War with Japan: The Last Campaign of World War II. Soviet-Japanese War: fighting in the Far East

Soviet-Japanese War of 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.

Timeline of the conflict

April 13, 1941 - a neutrality pact was signed between the USSR and Japan. Accompanied by an agreement on small economic concessions from Japan, which she ignored.

December 1, 1943 - Tehran conference. The Allies are charting 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 assumes an unofficial obligation to enter the war with Japan no later than 3 months after the defeat of Germany.

June 1945 - Japan begins preparations to repulse the landing on the Japanese islands.

July 12, 1945 - The Japanese ambassador in Moscow addresses the USSR with a request for mediation in peace negotiations. On July 13 he was informed that an answer could not be given in connection with 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 declares to the Japanese ambassador that it has joined the Potsdam Declaration and declares war on Japan.

August 10, 1945 - Japan officially declares its readiness to accept the Potsdam terms of surrender with a reservation regarding the preservation of the structure of imperial power in the country.

August 14 - Japan formally accepts the terms of unconditional surrender and communicates this to the Allies.

War preparation

The danger of a war between the USSR and Japan existed from the second half of the 1930s, in 1938 there were clashes on Lake Khasan, and in 1939 there was a 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 starting a 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), more and more inclined towards the latter option, and sought to protect itself from the USSR. The result of the temporary coincidence of interests of the two countries is the signing of the Neutrality Pact on April 13, 1941, in accordance with Art. 2 of which:

In 1941, the countries of the Nazi coalition, except for Japan, declared war on the USSR (Great Patriotic War), and in the same year, Japan attacked the United States, starting a 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 its effect ceased only a year after the denunciation). At the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, the Allies issued a declaration demanding Japan's unconditional surrender. 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 US use of nuclear weapons against Japan (Hiroshima) and on the eve of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.

Forces and plans of the parties

Marshal was the commander-in-chief Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky. There were 3 fronts of the Trans-Baikal Front, the 1st Far Eastern and 2nd Far Eastern (commanders R. Ya. Malinovsky, K. A. Meretskov and M. A. Purkaev), total strength approximately 1.5 million people. The troops of the MPR were commanded by Marshal of the MPR H. Choibalsan. They were opposed by the Japanese Kwantung Army under the command of General Otsuzo Yamada.

The plan of the Soviet command, described as "Strategic pincers", was simple in concept but grandiose in scale. Planned to encircle the enemy common territory an area of ​​1.5 million square kilometers.

The 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, p. 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, out 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, the Japanese could only use untrained conscripts to organize new divisions and brigades. younger ages and of limited fit older ages - those in the summer of 1945 were called up 250 thousand, which accounted for 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, artillery was often completely absent.

The most significant forces of the Kwantung Army - up to ten infantry divisions - were deployed in the east of Manchuria, bordering the Soviet Primorye, where the First Far Eastern Front was deployed, consisting of 31 rifle divisions, a cavalry division, a mechanized corps and 11 tank brigades. In the north of 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 deployed 6 infantry divisions and one brigade against 33 Soviet divisions, including two tank divisions, 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 aviation.

It should be noted that the tanks and aircraft of the Japanese army in 1945, according to the criteria of that time, can only be called obsolete. They roughly corresponded to the 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 for fighting only 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 the Japanese forces in April-June 1945 on Okinawa, there was every reason to believe that a long, difficult campaign was expected over the last remaining Japanese fortified areas. In some areas of the offensive, these expectations were fully justified.

The course of the war

At dawn on August 9, 1945, Soviet troops began intensive artillery preparation 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 managed with moving parts and were blocked by infantry. The 6th Guards Tank Army of General Kravchenko was advancing from Mongolia to the center of Manchuria.

It was a risky decision, because the Khingan Mountains were difficult to pass. On August 11, army equipment stopped due to lack of fuel. But the experience of German tank units was used - the delivery of fuel to tanks by transport aircraft. As a result, by August 17, the 6th Guards Tank Army 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 resistance of the Japanese in the east of Manchuria, having occupied the largest city in that region - Mudanjiang. In a number of areas in the depths of the defense, Soviet troops had to overcome fierce enemy resistance. In the zone of the 5th Army, it was carried out with special force in the Mudanjiang area. There were cases of stubborn resistance by the enemy in the zones of the Trans-Baikal and 2nd Far Eastern fronts. The Japanese army also made 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 in practice, hostilities 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 he did not immediately reach everyone, and in some places the Japanese acted contrary to the order.

On August 18, the Kuril landing operation was launched, during which Soviet troops occupied the Kuril Islands. On the same day, August 18, the commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East, Marshal Vasilevsky, ordered the occupation of Japanese island Hokkaido with two infantry divisions. This landing was not carried out due to the delay in the advance of Soviet troops in South Sakhalin, and then postponed until the instructions of the Headquarters.

Soviet troops occupied the southern part of Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, Manchuria and part of Korea. The main fighting on the continent was carried out for 12 days, until August 20. However, separate clashes continued until September 10, which became the day of the end of the complete surrender and capture of the Kwantung Army. The fighting on the islands ended completely on 5 September.

Japan's surrender was signed on September 2, 1945 aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

As a result, the millionth Kwantung Army was completely defeated. According to Soviet data, its losses in killed amounted to 84 thousand people, about 600 thousand were taken prisoner. The irretrievable losses of the Red Army amounted to 12 thousand people.

Meaning

The Manchurian operation was of great political and military importance. So on August 9, at an emergency meeting of the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War, Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki said:

The Soviet Army defeated the strong Kwantung Army of Japan. The Soviet Union, having entered the war with the Empire of Japan and made a significant contribution to its defeat, hastened the end of World War II. American leaders and historians have repeatedly stated that without the entry of the USSR into the war, it would have continued for at least another year and would have cost an additional several million human lives.

The commander-in-chief of the American armed forces in the Pacific, General MacArthur, believed that "Victory over Japan can only be guaranteed if the Japanese ground forces are defeated." US Secretary of State E. Stettinius stated the following:

Dwight Eisenhower, in his memoirs, indicated that he was addressing President Truman: "I told him that since the available information indicates the inevitability of the imminent collapse of Japan, I strongly object to the entry of the Red Army into this war."

Results

For differences 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 Far), as well as the main group previously ceded to Japan in 1875 Kuril Islands and the southern part of the Kuriles assigned to Japan by the Shimoda Treaty of 1855.

The last territorial loss by Japan has not yet been recognized. According to the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Japan renounced any claims to Sakhalin (Karafuto) and the Kuriles (Tishima Retto). But the treaty 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, in particular, says:

Negotiations on the southern Kuril Islands continue this moment, the lack of a solution on this issue prevents the conclusion of a peace treaty between Japan and Russia, as the successor to the USSR.

