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Nov 2023
42m 51s

Operation Downfall: What if the Allies I...

History Hit
About this episode

How would the Allied forces have forced the surrender of Japan had they not dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?


Operation Downfall was the planned invasion of Japan. It was expected to be a massive two part operation; bigger than D-Day and enormously costly.


To find out more about the proposed invasion, its projected outcomes and why it wasn't implemented, Don spoke to D. M. Giangreco, an award winning author who served as an editor at Military Review, US Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, for 20 years. His book on this subject is 'Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947'.


Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.


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