The Last landing: how the Red Army liberated the Kuril Islands
On August 18, we celebrate the Day of the Kuril Landing. A date that reminds us of the valor and courage of the Red Army soldiers and sailors who fought in the Far East in the summer of 1945. This brilliant operation was the last battle of the Soviet-Japanese war. And therefore, the last feat of the Red Army in World War II. Izvestia recalled how it was.
The Far Eastern context
The Kuril Island Range lies between the Kamchatka Peninsula and the island of Hokkaido, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean. The first mentions of these islands in Japanese sources date back to 1635, in Russian — 1644. In 1711, a detachment of Kamchatka Cossacks led by Danila Antsiferov and Ivan Kozyrevsky landed on the northernmost island of the archipelago — Shumshu. Russia began to explore the Kuril Islands earlier than Japan. At the end of the 18th century, Catherine II signed a decree on the incorporation of the Kuril Islands into Russia. In 1855, Russia and Japan signed the Treaty of Shimoda on Trade and Borders, according to which the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai were transferred to Japan, and the Northern Kuril Islands were transferred to Russia. 20 years later, the two powers signed a new treaty in which Russia gave up the Kuril Islands in exchange for Sakhalin Island. Then there was the Russian-Japanese War and the First World War, the borders changed and were clarified... But the situation was dramatically changed by the Second World War.
The last fight
In February 1945, at the Yalta Conference, the Allies agreed on the joint participation of the Red Army in the war against Japan after the victory over Germany and on the transfer of South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands under the jurisdiction of the USSR.
Soviet soldiers during the storming of Japanese fortifications on the Ryzhaya Hill during the Soviet-Japanese War
The Soviet-Japanese war began on the morning of August 9, 1945. The Red Army managed to overwhelm the enemy with a rapid concentration of troops in the Far East. On August 6, the main fighting ended, and the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, General Yamada Otozo, ordered the surrender. But the Japanese garrisons on Southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were not going to comply with this order. The war continued there. Her last fight took place there. In Japan, even during the Khalkhin Gol conflict, they became convinced of the strength and courage of the Red Army. The 1945 campaign in the Land of the Rising Sun reinforced a respectful attitude towards its western neighbor — and in the Kuril Islands they were ready for fierce battles.
The Soviet command decided to occupy the Kuril Islands with a forced landing. The Soviet command chose the northernmost island of the Kuril Ridge, Shumsha, an island with the strongest garrison, as its first target. It seems to be just around the corner: the island is located only 12 km from the southern coast of Kamchatka. Of course, the Japanese were well aware that the island, located close to the Soviet border, was a convenient target. And they turned it into a fortress, equipped according to all the rules of fortification. There is a well-equipped 10,000-strong garrison on the island. 34 concrete artillery pillboxes and 24 bunkers, 310 closed machine-gun emplacements, dozens of kilometers of underground shelters are very impressive lines of defense and communications, designed, among other things, to quickly transfer reinforcements to Shumsha.
The amphibious assault, scheduled for August 18, included two reinforced infantry regiments, two artillery regiments (conventional and fighter), sappers, marines and a combined detachment of border guards. About 9,000 soldiers and officers and 95 guns. They were supported by a mixed aviation division and ships of the Petropavlovsk Naval Base. The landing force was commanded by Lieutenant General Porfiry Dyakov, and the naval forces were led by Captain 1st Rank Dmitry Ponomarev.
Sailors of the Pacific Fleet in the city liberated from the Japanese invaders
At night, the flotilla left Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and, with silent radios, stealthily moved towards Shumsh. At 4:22 a.m., the landing of the advanced detachment began — 1,363 people. The Japanese marines did not notice the danger. The paratroopers managed not only to disembark unnoticed, but also to walk 2 km inland and even occupy advanced trenches. No losses. It was only at half past five, already at dawn, that the Japanese garrison went on alert and a firefight began.
By noon, the Japanese resistance had intensified. Artillery was hitting the ships, and tanks were moving towards the paratroopers. The heights changed hands several times.
A coastal battery was firing at Japanese fortifications from Cape Lopatka in Kamchatka. Samurai positions were also shelled by naval gunners. Under the cover of fire, the paratroopers recaptured the Kuril land meter by meter. But neither naval nor coastal artillery could destroy the samurai's coastal firing points, safely hidden in the ground. They were "removed" by the sappers, getting close. This dangerous outing required courage. The vanguard gained a foothold on the island. It was the turn of the transfer to the conquered bridgehead and for the main part of the landing force. Due to difficult weather conditions, this operation lasted for several hours under Japanese fire.