Also, Japan is involved in a territorial dispute with the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China over the ownership of the Senkaku Islands, despite the presence peace treaties between countries (an 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 Relations between Japan and Korea, 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 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. Died in captivity 62,069 prisoners of war, of which 22,331 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.

background

At the Yalta Conference of the countries participating in the anti-Hitler coalition, held in February 1945, the United States and Great Britain obtained final consent from the USSR to enter the war with Japan three months after the victory over Nazi Germany. In exchange for participation in hostilities, the Soviet Union was to receive South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, lost after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

At that time, the Neutrality Pact was in force between the USSR and Japan, concluded in 1941 for a period of 5 years. In April 1945, the USSR announced the unilateral termination of the pact on the grounds that Japan was an ally of Germany and waged war against the allies of the USSR. “In this situation, the Neutrality Pact between Japan and the USSR lost its meaning, and the extension of this Pact became impossible,” the Soviet side said. The sudden termination of the treaty threw the Japanese government into disarray. And it was from what! The position of the Land of the Rising Sun in the war was approaching critical, the allies inflicted a number of heavy defeats on the Pacific theater of operations. Japanese cities and industrial centers were subjected to continuous bombardment. Not a single more or less reasonable person in the Japanese government and command no longer believed in the possibility of victory, the only hope was that they would be able to wear down the American troops and achieve acceptable surrender conditions for themselves.

In turn, the Americans understood that victory over Japan would not be easy. A good example of this are the battles for the island of Okinawa. The Japanese had about 77,000 people on the island. The Americans fielded about 470,000 against them. The island was taken, but the Americans lost nearly 50 thousand soldiers killed and wounded. According to the US Secretary of War, a final victory over Japan, provided the Soviet Union did not intervene, would have cost America about a million dead and wounded.

The document declaring war was handed over to the Japanese ambassador in Moscow at 17:00 on August 8, 1945. It said that hostilities would begin the next day. However, taking into account the time difference between Moscow and the Far East, in fact, the Japanese had only one hour before the Red Army went on the offensive.

Confrontation

The strategic plan of the Soviet side included three operations: Manchurian, South Sakhalin and Kuril. The most significant and large-scale was the first one, and it is on it that we should dwell in more detail.

In Manchuria, the Kwantung Army under the command of General Otsuzo Yamada became an enemy of the USSR. It included about a million personnel, more than 6,000 guns and mortars, about 1,500 aircraft, and more than 1,000 tanks.

The grouping of troops of the Red Army at the time of the start of the offensive had a serious numerical superiority over the enemy: only there were 1.6 times more fighters. In terms of the number of tanks, the Soviet troops outnumbered the Japanese by about 5 times, in artillery and mortars - 10 times, in aircraft - more than three times. Moreover, the superiority of the Soviet Union was not only quantitative. The equipment that was in service with the Red Army was much more modern and powerful than that of its enemy.

The Japanese had long understood that war with the Soviet Union was inevitable. Therefore, a large number of fortified areas were created. Let us consider as an example one of them - the Hailar region, against which the left flank of the Trans-Baikal Front of the Red Army acted. This area has been under construction for over 10 years. By August 1945, it consisted of 116 pillboxes connected by concrete underground passages communication, a developed system of trenches and a large number of engineering defensive structures. The area was defended Japanese troops more than a division.

It took the Soviet troops several days to suppress the resistance of this fortified area. It would seem that not too long a time, the troops were not stuck for months. But during this time, in other sectors of the Trans-Baikal Front, the Red Army managed to advance more than 150 kilometers. So by the standards of this war, the obstacle was quite serious. And even after the main forces of the garrison of the Hailar region surrendered, separate groups of Japanese soldiers continued to fight, demonstrating examples of fanatical courage. In Soviet reports from the battlefield, soldiers of the Kwantung Army are constantly mentioned, who chained themselves to machine guns so as not to be able to leave the position.

Against the background of the very successful actions of the Red Army, it is necessary to note such an outstanding operation as the 350-kilometer throw of the 6th Guards Tank Army across the Gobi Desert and the Khingan Range. The Khingan Mountains seemed like an insurmountable obstacle to technology. The passes through which the Soviet tanks went were at an altitude of about 2 thousand meters above sea level. The steepness of the slopes in some places reached 50 degrees, so that the cars had to move in a zigzag. The situation was complicated by continuous heavy rains, impassable mud and overflow of mountain rivers. Nevertheless, Soviet tanks stubbornly moved forward. By August 11, they had 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 establish supplies by air. Transport aviation delivered more than 900 tons of tank fuel alone to our troops. As a result of this unprecedented offensive, the Red Army managed to capture only about 200,000 Japanese prisoners. In addition, a large number of weapons and equipment were captured.

The 1st Far Eastern Front of the Red Army faced fierce resistance from the Japanese, who fortified on the heights of Ostraya and Camel, which were part of the Khotous fortified area. The approaches to these heights were swampy, rugged large quantity small streams. Scarps were excavated on the slopes and wire fences were installed. The Japanese cut down firing points in a granite rock massif. Concrete caps of pillboxes had a thickness of about one and a half meters.

The defenders of the height of Ostraya rejected all the demands of the Soviet troops for surrender. The commander of the fortified area cut off his head to a local resident, who was used as a truce (the Japanese did not go into dialogue with the Red Army at all). And when the Soviet troops finally managed to break into the fortifications, they found only the dead there. Moreover, among the defenders were not only men, but even women armed with grenades and daggers.

In the battles for the city of Mudanjiang, the Japanese actively used kamikaze saboteurs. Strapped with grenades, these people rushed at Soviet tanks and soldiers. On one of the sectors of the front, about 200 "live mines" lay on the ground in front of the advancing equipment. Suicide attacks were successful only at first. In the future, the Red Army increased their vigilance and, as a rule, managed to shoot the saboteur before he could approach and explode, causing damage to equipment or manpower.

The final

On August 15, Emperor Hirohito made a radio address announcing that Japan accepted the terms of the Potsdam Conference and capitulated. The emperor called on the nation to courage, patience and unite all forces to build a new future.

Three days later, on August 18, 1945, at 13:00 local time, the Kwantung Army Command addressed the troops on the radio, saying that in view of the futility of further resistance, a decision was made to surrender. Over the next few days, Japanese units that did not have direct contact with the headquarters were notified and the terms of surrender were agreed.

Most of the military accepted the terms of surrender without objection. Moreover, in the city of Changchun, where the strength of the Soviet troops was not enough, the Japanese themselves guarded military facilities for several days. However, a small number of fanatical soldiers and officers continued to resist, refusing to obey the "cowardly" order to cease hostilities. Their war stopped only when they died.

On September 2, 1945, Japan's unconditional surrender was signed in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri. The signing of this document is the official date for the end of World War II.

