Soviet time
On July 26, 1945, during the Potsdam Conference, a declaration was issued on behalf of the three states at war with Japan: the USA, Great Britain, and China. It was an ultimatum with the most stringent requirements, subject to which Japan had the right to capitulate without much loss. The Japanese government categorically rejected this declaration. On August 6, 1945, the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and on August 8, on Nagasaki. And on the same day, August 8, 1945, the Soviet Union, fulfilling allied obligations, and also in order to ensure the security of its Far Eastern borders, declared war on Japan. On the night of August 9, the Red Army crossed the border with Manchuria.
Both experienced warriors who went through the entire Great Patriotic War and Far Eastern soldiers who had long been tempted to besiege the Japanese aggressors participated in the Manchurian operation. The Far East lacked the combat experience of their comrades who fought against Germany, but their morale was very high. Far Eastern soldiers well remembered the Japanese military intervention in Russia.
In many respects, the Manchurian operation of the Red Army was unprecedented. The first thing that has no analogues in the history of world wars is the organization of the transfer of troops from Europe to the Far East, 6,000 kilometers away. Literally in 3 months, a colossal number of troops were transferred from west to east along a single railway line. More than 1,000,000 people and a huge amount of equipment were on the move. All Soviet troops moved covertly. Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky, who was appointed commander in the Far East, left there in general's shoulder straps with documents addressed to Colonel General Vasiliev. Other senior military leaders also traveled under secret names. The soldiers themselves did not know where they were being taken until the very last moment. Another unique characteristic of the Manchurian operation is its scale. The blow was delivered by the forces of two groups, the distance between which was 2,000 kilometers.
The plan of the Soviet command was to simultaneously deliver a quick strike, from the side of Transbaikalia, Primorye and Amur, in directions converging to the center of Northeast China with the aim of dissecting and defeating in parts the main forces of the Japanese Kwantung Army.
The operation was carried out by the forces of three fronts: Trans-Baikal, 1st Far Eastern and auxiliary 2nd Far Eastern. On August 9, advanced and reconnaissance detachments of three Soviet fronts launched an offensive. At the same time, aviation launched massive attacks on military facilities in Harbin, Xinjing and Jilin, on troop concentration areas, communication centers and communications of the enemy in the border zone. The Pacific Fleet cut communications linking Korea and Manchuria with Japan and attacked Japanese naval bases in North Korea - Yuki, Rashin and Seishin.
The transition of Soviet troops through the Greater Khingan
The Transbaikalians under the command of Marshal Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky did the impossible: they marched with a tank army through the Greater Khingan passes and the Gobi desert. This heroic and risky transition was made by the 6th Guards tank army under the command of General Andrei Grigorievich Kravchenko. But the most difficult test in the Manchurian operation was not the Khingala passes, but the desert. To go behind the lines of Japanese troops, Soviet soldiers it was necessary to make a forced march of 700 kilometers across the territory of the Gobi desert. It was the difficulty of this unprecedented transition that became one of the reasons for the ease with which the Red Army defeated the troops of the Japanese emperor.August 9 marks the 65th anniversary of the beginning of the Manchurian strategic offensive operation of the Soviet army against the armed forces of Japan.
Manchurian operation - strategic offensive Soviet-Mongolian troops in the Far East, held August 9-September 2, 1945 on final stage Second World War. The goal was to defeat the Japanese Kwantung Army, liberate Northeast China (Manchuria), North Korea and accelerating the end of World War II.
The Manchurian operation unfolded on a front stretching over 4600 km and 200-820 km in depth, in a complex theater of military operations with desert-steppe, mountainous, wooded-swampy, taiga terrain and large rivers. On the border of the USSR and the Mongolian People's Republic(MPR) there were 17 fortified areas with a total length of one thousand kilometers, in which there were about 8 thousand long-term firing structures.
The Kwantung Army (Commander-in-Chief, General Yamada Otozo) consisted of 31 infantry divisions, nine infantry brigades, a brigade special purpose(suicide bombers) and two tank brigades; it consisted of three fronts (1st, 3rd and 17th) consisting of 6 armies, one separate army, two air armies and the Sungari military flotilla. In addition, the following were operationally subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army: the Manchukuo army, consisting of two infantry and two cavalry divisions, 12 infantry brigades, and four separate cavalry regiments; troops of Inner Mongolia (Prince De Wang) and the Suiyuan Army Group, which had four infantry and five cavalry divisions and two cavalry brigades. The total number of the enemy was over 1.3 million people, 6260 guns and mortars, 1155 tanks, 1900 aircraft and 25 ships.
According to the Japanese strategic plan, developed in the spring of 1945, one third of the Kwantung Army, the troops of Manchukuo and Inner Mongolia were left in the border zone with the task of delaying the advance of Soviet troops deep into Manchuria. The main forces concentrated in the central regions of Manchuria were supposed to force the Soviet troops to go on the defensive, and then, together with the reserves that had approached from China and Korea, push them back and invade the territory of the USSR and the MPR.
