6 August 9, 1945 event. Manchurian Offensive Operation
Fulfilling allied obligations undertaken to the USA and Great Britain, as well as in order to ensure the security of its Far Eastern borders, the USSR entered the war against Japan on the night of August 9, 1945, which was a logical continuation of the Great Patriotic War.
With the defeat of Germany and its allies in Europe, the Japanese did not consider themselves defeated; their persistence caused an increase in pessimistic assessments of the American command. It was believed, in particular, that the war would not end before the end of 1946, and the losses of the allied forces during the landing on the Japanese islands would amount to more than 1 million people.
The most important element of the Japanese defense were the fortified areas of the Kwantung Army, stationed in the territory of occupied Manchuria (Northeast China). On the one hand, this army served as a guarantee of Japan’s unhindered supply of strategic raw materials from China and Korea, and on the other, it carried out the task of pulling Soviet forces from the European theater of war, thereby helping the German Wehrmacht.
Back in April 1941, a Soviet-Japanese neutrality pact was concluded, which somewhat reduced tensions between Japan and the USSR, but, at the same time, preparing a strike on the Anglo-American troops Pacific Ocean, the Japanese command was developing a plan of combat operations against the Red Army under the code name “Kantokuen” (Special maneuvers of the Kwantung Army). The danger of war on the Far Eastern borders of the USSR remained throughout the subsequent period. On April 5, 1945, the USSR government denounced the Soviet-Japanese neutrality treaty.
By the summer of 1945, the Japanese had 17 fortified areas, 4.5 thousand pillboxes and bunkers, numerous airfields and landing sites in Manchuria. The Kwantung Army had 1 million people, 1.2 thousand tanks, 1.9 thousand aircraft, 6.6 thousand guns. To overcome strong fortifications, not only courageous, but also experienced troops were needed. At the beginning of the war in the Far East, the Soviet command transferred here additional forces freed up in the west after the victory over Nazi Germany. By the beginning of August, the total number of Red Army formations in the Far Eastern theater of operations reached 1.7 million people, 30 thousand guns and mortars, 5.2 thousand tanks, more than 5 thousand aircraft, 93 ships. In July 1945, the Main Command of Soviet troops in the Far East was formed, it was headed by Marshal of the Soviet Union A. Vasilevsky.
On August 8, 1945, in Moscow, the Soviet government handed over a statement to the Japanese ambassador, which stated that due to Japan’s refusal to cease military actions against the United States, Great Britain and China Soviet Union Since August 9, 1945, it considers itself to be at war with Japan. On that day, the Red Army's offensive in Manchuria began in all directions almost simultaneously.
The high rate of advance of Soviet and Mongolian troops in the central part of Manchuria put the Japanese command in a hopeless situation. Due to the success in Manchuria, the 2nd Far Eastern Front part of its forces went on the offensive on Sakhalin. The final stage war against Japan came the Kuril landing operation carried out by part of the forces of the 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Fronts and Pacific Fleet.
The Soviet Union won victory in the Far East in as soon as possible. In total, the enemy lost over 700 thousand soldiers and officers, of which 84 thousand were killed and more than 640 thousand captured. Soviet losses amounted to 36.5 thousand people, of which 12 thousand were killed or missing.
On September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay on board the American battleship Missouri, the Japanese rulers, in the presence of authorized representatives of the USSR, USA, China, Great Britain, France and other allied states, signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Japan. This is how the second ended World War, which lasted six long years.
YALTA SECRET AGREEMENT OF THE THREE GREAT POWERS ON ISSUES OF THE FAR EAST, February 11, 1945
The leaders of the three great powers - the Soviet Union, the United States of America and Great Britain - agreed that two or three months after the surrender of Germany and the end of the war in Europe, the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan on the side of the Allies, subject to:
1. Preservation of the status quo of Outer Mongolia (Mongolian People's Republic).
2. Restoration of the rights belonging to Russia violated by the treacherous attack of Japan in 1904, namely:
a) the return of the southern part of the island to the Soviet Union. Sakhalin and all adjacent islands,
b) the internationalization of the commercial port of Dairen, ensuring the priority interests of the Soviet Union in this port and the restoration of the lease on Port Arthur, as naval base THE USSR,
c) joint operation of the Chinese Eastern Railway and the South Manchurian Railway, which gives access to Dairen, on the basis of organizing a mixed Soviet-Chinese Society, ensuring the primary interests of the Soviet Union, while keeping in mind that China retains full sovereignty in Manchuria.
