Wen | talk at night
Editor| Ancient Tales said
After the surrender of Japan, the peasants found the Japanese army deep in the mountains, and later reported to the Soviet army, and suffered heavy casualties in 26 days of fierce fighting!
On August 15, 1945, Japan officially announced its unconditional surrender to the Anti-Fascist Allies. However, the war against Japan did not end there, because many Japanese troops were unwilling to accept defeat, and some officers even deliberately blocked information in order to keep the soldiers fighting, so that the Japanese soldiers did not know the news of Japan's surrender.
Therefore, after the basic surrender of the main forces of Japan, the Allies fought several wars specifically against the remnants of the Japanese army. Among them, the tiger head fortress was the most fierce, and the Soviet army even sent dozens of bombers, poison gas, and liquid explosives in order to defeat the Japanese army here, while their opponents were only 1400 Japanese troops.
So, why are these 1400 Japanese troops so difficult to fight?
1. The plan to go north was blocked, and the Japanese army built the "Eastern Maginot Line"
In the early stages of World War II, Japan mainly launched aggression in China, and in the later period, in order to plunder war resources, they burned the war to Southeast Asia and the vast Pacific Ocean. However, the Japanese army has always had an elite army, waiting to fight a tough opponent. This opponent was the Soviet army at that time.
From the beginning, the Japanese army had two different plans. One plan was to go south to attack the Republic of China at the time; Another plan was to go north to seize the Soviet Far East, because Japan had long coveted Soviet territory. This is how the Russo-Japanese War of that year happened.
However, because in the Battle of Nomenkan, the Japanese army was defeated by the Soviet army led by Zhukov, so that the Japanese army's plan to "go north" was nipped in the bud from the beginning. So, after that, they mainly carried out the plan of "going south". However, both the Japanese and the Soviet army regarded the other side as the most dangerous enemy.
For this reason, even in the most difficult moments of the European battlefield, the Soviet army still retained a large number of elites in the Far East, ready to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army that broke in; And the Japanese army is quietly armed. At that time, they regarded the northeast as the base camp for invading China, and the northeast happened to be adjacent to the Soviet army, so the Japanese army was also thinking about how to defend against the Soviet army and how to attack the Soviet army.
The terrain of the northeast is very distinctive, basically the surrounding areas are mountainous areas that are not conducive to large-scale operations, and the Soviet army is best at large-scale tank operations. The interior of the northeast is mostly plain, which is very suitable for the Soviet army to rush thousands of miles. To this end, the Japanese army began to overhaul military fortresses on the border.
That is, by building underground fortresses with both attack and defense, they were prepared to deal with the attack of the Soviet army and prepared to attack the Soviet army, so a series of tragic dramas were staged here. The Japanese army forcibly brought thousands of Chinese to build fortresses here every year, and most of these Chinese to build fortresses were treated as "disposable items" by them.
Many people did not have a chance to come out at all, and they were directly tortured and killed in the fortress. So much so that many people later said that piles of bones were often seen nearby.
After years of capture Chinese and construction, the fortress here was already impregnable in the back, and the Japanese themselves even clamored that this was the Maginot Line in the East. In fact, their metaphor was very clever, and then these fortresses, like the Chino Line, did not play a key role.
2. The "Maginot Line of the East" really became Maginot
On August 8, 1945, because the European theater was basically over, the Soviet army officially declared war on Japan and then began to attack.
So, why did these fortresses built by the Japanese army fail to stop the Soviet attack at this time, and why did the Japanese army still resist after Japan's surrender? To say that the fortress they built is not of any use, it is actually not particularly accurate. Like the Tiger Head Fortress, this fortress played a role.
Because this is the necessary place for the Soviet army to attack, the Soviet army first launched an attack here after declaring war. Moreover, because the Japanese army was well fortified here, and also had a large number of weapons and ammunition, it gave the Soviet army a great hindrance. The Tiger Head Fortress is not a point, but a fortress composed of multiple fortifications.
The Soviet offensive here was greatly obstructed by the Japanese army, but it did not change the fate of the Japanese army.
Although, tactically speaking, the Japanese army should have gathered forces on the edge of the northeast in order to win a decisive battle with the Soviet army in the mountains that were unfavorable to the Soviet army. However, due to the long-term exhaustion of force by the Japanese army, they were basically stretched thin on the battlefield at this time.
At this time, whether it was the national army or our army, the Japanese army had to transfer a large number of their own troops, and there were not many Japanese troops left in the northeast, and most of them were newly recruited, and the elite were basically forced to enter the battlefield.
Moreover, I don't know if it is because of the problems of the Japanese army here or for some other unknown reason, the Japanese army's strength in the northeast is also very strange. Instead of putting a lot of troops around, they concentrated more troops in the central plains.
Therefore, although the Soviet army encountered some resistance, it quickly hit the plain. The Japanese army in the plains could not compare with the Soviet army at all, although there were still 6.7 million Kwantung Army guards here, but they lacked tanks and had insufficient experience in large-scale battles on the plains;
The Soviets, on the other hand, were swarms of tanks and were accustomed to Armageddon on the plains.
