On August 9, 1945, the Manchurian Operation (Battle of Manchuria) began. It was strategic offensive Soviet troops, which was carried out with the aim of defeating the Japanese Kwantung Army (its existence was a threat to the Soviet Far East and Siberia), liberating the Chinese northeastern and northern provinces (Manchuria and Inner Mongolia), the Liaodong and Korean Peninsulas, eliminating the largest military bridgehead and military -Japan's economic base in Asia. By carrying out this operation, Moscow fulfilled the agreements with its allies in the anti-Hitler coalition. The operation ended with the defeat of the Kwantung Army, the surrender of the Japanese Empire, and marked the end of World War II (Japan's act of surrender was signed on September 2, 1945).
Fourth War with Japan
Throughout 1941-1945. The Red Empire was forced to keep at least 40 divisions on its eastern borders. Even during the most brutal battles and critical situations of 1941-1942. on Far East There was a powerful Soviet group, in full readiness to repel the blow of the Japanese military machine. The existence of this group of troops became the main factor that restrained the onset of Japanese aggression against the USSR. Tokyo chose the southern direction for its expansionist plans. However, as long as the second source of war and aggression – imperial Japan – continued to exist in the Asia-Pacific region, Moscow could not consider security on its eastern borders guaranteed. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the “revenge” factor. Stalin consistently pursued a global policy aimed at restoring Russia's position in the world, and defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. damaged our positions in the region. It was necessary to return the lost territories, the naval base in Port Arthur and restore its positions in the Pacific region.
The defeat of Nazi Germany and the unconditional surrender of its armed forces in May 1945, as well as the successes of Western coalition forces in the Pacific theater of operations, forced the Japanese government to begin preparations for defense.
On July 26, the Soviet Union, the United States and China demanded that Tokyo sign an unconditional surrender. This demand was rejected. On August 8, Moscow announced that from the next day it would consider itself in a state of war with the Japanese Empire. By that time, the Soviet high command deployed troops transferred from Europe to the border with Manchuria (where the puppet state of Manchukuo existed). The Soviet army was supposed to defeat Japan's main strike force in the region - the Kwantung Army - and liberate Manchuria and Korea from the occupiers. The destruction of the Kwantung Army and the loss of the northeastern provinces of China and the Korean Peninsula were supposed to have a decisive impact on accelerating the surrender of Japan and hasten the defeat of Japanese forces in South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.
By the beginning of the offensive of the Soviet troops, the total number of Japanese forces located in Northern China, Korea, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands amounted to 1.2 million people, about 1.2 thousand tanks, 6.2 thousand guns and mortars and up to 1.9 thousand aircraft. In addition, Japanese troops and the forces of their allies - the Manchukuo Army and the Mengjiang Army - relied on 17 fortified areas. The Kwantung Army was commanded by General Otozo Yamada. To destroy the Japanese army in May-June 1941, the Soviet command additionally transferred 27 rifle divisions, 7 separate rifle and tank brigades, 1 tank and 2 mechanized corps to the 40 divisions that existed in the Far East. As a result of these measures, the combat strength of the Soviet army in the Far East almost doubled, amounting to more than 1.5 million bayonets, over 5.5 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, 26 thousand guns and mortars, and about 3.8 thousand aircraft. In addition, more than 500 ships and vessels of the Pacific Fleet and the Amur Military Flotilla took part in the hostilities against the Japanese army.
By the decision of the GKO, the commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East, which included three front-line formations - Transbaikal (under the command of Marshal Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky), 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Fronts (commanded by Marshal Kirill Afanasyevich Meretskov and Army General Maxim Alekseevich Purkaev) , Marshal Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was appointed. Fighting on Eastern Front began on August 9, 1945 with a simultaneous attack by troops of all three Soviet fronts.
On August 6 and 9, 1945, the US Air Force dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, although they did not have important military significance. These attacks killed 114 thousand people. First nuclear bomb the city of Hiroshima was overthrown. It suffered terrible destruction, and out of 306 thousand inhabitants, more than 90 thousand died. In addition, tens of thousands of Japanese died later due to wounds, burns, and radiation exposure. The West carried out this attack not only with the aim of demoralizing the Japanese military-political leadership, but also to demonstrate to the Soviet Union. The USA wanted to show the terrible effect of weapons with the help of which they wanted to blackmail the whole world.