3. Transfer of the Kuril Islands to the Soviet Union. It is assumed that the agreement regarding Outer Mongolia and the aforementioned ports and railways will require the consent of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. On the advice of the Marshal, the President will take steps to ensure that such consent is obtained.
The heads of government of the Three Great Powers agreed that these claims of the Soviet Union should be unconditionally satisfied after the victory over Japan.
For its part, the Soviet Union expresses its readiness to conclude a pact of friendship and alliance between the USSR and China with the National Chinese Government in order to assist it with its armed forces in order to liberate China from the Japanese yoke.
Franklin Roosevelt
Winston Churchill
Foreign policy of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War. T. 3. M., 1947.
ACT OF SURRENDER OF JAPANESE, September 2, 1945
(extraction)
1. We, acting by order and on behalf of the Emperor, the Japanese Government and the Japanese Imperial General Staff, hereby accept the terms of the Declaration issued on July 26th at Potsdam by the Heads of the Governments of the United States, China and Great Britain, which was subsequently acceded to by the Soviet Union, which four powers will subsequently called the Allied Powers.
2. We hereby declare the unconditional surrender to the Allied Powers of the Japanese Imperial General Staff, all Japanese armed forces and all armed forces under Japanese control, regardless of where they are located.
3. We hereby order all Japanese troops, wherever located, and the Japanese people to immediately cease hostilities, preserve and prevent damage to all ships, aircraft and other military and civilian property, and comply with all demands that may be made by the supreme authorities. commanders of the Allied Powers or organs of the Japanese Government on his instructions.
4. We hereby order the Japanese Imperial General Staff immediately issue orders to the commanders of all Japanese troops and troops under Japanese control, wherever located, to surrender unconditionally in person, and to ensure unconditional surrender all troops under their command.
6. We hereby pledge that the Japanese Government and its successors will faithfully carry out the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and give such orders and take such actions as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers or any other representative designated by the Allied Powers may require in order to give effect to this declaration.
8. The power of the Emperor and the Japanese Government to administer the State will be subordinate to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, who will take such steps as he may deem necessary to carry out these terms of surrender.
Foreign policy of the Soviet Union during the Patriotic War. M., 1947. T. 3.
The Manchurian operation was an offensive operation of the Soviet Army and units of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army, carried out on August 9 - September 2, during Soviet-Japanese War 1945 with the goal of defeating the Japanese Kwantung Army, occupying Manchuria and North Korea, as well as eliminating Japan’s military-economic base on the Asian continent.
The agreement on the entry of the Soviet Union into the war with Japan was adopted at the Crimean (Yalta) conference of the leaders of the three great powers - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. In accordance with it, the Red Army was supposed to begin military operations in the Far East two to three months after the surrender of Germany.
By early August 1945, Japanese forces in Northeast China, Inner Mongolia, and Korea numbered more than 1 million men, 1,215 tanks, 6,640 guns and mortars, 1,907 combat aircraft, and 25 warships of the main classes. The most powerful group - the Kwantung Army (General O. Yamada) - was located in Manchuria and North Korea. It united the 1st, 3rd and 17th fronts, the 4th separate army, the 2nd and 5th air armies, the Sungari military flotilla - a total of 31 infantry divisions (from 11-12 to 18-21 thousand people) , 9 infantry brigades (from 4.5 to 8 thousand people), one special forces brigade (suicide bombers), two tank brigades.
