By August 1945, the USSR had prepared the Trans-Baikal and two Far Eastern fronts, the Pacific Fleet and the Amur Flotilla for war with the Japanese Empire and its satellites. The allies of the USSR were the army of the Mongolian People's Republic and the partisans of northeast China and Korea. In total, 1 million 747 thousand Soviet troops started the war with Japan. The enemy had approximately 60% of this number under arms.

The USSR was opposed by approximately 700 thousand Japanese in the Kwantung Army, and another 300 thousand people in the armies of the Manchurian Empire (Manchukuo), Inner Mongolia and other protectorates.

The 24 main divisions of the Kwantung Army had 713,729 men. The Manchurian army numbered 170 thousand people. Army of Inner Mongolia - 44 thousand people. From the air, these forces were to be supported by the 2nd Air Army (50,265 people).

The backbone of the Kwantung Army consisted of 22 divisions and 10 brigades, including: 39,63,79,107,108,112,117,119,123,122,124,125,126,127,128,134,135,136,138,148,149 divisions, 79,80,130,13 1,132,134,135,136 mixed brigades, 1st and 9th tank brigades. The strength of the Kwantung Army and the 2nd Air Army reached 780 thousand people (perhaps, however, the real number was less due to a shortage in the divisions).

After the start of the Soviet offensive, on August 10, 1945, the Kwantung Army subordinated the 17th Front defending the south of Korea: 59,96,111,120,121,137,150,160,320 divisions and 108,127,133 mixed brigades. Since August 10, 1945, the Kwantung Army had 31 divisions and 11 brigades, including 8 created from the rear and mobilized Japanese of China since July 1945 (250 thousand Japanese of Manchuria were drafted). Thus, at least a million people were deployed against the USSR as part of the Kwantung Army, the 5th Front in Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, the 17th Front in Korea, as well as the troops of Manchukuo Di-Go and Prince Dewan.

Due to the considerable number of the enemy, its fortifications, the scale of the planned offensive, and possible counterattacks, the Soviet side expected quite significant losses in this war. Sanitary losses were estimated at 540 thousand people, including 381 thousand people in battle. The death toll was expected to reach 100-159 thousand people. At the same time, the military sanitary departments of the three fronts predicted 146,010 casualties and 38,790 sick.

The calculation of the probable losses of the Transbaikal Front is as follows:

However, having an advantage in people by 1.2 times, in aviation - by 1.9 times (5368 versus 1800), in artillery and tanks - by 4.8 times (26,137 guns versus 6,700, 5,368 tanks versus 1,000), the Soviet The troops managed to quickly, in 25 days, and effectively defeat a huge enemy group, suffering the following losses:

Dead - 12,031 people, medical - 24,425 people, total: 36,456 people. The 1st Far Eastern Front lost the most - 6,324 dead, the 2nd Far Eastern Front lost 2,449 dead, the Trans-Baikal Front - 2,228 dead, the Pacific Fleet - 998 dead, the Amur Flotilla - 32 dead. Soviet losses were approximately equal to American losses during the capture of Okinawa. The Mongolian army lost 197 people: 72 killed and 125 wounded, out of 16 thousand people. A total of 232 guns and mortars, 78 tanks and self-propelled guns, and 62 aircraft were lost.

The Japanese estimate their losses in the Soviet-Japanese War of 1945 at 21 thousand dead, but in reality their losses were four times higher. 83,737 people died, 640,276 people were captured (including 79,276 prisoners after September 3, 1945), a total of irretrievable losses - 724,013 people. The Japanese lost irrevocably 54 times more than the USSR.

The difference between the size of enemy forces and irretrievable losses - approximately 300 thousand people - is explained by mass desertion, especially among the Japanese satellite troops, and the demobilization of the practically incapacitated "July" divisions, begun in mid-August by the Japanese command. Captured Manchus and Mongols were quickly sent home; only 4.8% of non-Japanese military personnel ended up in Soviet captivity.

There are estimates of 250 thousand people Japanese military personnel and civilians killed in Manchuria during the Soviet-Japanese War of 1945 and its immediate aftermath in labor camps. In reality, 100 thousand fewer died. In addition to those who died during the Soviet-Japanese War of 1945, there were those who died in Soviet captivity:

Apparently, these data do not include 52 thousand Japanese prisoners of war who were repatriated to Japan directly from Manchuria, Sakhalin and Korea, without being sent to camps in the USSR. Directly at the fronts, 64,888 Chinese, Koreans, sick and wounded people were released. In front-line concentration points of prisoners of war, 15,986 people died before being sent to the USSR. By February 1947, 30,728 people had died in camps in the USSR. Another 15 thousand prisoners died by the time Japanese repatriation ended in 1956. Thus, a total of 145,806 Japanese died as a result of the war with the USSR.

In total, combat losses in the Soviet-Japanese War of 1945 reached 95,840 people killed.

Sources:

The Great Patriotic War: figures and facts - Moscow, 1995

Prisoners of war in the USSR: 1939-1956. Documents and materials - Moscow, Logos, 2000

History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union of 1941-1945 - Moscow, Voenizdat, 1965

Medical support for the Soviet army in the operations of the Great Patriotic War - 1993

Smirnov E.I. War and military medicine. - Moscow, 1979, pages 493-494

Hastings Max THE BATTLE FOR JAPAN, 1944-45 - Harper Press, 2007

On August 8, 1945, the USSR declared war on Japan. Perceived by many as part of the Great Patriotic War, this confrontation is often undeservedly underestimated, although the results of this war have not yet been summed up.

Difficult decision

The decision that the USSR would enter the war with Japan was made at the Yalta Conference in February 1945. In exchange for participation in hostilities, the USSR was to receive South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, which after 1905 belonged to Japan. In order to better organize the transfer of troops to concentration areas and further to deployment areas, the headquarters of the Trans-Baikal Front sent special groups of officers to Irkutsk and Karymskaya station in advance. On the night of August 9, the advanced battalions and reconnaissance detachments of three fronts, in extremely unfavorable weather conditions - the summer monsoon, bringing frequent and heavy rains - moved into enemy territory.

Our advantages

At the start of the offensive, the grouping of Red Army troops had a serious numerical superiority over the enemy: in terms of the number of fighters alone, it reached 1.6 times. The Soviet troops outnumbered the Japanese by about 5 times in the number of tanks, by 10 times in artillery and mortars, and by more than three times in terms of aircraft. The Soviet Union's superiority was not only quantitative. The equipment in service with the Red Army was much more modern and powerful than that of Japan. The experience gained by our troops during the war with Nazi Germany also provided an advantage.

Heroic operation

The operation of Soviet troops to overcome the Gobi Desert and the Khingan Range can be called outstanding and unique. The 350-kilometer throw of the 6th Guards Tank Army is still a demonstration operation. High mountain passes with slopes steep up to 50 degrees seriously complicated movement. The equipment moved in a traverse, that is, in zigzags. The weather conditions also left much to be desired: heavy rains made the soil impassable mud, and mountain rivers overflowed their banks. Nevertheless, Soviet tanks stubbornly moved forward. By August 11, they crossed the mountains and found themselves deep in the rear of the Kwantung Army, on the Central Manchurian Plain. The army experienced a shortage of fuel and ammunition, so the Soviet command had to arrange supplies by air. Transport aviation delivered more than 900 tons of tank fuel alone to our troops. As a result of this outstanding offensive, the Red Army managed to capture about 200 thousand Japanese prisoners alone. In addition, a lot of equipment and weapons were captured.

No negotiations!

The 1st Far Eastern Front of the Red Army encountered fierce resistance from the Japanese, who fortified themselves on the heights of “Ostraya” and “Camel”, which were part of the Khotou fortified area. The approaches to these heights were swampy, cut by a large number of small rivers. Scarps were dug on the slopes and wire fences were installed. The Japanese carved out firing points in the granite rock mass. The concrete caps of the pillboxes were about one and a half meters thick. The defenders of the "Ostraya" height rejected all calls for surrender; the Japanese were famous for not agreeing to any negotiations. A peasant who wished to become a parliamentarian had his head publicly cut off. When Soviet troops finally took the height, they found all its defenders dead: men and women.

