Evacuation of Manchukuo
Encyclopedia
The Evacuation of Manchukuo occurred during the Soviet
Red Army
's invasion of the Japanese puppet state
of Manchukuo
as part of the wider Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation of August 1945.
The Soviets recovered territory which had been captured by Japan during the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905, and they dismantled the Manchu
industrial infrastructure
. This deprived Chiang Kai Shek's troops of a vital region of China, and gave Mao Zedong
's VIII Army
the opportunity to overrun the ancient Manchu kingdom.
(in Korea
) and the fifth Japanese Air Army were placed under the command of the Kwantung Army. At this point, the Japanese Kwantung Army numbered nearly 750,000 officers and men. It had 1,155 tank
s and self-propelled guns, 1,800 warplanes, and 30 warship
s and gunboats. The entire Japanese force deployed in Manchuria, Inner Mongolia
, and Korea
numbered over one million officers and men.
On August 9, 1945, the Soviet Army began the Sungari Offensive. The Amur Flotilla
assisted troops of the second Far Eastern Front in routing the Japanese Kwantung Army. Having crossed the Amur and Ussuri rivers with the help of the Amur Flotilla, troops from two Soviet armies and an infantry
corps captured two river bridgeheads.
The Japanese army used a variety of field artillery in an attempt to stop the Red Army, but had very limited ammunition available at the front line and failed to achieve significant results against the Russian infantry and armor erupting from the Soviet Far East and Mongolia into Manchukuo and Mengchiang.
At the same time and with gunboat support a Soviet landing party entered Fuyuan and quickly took the city. The First Brigade of river gunboats from the Amur Flotilla, having swept shipping channels, entered the estuary of the river Sungari to support the troops as they landed with artillery fire. On August 10, Soviet forces captured the Sungari Fortified District
and the Tuntsiang defense center. It was here that the crew of the gunboat Sun Yatsen distinguished itself.
When Soviet forces took the Futsing Fortified District, the gunboat, acting jointly with a detachment of armoured launches, destroyed five permanent emplacements, a munitions depot and six mortar
batteries with precise artillery. At the same time, the Sun Yatsen transferred landing parties across the river and supported their land operations with artillery fire.
On August 18, troops of the 15th Army captured the Sun'u Fortified District and Sun’u City and took 20,000 Japanese officers and men prisoner. On August 19, Soviet ground troops and Amur Flotilla sailors captured Sansing. On August 20, in Harbin
, already occupied by Soviet paratrooper
s, the first and second Amur Flotilla Brigades accepted the capitulation of Japan's Sungari Flotilla.
If remarked why Soviet air superiority was virtually total;In any case,if any Japanese Army planes attempt to take off from their airdromes,Russian fighters almost instantly shot them down.soon after the crushing raids of Soviet Air Force and Soviet Naval Air Service aviators on Japanese land bases and ports in Manchukuoan and Chosen coasts.
Paratroopers formed from crews of warships and coastal units of the Pacific Fleet landed in Port Arthur (Liaoshun
) and Dairen (Dalian). On August 25, 17 GST seaplanes which had flown five hours from Sukhodol airport near Vladivostok
landed in the Port Arthur inlet with landing parties made up of Pacific navymen. On the same day, Japanese garrison
s in Port Arthur and Dairen laid down their arms, and the Russian Pacific navy hoisted the Soviet naval ensign over Port Arthur fortress.
It was the Pacific Fleet's aviation group that opened hostilities by delivering heavy strikes against the Japanese-controlled Korean ports of Yuki, Rashin and Seishin
, which served as the Japanese naval bases in North Korea
. As a result of Soviet air strikes, Japan's sea communications were cut during the first days of the war.
Soon after effective raids by Soviet aviators on Japanese bases Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral I. S. Yumashev
decided, by agreement with Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky, to make landings in Yuki, Rashin and Seishin. On the eve of the operation naval bombers and attack planes continued to attack those ports. At the same time, the ports were attacked from the sea by torpedo boat
s led by division commanders Captain K. V. Kazachinsky, Captain S. P. Kostritsky and Lieutenant-Captain M. G. Malik. The sea and air attacks seriously weakened the defenses of the three cities, causing the Japanese to lose as many as twenty transports and other vessels.