On the territory of Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, near the borders with the Soviet Union and the Mongolian People's Republic (MPR), 17 fortified areas (RF) were erected. The total number of long-term structures in them reached over 4,500. Each SD, occupying a strip 50-100 km wide and up to 50 km deep, included from three to seven resistance nodes. The intention of the commander of the Kwantung Army was to repel attacks by Soviet troops and prevent them from breaking through in the fortified border areas and at advantageous natural lines. central areas Manchuria and Korea. In case of unfavorable developments, it was planned to withdraw to the line of Changchun, Mukden, Jinzhou, and if it was impossible to gain a foothold on it, to Korea. According to the calculations of the Japanese General Staff, it will take the Red Army about six months to capture Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. After this, the Japanese armed forces, having carried out the necessary regroupings, had to go on a counter-offensive, transfer military operations to the territory of the USSR and achieve honorable peace terms.
The presence of a powerful land group of the Japanese Armed Forces on the Far Eastern borders of the Soviet Union forced the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command to deploy significant forces and resources here during the Great Patriotic War. In its various periods, they numbered more than 1 million soldiers and officers, from 8 to 16 thousand guns and mortars, over 2 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, from 3 to 4 thousand combat aircraft and more than 100 warships of the main classes.
At the same time, taking into account that the forces located in the Far East of the Primorsky Group of Forces, the Trans-Baikal and Far Eastern Fronts would be clearly insufficient to defeat the Kwantung Army, during May - early August 1945, commands of two fronts and four armies were transferred to the areas of upcoming hostilities , fifteen rifle, artillery, tank and mechanized corps; 36 rifle, artillery and anti-aircraft artillery divisions; 53 brigades and 2 fortified areas; more than 403 thousand people, 7137 guns and mortars, 2119 tanks and self-propelled guns.
Due to the remoteness of the theater of military operations from Moscow, the directive State Committee Defense on June 30, the High Command of Soviet Forces in the Far East was created, which was headed by the Marshal of the Soviet Union. Fleet Admiral N.G. was appointed to coordinate the actions of the Navy and Air Force forces. Kuznetsov and chief marshal aviation On August 5, according to the directive of the Supreme Command Headquarters, the 1st Far Eastern Front was deployed on the basis of the Primorsky Group of Forces, and the 2nd Far Eastern Front was deployed on the basis of the field control of the Far Eastern Front. In total, the Transbaikal, 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Fronts, together with the Mongolian formations, included more than 1.7 million people, about 30 thousand guns and mortars, over 5,200 tanks and self-propelled guns, more than 5 thousand combat aircraft (including aviation Pacific Fleet and Amur Military Flotilla). Soviet Navy had 93 warships of the main classes in the Far East, including two cruisers and one leader.
The idea of the offensive operation was to use the forces of the Trans-Baikal (Marshal of the Soviet Union) and 1st Far Eastern (Marshal of the Soviet Union) fronts to deliver the main blow in directions converging on Changchun, to encircle the Kwantung Army, in cooperation with the 2nd Far Eastern Front (Army General ) cut it into pieces and successively destroy it in Northern and Central Manchuria.
On the Transbaikal Front (17th, 39th, 36th, 53rd, 6th Guards Tank, 12th Air Army, cavalry-mechanized group of Soviet-Mongolian troops), most of the 9 thousand guns and mortars were allocated for units and formations, who had to fight for the Khalun-Arshan, Zhalaynor-Manchu and Hailar fortified areas. 70% was concentrated in the direction of the main attack of the front rifle divisions and up to 90% of tanks and artillery. This made it possible to create superiority over the enemy: in infantry - 1.7 times; guns - 4.5; mortars - 9.6; tanks and self-propelled guns -5.1; airplanes - 2.6 times.
The presence in the zone of the 1st Far Eastern Front (35th, 1st Red Banner, 5th, 25th, 9th Air Armies, 10th Mechanized Corps) of powerful defensive structures required the creation of a strong artillery group of more than 10, 6 thousand guns and mortars. On the 29-kilometer section of the front breakthrough, the ratio of forces and means was as follows: in people - 1.5:1; guns - 4:1; tanks and self-propelled guns - 8:1. It was approximately the same in the breakthrough areas in the zone of the 2nd Far Eastern Front (2nd Red Banner, 15th, 16th, 10th Air Armies, 5th Separate Rifle Corps, Kamchatka Defensive Region).