Kamikaze

In the battles for the city of Mudanjiang, the Japanese actively used kamikaze saboteurs. Tied with grenades, these people rushed at Soviet tanks and soldiers. On one section of the front, about 200 “live mines” lay on the ground in front of the advancing equipment. However, the suicide attacks were only initially successful. Subsequently, the Red Army soldiers increased their vigilance and, as a rule, managed to shoot the saboteur before he could get closer and explode, causing damage to equipment or manpower.

Surrender

On August 15, Emperor Hirohito made a radio address in which he announced that Japan accepted the terms of the Potsdam Conference and capitulated. The Emperor called on the nation for courage, patience and the unification of all forces to build a new future. Three days later - August 18, 1945 - at 13:00 local time, an appeal from the command of the Kwantung Army to the troops was heard on the radio, which stated that for reasons of the pointlessness of further resistance decided to surrender. Over the next few days, Japanese units that did not have direct contact with headquarters were notified and the terms of surrender were agreed upon.

Results

As a result of the war, the USSR actually returned to its territory the territories lost by the Russian Empire in 1905 following the Peace of Portsmouth.
Japan's loss of the Southern Kuril Islands has not yet been recognized. According to the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Japan renounced its rights to Sakhalin (Karafuto) and the main group of the Kuril Islands, but did not recognize them as having passed to the USSR. Surprisingly, this agreement had not yet been signed by the USSR, which, thus, until the end of its existence was legally at war with Japan. Currently, these territorial problems are preventing the conclusion of a peace treaty between Japan and Russia as the successor to the USSR.

The Second World War was an unprecedented disaster for the Soviet Union. More than 27 million Soviet soldiers and civilians died during the war, which began in September 1939 with Germany's invasion of Poland and ended with Japan's defeat in August 1945.

The Soviet Union, preoccupied and exhausted by the struggle for its existence ensuing on its western borders, played a relatively minor role in the Pacific theater until the end of the war. And yet, Moscow's timely intervention in the war against Japan allowed it to expand its influence in the Pacific region.

With the collapse of the anti-Hitler coalition soon marking the beginning of the Cold War, the advances made by the Soviet Union in Asia also led to confrontations and divisions, some of which still exist today.

By the early 1930s, both Stalin's Soviet Union and the Empire of Japan saw themselves as rising powers seeking to expand their territorial holdings. In addition to the strategic rivalry dating back to the 19th century, they now harbored hostile ideologies based respectively on the Bolshevik revolution and the ultra-conservative military that was increasingly influencing Japanese politics. In 1935 (as in the text - approx. per.) Japan signed an anti-Comintern pact with Nazi Germany, which laid the foundations for the creation of the “Berlin-Rome-Tokyo axis” (a year later, fascist Italy joined the pact).

In the late 1930s, the armies of both countries repeatedly engaged in armed clashes along the borders between Soviet Siberia and Manchuria (Manchukuo), occupied by Japan. During the largest of the conflicts - the war at Khalkhin Gol in the summer of 1939 - more than 17 thousand people died. Yet Moscow and Tokyo, concerned about growing tensions in Europe and Southeast Asia, realized that their own plans for Manchuria were not worth the ever-increasing costs and soon turned their attention to other theaters of war.

Just two days after the German Wehrmacht launched Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, Moscow and Tokyo signed a non-aggression pact (as in the text - approx. per.). Having got rid of the danger of fighting on two fronts, the Soviet Union was able to devote all its strength to containing the onslaught of Germany. Accordingly, the Red Army actually did not play any role in the operations that soon began in the Pacific theater of operations - at least until the last moment.

Realizing that Moscow - while its troops were deployed in Europe - did not have additional resources, US President Franklin Roosevelt still tried to enlist Soviet support in the war with Japan after the defeat of Germany. The leader of the USSR, Joseph Stalin, agreed to this, hoping to expand Soviet borders in Asia. Stalin began to build up military potential in the Far East as soon as there was a turning point in the war - after the battle of Stalingrad.

At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Stalin agreed that the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan three months after Germany's defeat. According to the agreement signed in Yalta, Moscow received back Southern Sakhalin, lost in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, as well as the Kuril Islands, the rights to which Russia renounced in 1875. In addition, Mongolia was recognized as an independent state (it was already a Soviet satellite). The interests of the USSR also had to be respected in relation to the naval base in the Chinese port of Port Arthur (Dalian) and the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER), which until 1905 belonged to the Russian Empire.

Then on August 8, 1945, Moscow declared war on Japan—two days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the day before the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Western historiographers have long emphasized the role of nuclear bombing in forcing Japan to surrender. However, Japanese documents that have recently appeared in the public domain highlight the significance of the fact that the USSR declared war on Japan and thereby accelerated the defeat of Japan.

The day after the Soviet Union declared war, a massive military invasion of Manchuria began. In addition, the Soviet army carried out an amphibious landing on the territory of Japanese colonies: the Japanese Northern Territories, Sakhalin Island and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. As a result of the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, armed forces of Chinese communists rushed there and fought both the Japanese and the nationalists of Chiang Kai-shek, which ultimately led to the victory of the communists in 1948.

Washington and Moscow agreed in advance to jointly govern Korea with the goal of transforming the country, which had been under Japanese colonial rule since 1910, into an independent state. As in Europe, the USA and the USSR created their own occupation zones there, the dividing line between them ran along the 38th parallel. Unable to reach agreement on the formation of a government for both zones, representatives of the United States and the USSR led the process of creating governments for the two warring parts of Korea - North (Pyongyang) and South (Seoul). This created the preconditions for the Korean War, which began in January 1950, when the North Korean army crossed the demarcation line at the 38th parallel, where by that time the international border already passed.

The Soviet amphibious landing on Sakhalin caused stubborn resistance from Japan, but gradually the Soviet Union managed to gain a strong foothold throughout the island. Until 1945, Sakhalin was divided into two parts - the Russian zone in the north and the Japanese zone in the south. Russia and Japan fought for more than a century over this large, sparsely populated island, and under the terms of the Treaty of Shimoda signed in 1855, the Russians had the right to live in the northern part of the island, and the Japanese in the southern. In 1875, Japan renounced its rights to the island, but then captured it during the Russo-Japanese War, and only in 1925 returned the northern half of the island to Moscow. Following the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco, which officially ended World War II, Japan renounced all its claims to Sakhalin and handed the island over to the Soviet Union—even though Moscow refused to sign the treaty.

The Soviet refusal to sign a peace treaty created even more problems with respect to a group of small islands located northeast of Hokkaido and southwest of the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai. These islands were the subject of Russian-Japanese disputes back in the 19th century. Moscow considered these islands to be the southern tip of the Kuril chain, which Japan abandoned in San Francisco. True, the agreement did not indicate which islands belonged to the Kuril Islands, and the rights to these four islands were not assigned to the USSR. Japan, supported by the United States, argued that the four islands were not part of the Kuril Islands and that the USSR had seized them illegally.

The dispute over these islands still serves as an obstacle to the signing of a treaty formally ending the state of war between Japan and Russia (as the legal successor of the USSR). This issue is extremely sensitive for nationalist groups in both Moscow and Tokyo - despite periodic efforts by diplomats from both countries to reach an agreement.

Both Russia and Japan are increasingly wary of Chinese power and influence in the Asia-Pacific region. But four remote, sparsely populated land masses at the very edge of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk remain in many ways the biggest obstacle to a renewed friendship between Moscow and Tokyo that could change the geopolitical landscape in Asia.

In the meantime, the division of Korea has already provoked one serious war along with incalculable suffering for the inhabitants of totalitarian North Korea. With 30,000 American troops still stationed in South Korea, near the demilitarized zone separating the country from an increasingly paranoid and nuclear-armed North, the Korean Peninsula remains one of the world's most dangerous hotspots.

