Questions:

1. The center of aggression in the Far East.

2. The course of military operations on the Soviet-Japanese front.

3. Military and political outcomes and lessons of the war.

In the spring of 1945, the long-awaited victory over fascism came. The Red Banner of War fluttered in the smoky skies of Berlin, above the dome of the Reichstag. The forces of the anti-Hitler coalition were finishing off and disarming the remnants of the fascist army. However, the war continued to rage in Asia and across the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. As an ally of Germany and Italy in international piracy, militaristic Japan sought to retain its occupation of large parts of China, Malaysia, Korea, Burma, the Philippines, Indonesia, Indochina, and parts of New Guinea, as well as many Pacific islands. Our country could not consider its security in the Far East secure as long as the war raged there.

1

Japan had been preparing for large-scale aggression for many years. Its ambitions extended north, west, and south. The conquest of Korea and Manchuria was just the beginning of its predatory plans. The victory over Russia in the 1905 war was particularly inspiring for the Japanese military. The Japanese people were raised in a spirit of universal worship of the emperor and a sense of their "special mission" in the modern world, which was to dominate other nations. The idea of creating a "great East Asian co-flourishing sphere"was officially unveiled in the country. Its core, of course, meant Japan. India, Australia and New Zealand, China and Korea were included in this "sphere". Germany, Italy and Japan entered into a triple military alliance. The three predators divided their "spheres of influence" and began to implement their intentions.

The United States understood that its dominance in the Pacific was threatened, and it sought to moderate Japan's ambitions diplomatically. However, Japan responded with a surprise attack on the United States' main Pacific naval base, Pearl Harbor, without declaring war. On December 7, 1941, Japanese bombers and submarines launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, located on the Hawaiian Islands.

Tragic episodes in the history of wars often occur due to a loss of vigilance. This was the case at Pearl Harbor. On that Sunday morning, Japanese aircraft were detected by radar operator Sergeant Elliot 136 miles away from the city (53 minutes of flight time). He immediately reported the unknown aircraft to the duty officer, who passed the information on to higher authorities. However, there was a lack of concern: "What danger is there? The war is far away, and these are probably our own planes.""Of the 8 battleships in the harbor, 4 were sunk and 4 were disabled, 6 of the 8 cruisers were sunk, and 272 aircraft were destroyed at the airfields. Thousands of sailors and city residents were killed. The US Pacific Fleet was rendered inoperable for an extended period. It was a catastrophe. The US declared war on Japan.

Of course, Japan overestimated its strength and capabilities when it attacked the United States. By 1945, more than 30 countries were at war with Japan. The Allies had 80 aircraft carriers, while Japan had only 6. In the Pacific theater, Japan was three times weaker than the United Kingdom and the United States in terms of aircraft and six times weaker in terms of warships. However, the Japanese government and military were determined to fight for a long time. The aggressor's ground forces numbered 5.5 million men and were fanatically devoted to the emperor. The Japanese knew that the West, fearing heavy casualties, would not risk landing on the Japanese islands themselves. They also hoped that the strengthening of the USSR after its victory over Germany and its growing role in the world would frighten the United States and Britain, leading to the disintegration of the anti-Hitler coalition and allowing Japan to secure an honorable peace and retain, if not all, then a significant portion of its conquests. Therefore, Japan rejected the Allied Powers' demand for unconditional surrender in the Potsdam Declaration of July 26, 1945. The war continued.

2

For many years, militaristic Japan pursued a policy hostile to Russia. Suffice it to recall the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, the capture of Port Arthur and Sakhalin Island, the Battle of Tsushima, and the military intervention against Soviet Russia in

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1918 - 1922. The events at Lake Hassan and the Khalkhin Gol River. During the Great Patriotic War, Japan maintained its best army, the Kwantung Army, of over 1 million troops, more than 2,000 aircraft, and 1,200 tanks, near the borders of the USSR. The Japanese Navy blockaded the sea routes from the Russian Far East. The presence of such a force was not accidental. Tokyo was waiting for Hitler's troops to capture Leningrad, Moscow, Kiev, and reach the Volga River. And then the Kwantung Army would march rapidly to the Urals. Japan would have the untold riches of Siberia and the Far East in its hands. Of course, these plans were disguised. In the spring of 1941, Japan initiated a neutrality pact between Japan and the USSR. Moscow proposed a non-aggression pact. However, Tokyo responded that a neutrality pact was sufficient. The hypocrisy of Japanese policy went so far that Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka told Stalin, "We Japanese are moral communists." He falsely claimed that Japan had no other goals than fighting against Anglo-Saxon capitalism, either in China or in the rest of Southeast Asia. In Berlin, however, Matsuoka said something completely different: "If there is a conflict between the USSR and Germany, Japan will naturally be forced to attack Russia on Germany's side, and no neutrality pact will help."