The idea of the Headquarters of the Soviet Supreme High Command provided for the defeat of the Kwantung Army by simultaneously inflicting two main (from the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic and Soviet Primorye) and a number of auxiliary attacks on directions converging to the center of Manchuria, the rapid dismemberment and destruction of enemy forces in parts. For this, the Trans-Baikal, 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Fronts, the troops of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army, which became part of the Soviet-Mongolian cavalry-mechanized group (KMG) of the Trans-Baikal Front, forces Pacific Fleet and the Amur Flotilla.
From May to July 1945, from the west to the Far East and Transbaikalia, it was transferred to a distance of 9-11 thousand km a large number of troops, especially mobile formations. The commander-in-chief of the troops in the Far East was Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky, the coordination of the actions of the forces of the Navy and the Air Force was carried out by Admiral of the Fleet Nikolai Kuznetsov and chief marshal aviation Alexander Novikov.
The commander-in-chief of the MPR troops was Marshal of the MPR Khorlogiyin Choibalsan. For the Manchurian operation, the fronts allocated 10 combined arms (1st and 2nd Red Banner, 5th, 15th, 17th, 25th, 35th, 36th, 39th and 53rd) , one tank (6th Guards), three air (9th, 10th and 12th) armies and KMG of the Soviet-Mongolian troops - a total of 66 rifle, two motorized rifle, two tank and six cavalry (including four Mongolian) divisions, four tank and mechanized corps, 24 separate tank brigades. They numbered over 1.5 million people, over 25,000 guns and mortars, 5,460 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts, and about 5,000 combat aircraft, including fleet aviation.
On August 9, Soviet troops went on the offensive. Aircraft attacked military targets in Harbin, Changchun and Jilin (Jilin), on areas of concentration of troops, communication centers and communications of the enemy in the border zone. The Pacific Fleet (commanded by Admiral Ivan Yumashev), having entered the Sea of Japan, cut the communications linking Korea and Manchuria with Japan, and inflicted air and naval artillery strikes on naval bases in Yuki (Ungi), Rasin (Najin) and Seishin (Chongjin). ).
The troops of the Trans-Baikal Front (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union Rodion Malinovsky) overcame the waterless desert-steppe regions and the Great Khingan mountain range, defeated the enemy in the Kalgan, Solun and Hailar directions, and on August 18-19 reached the approaches to the most important industrial and administrative centers of Manchuria.
In order to speed up the capture of the Kwantung Army and prevent the enemy from evacuating or destroying material assets, airborne assault forces were landed in Harbin on August 18, and on August 19 in Girin, Changchun, and Mukden. The main forces of the 6th Guards Tank Army, having occupied Changchun and Mukden (Shenyang), began to move south to Dalny (Dalian) and Port Arthur (Lu Shun). The KMG of the Soviet-Mongolian troops (commanded by Colonel-General Issa Pliev), leaving on August 18 to Zhangjiakou (Kalgan) and Chengde, cut off the Kwantung Army from the Japanese troops in Northern China.
The troops of the 1st Far Eastern Front (commanded by Marshal of the Soviet Union Kirill Meretskov) broke through the enemy’s border fortified areas, repelled strong Japanese counterattacks in the Mudanjiang region and approached Kirin on August 19, the 25th Army, in cooperation with the landing forces of the Pacific Fleet, captured the ports of North Korea - Yuki, Rasin, Seishin and Genzan (Wonsan), and then liberated the territory of North Korea. The retreat routes of the Japanese troops to the mother country were cut off.
The troops of the 2nd Far Eastern Front (commander General of the Army Maxim Purkaev), in cooperation with the Amur military flotilla (commander Rear Admiral Neon Antonov), crossed the Amur and Ussuri rivers, broke through the enemy’s long-term defenses in the Sakhalyan (Heihe) region, overcame the Lesser Khingan mountain range; On August 20, the 15th Army of the Front occupied Harbin. Having advanced 500-800 km from the west, 200-300 km from the east and 200 km from the north, Soviet troops reached the Central Manchurian Plain, divided the Japanese troops into isolated groups and completed the maneuver to encircle them. On August 19, Japanese troops almost everywhere began to surrender.
The rapid offensive of the Soviet and Mongolian troops put the Japanese in a hopeless situation, the calculations of the Japanese command for a stubborn defense and the subsequent counteroffensive were thwarted. With the defeat of the Kwantung Army and the loss of the military-economic base on the mainland - Northeast China and North Korea - Japan lost the real strength and capabilities to continue the war.
On September 2, 1945, the Japanese Surrender Act was signed in Tokyo Bay aboard the US battleship Missouri. Losses during the operation amounted to: the Japanese - over 674 thousand people killed and captured, the Soviet troops - 12,031 people were killed, 24,425 people were injured.
In terms of concept, scope, dynamism, method of accomplishing tasks, and in terms of final results, the Manchurian operation is one of the outstanding operations of the Red Army in World War II. Soviet military art was enriched by the experience of conducting an unprecedented regrouping of troops from the west to the east of the country at distances from 9 to 12 thousand km, maneuvering large forces over long distances in the mountain-taiga and desert theater of operations, organizing interaction between ground forces with the Navy and Air Force.