Stalin's entry into the war against Japan was somewhat belated, but even now, sixty years later, it still affects the security situation on the Asian continent.

The promise had to be kept

In Russia, more and more people deny the validity of the Neutrality Pact between the USSR and Japan (1941) and justify the military actions of the Soviet Union against Japan after the end of World War II, which gave rise to the problem of the “northern territories” and the tragedy of the Siberian prisoners of war. Retired KGB Colonel Alexei Kirichenko, who revealed the truth about the problem of Soviet arrests, emphasized in an interview with our newspaper that this point of view is erroneous.

Ryosuke Endo: On April 5, 1945, the USSR informed Japan that it would not renew the Neutrality Pact. Because of this, many argue that war against Japan is not a problem.

Alexei Kirichenko: USSR Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov told Japanese Ambassador Naotake Sato that he did not intend to renew the pact. However, the experienced ambassador got Molotov to recognize that it was valid until April 25, 1946. Then Stalin “corrected” this agreement and attacked Japan, but the agreement between the foreign ministers should not have been violated.
Asahi Shimbun 08/23/2016

He went through Siberian camps

— Thoughts about war are the work of the military. There were people in the Navy and Army who opposed the war with the USSR. Matsuoka's views did not coincide with those of the government. In July of the same year it was changed. It doesn't matter who had what plans.

- Some also claim that Soviet Far Eastern forces deterred Japan from attacking.

— In fact, in the fall of 1941, Japan transferred part of the Kwantung Army to the south, quickly concentrating military power there. In September, the USSR understood that Japan would not be able to start a war with such a composition. At the end of October, Stalin held a meeting with Far Eastern military leaders and the leadership of the Communist Party, during which it was decided to transfer Far Eastern units to the west (to fight the Nazis). They were confident that Japan would not attack. On November 7, 1941, Far Eastern forces took part in a parade on Red Square and headed west to participate in the war. Thanks to this, an attack on Moscow was avoided. In the period from 1941 to 1943, the well-trained and armed 42nd Division was completely transferred from the Far East to the west.

— From Manchuria, forays into the territory of the USSR were often made. Some believe that they were a manifestation of Japanese intentions to attack the USSR.

— After the conflict on the Khalkhin Gol River (1939), Japan carefully ensured not to violate Soviet borders. The fact is that at the height of the Sino-Japanese War, Japan could not conduct military operations in two directions. At the same time, the Kwantung Army arrested Soviet deserters and intelligence officers, so it seems to me that the border violations were most likely on the part of the USSR.

— How did the USSR decide to attack Japan?

— I believe that in the first half of the war, the Neutrality Pact was extremely beneficial to both the USSR and Japan. However, after the Battle of Stalingrad (1942 - 1943), the USSR realized its own strength and began preparing for war with Japan. The Defense Committee decided to build a railway from Komsomolsk-on-Amur to Sovetskaya Gavan in preparation for an attack on Japan. Construction was completed a few days before the scheduled date of August 1, 1945.

— Also, many argue that the Second World War ended not thanks to the atomic bombing, but precisely thanks to the actions of the USSR. Thus they justify the attack on Japan.

— If you analyze the situation in Manchuria, it becomes clear that there were only 380 aircraft with fuel reserves one way. By mid-August, most of them had returned to Japan. The Soviet side had more than five thousand aircraft, but there were practically no air battles. There were also very few tanks in Manchuria. The reality is that Japan was completely weakened.

— Why don’t you hide your point of view, which differs from the official version?

— I began to study Japan as an enemy of the USSR. Nevertheless, having become thoroughly familiar with Japanese reality, I realized that the USSR and then Russia made many mistakes. These mistakes affected the current Russian-Japanese relations. Of course, Japan — far from an angel. I believe there is value in avoiding tragedies and difficulties in the future.

Soviet attack on Japan: On August 9, 1945, Soviet troops attacked Japan, violating the Neutrality Pact. They invaded Manchuria and Sakhalin. The USSR continued to fight after Japan signed the Potsdam Agreement and the end of the war was declared on August 15. Soviet troops captured the four northern islands on September 5, although Japan signed a surrender on September 2. The USSR interned about 600 thousand unarmed Japanese soldiers. More than 60 thousand people became victims of Siberian imprisonment.

Alexey Kirichenko is a former KGB colonel. Employee of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Born in Belarus in 1936. In 1964 he graduated from the KGB Higher School and worked in the second department in the Japanese direction. In the 80s, he became an employee of the institute and began studying the issue of Japanese prisoners of war. I tried to get to the bottom of the Russian-Japanese problems. Among the works — "Unknown moments of 200 years of Japanese-Russian relations."

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial staff.

The issue of the USSR entering the war with Japan was resolved at a conference in Yalta on February 11, 1945 by a special agreement. It provided that the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan on the side of the Allied powers 2-3 months after the surrender of Germany and the end of the war in Europe. Japan rejected the July 26, 1945 demand from the United States, Great Britain, and China to lay down their arms and unconditionally surrender.

According to V. Davydov, on the evening of August 7, 1945 (two days before Moscow officially broke the neutrality pact with Japan), Soviet military aircraft suddenly began bombing the roads of Manchuria.

On August 8, 1945, the USSR declared war on Japan. By order of the Supreme High Command, back in August 1945, preparations began for a military operation to land an amphibious assault force in the port of Dalian (Dalny) and liberate Lushun (Port Arthur) together with units of the 6th Guards Tank Army from the Japanese occupiers on the Liaodong Peninsula of Northern China. The 117th Air Regiment of the Pacific Fleet Air Force, which was training in Sukhodol Bay near Vladivostok, was preparing for the operation.

On August 9, troops of the Transbaikal, 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Fronts, in cooperation with the Pacific Navy and the Amur River Flotilla, began military operations against Japanese troops on a front of more than 4 thousand kilometers.

The 39th Combined Arms Army was part of the Transbaikal Front, commanded by Marshal of the Soviet Union R. Ya. Malinovsky. The commander of the 39th Army is Colonel General I. I. Lyudnikov, member of the Military Council, Major General Boyko V. R., Chief of Staff, Major General Siminovsky M. I.

The task of the 39th Army was a breakthrough, a strike from the Tamtsag-Bulag ledge, Halun-Arshan and, together with the 34th Army, the Hailar fortified areas. The 39th, 53rd General Arms and 6th Guards Tank Armies set out from the area of ​​the city of Choibalsan on the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic and advanced to the state border of the Mongolian People's Republic and Manchukuo at a distance of 250-300 km.

In order to better organize the transfer of troops to concentration areas and further to deployment areas, the headquarters of the Trans-Baikal Front sent special groups of officers to Irkutsk and Karymskaya station in advance. On the night of August 9, the advanced battalions and reconnaissance detachments of three fronts, in extremely unfavorable weather conditions - the summer monsoon, bringing frequent and heavy rains - moved into enemy territory.

In accordance with the order, the main forces of the 39th Army crossed the border of Manchuria at 4:30 am on August 9th. Reconnaissance groups and detachments began to operate much earlier - at 00:05. The 39th Army had at its disposal 262 tanks and 133 self-propelled artillery units. It was supported by the 6th Bomber Air Corps of Major General I.P. Skok, based at the airfields of the Tamtsag-Bulag ledge. The army attacked the troops that were part of the 3rd Front of the Kwantung Army.

On August 9, the head patrol of the 262nd division reached the Khalun-Arshan - Solun railway. The Halun-Arshan fortified area, as reconnaissance of the 262nd division found out, was occupied by units of the 107th Japanese Infantry Division.

By the end of the first day of the offensive, Soviet tankers made a rush of 120-150 km. The advanced detachments of the 17th and 39th armies advanced 60-70 km.

On August 10, the Mongolian People's Republic joined the statement of the USSR government and declared war on Japan.

