Operation August Storm
Encyclopedia
The Soviet invasion of Manchuria or, as the Soviets named it, the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation , began on August 9, 1945, with the Soviet
invasion of the Japanese puppet state
of Manchukuo
and was the largest campaign of the 1945 Soviet–Japanese War. The Soviets conquered Manchukuo, Mengjiang
(Inner Mongolia), northern Korea
, southern Sakhalin
, and the Kuril Islands
. The rapid defeat of Japan's Kwantung Army was a very significant factor in the Japanese surrender and the end of World War II, as Japan realised the Russians were willing and able to take the cost of invasion of its Home Islands
, after their rapid conquest of Manchuria and Sakhalin.
Since 1983, the operation has sometimes been called Operation August Storm, after American Army historian LTC David Glantz
used this title for a paper on the subject.
As agreed with the Allies
at the Tehran Conference
(November 1943) and the Yalta Conference
(February 1945), the Soviet Union entered World War II's Pacific Theater
within three months of the end of the war in Europe
. The invasion began on August 9, 1945, exactly three months after the German
surrender on May 8 (May 9, 0:43 Moscow time).
Although the commencement of the invasion fell between the atomic bombings of Hiroshima, on August 6, and Nagasaki, on August 9, the timing of the invasion had been planned well in advance and was determined by the timing of the agreements at Tehran and Yalta, the long term buildup of Soviet forces in the Far East since Tehran, and the date of the German surrender; on August 3, Marshal Vasilevsky
reported to Stalin that, if necessary, he could attack on the morning of August 5.
At 11pm Trans-Baikal time on 8 August 1945, Soviet foreign minister Molotov
informed Japanese ambassador Sato
that the Soviet Union had declared war on the Empire of Japan
, and that from August 9 the Soviet Government would consider itself to be at war with Japan. At one minute past midnight Trans-Baikal time on 9 August 1945, the Soviets commenced their invasion simultaneously on three fronts to the east, west and north of Manchuria:
Though the battle extended beyond the borders traditionally known as Manchuria—that is, the traditional lands of the Manchus—the coordinated and integrated invasions of Japan's northern territories has also been called the Battle of Manchuria. Since 1983, the operation has sometimes been called Operation August Storm, after American Army historian LTC David Glantz
used this title for a paper on the subject. It has also been referred to as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation.
This offensive should not be confused with the Soviet-Japanese Border Wars
, (particularly the Battle of Khalkhin Gol
/Nomonhan Incident of May–September 1939), that ended in Japan's defeat in 1939, and led to the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact.
Aleksandr Vasilevsky
, had a plan to conquer Manchuria
that was simple but huge in scale, calling for a massive pincer movement
over all of Manchuria. This was to be performed by the Transbaikal Front
from the west and by the 1st Far Eastern Front from the east; the 2nd Far Eastern Front
was to attack the center of the pocket
from the north. The only Soviet equivalent of a theater command that operated during the war (apart from the short-lived 1941 "Directions" in the west), Far East Command, consisted of three Red Army fronts
.
Western Front of Manchuria
The Transbaikal Front
, under Marshal R. Y. Malinovsky
, included:
The Trans-Baikal Front was to form the western half of the Soviet pincer movement
, attacking across the Inner Mongolian desert and over the Greater Khingan
mountains. These forces had as objective to secure Mukden (present day Shenyang
), then meet troops of the 1st Far Eastern Front at the Changchun
area in south central Manchuria, and in doing so finish the double envelopment.
Amassing over one thousand tanks and self-propelled gun
s, the 6th Guards Tank Army
had to serve as an armored spearhead
, leading the Front's advance and capturing objectives 350 km (217.5 mi) inside Manchuria by the fifth day of the invasion.
The 36th Army was also attacking from the west, but with the objective to meet forces of the 2nd Far Eastern Front at Harbin
and Tsitsihar.
Eastern Front of Manchuria
The 1st Far Eastern Front, under Marshal K. A. Meretskov
, included:
The 1st Far Eastern Front was to form the eastern half of the pincer movement
. This attack involved the 1st Red Banner Army
, the 5th Army and the 10th Mechanized Corps striking towards Mudanjiang (or Mutanchiang). Once that city was captured, this force was to advance towards the cities of Jilin
(or Kirin), Changchun
and Harbin
. Its final objective was to link up with forces of the Trans-Baikal Front at Changchun
and Jilin
(or Kirin) thus closing the double envelopment movement.
As a secondary objective, the 1st Far Eastern Front was to prevent Japanese forces from escaping to Korea, and then invade the Korean peninsula
up to the 38th parallel, establishing in the process what later became North Korea
. The secondary objective was to be carried out by the 25th Army. Meanwhile, the 35th Army was tasked with capturing the cities of Boli
(or Poli), Linkou
and Mishan
.
Northern Front of Manchuria
The 2nd Far Eastern Front
, under General M. A. Purkayev
, included:
The 2nd Far Eastern Front was in a supporting attack role. Its objectives were the cities of Harbin
and Tsitsihar, and to prevent an orderly withdrawal to the south by the Japanese forces.
Once troops from the 1st Far Eastern Front and Trans-Baikal Front captured the city of Changchun
, the 2nd Far Eastern Front were to attack the Liaotung Peninsula and seize Port Arthur (present day Lüshun).