(Military Encyclopedia. Chairman of the Main Editorial Commission S.B. Ivanov. Military Publishing. Moscow, in 8 volumes -2004. ISBN 5 - 203 01875 - 8)
The creation of a special leadership body - the High Command of the Soviet Forces in the Far East - favorably affected the efficiency of command and control, the clarity of coordination of the actions of the three fronts, the fleet and aviation. The success of the offensive of the Soviet-Mongolian troops was facilitated by the help of the population of the liberated regions. The defeat of Japan in the 2nd World War gave impetus to the national liberation movement in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
During the operation, Soviet troops showed mass heroism, courage and bravery. 93 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
| Flag of the USSR Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky Flag of the USSR Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky Flag of the USSR Kirill Afanasyevich Meretskov Flag of the USSR Maxim Alekseevich Purkaev Flag of the USSR Ivan Stepanovich Yumashev Flag of the USSR Neon Vasilyevich Antonov Mongolia Khorlogiin Choibalsan |
Flag of Japan Otozo Yamada Surrendered mengjiang Dae Wang Demchigdonrow Surrendered Manchukuo Pu Yi Surrendered |
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Manchurian operation- a strategic offensive operation of the Soviet Armed Forces and the troops of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army, carried out on August 9 - September 2, during the Soviet-Japanese War of World War II, with the aim of defeating the Japanese Kwantung Army, occupying Manchuria and North Korea and eliminating the military-economic base Japan on the Asian continent. Also known as battle for Manchuria, and in the West - as an operation "August Storm" .
balance of power
Japan
By the beginning of the Manchurian operation, a large strategic grouping of Japanese, Manchurian and Mengjiang troops was concentrated on the territory of Manchukuo and North Korea. Its basis was the Kwantung Army (commander: General Otsuzo Yamada), which included the 1st, 3rd and 17th (from August 10) fronts, the 4th separate army (a total of 31 infantry divisions, 11 infantry and 2 tank brigades, suicide brigade, separate units), 2nd and 5th (since August 10) air army, Sungari military river flotilla. The following troops were also subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army: the Manchukuo Army (2 infantry and 2 cavalry divisions, 12 infantry brigades, 4 separate cavalry regiments), the Mengjiang army (commander: Prince Dewang (4 infantry divisions)) and the Suiyuan Army Group (5 cavalry divisions and 2 cavalry brigades). In total, the enemy troops included: over 1 million people, 6260 guns and mortars, 1155 tanks, 1900 aircraft, 25 ships. 1/3 of the troops of the enemy group was located in the border zone, the main forces - in the central regions of Manchukuo. There were 17 fortified areas near the borders with the Soviet Union and the MPR.
At the same time, the atomic explosions carried out by the US Air Force in the cities of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945) actually demoralized the Japanese army. The Japanese government was preparing to surrender to the countries of the anti-Japanese coalition (China, the USA, Great Britain) and could not organize the defense and supply of the new front.
USSR
During May - early August Soviet command transferred to the Far East part of the troops released in the west (over 400 thousand people, 7137 guns and mortars, 2119 tanks and self-propelled guns, etc.). Together with the troops deployed in the Far East, the regrouped formations and units made up three fronts:
- Zabaikalsky: 17th, 39th, 36th and 53rd Armies, 6th Guards Tank Army, cavalry-mechanized group of Soviet-Mongolian troops, 12th Air Army, Transbaikal Air Defense Army of the country; Marshal of the Soviet Union R. Ya. Malinovsky;
- 1st Far East: 35th, 1st Red Banner, 5th and 25th Armies, Chuguev Operational Group, 10th Mechanized Corps, 9th Air Army, Primorsky Air Defense Army of the country; Marshal of the Soviet Union K. A. Meretskov;
- 2nd Far East: 2nd Red Banner, 15th and 16th armies, 5th separate rifle corps, 10th air army, Amur air defense army of the country; General of the Army Maxim Alekseevich Purkaev.
In total: 131 divisions and 117 brigades, over 1.5 million people, over 27 thousand guns and mortars, over 700 rocket launchers, 5250 tanks and self-propelled guns, over 3.7 thousand aircraft.
Operation plan
The operational plan of the Soviet command provided for the infliction of two main (from the territory of the MPR and Primorye) and several auxiliary attacks on the directions converging in the center of Manchuria, deep coverage of the main forces of the Kwantung Army, dissecting them and subsequent defeat in parts, mastering the most important military-political centers (Fengtian, Xinjing, Harbin, Jilin). The Manchurian operation was carried out on a front 2,700 km wide (active sector), to a depth of 200-800 km, in a complex theater of operations with desert-steppe, mountainous, wooded-swampy, taiga terrain and large rivers. It included the Khingan-Mukden, Harbino-Girinsk and Sungari operations.