USSR-China Treaty

On August 14, 1945, a treaty of friendship and alliance was signed between the USSR and China, agreements on the Chinese Changchun Railway, on Port Arthur and Dalny. On August 24, 1945, the treaty of friendship and alliance and agreements were ratified by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China. The agreement was concluded for 30 years.

According to the agreement on the Chinese Changchun Railway, the former Chinese Eastern Railway and its part - the South Manchurian Railway, running from Manchuria station to Suifenhe station and from Harbin to Dalny and Port Arthur, became the common property of the USSR and China. The agreement was concluded for 30 years. After this period, the KChZD was subject to free transfer to the full ownership of China.

The Port Arthur Agreement provided for the port to be turned into a naval base open to warships and merchant ships only from China and the USSR. The duration of the agreement was determined to be 30 years. After this period, the Port Arthur naval base was to be transferred to Chinese ownership.

Dalny was declared a free port, open to trade and shipping from all countries. The Chinese government agreed to allocate piers and storage facilities in the port for lease to the USSR. In the event of a war with Japan, the regime of the Port Arthur naval base, determined by the agreement on Port Arthur, was to extend to Dalny. The term of the agreement was set at 30 years.

At the same time, on August 14, 1945, an agreement was signed on relations between the Soviet commander-in-chief and the Chinese administration after the entry of Soviet troops into the territory of the Northeastern provinces for joint military actions against Japan. After the arrival of Soviet troops on the territory of the Northeastern provinces of China, supreme power and responsibility in the zone of military operations in all military matters was vested in the commander-in-chief of the Soviet armed forces. The Chinese government appointed a representative who was supposed to establish and manage the administration in the territory cleared of the enemy, assist in establishing interaction between the Soviet and Chinese armed forces in the returned territories, and ensure active cooperation of the Chinese administration with the Soviet commander-in-chief.

Fighting

Soviet-Japanese War

On August 11, units of the 6th Guards Tank Army of General A.G. Kravchenko overcame the Greater Khingan.

The first of the rifle formations to reach the eastern slopes of the mountain range was the 17th Guards Rifle Division of General A.P. Kvashnin.

During August 12-14, the Japanese launched many counterattacks in the areas of Linxi, Solun, Vanemyao, and Buhedu. However, the troops of the Transbaikal Front dealt strong blows to the counterattacking enemy and continued to rapidly move to the southeast.

On August 13, formations and units of the 39th Army captured the cities of Ulan-Hoto and Thessaloniki. After which she launched an attack on Changchun.

On August 13, the 6th Guards Tank Army, which consisted of 1019 tanks, broke through the Japanese defenses and entered strategic space. The Kwantung Army had no choice but to retreat across the Yalu River to North Korea, where its resistance continued until August 20.

In the Hailar direction, where the 94th Rifle Corps was advancing, it was possible to encircle and eliminate a large group of enemy cavalry. About a thousand cavalrymen, including two generals, were captured. One of them, Lieutenant General Goulin, commander of the 10th Military District, was taken to the headquarters of the 39th Army.

On August 13, 1945, US President Harry Truman gave the order to occupy the port of Dalny before the Russians landed there. The Americans were going to do this on ships. The Soviet command decided to get ahead of the United States: while the Americans sailed to the Liaodong Peninsula, Soviet troops would land on seaplanes.

During the Khingan-Mukden frontal offensive operation, troops of the 39th Army struck from the Tamtsag-Bulag ledge against the troops of the 30th and 44th armies and the left flank of the 4th separate Japanese army. Having defeated the enemy troops covering the approaches to the passes of the Greater Khingan, the army captured the Khalun-Arshan fortified area. Developing the attack on Changchun, it advanced 350-400 km in battles and by August 14 reached the central part of Manchuria.

Marshal Malinovsky set a new task for the 39th Army: to occupy the territory of southern Manchuria in an extremely short time, operating with strong forward detachments in the direction of Mukden, Yingkou, Andong.

By August 17, the 6th Guards Tank Army had advanced several hundred kilometers - and about one hundred and fifty kilometers remained to the capital of Manchuria, the city of Changchun.

On August 17, the First Far Eastern Front broke the Japanese resistance in the east of Manchuria and occupied the largest city in that region - Mudanjian.

On August 17, the Kwantung Army received an order from its command to surrender. But it did not immediately reach everyone, and in some places the Japanese acted contrary to orders. In a number of sectors they carried out strong counterattacks and carried out regroupings, trying to occupy advantageous operational positions on the Jinzhou - Changchun - Girin - Tumen line. In practice, military operations continued until September 2, 1945. And the 84th Cavalry Division of General T.V. Dedeoglu, which was surrounded on August 15-18 northeast of the city of Nenani, fought until September 7-8.

By August 18, along the entire length of the Trans-Baikal Front, Soviet-Mongolian troops reached the Beiping-Changchun railway, and the striking force of the main group of the front - the 6th Guards Tank Army - broke out on the approaches to Mukden and Changchun.

On August 18, the commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in the Far East, Marshal A. Vasilevsky, gave the order for the occupation of the Japanese island of Hokkaido by the forces of two rifle divisions. This landing was not carried out due to the delay in the advance of Soviet troops in South Sakhalin, and was then postponed until the instructions of Headquarters.

On August 19, Soviet troops took Mukden (airborne landing of the 6th Guards Tatars, 113 sk) and Changchun (airborne landing of the 6th Guards Tatars) - the largest cities in Manchuria. The emperor of the state of Manchukuo, Pu Yi, was arrested at the airfield in Mukden.

By August 20, Soviet troops occupied Southern Sakhalin, Manchuria, the Kuril Islands and part of Korea.

Landings in Port Arthur and Dalniy

On August 22, 1945, 27 aircraft of the 117th Aviation Regiment took off and headed for the port of Dalniy. A total of 956 people took part in the landing. The landing force was commanded by General A. A. Yamanov. The route ran over the sea, then through the Korean Peninsula, along the coast of Northern China. The sea state during landing was about two. Seaplanes landed one after another in the bay of the Dalniy port. The paratroopers transferred to inflatable boats, on which they floated to the pier. After landing, the landing force acted according to the combat mission: it occupied a shipbuilding plant, a dry dock (a structure where ships are repaired), and warehouses. The coast guard was immediately removed and replaced by their own sentries. At the same time, the Soviet command accepted the surrender of the Japanese garrison.

On the same day, August 22, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, planes with landing forces, covered by fighters, took off from Mukden. Soon some of the planes turned to the port of Dalniy. The landing in Port Arthur, consisting of 10 aircraft with 205 paratroopers, was commanded by the deputy commander of the Transbaikal Front, Colonel General V.D. Ivanov. The landing party included intelligence chief Boris Likhachev.

The planes landed on the airfield one after another. Ivanov gave the order to immediately occupy all exits and capture the heights. The paratroopers immediately disarmed several garrison units located nearby, capturing about 200 Japanese soldiers and marine officers. Having captured several trucks and cars, the paratroopers headed to the western part of the city, where another part of the Japanese garrison was grouped. By evening, the overwhelming majority of the garrison capitulated. The head of the naval garrison of the fortress, Vice Admiral Kobayashi, surrendered along with his headquarters.

The next day, disarmament continued. In total, 10 thousand soldiers and officers of the Japanese army and navy were captured.

Soviet soldiers freed about a hundred prisoners: Chinese, Japanese and Koreans.

On August 23, an airborne landing of sailors led by General E. N. Preobrazhensky landed in Port Arthur.

On August 23, in the presence of Soviet soldiers and officers, the Japanese flag was lowered and the Soviet flag soared over the fortress under a triple salute.

On August 24, units of the 6th Guards Tank Army arrived in Port Arthur. On August 25, new reinforcements arrived - marine paratroopers on 6 flying boats of the Pacific Fleet. 12 boats splashed down at Dalny, landing an additional 265 marines. Soon, units of the 39th Army arrived here, consisting of two rifle and one mechanized corps with units attached to it, and liberated the entire Liaodong Peninsula with the cities of Dalian (Dalny) and Lushun (Port Arthur). General V.D. Ivanov was appointed commandant of the Port Arthur fortress and head of the garrison.

