1945

1945 is an alternate history novel by Michigan economics professor Robert Conroy, an author of alternate history novels, such as 1901 and 1862. It was first published in trade paperback and ebook form by Ballantine Books in May 2007. In the novel's point of divergence, the Kyūjō coup overthrew Japanese Emperor Hirohito and so World War II resumed until 1946. Plot In August 1945, following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, a battalion of rogue Imperial Japanese Army officers and troops led by Major Kenji Hatanaka seize the Imperial Palace to prevent the surrender of Japan. They persuaded the war minister, General Korechika Anami, to join the coup and gain support from the rest of the Japanese military. Rather than staying loyal to Emperor Hirohito, as in actual history, Anami orders the imprisonment of Hirohito and establishes himself as the de facto dictator of Japan. Anami's refusal to surrender leads US President Harry Truman to order Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall to launch Operation Downfall, the Allied invasion of Japan. In preparation for the invasion, a third atomic bomb is dropped on Kokura, destroying the city. To deter further atomic attacks, Anami orders the transfer of Allied POWs to cities of strategic importance, prompting the United States to suspend the atomic bombing campaign. The OSS recruit the Japanese American veteran Joe Nomura to head into Nagasaki under the guise of a Japanese officer to investigate the effects of the nuclear blast. Based on his reports of the radiation effects, the US military's intention of using tactical nuclear warheads is abandoned as too dangerous for their own troops. In Okinawa, General Douglas MacArthur begins the first phase of Operation Downfall, the invasion of Kyushu (codenamed Olympic), followed by an invasion of Honshu (codenamed Coronet) with the ultimate goal of capturing Tokyo. Though initially set back by the typhoon season, Allied forces eventually secured a landing on Kyushu on X-Day, despite suffering heavy losses from Japanese guerilla warfare, kamikaze tactics, Kairyu submarines, and Kaiten human torpedoes.