fighting
August 9, on the day when the US Air Force carried out an atomic bomb explosion over Nagasaki, advanced and reconnaissance detachments of three Soviet fronts launched an offensive. At the same time, aviation launched massive attacks on military installations in Harbin, Xinjing and Jilin, on troop concentration areas, communication centers and communications of the enemy in the border zone. The Pacific Fleet cut communications linking Korea and Manchuria with Japan and attacked Japanese naval bases in North Korea - Yuki, Rashin and Seishin. The troops of the Transbaikal Front, advancing from the territory of the MPR and Dauria, overcame the waterless steppes, the Gobi Desert and the mountain ranges of the Greater Khingan, defeated the Kalgan, Solun and Hailar enemy groups, reached the approaches to the most important industrial and administrative centers of Manchuria, cut off the Kwantung Army from the Japanese troops in North China and, having occupied Xinjing and Fengtian, advanced to Dairen and Ryojun. The troops of the 1st Far Eastern Front, advancing towards the Trans-Baikal Front from Primorye, broke through the enemy's border fortifications, repelled strong Japanese counterattacks in the Mudanjiang area, occupied Jilin and Harbin (together with the troops of the 2nd Far Eastern Front), in cooperation with the landing forces of the Pacific Fleet seized the ports of Yuki, Rasin, Seishin and Genzan, and then occupied the northern part of Korea (north of the 38th parallel), cutting off Japanese troops from the mother country (see the Harbin-Girin operation of 1945). The troops of the 2nd Far Eastern Front, in cooperation with the Amur military flotilla, crossed the river. Amur and Ussuri, broke through the enemy's long-term defenses in the Heihe and Fujin regions, overcame the Lesser Khingan mountain range and, together with the troops of the 1st Far Eastern Front, captured Harbin (see the Sungaria operation of 1945). TO August 20 Soviet troops advanced into the depths of Northeast China from the west by 400-800 km, from the east and north by 200-300 km, reached the Manchurian Plain, dismembered the Japanese troops into a number of isolated groupings and completed their encirclement. WITH August 19 Japanese troops, to which by this time the decree of the Emperor of Japan on surrender, issued yet August 14, almost everywhere began to surrender. In order to speed up this process and prevent the enemy from taking out or destroying material assets, 18 to 27 August airborne assaults were landed in Harbin, Fengtian, Xinjing, Jilin, Ryojun, Dairen, Heijo and other cities, and mobile forward detachments were also used.
Operation results
The successful conduct of the Manchurian operation made it possible to occupy South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands in a relatively short time. The defeat of the Kwantung Army and the loss of a military-economic base in Northeast China and North Korea became one of the factors that deprived Japan of real strength and ability to continue the war, forced her to sign an act of surrender on September 2, 1945, which led to the end of World War II war. For military distinctions, 220 formations and units received the honorary titles Khingan, Amur, Ussuri, Harbin, Mukden, Port Arthur, etc. 301 formations and units were awarded orders, 92 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union.
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Notes
Links
Literature
- History of the Second World War 1939-1945 / Grechko, Anton Ivanovich. - M .: Military Publishing, 1980. - T. 11.
- Pospelov, Pyotr Nikolaevich. History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. 1941-1945. - M .: Military Publishing House, 1963. - T. 5.
- Zakharov, Matvei Vasilievich The final. - 2nd. - M .: Nauka, 1969. - 414 p.
- Vasilevsky A. M. The work of a lifetime. - 4th. - M .: Publishing house of political literature, 1983.
- Liberation mission in the East, M ., 1976
- Vnotchenko L. N., Victory in the Far East, 2nd ed., M ., 1971
- Soviet campaign Armed Forces in the Far East in 1945 (Facts and Figures), VIZH, 1965, No. 8.
- Buranok S. O. Victory over Japan in the assessments of American society. Samara: AsGard Publishing House, 2012. 116 p. (link: http://worldhist.ru/upload/iblock/0fb/scemode_q_u_skzrvy%20qym%20edmictc.pdf)
An excerpt characterizing the Manchurian operation (1945)
Then we saw her again...Magdalena sat alone on a high cliff, completely overgrown with wildflowers, clutching her knees to her chest... so many. And she knew she would have to get used to it. Despite all the bitterness and emptiness, Magdalena understood well that a long, difficult life lay ahead of her, and she would have to live it alone... Without Radomir. What she could not imagine so far, because he lived everywhere - in every cell of her, in her dreams and wakefulness, in every object that he once touched. It seemed that the whole surrounding space was saturated with the presence of Radomir... And even if she wished, there was no escape from this.
The evening was quiet, calm and warm. The nature coming to life after the heat of the day was raging with the smells of heated flowering meadows and needles... Magdalena listened to the monotonous sounds of the ordinary forest world – it was surprisingly so simple and so calm!.. Exhausted by the summer heat, bees buzzed loudly in the neighboring bushes. Even they, industrious, preferred to get away from the burning daytime rays, and now joyfully absorbed the life-giving coolness of the evening. Feeling the human goodness, the tiny colored bird fearlessly sat on Magdalena's warm shoulder and burst into ringing silvery trills in gratitude... But Magdalena did not notice this. She again took off into the familiar world of her dreams, in which Radomir still lived...
And she remembered him again...
His incredible kindness... His violent thirst for Life... His bright, affectionate smile and his piercing gaze blue eyes... And his firm confidence in the correctness of his chosen path. I remember the wonderful strong man, who, while still a child, already subjugated entire crowds! ..
She remembered his caress... The warmth and fidelity of his big heart... All this now lived only in her memory, not succumbing to time, not going into oblivion. All of it lived and ... hurt. Sometimes it even seemed to her - a little more, and she would stop breathing ... But the days fled. And life still went on. She was obliged by the DEBT left by Radomir. Therefore, as far as she could, she did not consider her feelings and desires.