In the afternoon, the Japanese gathered all their forces and launched a desperate attack. They managed to advance, but they could not push the troops back into the sea. The Red Army soldiers dug into the Kuril land. The Japanese lost more than 25 tanks in the battle. The Soviet landing force did not have armored vehicles, but grenades and anti-tank weapons worked effectively.
Soviet troops are on the offensive
The four-day battle was intense. Due to heavy fog, the paratroopers could not be supported by aviation. The assault on the strategically important hill 171 required the greatest efforts. This high hill, overgrown with bushes, is the highest point on the island. The Japanese dotted the height with bunkers. The paratroopers managed to occupy it when large-caliber artillery entered the battle.
Two soldiers, petty officer of the 1st article Nikolai Vilkov and sailor Pyotr Ilyichev— repeated the feat of Alexander Matrosov to the Noise, covering machine-gun fire with their bodies. The boatswain Vilkov was 26, the helmsman of the patrol boat Ilyichev was 18 years old. When the paratroopers took the height, they found the bodies of their dead friends. His last letter was found in the pocket of Pyotr Ilyichev's peacoat.: "Dear mother, sister Polya and brother Vasily! We're going into battle today. Don't worry, dear ones. You won't have to blush for me. I will honorably fulfill my duty to my beloved Homeland and the oath I swore before the battle, I will keep to the end!"
Vilkov was awarded the title of Hero shortly after his death. And Ilyichev's award has been sought for many years. The military commander Alexander Gritchenko helped, who collected the testimonies of the participants of the battle and documents. 13 years after the Victory, an order was issued to award the hero of the Red Fleet.
The fighting continued until the evening of August 21, but with less ferocity than on the first day of the landing. Help came from Kamchatka — two rifle regiments. When a bomber broke through the fog and hit several Japanese batteries, the samurai realized that it was useless to resist.
An American lend-lease Studebaker truck with the inscription "Death to Japanese Samurai"
..On August 22, at 14:00, Lieutenant General Tsutsumi Fusaki, the "commander in the northern Kuril Islands," accepted the terms of surrender and gave the order to cease resistance. The rest of the Kuril Islands were captured without a fight: their garrisons surrendered without resistance. 56 islands with a total area of 10.5 thousand square kilometers became part of the Soviet Union.
The Battle of Shumsha was the only operation of the Soviet-Japanese war in which the Red Army suffered more losses than the enemy. It could not be otherwise: the paratroopers had to "crack" the almost impregnable sea fortress. They were heroes.
On August 22, even before the surrender of Shumshu, Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky, commander-in-chief of the Soviet forces in the Far East, gave the order to occupy the Southern Kuriles. Despite the severe weather conditions, by September 4, this order was executed.
The illusion of revenge
In the decades after the war, Soviet-Japanese relations developed in an unusual way. Our countries have not signed a peace treaty. But, strangely enough, for a long time this did not interfere with economic cooperation and mutual interest in the culture of our countries. The Soviet Union condemned the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese were interested in Russian culture, loved Soviet artists and athletes, and sought to trade with the Soviet Union. And this is despite ideological differences and Japan's clear membership in the American bloc. Moscow's help received a great response during the polio epidemic that swept Japan in the early 1960s. And there are many such bright pages in our common history.
Memorial complex in memory of Soviet soldiers, heroes of the Kuril amphibious operation to liberate Shumshu Island
Nowadays, a memorial complex dedicated to the Kuril amphibious operation has been opened on Shumshu Island, a tribute to the heroes who sacrificed themselves to set the winning point in World War II.
According to the San Francisco Peace Treaty, concluded in 1951, Japan renounced its rights to the Kuril Islands and territories over which it acquired sovereignty under the Portsmouth Treaty of September 5, 1905. Representatives of the USSR did not sign the treaty, but this does not change the obligations assumed by Japan under it. Japanese fantasies about the islands that legitimately became part of our country following the Second World War could have been ignored if not for the militarization strategy that modern Japan has chosen. Despite the poor state of the economy, Tokyo is increasing its military budget by 8-10% annually in the 2020s. Their goal is a "strategic" confrontation with their neighbors in the region — China and Russia.
There is also a dangerous tendency to revise the results of the Second World War. The illusion of revenge drags on, prevents an objective analysis of the past and present. In Japan, a strange understanding of the history of the twentieth century is being imposed — a combination with figures of silence, in which there is neither an understanding of the war crimes of the samurai in China, nor a sober understanding of the long confrontation between the Japanese and the Americans. And the "Far Eastern arms race" that Tokyo is trying to impose on its neighbors is dangerous only for Japan itself.
The author is the deputy editor—in-chief of the magazine "Historian"
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