The purpose of the Seishin landing operation, achieved during the first days of the war, was to capture the Japanese naval base in order to deprive the enemy of the ability to transport reinforcements, equipment, and ammunition from Japan, and also to prevent the evacuation of troops and equipment to Japan proper. Seishin was a fortified district with 4,000 officers and men, protected from the sea by coastal artillery. The Pacific Fleet's intention was to make a sudden landing to capture the port's moorage line and reconnoiter enemy forces. It was planned to subsequently land the main forces, occupy the city and hold it until the arrival of the 25th Soviet Army's troops advancing along the coastline.
The main landing force included the 355th Separate Marine Battalion under Major M. Barabolko (1st echelon), the 13th Marine Brigade under Major-General V. P. Trushin (2nd echelon) and the 335th Infantry Division (3rd echelon). The destroyer Voikov, mine-layer Argun
, eight coast guards, seven minesweepers
, twenty-four torpedo boats, twelve landing vessels and seven transports were involved. The air protection and landing support group had 188 bombers and 73 fighters — almost seven air regiments. Major-General Trushin was in command of the entire operation with Captain A. F Studenchikov leading the landing party.
At 0700 hours on August 13, after the Pacific Fleet air force had finished bombing enemy defense structures in Seishin, six torpedo boats led by Lieutenant-Captain Markovsky sailed to Seishin. These boats came with a scout detachment under Senior Lieutenant V. N. Leonov, and a company of submachine gunners under Senior Lieutenant I. M. Yarotsky from Inlet Novik (Russky Island
). As the vanguard of this landing party advanced along the streets of Seishin, Japanese resistance became fiercer. The sailors advanced slowly while engaged with the enemy in hand-to-hand fighting. On the morning of August 14, fighters of the first echelon landed in Seishin, with the second echelon landing on August 15. There was no need to land the third echelon, since the six thousand sailors who had already entered Seishin were sufficient to capture the city. By the afternoon of August 16, the sailors, cooperating with the 393rd Infantry Division of the 25th Soviet Army, had captured the city.
The success of the landing was largely possible thanks to the effective support provided by warships and naval aviation. The destroyer Voikov, the minelayer Argun and other warships opened fire against the enemy sixty-five times. The coast guard Metel
, under Lieutenant-Captain L. N. Baliakin provided support to the landing party by shooting down an enemy plane. Metels artillery also destroyed an armoured train carrying combat equipment, a Japanese coastal battery, and eight enemy concrete fortifications and emplacements.
In the Battle of Seishin, the Japanese lost more than 3,000 officers and men and a large quantity of armaments and equipment. Hundreds of Soviet officers and men were awarded orders and medals.
After taking Seishin, Pacific Fleet sailors under the command of Studenchikov captured two more major strongholds: the ports of Odetsin and Genzan, where 6,238 Japanese officers and men were taken prisoner.
One particular case as the action sustained by Japanese against Soviets in Kotou Fortress,as part of Japanese Army Frontier Fortified District
s,located near Ussuri River in the Soviet-Manchurian border.If one of most strongest fortress in Manchukuo,among others eight Japanese fortresses in Russian-Manchu frontier.
Your detachment as the 15th Border Guard Unit,same unit are special artillery unit also conformed by 1st Battery (with 5 howitzers and operators),2nd Battery (with 6 heavy cannons and 2 field guns with personnel),3rd Battalion (Type 88 75mm AA Guns with operators),13th Battery (Type 90 24 cm Railway Gun and personnel) and 14th Battery (Experimental 41 cm Howitzer and operators);all unit under lead in time by Captain Ohki.
During July 1945 the 15th Border Guard Unit was created and commissioned for the garrison of the Kotou Fortress.when the Soviets irrupted over Manchukuo in Aug.,1945,stayed ones 1,400 units in place.thought the Soviets announced the surrender of Japan, Japanese garrisons did not believe this. They decided to continued to fight until last men.
Such gun fired and destroyed a railway bridge of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Then, it fired with over 100 rounds during about one week until it was overrun by Red Army.in same action, the Type 90 24 cm Railway Gun was moved to other position for best firing against Russians.It was destroyed by Soviet artillery and abandoned heavily damaged by Japanese in area. The battle for Kotou Fortress ended on August 26; at same time Japanese forces in others frontier posts used Type 45 24 cm Howitzers against the Soviets which invaded Manchukuo in that period.