In February 1945, a conference was held in Yalta, which was attended by representatives of the countries that were part of Great Britain and the United States, managed to get the Soviet Union to agree to take a direct part in the war with Japan. In exchange for this, they promised him to return the Kuril Islands and South Sakhalin, lost during the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.

Termination of the peace treaty

At the time when the decision was made in Yalta, the so-called Neutrality Pact was in force between Japan and the Soviet Union, which was concluded back in 1941 and was supposed to be valid for 5 years. But already in April 1945, the USSR announced that it was breaking the treaty unilaterally. The Russo-Japanese War (1945), the reasons for which were that the Land of the Rising Sun had sided with Germany in recent years, and also fought against the allies of the USSR, became almost inevitable.

Such a sudden statement literally plunged the leadership of Japan into complete disarray. And this is understandable, because her position was very critical - the Allied forces inflicted significant damage on her in the Pacific Ocean, and industrial centers and cities were subjected to almost continuous bombardment. The government of this country was well aware that it was almost impossible to achieve victory in such conditions. But still, it still hoped that it would somehow be able to wear down and achieve more favorable conditions for the surrender of its troops.

The United States, in turn, did not count on the fact that they would get an easy victory. An example of this is the battles that unfolded for the island of Okinawa. About 77 thousand people fought here from Japan, and about 470 thousand soldiers from the United States. In the end, the island was taken by the Americans, but their losses were simply amazing - almost 50 thousand killed. According to him, if the Russo-Japanese War of 1945 had not started, which will be briefly described in this article, then the losses would have been much more serious and could have amounted to 1 million soldiers killed and wounded.

Announcement of the outbreak of hostilities

On August 8, in Moscow, the document was handed over to the Japanese Ambassador to the USSR at exactly 17:00. It said that the Russo-Japanese War (1945) was actually starting the very next day. But since there is a significant time difference between the Far East and Moscow, it turned out that before the start of the offensive Soviet army only 1 hour left.

In the USSR, a plan was developed, consisting of three military operations: the Kuril, Manchurian and South Sakhalin. All of them were very important. But nevertheless, the Manchurian operation was the most large-scale and significant.

Side forces

On the territory of Manchuria, the Kwantung Army, commanded by General Otozo Yamada, opposed. It consisted of about 1 million people, more than 1 thousand tanks, about 6 thousand guns and 1.6 thousand aircraft.

At the time when the Russo-Japanese War of 1945 began, the forces of the USSR had a significant numerical superiority in manpower: only there were one and a half times more soldiers. As for equipment, the number of mortars and artillery exceeded the similar enemy forces by 10 times. Our army had 5 and 3 times more tanks and aircraft, respectively, than the corresponding weapons of the Japanese. It should be noted that the superiority of the USSR over Japan in military equipment consisted not only in its numbers. The equipment at the disposal of Russia was modern and more powerful than that of its opponent.

Enemy strongholds

All participants in the Russo-Japanese War of 1945 were well aware that sooner or later, but it had to start. That is why the Japanese created a significant number of well-fortified areas in advance. For example, we can take at least the Hailar region, where the left flank of the Trans-Baikal Front of the Soviet Army was located. Barrage structures on this site were built for more than 10 years. By the time the Russo-Japanese War began (August 1945), there were already 116 pillboxes, which were interconnected by underground passages made of concrete, a well-developed system of trenches and a significant number. This area was covered by Japanese soldiers, whose number exceeded the divisional one.

In order to suppress the resistance of the Hailar fortified area, the Soviet Army had to spend several days. Under war conditions, this is a short period, but during the same time the rest of the Trans-Baikal Front moved forward by about 150 km. Given the scale of the Russo-Japanese War (1945), the obstacle in the form of this fortified area turned out to be quite serious. Even when his garrison surrendered, the Japanese warriors continued to fight with fanatical courage.

In the reports of Soviet military leaders one can very often see references to the soldiers of the Kwantung Army. The documents said that the Japanese military specially chained themselves to the beds of machine guns so as not to have the slightest opportunity to retreat.

evasive maneuver

The Russo-Japanese War of 1945 and the actions of the Soviet Army were very successful from the very beginning. I would like to mention one outstanding operation, which consisted in a 350-kilometer throw of the 6th Panzer Army through the Khingan Range and the Gobi Desert. If you take a look at the mountains, they seem to be an insurmountable obstacle to the passage of technology. The passes that Soviet tanks had to pass were located at an altitude of about 2 thousand meters above sea level, and the slopes sometimes reached a steepness of 50⁰. That is why cars often had to zigzag.

In addition, the advancement of equipment was also complicated by frequent heavy rains, accompanied by flooding of rivers and impassable mud. But, despite this, the tanks still moved forward, and already on August 11 they overcame the mountains and reached the Central Manchurian Plain, in the rear of the Kwantung Army. After such a large-scale transition, the Soviet troops began to experience an acute shortage of fuel, so they had to arrange for additional delivery by air. With the help of transport aviation, it was possible to transport about 900 tons of tank fuel. As a result of this operation, more than 200 thousand Japanese soldiers were captured, as well as a huge amount of equipment, weapons and ammunition.

Height Defenders Sharp

The Japanese War of 1945 continued. On the sector of the 1st Far Eastern Front, Soviet troops encountered unprecedentedly fierce enemy resistance. The Japanese were well entrenched on the heights of Camel and Ostraya, which were among the fortifications of the Khotous fortified area. It must be said that the approaches to these heights were indented by many small rivers and were very swampy. In addition, wire fences and excavated scarps were located on their slopes. The firing points of the Japanese soldiers were cut down in advance right in the rocky granite rock, and the concrete caps protecting the bunkers reached a thickness of one and a half meters.

During the fighting, the Soviet command offered the defenders of Ostra to surrender. A man from among the local residents was sent to the Japanese as a truce, but they treated him extremely cruelly - the commander of the fortified area himself cut off his head. However, there was nothing surprising in this act. From the moment the Russo-Japanese War began (1945), the enemy basically did not go to any negotiations. When the Soviet troops finally entered the fortification, they found only dead soldiers. It is worth noting that the defenders of the height were not only men, but also women who were armed with daggers and grenades.

Features of military operations

The Russo-Japanese War of 1945 had its own specific features. For example, in the battles for the city of Mudanjiang, the enemy used kamikaze saboteurs against units of the Soviet Army. These suicide bombers tied themselves with grenades and threw themselves under tanks or at soldiers. There was also such a case when about two hundred "live mines" lay on the ground next to each other in one sector of the front. But such suicidal actions did not last long. Soon, the Soviet soldiers became more vigilant and had time to destroy the saboteur in advance before he came close and exploded next to equipment or people.

Surrender

The Russo-Japanese War of 1945 ended on August 15, when the country's emperor Hirohito addressed his people on the radio. He stated that the country had decided to accept the terms of the Potsdam Conference and capitulate. At the same time, the emperor called on his nation to observe patience and unite all forces to build a new future for the country.

