Customer Reviews

Hell to Pay: Operation DOWNFALL and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947

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I enjoy reading about WW11 and war strategy especially interests me.

D.M. Giangreco is a respected writer and has a deep knowledge of his subject. He has written an impressive account of what the United States planned to do had the war not ended when it did.

America planned an enormous invasion of Japan. The book gives us inside details of how both sides prepared for this invasion. Operation Downfall, as it was called, would have made D-Day look minute. Had the bombs not been dropped that ended the war, what would have happened, as described in this book, would have changed the course of history. It would have shed much more blood and the war been a much larger and deadlier war than it was.

If you ever questioned the correctness of the decision to drop the Atom bomb that ended the war, reading this book is likely to change your mind. That turned out to be a wise decision. The alternative would have been almost unthinkable --- yet it was going to happen between 1945 and 1947 as described in this book.

It has been said that Japan was trying to surrender in 1945. This book lays that, and other myths to rest. If you're interested in WW11 and if you want to know the truth about its end and the plans that were in place to demolish the enemy had it not ended as it did, when it did, you'll want to read this book. It's a valuable resource and a most interesting read.

Highly recommended.

- Susanna K. Hutcheson

The morality of the U.S. use of atomic weapons to end World War Two has been argued about since news of the destruction of the two Japanese cities was reported. In the current atmosphere of revisionist history this event and the men who decided to perform it have been castigated and defamed. This book sets the record of events leading up to that decision straight and provides the primary source material to show how the bombs came to be dropped. It also takes a very close look at events that did happen after the war ended (such as weather) and others that did not but might have (such as the assault landings on the Japanese Home Islands). The author describes how that informtion is important and how it would have affect the conflict in Japan. He quotes extensively from sources on both sides of the war. It is amazing to me that our current intellectuals have been so critical of American leaders who publically stated their remorse over the destruction of innocent human life in the form of citizens of a nation we were at war with, while giving a pass to the leaders of that nation who were entirely willing to sacrifice 20,000,000 of their own civilians to get a better deal in the treaty to end the war.

Every poorly constructed arguement of the revisionists is demolished with facts. No the Japanese military leadership was not about to surrender. No the invasion would not have been a walk over. No the horrific casualty projections were not made up after the war as a post facto justification for using the atomic weapons. Yes the civilians in Japan would have suffered even more in the event of a long drawn out blockage or even worse if the invasions had go in.

Nowhere in revisionist history have I seen mention of the massive humanitarian aid that the USA intended upon supplying in the areas of occupation immediately upon controlling those areas, but detailed information on those efforts is here. We were allocating and transporting food and medical supplies into a war zone for the citizens of the nation that had attacked us, a nation that killed millions of Chinese for purely economic gain.

This book should not only be read, it should be quoted, discussed and distributed. Well worth a read if you beleive that the use of the atomic weapons was justified. If you do not believe so read this book and its included references with an open mind and see if you still hold the position afterwards.

As a Japanese-fluent American with an intense interest in the history of WWII in the Pacific, and of the war-end period in particular, I had long been frustrated by the unavailability of any definitive analysis of the Japanese preparations for defense against the invasions that might have been needed to end the war on terms acceptable to the democracies, and of the expectations of America's leaders regarding the casualties the invasion forces would incur.

Although I haven't time now to write the fuller review this excellent book so richly deserves, I am compelled to at least take the time to give it my very highest acclaim as a book that every serious student of the war-end period absolutely must read.

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has spurred considerable public and historiographical debate over the necessity of doing so to end the war with Japan and obviate the need for an invasion of the Japanese mainland. Much of the debate centers on the ethics and morality of bombing civilian targets with weapons of mass destruction balanced against the loss of military and civilian deaths in a prolonged conflict. Giangreco enters into the fray with "Hell to Pay", a carefully researched and well written book that dials down the emotionally charged rhetoric that usually pervades the topic. "Hell to Pay" isn't polemical in nature, but it does seek to counter recent revisionist scholarship that has been dominating the historiographical debate.

Giangreco puts forward a vast amount of information from both American and Japanese archives, including recently declassified documents and other observations missed or overlooked by previous scholars. Giangreco smartly shifts focus away from the usual Amero-centric guilt issue and takes into account Japanese perspectives on the issue, and more specifically, their own predictions as to the casualties they expected to incur during an American invasion. Giangreco discusses familiar themes, such as America not wanting a Russian invasion of Japan and the resultant joint occupation as was the case in Germany and Austria, the much debated forecast that America would suffer casualties in the millions, and other themes. But Giangreco introduces a new perspective - that Japan expected the death of 20 million as a result of the American invasion, and that they would engage in a fanatical scorched earth policy of fighting to the last man, heedless to the deaths of civilian non-combatants. Japanese plans for resisting the invasion were indeed quite formidable, and if carried out without an intervening event, certainly would have produced staggering casualties on both sides. And unlike Germans who rejected and abandoned Hitler as the die of war turned in January 1945, the Japanese remained slavishly devoted to Emperor Hirohito and the nation, and were likely willing to perish in a cataclysmic showdown. Surely some Japanese would have survived but the result of a cataclysmic invasion would almost certainly have been the end of Japanese culture and civilization as it existed, and the resultant peace would have been far more punitive than the relatively magnanimous peaces signed in August of 1945.