Each Front
had "front units" attached directly to the Front instead of an army. The forces totaled 89 divisions
with 1.5 million men, 3,704 tank
s, 1,852 self propelled guns, 85,819 vehicles and 3,721 aircraft. Approximately one-third of its strength was in combat support and services. The Soviet plan incorporated all the experience in maneuver warfare that they had acquired fighting the Germans.
, under General Otsuzo Yamada
, was the major part of the Japanese occupation forces in Manchuria and Korea, and consisted of two Area Armies and three independent armies:
First Area Army
(northeastern Manchukuo), including:
Third Area Army
(southwestern Manchukuo), including:
Independent units
Other forces
Each Area Army (Homen Gun, the equivalent of a Western
"army") had headquarters units and units attached directly to the Area Army, in addition to the field armies (the equivalent of a Western corps). In addition to the Japanese, there was the forty thousand strong Manchukuo Defense Force
, composed of eight under-strength, poorly-equipped, poorly-trained Manchukuoan
divisions. Korea, the next target for the Soviet Far East Command, was garrisoned by the Japanese Seventeenth Area Army.
The Kwantung Army had over six hundred thousand men in twenty-five divisions (including two tank divisions) and six Independent Mixed Brigade
s. These contained over 1,215 armored vehicles (mostly armored cars and light tanks), 6,700 artillery pieces (mostly light), and 1,800 aircraft (mostly trainers and obsolete types; they only had 50 first line aircraft). However, Kwantung Army was far below authorized strength; most of its heavy military equipment and all of its best military units had been transferred to the Pacific front over the previous three years. By 1945, the Kwantung Army contained a large number of raw recruits; as a result, it had essentially been reduced to a light infantry counter-insurgency force with limited mobility and experience. On paper, the Japanese forces were no match for the highly mobile mechanized Red Army
, with its vastly superior tanks, artillery, experience and tactics.
The Imperial Japanese Navy
contributed nothing to the defense of Manchuria, the occupation of which it had always opposed on strategic grounds.
Compounding the problem, the Japanese military made many wrong assumptions and major mistakes, the two most significant being:
Due to the withdrawal of the Kwantung Army's elite forces for redeploying into the Pacific Theatre, new operational plans for the defence of Manchuria against a seemingly inevitable Soviet attack were made by the Japanese in the Summer of 1945. These called for redeploying most forces from the border areas; the borders were to be held lightly and delaying actions fought while the main force was to hold the southeastern corner in strength (so defending Korea from attack).
Further, they had only observed Soviet activity on the Trans-Siberian railway and along the east Manchurian front, and so were preparing for an invasion from the east. They believed that when an attack occurred from the west, the redeployed forces would be able to deal with it.
However, although this redeployment had been initiated, it was not due to be completed until September, and hence the Kwantung Army were in the midst of redeploying when the Soviets launched their attack simultaneously on all three fronts.
The operation was carried out as a classic double pincer movement
over an area the size of Western Europe
. In the western pincer, the Red Army
advanced over the deserts and mountains from Mongolia
, far from their resupply railways. This confounded the Japanese military analysis of Soviet logistics, and the defenders were caught by surprise in unfortified positions. The Kwantung Army commanders were involved in a planning exercise in (where) at the time of the invasion, and were away from their forces for the first eighteen hours of conflict.
Communication infrastructure was poor, and communication was lost with forward units very early on. However, the Kwantung Army had a formidable reputation as fierce and relentless fighters, and even though understrength and unprepared, put up strong resistance at the town of Hailar
which tied down some of the Soviet forces. At the same time, Soviet airborne units were used to seize airfields and city centers in advance of the land forces, and to ferry fuel to those units that had outrun their supply lines.
The Soviet pincer from the east crossed the Ussuri and advanced around Khanka Lake
and attacked towards Suifenhe
, and although Japanese defenders fought hard and provided strong resistance, the Soviets proved overwhelming.
After a week of fighting, during which Soviet forces had penetrated deep into Manchukuo, Japan's Emperor Hirohito
recorded the Gyokuon-hōsō
which was broadcast on radio to the Japanese nation on August 15, 1945. The idea of surrender was incomprehensible to the Japanese people, and combined with Hirohito's use of formal and archaic language, the fact that he did not use the actual word for "surrender", the poor quality of the broadcast, and poor lines of communication, there was some confusion amongst the Japanese about what the announcement actually meant.
The Imperial Japanese Army Headquarters did not immediately communicate the cease-fire order to the Kwantung Army, and many elements of the army either did not understand it, or ignored it. Hence, pockets of fierce resistance from the Kwantung Army continued, and the Soviets continued their advance, largely avoiding the pockets of resistance, reaching Mukden, Changchun
and Qiqihar
by August 20.
On the Soviet right flank, the Soviet-Mongolian Cavalry-Mechanized Group had entered Inner Mongolia
and quickly took Dolon Nur
and Kalgan
. The Emperor of Manchukuo (and former Emperor of China), Puyi
, was captured by the Soviet Red Army. The cease-fire order was eventually communicated to the Kwantung Army, but not before the Soviets had made most of their territorial gains.
On August 18, several Soviet amphibious landings had been conducted ahead of the land advance: three in northern Korea, one in Sakhalin
, and one in the Kuril Islands
. This meant that, in Korea at least, there were already Soviet soldiers waiting for the troops coming overland. In Sakhalin and the Kurils, it meant a sudden establishment of Soviet sovereignty.