, General Otozō Yamada, informed Puyi
that the Soviet Union had violated the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact and had invaded across the Manchukuo frontier. Although assured by General Yamada that the situation was under control, the same day Hsinking was attacked by the first air raid
of the war, and Puyi witnessed explosions from bombs falling near the Wei Huang Gong palace.
On August 10, General Yamada advised Puyi that although the Army was "giving heavy resistance" the capital was being temporarily evacuated to Tonghua
. Puyi was reluctant to abandon Hsinking, but was warned that if he did not leave, he would be the first killed by Red Army
troops. Puyi donned wore the uniform of Commander in Chief of the Manchukuo Imperial Army
as a gesture of solidarity with his troops.
On August 11, Puyi and other members of the imperial court departed Hsinking by train. Hiro Saga
witnessed the local population preparing to receive the Red Army by making hammer and sickle
flag
s. Because of the rapid Soviet advance, the entourage was unable to reach Tunghua, and changed its route to Talitzou, arriving at night. On the way, they witnessed Japanese military convoys fleeing south, in contrast to General Yamada's assurances that "the Japanese army are gaining and destroyed many aircraft and enemy tanks". Talitzou station was a scene of panic, with civilians desperately attempting to board the overcrowded last trains "crying and bribing guards to let them enter and between guards there were fights."
At Talitzou Puyi and his court stayed in a two-storey administrative building belonging to a mining company. Puyi talked with his Japanese advisors about his future, and plans were made to take him to Korea
, which the Allies
had yet to invade, and from there to Japan. Puyi was uncertain where he would like to stay, but settled upon Kyoto
.
On August 15, the group met around a radio receiver, listening to Japanese emperor Hirohito
announcing the unconditional surrender of Japan
. Pujie translated the speech for the group. Hiro mentioned how both brothers shook hands and cried.
Two days later, on August 18 Puyi formally renounced the Manchukuo throne and proclaimed the dissolution of the Manchukuo government. In a symbolic vote, all present approved, and Puyi stamped his seal
to enact the law, ending the Manchukuo government after 13 years and five months. Coincidentally, it was at Talitzou 350 years before that Puyi's ancestor Nurhaci
began his campaign to defeat the Ming Dynasty
.
The region was no longer safe due to Communist
guerrillas, and the group divided; one part returned to Hsinking with ex-prime minister Zhang Jinghui
for a last radio contact with Chiang Kai Shek, in an unsuccessful attempt to give over control of Manchukuo to the Kuomintang
to prevent Soviet occupation. The women in the entourage were sent separately by train towards Korea, as it was thought that they were not in immediate danger, and were not political targets of the Soviet or Chinese forces. As the train left Hiro saw Puyi cry.
At Talitzou airport a Tachikawa Ki-54
, was prepared for Puyi's escape. Puyi selected only eight people, including his brother Pujie
, Yuyan
, Big Li and his personal medic. The small plane took the imperial entourage to Mukden where a larger plane,one Mitsubishi Ki-57
was to take them to Korea. However, while waiting at Mukden, Soviet troops seized the airport, disarming the small Japanese garrison.
Puyi and his companions spent the night at the airport under guard, and the next morning were taken aboard a Russian plane. Between Mukden and Khabarovsk
the plane landed for refueling, where Puyi spoke to the Soviet commander, telling him that he "did not like being in the same airplane with Japanese war criminals" and the Japanese were left at the airfield while Puyi continued on. On reaching Khabarovsk, Puyi was first sent a hotel which was transformed into a detention centre. Later he was sent to "Detention Center N°45" in a school building in same city.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
's invasion of the Japanese puppet state
Puppet state
A puppet state is a nominal sovereign of a state who is de facto controlled by a foreign power. The term refers to a government controlled by the government of another country like a puppeteer controls the strings of a marionette...
of Manchukuo
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...
as part of the wider Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation of August 1945.
The Soviets recovered territory which had been captured by Japan during the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905, and they dismantled the Manchu
Manchu
The Manchu people or Man are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels , they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which...
industrial infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
. This deprived Chiang Kai Shek's troops of a vital region of China, and gave Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
's VIII Army
Eighth Route Army
The Eighth Route Army was the larger of the two major Chinese communist forces that formed a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China which fought the Japanese from 1937 to 1945. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Communist...
the opportunity to overrun the ancient Manchu kingdom.