Her son, Svetodar, whom she missed madly, was in distant Spain with Radan. Magdalena knew that it was harder for him... He was still too young to put up with such a loss. But she also knew that even with the deepest grief, he would never show his weakness to strangers.
He was the son of Radomir...
And it obliged him to be strong.
Several months passed again.
And so, little by little, as happens even with the most terrible loss, Magdalena began to come to life. Apparently, it was the right time to return to the living...
Having taken a fancy to the tiny Montsegur, which was the most magical castle in the Valley (as it stood at the “transition point” to other worlds), Magdalena and her daughter soon began to slowly move there. They began to settle in their new, still unfamiliar, House ...
And, finally, remembering Radomir's persistent desire, Magdalena gradually began to recruit her first students ... This was probably one of the easiest tasks, since every person on this marvelous piece of land was more or less gifted. And almost everyone was hungry for knowledge. Therefore, very soon Magdalene already had several hundred very diligent students. Then this figure grew into a thousand... And very soon the entire Valley of Magicians was covered by her teachings. And she took as many people as possible to divert herself from her bitter thoughts, and she was inexpressibly glad at how greedily the Occitans were drawn to Knowledge! She knew that Radomir would be glad of this from the bottom of his heart... and recruited even more applicants.
- Sorry, Sever, but how did the Magi agree with this ?!. After all, they so carefully protect their Knowledge from everyone? How did the Lord let this happen? Did Magdalene teach everyone, not choosing only the initiates?
– Vladyka never agreed with this, Isidora... Magdalena and Radomir went against his will, revealing this knowledge to people. And I still don't know which one of them was really right...
– But you saw how greedily the Occitans listened to this Knowledge! And the rest of Europe too! I exclaimed in surprise.
– Yes... But I also saw something else - how simply they were destroyed... And this means that they were not ready for this.
– But when, in your opinion, will people be “ready”?.. – I was indignant. Or will it never happen?
- It will happen, my friend ... I think. But only when people finally understand that they are able to protect this same Knowledge... – here Sever unexpectedly smiled like a child. – Magdalena and Radomir lived in the Future, you see... They dreamed of a wonderful One World... A world in which there would be one common Faith, one ruler, one speech... And in spite of everything, they taught... Resisting Magi... Without obeying the Lord... And for all that, they understand well that even their distant great-grandchildren will probably not yet see this wonderful “single” world. They just fought... For the light. For knowledge. For the Earth. Such was their Life... And they lived it without betraying.
I again plunged into the past, in which this amazing and unique story still lived ...
There was only one sad cloud that cast a shadow on the brightening mood of Magdalena - Vesta suffered deeply from the loss of Radomir, and no "joys" could distract her from this. When she finally learned about what had happened, she completely closed her little heart from the world around her and experienced her loss alone, not even allowing her beloved mother, the bright Magdalene, to come to her. So she wandered for days on end, restless, not knowing what to do with this terrible misfortune. There was also no brother with whom Vesta used to share joys and sorrows. Well, she herself was still too small to be able to overcome such a heavy grief, an exorbitant burden that fell on her fragile childish shoulders. She wildly missed her beloved, the best dad in the world, and could not understand in any way where those cruel people who hated him and who killed him came from? There was nothing left at all that was connected with their warm and always joyful communication. And Vesta suffered deeply, in an adult way ... She only had a memory left. And she wanted to return him alive! .. She was still too small to be content with memories! .. Yes, she remembered very well how, curled up in his strong arms, with bated breath, she listened to amazing stories, catching every word, afraid to miss the most important... And now her wounded heart demanded it all back! Dad was her fabulous idol... Her, closed from the rest, wonderful world, in which only the two of them lived ... And now this world is gone. Evil people took him away, leaving only a deep wound that she herself could not heal.
All adult friends surrounding Vesta tried as best they could to dispel her dejected state, but the little girl did not want to open her grieving heart to anyone. The only one who could certainly help was Radan. But he was far away, along with Svetodar.
However, there was one person with Vesta who tried his best to replace her uncle Radan. And this man's name was Red Simon - a cheerful Knight with bright red hair. Friends called him harmlessly because of the unusual color of his hair, and Simon was not offended at all. He was funny and cheerful, always ready to come to the rescue, in this, indeed, reminiscent of the absent Radan. And his friends truly loved him for it. He was a "flavor" from the troubles, which in the life of the Templars at that time were very, very many ...
The Red Knight patiently appeared to Vesta, daily taking her on exciting long walks, gradually becoming a real trusted friend to the little girl. And even in little Montsegur they got used to it very soon. He became a familiar welcome guest there, to whom everyone was happy, appreciating his unobtrusive, gentle character and always in a great mood.
And only one Magdalene behaved warily with Simon, although she herself probably could not explain the reason ... She rejoiced more than anyone else, seeing Vesta more and more happy, but at the same time, she could not get rid of the incomprehensible feeling of danger, coming from the Knight Simon. She knew that she should have felt only gratitude for him, but the feeling of anxiety did not go away. Magdalene sincerely tried not to pay attention to her feelings and only rejoice at Vesta's mood, strongly hoping that over time the daughter's pain would gradually subside, just as she began to subside in herself ... And then only deep, bright sadness would remain in her exhausted heart for the departed, kind dad ... And there will still be memories ... Pure and bitter, as sometimes the purest and brightest LIFE is bitter ...