In preparation for the operation, the engineering troops built 1,390 km and repaired about 5 thousand km of roads. On the Trans-Baikal Front, in order to supply troops with water, 1,194 mine wells were equipped and 322 were repaired, and 61 water supply points were deployed. To ensure stable and continuous control, command posts from the division to the army were as close as possible to the front line. The fronts had from 3 to 5 ammunition kits for all types of weapons, from 10 to 30 gas stations for aviation gasoline, motor gasoline and diesel fuel, and food supplies for six months.
Soviet troops enter liberated Harbin. August 21, 1945
On August 9, at 0:10 a.m., the forward battalions and reconnaissance detachments of the 1st, 2nd Far Eastern and Transbaikal Fronts, under unfavorable weather conditions (frequent and heavy rains), crossed state border. The bombers attacked enemy military installations in Harbin, Changchun and Girin, areas where his troops were concentrated, communications centers and communications. At the same time, aircraft and torpedo boats of the Pacific Fleet (Admiral I.S. Yumashev) attacked Japanese naval bases in North Korea. At dawn, the strike groups of the fronts began an offensive from the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic and Transbaikalia in the Khingan-Mukden direction, from the Amur region in the Sungari direction, and from Primorye in the Harbino-Girin direction.
Attack of torpedo boats during the Manchurian operation. Artist G.A. Sotskov.
In the Trans-Baikal Front zone, the forward detachments of the 6th Guards Tank Army (Colonel General), advancing at an average pace of 120-150 km per day, already captured the cities of Lubei and Tuquan on August 11. By the end of the next day, the main forces of the army reached the Central Manchurian Plain, having by that time covered more than 450 km. The offensive of the 39th (Colonel General), 17th (Lieutenant General) armies and the Colonel General's cavalry mechanized group also developed successfully. Their formations defeated Japanese troops in the Halun-Arshan fortified area, reached the approaches to the cities of Zhangbei and Kalgan, and occupied Dolonnor and Dabanshan. The most stubborn battles took place in the zone of the 36th Army under Lieutenant General A.A. Luchinsky for the Zhalaynor-Manchu and Hailar Urals. Making extensive use of assault groups, by the end of August 10, its units had broken the enemy’s resistance in the areas of the cities of Zhalaynor and Manchuria, capturing more than 1,500 of his soldiers and officers. On the same day, units of a specially created mobile army group broke into the city of Hailar. Fighting in the Hailar UR continued until August 17 and ended with the complete destruction of the enemy garrison. Over 3,800 people surrendered.
Manchurian offensive operation. August 9 - September 2, 1945. Scheme.
In general, as a result of the rapid offensive of the Trans-Baikal Front, the enemy group occupying the border fortifications was completely destroyed. The entry of his main forces into the Central Manchurian Plain, deep into the rear of the Japanese troops stationed in Northern Manchuria, thwarted all the plans of the command of the Kwantung Army and put it in danger of encirclement.
On the 1st Far Eastern Front there are up to 30 advanced battalions of the 35th (Lieutenant General A.D. Zakhvataev), 1st Red Banner (Colonel General A.P. Beloborodov), 5th (Colonel General) and 25th By 8 a.m. on August 9, the th (Colonel General) armies had gone 3-10 km deep into the territory of Manchuria and created the conditions for the main forces to go on the offensive. By the end of August 14, they had broken through the enemy’s border fortified areas in all important directions and crossed the river on the move. Mulinghe, started fighting on the outer contour of Mudanjiang, inflicted heavy damage on the Japanese 5th Army and advanced 120-150 km. As a result, favorable conditions were created for the development of an offensive against Harbin and Girin, Changchun. The troops of the left wing of the front reached the approaches to the cities of Wangqing and Tumen, together with the landing force of the Pacific Fleet, captured the ports of Yuki and Racine, depriving the Kwantung Army of communication with the mother country and cutting off its escape route to Korea.