The Soviet government was aware of Tokyo's double game. As a result, it was forced to maintain over 1 million soldiers and officers in the Far East throughout the war, as well as a significant amount of military equipment, which was desperately needed on the Soviet-German front. Consequently, at the Tehran Conference in November 1943 and later at the Yalta Conference in February 1945, our delegation agreed to enter the war against Japan three months after the victory over Germany. At the same time, a number of conditions were set: first, the Allies must provide the Far East with a one-and-a-half to two-month supply of food, fuel, ammunition, and an agreed-upon number of vehicles. Second, Russia must return Southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. We also made other specific demands. All of these demands were accepted.

The area of the upcoming battles was enormous: 1.5 million square kilometers. Manchuria alone had an area equal to that of Germany, Italy, and Japan combined. It was necessary to deploy troops over a distance of 4,000 kilometers in a short period of time, and to overcome 17 powerful Japanese fortified areas that had been built over the years. These areas encircled the Greater and Lesser Khingan ranges, the Il Khuri-Alin range, and the Manchurian mountain system. Numerous rivers, swampy marshes, hills, and desert plateaus were also serious obstacles. In a short period of time, the 5th and 39th Combined Arms Armies from East Prussia, the 53rd Combined Arms Army, and the 6th Guards Tank Army from Czechoslovakia were transferred to the East. General I.A. Pliev's cavalry-mechanized group and various auxiliary units were also sent there, totaling over 400,000 troops.

Before the fighting began, our troops consisted of 1.6 million personnel, 3,704 tanks, 1,859 self-propelled guns, 26,000 guns and mortars, 1,171 rocket launchers, and more than 5,000 combat aircraft.

A plan for the Manchurian strategic offensive operation was developed. It called for two powerful counterattacks from the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic by the Transbaikal Front and from Primorye by the 1st Far Eastern Front. The distance between them was 1,500 kilometers, but the Japanese were forced to fight on two fronts. The lack of roads prevented them from quickly maneuvering their reserves.

Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet forces in the Far East. The 1st Far Eastern Front was commanded by Marshal K. A. Meretskov, and the 2nd Far Eastern Front was commanded by General M. A. Purkaev. The Trans-Baikal Front was headed by Marshal R. Y. Malinovsky. The actions of the Pacific Fleet and the Amur Military Flotilla were coordinated by Fleet Admiral N. G. Kuznetsov.

In general, our troops outnumbered the enemy in personnel by 1.5 times, in artillery by 5 times, in tanks by 4 times, and in aircraft by 2.5 times.

Back in April 1945, our government denounced the neutrality pact with Japan, and on August 8, 1945, the Japanese ambassador was informed in Moscow that, since Japan had rejected the Allied demand for unconditional surrender on July 26, 1945, the Soviet government, in accordance with its obligations as an ally, considered itself at war with Japan as of August 9.

3

On August 9, at 0:10 a.m. local time, Soviet troops launched an attack on the Kwantung Army.

On a dark, rainy night, specially created assault units silently crossed the Amur and Ussuri rivers, stealthily bypassed the main fortified areas, and with a sudden, coordinated attack, destroyed 240 Japanese border outposts and 30 garrisons that could have hindered our advancing troops. Of course, the Japanese knew that our forces would attack, but they did not anticipate that it would happen so soon! They knew the capacity of the Trans-Siberian Railway: 12 pairs of trains per day. Calculations showed that it would take at least 9 months for the Soviet troops to concentrate. However, by that time, the railway was already carrying 32 pairs of trains per day, and it took the troops only 3 months to concentrate.

Nevertheless, the Japanese troops quickly recovered from their initial shock and put up fierce resistance. However, it was impossible to stop the Soviet divisions, which had extensive combat experience. At the beginning of the offensive, the troops were inspired by the heroic actions of Private G.E. Popov, Junior Sergeant A.Ya. Firsov, and Sapper Corporal B.S. Kolesnik, who sacrificed their lives to cover the embrasures of Japanese pillboxes during a fierce battle, ensuring the success of their comrades in the offensive. Our people will never forget the heroes who gave their lives to defeat the enemy.

In all directions, the offensive was developing rapidly and successfully. The Japanese command's plans to draw the Soviet forces into protracted battles, exhaust them, and force them to retreat were thwarted by the rapid advance of the attackers. The Japanese were unable to use their 4,500 long-term reinforced concrete structures equipped with artillery and all types of small arms, as well as their minefields and anti-tank barriers. The off-road terrain, which the Kwantung Army command had also relied on, did not provide any relief. From the very beginning, the Mongolian People's Army, led by Marshal Choibalsan, joined forces with the Soviet troops, and in the final stage of the operation, the People's Liberation Army of China, which

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She fought both the Chiang Kai-shek army and the Japanese.