When units of the 39th Army of the Red Army reached Port Arthur, two detachments of American troops on high-speed landing craft tried to land on the shore and occupy a strategically advantageous position. Soviet soldiers opened machine-gun fire in the air, and the Americans stopped the landing.

As expected, by the time the American ships approached the port, it was completely occupied by Soviet units. After standing in the outer roadstead of the port of Dalny for several days, the Americans were forced to leave this area.

On August 23, 1945, Soviet troops entered Port Arthur. The commander of the 39th Army, Colonel General I. I. Lyudnikov, became the first Soviet commandant of Port Arthur.

The Americans also did not fulfill their obligations to share with the Red Army the burden of occupying the island of Hokkaido, as agreed upon by the leaders of the three powers. But General Douglas MacArthur, who had great influence over President Harry Truman, strongly opposed this. And Soviet troops never set foot on Japanese territory. True, the USSR, in turn, did not allow the Pentagon to place its military bases in the Kuril Islands.

On August 22, 1945, the advanced units of the 6th Guards Tank Army liberated the city of Jinzhou.

On August 24, 1945, a detachment of Lieutenant Colonel Akilov from the 61st Tank Division of the 39th Army in the city of Dashitsao captured the headquarters of the 17th Front of the Kwantung Army. In Mukden and Dalny, Soviet troops liberated large groups of American soldiers and officers from Japanese captivity.

On September 8, 1945, a parade of Soviet troops took place in Harbin in honor of the victory over imperialist Japan. The parade was commanded by Lieutenant General K.P. Kazakov. The parade was hosted by the head of the Harbin garrison, Colonel General A.P. Beloborodov.

To establish peaceful life and interaction between the Chinese authorities and the Soviet military administration, 92 Soviet commandant's offices were created in Manchuria. Major General Kovtun-Stankevich A.I. became the commandant of Mukden, Colonel Voloshin became the commandant of Port Arthur.

In October 1945, ships of the US 7th Fleet with a Kuomintang landing approached the port of Dalniy. The squadron commander, Vice Admiral Settle, intended to bring the ships into the port. Commandant of Dalny, deputy. The commander of the 39th Army, Lieutenant General G.K. Kozlov demanded that the squadron be withdrawn 20 miles from the coast in accordance with the sanctions of the mixed Soviet-Chinese commission. Settle continued to persist, and Kozlov had no choice but to remind the American admiral about the Soviet coastal defense: “She knows her task and will cope with it perfectly.” Having received a convincing warning, the American squadron was forced to leave. Later, an American squadron, simulating an air raid on the city, also unsuccessfully tried to penetrate Port Arthur.

Withdrawal of Soviet troops from China

After the war, the commandant of Port Arthur and the commander of the group of Soviet troops in China on the Liaodong Peninsula (Kwantung) until 1947 was I. I. Lyudnikov.

On September 1, 1945, by order of the commander of the BTiMV of the Trans-Baikal Front No. 41/0368, the 61st Tank Division was withdrawn from the troops of the 39th Army to front-line subordination. By September 9, 1945, she should be prepared to move under her own power to winter quarters in Choibalsan. On the basis of the control of the 192nd Infantry Division, the 76th Orsha-Khingan Red Banner Division of NKVD convoy troops was formed to guard Japanese prisoners of war, which was then withdrawn to the city of Chita.

In November 1945, the Soviet command presented the Kuomintang authorities with a plan for the evacuation of troops by December 3 of that year. In accordance with this plan, Soviet units were withdrawn from Yingkou and Huludao and from the area south of Shenyang. In late autumn 1945, Soviet troops left the city of Harbin.

However, the withdrawal of Soviet troops that had begun was suspended at the request of the Kuomintang government until the organization of civil administration in Manchuria was completed and the Chinese army was transferred there. On February 22 and 23, 1946, anti-Soviet demonstrations were held in Chongqing, Nanjing and Shanghai.

In March 1946, the Soviet leadership decided to immediately withdraw the Soviet Army from Manchuria.

On April 14, 1946, Soviet troops of the Transbaikal Front, led by Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky, were evacuated from Changchun to Harbin. Preparations immediately began for the evacuation of troops from Harbin. On April 19, 1946, a city public meeting was held dedicated to seeing off the Red Army units leaving Manchuria. On April 28, Soviet troops left Harbin.

In accordance with the 1945 treaty, the 39th Army remained on the Liaodong Peninsula, consisting of:

113 sk (262 sd, 338 sd, 358 sd);

5th Guards sk (17 Guards SD, 19 Guards SD, 91 Guards SD);

7 mechanized division, 6 guards adp, 14 zenad, 139 apabr, 150 ur; as well as the 7th New Ukrainian-Khingan Corps transferred from the 6th Guards Tank Army, which was soon reorganized into the division of the same name.

7th Bombardment Corps; in joint use Port Arthur Naval Base. Their location was Port Arthur and the port of Dalniy, that is, the southern part of the Liaodong Peninsula and the Guangdong Peninsula, located on the southwestern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula. Small Soviet garrisons remained along the CER line.

In the summer of 1946, the 91st Guards. SD was reorganized into the 25th Guards. machine gun and artillery division. 262, 338, 358 infantry divisions were disbanded at the end of 1946 and the personnel were transferred to the 25th Guards. pulad.

Troops of the 39th Army in the People's Republic of China

In April-May 1946, Kuomintang troops, during hostilities with the PLA, came close to the Guangdong Peninsula, almost to the Soviet naval base of Port Arthur. In this difficult situation, the command of the 39th Army was forced to take countermeasures. Colonel M.A. Voloshin and a group of officers went to the headquarters of the Kuomintang army, advancing in the direction of Guangdong. The Kuomintang commander was told that the territory beyond the border indicated on the map in the zone 8-10 km north of Guandang was under our artillery fire. If the Kuomintang troops advance further, dangerous consequences may arise. The commander reluctantly promised not to cross the boundary line. This managed to calm the local population and the Chinese administration.

In 1947-1953, the Soviet 39th Army on the Liaodong Peninsula was commanded by Colonel General Afanasy Pavlantievich Beloborodov, twice Hero of the Soviet Union (headquarters in Port Arthur). He was also the senior commander of the entire group of Soviet troops in China.

Chief of Staff - General Grigory Nikiforovich Perekrestov, who commanded the 65th Rifle Corps in the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation, member of the Military Council - General I. P. Konnov, Head of the Political Department - Colonel Nikita Stepanovich Demin, Artillery Commander - General Yuri Pavlovich Bazhanov and Deputy for civil administration - Colonel V. A. Grekov.

There was a naval base in Port Arthur, the commander of which was Vice Admiral Vasily Andreevich Tsipanovich.

In 1948, an American military base operated on the Shandong Peninsula, 200 kilometers from Dalny. Every day a reconnaissance plane appeared from there and, at low altitude, flew over the same route and photographed Soviet and Chinese objects and airfields. Soviet pilots stopped these flights. The Americans sent a note to the USSR Foreign Ministry with a statement about an attack by Soviet fighters on a “light passenger plane that had gone astray,” but they stopped reconnaissance flights over Liaodong.

In June 1948, large joint exercises of all types of troops were held in Port Arthur. The general management of the exercises was carried out by Malinovsky, S. A. Krasovsky, commander of the Air Force of the Far Eastern Military District, arrived from Khabarovsk. The exercises took place in two main stages. The first is the reflection of a naval landing of a mock enemy. On the second - an imitation of a massive bomb strike.

In January 1949, a Soviet government delegation headed by A.I. Mikoyan arrived in China. He inspected Soviet enterprises and military facilities in Port Arthur, and also met with Mao Zedong.

