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Originally Posted by ShadoWarrior
If you haven't done so, you should read the Wiki article on Operation Downfall, with special attention to the casualties section and the links to the source citations. |
Both King and Nimitz opposed any landings in Japan and wanted to continue a naval and air blockade. Both admirals wanted to attack Taiwan or Korea or stage landings on the Chinese mainland. And both officers were called on the carpet by the JCS for using inflated figures.
Civilian experts predicted much higher losses. But the original briefing documents for Operation Downfall predicted about 370,000 casualities in the initial fighting.
As for wikipedia and its Downfall link, some of the sources quoted have been under fire for some time concerning their conclusions.
The Rand Corporation gamed out Downfall in the 1980s. The Allies were able to secure the ground objectives and suffered about 392,000 casualities. Japanese losses were quite a bit higher, running around 630,000 military and civilian.
So who was right. The world will never know.
And Thank God for that!