Svetodar often wrote messages to his mother, and one of the knights of the Temple, who guarded him together with Radan in distant Spain, took these messages to the Valley of the Magicians, from where news was immediately sent from breaking news. So they lived without seeing each other, and could only hope that someday that happy day would come when they would meet all together at least for a moment ... But, unfortunately, then they did not yet know that this happy day never will be for them...
All these years after the loss of Radomir, Magdalena nurtured a cherished dream in her heart - to go someday to a distant Northern country to see the land of her ancestors and bow there to the house of Radomir ... To bow to the land that raised her dearest person. She also wanted to take the Key of the Gods there. For she knew that it would be right... Native land will save HIM for people much more reliably than she herself tries to do.
But life ran, as always, too quickly, and Magdalena still did not have time to carry out her plans. And eight years after the death of Radomir, trouble came ... Acutely feeling its approach, Magdalena suffered, unable to understand the reason. Even being the strongest Witch, she could not see her Fate, no matter how much she wanted to. Her Fate was hidden from her, as she had to live her life to the fullest, no matter how difficult or cruel it was...
- How is it, mother, that their Fate is closed to all Veduns and Vedunyas? But why? .. - Anna was indignant.
“I think it’s because we don’t try to change what is destined for us, dear,” I answered not too confidently.
As far as I could remember, early years I was outraged by this injustice! Why did we, the Knowers, need such a test? Why couldn't we get away from him, if we could?.. But, apparently, no one was going to answer this to us. This was our Life, and we had to live it the way it was written for us by someone. But we could make her happy so easily, let those “from above” see our Fate! .. But, unfortunately, I (and even Magdalena!) did not have such an opportunity.
– Also, Magdalena was more and more disturbed by the unusual rumors spreading… – Sever continued. - Among her students, strange "cathars" suddenly began to appear, quietly calling the rest to a "bloodless" and "kind" teaching. Which meant - called to live without struggle and resistance. It was strange, and certainly did not reflect the teachings of Magdalene and Radomir. She sensed a catch in this, felt the danger, but for some reason she could not manage to meet at least one of the “new” Cathars ... Anxiety grew in Magdalena’s soul ... Someone really wanted to make the Cathars helpless! .. Sow in their brave hearts of doubt. But who needed it? Churches?.. She knew and remembered how quickly even the strongest and most beautiful powers perished, as soon as they gave up the fight for just a moment, relying on someone else's friendliness!.. The world was still too imperfect... And it was necessary to be able to fight for your home, for your beliefs, for your children and even for love. That is why the Cathars of Magdalene were warriors from the very beginning, and this was fully consistent with her teachings. After all, she never created a gathering of humble and helpless "lambs", on the contrary - Magdalena created a powerful society of Battle Mages, whose purpose was to KNOW, as well as to protect their land and those living on it.
That is why the real ones, her Cathars, the Knights of the Temple, were courageous and strong people who proudly carried the Great Knowledge of the Immortals.
Seeing my protesting gesture, Sever smiled.
– Do not be surprised, my friend, as you know, everything on Earth is in the old natural way - the true History is still being rewritten over time, the brightest people are still being redrawn ... So it was, and I think it will always be so ... That is why, just like from Radomir, from the warlike and proud first (and real!) Cathars today, unfortunately, only a helpless Teaching of Love, built on self-denial, remains.
“But they really didn’t resist, Sever!” They had no right to kill! I read about it in Esclarmonde's diary!.. Yes, and you yourself told me about it.
- No, my friend, Esclarmonde was already from the "new" Cathars. I will explain to you... Forgive me, I did not reveal to you the true reason for the death of this wonderful people. But I never opened it to anyone. Again - apparently, the “truth” of the old Meteora is affecting ... She settled too deeply in me ...