At the end of 1949, a large delegation headed by the Premier of the State Administrative Council of the People's Republic of China, Zhou Enlai, arrived in Port Arthur, who met with the commander of the 39th Army, Beloborodov. At the proposal of the Chinese side, a general meeting of Soviet and Chinese military personnel was held. At the meeting, where more than a thousand Soviet and Chinese military personnel were present, Zhou Enlai made a big speech. On behalf of the Chinese people, he presented the banner to the Soviet military. Words of gratitude to the Soviet people and their army were embroidered on it.

In December 1949 and February 1950, at Soviet-Chinese negotiations in Moscow, an agreement was reached to train “personnel of the Chinese navy” in Port Arthur with the subsequent transfer of part of the Soviet ships to China, to prepare a plan for the landing operation on Taiwan at the Soviet General Staff and send it to PRC group of air defense forces and required amount Soviet military advisers and specialists.

In 1949, the 7th BAC was reorganized into the 83rd Mixed Air Corps.

In January 1950, Hero of the Soviet Union General Yu. B. Rykachev was appointed commander of the corps.

The further fate of the corps was as follows: in 1950, the 179th battalion was reassigned to the Pacific Fleet aviation, but it was based in the same place. The 860th bap became the 1540th mtap. At the same time, shad were brought to the USSR. When the MiG-15 regiment was stationed in Sanshilipu, the mine and torpedo air regiment was transferred to Jinzhou airfield. Two regiments (fighter on the La-9 and mixed on the Tu-2 and Il-10) were relocated to Shanghai in 1950 and provided air cover for its facilities for several months.

On February 14, 1950, a Soviet-Chinese treaty of friendship, alliance and mutual assistance was concluded. At this time, Soviet bomber aviation was already based in Harbin.

On February 17, 1950, a task force of the Soviet military arrived in China, consisting of: Colonel General Batitsky P.F., Vysotsky B.A., Yakushin M.N., Spiridonov S.L., General Slyusarev (Trans-Baikal Military District). and a number of other specialists.

On February 20, Colonel General Batitsky P.F. and his deputies met with Mao Zedong, who had returned from Moscow the day before.

The Kuomintang regime, which has strengthened its foothold in Taiwan under US protection, is being intensively equipped with American military equipment and weapons. In Taiwan, under the leadership of American specialists, aviation units were created to strike major cities of the PRC. By 1950, an immediate threat arose to the largest industrial and commercial center - Shanghai.

Chinese air defense was extremely weak. At the same time, at the request of the PRC government, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a resolution to create an air defense group and send it to the PRC to carry out the international combat mission of organizing the air defense of Shanghai and conducting combat operations; - appoint Lieutenant General P. F. Batitsky as commander of the air defense group, General S. A. Slyusarev as deputy, Colonel B. A. Vysotsky as chief of staff, Colonel P. A. Baksheev as deputy for political affairs, Colonel Yakushin as fighter aviation commander M.N., Chief of Logistics - Colonel Mironov M.V.

Air defense of Shanghai was carried out by the 52nd anti-aircraft artillery division under the command of Colonel Spiridonov S.L., chief of staff Colonel Antonov, as well as fighter aviation, anti-aircraft artillery, anti-aircraft searchlight, radio engineering and logistics units formed from the troops of the Moscow Military District.

The combat composition of the air defense group included:

three Chinese medium-caliber anti-aircraft artillery regiments, armed with Soviet 85 mm cannons, PUAZO-3 and rangefinders.

small-caliber anti-aircraft regiment armed with Soviet 37 mm cannons.

fighter aviation regiment MIG-15 (commander Lieutenant Colonel Pashkevich).

The fighter aviation regiment was relocated on LAG-9 aircraft by flight from the Dalniy airfield.

anti-aircraft searchlight regiment (ZPr) ​​- commander Colonel Lysenko.

radio technical battalion (RTB).

airfield maintenance battalions (ATO) were relocated, one from the Moscow region, the second from the Far East.

During the deployment of troops, mainly wired communications were used, which minimized the enemy’s ability to listen to the operation of radio equipment and find direction to the group’s radio stations. To organize telephone communications for military formations, city cable telephone networks of Chinese communication centers were used. Radio communications were only partially deployed. The control receivers, which worked to listen to the enemy, were mounted together with anti-aircraft artillery radio units. Radio networks were preparing for action in the event of a disruption in wired communications. The signalmen provided access from the group's communications center to the Shanghai international station and to the nearest regional Chinese telephone exchange.

Until the end of March 1950, American-Taiwanese aircraft appeared in the airspace of Eastern China unhindered and with impunity. Since April, they began to act more cautiously, due to the presence of Soviet fighters who conducted training flights from Shanghai airfields.

During the period from April to October 1950, Shanghai's air defense was put on alert a total of about fifty times, when anti-aircraft artillery opened fire and fighters rose to intercept. In total, during this time, Shanghai's air defense systems destroyed three bombers and shot down four. Two planes voluntarily flew to the PRC side. In six air battles, Soviet pilots shot down six enemy aircraft without losing a single one of their own. In addition, four Chinese anti-aircraft artillery regiments shot down another Kuomintang B-24 aircraft.

In September 1950, General P.F. Batitsky was recalled to Moscow. Instead, his deputy, General S.V. Slyusarev, took over as commander of the air defense group. Under him, in early October, an order was received from Moscow to retrain the Chinese military and transfer military equipment and the entire air defense system to the Chinese Air Force and Air Defense Command. By mid-November 1953, the training program was completed.

With the outbreak of the Korean War, by agreement between the government of the USSR and the PRC, large Soviet aviation units were stationed in Northeast China, protecting the industrial centers of the area from attacks by American bombers. The Soviet Union took the necessary measures to build up its armed forces in the Far East and to further strengthen and develop the Port Arthur naval base. It was an important link in the defense system of the eastern borders of the USSR, and especially Northeast China. Later, in September 1952, confirming this role of Port Arthur, the Chinese government turned to the Soviet leadership with a request to delay the transfer of this base from joint management with the USSR to the full disposal of the PRC. The request was granted.

On October 4, 1950, 11 American aircraft shot down a Soviet A-20 reconnaissance aircraft of the Pacific Fleet, which was performing a scheduled flight in the Port Arthur area. Three crew members were killed. On October 8, two American planes attacked the Soviet airfield in Primorye, Sukhaya Rechka. 8 Soviet aircraft were damaged. These incidents aggravated the already tense situation on the border with Korea, where additional units of the USSR Air Force, Air Defense and Ground Forces were transferred.

The entire group of Soviet troops was subordinate to Marshal Malinovsky and not only served as a rear base for the warring North Korea, but also as a powerful potential “shock fist” against American troops in the Far East region. The personnel of the USSR ground forces with the families of officers on Liaodong amounted to more than 100,000 people. There were 4 armored trains operating in the Port Arthur area.

By the beginning of hostilities, the Soviet aviation group in China consisted of the 83rd mixed air corps (2 air corps, 2 bad, 1 shad); 1 IAP Navy, 1tap Navy; in March 1950, 106 air defense infantry arrived (2 IAP, 1 SBSHAP). From these and newly arrived units, the 64th Special Fighter Air Corps was formed in early November 1950.

In total, during the period of the Korean War and the subsequent Kaesong negotiations, the corps was replaced by twelve fighter divisions (28th, 151st, 303rd, 324th, 97th, 190th, 32nd, 216th , 133rd, 37th, 100th), two separate night fighter regiments (351st and 258th), two fighter regiments from the Navy Air Force (578th and 781st), four anti-aircraft artillery divisions (87th, 92nd, 28th and 35th), two aviation technical divisions (18th and 16th) and other support units.

At different times, the corps was commanded by Major Generals of Aviation I.V. Belov, G.A. Lobov and Lieutenant General of Aviation S.V. Slyusarev.