Many tactical innovations were used in this war. For example, in Europe, tank divisions were usually deployed from the second echelon to break through the front lines. However, in this case, the tanks were deployed at the front. On the first day of the operation, the 6th Guards Tank Army made a 150-kilometer push and reached the Great Khingan passes. Instead of the 10 days specified in the directive, the tankers crossed the Great Khingan and reached the Manchurian Plain on the fourth day of the operation. By the end of August 14, the troops of the Transbaikal Front had crossed the Gobi Desert and advanced 400 km into Manchuria. By this time, the troops of the 1st Far Eastern Front had crossed the taiga and the East Manchurian Mountains, and after traveling 150 km, they reached the fortress city of Mukden. The 2nd Far Eastern Front was conducting supporting attacks.

In this battle, the Navy actively assisted the ground forces. The Seishin operation serves as an example. The Korean port city of Seishin was transformed into a fortress by the Kwantung Army. It was an important strategic hub for land and sea communications, facilitating the transfer of human and material resources for the army from the metropolis, as well as the transportation of raw materials and looted valuables from occupied countries to Japan. The 25th Army of the 1st Far Eastern Front was advancing along the eastern coast of Korea in a general direction to the south. Our command decided to land a naval assault directly in the port of Seishin, cutting off the retreating Japanese forces from the rear. On August 13, torpedo boats from the Far Eastern Fleet broke into the port, which was protected by Japanese coastal defense batteries, and landed a naval infantry assault directly on the docks. The assault was actively supported by fire from warships. In a short battle, the landing force captured the port and stormed the city, where fierce fighting broke out in the narrow streets. On August 15, the second wave of the landing force was deployed. The weather improved, and the air force immediately joined the operation, conducting 400 sorties that day. On August 16, the port and the city were fully occupied by the Marine Corps. By the evening of the same day, the advanced units of the 25th Army approached Seishin and moved south without delay. They were the first to enter the Korean capital, Seoul, and liberate it from the occupiers. The sailors, together with the units of the 16th Army, liberated Southern Sakhalin, landed troops on the Kuril Islands, and guarded the sea coast.

By August 14, it was clear to the Japanese command that the Kwantung Army had been defeated. It had been cut into pieces, its command structure had been disrupted, and all of its fortified areas had been blocked or captured. The Soviet forces had advanced 120 to 400 kilometers into Manchuria, and it was no longer possible to stop them. On the same day, the Japanese government informed the governments of the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union that Japan was willing to accept the terms of an unconditional surrender. However, it "forgot" to inform the troops about its decision, and the fighting continued. It wasn't until August 17 that the Japanese command ordered a ceasefire and surrender to the victors. The Soviet forces captured approximately 600,000 enemy soldiers and officers. They also seized a significant amount of military equipment and weapons. Most importantly, Manchuria, Korea, and Southern Sakhalin were liberated from Japanese rule, and Southeast Asian countries rose up to fight for their independence.

Soviet soldiers, as they had done in the battles against the German fascist invaders, demonstrated mass heroism and courage, as well as a strong desire for victory. 308,000 people were awarded state decorations, and 93 individuals (ranging from soldiers and sailors to marshals) were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. All participants in this battle were awarded the Medal "For Victory over Japan".

The war against the Far Eastern aggressor was indeed lightning-fast. It lasted only 24 days. The more than one million strong Kwantung Army, which had been created as a strike force primarily against the USSR, was defeated. This event made a huge impression on the entire world. However, American military authorities hastily claimed that Japan surrendered only because its will was broken by two atomic bombs dropped by US aircraft on civilian populations.

Indeed, on August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, and on August 9, it was dropped on Nagasaki. Both cities were destroyed instantly. According to Japanese reports, 240,000 people died in Hiroshima and 80,000 people died in Nagasaki. Later, an additional 300,000 people died from radiation sickness. However, there was no need for this barbaric act. It was primarily aimed at intimidating the "Russian bear," whose strength and fame frightened the American rulers themselves. As we know, the war continued even after the atomic bombings. Japan had no intention of surrendering. Tokyo understood that an American invasion of the Japanese islands would result in significant casualties, which they greatly feared. It was only after the defeat of the Kwantung Army that Japan immediately surrendered, and on September 2, 1945, an act of unconditional surrender was signed on the American battleship Missouri in the presence of representatives of nine powers, including the USSR. This marked the end of World War II.

The victory over German fascism and Japanese militarism buried the aggressors' hopes of dominating the world, and it debunked the theory that "chosen races" have the right to oppress other nations. It demonstrated the superiority of our people's moral and political spirit, their unity, strength, and love for their homeland.

This victory enabled the peoples of Europe to free themselves from Hitler's rule, and the peoples of the colonies to free themselves from their colonial masters and embark on a path of free and independent development.

Historical justice was restored: according to the peace treaty with Japan signed on September 8, 1951, in San Francisco (without the participation of the USSR), Southern Sakhalin and the entire chain of the Kuril Islands were transferred to the USSR, and the Japanese renounced all rights to them.

The results of the war are a stern warning to all those who dream of military and political adventures and global domination. They constantly remind the peoples of Great Russia of the need for unity based on the principles of patriotism, and the armed defenders of the Motherland of the need for constant high combat readiness, improvement of combat skills, and preservation and enhancement of the glorious military traditions of their fathers and grandfathers.

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