MANCHURAN OPERATION 1945, strategic come. Operation Owl. Armed. Forces and troops of the Mongolian Nar. revolutionary army, held on 9 Aug. Sept. 2, during Vel. Fatherland. war, with the aim of defeating the Japanese. Kwantung Army, liberation… …
The strategic offensive operation of the Soviet Armed Forces and the troops of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army on August 9, 19 in the Soviet-Japanese War of 1945 at the final stage of World War II 1939 45. Carried out with the aim of defeating ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Manchurian operation of 1945- Manchurian operation - a strategic offensive operation of the Soviet-Mongolian troops in the Far East, carried out on August 9, September 2, 1945 at the final stage of World War II. The goal was to defeat the Japanese Kwantung ... ... Encyclopedia of newsmakers
9.8 2.9.1945, against the Kwantung Army of Japan. Soviet troops of the Trans-Baikal, 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Fronts (Marshals of the Soviet Union R. Ya. Malinovsky, K. A. Meretskov and General of the Army M. A. Purkaev) in cooperation with the Pacific ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
MANCHURAN OPERATION, 9.8 2.9.1945, against the Kvantu of a certain army of Japan, during the 2nd World War. Troops of the Trans-Baikal, 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Fronts (Marshals of the Soviet Union R. Ya. Malinovsky, K. A. Meretskov and General of the Army M. A. ... ... Russian history
Soviet Japanese War of 1945 II World War Date 9 - 20 August 1945 Place Manchuria, Sakhalin, Kurile Islands, Cor ... Wikipedia
Ch. component the Soviet-Japanese War of 1945. It was carried out by the forces of the Trans-Baikal, 1st and 2nd Dalnevost. fronts in cooperation with the Pacific Fleet and the Amur military. flotilla under the overall command of the Marshal of Sov. Soyuz A. M.… … Soviet historical encyclopedia
August 9 September 2, 1945, Soviet troops against the Kwantung Army of Japan, during the Soviet-Japanese War. Soviet troops of the Trans-Baikal, 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Fronts (Marshals of the Soviet Union R. Ya. Malinovsky, K. A. Meretskov and ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
Seishin operation 1945- SEISIN OPERATION 1945, landing operation Pacific. fleet, held 1316 Aug. in order to master Japanese. military sea base Seishin (Chongjin) on the coast of North. Korea. Through the Seishin, sea communication was carried out between the Kwantung Army and Japan ... Great Patriotic War 1941-1945: encyclopedia
Kuril operation 1945- KURIL OPERATION 1945, landing operation of troops of the 2nd Far East. fr. and the Pacific. fleet, held on 18 Aug. 1 Sept. during the war with Japan in 1945. The successful actions of the owls. troops in Manchuria (see the Manchurian operation of 1945) and on the island ... ... Great Patriotic War 1941-1945: Encyclopedia
On August 9, 1945, the Manchurian operation began (the battle for Manchuria). It was a strategic offensive operation of the Soviet troops, which was carried out with the aim of defeating the Japanese Kwantung Army (its existence was a threat to the Soviet Far East and Siberia), the liberation of the Chinese northeastern and northern provinces (Manchuria and Inner Mongolia), the Liaodong and Korean Peninsulas, the elimination of Japan's largest military foothold and military-economic base in Asia. By carrying out this operation, Moscow fulfilled the agreements with its allies on anti-Hitler coalition. The operation ended with the defeat of the Kwantung Army, the surrender of the Japanese Empire, and was the end of the Second World War (September 2, 1945, the act of surrender of Japan was signed).
Fourth war with Japan
Throughout 1941-1945. The Red Empire was forced to keep at least 40 divisions on its eastern borders. Even during the most brutal battles and critical situations of 1941-1942. in the Far East there was a powerful Soviet grouping, in full readiness to repel the blow of the Japanese military machine. The existence of this group of troops became the main factor that held back the start of Japanese aggression against the USSR. Tokyo chose south direction for their expansionist plans. However, as long as the second hotbed of war and aggression, imperial Japan, continued to exist in the Asia-Pacific region, Moscow could not consider security on the eastern borders assured. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the factor of "revenge". Stalin consistently pursued a global policy aimed at restoring Russia's position in the world, and the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. damaged our positions in the region. It was necessary to return the lost territories, the naval base in Port Arthur and restore their positions in the Pacific region.
The defeat of Nazi Germany and the unconditional surrender of its armed forces in May 1945, as well as the successes of the Western coalition troops in the Pacific theater of operations, forced the Japanese government to begin preparations for defense.
On July 26, the Soviet Union, the United States and China demanded that Tokyo sign an unconditional surrender. This claim was rejected. On August 8, Moscow announced that from the next day it would consider itself at war with the Empire of Japan. By that time, the Soviet high command deployed troops transferred from Europe on the border with Manchuria (there was a puppet state of Manchukuo there). The Soviet army was to defeat Japan's main strike force in the region, the Kwantung Army, and liberate Manchuria and Korea from the invaders. The destruction of the Kwantung Army and the loss of the northeastern provinces of China and the Korean Peninsula were to have a decisive effect on accelerating the surrender of Japan and hastening the defeat of Japanese forces in South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.
By the beginning of the offensive of the Soviet troops, the total number of the Japanese grouping, located on the territory of North China, Korea, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, was up to 1.2 million people, about 1.2 thousand tanks, 6.2 thousand guns and mortars and up to 1.9 thousand aircraft. In addition, the Japanese troops and the forces of their allies - the army of Manchukuo and the army of Mengjiang, relied on 17 fortified areas. The commander of the Kwantung Army was General Otozo Yamada. To destroy the Japanese army in May-June 1941, the Soviet command transferred 27 rifle divisions, 7 separate rifle and tank brigades, 1 tank and 2 mechanized corps to the 40 divisions that were in the Far East. As a result of these measures, the combat strength of the Soviet army in the Far East almost doubled, amounting to more than 1.5 million bayonets, over 5.5 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, 26 thousand guns and mortars, about 3.8 thousand aircraft. In addition, more than 500 ships and vessels of the Pacific Fleet and the Amur Military Flotilla took part in the hostilities against the Japanese army.
By the decision of the GKO, the commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East, which included three front-line formations - Transbaikal (under the command of Marshal Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky), 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Fronts (commanded by Marshal Kirill Afanasyevich Meretskov and Army General Maxim Alekseevich Purkaev) , Marshal Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was appointed. fighting on Eastern Front began on August 9, 1945 with a simultaneous attack by troops from all three Soviet fronts.