The 64th Fighter Aviation Corps took part in hostilities from November 1950 to July 1953. The total number of personnel in the corps was approximately 26 thousand people. and remained this way until the end of the war. As of November 1, 1952, the corps included 440 pilots and 320 aircraft. The 64th IAK was initially armed with MiG-15, Yak-11 and La-9 aircraft, later they were replaced by MiG-15bis, MiG-17 and La-11.

According to Soviet data, Soviet fighters from November 1950 to July 1953 shot down 1,106 enemy aircraft in 1,872 air battles. From June 1951 to July 27, 1953, the corps' anti-aircraft artillery fire destroyed 153 aircraft, and in total, the 64th Air Force shot down 1,259 enemy aircraft of various types. Aircraft losses in air battles carried out by pilots of the Soviet contingent amounted to 335 MiG-15s. Soviet air divisions that participated in repelling US air raids lost 120 pilots. Anti-aircraft artillery personnel losses amounted to 68 killed and 165 wounded. The total losses of the contingent of Soviet troops in Korea amounted to 299 people, of which 138 were officers, 161 sergeants and soldiers. As Aviation Major General A. Kalugin recalled, “even before the end of 1954 we were on combat duty, flying out to intercept when groups appeared American planes, which happened every day and several times a day.”

In 1950, the main military adviser and at the same time the military attache in China was Lieutenant General Pavel Mikhailovich Kotov-Legonkov, then Lieutenant General A. V. Petrushevsky and Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel General of Aviation S. A. Krasovsky.

Senior advisers of various branches of the military, military districts and academies reported to the chief military adviser. Such advisers were: in artillery - Major General of Artillery M. A. Nikolsky, in armored forces - Major General of Tank Forces G. E. Cherkassky, in air defense - Major General of Artillery V. M. Dobryansky, in air force forces - Major General of Aviation S. D. Prutkov, and in the navy - Rear Admiral A. V. Kuzmin.

Soviet military assistance had a significant impact on the course of military operations in Korea. For example, the assistance provided by Soviet sailors to the Korean Navy (senior naval adviser in the DPRK - Admiral Kapanadze). With the help of Soviet specialists, more than 3 thousand Soviet-made mines were placed in coastal waters. The first US ship to hit a mine, on September 26, 1950, was the destroyer USS Brahm. The second to hit a contact mine was the destroyer Manchfield. The third is the minesweeper "Megpay". In addition to them, a patrol ship and 7 minesweepers were blown up by mines and sank.

The participation of Soviet ground forces in the Korean War is not advertised and is still classified. And yet, throughout the war, Soviet troops were stationed in North Korea, with a total of about 40 thousand military personnel. These included military advisers to the KPA, military specialists and military personnel of the 64th Fighter Aviation Corps (IAC). The total number of specialists was 4,293 people (including 4,020 military personnel and 273 civilians), most of whom were in the country until the start of the Korean War. Advisors were located under the commanders of the military branches and service chiefs of the Korean People's Army, in infantry divisions and individual infantry brigades, infantry and artillery regiments, individual combat and training units, in officer and political schools, in rear formations and units.

Veniamin Nikolaevich Bersenev, who fought in North Korea for a year and nine months, says: “I was a Chinese volunteer and wore the uniform of the Chinese army. For this we were jokingly called “Chinese dummies.” Many Soviet soldiers and officers served in Korea. And their families didn’t even know about it.”

A researcher of the combat operations of Soviet aviation in Korea and China, I. A. Seidov notes: “On the territory of China and North Korea, Soviet units and air defense units also maintained camouflage, carrying out the task in the form of Chinese people’s volunteers.”

V. Smirnov testifies: “An old-timer in Dalyan, who asked to be called Uncle Zhora (in those years he was a civilian worker in a Soviet military unit, and the name Zhora was given to him by Soviet soldiers), said that Soviet pilots, tank crews, and artillerymen helped the Korean people in repelling American aggression, but they fought in the form of Chinese volunteers. The dead were buried in the cemetery in Port Arthur."

The work of Soviet military advisers was highly appreciated by the DPRK government. In October 1951, 76 people were awarded Korean national orders for their selfless work “to assist the KPA in its struggle against the American-British interventionists” and “selfless dedication of their energy and abilities to the common cause of ensuring the peace and security of peoples.” Due to the reluctance of the Soviet leadership to make public the presence of Soviet military personnel on Korean territory, their presence in active units was “officially” prohibited from September 15, 1951. And, nevertheless, it is known that the 52nd Zenad from September to December 1951 conducted 1093 battery fires and shot down 50 enemy aircraft in North Korea.

On May 15, 1954, the American government published documents that established the extent of the participation of Soviet troops in the Korean War. According to the data provided, there were about 20,000 Soviet soldiers and officers in the North Korean army. Two months before the armistice, the Soviet contingent was reduced to 12,000 people.

American radars and the eavesdropping system, according to fighter pilot B.S. Abakumov, controlled the operation of Soviet air units. Every month, a large number of saboteurs were sent to North Korea and China with various tasks, including capturing one of the Russians to prove their presence in the country. American intelligence officers were equipped with first-class technology for transmitting information and could disguise radio equipment under the water of rice fields. Thanks to the high-quality and efficient work of the agents, the enemy side was often informed even about the departures of Soviet aircraft, right down to the designation of their tail numbers. Veteran of the 39th Army Samochelyaev F. E., commander of the headquarters communications platoon of the 17th Guards. SD, recalled: “As soon as our units began to move or the planes took off, the enemy radio station immediately began to work. It was extremely difficult to catch the gunner. They knew the terrain well and skillfully camouflaged themselves.”

American and Kuomintang intelligence services were constantly active in China. The American intelligence center called the “Research Bureau for Far Eastern Issues” was located in Hong Kong, and in Taipei there was a school for training saboteurs and terrorists. On April 12, 1950, Chiang Kai-shek gave a secret order to create special units in Southeast China to carry out terrorist attacks against Soviet specialists. It said in particular: “...to widely launch terrorist actions against Soviet military and technical specialists and important military and political communist workers in order to effectively suppress their activities...” Chiang Kai-shek agents sought to obtain documents of Soviet citizens in China. There were also provocations involving staging attacks by Soviet military personnel on Chinese women. These scenes were photographed and presented in print as acts of violence against local residents. One of the sabotage groups was uncovered in a training aviation center for preparation for jet flights on the territory of the People's Republic of China.

According to the testimony of veterans of the 39th Army, “saboteurs from the nationalist gangs of Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang attacked Soviet soldiers while on guard duty at distant sites.” Constant direction-finding reconnaissance and search activities were carried out against spies and saboteurs. The situation required constant increased combat readiness of the Soviet troops. Combat, operational, staff, and special training were continuously conducted. Joint exercises were conducted with PLA units.

Since July 1951, new divisions began to be created in the North China District and old divisions were reorganized, including Korean ones, withdrawn to the territory of Manchuria. At the request of the Chinese government, two advisers were sent to these divisions during their formation: to the division commander and to the commander of the self-propelled tank regiment. With their active help, combat training of all units and subunits began, was carried out and ended. Advisors to the commanders of these infantry divisions in the North China Military District (in 1950-1953) were: Lieutenant Colonel I. F. Pomazkov; Colonel N.P. Katkov, V.T. Yaglenko. N. S. Loboda. Advisors to the commanders of the tank-self-propelled regiments were Lieutenant Colonel G. A. Nikiforov, Colonel I. D. Ivlev and others.

On January 27, 1952, US President Truman wrote in his personal diary: “It seems to me that the correct solution now would be a ten-day ultimatum informing Moscow that we intend to blockade the Chinese coast from the Korean border to Indochina and that we intend to destroy all military bases in Manchuria... We will destroy all ports or cities in order to achieve our peaceful goals... This means all-out war. This means that Moscow, St. Petersburg, Mukden, Vladivostok, Beijing, Shanghai, Port Arthur, Dairen, Odessa and Stalingrad and all industrial enterprises in China and the Soviet Union will be wiped off the face of the earth. This is the last chance for the Soviet government to decide whether it deserves to exist or not!