The main forces of the Transbaikal Front under the command of Malinovsky struck from the direction of Transbaikalia from the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic (Mongolia was our ally) in general direction Changchun and Mukden. The troops of the Transbaikal Front had to break through to the central regions of Northeast China, overcome the waterless steppe, and then pass the Khingan mountains. Troops of the 1st Far Eastern Front under the command of Meretskov advanced from Primorye in the direction of Girin. This front was supposed to connect with the main group of the Transbaikal Front in the shortest direction. The 2nd Far Eastern Front, led by Purkaev, launched an offensive from the Amur region. His troops had the task of pinning down the enemy forces opposing him with strikes in a number of directions, thereby contributing to units of the Trans-Baikal and 1st Far Eastern Fronts (they were supposed to encircle the main forces of the Kwantung Army). Air Force strikes and amphibious assaults from the ships of the Pacific Fleet were supposed to support the actions of strike groups of ground forces.
Thus, Japanese and allied troops were attacked on land, from sea and air along the entire huge 5,000-strong section of the border with Manchuria and to the coast North Korea. By the end of August 14, 1945, the Transbaikal and 1st Far Eastern fronts had advanced 150-500 km deep into northeastern China and reached the main military-political and industrial centers of Manchuria. On the same day, in the face of imminent military defeat, the Japanese government signed a surrender. But the Japanese troops continued to offer fierce resistance, because, despite the decision of the Japanese emperor to surrender, the order to the command of the Kwantung Army to stop hostilities was never given. Particular danger was posed by sabotage groups of suicide bombers who tried to destroy at the cost of their lives Soviet officers, blow yourself up in a group of soldiers or near armored vehicles or trucks. Only on August 19 did Japanese troops stop resisting and begin to lay down their arms.
At the same time, an operation was underway to liberate the Korean Peninsula, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands (they fought until September 1). By the end of August 1945 Soviet troops completed the disarmament of the Kwantung Army and the forces of the vassal state of Manchukuo, as well as the liberation of Northeast China, the Liaodong Peninsula and North Korea to the 38th parallel. On September 2, the Empire of Japan unconditionally surrendered. This event took place on board American ship"Missouri", in the waters of Tokyo Bay.
Based on the results of the fourth Russo-Japanese War Japan returned South Sakhalin to the USSR. The Soviet Union also received Kurile Islands. Japan itself was occupied by American troops, who continue to be based in this state to this day. From May 3, 1946 to November 12, 1948, the Tokyo Trial took place. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East convicted the main Japanese war criminals (28 people in total). The international tribunal sentenced 7 people to death, 16 defendants to life imprisonment, the rest received 7 years in prison.
Lieutenant General K.N. Derevianko, on behalf of the USSR, signs the Instrument of Surrender of Japan on board the American battleship Missouri.
The defeat of Japan led to the disappearance of the puppet state of Manchukuo, the restoration of Chinese power in Manchuria, and the liberation of the Korean people. Helped the USSR and the Chinese communists. Units of the 8th Chinese People's Liberation Army entered Manchuria. The Soviet army handed over the weapons of the defeated Kwantung Army to the Chinese. In Manchuria, under the leadership of the communists, authorities were created and military units were formed. As a result, Northeast China became the base of the Chinese Communist Party, and it played a decisive role in the Communist victory over the Kuomintang and Chiang Kai-shek's regime.
Additionally, news of Japan's defeat and surrender led to the August Revolution in Vietnam, which broke out at the call of the Communist Party and the Viet Minh League. The liberation uprising was led by the National Committee for the Liberation of Vietnam under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. The Vietnam Liberation Army, whose numbers increased more than 10 times in a few days, disarmed Japanese units, dispersed the occupation administration and established new authorities. On August 24, 1945, Vietnamese Emperor Bao Dai abdicated the throne. Supreme power in the country passed to the National Liberation Committee, which began to carry out the functions of the Provisional Government. On September 2, 1945, Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the “Declaration of Independence of Vietnam.”
The defeat of the Japanese Empire sparked a powerful anti-colonial movement in the Asia-Pacific region. Thus, on August 17, 1945, the independence preparation committee headed by Sukarno declared the independence of Indonesia. Ahmed Sukarno became the first president of the new independent state. Huge India was also moving towards independence, where the leaders of the people were Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, released from prison.
Soviet marines in Port Arthur.