On August 6 and 9, 1945, the US Air Force dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, although they did not have an important military significance. During these strikes, 114 thousand people died. First nuclear bomb dropped the city of Hiroshima. It was subjected to terrible destruction, out of 306 thousand inhabitants, more than 90 thousand died. In addition, tens of thousands of Japanese died later due to wounds, burns, and radiation exposure. The West carried out this attack not only to demoralize the Japanese military-political leadership, but also to demonstrate Soviet Union. The USA wanted to show a terrible action with the help of which they wanted to blackmail the whole world.
The main forces of the Trans-Baikal Front under the command of Malinovsky struck from the direction of Transbaikalia from the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic (Mongolia was our ally) in the general direction of Changchun and Mukden. The troops of the Trans-Baikal Front had to break into the central regions of Northeast China, overcome the waterless steppe, and then pass the Khingan Mountains. The troops of the 1st Far Eastern Front under the command of Meretskov advanced from Primorye in the direction of Kirin. This front was supposed to reach the connection with the main grouping of the Trans-Baikal Front in the shortest direction. The 2nd Far Eastern Front, under the leadership of Purkaev, launched an offensive from the Amur region. His troops had the task of hitting in a number of directions to pin down the enemy forces opposing him, thereby contributing to units of the Trans-Baikal and 1st Far Eastern Fronts (they were supposed to surround the main forces of the Kwantung Army). Air Force strikes and amphibious assaults from the ships of the Pacific Fleet were supposed to support the actions of strike groups ground forces.
Thus, the Japanese and allied troops were attacked on land, from the sea and air along the entire huge 5,000-strong section of the border with Manchuria and up to the coast of North Korea. By the end of August 14, 1945, the Trans-Baikal and 1st Far Eastern Fronts advanced 150-500 km deep into northeastern China and reached the main military-political and industrial centers of Manchuria. On the same day, in the face of imminent military defeat, the Japanese government signed the surrender. But, the Japanese troops continued to offer fierce resistance, because, despite the decision of the Japanese emperor to surrender, the order to the command of the Kwantung Army to cease hostilities was never given. Of particular danger were sabotage groups of suicide bombers who tried at the cost of their lives to destroy Soviet officers, blow themselves up in a group of soldiers or near armored vehicles, trucks. Only on August 19, the Japanese troops ceased resistance and began to lay down their arms.
Japanese soldiers surrender their weapons to a Soviet officer.
At the same time, an operation was underway to liberate the Korean Peninsula, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands (they fought until September 1). By the end of August 1945, Soviet troops had completed the disarmament of the Kwantung Army and the forces of the vassal state of Manchukuo, as well as the liberation of Northeast China, the Liaodong Peninsula and North Korea up to the 38th parallel. On September 2, the Empire of Japan surrendered unconditionally. This event took place aboard the American ship Missouri, in the waters of Tokyo Bay.
As a result of the fourth Russo-Japanese War, Japan returned South Sakhalin to the USSR. The Kuril Islands also went to the Soviet Union. Japan itself was occupied by American troops, who continue to be based in this state to this day. From May 3, 1946 to November 12, 1948, the Tokyo trial took place. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East convicted the main Japanese war criminals (28 people in total). The international tribunal sentenced 7 people to death penalty, 16 defendants - to life imprisonment, the rest received 7 years in prison.
Lieutenant General K.N. Derevianko, on behalf of the USSR, signs the Japanese Surrender Act aboard the American battleship Missouri.
The defeat of Japan led to the disappearance of the puppet state of Manchukuo, the restoration of Chinese power in Manchuria, and the liberation of the Korean people. Helped the USSR and the Chinese Communists. Units of the 8th Chinese People's Liberation Army entered Manchuria. The Soviet army handed over to the Chinese the weapons of the defeated Kwantung Army. In Manchuria, under the leadership of the Communists, authorities were created, military units were formed. As a result, Northeast China became the base of the Chinese Communist Party, and it played a decisive role in the Communists' victory over the Kuomintang and Chiang Kai-shek's regime.
In addition, the news of the defeat and surrender of Japan led to the August Revolution in Vietnam, which broke out at the call of the Communist Party and the Viet Minh League. The leadership of the liberation uprising was carried out by the National Committee for the Liberation of Vietnam under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. Liberation Army Vietnam, whose numbers increased more than 10 times in a few days, disarmed the Japanese units, dispersed the occupation administration and established new authorities. On August 24, 1945, the Vietnamese emperor Bao Dai abdicated. The supreme power in the country passed to the National Liberation Committee, which began to carry out the functions of the Provisional Government. On September 2, 1945, the Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the "Vietnam Declaration of Independence".
The defeat of the Japanese Empire caused a powerful anti-colonial movement in the Asia-Pacific region. Thus, on August 17, 1945, the committee for the preparation of independence, headed by Sukarno, declared the independence of Indonesia. Ahmed Sukarno became the first president of the new independent state. Huge India was also moving towards independence, where the leaders of the people were Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru released from prison.
Soviet Marines in Port Arthur.