In the zone of the 2nd Far Eastern Front, the 15th Army of Lieutenant General S.K. By the end of August 10, Mamonova had completely cleared the right bank of the river from the enemy. The Amur in the area between the Sungari and Ussuri rivers, later captured the Fujin fortified area and the city of Fujin. The 2nd Red Banner Army, operating in the Sakhalin direction, under Lieutenant General M.F. Terekhina during August 12-14 destroyed Japanese troops in most of the resistance centers of the Sunu UR. As a result, favorable conditions were created for the development of an offensive against Qiqihar and Harbin.
In the current situation, on August 14, the Japanese government made a statement accepting the terms of unconditional surrender, but there was no order to the troops to stop resistance. In this regard, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command sent Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky directive, which ordered that hostilities be completed only in those areas where the enemy would lay down their arms and surrender.
By August 15, the troops of the Transbaikal Front in all directions had crossed the Greater Khingan ridge with their main forces and were advancing towards Mukden, Changchun and Qiqihar. In the zone of the 1st Far Eastern Front, fierce battles continued for the city of Mudanjiang. On August 16, formations of the 1st Red Banner Army and the 65th Rifle Corps of the 5th Army, striking from the northeast and east, broke through the enemy’s defenses and captured this important communications hub. At the same time, the 10th Mechanized Corps of the Lieutenant General, in cooperation with units of the 25th Army, liberated the city of Wangqing, and the 393rd Infantry Division, together with the landing force of the Pacific Fleet, captured the Seishin naval base. The unification of the 2nd Far Eastern Front achieved significant success. The 2nd Red Banner Army defeated and forced the surrender of a 20,000-strong enemy group in the Sunwu area, and the 15th Army and the Amur Military Flotilla (Rear Admiral N.V. Antonov) captured the port city of Jiamusi.
Thus, by August 17, it became obvious that the Kwantung Army had suffered a complete defeat. During nine days of fighting, its group of up to 300 thousand people, located in the border zone, was defeated. The Japanese troops alone lost about 70 thousand people killed; some of the forces were surrounded in border fortifications, while the rest retreated deeper into Manchuria and Korea. Beginning on August 18, individual enemy units and subunits, following the orders of the commander of the Kwantung Army, began to surrender, but in many directions they continued to offer fierce resistance.
Soviet marines in Port Arthur. August 22, 1945
In the current situation, the Commander-in-Chief of the troops Far East demanded “to switch to the actions of specially formed, fast-moving and well-equipped detachments, without fear of their sharp separation from their main forces.” To capture major cities Manchuria and North Korea it was ordered to use airborne assault forces. In the period from August 18 to 24, they were landed in Changchun, Mukden, Harbin, Girin, Pyongyang, Dalniy, and Port Arthur. After the advanced detachments allocated from the armies, corps and divisions approached these cities, the disarmament of the Japanese troops began in them.
On August 19, the Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army, Lieutenant General Hata, was delivered from Harbin with a group of senior and senior officers. Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky handed him an ultimatum containing detailed terms of surrender. They were transferred to Japanese formations and units. Despite this, individual enemy groups and garrisons of their fortified areas did not stop fighting for a long time. Only on August 22 was the liquidation of the Gaijia and Hutou resistance centers completed. On August 27, the remnants of the Shimynjia resistance center surrendered, and only on August 30 did an 8,000-strong group in the Khodatun area lay down their arms.
Surrender of the Japanese army. Hood. P. F. Sudakov.
By the end of August Soviet troops completely completed the disarmament and acceptance of capitulated formations and units of the Kwantung Army, the Manchukuo Army, the formations of Inner Mongolia of Prince De Wang, the Suiyuan Army Group and liberated all of Northeast China (Manchuria), the Liaodong Peninsula, as well as North Korea to the 38th parallel . On August 29, Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky gave the order to lift martial law on the Soviet territory of the Far East from September 1, and on September 3 he reported to I.V. Stalin about the end of the campaign. According to updated data, the enemy lost over 700 thousand people, including more than 640 thousand prisoners. 4,300 guns and mortars (grenade launchers), and 686 tanks were captured as trophies. The losses of the Soviet troops were: irrevocable - 12,031, sanitary - 24,425 people.