Manchuria, Sakhalin, Kuril Islands, Korea |
|
Victory for Russia |
|
Territorial changes: |
The Japanese Empire capitulated. The USSR returned South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Manchukuo and Mengjiang ceased to exist. |
Opponents |
|
Commanders |
|
A. Vasilevsky |
Otsuzo Yamada (Surrendered) |
H. Choibalsan |
N. Demchigdonrov (Surrendered) |
Strengths of the parties |
|
1,577,225 soldiers 26,137 artillery pieces 1,852 self-propelled guns 3,704 tanks 5,368 aircraft |
Total 1,217,000 6,700 guns 1,000 tanks 1,800 aircraft |
Military losses |
|
12,031 irretrievable 24,425 ambulances 78 tanks and self-propelled guns 232 guns and mortars 62 aircraft |
84,000 killed 594,000 captured |
Soviet-Japanese War 1945, part of World War II and the Pacific War. Also known as battle for manchuria or Manchurian operation, and in the West - as Operation August Storm.
Chronology of the conflict
April 13, 1941 - a neutrality pact was concluded between the USSR and Japan. It was accompanied by an agreement on minor economic concessions from Japan, which were ignored by it.
December 1, 1943 - Tehran Conference. The Allies are outlining the contours of the post-war structure of the Asia-Pacific region.
February 1945 - Yalta Conference. The allies agree on the post-war structure of the world, including the Asia-Pacific region. The USSR takes upon itself an unofficial commitment to enter the war with Japan no later than 3 months after the defeat of Germany.
June 1945 - Japan begins preparations to repel the landing on the Japanese Islands.
July 12, 1945 - the Japanese Ambassador in Moscow appeals to the USSR with a request for mediation in peace negotiations. On July 13, he was informed that an answer could not be given due to the departure of Stalin and Molotov to Potsdam.
July 26, 1945 - At the Potsdam Conference, the United States formally formulates the terms of Japan's surrender. Japan refuses to accept them.
August 8 - The USSR announces to the Japanese ambassador its adherence to the Potsdam Declaration and declares war on Japan.
August 10, 1945 - Japan officially declares its readiness to accept the Potsdam terms of surrender with the reservation regarding the preservation of the structure of imperial power in the country.
August 14 - Japan officially accepts the terms of unconditional surrender and informs the allies.
Preparing for war
The danger of war between the USSR and Japan existed since the second half of the 1930s; in 1938, clashes took place on Lake Khasan, and in 1939, the battle at Khalkhin Gol on the border of Mongolia and Manchukuo. In 1940, the Soviet Far Eastern Front was created, which indicated a real risk of war.
However, the aggravation of the situation on the western borders forced the USSR to seek a compromise in relations with Japan. The latter, in turn, choosing between the options of aggression to the north (against the USSR) and to the south (against the USA and Great Britain), was increasingly inclined to last option, and sought to protect itself from the USSR. The result of a temporary coincidence of interests of the two countries was the signing of the Neutrality Pact on April 13, 1941, according to Art. 2 of which:
In 1941, the countries of Hitler's coalition, except Japan, declared war on the USSR (Great Patriotic War), and in the same year Japan attacked the United States, starting the war in the Pacific.
In February 1945, at the Yalta Conference, Stalin promised the allies to declare war on Japan 2-3 months after the end of hostilities in Europe (although the neutrality pact stipulated that it would expire only a year after the denunciation). At the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, the Allies issued a declaration demanding the unconditional surrender of Japan. That same summer, Japan tried to negotiate mediation with the USSR, but to no avail.
War was declared exactly 3 months after the victory in Europe, on August 8, 1945, two days after the first use of nuclear weapons against Japan (Hiroshima) and on the eve of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
Strengths and plans of the parties
The commander-in-chief was Marshal Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky. There were 3 fronts: the Trans-Baikal Front, the 1st Far Eastern and the 2nd Far Eastern (commanders R. Ya. Malinovsky, K. A. Meretskov and M. A. Purkaev), with a total number of approximately 1.5 million people. The MPR troops were commanded by Marshal of the MPR Kh. Choibalsan. They were opposed by the Japanese Kwantung Army under the command of General Otsuzo Yamada.
The Soviet command's plan, described as the “Strategic Pincers,” was simple in concept but grandiose in scale. It was planned to encircle the enemy on common territory with an area of 1.5 million square kilometers.
Composition of the Kwantung Army: about 1 million people, 6260 guns and mortars, 1150 tanks, 1500 aircraft.
As noted in the “History of the Great Patriotic War"(vol. 5, pp. 548-549):
Despite the efforts of the Japanese to concentrate as many troops as possible on the islands of the empire itself, as well as in China south of Manchuria, the Japanese command paid attention to the Manchurian direction, especially after the Soviet Union denounced the Soviet-Japanese neutrality pact on April 5, 1945. That is why, of the nine infantry divisions remaining in Manchuria at the end of 1944, the Japanese deployed 24 divisions and 10 brigades by August 1945. True, to organize new divisions and brigades, the Japanese could only use untrained conscripts younger ages and limitedly fit older age groups - 250 thousand of them were drafted in the summer of 1945, which made up more than half personnel Kwantung Army. Also, in the newly created Japanese divisions and brigades in Manchuria, in addition to the small number of combat personnel, there was often a complete absence of artillery.