The land advance was stopped a good distance short of the Yalu River
, the start of the Korean peninsula
, when even the aerial supply lines became unavailable. The forces already in Korea were able to establish a bit of control in the peninsula's north, but the ambition to take the entire peninsula was cut short when American forces landed at Incheon
on September 8, six days after the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender
.
, Chinese posted slogans such as "Down with Red Imperialism!" Soviet forces ignored protests from Chinese communist party leaders on the mass rape and looting.
Capabilities
General
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
invasion of the Japanese puppet state
Puppet state
A puppet state is a nominal sovereign of a state who is de facto controlled by a foreign power. The term refers to a government controlled by the government of another country like a puppeteer controls the strings of a marionette...
of Manchukuo
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...
and was the largest campaign of the 1945 Soviet–Japanese War. The Soviets conquered Manchukuo, Mengjiang
Mengjiang
Mengjiang , also known in English as Mongol Border Land, was an autonomous area in Inner Mongolia, operating under nominal Chinese sovereignty and Japanese control. It consisted of the then-Chinese provinces of Chahar and Suiyuan, corresponding to the central part of modern Inner Mongolia...
(Inner Mongolia), northern Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, southern Sakhalin
Sakhalin
Sakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...
, and the Kuril Islands
Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands , in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, form a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many more minor rocks. It consists of Greater...
. The rapid defeat of Japan's Kwantung Army was a very significant factor in the Japanese surrender and the end of World War II, as Japan realised the Russians were willing and able to take the cost of invasion of its Home Islands
Japanese Archipelago
The , which forms the country of Japan, extends roughly from northeast to southwest along the northeastern coast of the Eurasia mainland, washing upon the northwestern shores of the Pacific Ocean...
, after their rapid conquest of Manchuria and Sakhalin.
Since 1983, the operation has sometimes been called Operation August Storm, after American Army historian LTC David Glantz
David Glantz
David M. Glantz is an American military historian and the editor of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies....
used this title for a paper on the subject.
Summary
- See Soviet–Japanese War (1945)#Summary for a more detailed summary.
As agreed with the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
at the Tehran Conference
Tehran Conference
The Tehran Conference was the meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill between November 28 and December 1, 1943, most of which was held at the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Iran. It was the first World War II conference amongst the Big Three in which Stalin was present...
(November 1943) and the Yalta Conference
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, held February 4–11, 1945, was the wartime meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D...
(February 1945), the Soviet Union entered World War II's Pacific Theater
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
within three months of the end of the war in Europe
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...
. The invasion began on August 9, 1945, exactly three months after the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
surrender on May 8 (May 9, 0:43 Moscow time).
Although the commencement of the invasion fell between the atomic bombings of Hiroshima, on August 6, and Nagasaki, on August 9, the timing of the invasion had been planned well in advance and was determined by the timing of the agreements at Tehran and Yalta, the long term buildup of Soviet forces in the Far East since Tehran, and the date of the German surrender; on August 3, Marshal Vasilevsky
Aleksandr Vasilevsky
Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky was a Russian career officer in the Red Army, promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1943. He was the Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces and Deputy Minister of Defense during World War II, as well as Minister of Defense from 1949 to 1953...
reported to Stalin that, if necessary, he could attack on the morning of August 5.
At 11pm Trans-Baikal time on 8 August 1945, Soviet foreign minister Molotov
Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
informed Japanese ambassador Sato
Naotake Sato
was a Japanese diplomat and politician. He was born at Osaka. He graduated from the Tokyo Higher Commercial School in 1904, attended the consul course of the same institute, and quit studying there in 1905.- Home political career :He was an active politician and diplomat...
that the Soviet Union had declared war on the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
, and that from August 9 the Soviet Government would consider itself to be at war with Japan. At one minute past midnight Trans-Baikal time on 9 August 1945, the Soviets commenced their invasion simultaneously on three fronts to the east, west and north of Manchuria:
- the KhinganKhinganKhingan may refer to:*Greater Khingan, volcanic mountain range in Inner Mongolia, China*Lesser Khingan, mountain range in the northeastern section of Heilongjiang, China...
–Mukden Offensive Operation (August 9, 1945 – September 2, 1945); - the Harbin–Kirin Offensive Operation (August 9, 1945 – September 2, 1945); and
- the Sungari Offensive Operation (August 9, 1945 – September 2, 1945).
Though the battle extended beyond the borders traditionally known as Manchuria—that is, the traditional lands of the Manchus—the coordinated and integrated invasions of Japan's northern territories has also been called the Battle of Manchuria. Since 1983, the operation has sometimes been called Operation August Storm, after American Army historian LTC David Glantz
David Glantz
David M. Glantz is an American military historian and the editor of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies....
used this title for a paper on the subject. It has also been referred to as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation.
This offensive should not be confused with the Soviet-Japanese Border Wars
Soviet-Japanese Border Wars
The Soviet–Japanese Border Wars were a series of border conflicts between the Soviet Union and Japan between 1932 and 1939.Before Japanese occupation of Manchukuo, the Soviet Union had conflict with China on the border of Manchuria...
