The Liaodong Peninsula is the second largest peninsula in China, located in the southeast of Liaoning Province, south of the liaohe estuary and the Yalu River estuary, extending between the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea. The strategic position of the Liaodong Peninsula is very important, and it and the Shandong Peninsula are like a pair of large pincers, protecting the security of the Gyeonggi region.
In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the Western powers and Japan wanted to invade the Liaodong Peninsula, and in 1905, Japan exercised substantial control over the Liaodong Peninsula, and the Japanese established the Kwantung Governor's Palace in Lushun to colonize Liaodong. On August 9, 1945, 1.57 million Soviet Red Army attacked the Kwantung Army entrenched in northeast China in three ways, and the Japanese army collapsed and surrendered under the offensive of the Soviet army.
On August 24, 1945, the Soviet Guards Tank Sixth Army reached the brigade area, and the airborne troops of the Soviet Pacific Fleet landed at Lushunkou. The Red Army of the Soviet Union entered the brigade, ending the 40-year colonial rule of Japanese imperialism in the Dalian area and declaring the liberation of Dalian. After the liberation of Dalian, the Soviet military management department began negotiations with the CCP's party organization in Dalian, saying that the government personnel in Dalian were appointed by the CCP to manage all the daily affairs of Dalian, but the Soviet troops would not withdraw from the brigade for the time being.
After the founding of New China in 1949, the new Chinese leaders visited the Soviet Union, on the one hand, to ask the Soviet Union for advice on the experience of nation-building, and on the other hand, to abrogate the "Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance" signed by the Kuomintang regime and the Soviet Union in 1945, to re-sign a new treaty of equality, and to reclaim the Soviet Union's privileges in China. One of the most important points is the recovery of Lushun, Dalian and the China-Long Railway.
The Soviet Union did not agree with China's demands at that time, and Stalin always avoided the truth and did not want to withdraw his troops from Lushun and Dalian. However, Chairman Mao's attitude was very tough, and after many rounds of competition, Stalin had to give in, agreed to establish a new Sino-Soviet treaty with New China, and promised to withdraw from Lushun by the end of 1952.
However, the outbreak of the Korean War interrupted the rhythm of Soviet troop withdrawal, and after the outbreak of the Korean War, US President Truman quickly made the decision to send troops to North Korea, and in order to defend the nascent people's power, China also quickly made the decision to send troops to North Korea. After the Sino-US armies fought on the Korean Peninsula, the United States sent its powerful naval and air forces to approach China's coastal waters, and China did not have a navy and air force, at this time, if the Soviet army with strong naval and air forces withdrew from Lushun, China's northeast coastal defense would show a trend of opening, so China postponed the withdrawal of troops to the Soviet Union, and Stalin quickly agreed to this request.
During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the Soviet troops stationed in Lushun did deter the US military. In October 1950, at the request of the Chinese side, the Soviet Union also agreed to train the crew of four ships for China at Lushunkou, and after more than two years of study and training, the Chinese trainees mastered the skills of submarine navigation and combat.
After the Korean Armistice in 1953, the situation on the Korean Peninsula stabilized, and the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Lushun was put on the agenda. In 1954, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the founding of New China, Khrushchev led a delegation of the Soviet government to visit China, during the talks, Khrushchev took the initiative to raise the issue of the withdrawal of troops from Lushun, and finally decided to complete the withdrawal of troops before May 31, 1955, and the Soviet army would hand over relevant equipment to China before the withdrawal.
In January 1955, the Chinese People's Liberation Army began to enter Lushun, Dalian. The first to arrive here was the Third Corps of the Volunteer Army, which had just come down from the Korean battlefield, and after they arrived at the brigade university, they quickly carried out activities to learn from the Soviet Union, and with the support and help of the Soviet Army's Dalian, each unit set up more than 200 training courses, focusing on the technical training of commanders, staff officers, ordnance divisions, tank personnel, communications, air defense, engineering, anti-chemical warfare and other personnel.
In February 1955, the handover task between the Chinese and Soviet armies was officially launched, and these officers and soldiers, who had just come down from the Korean battlefield for a short time, immediately turned to the learning stage. At that time, the barracks were occupied by the Soviets, and there were no surplus barracks, and the PLA troops responsible for receiving the defense lived in warehouses, basements, and makeshift tents. The Soviet army ate a special naval stove, bread, red wine, and our army ate sorghum rice, but these are not very difficult for our soldiers, they constantly ask the officers and men of the Soviet army for advice, learn from the advanced experience and technology of the Soviet army.
Some of the equipment handed over by the Soviet army to our army was donated free of charge, but most of it needed to be bought at a cost, and cadres from both sides began to negotiate the prices of various equipment and materials according to the evaluation criteria of "third class and six levels". For the sake of the national interest, Zhou Xihan, chairman of the Naval Branch of the Lushun Base Receiving Committee and chief of naval staff, quietly said to the navy personnel: "These things must be fought over, and everything that involves money must also be fought for." ”
Of course, the Soviet side will not make concessions on money, and the Chinese and Soviet soldiers often quarrel with each other for the price of a piece of weapon and equipment, and the Soviet side wants to sell it more expensive, while the Chinese side wants to buy it cheaper. The highlight of the reception was the reception of four 180 mm coastal defense guns, which were originally secondary guns on the cruiser, each weighing 100 kilograms. In order to learn the design method of this artillery, the Chinese army transferred a group of backbone 130 mm gun companies, who were eager to learn the use of new equipment under the guidance of the Soviet army.
On April 15, 1955, China and the Soviet Union formally signed the handover certificate. Since 1895, a full 60 years have passed, and Lushun has finally returned to the embrace of the motherland. On the day of the handover ceremony, people from all walks of life in Lushun City celebrated, and they finally raised their own national flag on this land.
At this handover ceremony, the Soviet army did hand over a lot of equipment to our side, handing over a total of 1198 guns of various types, 328 aircraft of various types, 58 ships, 2.35 million shells, 2624 bombs, 1684 vehicles, 35 radars, as well as airports, barracks, warehouses, hospitals, repair shops and other facilities. After the handover ceremony, Peng Dehuai, commander-in-chief of the Volunteer Army, personally wore the "Sino-Soviet Friendship Commemorative Medal" for the representatives of the Soviet army stationed in the Shunkou area of Lulu.