Kwantung Army strength
On August 10, 1945, troops of the 17th Japanese FrontFront (military)
A military front or battlefront is a contested armed frontier between opposing forces. This can be a local or tactical front, or it can range to a theater...
(in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
) and the fifth Japanese Air Army were placed under the command of the Kwantung Army. At this point, the Japanese Kwantung Army numbered nearly 750,000 officers and men. It had 1,155 tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s and self-propelled guns, 1,800 warplanes, and 30 warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
s and gunboats. The entire Japanese force deployed in Manchuria, Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
, and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
numbered over one million officers and men.
Russian military operations in Manchukuo and Korea
The Soviet Army possessed 1.7 times more Infantry, 4.5 times more armor, and 2.8 times more aircraft than the Japanese. On the sea theater, Russian naval forces, unlike Japan, had no aircraft carriers and battleships. However, the chances of those vessels appearing in the Gulf of Korea or the Japan Sea were low, since Russian air domination was complete.On August 9, 1945, the Soviet Army began the Sungari Offensive. The Amur Flotilla
Amur Military Flotilla
Amur military flotilla was a military flotilla on the Amur River in the Far East region of Russia.In 1900, the Russians formed a temporary flotilla on the Amur river out of private steamers and barges. Initially, it served transportation purposes during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905...
assisted troops of the second Far Eastern Front in routing the Japanese Kwantung Army. Having crossed the Amur and Ussuri rivers with the help of the Amur Flotilla, troops from two Soviet armies and an infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
corps captured two river bridgeheads.
The Japanese army used a variety of field artillery in an attempt to stop the Red Army, but had very limited ammunition available at the front line and failed to achieve significant results against the Russian infantry and armor erupting from the Soviet Far East and Mongolia into Manchukuo and Mengchiang.
At the same time and with gunboat support a Soviet landing party entered Fuyuan and quickly took the city. The First Brigade of river gunboats from the Amur Flotilla, having swept shipping channels, entered the estuary of the river Sungari to support the troops as they landed with artillery fire. On August 10, Soviet forces captured the Sungari Fortified District
Fortified District
A Fortified District refers to the Japanese Army and in certain cases the Japanese Navy defensive fortified organization in World War II. It was created in the districts of Manchukuo; Chosen in Korea; Karafuto; Southern Sakhalin and the Kurile Islands - a front of over 6,000 kilometers.The Japanese...
and the Tuntsiang defense center. It was here that the crew of the gunboat Sun Yatsen distinguished itself.
When Soviet forces took the Futsing Fortified District, the gunboat, acting jointly with a detachment of armoured launches, destroyed five permanent emplacements, a munitions depot and six mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
batteries with precise artillery. At the same time, the Sun Yatsen transferred landing parties across the river and supported their land operations with artillery fire.
On August 18, troops of the 15th Army captured the Sun'u Fortified District and Sun’u City and took 20,000 Japanese officers and men prisoner. On August 19, Soviet ground troops and Amur Flotilla sailors captured Sansing. On August 20, in Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
, already occupied by Soviet paratrooper
Paratrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
s, the first and second Amur Flotilla Brigades accepted the capitulation of Japan's Sungari Flotilla.
If remarked why Soviet air superiority was virtually total;In any case,if any Japanese Army planes attempt to take off from their airdromes,Russian fighters almost instantly shot them down.soon after the crushing raids of Soviet Air Force and Soviet Naval Air Service aviators on Japanese land bases and ports in Manchukuoan and Chosen coasts.
Paratroopers formed from crews of warships and coastal units of the Pacific Fleet landed in Port Arthur (Liaoshun
Lüshunkou
Lüshunkou is a district in the municipality of Dalian, Liaoning province, China. Also called Lüshun City or Lüshun Port, it was formerly known as both Port Arthur and Ryojun....
) and Dairen (Dalian). On August 25, 17 GST seaplanes which had flown five hours from Sukhodol airport near Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
landed in the Port Arthur inlet with landing parties made up of Pacific navymen. On the same day, Japanese garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
s in Port Arthur and Dairen laid down their arms, and the Russian Pacific navy hoisted the Soviet naval ensign over Port Arthur fortress.