3 days after Hirohito's appeal, the call of the Kwantung Army command to its soldiers was heard on the radio. It said that further resistance is pointless and there is already a decision to surrender. Since many Japanese units did not have contact with the main headquarters, their notification continued for several more days. But there were also cases when fanatical military personnel did not want to obey the order and lay down their arms. Therefore, their war continued until they died.

Effects

It must be said that the Russo-Japanese War of 1945 was truly of great not only military but also political significance. managed to completely defeat the strongest Kwantung Army and complete the Second world war. By the way, its official end is September 2, when the act of surrender of Japan was finally signed in Tokyo Bay right on board the battleship Missouri, owned by the United States.

As a result, the Soviet Union regained the territories that had been lost back in 1905 - a group of islands and part of the South Kuriles. Also, according to the peace treaty signed in San Francisco, Japan renounced any claims to Sakhalin.

Questions:
1. The situation in the Far East. The general course of hostilities.
2. Results, lessons and significance of the war.

The Soviet-Japanese War of 1945 is one of the most important milestones on the way to victory in World War II. In terms of its scale, scope, attracted forces and means, tension, results, military-political and strategic consequences, it belongs to the most important stages of the Second World War.

The surrender of Nazi Germany in May 1945 marked the end of the war in Europe. But in the Far East and the Pacific Ocean, militaristic Japan continued to fight against the USA, Great Britain and other allies of the USSR in the Asia-Pacific region.
The entry of the Soviet Union into the war against Japan was conditioned by the allied obligations assumed by the USSR at the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam conferences, as well as by the policy pursued by Japan towards the USSR. Throughout the Great Patriotic War, Japan provided all possible assistance Nazi Germany. She continuously reinforced her armed forces on the Soviet-Japanese border, thereby forcing the Soviet Union to keep there a large number of troops, much needed for use on the Soviet-German front; Japanese ships interfered in every possible way with normal Soviet shipping, attacking ships and detaining them. All this nullified the Soviet-Japanese neutrality pact, concluded in April 1941. In this regard, the Soviet government in April 1945 denounced the said pact. On August 8, 1945, it made a statement that from August 9, the Soviet Union would consider itself at war with Japan.
The political goals of the military campaign of the Soviet Union in the Far East were to eliminate the last hotbed of World War II as quickly as possible, to eliminate the threat of a Japanese attack on the USSR, to liberate the countries occupied by Japan together with the allies, and to restore world peace. The government of the USSR also pursued its own geopolitical goals (to return to the Soviet Union South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, which had been torn away by the Japanese during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), to open a free exit for Soviet ships and vessels to the Pacific Ocean, etc., previously formulated For the Japanese government, the entry of the USSR into the war meant the loss of their last hope and their defeat both by military and diplomatic means.
The main military-strategic chain of the war was the defeat of the Kwantung Army, the liberation of Northeast China (Manchuria) and North Korea from the Japanese invaders. The solution of this problem was supposed to have an impact on the acceleration of the surrender of Japan and ensure success in the defeat of Japanese troops in South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.
The general plan of the war was to defeat the Kwantung Army and capture the most important military-political and economic centers of Manchuria with the forces of the Trans-Baikal, 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Fronts and the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army, in cooperation with the Pacific Fleet and the Amur Flotilla. The main blows were supposed to be delivered from the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic (MPR) by the forces of the Trans-Baikal Front to the east and from the territory of the Soviet Primorye by the forces of the 1st Far Eastern Front to the west. In addition, it was planned to deliver two auxiliary strikes by the forces of the Trans-Baikal and the 1st Far Eastern fronts. The troops of the 2nd Far Eastern Front, in cooperation with the Amur military flotilla, striking in the Sungarian and Zhaohei directions, were supposed to pin down the enemy forces opposing him and thereby ensure the success of the Transbaikal and 1st Far Eastern fronts.
The Pacific Fleet was supposed to disrupt enemy communications at sea, support the coastal flanks of troops and prevent enemy landings. Later, he was entrusted with the task, together with the 1st Far Eastern Front, to seize the ports of North Korea. The air forces of the fleet were to strike at enemy ships and transports to prevent the supply of materiel for the Kwantung Army, to support combat operations of landing forces to seize the ports of North Korea.
The theater of the upcoming military operations covered the territory of Northeast China, part of Inner Mongolia, North Korea, the Sea of ​​Japan and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands. The great honor of the territory of the Manchurian-Korean region is occupied by mountains (Great and Lesser Khingan, East Manchurian, North Korean, etc.) with a height of 1000-1900 m. The mountains of Northern and Western Manchuria are largely covered with forest, most of Inner Mongolia is occupied by semi-deserts and waterless steppes.
The grouping of Japanese troops in Manchuria, Korea, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands included the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 17th fronts, the 4th and 34th separate armies. The strongest was the Kwantung Army, located in Manchuria. It included the 1st and 3rd fronts, the 4th and 34th separate and 2nd air armies, the Sungari river flotilla (24 infantry divisions, 9 separate infantry and mixed brigades, a special forces brigade - suicide bombers, 2 tank brigades and air force). With the outbreak of hostilities, the 34th Separate Army was reassigned to the commander of the 17th (Korean) Front, which became part of the Kwantung Army on August 10, and the 5th Air Army was also included in it on August 10. In total, the grouping of Japanese troops concentrated near the Soviet borders consisted of four fronts and two separate armies, a military river flotilla and two air armies. It consisted of 817 thousand soldiers and officers (including puppet troops - more than 1 million people), over 1200 tanks, 6600 guns and mortars, 1900 combat aircraft and 26 ships.
Japanese troops were located in advance prepared positions. The most important areas were covered by 17 fortified areas. The coastal direction was most strongly fortified, and especially between the lake. Khanka and Posyet Bay. To reach the central regions of Manchuria and Korea, Soviet troops had to overcome mountainous-wooded, semi-desert and wooded-swampy terrain to a depth of 300 to 600 km.
The preparation of hostilities included a number of activities carried out in advance and immediately before their start. The main ones were the transfer of troops from the western regions and the creation of offensive groupings, the study and equipment of the theater of upcoming actions, the training of troops and the creation of stocks of materiel necessary for a strategic operation. Much attention was paid to the implementation of measures aimed at ensuring the surprise of the offensive (observance of secrecy in the preparation of the operation, concentration, regrouping and deployment of troops in the initial position, involvement of a limited circle of people in planning, etc.).
The Trans-Baikal (commanded by Marshal of the Soviet Union R. Ya Malinovsky), the 1st Far Eastern (commanded by Marshal of the Soviet Union K.A. Meretskov) and the 2nd Far Eastern (commanded by General of the Army M.L. Purkaea) fronts were involved in the Far Eastern campaign, as well as the Pacific Fleet (commander Admiral I.S. Yumashev), the Amur Military Flotilla (commander Rear Admiral N.V. Antonov) and parts of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army (commander-in-chief Marshal X. Choibalsan). This grouping consisted of more than 1.7 million people, about 30 thousand guns and mortars (without anti-aircraft artillery), 5.25 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, 5.2 thousand aircraft. 93 warships of the main classes. The general command of the troops was carried out by the High Command of the Soviet Forces in the Far East, specially created by the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (Commander-in-Chief Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky).
