In August 1945, after ending its war against Germany, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and sent more than 1.5 million troops from Siberia into the northeast border of China to attack the Japanese Kwantung Army stationed there. Under the attack of the Soviet army, the Kwantung Army, which was once powerful, collapsed in an instant. In less than a month, more than 700,000 Kwantung Army quickly surrendered.
Since 1919, the Kwantung Army has continuously expanded its sphere of influence in northeast China, and in 1931, it completely occupied the region. In the past 20 years, the Kwantung Army has plundered the resources of the Northeast to strengthen itself, claiming to be an elite division in the Japanese army, enough to "fight with one enemy and a hundred".
But it was such an army that was completely defeated by the Soviet army in an instant. Why is that? Is it true that the combat effectiveness of the Soviet army is so much stronger than that of the Japanese army?
1. The Kwantung Army occupying northeast China
In 1919, in order to better colonize northeast China, the Japanese government upgraded the former War Department of the Kwantung Governor's Office to the Kwantung Army Command, which is the origin of the Kwantung Army. Because Japan only occupied the Liaodong Peninsula at that time, and did not completely occupy the entire northeast, the Kwantung Army in this period was not strong, only more than 10,000 people.
By 1931, the number of the Kwantung Army had also increased to 20,000, a huge difference in number compared with the hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops in the northeast. However, at the time of the September 18 Incident, the Northeast Army did not let go of a single shot and gave up the Northeast region, enabling Japan to occupy such a vast land without effort.
This incident made the status of the Kwantung Army in Japan continue to increase, and the Kwantung Army Command soon became the supreme authority of Japan to rule the Northeast region, becoming the "Emperor Taishang" of the puppet state of Manchukuo. Since then, in order to completely occupy the northeast, Japan has quickly mobilized troops from the country and invaded the northeast.
In just half a year, the Japanese army sent 11 brigades and regiments to northeast China and expanded the establishment of the Kwantung Army. By the time of the Outbreak of the Lugou Bridge Incident in 1937, the total number of the Kwantung Army had reached more than 200,000.
After Japan launched an all-out war of aggression against China, in order to achieve the strategic goal of "occupying China in three months," Japan sent the Kwantung Army, which was originally stationed in the northeast region, to north China and other regions. However, in order to prevent the soviet army and the Northeast Anti-Japanese Alliance from attacking, Japan had to expand the structure of the Kwantung Army, and by the end of 1940, the Kwantung Army had 11 divisions and regiments under its command, with a total strength of more than 400,000 people.
In 1941, after the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, Japan attempted to unite with Germany and attack the Soviet Union from east to west. In the decision of the Japanese army base camp, it is mentioned that if the development of the war between the Soviet Union and Germany is beneficial to Japan, then Japan will use force to eliminate the Soviet Union and ensure the stability of the northern border. In order to achieve this goal, Japan began a crazy expansion plan for the Kwantung Army, and in just one year, the Kwantung Army expanded to 34 divisions and regiments, with a total strength of more than 700,000 people.
According to Japan's projections at this time, the Kwantung Army of this size was already sufficient for the combat task of attacking the Soviet Union in the north. However, with the development of the Soviet-German war, Japan thought it extremely unwise to rush into war against the Soviet Union, so it dispelled this idea. However, Japan's rejection of the idea of attacking the Soviet Union did not mean that the Soviet Union would continue to condone Japan's fascist behavior.
In 1945, a million Soviet Red Army poured into northeast China and quickly defeated the Kwantung Army. In this battle, the performance of the Kwantung Army surprised many people because it was too weak. After the Soviet offensive, the force quickly collapsed on all fronts, and the Soviet Union basically ended the war in less than a month.
Before the Soviet offensive, the deterrent power of the Kwantung Army was still very large, because the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army was actually not weak. In the Pacific Theater, the Japanese army also made the armies of Britain and the United States suffer. The combat effectiveness of the Kwantung Army is one of the best in the Japanese army. So why the Kwantung Army was unable to resist the Soviet attack, there are many opinions in history, and there are two main reasons for summarizing.