The most significant forces of the Kwantung Army - up to ten infantry divisions - were stationed in the east of Manchuria, bordering on Soviet Primorye, where the First Far Eastern Front was stationed, consisting of 31 rifle divisions, a cavalry division, a mechanized corps and 11 tank brigades. In northern Manchuria, the Japanese held one infantry division and two brigades - against the Second Far Eastern Front consisting of 11 rifle divisions, 4 rifle and 9 tank brigades. In the west of Manchuria, the Japanese stationed 6 infantry divisions and one brigade - against 33 Soviet divisions, including two tank, two mechanized corps, a tank corps and six tank brigades. In central and southern Manchuria, the Japanese held several more divisions and brigades, as well as both tank brigades and all combat aircraft.
It should be noted that the tanks and aircraft of the Japanese army in 1945, according to the criteria of that time, could not be called anything other than obsolete. They roughly corresponded to Soviet tank and aircraft equipment of 1939. This also applies to Japanese anti-tank guns, which had a caliber of 37 and 47 millimeters - that is, suitable only for fighting light Soviet tanks. What prompted the Japanese army to use suicide squads, strapped with grenades and explosives, as the main improvised anti-tank weapon.
However, the prospect of a quick surrender of the Japanese troops seemed far from obvious. Given the fanatical, and sometimes suicidal, resistance put up by Japanese forces in April-June 1945 on Okinawa, there was every reason to believe that a long, difficult campaign was expected to take over the last remaining Japanese fortified areas. In some sectors of the offensive, these expectations were fully justified.
Progress of the war
At dawn on August 9, 1945, Soviet troops began intensive artillery bombardment from the sea and from land. Then the ground operation began. Taking into account the experience of the war with the Germans, the fortified areas of the Japanese were treated with mobile units and blocked by infantry. The 6th Guards Tank Army of General Kravchenko was advancing from Mongolia to the center of Manchuria.
This was a risky decision, since the difficult Khingan Mountains were ahead. On August 11, army equipment stopped due to lack of fuel. But the experience of German tank units was used - delivering fuel to tanks by transport aircraft. As a result, by August 17, the 6th Guards Tank Army had advanced several hundred kilometers - and about one hundred and fifty kilometers remained to the capital of Manchuria, the city of Xinjing. By this time, the First Far Eastern Front had broken the Japanese resistance in eastern Manchuria, occupying The largest city in that region - Mudanjiang. In a number of areas deep in the defense, Soviet troops had to overcome fierce enemy resistance. In the zone of the 5th Army, it was exerted with particular force in the Mudanjiang region. There were cases of stubborn enemy resistance in the zones of the Transbaikal and 2nd Far Eastern fronts. The Japanese army also launched repeated counterattacks. On August 19, 1945, in Mukden, Soviet troops captured the Emperor of Manchukuo Pu Yi (formerly the last Emperor China).
On August 14, the Japanese command made a proposal to conclude a truce. But virtually military operations on the Japanese side did not stop. Only three days later the Kwantung Army received an order from its command to surrender, which began on August 20. But it did not immediately reach everyone, and in some places the Japanese acted contrary to orders.
On August 18, the Kurilskaya landing operation, during which Soviet troops occupied the Kuril Islands. On the same day, August 18, the commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in the Far East, Marshal Vasilevsky, gave the order to occupy the Japanese island of Hokkaido with the forces of two rifle divisions. This landing was not carried out due to the delay in the advance of Soviet troops in South Sakhalin, and was then postponed until instructions from Headquarters.
Soviet troops occupied southern part Sakhalin, Kuril Islands, Manchuria and part of Korea. Basic fighting on the continent lasted 12 days, until August 20. However, individual clashes continued until September 10, which became the day the complete surrender and capture of the Kwantung Army ended. The fighting on the islands completely ended on September 5.
The Japanese surrender was signed on September 2, 1945, aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
As a result, the million-strong Kwantung Army was completely destroyed. According to Soviet data, its losses in killed amounted to 84 thousand people, about 600 thousand were captured. The irretrievable losses of the Red Army amounted to 12 thousand people.