, (particularly the Battle of Khalkhin Gol
Battle of Khalkhin Gol
The Battles of Khalkhyn Gol was the decisive engagement of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese Border Wars fought among the Soviet Union, Mongolia and the Empire of Japan in 1939. The conflict was named after the river Khalkhyn Gol, which passes through the battlefield...
/Nomonhan Incident of May–September 1939), that ended in Japan's defeat in 1939, and led to the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact.
Soviets
The Far East Command, under Marshal of the Soviet UnionMarshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union was the de facto highest military rank of the Soviet Union. ....
Aleksandr Vasilevsky
Aleksandr Vasilevsky
Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky was a Russian career officer in the Red Army, promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1943. He was the Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces and Deputy Minister of Defense during World War II, as well as Minister of Defense from 1949 to 1953...
, had a plan to conquer Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
that was simple but huge in scale, calling for a massive pincer movement
Pincer movement
The pincer movement or double envelopment is a military maneuver. The flanks of the opponent are attacked simultaneously in a pinching motion after the opponent has advanced towards the center of an army which is responding by moving its outside forces to the enemy's flanks, in order to surround it...
over all of Manchuria. This was to be performed by the Transbaikal Front
Transbaikal Front
The Transbaikal Front was a front formed on September 15, 1941 on base of the Transbaikal Military District. Initially, it included the 17th and 36th armies, but in August 1942 the 12th Air Army was added to the front, and, finally, in June-July 1945 the 39th and the 53rd armies, the 6th Guards...
from the west and by the 1st Far Eastern Front from the east; the 2nd Far Eastern Front
2nd Far Eastern Front
The 2nd Far Eastern Front was a Front — a formation equivalent to a Western Army Group — of the Soviet Army. It was formed just prior to the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and was active from August 5, 1945 until October 1, 1945.-History:...
was to attack the center of the pocket
Salients, re-entrants and pockets
A salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. The salient is surrounded by the enemy on three sides, making the troops occupying the salient vulnerable. The enemy's line facing a salient is referred to as a re-entrant...
from the north. The only Soviet equivalent of a theater command that operated during the war (apart from the short-lived 1941 "Directions" in the west), Far East Command, consisted of three Red Army fronts
Front (Soviet Army)
A front was a major military organization in the Soviet Army during many wars. It was roughly equivalent to an army group in the militaries of most other countries except Germany...
.
Western Front of Manchuria
The Transbaikal Front
Transbaikal Front
The Transbaikal Front was a front formed on September 15, 1941 on base of the Transbaikal Military District. Initially, it included the 17th and 36th armies, but in August 1942 the 12th Air Army was added to the front, and, finally, in June-July 1945 the 39th and the 53rd armies, the 6th Guards...
, under Marshal R. Y. Malinovsky
Rodion Malinovsky
Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky was a Soviet military commander in World War II and Defense Minister of the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and 1960s. He contributed to the major defeat of Nazi Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Budapest...
, included:
- 17th Army17th Army (Soviet Union)The 17th Army of the Red Army was a Soviet field army. It was formed from the 1st Army Group of the Transbaikal Military District on 21 July 1940 . From 1941 to 1945, the army assumed a general defensive posture, including within Mongolia...
- 36th Army
- 39th Army39th Army (Soviet Union)The 39th Army was a Field Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army formed on 15 November 1941 in the Arkhangelsk Military District, in accordance with a directive issued by the Stavka on 2 November 1941...
- 53rd Army
- 6th Guards Tank Army6th Guards Tank ArmyThe 6th Guards Order of Red Banner Tank Army was a tank army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, first formed during World War II and disbanded in Ukraine in the 1990s after the dissolution of the Soviet Union....
- Soviet Mongolian Cavalry Mechanized GroupCavalry Mechanized GroupA cavalry-mechanized group was a type of military formation used in the Red Army during World War II against Germany and Japan.- Organization :...
under I.A.PliyevIssa PliyevIssa Alexandrovich Pliyev was a Soviet military commander, Army General , twice Hero of the Soviet Union , Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic . Member of the CPSU since 1926. He was an ethnic Ossetian.... - 12th Air Army.
The Trans-Baikal Front was to form the western half of the Soviet pincer movement
Pincer movement
The pincer movement or double envelopment is a military maneuver. The flanks of the opponent are attacked simultaneously in a pinching motion after the opponent has advanced towards the center of an army which is responding by moving its outside forces to the enemy's flanks, in order to surround it...
, attacking across the Inner Mongolian desert and over the Greater Khingan
Greater Khingan
The Greater Khingan Range , also called the Greater Hing'an Range or Greater Hinggan Range, is a volcanic mountain range in the northeastern part of the People's Republic of China. The range extends roughly 1,200 km from north to south, narrowing towards the south...
mountains. These forces had as objective to secure Mukden (present day Shenyang
Shenyang
Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...
), then meet troops of the 1st Far Eastern Front at the Changchun
Changchun
Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin province, located in the northeast of the People's Republic of China, in the center of the Songliao Plain. It is administered as a sub-provincial city with a population of 7,677,089 at the 2010 census under its jurisdiction, including counties and...
area in south central Manchuria, and in doing so finish the double envelopment.
