units to invade japan.

[4th wilts]

do we have any info about british commonwealth units which would take part in the invasion of japan.yours very sincerely,lee.

[Owen]

I know 6th Airbourne was lined up to go. Was just reading this page and remembered your request.
Major John Howard

the 6th Airborne Division were preparing to be shipped out to the Far East to take part in a landing on the Japanese mainland.

A few US units on here.
Operation Downfall - The Invasion of Japan, November, 1945


Map here, listing units.
Operation Downfall, The Invasion of Japan

[Owen]

Sapper's old lot 3rd (British) Division were earmarked for Japan, from Assault Division by Norman Scarfe page 269.

..the Division was withdrawn to Belgium and prepared to be flown to America, to take part in the seaborne assault on the mainland of Japan. This , too, was cancelled as the Japs surrendered.

[4th wilts]

forgive me owen,but i cannot see any british troops there,just the pacific fleet.yours very sincerely,lee.

[Owen]

Well I suppose as it didn't happen it doesn't really matter, or does it?

[4th wilts]

i would like to think that people who say we needed american help in europe during the war,would also agree that great britain and canada could help out the americans in the pacific,in the art of opposed amphibious assault without loosing too many unessesary marines or soldiers;tarawa,pelilue,iwo jima,etc.maybe the c/o of the u.s 4th inf div could also help out.if we,the allies did assault mainland japan,i can see the british 3rd inf div,the canadian 2nd inf div,the british 50th inf div,the american 1st and 29th inf divs and all of the royal marine,army marine commandos, perhaps a ranger or 2 ,and of course three airboune divs,all under the command of mcarther with monty as his ground force commander,landing succesfully without too many casualties.of course this is all conjecture and people may think differently.
yours very sincerely,lee.
p.s please forgive me if i did mix up the canadian 3rd inf div with the 2nd.

[Owen]

Who would have been the British commander?
Lee you say Monty but I would assume Bill Slim who was more used to fighting the Japanese.
(Argh, this is turning into one of those "what if" .... threads )

[spidge]

The newly formed Canadian 6th Division was to be used for the Invasion of Japan.

The was also to be one Australian Division.

[4th wilts]

i would give abc cunningham naval command and harry broadhurst air command.yours very sincerely,lee.

[spidge]

This will give you all the info on the Japanese invasion operations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_...e_for_Downfall

Commonwealth forces were to be used predominantly for Operation Zipper, the Invasion of Malaya.

Ken Green

The Military Situation in the Far East

The opinion of most people was that the Japanese would fight on to the very end. In reality, the Allies complete command of sea and air had isolated Japanese occupied territories. The Japanese were being driven out, but at a tremendous cost. Operation OLYMPIC was scheduled for 1st November 1945 and entailed landings in Kyushu (the south island of the Japanese homeland). A very much larger attack on Honshu (the largest island of the Japanese homeland), Operation CORONET, was scheduled for March 1946. These operations would have entailed five million men, most of them American. Britain, Australia and Canada would have contributed token forces of one division each, plus the Royal Navy and some specialist air units. The logistics of having to service unique foreign equipments was the main reason for the Commonwealth’s small contribution to Olympic and Coronet. The use of atom bombs against Japan in August ’45 brought about her surrender. What would have been the largest ever assembly of military might was no longer necessary.

The British situation was different. Operation Zipper, to be launched from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and various parts of India, was planned for September 1945. It was too far advanced to be cancelled and went ahead as an exercise but without naval or aerial bombardments. It entailed landings on the West Coast of the Malay Peninsula north of Port Dickson and south of Port Swettenham (now Kelang). General Robert’s XXX1V Indian Corps (5th, 23rd, 25th and 26th Indian Divisions, 3rd Commando Brigade and one Parachute Brigade of the British 6th Airborne Division, comprised a force of more than 100,000 men. This force contained many North Staffordshire people