During conversation with user freebird in PM I've found good russian article about soviet operations on Far East in the end of WW2, here is the link: Translated version of http://www.redstar.ru/2005/08/20_08/5_01.html. I've checked translation it is poor but still can be read (if u have problems, I'll help ). There r interesting facts about amounts of divisions at Far East front PS: here is another good article on Far East front: Translated version of http://www.kurilstour.ru/ukrep.shtml
I had no idea that there was a Fart East Front. Was there a Fart West Front as a countefart, er, counterpart? tom:p
I've just edited a FART into FAR. Sorry I've got giggles now. School boy humour. Sorry , how unbecoming of a Mod.
I had no idea that there was a Fart East Front. Was there a Fart West Front as a countefart, er, counterpart? tom u r recalling to me song of Bloodhound Gang "Farting with the walkman on" Owen thanx for that school-style humor - I like it in right place Anyway, tom, read here: Soviet Far East Front - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Operation August Storm was the final land battle of the war, and surely was one of the reasons Hirohito capitulated. After Barbarossa, it was, perhaps, the largest land assault in WWII. The Battle Shortly after midnight on 9 August 1945, assault parties of Soviet troops crossed the Soviet-Manchurian border and attacked Japanese positions in Manchuria. This was the vanguard of a force of more than 1.5 million men that was to advance along multiple axes on a frontage of more than 4,400 kilometers, traversing in its course virtually every type of terrain from the deserts of Inner Mongolia to the shores of the Sea of Japan. Thus began one of the most significant campaigns of World War II. ..... Moved by Allied appeals for support and wishing to cement the Soviet Union's postwar position in the Far East, Soviet leaders began planning a final campaign to wrest from Japan Manchuria, northern Korea, southern Sakhalin Island and the Kurile Islands. The enormity of the task of conquering the vast expanse of Manchuria before a Japanese surrender rivaled the challenges of earlier operations. More than 10,000 kilometers separated Manchuria from the main area of Soviet operations in Europe. Forces and equipment destined for deployment to Manchuria had to move along a transportation network limited in capacity and fragile in its composition. Soviet estimates of force requirements necessary to undertake such an extensive campaign were correspondingly large. Thus, the anticipated campaign involved extensive planning and preparations stretching over a five-month period from April to August 1945. The results of the campaign attested to the success of the planning and the thoroughness of preparations. In nine days Soviet forces penetrated from 500 to 950 kilometers into Manchuria, secured major population centers, and forced the Japanese Kwantung Army and its Manchukuoan and Inner Mongolian auxiliaries to surrender. Thus, Soviet forces achieved their territorial objectives within a limited period of time, despite severe terrain obstacles and significant Japanese resistance. The campaign validated the experience Soviet forces had gained in the war against Germany. The Red Army applied the advanced tactical and operational techniques it had learned in the brutal school of war in the west. It also displayed the requisite degree of audacious leadership Soviet commanders had laboriously developed during the western campaigns. The Manchurian campaign represented the highest state of military art in Soviet World War II operations. Contemporary officers and any serious student of twentieth century warfare can benefit greatly from an understanding of the nature of this campaign. Attribution: Lt. Col. David M. Glantz Leavenworth Papers Combat Studies Institute U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 1983. JT
YouTube - To Manchuria WW2 Russia/Japan. I do like to hear the Red Army Choir. Pity some of that footage is Berlin!
Combined Arms Research Library has August Storm by Glantz available for download, both August Storm: The Soviet 1945 Strategic Offensive in Manchuria and August Storm: Soviet Tactical and Operational Combat in Manchuria, 1945. You can down load these piecemeal by chapter. See: https://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/content.asp#aug CARLS also has a 7.75 Mb down load of Glantz's Soviet Defensive Tactics at Kursk, July 1943. available if you're interested in that sort of stuff. See: http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/glantz2.pdf CARLS, generally, has a nice selection of WWII and other periods documents. See: http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/contentdm/home.htm Rich
The armored divisions of the Soviets would have gone through any defenses the Japs could have put up like a hot knife through butter. tom
Combined Arms Research Library has August Storm by Glantz available for download, both August Storm: The Soviet 1945 Strategic Offensive in Manchuria and August Storm: Soviet Tactical and Operational Combat in Manchuria, 1945. You can down load these piecemeal by chapter. Damn, I was going to mention this remarkable piece of work but you came first
i did not know the soviet union allowed u.s personnel to participate in any ww2 battles or campaigns .yours,lee.
i did not know the soviet union allowed u.s personnel to participate in any ww2 battles or campaigns .yours,lee. What did ya mean, Lee?
I caught a few minutes of a documentary on CCXTV (Freeview channel 95) this evening which looked like a worthwhile watch – it is repeated tomorrow at 11 am. Their summary: The Soviet invasion of Manchuria began on 9th August 1945 - the last campaign of the Second World War and the largest of the 1945 Soviet-Japanese War which resumed hostilities after six years of peace.
There is a curious section of the classic film 'The Last Emperor' when he is captured by Soviet paratroopers (shown dropping in) as he tries to flee. Background, not the film section I recall: The Last Emperor (1987) - IMDb and The Last Emperor - Wikipedia One history website explains: From: How the last Chinese Emperor fell into Red Army hands
For anyone interested in the Soviet war against Japan there is another little known aspect. Project Hula. This saw the USN training Soviet crews for landing craft, subchasers, minesweepers and patrol frigates supplied under Lend Lease, in Alaska between May and Sept 1945 in anticipation of these operations. Some of the early delivies took part in Soviet amphibious operations in the Kurile Islands to the north of Japan itself. The Wiki article is quite good, drawing on various sources including this book. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Project-Hula-Soviet-American-Cooperation-Against/dp/1410206521/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1D3RQXTE3SFQU&keywords=Project+hula&qid=1675670957&s=books&sprefix=project+hula,stripbooks,136&sr=1-1 Project Hula - Wikipedia