Amassing over one thousand tanks and self-propelled gun
Self-propelled gun
A self-propelled gun is form of self-propelled artillery, and in modern use is usually used to refer to artillery pieces such as howitzers....
s, the 6th Guards Tank Army
6th Guards Tank Army
The 6th Guards Order of Red Banner Tank Army was a tank army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, first formed during World War II and disbanded in Ukraine in the 1990s after the dissolution of the Soviet Union....
had to serve as an armored spearhead
Armored spearhead
An armored spearhead is a formation of armored fighting vehicles, mostly tanks, that form the front of an offensive thrust during a battle. The idea is to concentrate as much firepower into a small front as possible, so any defenders in front of them will be overwhelmed...
, leading the Front's advance and capturing objectives 350 km (217.5 mi) inside Manchuria by the fifth day of the invasion.
The 36th Army was also attacking from the west, but with the objective to meet forces of the 2nd Far Eastern Front at Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
and Tsitsihar.
Eastern Front of Manchuria
The 1st Far Eastern Front, under Marshal K. A. Meretskov
Kirill Meretskov
Kirill Afanasievich Meretskov was a Soviet military commander. Having joined the Communist Party in 1917, he served in the Red Army from 1920. During the Winter War, he was responsible for penetrating the Mannerheim Line as commander of the 7th Army...
, included:
- 1st Red Banner ArmySoviet First ArmyThe 1st Red Banner Army was a Red Army field army of World War II that served in the Russian Far East.The 1st Army was created in July 1938 under the name of the 1st Coastal Army in the Far East...
- 5th Army
- 25th Army
- 35th Army35th Army (Soviet Union)The 35th Red Banner Army is a field army of the Russian Ground Forces.The 35th Army was originally formed within the Soviet Red Army in July 1941 on the basis of 18th Rifle Corps, and joined the Far Eastern Front. Within Far Eastern Front it comprised 35th, 66th, 78th Rifle Divisions, the 109th...
- 10th Mechanized Corps
- 9th Air Army.
The 1st Far Eastern Front was to form the eastern half of the pincer movement
Pincer movement
The pincer movement or double envelopment is a military maneuver. The flanks of the opponent are attacked simultaneously in a pinching motion after the opponent has advanced towards the center of an army which is responding by moving its outside forces to the enemy's flanks, in order to surround it...
. This attack involved the 1st Red Banner Army
Soviet First Army
The 1st Red Banner Army was a Red Army field army of World War II that served in the Russian Far East.The 1st Army was created in July 1938 under the name of the 1st Coastal Army in the Far East...
, the 5th Army and the 10th Mechanized Corps striking towards Mudanjiang (or Mutanchiang). Once that city was captured, this force was to advance towards the cities of Jilin
Jilin
Jilin , is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west...
(or Kirin), Changchun
Changchun
Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin province, located in the northeast of the People's Republic of China, in the center of the Songliao Plain. It is administered as a sub-provincial city with a population of 7,677,089 at the 2010 census under its jurisdiction, including counties and...
and Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
. Its final objective was to link up with forces of the Trans-Baikal Front at Changchun
Changchun
Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin province, located in the northeast of the People's Republic of China, in the center of the Songliao Plain. It is administered as a sub-provincial city with a population of 7,677,089 at the 2010 census under its jurisdiction, including counties and...
and Jilin
Jilin
Jilin , is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west...
(or Kirin) thus closing the double envelopment movement.
As a secondary objective, the 1st Far Eastern Front was to prevent Japanese forces from escaping to Korea, and then invade the Korean peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
up to the 38th parallel, establishing in the process what later became North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
. The secondary objective was to be carried out by the 25th Army. Meanwhile, the 35th Army was tasked with capturing the cities of Boli
Boli County
Boli County is a county of southeastern Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Qitaihe....
(or Poli), Linkou
Linkou
-Mainland China:*Linkou County , of Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang*Linkou, Linkou County , town and county seat of Linkou County, Heilongjiang*Linkou, Bijie City , town in Guizhou-Taiwan:*Linkou District , rural district of New Taipei...
and Mishan
Mishan
Mishan is a Chinese city in the province of Heilongjiang. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Jixi.- Early medieval history :...
.
Northern Front of Manchuria
The 2nd Far Eastern Front
2nd Far Eastern Front
The 2nd Far Eastern Front was a Front — a formation equivalent to a Western Army Group — of the Soviet Army. It was formed just prior to the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and was active from August 5, 1945 until October 1, 1945.-History:...
, under General M. A. Purkayev
Maksim Purkayev
Maksim Alexeyevich Purkayev , 1894, in the village of Nalitovo, Dubyonsky Uyezd, Volhynian Governorate, Russian Empire - January 1, 1953, Moscow) was a Soviet military leader, reaching service rank of Army General....
, included:
- 2nd Red Banner ArmySoviet Second ArmyThe 2nd Red Banner Army was a Soviet field army of World War II that served in the Far East as part of the Soviet Far East Front.The 2nd Army was created in July 1938 on the far eastern frontiers of the Soviet Union. In September 1940, two months after its formation, the 2nd Army was transformed...
- 15th Army
- 16th Army16th Army (Soviet Union)The 16th Army was a Soviet field army active from 1940 to 1945.-First Formation, 16th Army:Before Operation Barbarossa, HQ 16th Army was formed in July 1940 in the Transbaikal Military District . General Lieutenant М. F. Лукин took command...
(whose 56th Rifle Corps was the only formation to see combat, on SakhalinSakhalinSakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...