It was the Pacific Fleet's aviation group that opened hostilities by delivering heavy strikes against the Japanese-controlled Korean ports of Yuki, Rashin and Seishin
Chongjin
Ch'ŏngjin is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyŏng Province and the country's third largest city. From 1960 to 1967 and again from 1977 to 1985, Ch'ŏngjin was administered separately from North Hamgyŏng as a Directly Governed City...
, which served as the Japanese naval bases in North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
. As a result of Soviet air strikes, Japan's sea communications were cut during the first days of the war.
Soon after effective raids by Soviet aviators on Japanese bases Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral I. S. Yumashev
Ivan Stepanovich Yumashev
Ivan Stepanovich Yumashev was a Soviet Navy admiral, Hero of the Soviet Union , and Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Naval Forces from January 1947 to July 1951....
decided, by agreement with Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky, to make landings in Yuki, Rashin and Seishin. On the eve of the operation naval bombers and attack planes continued to attack those ports. At the same time, the ports were attacked from the sea by torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
s led by division commanders Captain K. V. Kazachinsky, Captain S. P. Kostritsky and Lieutenant-Captain M. G. Malik. The sea and air attacks seriously weakened the defenses of the three cities, causing the Japanese to lose as many as twenty transports and other vessels.
The purpose of the Seishin landing operation, achieved during the first days of the war, was to capture the Japanese naval base in order to deprive the enemy of the ability to transport reinforcements, equipment, and ammunition from Japan, and also to prevent the evacuation of troops and equipment to Japan proper. Seishin was a fortified district with 4,000 officers and men, protected from the sea by coastal artillery. The Pacific Fleet's intention was to make a sudden landing to capture the port's moorage line and reconnoiter enemy forces. It was planned to subsequently land the main forces, occupy the city and hold it until the arrival of the 25th Soviet Army's troops advancing along the coastline.
The main landing force included the 355th Separate Marine Battalion under Major M. Barabolko (1st echelon), the 13th Marine Brigade under Major-General V. P. Trushin (2nd echelon) and the 335th Infantry Division (3rd echelon). The destroyer Voikov, mine-layer Argun
Argun
Argun may refer to:*Argun , name of several inhabited localities in Russia*Argun River , a river in the Caucasus*Argun River , a river in Asia*Medemia argun, flowering plant in the Arecaceae family...
, eight coast guards, seven minesweepers
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
, twenty-four torpedo boats, twelve landing vessels and seven transports were involved. The air protection and landing support group had 188 bombers and 73 fighters — almost seven air regiments. Major-General Trushin was in command of the entire operation with Captain A. F Studenchikov leading the landing party.
At 0700 hours on August 13, after the Pacific Fleet air force had finished bombing enemy defense structures in Seishin, six torpedo boats led by Lieutenant-Captain Markovsky sailed to Seishin. These boats came with a scout detachment under Senior Lieutenant V. N. Leonov, and a company of submachine gunners under Senior Lieutenant I. M. Yarotsky from Inlet Novik (Russky Island
Russky Island
Russky Island is a Russian island off Vladivostok, in the Peter the Great Gulf, Sea of Japan. It is located about 9,334 kilometres east of Moscow. The Eastern Bosphorus separates the island from the Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula....
). As the vanguard of this landing party advanced along the streets of Seishin, Japanese resistance became fiercer. The sailors advanced slowly while engaged with the enemy in hand-to-hand fighting. On the morning of August 14, fighters of the first echelon landed in Seishin, with the second echelon landing on August 15. There was no need to land the third echelon, since the six thousand sailors who had already entered Seishin were sufficient to capture the city. By the afternoon of August 16, the sailors, cooperating with the 393rd Infantry Division of the 25th Soviet Army, had captured the city.
The success of the landing was largely possible thanks to the effective support provided by warships and naval aviation. The destroyer Voikov, the minelayer Argun and other warships opened fire against the enemy sixty-five times. The coast guard Metel
Metel
"Metel" was a Guards Torpedo boat, Storm class, of the Soviet Navy. Commissioned in 1934, it was attached to the Pacific Fleet. During World War II the ship fought mainly against the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Far East. On August 26, 1945 it acquired guards status and the ship's commander,...