Meaning
The Manchurian operation had enormous political and military significance. So on August 9, at an emergency meeting of the Supreme Council for War Management, Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki said:
The Soviet Army defeated the strong Kwantung Army of Japan. The Soviet Union, having entered the war with the Japanese Empire and making a significant contribution to its defeat, accelerated the end of World War II. American leaders and historians have repeatedly stated that without the USSR's entry into the war, it would have continued for at least another year and would have cost an additional several million human lives.
Commander-in-Chief of American Forces in the Basin Pacific Ocean General MacArthur believed that “Victory over Japan can be guaranteed only if Japanese ground forces are defeated.” US Secretary of State E. Stettinius stated the following:
Dwight Eisenhower stated in his memoirs that he addressed President Truman: “I told him that since available information indicated the imminent collapse of Japan, I categorically objected to the entry of the Red Army into this war.”
Results
For distinction in battles as part of the 1st Far Eastern Front, 16 formations and units received the honorary name “Ussuri”, 19 - “Harbin”, 149 - were awarded various orders.
As a result of the war, the USSR actually returned to its composition the territories lost Russian Empire in 1905, following the results of the Portsmouth Peace (southern Sakhalin and, temporarily, Kwantung with Port Arthur and Dalniy), as well as the main group of the Kuril Islands previously ceded to Japan in 1875 and the southern part of the Kuril Islands assigned to Japan by the Shimoda Treaty of 1855.
Japan's latest territorial loss has not yet been recognized. According to the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Japan renounced any claims to Sakhalin (Karafuto) and the Kuril Islands (Chishima Retto). But the agreement did not determine the ownership of the islands and the USSR did not sign it. However, in 1956, the Moscow Declaration was signed, which ended the state of war and established diplomatic and consular relations between the USSR and Japan. Article 9 of the Declaration states, in particular:
Negotiations on the southern Kuril Islands continue to this day, there is no decision on this issue prevents the conclusion of a peace treaty between Japan and Russia, as the successor to the USSR.
Japan is also involved in a territorial dispute with China. People's Republic and the Republic of China regarding the ownership of the Senkaku Islands, despite the existence of peace treaties between the countries (the agreement was concluded with the Republic of China in 1952, with the PRC in 1978). In addition, despite the existence of the Basic Treaty on Japan-Korea Relations, Japan and the Republic of Korea are also involved in a territorial dispute over the ownership of the Liancourt Islands.
Despite Article 9 of the Potsdam Declaration, which prescribes the return home of military personnel at the end of hostilities, according to Stalin's order No. 9898, according to Japanese data, up to two million Japanese military personnel and civilians were deported to work in the USSR. As a result of hard work, frost and disease, according to Japanese data, 374,041 people died.
According to Soviet data, the number of prisoners of war was 640,276 people. Immediately after the end of hostilities, 65,176 wounded and sick were released. 62,069 prisoners of war died in captivity, 22,331 of them before entering the territory of the USSR. An average of 100,000 people were repatriated annually. By the beginning of 1950, there were about 3,000 people convicted of criminal and war crimes (of which 971 were transferred to China for crimes committed against the Chinese people), who, in accordance with the Soviet-Japanese Declaration of 1956, were released early and repatriated to their homeland.
The Soviet-Japanese War began in 1945. After the surrender fascist Germany the military-political situation of its partner Japan sharply deteriorated. Having superiority in naval forces, the USA and England reached the closest approaches to this state. However, the Japanese rejected the ultimatum of the United States, England and China to surrender.
The Soviets agreed to America and England to enter into military action against Japan - after Germany was completely defeated. The date for the Soviet Union's entry into the war was set at the Crimean Conference of the Three Allied Powers in February 1945. This was supposed to happen three months after the victory over Germany. Preparations began for a military campaign in the Far East.
"At war with Japan..."
Three fronts were to enter hostilities - Transbaikal, 1st and 2-1 Far Eastern. The Pacific Fleet, the Red Banner Amur Flotilla, and the border air defense troops were also supposed to participate in the war. During the period of preparation for the operation, the number of the entire group increased and amounted to 1.747 thousand people. These were serious forces. 600 rocket launchers, 900 tanks and self-propelled artillery units were put into service.
What forces did Japan oppose? The basis of the grouping of Japanese and puppet forces was the Kwantung Army. It consisted of 24 infantry divisions, 9 mixed brigades, 2 tank brigades and a suicide brigade. The weapons included 1,215 tanks, 6,640 guns and mortars, 26 ships and 1,907 combat aircraft. The total number of troops was more than a million people.
To direct military operations State Committee Defense of the USSR decided to create the Main Command of Soviet troops in the Far East. It was headed by Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky. On August 8, 1945, a statement by the Soviet government was published. It stated that from August 9, the USSR would consider itself in a state of war with Japan.