) - 5th Separate Rifle Corps
- Chuguevsk Operational Group
- Amur Military FlotillaAmur Military FlotillaAmur military flotilla was a military flotilla on the Amur River in the Far East region of Russia.In 1900, the Russians formed a temporary flotilla on the Amur river out of private steamers and barges. Initially, it served transportation purposes during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905...
- 10th Air Army.
The 2nd Far Eastern Front was in a supporting attack role. Its objectives were the cities of Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
and Tsitsihar, and to prevent an orderly withdrawal to the south by the Japanese forces.
Once troops from the 1st Far Eastern Front and Trans-Baikal Front captured the city of Changchun
Changchun
Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin province, located in the northeast of the People's Republic of China, in the center of the Songliao Plain. It is administered as a sub-provincial city with a population of 7,677,089 at the 2010 census under its jurisdiction, including counties and...
, the 2nd Far Eastern Front were to attack the Liaotung Peninsula and seize Port Arthur (present day Lüshun).
Total | Trans-Baikal Front | 1st Far East Front | 2nd Far East Front |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 1,577,725 | 654,040 | 586,589 | 337,096 |
| Artillery pieces | 27,086 | 9,668 | 11,430 | 5,988 |
| Multiple rocket launchers | 1,171 | 583 | 516 | 72 |
| Tanks and self propelled guns | 5,556 | 2,416 | 1,860 | 1,280 |
| Aircraft | 3,721 | 1,324 | 1,137 | 1,260 |
Each Front
Front (Soviet Army)
A front was a major military organization in the Soviet Army during many wars. It was roughly equivalent to an army group in the militaries of most other countries except Germany...
had "front units" attached directly to the Front instead of an army. The forces totaled 89 divisions
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
with 1.5 million men, 3,704 tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s, 1,852 self propelled guns, 85,819 vehicles and 3,721 aircraft. Approximately one-third of its strength was in combat support and services. The Soviet plan incorporated all the experience in maneuver warfare that they had acquired fighting the Germans.
Japanese
The Kwantung Army of the Imperial Japanese ArmyImperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
, under General Otsuzo Yamada
Otsuzo Yamada
-External links:...
, was the major part of the Japanese occupation forces in Manchuria and Korea, and consisted of two Area Armies and three independent armies:
First Area Army
Japanese First Area Army
The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, based in northern Manchukuo and active in combat against the Soviet Union in the closing stages of the war...
(northeastern Manchukuo), including:
- 3rd ArmyJapanese Third ArmyThe was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army based in Manchukuo as a garrison force under the overall command of the Kwantung Army during World War II, but its history dates to the Russo-Japanese War.-History:...
- 5th ArmyJapanese Fifth ArmyThe was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army based in Manchukuo as a garrison force during World War II under the overall command of the Kwantung Army.-History:...
Third Area Army
Japanese Third Area Army
The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, based in southern Manchukuo and active in combat against the Soviet Union in the very final stages of the war.-History:...
(southwestern Manchukuo), including:
- 30th Army
- 44th Army
Independent units
- 4th ArmyJapanese Fourth ArmyThe was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army based in Manchukuo from the Russo-Japanese War until the end of World War II.-Russo-Japanese War:The Japanese 4th Army was initially raised on June 24, 1904 in the midst of the Russo-Japanese War under the command of General Nozu Michitsura out of...
(an independent field army responsible for northern Manchuria) - 34th ArmyJapanese Thirty-Fourth ArmyThe was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final stages of World War II.-History:The IJA 34th Army was formed in Hopei province, in Japanese-occupied China on July 3 1944 from the , a force created out of reserve elements of the IJA 11th Army to protect Japanese rear lines when the...
(an independent field army responsible for the areas between the Third and Seventeenth Area Armies in North Korea) - Kwangtung Defence Army (responsible for MengjiangMengjiangMengjiang , also known in English as Mongol Border Land, was an autonomous area in Inner Mongolia, operating under nominal Chinese sovereignty and Japanese control. It consisted of the then-Chinese provinces of Chahar and Suiyuan, corresponding to the central part of modern Inner Mongolia...
) - Seventeenth Area Army (responsible for Korea; assigned to the Kwantung Army in the eleventh hour, to no avail)
Other forces
- Fifth Area Army - responsible for South Sakhalin and the Kurils
Each Area Army (Homen Gun, the equivalent of a Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
"army") had headquarters units and units attached directly to the Area Army, in addition to the field armies (the equivalent of a Western corps). In addition to the Japanese, there was the forty thousand strong Manchukuo Defense Force
Manchukuo Imperial Army
The Manchukuo Imperial Army was the armed force of the Japanese dominated puppet state of Manchukuo, serving as the land forces, along with the Manchukuo Imperial Guards...
, composed of eight under-strength, poorly-equipped, poorly-trained Manchukuoan
Manchukuo Imperial Army
The Manchukuo Imperial Army was the armed force of the Japanese dominated puppet state of Manchukuo, serving as the land forces, along with the Manchukuo Imperial Guards...
divisions. Korea, the next target for the Soviet Far East Command, was garrisoned by the Japanese Seventeenth Area Army.