Second, the strength of the Kwantung Army was sharply reduced
In 1904, Japan and Russia fought over the Liaodong Peninsula, and since then they have formed a bond. Japan has also always regarded Russia as a hypothetical enemy and plotted to attack Russia. Although the Soviet Union later overthrew Tsarist Russia, Japan did not let down its vigilance against the Soviet Union and continued to regard the Soviet Union as an imaginary enemy.
Therefore, the goal of the Kwantung Army was not only to carry out colonial aggression in northeast China, but also to use the northeast region as a strategic base to resist the Southward Movement of the Soviet Army, and even wait for an opportunity to attack the Soviet Union. The Kwantung Army was actually a "border defense force" specially set up by Japan against the Soviet Union.
As mentioned above, in 1941, Japan had planned to take the initiative to attack the Soviet Union, so it expanded the strength of the Kwantung Army to more than 700,000 people. However, because of the bravery of the Soviet army, the Japanese cancelled this combat mission. However, after this, Japan did not disband the more than 700,000 Kwantung Army, and maintained this force until the end of 1943.
In 1943, with saipan, Guam and other strategic places being conquered by the US army, the Japanese army was in trouble in the Pacific theater. In addition, because Japan is fighting against many countries at the same time, each battlefield needs a large number of troops to maintain the situation, so the strength of the troops is gradually stretched. Faced with such a dilemma, the Japanese decision-making level believed that northeast China did not need too many troops for the time being, so they drew elite troops from the Kwantung Army and quickly sent them to the Pacific Theater.
However, japan's situation in the Pacific Theater did not improve as a result, and after these Kwantung Troops were transferred out, they basically died there and could never come back. As a result, the Kwantung Army was seriously weakened. According to statistics, in the second half of 1943, the Japanese decision-making level drew 20 complete divisions from the Kwantung Army, with a strength of more than 250,000 troops. And not only soldiers, but also the main heavy equipment of the Kwantung Army, such as tanks, heavy artillery, heavy machine guns, etc., were basically transported to the Pacific Theater.
In 1945, the Japanese army saw that it was powerless in the Pacific theater, and the Soviet Union had also invaded Germany, and victory was imminent, so it hurried to carry out a general mobilization for war at home, and formed 8 divisions and regiments, 7 mixed brigades to supplement the Kwantung Army, and also transferred 4 divisions and regiments from the Chinese Kannai battlefield to Guanwai.
As a result, the number of the Kwantung Army expanded from more than 450,000 to more than 700,000. However, although the number of people has been replenished, the strength is far less than the 700,000 troops before. Because the troops transferred in 1943 were the most elite units, they were now supplemented by the recruits who had been formed temporarily and had never been on the battlefield.
Moreover, this emergency replenishment did not bring back the heavy equipment. Before the Soviet offensive, the Kwantung Army had only about 150 tanks at its disposal, less than 200 combat aircraft, and even rifles could not be fully loaded, and could only be counted with shotguns. This force has gone from a strong army of 700,000 to an empty shell that lacks heavy equipment and elite troops.
Third, the absolute strength of the Soviet army was crushed
The Soviet side had long been determined to crack down on Japanese fascism. In the autumn of 1944, preparations for the war against Japan began. At the Yalta Conference in 1945, the Soviet Union said it would fight Against Japan two to three months after the end of the European war. In early April, the Soviet Union transferred a large number of elite troops from the Soviet-German battlefield to the Far East.
At the end of June, the Soviet High Command formulated a "battle plan against Japan", deciding to carry out a surprise attack from three directions: Tamchag Prague in Outer Mongolia, Boli on the Sino-Soviet border, and the coastal area, dividing the Japanese Kwantung Army, isolating it in central and southern Manchuria, and then completely annihilating it.
In July, the Soviet Union formed the Far East Command, which basically completed its preparations for war against Japan. At this time in the Far East, the Soviet Union had 128 divisions and more than 40 brigades, with a total strength of 1.57 million. In addition, there are 260,000 guns of various kinds, 5,500 tanks and self-propelled guns, and 3,900 military aircraft. Whether in terms of the number of soldiers or weapons and equipment, the strength of the Soviet army far exceeded that of the Kwantung Army.