Start of hostilities
On the night of August 9, all units and formations received a Statement from the Soviet Government, appeals from the military councils of the fronts and armies, and combat orders to go on the offensive. The military campaign included the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation, the Yuzhno-Sakhalin Offensive Operation and the Kuril Landing Operation.
home component war - the Manchurian strategic offensive operation - was carried out by the forces of the Transbaikal, 1st and 2nd Far Eastern fronts. The Pacific Fleet and the Amur Flotilla entered into close cooperation with them. The planned plan was grandiose in scale: the encirclement of the enemy was planned to cover an area of \u200b\u200bone and a half million square kilometers.
And so hostilities began. The enemy's communications connecting Korea and Manchuria with Japan were cut by the Pacific Fleet. Aviation carried out strikes on military installations, troop concentration areas, communication centers and communications of the enemy in the border zone. The troops of the Transbaikal Front marched through waterless desert-steppe regions, overcame the Greater Khingan mountain range and defeated the enemy in the Kalgan, Thessaloniki and Hailar directions; on August 18 they reached the approaches to Manchuria.
The strip of border fortified troops was overcome by the troops of the 1st Far Eastern Front (commander K.A. Meretskov). They not only repelled strong enemy counterattacks in the Mudanjiang area, but also liberated the territory of North Korea. The Amur and Ussuri rivers were crossed by troops of the 2nd Far Eastern Front (commander M.A. Purkaev). Then they broke through the enemy’s defenses in the Sakhalyan area and crossed the Lesser Khingan ridge. After Soviet troops entered the Central Manchurian Plain, they divided the Japanese forces into isolated groups and completed the maneuver to encircle them. On August 19, Japanese troops began to surrender.
Kuril landing and Yuzhno-Sakhalin offensive operations
As a result of successful military operations by Soviet troops in Manchuria and South Sakhalin, conditions were created for the liberation of the Kuril Islands. The Kuril landing operation lasted from August 18 to September 1. It began with a landing on the island of Shumshu. The island's garrison outnumbered the Soviet forces, but on August 23 it capitulated. Next, on August 22-28, our troops landed on other islands in the northern part of the ridge up to the island of Urup (inclusive). Then the islands of the southern part of the ridge were occupied.
On August 11-25, troops of the 2nd Far Eastern Front carried out an operation to liberate Southern Sakhalin. 18,320 Japanese soldiers and officers surrendered Soviet army after it captured all the heavily fortified strongholds in the border zone, defended by the forces of the 88th Japanese Infantry Division, units of the border gendarmerie and reservist detachments. On September 2, 1945, the act of unconditional surrender of Japan was signed. This happened aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. On the Japanese side it was signed by Foreign Minister Shigemitsu, Chief of the Japanese General Staff Umezu, on the USSR side by Lieutenant General K.M. Derevianko.
The million-strong Kwantung Army was completely defeated. Second World War 1939-1945 was completed. On the Japanese side, casualties amounted to 84 thousand people, and about 600 thousand people were taken prisoner. The losses of the Red Army amounted to 12 thousand people (according to Soviet data).
The Soviet-Japanese War had enormous political and military significance
The Soviet Union, having entered the war with the Japanese Empire and making a significant contribution to its defeat, accelerated the end of the Second World War. Historians have repeatedly stated that without the USSR entering the war, it would have continued for at least another year and would have cost an additional several million human lives.
By decision of the Crimean Conference of 1945 (Yalta Conference), the USSR was able to return to its composition the territories that were lost by the Russian Empire in 1905 following the Peace of Portsmouth (South Sakhalin), as well as the main group of the Kuril Islands, which was ceded to Japan in 1875.
Preparing for war
The threat of war between the USSR and Japan existed since the second half of the 1930s. In 1938 there were clashes at Lake Khasan, in 1939 there was a battle at Khalin Gol on the border of Mongolia and Manchukuo. In 1940, the Soviet Far Eastern Front was created, which indicated a real threat of war.
But the aggravation of the situation on the western borders forced the USSR to seek a compromise in relations with Japan. The latter, in turn, sought to strengthen its borders with the USSR. The result of the coincidence of interests of the two countries is the non-aggression pact signed on April 13, 1941, according to Article 2 of which: “If one of the parties to the treaty becomes the object of hostilities with one or more third countries, the other party will maintain neutrality throughout conflict."
In 1941, the countries of Hitler's coalition, except Japan, declared war on the USSR, and in the same year Japan attacked the United States, marking the beginning of the Pacific War.