The Kwantung Army had over six hundred thousand men in twenty-five divisions (including two tank divisions) and six Independent Mixed Brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s. These contained over 1,215 armored vehicles (mostly armored cars and light tanks), 6,700 artillery pieces (mostly light), and 1,800 aircraft (mostly trainers and obsolete types; they only had 50 first line aircraft). However, Kwantung Army was far below authorized strength; most of its heavy military equipment and all of its best military units had been transferred to the Pacific front over the previous three years. By 1945, the Kwantung Army contained a large number of raw recruits; as a result, it had essentially been reduced to a light infantry counter-insurgency force with limited mobility and experience. On paper, the Japanese forces were no match for the highly mobile mechanized Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, with its vastly superior tanks, artillery, experience and tactics.
The Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
contributed nothing to the defense of Manchuria, the occupation of which it had always opposed on strategic grounds.
Compounding the problem, the Japanese military made many wrong assumptions and major mistakes, the two most significant being:
- They wrongly assumed that any attack coming from the west would follow either the old railroad line to HailarHailarHailar may refer to:* Hailar River, part of the Russia-China border* Hailar District, district in Inner Mongolia, China...
, or head in to SolunSolun (Inner Mongolia)Solun is town in the Hinggan League, of northeastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China, located northwest, by road, of the city of Ulan Hot...
from the eastern tip of Mongolia. The Soviets did attack along those routes, but their main attack from the west went through the supposedly impassable Greater KhinganGreater KhinganThe Greater Khingan Range , also called the Greater Hing'an Range or Greater Hinggan Range, is a volcanic mountain range in the northeastern part of the People's Republic of China. The range extends roughly 1,200 km from north to south, narrowing towards the south...
range south of Solun and into the center of Manchuria. - Japanese military intelligenceMilitary intelligenceMilitary intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
failed to determine the nature, location and scale of the Soviet buildup in the Far East. Based on initial underestimates of Soviet strength, and the monitoring of Soviet traffic on the Trans-Siberian railway, they believed the Soviets would not have sufficient forces in place before the end of August, and that an attack was most likely in Autumn 1945 or in the Spring of 1946.
Due to the withdrawal of the Kwantung Army's elite forces for redeploying into the Pacific Theatre, new operational plans for the defence of Manchuria against a seemingly inevitable Soviet attack were made by the Japanese in the Summer of 1945. These called for redeploying most forces from the border areas; the borders were to be held lightly and delaying actions fought while the main force was to hold the southeastern corner in strength (so defending Korea from attack).
Further, they had only observed Soviet activity on the Trans-Siberian railway and along the east Manchurian front, and so were preparing for an invasion from the east. They believed that when an attack occurred from the west, the redeployed forces would be able to deal with it.
However, although this redeployment had been initiated, it was not due to be completed until September, and hence the Kwantung Army were in the midst of redeploying when the Soviets launched their attack simultaneously on all three fronts.
Campaign
Pincer movement
The pincer movement or double envelopment is a military maneuver. The flanks of the opponent are attacked simultaneously in a pinching motion after the opponent has advanced towards the center of an army which is responding by moving its outside forces to the enemy's flanks, in order to surround it...
over an area the size of Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. In the western pincer, the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
advanced over the deserts and mountains from Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, far from their resupply railways. This confounded the Japanese military analysis of Soviet logistics, and the defenders were caught by surprise in unfortified positions. The Kwantung Army commanders were involved in a planning exercise in (where) at the time of the invasion, and were away from their forces for the first eighteen hours of conflict.
Communication infrastructure was poor, and communication was lost with forward units very early on. However, the Kwantung Army had a formidable reputation as fierce and relentless fighters, and even though understrength and unprepared, put up strong resistance at the town of Hailar
Hailar
Hailar may refer to:* Hailar River, part of the Russia-China border* Hailar District, district in Inner Mongolia, China...
which tied down some of the Soviet forces. At the same time, Soviet airborne units were used to seize airfields and city centers in advance of the land forces, and to ferry fuel to those units that had outrun their supply lines.
The Soviet pincer from the east crossed the Ussuri and advanced around Khanka Lake
Khanka Lake
Khanka Lake , is a transboundary freshwater body located on the border between Primorsky Krai, Russia and Heilongjiang province, Northeast China . At its closest point, it is situated east of the city of Jixi, Heilongjiang...
and attacked towards Suifenhe
Suifenhe
Suifenhe , is a city in southeastern Heilongjiang province, Northeast China, located situated where the former Chinese Eastern Railway crosses the border with Russia's Primorsky Krai.The city shares its name with the Suifen River....
, and although Japanese defenders fought hard and provided strong resistance, the Soviets proved overwhelming.
After a week of fighting, during which Soviet forces had penetrated deep into Manchukuo, Japan's Emperor Hirohito
Hirohito
, posthumously in Japan officially called Emperor Shōwa or , was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to...
recorded the Gyokuon-hōsō
Gyokuon-hoso
The , lit. "Jewel Voice Broadcast", was the radio broadcast in which Japanese emperor Hirohito read out the , announcing to the Japanese people that the Japanese Government had accepted the Potsdam Declaration demanding the unconditional surrender of the Japanese military at the end of World War II...
which was broadcast on radio to the Japanese nation on August 15, 1945. The idea of surrender was incomprehensible to the Japanese people, and combined with Hirohito's use of formal and archaic language, the fact that he did not use the actual word for "surrender", the poor quality of the broadcast, and poor lines of communication, there was some confusion amongst the Japanese about what the announcement actually meant.
