Just 61 minutes later, the Soviet Union launched a massive offensive on Japanese-occupied North Eastern China, better known as Manchuria. The invasion had three fronts.
The first and primary front in the attack, led by Marshal RY Malinovsky, attacked the Liaoning Province from the West after traversing the Inner Mongolian Desert and the Great Khingan mountain range. Once Liaoning had been taken, part of the army would break off and head Eastward to meet up with the second front.
The second front, led by General MA Purkayev, attacked from the center with the goal of securing Harbin and Qiqihar. After the completion of this task, the front would move to secure the port of Lushunkou in the Liaoning Province, which, at that point, should have already been taken by the first front.
The third and final front would be an attack from the East, led by Marshal KA Meretskov. This front had three primary goals: first, to capture cities in eastern Manchuria, like Changchun; second, to cut off Japanese escape routes into Korea; third, to invade and occupy Northern Korea.
 |
| Map of the Invasion |
The invasion lasted until September 2nd, 1945 when the Japanese forces formally surrendered. But despite the attack ending then, the invasion had many long-lasting consequences. After the WWII ended, the Soviets in Manchuria helped the Chinese Communists rebuild and eventually win the Chinese Civil War. In addition, the Nivkh and Oroks peoples of Sakhalin Island were deported for having spied for the Japanese, despite an equal number of them spying for the Soviets.
Finally, historians have argued that the Soviet Invasion of Manchuria was one of the primary for the Japanese surrender. While the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki contributed greatly towards the surrender, they were not the only factors. Towards the end of the war, it was evident that the Japanese were on the losing end of the war. As a result, they were looking towards the Soviet Union, then a neutral party in the war in the Pacific, as a mediator for terms of surrender with America. However, the Soviet invasion of Manchuria ultimately crushed any chance of any such thing happening, thus taking away the Japanese's last hope.
https://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=167
Charles -- I think that your post gave a good overview of the importance of the invasion of Manchuria because it was crucial to the defeat of the Japanese. When you mentioned Japan's goals and how they failed to capture Manchuria, it shows how stubborn they were and their inability to reroute in their plan. America had planned a complete surrender from Japan after the bombing but when Japan still refused to give up and decided to continue their original plan of the capturing of Manchuria, the Soviet Union also had to intervene. I think this is because Japan was so rooted in the ideas of literally fighting until death and they would stop at nothing unless it was ultimate and final victory. I think this was their demise because they were clearly weakened but they could not see the detriments of their actions.
ReplyDeleteSources:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviets-declare-war-on-japan-invade-manchuria
Charles, thanks for writing about this invasion which had such significant impacts on both the war itself and the world after the war. I like how you explained the reaction to the invasion from a Japanese point of view. It was interesting how the Japanese never thought of the possibility of a Soviet invasion and even looked to the Soviet Union as a possible mediator for negotiations with the US. A question I had was, considering how the Soviet occupation during this invasion led to the victory of communists in China and the establishment of a communist government in North Korea, did the US truly benefit from Soviet entry into the war? Was the value of Japan's faster surrender worth the consequence of war and conflict with Korea and China later on?
ReplyDelete