The Manchurian offensive operation in its scope and results became one of the largest operations of the Second World War. It was carried out in a strip more than 4 thousand km wide and to a depth of up to 800 km. It is characterized by: secrecy in the concentration and deployment of strike groups; a sudden transition to the offensive at night and a breakthrough of fortified areas without artillery and aviation preparation; allocation of maximum forces and resources to the first echelon; skillful selection of the directions of the main attacks of the fronts for the simultaneous encirclement and dissection of the enemy's main forces; widespread use of forward detachments and airborne assaults to develop success in operational depth.
For courage, heroism and high military skill shown during the Manchurian operation, 93 people, including Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky, were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 301 formations and units were awarded orders, 220 formations and units received the honorary names of Amur, Mukden, Port Arthur, Ussuri, Harbin and others.
Vladimir Daines,
senior researcher at the Research Institute
institute military history Military Academy
General Staff of the RF Armed Forces,
Candidate of Historical Sciences
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit!
Dear brothers and sisters, as we experience the events of this week, you and I can immerse ourselves in that state of soul that presupposes the need for a Christian to become involved, at least to a small degree, in an event related to the deed of God for the sake of people.
The Path of Love presupposes a person’s readiness to learn the most complex art, the mastery of which was demonstrated by the Lord Himself, coming to earth, diminishing Himself to a human body, putting on flesh and then giving it to be crucified for human sins, showing an example of great humility. In this self-abasement of the Lord, the amazing depth of His mercy and willingness to show how many paths to the Heavenly Kingdom there are are revealed to us.
With His most pure hands He washes the feet of His disciples, people of low professions, His followers called to apostolic service. Calling them with Him to a special feast, to the meal where the first Eucharist is celebrated, He, lamenting, but loving the disciple who betrays Him, wants to save him until the last moment, but the soul, which has departed from God, finds it difficult to return to its Savior. Here is the tragedy of a student who quickly demonstrates an example of despair leading to suicide. Next we see the example of the Apostle Peter, who claims that he will not deny, but then does exactly that. And each of us in our lives, unfortunately, repeats his path, saying one thing with our lips, and showing another in our deeds. Then a prayer sounds in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Lord calls the disciples three times to joint prayer, but the apostles are sleeping... And the Savior asks the Father to grant Him the mercy that He must bear.
We need to understand that only part of what we can contain is revealed to us, only part of that pain and suffering. We are talking about the dialogue of the Lord within Himself. After all, the Savior turns to God the Father, Who is in Him. This is one of the deepest mysteries of theology when it comes to the Holy Trinity. But at the same time, these words show us an example of what we must do in situations of special tension and testing: we must call on God for help, adding at the same time: “Thy will be done!”
Then we hear about the betrayal that the disciple commits by kissing Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. What was this for? It was a sign. The fact is that after Communion the apostles were transformed and became so similar to the Savior that it was difficult to determine who their Teacher was among these people. Apostle Judas points at Jesus, and He is arrested. And here mercy is shown when the Lord asks to remove the knife, saying that the one who came with a knife or sword will perish. Here both the external and internal components of a Christian’s life are indicated, which presupposes prayer, humility and a willingness to sacrifice oneself as weapons. An amazing door opens before us, difficult to pass through, but the only one possible for the salvation of our soul.
Let us try, dear brothers and sisters, to be as attentive to words as possible in our lives. Let us learn the art of following Christ in the willingness to start small, in the determination to show our efforts in bearing our cross. Amen!
Archpriest Andrey Alekseev
On August 9, 1945, the Manchurian Operation (Battle of Manchuria) began. This was a strategic offensive operation of the 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, and liquidating Japan's largest military base and military-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. in the Far East there was a powerful Soviet group, in full readiness 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 their positions in the Pacific region.
Destruction 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). 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 Soviet offensive total number The Japanese group, located in Northern China, Korea, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, amounted to up to 1.2 million people, about 1.2 thousand tanks, 6.2 thousand guns and mortars and up to 1.9 thousand. airplanes. 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 from 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 had no 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 a terrible action 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 the general direction of 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 landings from ships of the Pacific Fleet were supposed to support the actions of strike groups 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 of 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 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. Particularly dangerous were suicide sabotage groups who tried to destroy Soviet officers at the cost of their lives, or blow themselves up in a group of soldiers or near armored vehicles and trucks. Only on August 19 did Japanese troops stop resisting and begin to lay down their arms.
