity fuses would be far less effective allowing a much higher percentage of kamikaze attacks to be successful.

[@jonathanmcalroy8640]

Are you going to do another 24 hour marathon for O-Day?

[@extrahistory8956]

Oh wow! The shortest week yet in the like the past year or so of content. Well, with things ramping up on all fronts this summer, I'll eagerly await for mpre coverage of this war

[@extrahistory8956]

@piyushsharan406 Olympic Day

[@wwoods66]

@@extrahistory8956 Strictly speaking, the landing dates for Olympic were labeled "X-Day" (Kyushu) and "Y-day" (Honshu).

[@johndemars2551]

Around this time my father was involved in the invasion of Cebu in the Phillippines, where he got a second Purple Heart. At war's end ,he was on Okinawa training with the 81st for Olympic.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for sharing.

[@iamnolegend2519]

The scale of what the Americans constructed on Okinawa serves testament to why the entry of America shortened WII. Not to mention the volume of small arms, artillery, armor , trucks, and other essentials to the UK, and USSR.

[@82dorrin]

MacArthur and Truman not getting along? I'm sure this is the very last time we'll be hearing about THAT... 😂

[@danielnavarro537]

With the loss of Okinawa, the clock is ticking for when the inevitable shall occur. Should the Allies invade Japan, it will be a costly affair. For the Japanese it will result in the destruction of everything. Perhaps to save Japan, should be to surrender for what matters if Japan is no more. All the while, the Allies began eyeing up the post war world for their influence. The war in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater is nearing its conclusions, but a new war is emerging on the horizon. Godspeed.

[@j.4332]

Surely Adm Yamamoto was right when he said about the USA after Pearl Harbour"All we have done is awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve..",upon finding out the timing of the attack and the declaration of war did not go as he wanted.

[@ahorsewithnoname773]

Contrary to popular belief Yamamoto never said that. It was an invention of the script writer for the movie Tora Tora Tora, which while a great film that also happens to be very historically accurate, is nevertheless still a dramatization of the events and not a documentary. Yamamoto did express doubts that Japan would be successful in a war with the United States, and was oppossed to the attack on Pearl Harbor even though he was ordered to plan and carry it out, but he never expressed those feelings in that particular manner.

[@j.4332]

@@ahorsewithnoname773 Oh well thank you.Maybe the script writer should have led the Japanese navy!

[@Jean-LucMartin-y1y]

Are you going to cover the events of française Indochine War? Id love to see it!

[@garymathena2125]

The official War Department estimate was between 125,000 and 1.25 million, this is for the US alone. This does not figure in British or Australian troops. My uncle was training in the Pacific, having already been involved in the liberation of the Philippines and Okinawa.

[@MM22966]

What were the British and Aussies kicking in (on the ground?)

[@Lematth88]

This week in French news. 25th, The Resistance movement : Mouvement de libération nationale transforms into the Union démocratique et socialiste de la Résistance (UDSR) who is center-left and is the party of future president François Mitterand. The 28th, the French government recognizes the Polish government in Warsaw.

[@darvennej4495]

So with Borneo giivng the few American and Australian troops some final scrap with the Imperial Japenese Army in starvation mode, was there talk of stopping by Skull Island to get rid of the hundreds there ,or did the Dinosaurs and the Bugs kill them off .

[@iws04]

thumbnail lowkey lookin like dr house

[@bigsai4472]