Anticipating such a development of events, Soviet military personnel were given iodine preparations in case of an atomic bombing. Water was allowed to be drunk only from flasks filled in parts.

The facts of the use of bacteriological and chemical weapons by the UN coalition forces received wide resonance in the world. As publications of those years reported, both the positions of the Korean-Chinese troops and areas remote from the front line. In total, according to Chinese scientists, the Americans carried out 804 bacteriological raids over two months. These facts are confirmed by Soviet military personnel - veterans of the Korean War. Bersenev recalls: “The B-29 was bombed at night, and when you come out in the morning, there are insects everywhere: such big flies, infected with various diseases. The whole earth was dotted with them. Because of the flies, we slept in gauze curtains. We were constantly given preventive injections, but many still got sick. And some of our people died during the bombings.”

On the afternoon of August 5, 1952, Kim Il Sung's command post was raided. As a result of this raid, 11 Soviet military advisers were killed. On June 23, 1952, the Americans carried out the largest raid on a complex of hydraulic structures on the Yalu River, in which over five hundred bombers took part. As a result, almost all of North Korea and part of North China were left without power supply. The British authorities disowned this act, committed under the UN flag, and protested.

On October 29, 1952, American aircraft carried out a destructive raid on the Soviet embassy. According to the recollections of embassy employee V.A. Tarasov, the first bombs were dropped at two in the morning, subsequent attacks continued approximately every half hour until dawn. In total, four hundred bombs of two hundred kilograms each were dropped.

On July 27, 1953, on the day the Ceasefire Treaty was signed (the generally accepted date for the end of the Korean War), a Soviet military aircraft Il-12, converted into a passenger version, took off from Port Arthur heading for Vladivostok. Flying over the spurs of the Greater Khingan, it was suddenly attacked by 4 American fighters, as a result of which the unarmed Il-12 with 21 people on board, including crew members, was shot down.

In October 1953, Lieutenant General V.I. Shevtsov was appointed commander of the 39th Army. He commanded the army until May 1955.

Soviet units that took part in hostilities in Korea and China

The following Soviet units are known to have participated in hostilities on the territory of Korea and China: 64th IAK, GVS inspection department, special communications department at the GVS; three aviation commandant's offices located in Pyongyang, Seisin and Kanko for maintenance of the Vladivostok - Port Arthur route; The Heijin reconnaissance point, the HF station of the Ministry of State Security in Pyongyang, the broadcast point in Ranan and the communications company that served communication lines with the USSR Embassy. From October 1951 to April 1953, a group of GRU radio operators under the command of Captain Yu. A. Zharov worked at the KND headquarters, providing communications with the General Staff of the Soviet Army. Until January 1951, there was also a separate communications company in North Korea. 06/13/1951 the 10th anti-aircraft searchlight regiment arrived in the combat area. He was in Korea (Andun) until the end of November 1952 and was replaced by the 20th Regiment. 52nd, 87th, 92nd, 28th and 35th anti-aircraft artillery divisions, 18th aviation technical division of the 64th IAK. The corps also included 727 obs and 81 ors. There were several radio battalions on Korean territory. Several military hospitals operated on the railway and the 3rd Railway Operational Regiment operated. The combat work was carried out by Soviet signalmen, radar station operators, VNOS, specialists involved in repair and restoration work, sappers, drivers, and Soviet medical institutions.

As well as units and formations of the Pacific Fleet: ships of the Seisin Naval Base, 781st IAP, 593rd Separate Transport Aviation Regiment, 1744th Long-Range Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron, 36th Mine-Torpedo Aviation Regiment, 1534th Mine-Torpedo Aviation Regiment, cable ship "Plastun", 27th aviation medicine laboratory.

Dislocations

The following were stationed in Port Arthur: the headquarters of the 113th Infantry Division of Lieutenant General Tereshkov (338th Infantry Division - in the Port Arthur, Dalniy sector, 358th from Dalniy to the northern border of the zone, 262nd Infantry Division along the entire northern border of the peninsula, headquarters 5 1st artillery corps, 150 UR, 139 apabr, communications regiment, artillery regiment, 48th guards infantry regiment, air defense regiment, IAP, ATO battalion. The editorial office of the newspaper of the 39th Army “Son of the Motherland” After the war, it became known as “Vo”. glory to the Motherland!”, editor - Lieutenant Colonel B. L. Krasovsky. USSR Navy Base Hospital 29 BCP.

The headquarters of the 5th Guards were stationed in the Jinzhou area. sk Lieutenant General L.N. Alekseev, 19th, 91st and 17th Guards. rifle division under the command of Major General Evgeniy Leonidovich Korkuts. Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel Strashnenko. The division included the 21st separate communications battalion, on the basis of which Chinese volunteers were trained. 26th Guards Cannon Artillery Regiment, 46th Guards Mortar Regiment, units of the 6th Artillery Breakthrough Division, Pacific Fleet Mine-Torpedo Aviation Regiment.

In Dalny - the 33rd cannon division, the headquarters of the 7th BAC, aviation units, the 14th Zenad, the 119th Infantry Regiment guarded the port. Units of the USSR Navy. In the 50s, Soviet specialists built a modern hospital for the PLA in a convenient coastal area. This hospital still exists today.

There are air units in Sanshilipu.

In the area of ​​the cities of Shanghai, Nanjing and Xuzhou - the 52nd anti-aircraft artillery division, aviation units (at the Jianwan and Dachan airfields), and airborne mission posts (at the points of Qidong, Nanhui, Hai'an, Wuxian, Congjiaolu).

In the area of ​​Andun - 19th Guards. rifle division, air units, 10th, 20th anti-aircraft searchlight regiments.

In the area of ​​Yingchenzi - 7th fur. Division of Lieutenant General F. G. Katkov, part of the 6th Artillery Breakthrough Division.

There are air units in the Nanchang area.

There are air units in the Harbin area.

In the Beijing area there is the 300th Air Regiment.

Mukden, Anshan, Liaoyang - air force bases.

There are air units in the Qiqihar area.

There are air units in the Myagou area.

Losses and loss

Soviet-Japanese War of 1945. Dead - 12,031 people, medical - 24,425 people.

During the performance of international duty by Soviet military specialists in China from 1946 to 1950, 936 people died from wounds and illnesses. Of these, there are 155 officers, 216 sergeants, 521 soldiers and 44 people. - from among civilian specialists. The burial places of fallen Soviet internationalists are carefully preserved in the People's Republic of China.

Korean War (1950-1953). The total irretrievable losses of our units and formations amounted to 315 people, of which 168 were officers, 147 were sergeants and soldiers.

The figures for Soviet losses in China, including during the Korean War, differ significantly according to different sources. Thus, according to the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Shenyang, 89 Soviet citizens were buried in cemeteries on the Liaodong Peninsula from 1950 to 1953 (the cities of Lushun, Dalian and Jinzhou), and according to Chinese passport data from 1992 - 723 people. In total, during the period from 1945 to 1956 on the Liaodong Peninsula, according to the Consulate General of the Russian Federation, 722 Soviet citizens were buried (of which 104 were unknown), and according to Chinese passport data of 1992 - 2,572 people, including 15 unknown. As for Soviet losses, complete data on this is still missing. From many literary sources, including memoirs, it is known that during the Korean War, Soviet advisers, anti-aircraft gunners, signalmen, medical workers, diplomats, and other specialists who provided assistance to North Korea died.

There are 58 burial sites of Soviet and Russian soldiers in China. More than 18 thousand died during the liberation of China from Japanese invaders and after WWII.

The ashes of more than 14.5 thousand Soviet soldiers rest on the territory of the PRC; at least 50 monuments to Soviet soldiers were built in 45 cities of China.

There is no detailed information regarding the accounting of losses of Soviet civilians in China. At the same time, about 100 women and children are buried in only one of the plots in the Russian cemetery in Port Arthur. The children of military personnel who died during the cholera epidemic in 1948, mostly one or two years old, are buried here.