On the eve of the USSR's entry into the war with Japan, on August 6 and 9, the United States used nuclear weapons for the first time in the history of mankind, dropping two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, although there was no military need for these bombings. The exact number of victims of the atomic bombings is still unknown, but it has been established that in total at least 500 thousand people suffered from them, including those killed, wounded, affected by radiation and subsequently died from radiation sickness. This barbaric act was intended to demonstrate the power of the United States, and not so much to achieve a military victory over Japan, but to put pressure on the USSR in order to obtain concessions from it in matters of the post-war world order.
The combat operations of the Soviet troops in the Far East include the Manchurian, South Sakhalin offensive operations and the Kuril landing operation. As part of the Manchurian offensive operation, the Khingan-Mukden (Trans-Baikal Front), Harbino-Girinskaya (1st Far Eastern Front) and Sungaria (2nd Far Eastern Front) front-line offensive operations were carried out.
The Manchurian strategic offensive operation (August 9 - September 2, 1945), according to the nature of the tasks to be solved and the methods of action of the troops, was divided into two stages:
- the first stage - August 9-14 - the defeat of the Japanese cover troops and the exit of Soviet troops to the Central Manchurian Plain;
- the second stage - August 15 - September 2 - the development of the offensive and the surrender of the Kwantung Army.
The idea of ​​the Manchurian strategic offensive operation provided for delivering powerful blows to the flanks of the Kwantung Army from the west and east and several auxiliary blows to the directions converging in the center of Manchuria, which ensured a deep coverage of the main forces of the Japanese, dissecting them and quickly defeating them in parts. Operations to liberate South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were made dependent on the fulfillment of this main task.
On August 9, strike groups of the Soviet fronts attacked the enemy from land, air and sea. The fighting unfolded on the front with a length of more than 5 thousand km. The Pacific Fleet went out into the open, cut off the sea communications used by the troops of the Kwantung Army to communicate with Japan, and the forces of aviation and torpedo boats inflicted powerful blows on Japanese naval bases in North Korea. the Gobi Desert and the mountain ranges of the Greater Khingan, defeat the Kalgan, Solunskhui and Hailar enemy groups and rushed to the central regions of Northeast China. On August 20, the main forces of the 6th Guards Tank Army would enter the cities of Shenyang (Mukden) and Changchun and began to move south to the cities of Dalian (Far) and Luishun (Port Arthur). The cavalry-mechanized group of Soviet-Mongolian troops, leaving on August 18 to the cities of Zhangjiakou (Kalgan) and Chengde, cut off the Japanese grouping in Manchuria from the Japanese expeditionary forces in China.
The troops of the 1st Far Eastern Front, advancing towards the Trans-Baikal Front, broke through the enemy's border fortifications, repulsed his strong counterattacks in the Mudanjiang area, entered the city of Jilin on August 20 and, together with formations of the 2nd Far Eastern Front, into Harbin. The 25th Army, in cooperation with the amphibious assault forces of the Pacific Fleet, liberated the territory of North Korea, cutting off Japanese troops from the mother country.
The 2nd Far Eastern Front, in cooperation with the Amur Flotilla, successfully crossed the Amur and Ussuri rivers, broke through the long-term enemy defenses in the Heihe, Sunyu, Hegai, Dunan and Fujin regions, overcame the Lesser Khingan mountain range covered with taiga and launched an offensive not in the Harbin and Qiqihar directions. On August 20, together with the troops of the 1st Far Eastern Front, he captured Harbin.
Thus, by August 20, Soviet troops advanced into the depths of Manchuria from the west by 400-800 km, from the east and north by 200-300 km. They reached the Manchurian Plain, dismembered the Japanese troops into a number of isolated groupings and completed their encirclement. On August 19, the commander of the Kwantung Army gave the troops an order to stop resistance. On August 19, a ceasefire agreement was signed. Only then did the organized surrender of Japanese troops in Manchuria begin. It continued until the end of the month. However, even this did not mean that the hostilities were completely stopped. Only on August 22, after powerful artillery and aviation preparation, was it possible to storm the Khutous resistance center by storm. In order to prevent the enemy from evacuating or destroying material assets, airborne assaults were landed in Harbin, Shenyang (Mukden), Changchun, Girin, Luishun (Port Arthur), Pyongyang and other cities from August 18 to 27. The rapid offensive of the Soviet and Mongolian troops put Japan in a hopeless situation, the calculations of its command for a stubborn defense and the subsequent offensive were thwarted. The million-strong Kwantung Army was defeated.
The major success of the Soviet troops in Manchuria, achieved in the first days of the war, allowed the Soviet command on August 11 to launch an offensive in South Sakhalin. The South Sakhalin offensive operation (August 11-25, 1945) was entrusted to the troops of the 16th Army of the 2nd Far Eastern Front (commanded by Lieutenant General L.G. Cheremisov) and the Northern Pacific Flotilla (commanded by Admiral V.A. Andreev ).
The defense of Sakhalin Island was carried out by the 88th Japanese Infantry Division, the Border Guard and reservist units. The strongest grouping (yes, 5400 people) was concentrated in the valley of the Poronai River, not far from the state border, covering the only road from the Soviet part of Sakhalin to the south. The Kotonsky (Kharamitogsky) fortified area was located in this direction - up to 12 km along the front and up to 16 km in depth, which included the foredfield strip, the main and second defense lines (17 pillboxes, 139 pillboxes and other structures).
The fighting on Sakhalin began with a breakthrough in this fortified area. The offensive was carried out in extremely difficult terrain with fierce resistance from the enemy. On August 16, an amphibious assault was landed behind enemy lines in the port of Toro (Shakhtersk). Counter strikes from the front and rear on August 18 broke through the enemy defenses. Soviet troops launched a swift offensive towards the southern coast of the island. On August 20, an amphibious assault was landed in the port of Maoka (Kholmsk), and in the morning of August 25 - in the port of Otomari (Korsakov). On the same day, Soviet troops entered the administrative center of South Sakhalin, the city of Toyohara (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), having completely completed the liquidation of the Japanese group on the island.
The successful course of hostilities in Manchuria, Korea and South Sakhalin allowed the Soviet troops to begin the Kuril landing operation (August 18 - September 1, 1945). Its goal was the liberation of the northern group of the Kuril Islands - Shumshu, Paramushir, Onekotan. The troops of the Kamchatka defensive region, ships and units of the Petropavlovsk naval base were assigned to carry out the operation. The landing force included the 101st Infantry Division (without one regiment), units of sailors and border guards. He was supported from the air by the 128th Aviation Division and the Naval Aviation Regiment. On the Kuril Islands, the 5th Japanese Front had over 50 thousand soldiers and officers. The most fortified in antiamphibious relation was the island of Shumshu - the closest to Kamchatka. On August 18, under cover of ship fire, the landing of troops on this island began. The fog made it possible to achieve the surprise of the beginning of the landing. Having discovered it, the enemy made a desperate attempt to push the landing units into the sea, but his attacks were not successful. During August 18-20, Japanese troops suffered heavy losses and began to withdraw deep into the island. On August 21-23, the enemy laid down their arms. More than 12 thousand. man was taken prisoner. Landing on August 22-23 on other islands, Soviet troops captured the entire northern part of the ridge up to Urup Island. More than 30 thousand Japanese soldiers and officers were taken prisoner. The Kuril operation was completed by the landing, landed on the morning of September 1 on the island of Kunashir.
The operation on the Kuril Islands is characterized primarily by the skillful organization of a sea crossing over a long distance (up to 800 km) and the landing of troops on an unequipped coast. The personnel were unloaded from the transports in the roadstead and delivered to the shore on various landing craft. Landing operations are characterized by covert movement by sea, sudden decisive actions by forward detachments that ensured the landing of the main forces.
On the evening of August 23, 1945, a salute was fired in Moscow in honor of the victory of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Far East. On September 2, on the battleship Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay, the signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Japan took place. This historic day marked the end of World War II.