The Imperial Japanese Army Headquarters did not immediately communicate the cease-fire order to the Kwantung Army, and many elements of the army either did not understand it, or ignored it. Hence, pockets of fierce resistance from the Kwantung Army continued, and the Soviets continued their advance, largely avoiding the pockets of resistance, reaching Mukden, Changchun
Changchun
Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin province, located in the northeast of the People's Republic of China, in the center of the Songliao Plain. It is administered as a sub-provincial city with a population of 7,677,089 at the 2010 census under its jurisdiction, including counties and...
and Qiqihar
Qiqihar
- Subdivisions :Qiqihar is divided into 16 divisions: 7 districts , 8 counties and 1 county-level city .-Economy:...
by August 20.
On the Soviet right flank, the Soviet-Mongolian Cavalry-Mechanized Group had entered Inner Mongolia
Mengjiang
Mengjiang , also known in English as Mongol Border Land, was an autonomous area in Inner Mongolia, operating under nominal Chinese sovereignty and Japanese control. It consisted of the then-Chinese provinces of Chahar and Suiyuan, corresponding to the central part of modern Inner Mongolia...
and quickly took Dolon Nur
Duolun
Dolon Nor , is a town and the county seat of Duolun County, Xilin Gol League in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous region, China. It is of historical importance because the remnants of Xanadu, the summer capital of Kubilai Khan and the following Mongol emperors of the Yuan Dynasty , are located some 17...
and Kalgan
Kalgan
Kalgan may refer to:* Kalgan, Western Australia, a town*Kalgan River, in Western Australia*An earlier name for Zhangjiakou, in Hebei Province, China*A name used by World Of Warcraft developer Tom Chilton...
. The Emperor of Manchukuo (and former Emperor of China), Puyi
Puyi
Puyi , of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, was the last Emperor of China, and the twelfth and final ruler of the Qing Dynasty. He ruled as the Xuantong Emperor from 1908 until his abdication on 12 February 1912. From 1 to 12 July 1917 he was briefly restored to the throne as a nominal emperor by the...
, was captured by the Soviet Red Army. The cease-fire order was eventually communicated to the Kwantung Army, but not before the Soviets had made most of their territorial gains.
On August 18, several Soviet amphibious landings had been conducted ahead of the land advance: three in northern Korea, one in Sakhalin
Sakhalin
Sakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...
, and one in the Kuril Islands
Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands , in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, form a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many more minor rocks. It consists of Greater...
. This meant that, in Korea at least, there were already Soviet soldiers waiting for the troops coming overland. In Sakhalin and the Kurils, it meant a sudden establishment of Soviet sovereignty.
The land advance was stopped a good distance short of the Yalu River
Yalu River
The Yalu River or the Amnok River is a river on the border between North Korea and the People's Republic of China....
, the start of the Korean peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
, when even the aerial supply lines became unavailable. The forces already in Korea were able to establish a bit of control in the peninsula's north, but the ambition to take the entire peninsula was cut short when American forces landed at Incheon
Incheon
The Incheon Metropolitan City is located in northwestern South Korea. The city was home to just 4,700 people when Jemulpo port was built in 1883. Today 2.76 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan Metropolitan City...
on September 8, six days after the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender
Japanese Instrument of Surrender
The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was the written agreement that enabled the Surrender of Japan, marking the end of World War II. It was signed by representatives from the Empire of Japan, the United States of America, the Republic of China, the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist...
.
Aftermath
700,000 Soviet troops occupied Manchuria, and looted the entire region of valuable materials and industrial equipment. Soviet troops looted and terrorized the people of Mukden, and were not discouraged by Soviet authorities from "three days of rape and pillage". In HarbinHarbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
, Chinese posted slogans such as "Down with Red Imperialism!" Soviet forces ignored protests from Chinese communist party leaders on the mass rape and looting.
See also
- Soviet–Japanese War (1945)
- References and notes
- Further reading
- External links
- Soviet Invasion of XinjiangSoviet Invasion of XinjiangThe Soviet invasion of Xinjiang was a military campaign in the Chinese northwestern region of Xinjiang in 1934. White Russian forces assisted the Soviet Red Army.- Background :...
Capabilities
- Amur Military FlotillaAmur Military FlotillaAmur military flotilla was a military flotilla on the Amur River in the Far East region of Russia.In 1900, the Russians formed a temporary flotilla on the Amur river out of private steamers and barges. Initially, it served transportation purposes during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905...
(Russian) - Mongolian People's ArmyMongolian People's ArmyThe Mongolian People's Army or Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army was established on 18 March 1921 as a secondary army under Soviet Red Army command during the 1920s and during World War II.-Creation of the army:One of the first actions of the new Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party...
(A secondary army under the Soviet Red ArmyRed ArmyThe Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
) - Kwantung Army (An army group of the Imperial Japanese ArmyImperial Japanese Army-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
)
General
- Military history of JapanMilitary history of JapanThe military history of Japan is characterised by a long period of feudal wars, followed by domestic stability, and then rampant imperialism. It culminates with Japan's defeat by the Allies in World War II...
- Military history of the Soviet UnionMilitary history of the Soviet UnionThe military history of the Soviet Union began in the days following the 1917 October Revolution that brought the Bolsheviks to power. The new government formed the Red Army to fight various enemies in the Russian Civil War. The years 1918-1921 saw Red Army's defeats in Polish-Soviet war and...