In February 1945, at the Yalta Conference, Stalin pledged to the allies to declare war on Japan 2-3 months after the end of hostilities in Europe. At the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, the Allies issued a general declaration demanding the unconditional surrender of Japan. In the same summer, Japan tried to conduct separate negotiations with the USSR, but to no avail.
On August 8, 1945, the USSR unilaterally withdrew from the Soviet-Japanese non-aggression pact and declared war on the Empire of Japan.
Progress of the war
The commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops during the invasion of Manchuria was Marshal of the Soviet Union O.M. Vasilevsky. There were 3 fronts: Trans-Baikal, First Far Eastern and Second Far Eastern Front (commanders R.Ya. Malinovsky, K.P. Meretskov and M.O. Purkaev), with a total number of 1.5 million people. They were opposed by the Kwantung Army under the command of General Yamada Otozo.
As stated in the “History of the Great Patriotic War”: “In the units and formations of the Kwantung Army there were absolutely no machine guns, anti-tank rifles, rocket artillery, small and large caliber artillery (infantry divisions and brigades, artillery regiments and divisions in most cases had 75-mm guns )."
Despite the efforts of the Japanese to concentrate as many troops as possible on the islands of the empire itself, as well as in China to the south of Manchuria, the Japanese command also paid attention to the Manchurian direction.
That is why, from the nine infantry divisions that remained in Manchuria at the end of 1944, the Japanese deployed an additional 24 divisions and 10 brigades until August 1945.
True, to organize new divisions and brigades, the Japanese were able to use only untrained young conscripts, who made up more than half of the personnel of the Kwantung Army. Also, in the newly created Japanese divisions and brigades in Manchuria, in addition to the small number of combat personnel, there was often no artillery.
The most significant forces of the Kwantung Army - up to ten divisions - were stationed in the east of Manchuria, which bordered on Soviet Primorye, where the First Far Eastern Front was stationed, consisting of 31 infantry divisions, a cavalry division, a mechanized corps and 11 tank brigades.
In the north of Manchuria, the Japanese concentrated one infantry division and two brigades - while they were opposed by the 2nd Far Eastern Front consisting of 11 infantry divisions, 4 infantry and 9 tank brigades.
In western Manchuria, the Japanese deployed 6 infantry divisions and one brigade - against 33 Soviet divisions, including two tank, two mechanized corps, a tank corps and six tank brigades.
In central and southern Manchuria, the Japanese had several more divisions and brigades, as well as two tank brigades and all combat aircraft.
It should be noted that the tanks and aircraft of the Japanese army in 1945, according to the criteria of that time, were obsolete. They roughly corresponded to Soviet tanks and aircraft of 1939. This also applies to Japanese anti-tank guns, which had a caliber of 37 and 47 mm - that is, capable of fighting only light Soviet tanks.
Taking into account the experience of the war with the Germans, the fortified areas of the Japanese were bypassed by mobile units and blocked by infantry.
The 6th Guards Tank Army of General Kravchenko was advancing from Mongolia to the center of Manchuria. On August 11, army equipment stopped due to lack of fuel, but the experience of German tank units was used - delivering fuel to tanks by transport aircraft. As a result, by August 17, the 6th Guards Tank Army had advanced several hundred kilometers - and about one hundred and fifty kilometers remained to the capital of Manchuria, the city of Changchun.
The First Far Eastern Front at this time broke the Japanese defenses in the east of Manchuria, occupying the largest city in this region - Mudanjian.
In a number of areas, Soviet troops had to overcome stubborn enemy resistance. In the zone of the 5th Army, the Japanese defense in the Mudanjiang area was held with particular ferocity. There were cases of stubborn resistance by Japanese troops in the lines of the Transbaikal and 2nd Far Eastern fronts. The Japanese army also launched numerous counterattacks.
On August 17, 1945, in Mukden, Soviet troops captured Emperor Pu I of Manchukuo (the last emperor of China)
On August 14, the Japanese command requested an armistice. But hostilities on the Japanese side did not stop. Only three days later, the Kwantung Army received an order from the command to surrender, which came into effect on August 20.
On August 18, a landing was launched on the northernmost of the Kuril Islands. On the same day, the commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in the Far East gave the order to occupy the Japanese island of Hokkaido with the forces of two infantry divisions. This landing was not carried out due to the delay in the advance of Soviet troops in South Sakhalin, and was then postponed until the orders of Headquarters.