The Soviet-Japanese War, representing an independent part of the Second World War, was a logical continuation of the Patriotic War of the Soviet people for the independence, security and sovereignty of their country.
What is the military-political, strategic and world-historical significance of the war?
First, the main military-political outcome of the war is the complete defeat of the Japanese troops in Manchuria, North Korea, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Enemy losses amounted to over 677 thousand people, of which about 84 thousand were killed. Soviet troops captured a lot of weapons and equipment. By the end of August 1945, the entire territory of Northeast China, part of Inner Mongolia and North Korea were liberated from the Japanese invaders. This hastened the defeat of Japan and its unconditional surrender. The main center of aggression in the Far East was liquidated and favorable conditions were created for the development of the national liberation struggle of the Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese peoples.
Secondly, the Soviet-Japanese war of 1945 occupies a special place in the history of Soviet military art.
The peculiarity of the Soviet-Japanese war was that it was carried out at a rapid pace, in short time and is indicative of the achievement of strategic goals at the very beginning. The Soviet Armed Forces in this war were enriched by the practice of conducting military operations designed to seize the strategic initiative, the experience of maneuvering part of the country's Armed Forces into a new theater of war, and methods of organizing interaction between ground forces and the Navy. Combat operations involving three fronts, aviation, fleet and Air Defense Forces of the country are the first example of the implementation of a strategic offensive operation in a desert-steppe and mountainous-wooded area.
The organizational composition of the fronts was characteristic. He proceeded from the characteristics of each strategic direction and the task that the front had to solve (a large number of tank troops in the Trans-Baikal, a significant amount of RVGK artillery in the 1st Far Eastern Front).
The desert-steppe nature of the area allowed the troops of the Trans-Baikal Front to organize an offensive in directions with deep detours of fortified areas. The mountainous taiga terrain in the zone of the 1st Far Eastern Front led to the organization of an offensive with a breakthrough in fortified areas. Hence the sharp difference in the conduct of operations by these fronts. However, their common characteristic was a wide maneuver with the use of coverage, detours and encirclement of enemy groupings. Offensive operations were carried out at a great depth and at a high pace. At the same time, in the Trans-Baikal Front, the depth of army operations ranged from 400 to 800 km, and the pace of advancement of both tank and combined arms armies turned out to be much greater than in the conditions of the Western theater of operations. In the 6th Guards Tank Army, they reached an average of 82 km per day.
The Manchurian operation was the largest strategic offensive operation carried out in the desert-steppe and mountain-taiga areas by the forces of three fronts, the Pacific Fleet and the Amur military flotilla. The operation is characterized by such features of military art as a large spatial scope, secrecy in the concentration and deployment of groupings of troops, well-organized interaction between the Fronts, the fleet and the river flotilla, the suddenness of the transition to the offensive at night by all fronts simultaneously, the delivery of a strong blow by the troops of the first echelons, the seizure of the strategic initiative, maneuver by forces and means, high rates of advance to great depths.
The idea of ​​the Headquarters for the operation took into account the configuration of the Soviet-Manchurian border. The enveloping position of the Soviet troops in relation to the enemy at the beginning of the offensive made it possible to direct attacks on the flanks of the Kwantung Army, quickly carry out a deep envelopment of its main forces, cut them up and defeat them in parts. The directions of the main attacks of the fronts were directed to the flanks and to the rear of the main enemy grouping, which deprived it of communication with the mother countries and strategic reserves located in North China. The main forces of the fronts were advancing on a sector of 2720 km. Auxiliary strikes were delivered in such a way as to deprive the enemy of the opportunity to transfer troops to the main directions. By massing up to 70-90% of the forces and means in the directions of the main attacks, superiority over the enemy was ensured: in people - by 1.5-1.7 times, in guns - by 4-4.5, in tanks and self-propelled guns - by 5 -8, in airplanes - 2.6 times.
Most characteristic features front-line and army operations were: great depth (from 200 to 800 km); wide offensive zones, reaching 700-2300 km in fronts, and 200-250 km in most armies; the use of maneuver for the purpose of enveloping, bypassing and encircling enemy groupings; high advance rates (up to 40-50 km per day, and on some days more than 100 km). Combined-arms and tank armies in most cases advanced before the end of the front-line operation to its entire depth.
In the tactics of rifle troops, the most instructive are going on the offensive at night under unfavorable meteorological conditions and in difficult terrain, and breaking through fortified areas. When breaking through fortified areas, divisions and corps had deep battle formations and created high density of forces and means - up to 200-240 guns and mortars, 30-40 tanks and self-propelled guns per 1 km of the front.
The breakthrough of fortified areas at night, without artillery and aviation preparation, deserves attention. In the development of the offensive in depth, an important role was played by forward detachments detached from divisions and corps of the first echelon of the armies, consisting of a battalion-regiment of infantry in vehicles, reinforced with tanks (up to a brigade), artillery (up to a regiment), sappers, chemists and signalmen. The separation of forward detachments from the main forces was 10-50 km. These detachments destroyed pockets of resistance, captured road junctions and passes. The detachments bypassed the strongest hearth and resistance without getting involved in protracted battles. Their sudden inflows, decisive advance into the depths of the enemy's location did not give the enemy the opportunity to organize defense by covering detachments.
The experience of using tank formations and formations in the conditions of the Far East showed that these areas (including the Greater Khingan Range) are accessible to large masses of troops equipped with modern military equipment. The increased capabilities of armored vehicles ensured the massive use of tank troops in hard-to-reach areas. At the same time, the wide operational use of tank formations and formations was skillfully combined with the use of tanks for direct support of the infantry. Particularly instructive were the actions of the 6th Guards Tank Army, which, advancing in the first echelon of the front in a strip of about 200 km, advanced to a depth of over 800 km in 10 days. This created favorable conditions for the actions of combined arms armies.
Characteristic of the actions of our aviation was its air supremacy. In total, more than 14 thousand combat sorties were made. Aviation bombed objects in the rear, destroyed strongholds and centers of resistance, supported ground forces in pursuing the enemy, carried out landing operations, as well as supplying troops with fuel and ammunition.
Thirdly, for the Soviet people, the war against Japan was fair, and for the victims of Japanese aggression and the Japanese themselves, it was humane, which ensured a sufficient level of patriotic enthusiasm for the Soviet people who sought to restore historical justice, gave rise to mass heroism of the soldiers of the Red Army and the Naval fleet in the fight against the Japanese aggressors and provided moral support for the entry of the USSR into the war from world public opinion.
One of the decisive factors that ensured the victory was the high moral and political state of the personnel of our troops. In a fierce battle, such powerful sources of victories for the Soviet people and their army as patriotism and friendship of peoples were manifested with all their might. Soviet fighters and commanders showed miracles of mass heroism, exceptional courage, steadfastness and military skill.
In a few days, but hot battles in the Far East, the immortal feats of the heroes of the war against the Nazi invaders were repeated, stubbornness and courage, skill and valor, readiness to sacrifice life for the sake of victory were shown. A vivid example of heroism is the exploits of Soviet soldiers who covered the embrasures and loopholes of Japanese pillboxes and bunkers, enemy firing points. Such feats were accomplished by the border guard of the 3rd outpost of the Red Banner Khasan border detachment, sergeant P.I. Ovchinnikov, shooter of the 1034th rifle regiment of the 29th rifle division of the Trans-Baikal Front, corporal V. G. Bulba, party organizer of the battalion of the 205th tank brigade of the 2nd Far Eastern Front I.V. division of the same front, corporal M.Ya. Patrashkov.
A number of feats of self-sacrifice were associated with the protection of the fighters of their commanders. So, corporal Samarin of the 97th artillery battalion of the 109th fortified area, at the moment when the battery commander was in danger, covered him with his body.
The heroic feat was accomplished by the Komsomol organizer of the 390th battalion of the 13th Marine Brigade, Sergeant A. Mishatkin. A mine crushed his hand, but after bandaging he again joined the battle. Once surrounded, the sergeant waited for the enemy soldiers to come closer, and blew himself up with an anti-tank grenade, destroying 6 Japanese in the process.
The pilot of the 22nd Fighter Aviation Regiment, Lieutenant V.G., proved to be fearless and skillful. Tcherepnin, who shot down a Japanese plane with a ramming blow. In the sky of Korea, a fire ram was made by the commander of the 37th Assault Aviation Regiment, Junior Lieutenant Mikhail Yanko, who sent his burning aircraft into the port facilities of the enemy.
Soviet soldiers fought heroically for the liberation of the largest and fortified island Kuril ridge- Shumshu, where a strong defense was created, a developed system of pillboxes and bunkers, trenches and anti-tank ditches, enemy infantry units were supported by a significant amount of artillery and tanks. A group feat in battle with 25 Japanese tanks, which was accompanied by infantry, was performed by senior sergeant I.I. Kobzar, foreman of the 2nd article P.V. Babich, Sergeant N.M. Rynda, sailor N.K. Vlasenko, led by the commander of the demolition platoon, Lieutenant A.M. Vodynin. In an effort not to let the tanks pass through combat positions, to save their comrades, the Soviet soldiers, having exhausted all means of struggle and not being able to stop the enemy in another way, threw themselves under enemy vehicles with bundles of grenades and, sacrificing themselves, destroyed seven of them, which delayed the advance of the enemy armored column before the approach of the main forces of our landing. Of the entire group, only Pyotr Babich survived, who told the details about the feat of the heroes.
In the same battle, junior sergeant Georgy Balandin set fire to 2 enemy tanks, and when the anti-tank gun failed, he rushed under the third with a grenade.
Over 308,000 people were awarded orders and medals for military exploits and distinctions. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to 86 soldiers, the second medal " Golden Star» 6 people were awarded. The formations and units that distinguished themselves most in the battles in the Far East were given the names Khingan, Amur, Ussuri, Harbin, Mukden, Sakhalin, Kuril, Port Arthur. On September 30, 1945, the medal "For the Victory over Japan" was established by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

