The Japanese win and drive the Soviets out, leading to the Soviets having to maintain a large force in Western Siberia and being unable to transfer the troops to European Russia to fight the Nazi invasion in 1941. We use cookies on our websites for a number of purposes, including analytics and performance, functionality and advertising. With the building of the South Manchuria Railway, Mukden (now known as Shenyang) became … Latest Issues. Remember, at the time, the Japanese government was considering the Soviet Union as a go-between for peace negotiations. In 1939, the armies of Japan and the Soviet Union clashed in the area of the Khalkin Gol river in Manchuria. Top Ad Space. Besides, if a lot of supplies were flowing from Manchuria, wouldn't it be the target of allied bombers anyways which would wreck the major ports? Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation; Part of the Soviet–Japanese War of World War II: Soviet gains in North East Asia, August 1945. But apparently that isn't the case. Basically the battle went well because the Soviets were well equipped, well supported, and fighting an enemy that was unready, very depleted, poorly armed, and the fighting ended because the war did vs compete and total victory (given the Japanese tendency to fight to the death elsewhere, it would have certainly made for a very unpleasant cleanup operation had the war itself not ended). The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation (Russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastupatelnaya Operatsiya) or simply the Manchurian Operation (Маньчжурская операция), began on 9 August 1945 with the Soviet invasion of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. The Soviet Union estimated Japan had three divisions and a brigade to defend all of Hokkaido. Soviet forces in the Manchuria region of northeastern China had advanced 200 miles in four days. Although the commencement of the invasion fell between the atomic bombings of Hiroshima, on 6 August, and Nagasaki, on 9 August, the timing of the invasion had been pl… level 1. A freighter or two might even be rammed ashore in order to provide a speedy disembarkation for that first regiment. The Portal for Public History. Background Essay on How was the Soviet invasion of Manchuria an influence for the use of atomic weapons? hide. I heard that the Soviet invasion of Manchuria was the true reason for the Japanese surrender, not the atomic bombs. Answers must be in-depth and comprehensive, or they will be removed. It was the largest campaign of the 1945 Soviet–Japanese War, which resumed hostilities between the Union of Soviet Soc… I think they did think the former at the beginning, but by now they would be thoroughly disabused of the notion. Subscribe. The surrender of the Kwantung army was not a reason for the Japanese surrender in WWII. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. But the Soviets didn't really do any major amphibious landings before right? So it seems like losing Manchuria/the rest of China wouldn't really reduce the amount of goods flowing to Japan by that much. Log in or sign up to leave a comment log in sign up. There was a significant qualitative gap in equipment and men. Sort by. You ask about the Soviet invasion plans, and that's something I do know a fair bit about. By the beginning of the Manchurian operation, a large strategic force of Japanese, Manchu and Mengjiang troops were concentrated in Manchuria. Photo: Tazadeperla CC BY-SA 3.0. As for the latter, that seems like a bit of a desperate hope and if they thought that, then wouldn't they also decide that the soviets would probably fail to launch an amphibious invasion. save. So it seems like if Hokkaido was so vulnerable to invasion and so useful to invading the rest of Japan, the non-Soviet allies would have figured out a way to do it. The Soviets were heavily supported by logistics passing through Vladivostok from the US (under the guise of "Operation Mainpost"). The invasion began on 9 August 1945, exactly three months after the German surrender on May 8 (9 May, 0:43 Moscow time). Please read the rules before participating, as we remove all comments which break the rules. There were battles and military posts in surprising places. If this is accurate, then the Soviets never were that big a threat even to Hokkaido. Title. Wikipedia says "Japan realized the Soviets were willing and able to take the cost of invasion of its Home Islands, after their rapid conquest of Manchuria and southern Sakhalin". Marshal Vasilevsky planned to assault the island from a base in Sakhalin Island. best. With the Soviet invasion of Manchuria well underway, a decision was made with the Soviets to divide the Korean peninsular into zones of occupation at the 38th parallel north. This force included over 600,000 soldiers. After all, the Germans also struck the Soviets at a time when they were at their weakest, but even their advance was fraught with various difficulties and logistical issues. Contents: Summary, Background and buildup, Combatant forces. Hence political warfare took a central role in Soviet foreign policy. The following troops were also subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief: the Manchukuo Army, the Mengjiang Army and the Suyuan Army Group. And they could have seized the Kuril Islands if they needed a closer base. Plus the Soviets had the advantage of a surprise attack against an area directly next to their country and a 2 to 1 advantage in men and a 5 to 1 advantage in armored vehicles against the Japanese army in Manchuria. You've asked a good question. But the Soviets didn't really do any major amphibious landings before right? And yes the atomic bombs were kind of just a more powerful bomb and a few hundred bombers could have the same effect, but then I'm confused at why they're surrendering at all. So Japan must have assumed that either the non-Soviet allies were weak fighters, or they would run out of willpower after suffering lots of causalities. There are moments in military history that forever alter the flow of human events. "Because the Soviets have now joined the war, I think it is necessary for us to decide to terminate the war quickly," Togo insisted in a meeting Aug. 9 at Prime Minister Suzuki's house. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the AskHistorians community. Meanwhile, Soviet Pacific Fleet attacked northern Korea, seizing the Japanese naval base at Rashin and the port of Yuki. And since the Soviets announced they were breaking the neutrality pact in April, it seems that Japan should have expected war soon anyways. History of Robotics. Soviet Union invasion of Manchuria. Which of these events were the most influential for the surrender? Thus, on 27th September 1945, just 20 days after peace was reached, the Communists launched an invasion of Manchuria. And a few hundred atomic bombs (for all they knew, the US had that many) would surely matter. But why is that? So there's a good chance they'd fail miserably. Soviet invasion of Manchuria: | | | Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation (1945) | | ... World Heritage Encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled. 79% Upvoted. It's one of the most-studied issues in American WWII history, and it's frequently asked here. Soviet plans called for a lead division to seize a single small beachhead containing one port with a single rifle regiment. And for all they knew Stalin didn't care about the Home Islands and just wanted Manchuria. And the non-Soviet allies could do the same thing - of course they'd have to come from far away and they certainly would need real landing craft, but they had those. Author: Geniuswas & FarmingtonSoviet Invasion of Japanese Manchuria, also known as "Operation August Storm". share. Hmm, even if Japanese officials were shocked at the invasion and its rapid success, that doesn't seem to affect the overall situation. 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 war in Europe. The Soviet spearhead was frankly massive. How significant was the Soviet intervention? The units sent to replace those removed divisions were very poorly equipped and trained, and some like the ill starred 30th Division had literally only existed for a matter of days before the Soviets invaded. People say that that invasion was more important than the atomic bombs in causing Japan to surrender. Allied forces took severe casualties upon launching Operation Olympic - the first stage of Operation Downfall with the objective of taking the island of Kyūshū. The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation (Russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastupatelnaya Operatsiya) or simply the Manchurian Operation (Маньчжурская операция), began on 9 August 1945 with the Soviet invasion of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. At the end of World War II, the Soviet Union finally declared war on the Empire of Japan. Two more divisions would serve as a follow-on wave. report. Why was the Soviet invasion of Manchuria (Manchurian Operation) so successful, and how did it happen so quickly? It was therefore not a rigidly defined method or strategy, as Bezmenov here claims, but simply a tool in the arsenal of KGB residencies. Select from premium Soviet Invasion Of Manchuria of the highest quality. While I am aware of the build-up prior to the campaign and do consider that a Soviet victory to be rather inevitable, the speed and scale of its success comparable to that of Operation Barbarossa, if not greater, is rather difficult to understand. So the contrafactual would be to remove Zhukov through one of Stalin's mass purges, and have the Soviet forces in Manchuria led by a much less talented commander. On August 18, however, Truman sent a terse message to Stalin, rejecting the Soviet leader's proposal that Soviet soldiers accept the surrender of northern Hokkaido. Military Heritage. How true is that? While I am aware of the build-up prior to the campaign and do consider that a Soviet victory to be rather inevitable, the speed and scale of its success comparable to that of Operation Barbarossa, if not greater, is rather difficult to understand. The battle also ended because the war ended. But it seems like at this point it was mainly trying to fight off an invasion and not that interested in keeping an empire any more, and in any case, it already more or less lost its pacific territories, and surely could not expect to keep China for that much longer, despite the failings of Chaing Kai Shek and whatnot. Find the perfect Soviet Invasion Of Manchuria stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. Press J to jump to the feed. Times when the very landscape appears to shift. 3 comments . hide. I had not realised that the end of the war had actually brought an early end to the operation until now. The rest of the regiment's division would follow on and expand the beachhead. 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