Japanese soldiers hand over their weapons to a Soviet officer.
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 the 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 penalty, 16 defendants were sentenced 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.
In addition, the news of the defeat and surrender of Japan led to the August Revolution in Vietnam, which broke out at the call 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. Liberation Army Vietnam, 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 toward independence, where the leaders of the people were Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, released from prison.
Soviet marines in Port Arthur.
“The city of Nagasaki is divided into two parts by a large mountain: the old and new town. The bomb was dropped over a new city, so Old city destroyed much less, especially since the spread of the rays of the atomic bomb was prevented by the mountain” - this is how the part of the report of the USSR Ambassador to Japan after the atomic bombings dedicated to Nagasaki begins. The Ambassador of the Soviet Union to Japan, Yakov Malik, was able to get to Nagasaki only on September 16, almost a month after the bombing itself.
A few days ago, the science department of Gazeta.Ru bombed the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the United States. Over the days that have passed since August 6, 1945, the authorities have not understood what kind of bomb the Americans dropped on them. At the same time, Truman’s statements that if Japan did not capitulate, then several more atomic bombs would be dropped on it were perceived in Japan as a bluff.
Initially, the Americans planned to deliver the second strike on August 12, but due to circumstances, the bomber flight was postponed to August 9. It was then, before dawn, that an American B-29 Bockscar bomber took off from the island of Tinian, carrying a five-ton bomb. It turned out to be “Fat Man” - a plutonium implosion bomb created as part of the Manhattan Project.
Just before departure, Vice Admiral William Purnell addressed the commander of Bockscar:
- Young man, do you know how much this bomb costs?
— I know, about $25 million.
- So, try not to let this money go to waste.
A scientific observer was taken aboard one of the B-29s that accompanied Bockscar on the flight. The New York Times William L. Lawrence.
The main target of the bombers was the city of Kokura, Japan's largest center of military production and supply of a wide variety of military equipment. As an alternative, the city of Nagasaki was proposed, which was mistakenly forgotten to be included in the original list of potential targets for atomic bombing. This was due to the fact that it was in this city that the largest shipbuilding and repair factories in Japan were located. By the way, from 1639 to 1859, Nagasaki was the only Japanese port open to foreigners.
During the flight, an inquisitive journalist saw luminous beams appearing in the area of the aircraft's propellers. When asked what it was, William L. Lawrence received the answer that this is how a phenomenon called “St. Elmo’s Fire” manifests itself. Such discharges are formed when the voltage electric field in the atmosphere at the tip reaches a value of about 500 volts per meter and higher, which most often happens during a thunderstorm.
The pilots told the journalist that St. Elmo's Fire was a good sign and that the bombing mission would be successful.
However, at first everything did not go quite as planned: when the American planes flew to Kokura, they saw that the smoke from the steel plant that had been bombed the day before made the task impossible: the Americans were obliged to bomb visually, which in this case was not possible. The only option left was to fly to Nagasaki. At the same time, there was little fuel in the plane, and the fuel pump was malfunctioning.
Despite average visibility, at 11.02 local time “Fat Man” took off.
The bomb exploded at an altitude of 500 meters above the city.
“We all took off our sunglasses after the first of the flashes, but the glow did not stop, and soon a bluish-green lightened up the sky around us. A huge blast wave hit our plane, and it began to shake from the cockpit to the tail. Then four explosions occurred in quick succession, each sounding like a cannon shot. It was as if they were hitting our plane from all sides. The crew members sitting at the rear of the plane saw a giant fireball begin to rise from the bowels of the Earth, belching huge white rings of smoke. Then they saw a giant column of violet fire, which at once rose to a height of three kilometers,” recalled William L. Lawrence.
By the time Great Artiste, the plane in which the journalist was, turned again in the direction of the explosion, the column of purple fire had reached the level of the aircraft. According to the memoirs of William L. Lawrence, “the pillar flew like a meteor, only into space, and not vice versa.”