Guidelines.
In preparation for the lesson, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the recommended literature, prepare for the demonstration of the scheme of operations.
It is advisable to conduct the lesson in the museum of a formation or unit, during which it is advisable to organize a viewing of documentary and feature films about the Soviet-Japanese war of 1945.
When covering the first issue, using the schemes of operations, it is necessary to show the location and balance of forces of the opposing sides at different stages of the war, while emphasizing that it is an outstanding example of Soviet military art. In addition, it is necessary to tell in detail about the exploits, give examples of the courage and heroism of Soviet soldiers.
In the course of considering the second question, it is necessary to objectively show the significance, role and place of the Soviet-Japanese war of 1945 in Russian historiography, to consider in more detail the contribution of the type of troops in which students serve to the course and outcome of the war.
At the end of the lesson, it is necessary to draw brief conclusions and answer questions from the audience.

Recommended literature:
1. The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union of 1941-1945 In 12 volumes. T.1. Major events of the war. - M.: Military Publishing House, 2011.
2. Military-historical atlas of Russia. - M.. 2006.
3. The World History wars. - Minsk: Harvest, 2004.
4. History of the Second World War 1939 -1945. - M., 1976.

Dmitry SAMOSVAT

Ilya Kramnik, military observer for RIA Novosti.

The war between the USSR and Japan in 1945, which became the last major campaign of World War II, lasted less than a month - from August 9 to September 2, 1945, but this month became a key one in the history of the Far East and the entire Asia-Pacific region, and, conversely, by initiating a multitude historical processes duration of tens of years.

background

The prerequisites for the Soviet-Japanese war arose exactly on the day when the Russo-Japanese war ended - on the day the Portsmouth Peace was signed on September 5, 1905. Russia's territorial losses were insignificant - the Liaodong Peninsula rented from China and the southern part of Sakhalin Island. Much more significant was the loss of influence in the world as a whole and in the Far East, in particular, caused by an unsuccessful war on land and the death of most of the fleet at sea. The feeling of national humiliation was also very strong.
Japan became the dominant Far Eastern power; it exploited marine resources almost uncontrollably, including in Russian territorial waters, where it carried out predatory fishing, crab fishing, sea animal hunting, etc.