By 1945, Japan still had a population of 71,996,104 people, according to the demographic records taken in March of that same year, and the Allies were able to assemble a force of 1,877,202 for this operation, never mind the Soviets. With how mountainous and tropical Japan is, and how logistically complicated its geography is to traverse, there is no probability that a force of nearly 2 million Americans are going to successfully take on 70 million people, if we are to follow the stereotypically racist argument that all Japanese civilians were soldiers. This entire operation would have made Okinawa look like a joke, and made Market Garden sound like it was a resounding success compared to this mess. Let’s do the maths. Taking the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa as examples, as their terrain matches that of Japan’s, their average land mass would be 235.55 square miles (610 square kilometers). The average number of troops that were needed to secure both islands was 300,333 Americans, of which 27,915 were wounded and 9,480 were killed on average. For the Japanese, an average of 58,795 defenders and 40,000 conscripts were needed, of which 47,638 were killed, 30,000 conscripts were killed, 95,000 were killed, and 5,608 were taken prisoner. If we divide the average number of troops required, dead and wounded, for both sides, by this average land mass, we get 1,275 American troops needed to secure a mile, 40.3 dead per mile, and 118.5 wounded per mile. As for the Japanese, we get 249.6 needed per mile, 169.8 conscripts per mile, 202.2 dead soldiers per mile, 127.4 dead conscripts per mile, 403.3 dead civilians per mile, and 23.8 captured per mile. Averaging the number of days, it took 4.03 days per mile. Now, the land mass of the Japanese Home Islands, specifically Kyushu and Honshu, is 14,201.75 square miles (36,782.37 square kilometers) and 87,992 square miles (22,898 square kilometers) respectively. Multiplying all the numbers by these land masses, we have 18,107,231 American soldiers needed with 571,620 dead and 1,683,049 wounded for Kyushu. Now, for Honshu, we have 112,189,800 Allied soldiers needed with 3,541,678 dead and 10,427,932 wounded. For the Japanese on Kyushu, that’s 3,544,757 soldiers needed with 2,411,457 conscripts, 2,872,162 soldiers dead, 1,808,735 conscripts dead, 5,727,566 civilians dead, and 338,002 captured. For Honshu, that’s 21,962,803 soldiers needed, 14,941,042 conscripts needed with 17,791,982 dead soldiers, 11,210,181 dead conscripts, 35,487,174 dead civilians, and 2,094,210 captured. Now, something is not adding up. If we add all the numbers for the Japanese, that’s a total of 25,507,560 Japanese soldiers required for a fair fight. Japan only had 2,270,000 soldiers ready for combat and 4,335,500 soldiers as reserves; therefore, a total of 6,605,500 troops, which is accurate to Brigadier-General Bonner Fellers’ assessment on how many Japanese soldiers were left (he gave an approximation of 7 million), that were assembled for this “decisive battle.” So now, by using the percentage error formula, we have an error of 74.1%, and an accuracy of 25.9% Multiplying again by 25.9%, that’s a total of 4,689,772 Americans needed, 148,050 dead and 435,909 wounded for Kyūshū. For the Japanese on Kyūshū, that’s 918,092 soldiers needed and 624,567 conscripts needed with 743,890 soldiers dead, 468,462 conscripts dead, 1,483,440 civilians dead, and 87,542 captured. With how large, dense and foreign Japan is, it would have been impossible if not impractical to successfully establish a beachhead, let alone occupy the country, with a small force of 766,700 compared to the necessary 4,689,772. The Japanese were also able to accurately predict the Allied invasion plans and adjusted their defensive plan, Operation Ketsugo, accordingly, just as von Rundstedt did at Arnhem. Therefore, Olympic was nothing but a pipe dream that would have had embarrasing repercussions for the Allies. Half of the top-brass already knew Japan was defeated, and the other half were just bent on revenge and blood. You’ve already got a military operation with the planners holding reservations and being reckless, particularly the ones backing Nimitz against the invasion (King and Leahy), and the ones backing MacArthur for the invasion (Marshall and Arnold). In short, this Operation was never going to happen and could not happen given the logistical constraints after Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Therefore, Nimitz and Leahy were right to remain firm in their opposition against invasion considering the potential ramifications.

[@extrahistory8956]

Where did you get the 4 million soldiers on reserve figure? To my knowledge, of the 6 million active troops in the IJA, roughly 3.5 million were spread across the multiple area armies in China, Formosa, Indochina, Burma, Thailand, Malaya, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, and the 8th and 14th Area Armies in the Southwest Pacific.

[@gordybing1727]

The Japanese population was on the verge of starvation, 3 minutes w/o air, 3 days w/o water, 30 days w/o food. Whole counties would starve to death before anyone got within 100 miles.

[@Warmaker01]

Truman & MacArthur: *Best Friends Forever*

[@Springbok295]

My father was slated for Operation Olympic. He was going to serve aboard a Destroyer escort for radar picket duty. A few months prior he and several mates were given R&R in Hawthorne Nevada loading freight cars with 20 and 40 mm AA shells. They were to follow the train and head West to ports where they'd be assigned a ship. On a side note, concerning the invasion plans I read that planners dealt with the scenario of a possible Soviet invasion of Hokkaido and northern Honshu by the Soviets. Had that occurred Olympic was to be bypassed and Operation Coronet implemented in order to head the Soviets off before they could move any deeper into Honshu.

[@MM22966]

I know nothing of Hawthorne Nevada in the 1940's, but I suspect that is not what most would consider "R&R", lol!

[@alexanderhyaguer6827]

NEXT VIDEO: The french and the Dutch comes back!!! The invasion of Indonesia and Vietnam, Malasya, and Burma :D

[@HistoricWrath]

Ian Toll needs to have Indy record audiobooks of his Pacific books. I’d pay for that in a heartbeat.

[@radishinglad998]

I can't even begin to imagine what it was like to be a civilian that survived Okinawa. Months of brutal fighting, bombs flying everywhere, flamethrowers spitting out hellfire at any bunker and cave. And now the Americans who have turned your island into a scene from your nightmares, are building massive ports and highways even faster than they destroyed everything before.

[@McRocket]

I really enjoyed this behind-the-scenes discussion about Olympic. Thank you. ☮

[@WorldWarTwo]

You're welcome and thank YOU for your continued support! -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@carrickrichards2457]

Fantastic work. Thank you. May it long endure, and you get the recognition it deserves.

[@grandadmiralzaarin4962]

An invasion of Kyushu and the home islands in general would have been a nightmare. Civilian casualties that were to bring explosives and knives feigning surrender, close range kamikazes in all forms from land, sea and air, and a disturbingly complex defense network of caves, bunkers and tunnels. While the final outcome would never be in doubt, the casualty rate for both sides would have been beyond horrific.