“It was no longer smoke, or dust, or even a cloud of fire. It was something alive, born right before our incredulous eyes. It was an evolution that took a few seconds instead of millions of years. It took the form of a giant square totem pole with a base about 5 kilometers long, which tapered two kilometers above. Its bottom was brown, its center was amber, and its top was white. It was a real living totem, illuminating the Earth with a million grotesque grimaces of death,” the journalist recalled.
Then the pillar finally took the shape of a giant mushroom 14 kilometers high.
According to William L. Lawrence, the mushroom was much more alive at the top than at the bottom, “boiling in a white fury of creamy foam” like a thousand geysers.
“The pillar was in a state of primal rage, as if a creature had broken free of the chains that held it. And then it abruptly burst into the stratosphere and ascended to a height exceeding 18 kilometers. But even before this happened, a second mushroom, smaller in size, emerged from the column. It was as if the pillar had been decapitated and had a new leader. And the bluer the first mushroom became, the more it began to resemble a flower - creamy white on the outside, pink on the inside,” the journalist recalled.
In Nagasaki, more than 70 thousand people died, about 40% of houses were completely destroyed. The Fat Man bomb exploded over the industrial valley of Nagasaki between the Mitsubishi steel and weapons factories to the south and the Mitsubishi-Urakami torpedo factory to the north, completely destroying Christian Church, built by the first Europeans to visit Japan. Thus, about 4 km 2 of the city were completely destroyed.
In total, the explosion affected 110 km 2 of the city. Within a kilometer from the hypocenter of the explosion, all living things died - the temperature was so high that most living beings were instantly turned into steam, and only shadows remained of people.
“That day I sat at home and played. Our house was located 2.5 km from the epicenter of the explosion. When the explosion occurred, my sister was seriously cut by flying glass shards. At first we only saw a flash, which was like a thousand flashes. Then there was an explosion, my mother jumped and covered me with her body. Then there was silence. One of my friends was playing on the hills, the blast wave threw him several tens of meters - he was badly burned and subsequently died,” recalled Yasuaki Yamashita, who was then six years old.
The Japanese authorities described what happened as follows: “The city resembles a cemetery in which not a single tombstone has survived.”
“Many came to Nagasaki to find out about the fate of their relatives. They all died,” recalled the Soviet Ambassador to Japan Yakov Malik.
According to him, on the first day after the explosion there was no rescue work - fire was raging everywhere. At the same time, everyone in the area closest to the bomb explosion died, including prisoners of war - mostly Filipinos. In addition, everyone who was in the Urokami University Hospital also died. Finally, the smell of corpses was felt in the city - there was no time to get corpses out from under the ruins.
In the USA, revanchist sentiments prevailed - Pearl Harbor was avenged. But the scientists who created the bombs watched in horror what happened and slowly but inevitably realized what a deadly weapon they had created.
In addition, after the bombing of Nagasaki, President Truman again addressed the nation:
“We thank God that the bomb came to us and not to our adversaries, and we pray that he will show us how to use it according to his will and to achieve his purpose...”
The Bockscar crew successfully flew to Okinawa - there would not have been enough fuel to reach Tinian. But the pilots and crew, only some of whom took part in the bombing of Hiroshima, were very burdened by the fact that they were second. The military decided to attract attention in a different way - after leaving Nagasaki, they sent out a lot of alarm signals, so when they arrived, they were met at the airfield by about 200 people who really believed that some emergency situation had occurred.
William L. Lawrence continued to write his exclusives and even visited Hiroshima, where, as he described, there was no radiation. Naturally, this was a lie - people in both cities continued to die from radiation sickness, and in some places high levels radiation continues to persist today.
Japanese Emperor Hirohito made a statement - in addition to the fact that his country was bombed by the Americans, on August 8 the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. The monarch said the following: “I do not want further destruction of cultures, I do not want more misfortunes for other peoples of the world. That is why we must accept intolerable conditions.”
So the Japanese began negotiations on surrender, and on August 15, Emperor Hirohito decided to surrender.