On August 9, more than 1.5 million Soviet troops broke into northeast China in three routes. According to the deployment of the Soviet Far East Command. On the western front, the post-Belgar Front, which was the main attacker, fought in the area west of Dandong, Changchun, and Qiqihar, including Changchun and Shenyang. The front was divided into three roads, north and south, crossing the Border between China and the Soviet Union and China and Mongolia.
In just a few days, the right wing of the front's middle road crossed the Daxing'an Ridge, occupied Kailu and Tongliao, entered Shenyang and Changchun, and entered Chifeng on the left wing. The northern route of the front soon occupied Manchuria, followed by the destruction of the Japanese fortifications and the capture of Hailar. After a fierce battle with the Japanese army in Boktu for 3 days, it was only after being able to capture Boktu and enter Qiqihar. On the south road, the Soviet army quickly occupied Duolun, Zhangbei, and entered Chengde.
On the eastern front, the main attack was the Far Eastern First Front, and the combat area was east of dandong, Changchun, and Harbin, and the area south of the first line of Hutou and Harbin, including Harbin and Jilin. The front was divided into two offensives, north and south. The South Road troops also divided into three roads and launched an attack on the Kwantung Army, and after several days of fierce fighting, the central main attack force occupied Mudanjiang, the right wing cooperated with the airborne troops, broke into Harbin, and the left wing captured Dongning and entered Jilin.
On the north side of the Eastern Front, the 35th Army crossed the Ussuri River and attacked the defensive area of the 135th Division of the Kwantung Army in the direction of Mishan. This unit encountered the 15th Border Garrison of the Kwantung Army, relying on the stubborn resistance of the border positions, and fought fiercely for a week before it was completely annihilated. After that, in a few days, it occupied Mishan, Dong'an, Boli and other places. The 2nd Far Eastern Front, which was responsible for operations on the northern front, was north of the Hutou and Harbin lines and east of the Qiqihar and Nenjiang lines. The front soon broke through the heilongjiang and Mudanjiang defense lines and entered Harbin and Qiqihar.
Judging from the course of the Soviet army's operations against the Kwantung Army, the Soviet army basically did not encounter much resistance. On the one hand, the number and weapons and equipment of the Kwantung Army were inferior to those of the Soviet Army, and on the other hand, in terms of the quality of soldiers, the Kwantung Army was also greatly inferior to the Soviet Army. Most of the Soviet troops who participated in this battle had experienced the blood of corpses on the Soviet-German battlefield, and their combat experience was very rich, which was not comparable to the new units that had just been formed in the Kwantung Army.
In addition, after the Soviet army launched an attack, the Northeast Anti-Japanese Coalition Army, which had long insisted on resisting the war, also closely cooperated with the Actions of the Soviet Army, constantly attacking the Japanese army and cutting off the Japanese supply line. And with the advantage of familiar terrain, he served as a guide for the Soviet army, which greatly enhanced the combat advantage of the Soviet army.
In this situation, the Kwantung Army naturally retreated and soon lost the territory it had previously occupied. At the same time, the United States surrendered two atomic bombs to Japan, completely crushing the Japanese government's will to fight, declaring unconditional surrender, and ordering japanese troops everywhere to stop resisting and surrender on the spot. Under these circumstances, the Kwantung Army naturally did not have any resistance and surrendered.
In less than a month, the Soviet army, with the close cooperation of the Chinese military and civilians, crushed the discolored Kwantung Army and ended its colonial history in northeast China. In this battle, the brave and fierce combat effectiveness displayed by the Soviet army, and the patriotic enthusiasm of the Chinese military and people who were not afraid of sacrifice were the main reasons why the Kwantung Army could not resist the attack.
Although the Kwantung Army's pre-war strength weakened and the war ended more quickly, in fact, Japan's defeat was only a matter of time. The Japanese army was not defeated because of its weakness, but because of the unjust war he launched, it was bound to be opposed by the people of the whole world and eventually completely destroyed.
Text/Leyu
Resources:
1. "Soviet Invasion of Northeast China: Goals and Results", Shen Zhihua
2. "Changes in the Strength of the Japanese Kwantung Army before the Soviet War against Japan and Its Results", Deng Pei