Ultimately it is the focus on the Japanese perspective that separates "Hell to Pay" from other books on the subject. Giangreco is not an apologist, and his prose allows the facts to speak for themselves with only gentle prodding and persuasion. The result is a most compelling argument!

After reading this book and the detailed plans of both combatants for Operation Olympic and Coronet, I've learned that

1) the US really underestimated the resolve of the Japanese to defend the Home Islands against foreign invasion.
2) the US very much underestimated the number of Japanese forces facing the invasion troops such that the US would have had only a 1:1 ratio in troops with the defender in very rugged terrain that gave the Japanese every advantage.
3) the troops of the first wave landing on the beaches were very much afraid that they were facing a 75-80% casualty rate and with good reason, especially from the Japanese to attack the transports with thousands of suicide planes and boats and to target the landing beaches heavily with artillery
4) the Japanese knew exactly where the invasion forces were going to land and were on schedule to heavily fortify Kyushu with tunnels and caves and defend it in depth.
5) the military leaders were prepared to sacrifice every Japanese civilian to the defense of Kyushu and didn't care how many died.
6) the US was considering using the atom bombs as tactical nukes rather than strategic nukes and would have inadvertently contaminated its own troops with radiation had they used it against Japanese troops in the invasion zones.

A lot of Americans and Japanese would not be alive today or even born had Japan not surrendered and the planned invasion of Japan taken place.

Definitive account of the planned invasion of Japan 1945-1947.
Many years ago ABC News Anchor Peter Jennings attempted to revise American history through an ABC Special on "Why America DID NOT need to drop the 2 Atomic Bombs on Japan." A fascinating piece of revisionist history that although entertaining, had absolutely NO merit whatsoever. One can always make an argument for any position, isn't that what lawyers do! And depending on your point of view, political persuasion or passion, logic can and does become irrelevant, and revisionism, in the contact of current times, thinking and attitudes, takes over. We simply superimpose what we "want" to believe today over what happened in the past without any contextual relevance. Viola, we could have used diplomacy instead of the "BOMB" to end WW2 in the Pacific. Well now, Mr. Giangreco destroys those fallacious augments through overwhelming investigative research using not only the statements of the individuals involved, but also the actual plans and massive amounts of documented facts, figures and other "real" evidence.

Mr. Giangreco's Hell to Pay: Operation DOWNFALL and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947, is the definitive account of the planned invasion of Japan to end WW2 in the Pacific. It is not revisionist history but the real truth of why President Truman decided to use the 2 operational atomic bombs America had. The projected casualties on both sides of the planned invasion were beyond staggering: And to a country war weary truly incomprehensible! The REAL questions facing the planners were: 1. Could the American People handle the horrific casualties, and 2. Did America actually have the required manpower? In a nutshell, as Mr. Giangreco points out, the answers were dicey at best! The essence of this history is not to simply persuade the reader of the rightness of using nuclear weapons, but rather to present the true and uncompromising facts of the day-1945. To inform the reader of just what was really happening in the operational planning of the invasion, and what the real manpower situation and political philosophy were AT THAT TIME. As the reader will see the numbers were beyond belief and stretches the credulity of a rational mind. Yet, President Truman and others HAD to make THE decisions without the aid of our hindsight today. I for one appreciate the extremely difficult position they were in and strongly concur in their decisions.

After the slanted Peter Jennings special I asked my Father what he thought. He was a quiet, unassuming man of great moral clarity and ethical integrity. Like so many of those heroes he never talked about The War. He flew 3 tours (75 combat bombing missions) in Europe in the B-25 and A-26 bombers. Highly decorated he simply put that period of his life behind him and moved on. When asked about the special, He simply said, "Son, if they had not dropped those bombs you would not be here today." You see in August, 1945, he was ferrying his A-26 to the Pacific from Europe to participate in the Operation Olympic and Coronet invasion of Japan. He and others were told that their chances of survival were less than 50-50. Yet they went. To them President Truman's decision was the right one. To me it was the only one.

Excellent history in all respects. A little weighty in the facts department but that is what makes this a definitive study. An encyclopedia of everything you would ever want to know about Operation Downfall. A must read for anyone interested in that fascinating part of WW2. Try and remember when you read this informative book the historical context that it is outlining and the peoples involved. The Japanese were caught up in the Bushido warrior code and actually thought they could still pull out a victory of sorts. America and the other Allies were extremely war weary. With those thoughts in mind this book is even more amazing in its history. Thank You D. M. Giangreco for an outstanding piece of history. Well Done, Sir.

