Russian-Japanese War of 1945: causes and consequences

In February 1945, a conference was held in Yalta attended by representatives of the countries that were part of the anti-Hitler coalition. The United Kingdom and the United States managed to get the Soviet Union's consent to take direct part in the war with Japan. In exchange, 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, which was concluded as early as 1941, operated between Japan and the Soviet Union and was to operate for 5 years. But already in April 1945, the USSR declared that it was tearing the treaty unilaterally. The Russian-Japanese War (1945), the reasons for which was that the Land of the Rising Sun had in recent years been on the side of Germany, and also fought against the allies of the USSR, was almost inevitable.

Such a sudden statement in the literal sense has plunged the leadership of Japan into complete confusion. And this is understandable, because her situation was very critical - allied forces suffered significant damage in the Pacific, and industrial centers and cities were subjected to almost continuous bombing. The government of this country was well aware that it was almost impossible to achieve victory under such conditions. But still it was still hoping that he would somehow wear the American army and achieve more favorable conditions for the capitulation of his troops.

The US, in turn, did not expect that victory would be easy for them. An example of this can serve as battles that unfolded over 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 just amazing - almost 50 thousand killed. According to the US Secretary of Defense, if the Russo-Japanese War of 1945 had not begun, briefly described in this article, the losses would have been much more serious and could have amounted to 1 million soldiers killed and wounded.

Announcement of the beginning of hostilities

On August 8, in Moscow, the Ambassador of Japan to the USSR was handed a document at exactly 17 o'clock. It said that the Russo-Japanese War (1945) was actually beginning the next day. But since there is a significant time difference between the Far East and Moscow, it turned out that only 1 hour remained before the onset of the offensive by the Soviet Army.

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

The forces of the parties

On the territory of Manchuria, the Soviet Union was opposed by the Kwantung Army, commanded by General Otozo Yamada. It consisted of approximately 1 million people, more than 1,000 tanks, about 6,000 guns and 1,600 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 the soldiers were 1.5 times more. As for technology, the number of mortars and artillery exceeded the enemy's similar forces by a factor of 10. The tanks and planes of our army were more 5 and 3 times, respectively, than the corresponding weapons of the Japanese. It should be noted that the superiority of the USSR over Japan in military equipment was not only in its strength. The technology at the disposal of Russia was modern and more powerful than that of its adversary.

Enemy fortified areas

All participants of the Russian-Japanese war of 1945 understood perfectly that sooner or later, but it was to begin. That is why the Japanese in advance created a significant number of well-fortified areas. For example, you can take at least the Hailar region, where the left flank of the Trans-Baikal Front of the Soviet Army was located. The defenses on this site were built for more than 10 years. By the time the Russo-Japanese War began (1945, August), there were already 116 dots here, which were interconnected by underground passages of concrete, a well-developed system of trenches and a considerable number of fortifications. This area was covered by Japanese soldiers, the number of which exceeded the divisional.

In order to suppress the resistance of the Khaylar fortified area of the Soviet Army had to spend a few days. In the conditions of war, this is a short period, but during the same time the rest of the Trans-Baikal Front advanced about 150 km. Taking into account the scale of the Russo-Japanese War (1945), the obstacle in the form of this fortification turned out to be quite serious. Even when his garrison surrendered, the Japanese warriors continued to fight with fanatical bravery.

In the reports of Soviet military leaders, one can often see references to soldiers of the Kwantung Army. The documents said that the Japanese military specifically riveted themselves to the machine guns in order not to have the slightest opportunity to retreat.

Bypass 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 note one outstanding operation, which consisted of a 350-kilometer throw of the 6th Panzer Army through the Khingan Range and the Gobi Desert. If you look at the mountains, they seem an insurmountable obstacle to the passage of technology. The passes that had to pass Soviet tanks were located at an altitude of about 2 thousand meters above sea level, and the slopes sometimes reached a steepness of 50 °. That's why cars often had to go zigzagging.

In addition, the advancement of technology was further complicated by frequent torrential rains accompanied by flooding of rivers and impassable mud. But despite this, the tanks nevertheless moved forward, and 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, Soviet troops began to experience an acute shortage of fuel, so we had to arrange for its additional delivery by air. With the help of transport aircraft, about 900 tons of tank fuel was transported. As a result of this operation, more than 200,000 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 section of the 1st Far Eastern Front, Soviet troops were confronted with an unbelievably fierce resistance by the enemy. The Japanese were well established at the heights of Camel and Ostra, which were among the fortifications of the Hawtouk fortified area. I must say that the approaches to these heights were cut by many small rivers and were very waterlogged. In addition, on their slopes were placed wire fences and dug out scammers. The Japanese soldiers cut the fire points directly in the rock granite beforehand, and the concrete hoods protecting the bunkers reached a thickness of one and a half meters.

During the fighting, the Soviet command offered the defenders to give up sharply. As a parliamentarian, a local man was sent to the Japanese, but he was treated extremely cruelly - he was cut off by the commander himself of the fortified area. However, in this act there was nothing surprising. Since the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War (1945), the enemy in principle did not go to any negotiations. When the Soviet troops finally entered the fortification, they found only dead soldiers. It should be noted 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 Russian-Japanese war of 1945 had its own specific features. For example, in the battles for the city of Mudanjiang, the enemy used saboteurs-kamikaze against the Soviet Army units. These suicide bombers tied themselves with grenades and rushed under tanks or soldiers. There was also a case when about two hundred "living mines" lay on one side of the front on the ground next to each other. But such suicidal actions did not last long. Soon the Soviet soldiers became more vigilant and had time to destroy the saboteur before he approached and exploded near the equipment or people.

Surrender

The Russian-Japanese war of 1945 ended on August 15, when the emperor of the country Hirohito turned to his people on the radio. He said that the country decided to accept the conditions of the Potsdam conference and capitulate. At the same time, the emperor urged his nation to observe patience and unite all forces to build a new future for the country.

Three days after Hirohito's appeal, the command of the Kwantung Army to its soldiers was called on the radio. It said that further resistance is meaningless and there is already a decision on surrender. Since many Japanese units had no connection with the main headquarters, their notification continued for several more days. But there were also cases when fanatical servicemen did not want to obey orders and lay down their arms. Therefore, their war continued until they died.

Effects

I must say that the Russo-Japanese War of 1945 had a truly great military as well as political significance. The Soviet Army managed to completely defeat the strongest Kwantung Army and complete the Second World War. By the way, its official ending is September 2, when in the Tokyo Gulf directly on board the battleship "Missouri" belonging to the US armed forces, was finally signed the act of surrendering Japan.

As a result, the Soviet Union regained territories that were lost as far back as 1905 - a group of islands and part of the South Kurils. Also, according to the peace treaty signed in San Francisco, Japan refused any claims to Sakhalin.