Operation Olympic was published in
Strategy & Tactics #45 by
SPI, in August 1974. Designed/Developed by
Dunnigan/
Davis. As well,
Frank Davis wrote the historical article
Operation Olympic - The Invasion of Japan, 1945.
The game asks, "What if we hadn't dropped the Bomb? What if we had to invade?" The game was designed to be played solitare, as the Japanese units are to be moved according to a set of finite state rules.
The US Navy had drawn up plans for Olympic, a November 1945 invasion of Kyushu, the southernmost of the Japanese Home Islands. (The one with Nagasaki.) SPI adapted them to a regimental/brigade level.
The game opens with the dreaded tokko phase, where the Japanese suicide bombers try and crash into American troop transports. While bad die rolls here won't crush the American invasion, it can seriously slow it down.
Once beachheads are created, the American player must secure and then expand them, with the goal of meeting up with other beachheads and then moving to pacify the entire island. Discussions in Moves #20 and #21 center around how to best land the amphibious forces.
The game ends when time expires, or when a novel new condition is met -- total American casualties.
Operation Olympic was the first S&T games I ever played. I dived right into the historical nature, and the solo play meant I didn't have to talk anyone else in my family into playing...