"Hell to Pay", by D.M. Giangreco, is a detailed look at the planning efforts for the eventual American invasion of the Japanese home islands. After reading this book, the reader will appreciate the magnitude of the anticipated combat operations and associated casualties.

Giangreco examines how the United States developed their original estimates of 500,000 to 1 million American casualties of the operations. His analysis goes far beyond just a number - he explains how and why those estimates were developed. This planning estimate formed the basis on numerous other strategic level decisions.

First, how should the United States recruit, train, and transport 100,000 replacement soldiers every month. To put this into context, since combat operations commenced in Afghanistan in 2002 and December 2009, approximately 4,000 servicemembers have been killed. Between the Normandy Landings and Victory in Europe Day 11 months later, the United States averaged 65,000 casualties per month. Giangreco explains how the United States was able to release soldiers from service, maintain combat effectiveness of the units, and recruit new forces for the impending assault on Japan.

How would the United States plan and execute two separate amphibious assaults that are double the size of the famous D-Day landings in Normandy? Giangreco explains the difficulties facing the Naval planners who would have to build and deploy the thousands of ships necessary to carry the amphibious forces.

Operation Overlord had an associated deception plan to convince German planners that the amphibious landing on continental Europe was going to come at Pas de Calais instead of Normandy. Giangreco examines the American deception plan and how the Japanese had not only deduced the actual landing locations, but also the extensive defensive preparations put in place to make American soldiers and Marines pay for every inch of Japanese soil.

With the benefit of hindsight, it is amazing how close the United States came to eliminating all life in the northern hemisphere. As part of the amphibious assault, the United States actually contemplated the tactical use of nuclear weapons in divisional areas of operation. At the time, nuclear weapons were simply viewed as a bigger bomb with no understanding of radiation sickness or `nuclear winter'.

Giangreco draws on primary sources, such as the original US Army G-2 estimate for the island of Kyushu, the first of the two landing areas. The book serves as a counterpoint for to revisionist historians who insist that Japan was ready to collapse without use of nuclear bombs. I highly recommend this incredible battle study for all readers of military history.

The thesis of this book goes against the current dogma in media and academic circles that Japan was about to fold and America was evil for nuking them.

Very well written and interesting. Goes into detail as to Japan's (correct) guesses as to the invasion beaches and their plans to bleed America dry. Great citations.

In fact, this book was so well written I wanted to stay up at night and finish reading it, something that seldom happens with history books.

This is a real gem, and a great read for someone that wants to see some facts for the other side of the atom bomb issue.

This 88-year old former combat air crew member aboard a B-29 "Superfortress" (holding a D.F.C) does herein support this book as being more close to fact than writings and exhibitions extolling D-Day Normandy as the acme of any past, current or potential invasion by American forces in WWII.

Namely, the predictions of deaths, casualties and other costs, for the then-upcoming invasions of Kyushu and Honshu are not allowed to exceed the happenings of the Normandy Landings and Invasions. The way this is accomplished is to ignore the statistics acquired following the invasion of Guam, Saipan and Tinian by U.S. and Allied forces.

Our briefings to air combat crews in the Marianas Islands told us that our aircraft (B-29's, B-32's) would largely become aerial "gun-ships" with a few bombs for targets of opportunity.

In addition, we would be attacking the Japanese Army along with hordes of Bushido-minded, Samurai inflamed, Emperor worshiping Japanese civilians. All the Japanese home islands were already being reinforced with Japanese troops nearing one million.

The altitude of our very heavy B-29's would be set at about 750 feet (that's a 3 digit number).

With Imperial Japan only weeks away from atomic bombs produced in Japan and even a few long-range submarines, allowing for one-way take-offs by aircraft AND a victory or a draw at Kyushu, our own war-weary nation (and Allies) could very well have settled for less than the full surrender in Tokyo Bay aboard battleship Missouri.

In closing, I find (as a mere "history buff") that the D-Day Museum in New Orleans, LA to have been wrongful in their portrayal of possible subsequent events in the Pacific Theater after the Nazi surrender, remembered as VE-Day. Normandy would pale by comparison! Long live the term "V-J Day."

Sincerely,
Richard B. Vogenitz, Lt. Col. USAF (Ret.)

Had Presidents Roosevelt and Truman not kept their courage and young men of the time not kept their determination, our world would be so much worse than it is today. "Hell to Pay" gives us the facts, nothing but the facts, to see what a calamity was going to take place if events were not so fortuitous as to end that terrible war with Japan. The agony of pyrrhic victory and worse agony of defeat would have prevented the U.S. and Japan from being the allies they are today. If you didn't know you were reading history, you would think you were reading a Tom Clancy novel when he was writing at his best.

Simply put, we of the present owe a huge debt to those who lived then and did what they had to do. And yes, that includes Emperor Hirohito who told his people to "endure the unendurable" in order to save Japanese civilization. And yes, that includes the occupying forces whose magnanimity turned a truly evil empire into a good ally. Part of the debt can be paid by knowing history. Thank you. D.M. Giangreco, for doing this service for us all.