This situation was strengthened during the revolution of 1917 and the ensuing civil war, when Japan actually occupied the Russian Far East for several years, and left the region with great reluctance under pressure from the United States and Great Britain, who feared the excessive strengthening of yesterday's ally in the First World War.

At the same time, there was a process of strengthening Japan's positions in China, which was also weakened and fragmented. The reverse process that began in the 1920s - the strengthening of the USSR, which was recovering from military and revolutionary upheavals - rather quickly led to relations between Tokyo and Moscow that could be calmly described as " cold war". The Far East has long become an arena of military confrontation and local conflicts. By the end of the 1930s, tensions reached a peak, and this period was marked by the two largest clashes between the USSR and Japan in this period - the conflict on Lake Khasan in 1938 and on the Khalkhin Gol River in 1939.

Fragile Neutrality

Having suffered quite serious losses and convinced of the power of the Red Army, Japan chose to conclude a neutrality pact with the USSR on April 13, 1941, and free its hands for the war in the Pacific Ocean.

This pact was also needed by the Soviet Union. At that time, it became obvious that the "naval lobby", pushing the southern direction of the war, was playing an increasing role in Japanese politics. The position of the army, on the other hand, was weakened by offensive defeats. The probability of war with Japan was not very high, while the conflict with Germany was getting closer every day.

For Germany itself, Japan's partner in the Anti-Comintern Pact, which saw Japan as the main ally and future partner in the New World Order, the agreement between Moscow and Tokyo was a serious slap in the face and caused complications in relations between Berlin and Tokyo. Tokyo, however, pointed out to the Germans the existence of a similar neutrality pact between Moscow and Berlin.

The two main aggressors of World War II could not agree, and each waged his main war - Germany against the USSR in Europe, Japan - against the USA and Great Britain in the Pacific Ocean. At the same time, Germany declared war on the United States on the day of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, but Japan did not declare war on the USSR, which the Germans had hoped for.

However, relations between the USSR and Japan could hardly be called good - Japan constantly violated the signed pact, detaining Soviet ships at sea, periodically allowing attacks by Soviet military and civilian ships, violating the border on land, etc.

It was obvious that the signed document was not valuable for any of the parties for any long period, and the war was only a matter of time. However, since 1942, the situation gradually began to change: the marked turning point in the war forced Japan to abandon long-term plans for a war against the USSR, and at the same time, the Soviet Union began to consider plans for the return of those lost during Russo-Japanese War territories.

By 1945, when the situation became critical, Japan tried to start negotiations with the Western allies, using the USSR as an intermediary, but this did not bring success.

During the Yalta Conference, the USSR announced an obligation to start a war against Japan within 2-3 months after the end of the war against Germany. The intervention of the USSR was seen as necessary by the allies: to defeat Japan, it was necessary to defeat its ground forces, which for the most part had not yet been affected by the war, and the allies feared that landing on the Japanese islands would cost them great sacrifices.

Japan, with the neutrality of the USSR, could count on the continuation of the war and the reinforcement of the forces of the mother country at the expense of resources and troops stationed in Manchuria and Korea, communication with which continued, despite all attempts to interrupt it.

The declaration of war by the Soviet Union finally destroyed these hopes. On August 9, 1945, speaking at an emergency meeting of the Supreme Council for the Direction of War, Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki stated:

"The entry into the war of the Soviet Union this morning puts us completely in a hopeless situation and makes it impossible to continue the war."

It should be noted that the nuclear bombings in this case were only an additional reason for an early exit from the war, but not the main reason. Suffice it to say that the massive bombing of Tokyo in the spring of 1945, which caused about the same number of victims as Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined, did not lead Japan to thoughts of surrender. And only the entry into the war of the USSR against the backdrop of nuclear bombings forced the leadership of the Empire to recognize the futility of continuing the war.

"August Storm"

The war itself, nicknamed in the West "August Storm", was swift. Possessing rich experience in military operations against the Germans, the Soviet troops broke through the Japanese defenses in a series of quick and decisive blows and launched an offensive deep into Manchuria. Tank units successfully advanced in seemingly unsuitable conditions - through the sands of the Gobi and the Khingan ridges, but the military machine, debugged over the four years of the war with the most formidable enemy, practically did not fail.

As a result, by August 17, the 6th Guards Tank Army 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 resistance of the Japanese in the east of Manchuria, having occupied the largest city in that region - Mudanjiang. In a number of areas in the depths of the defense, Soviet troops had to overcome fierce enemy resistance. In the zone of the 5th Army, it was carried out with special force in the Mudanjiang area. There were cases of stubborn resistance by the enemy in the zones of the Trans-Baikal and 2nd Far Eastern fronts. The Japanese army also made repeated counterattacks. On August 17, 1945, in Mukden, Soviet troops captured the Emperor of Manchukuo Pu Yi (formerly the last emperor of China).

On August 14, the Japanese command made a proposal to conclude a truce. But in practice, hostilities 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 even he did not immediately reach everyone, and in some places the Japanese acted contrary to the order.

On August 18, the Kuril landing operation was launched, during which Soviet troops occupied the Kuril Islands. On the same day, August 18, the commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East, Marshal Vasilevsky, ordered the occupation of the Japanese island of Hokkaido by 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 then postponed until the instructions of the Headquarters.

Soviet troops occupied the southern part of Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, Manchuria and part of Korea. The main fighting on the continent was carried out for 12 days, until August 20. However, individual battles continued until September 10, which became the day the complete surrender and capture of the Kwantung Army ended. The fighting on the islands ended completely on 5 September.

Japan's surrender was signed on September 2, 1945 aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

As a result, the millionth Kwantung Army was completely defeated. According to Soviet data, its losses in killed amounted to 84 thousand people, about 600 thousand were taken prisoner. The irretrievable losses of the Red Army amounted to 12 thousand people.

As a result of the war, the USSR actually returned to its composition the territories previously lost by Russia (southern Sakhalin and, temporarily, Kwantung with Port Arthur and the Far East, subsequently transferred to China), as well as the Kuril Islands, the southern part of which is still disputed by Japan.

According to the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Japan renounced any claims to Sakhalin (Karafuto) and the Kuriles (Chishima Retto). But the treaty did not determine the ownership of the islands and the USSR did not sign it.
Negotiations on the southern part of the Kuril Islands are still ongoing, and there are no prospects for a quick resolution of the issue.