Soviet troops occupied the southern part of Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, Manchuria and part of Korea, capturing Seoul. The main fighting on the continent continued for another 12 days, until August 20. But individual battles continued until September 10, which became the day of the complete surrender of the Kwantung Army. The fighting on the islands completely ended on September 1.
On August 8, 1945, the USSR declared war on Japan. Perceived by many as part of the Great Patriotic War, this confrontation is often undeservedly underestimated, although the results of this war have not yet been summed up.
Difficult decision
The decision that the USSR would enter the war with Japan was made at the Yalta Conference in February 1945. In exchange for participation in hostilities, the USSR was to receive Southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, which after 1905 belonged to Japan. In order to better organization To transfer troops to concentration areas and further to deployment areas, the headquarters of the Transbaikal Front sent special groups of officers to Irkutsk and Karymskaya station in advance. On the night of August 9, the advanced battalions and reconnaissance detachments of three fronts, in extremely unfavorable weather conditions - the summer monsoon, bringing frequent and heavy rains - moved into enemy territory.
Our advantages
At the start of the offensive, the grouping of Red Army troops had a serious numerical superiority over the enemy: in terms of the number of fighters alone, it reached 1.6 times. The Soviet troops outnumbered the Japanese by about 5 times in the number of tanks, by 10 times in artillery and mortars, and by more than three times in terms of aircraft. The Soviet Union's superiority was not only quantitative. The equipment in service with the Red Army was much more modern and powerful than that of Japan. The experience gained by our troops during the war with Nazi Germany also provided an advantage.
Heroic operation
The operation of Soviet troops to overcome the Gobi Desert and the Khingan Range can be called outstanding and unique. The 350-kilometer throw of the 6th Guards Tank Army is still a demonstration operation. High mountain passes with slopes steep up to 50 degrees seriously complicated movement. The equipment moved in a traverse, that is, in zigzags. Weather also left much to be desired: heavy rains made the soil impassable mud, and mountain rivers overflowed their banks. Nevertheless, soviet tanks moved forward steadily. By August 11, they crossed the mountains and found themselves deep in the rear of the Kwantung Army, on the Central Manchurian Plain. The army experienced a shortage of fuel and ammunition, so the Soviet command had to arrange supplies by air. Transport aviation delivered more than 900 tons of tank fuel alone to our troops. As a result of this outstanding offensive, the Red Army managed to capture about 200 thousand Japanese prisoners alone. In addition, a lot of equipment and weapons were captured.
No negotiations!
The 1st Far Eastern Front of the Red Army encountered fierce resistance from the Japanese, who fortified themselves on the heights of “Ostraya” and “Camel”, which were part of the Khotou fortified area. The approaches to these heights were swampy, cut by a large number of small rivers. Scarps were dug on the slopes and wire fences were installed. The Japanese carved out firing points in the granite rock mass. The concrete caps of the pillboxes were about one and a half meters thick. The defenders of the "Ostraya" height rejected all calls for surrender; the Japanese were famous for not agreeing to any negotiations. A peasant who wished to become a parliamentarian had his head publicly cut off. When Soviet troops finally took the height, they found all its defenders dead: men and women.
Kamikaze
In the battles for the city of Mudanjiang, the Japanese actively used kamikaze saboteurs. Tied with grenades, these people rushed at Soviet tanks and soldiers. On one section of the front, about 200 “live mines” lay on the ground in front of the advancing equipment. However, the suicide attacks were only initially successful. Subsequently, the Red Army soldiers increased their vigilance and, as a rule, managed to shoot the saboteur before he could get closer and explode, causing damage to equipment or manpower.
Surrender
On August 15, Emperor Hirohito made a radio address in which he announced that Japan accepted the terms of the Potsdam Conference and capitulated. The Emperor called on the nation for courage, patience and the unification of all forces to build a new future. Three days later - on August 18, 1945 - at 13:00 local time, an appeal from the command of the Kwantung Army to the troops was heard on the radio, saying that for reasons of the pointlessness of further resistance decided to surrender. Over the next few days, Japanese units that did not have direct contact with headquarters were notified and the terms of surrender were agreed upon.
Results
As a result of the war, the USSR actually returned to its territory the territories lost by the Russian Empire in 1905 following the Peace of Portsmouth.
Japan's loss of the Southern Kuril Islands has not yet been recognized. According to the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Japan renounced its rights to Sakhalin (Karafuto) and the main group of the Kuril Islands, but did not recognize them as having passed to the USSR. Surprisingly, this agreement had not yet been signed by the USSR, which, thus, until the end of its existence was legally at war with Japan. Currently, these territorial problems are preventing the conclusion of a peace treaty between Japan and Russia as the successor to the USSR.