Therefore, in contrast, the Soviet army quickly defeated the main force of the Japanese army, and 5.6 million Kwantung troops were captured, most of whom were sent by the Soviet army to Siberia for reform.
3. The battle after the war: The Japanese army in the mountains and the Soviet army fought the final showdown
However, it was after the main Japanese army was annihilated and Japan had basically surrendered that a local peasant discovered the secret.
The farmer, who was also known for his boldness in the area, wanted to go to the surrounding mountains to see if he could find anything valuable. At that time, the Soviet and Japanese troops, including the Anti-Japanese Volunteers, often fought in the mountains, so there would be some things left on the battlefield, some of which had some value, and the peasants could pick them up and use them or sell them for money.
So the local villager, known as "Zhang Dao", poked around with a wooden stick in the nearby mountains, trying to find something in the fallen leaves. Just can't find anything valuable, and finding a few mountain goods to fill your stomach is a good thing. However, his wooden stick inadvertently opened a small hole.
"Zhang Daring" carefully looked into the small hole, it was actually a breathable hole plus a gun hole!
This surprised "Zhang Daring" and quickly hid carefully. Sure enough, he soon saw a group of Japanese soldiers, which frightened "Zhang Daring". So while the Japanese did not find out, they secretly hurried down the mountain.
At this time the Soviets had not yet left and were clearing possible remnants of the Japanese army. "Zhang Daring" quickly told the news to the nearby Soviet army, and the Soviet army was also surprised after hearing this: this main Japanese force has been eliminated, and the most escaped are one or two outlaws, but "Zhang Daring" saw the Japanese army in formation, and a very strong Japanese fortress?
Could it be that there are still large Japanese troops in the mountains?
So they went to the mountain under the leadership of "Zhang Daring", and soon the Soviet army discovered that there were indeed Japanese troops in the mountain. The first thought of the Soviet army was to recruit the Japanese army, but after the Japanese discovered the Soviet army, they actually took the initiative to attack the Soviet army. This greatly annoyed the Soviets and began to launch a fierce attack on the Japanese.
At this time, the Soviet army, whether in firepower or troops, had a great advantage over the Japanese army, so the Soviet army did not skimp on artillery fire to let tanks and artillery fire here, beating the perimeter of the Tiger Head Fortress to artillery fire. However, the Japanese troops inside were not to be outdone and fiercely returned fire against the Soviet troops.
Because the Japanese army was hiding in the fortifications, the position was much better than the Soviet army, so although the Soviet army had many people, but instead of taking advantage for a while, it was also killed and injured by more than 1400 Japanese troops. The Soviets charged the Japanese, and although the Soviets showed bravery, they could not take the fortress.
Because this was a stronghold painstakingly operated by the Japanese, the Soviet army could not rush forward even if they were not afraid of sacrifice.
The next day, the Soviets found dozens of bombers and fighters and bombed the Japanese fortifications indiscriminately. But the Japanese hid in underground fortifications, and the artillery fire did not hit them for a while, but only blew up their peripheral fortifications. On the one hand, the Soviet army continued to increase the intensity of artillery attacks, and on the other hand, they found liquid explosives, poison gas bombs and other weapons to greet the Japanese troops.
Although the Japanese suffered heavy casualties, they persevered.
4. Is the Japanese army really so difficult to fight? The Soviet army moved carefully
In the end, the battle of the Soviet army against more than 1,000 Japanese troops took 26 days to be considered over, more than 1,400 Japanese troops were annihilated 1,387 people, and the remaining 53 broke through, but they were also quickly annihilated.
So, why did the Japanese army of this tiger head fortress actually did not appear in the previous battle, and did not know the news that the Japanese army could not do it? It turned out that this tiger head fortress was very large and composed of several fortifications, so each fortification needed to communicate with each other.
These more than 1,400 people are the 783rd National Border Garrison Group of the Japanese Kwantung Army. As soon as the battle broke out, they lost contact with the Japanese in the rear, so they hid in the fortifications and did not come out, and they did not know the earth-shaking changes outside. And because this fortification was relatively hidden, although the Soviet army mobilized troops, it did not find this fortification.
Therefore, the Soviet army, which was originally responsible for attacking this area, drove straight south after not finding the Japanese army. This led to the fact that the Japanese army here has survived, and the Soviet army does not know that there are still Japanese troops here, and the Japanese army does not know that the Soviet army has hit his lair. When the peasants discovered the Japanese army here, the Soviet army and the Japanese army met again, and the two sides fought together.
So, why was it so difficult for the Japanese army here to fight, and the Soviet army had to mobilize bombers to come over, and fought for 26 days?
The Japanese army at this time can be regarded as exhausted, do you really need the Soviet army to pay such a price? In fact, on the one hand, it was difficult for the Japanese to occupy favorable terrain, on the other hand, these fortifications were built on the Soviet border, and the Soviet army also took advantage of this bombing opportunity to blow up these fortifications that might threaten them.
After such a bombing by the Soviet army, the fortifications here basically lost their military value and thus lost their threat to the Soviet army.