[@PitFriend1]

Two things that show the scale of casualties the US expected during Operations Olympic and Coronet. First, the US produced so many Purple Heart decorations for soldiers expected to be killed or wounded during the fighting that those very same medals were still being awarded to this day, even after all the wars since then. The second thing was that plans for the invasion of Kyushu stopped mentioning one entire Marine division by day three. It was expected that by then it would have taken so many casualties that it would have become combat ineffectual.

[@wakingupsad]

Awesome video as always. So grateful you guys are doing The Korean War. I'm just glad I somehow found you guys all those years ago.

[@Wayne.J]

Talking about small allied forces guarding much larger Japanese armies. The Australian 5th Divison is currently containing 150,000+ Japanese at Rabaul, the biggest non POW camp in the world (bit like Salonika from WW1 but opposite sides) The 5th had relived 3 US Divisions from October 44 to January 45 much to MacArthur disgust, who didn't want to believe that 1 Australian Division was equivalent in fighting value as 3 US ones in holding Japanese biggest army in the Pacific. The 5th Division is to be relived by the 11th Division, a garrison unit, this week coming up.

[@MM22966]

You seem to have knowledge of Aussie WW2 stuff. Is there any clear idea what they would have contributed to a Home Island invasion?

[@Wayne.J]

@@MM22966 Japan home island invasion? Depending on whether MacArthur or JCS wanted a non American unit/s present for final victory... Gut feel they might have used some land support but out of the way, ie not near Tokyo for Operation Coronet in March 1946. The likelihood is Australia government/military would have asked for volunteers from 6th, 7th and 9th Divisions, and they would form the 10th Division and train in late 1945. The other divisions would continue mopping up operations in SE Asia. Realistically, Australia had to decommission their military forces (soon/quickly) so people could get back to work on the farm or in the factories so Australia's economy wasn't in ruin. BTW, they would needed in the farms basically supply all the meats and most other food scraps to US forces for the invasion of Japan. 1st Tactical bombing force would, I assume be deployed to Okinawa and move to Kyushu when ready, that would be 20 squadrons by then with majority fighters escort or covering a few medium bombers. RAAF was I recall, was the 5th biggest Air force in the world by then (behind US, UK, Japan and Russia) The RAN would be there in TF77 and in BPF. It was 4th biggest navy in the world behind US, UK and Canada. Lobbing a few shells onto Kyushu then Honshu, wouldn't hurt Hope this help. Just my understanding of the Australian situation but I am sure some WW2 historians would know a bit more about the American side of things, especially whether they thought it wise to included the British, Australians, NZers, Canadians, Indian and Chinese inthe Final battles and take some glory or leave them to continue mopping up. After all, it was their war by that stage.

[@Wayne.J]

@@MM22966 Should have added 1 more tidbit, the US would have wanted all the Aussies Intel staff, whether wireless and radio staff or for breaking codes and reading traffic. The Americans would have want them on the beach heads after they were cleared just to get intel ASAP on possibleJapanesecounter attacks or defensive plans. They were a lot of them in SW Pacific and usually a detachment were found near Macarthur's staff or near the front line after 1943.

[@MM22966]

@@Wayne.J That is a good point about the manpower needed to restore the economy.

[@josephmiele2277]

Soviets after seeing video title: You gotta bump those numbers up. Those are rookie numbers

[@derekdube7352]

Note that near the end of the war this now the shortest episode in over a year now.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Some upcoming episodes will be longer, just depends on what happens!

[@PopeSixtusVI]

The areas of Kyushu that the US would be invading are prone to flooding. We'd be fighting in swampy Vietnam-esque territory without helicopters. The Japanese bridges coukdn't hold up trucks (where they had bridges at all) and everyone would have to be rebuilt- while under fire. US intel missed the stealthy redeployment of two Japanese infantry divisions into the island.

[@MsZeeZed]

There is a difference in the way the Axis leaders came to power. Hirohito’s ancestor (Meiji) won a civil war and his legitimacy is entrenched in all parts of the Japanese state. Mussolini was elected, overthrew democracy and was in turn overthrown by the committee he replaced it with. Hitler was a minority elected leader who used his SA private army to extort political power from his rival, paving the way for a coup d’etat. Destroying Hitler unconditionally, negotiating Mussolini’s overthrow and maintaining Hirohito are all consistent with their internal legitimacy. The simplified message of unconditional surrender was a diplomatic way to bind 3 allies of different political systems (democractic, imperial and communist) without confusion. Given that the US can now enforce a peace without its allies if necessary means they could make minor terms with Japan, without being afraid of losing British or Soviet support in the Pacific.

[@impcec6734]

This Operation Olympic sure does seem troubling, I hope it manages to go off without a hitch! If only there was some sort of _secret weapon_ the allies could deploy that would shorten the war, maybe even end it by mid August! But alas, no such thing could possibly exist…

[@JohnLangley-d6h]

AT LEAST and we didn't want to kill all those troops to spare the sick enemy. BOOM!