, under Lieutenant-Captain L. N. Baliakin provided support to the landing party by shooting down an enemy plane. Metels artillery also destroyed an armoured train carrying combat equipment, a Japanese coastal battery, and eight enemy concrete fortifications and emplacements.
In the Battle of Seishin, the Japanese lost more than 3,000 officers and men and a large quantity of armaments and equipment. Hundreds of Soviet officers and men were awarded orders and medals.
After taking Seishin, Pacific Fleet sailors under the command of Studenchikov captured two more major strongholds: the ports of Odetsin and Genzan, where 6,238 Japanese officers and men were taken prisoner.
One particular case as the action sustained by Japanese against Soviets in Kotou Fortress,as part of Japanese Army Frontier Fortified District
Fortified District
A Fortified District refers to the Japanese Army and in certain cases the Japanese Navy defensive fortified organization in World War II. It was created in the districts of Manchukuo; Chosen in Korea; Karafuto; Southern Sakhalin and the Kurile Islands - a front of over 6,000 kilometers.The Japanese...
s,located near Ussuri River in the Soviet-Manchurian border.If one of most strongest fortress in Manchukuo,among others eight Japanese fortresses in Russian-Manchu frontier.
Your detachment as the 15th Border Guard Unit,same unit are special artillery unit also conformed by 1st Battery (with 5 howitzers and operators),2nd Battery (with 6 heavy cannons and 2 field guns with personnel),3rd Battalion (Type 88 75mm AA Guns with operators),13th Battery (Type 90 24 cm Railway Gun and personnel) and 14th Battery (Experimental 41 cm Howitzer and operators);all unit under lead in time by Captain Ohki.
During July 1945 the 15th Border Guard Unit was created and commissioned for the garrison of the Kotou Fortress.when the Soviets irrupted over Manchukuo in Aug.,1945,stayed ones 1,400 units in place.thought the Soviets announced the surrender of Japan, Japanese garrisons did not believe this. They decided to continued to fight until last men.
Such gun fired and destroyed a railway bridge of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Then, it fired with over 100 rounds during about one week until it was overrun by Red Army.in same action, the Type 90 24 cm Railway Gun was moved to other position for best firing against Russians.It was destroyed by Soviet artillery and abandoned heavily damaged by Japanese in area. The battle for Kotou Fortress ended on August 26; at same time Japanese forces in others frontier posts used Type 45 24 cm Howitzers against the Soviets which invaded Manchukuo in that period.
The fate of the Puyi regime
On August 9, Kwantung Army supreme commanderSupreme Commander
Supreme Commander may refer to:* Commander-in-chief, a military rank**Supreme Allied Commander, title held by the most senior commander within certain multinational military alliances...
, General Otozō Yamada, informed Puyi
Puyi
Puyi , of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, was the last Emperor of China, and the twelfth and final ruler of the Qing Dynasty. He ruled as the Xuantong Emperor from 1908 until his abdication on 12 February 1912. From 1 to 12 July 1917 he was briefly restored to the throne as a nominal emperor by the...
that the Soviet Union had violated the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact and had invaded across the Manchukuo frontier. Although assured by General Yamada that the situation was under control, the same day Hsinking was attacked by the first air raid
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
of the war, and Puyi witnessed explosions from bombs falling near the Wei Huang Gong palace.
On August 10, General Yamada advised Puyi that although the Army was "giving heavy resistance" the capital was being temporarily evacuated to Tonghua
Tonghua
-Economy:Traditionally, Tonghua occupied a railhub position in a region of China noted for trade in only three agricultural commodities. These were ginseng, marten furs and deer antler products. In the 1980s Tonghua had some success with a wine distillery producing sweet, sticky red wines that...
. Puyi was reluctant to abandon Hsinking, but was warned that if he did not leave, he would be the first killed by Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
troops. Puyi donned wore the uniform of Commander in Chief of the Manchukuo Imperial Army
Manchukuo Imperial Army
The Manchukuo Imperial Army was the armed force of the Japanese dominated puppet state of Manchukuo, serving as the land forces, along with the Manchukuo Imperial Guards...
as a gesture of solidarity with his troops.
On August 11, Puyi and other members of the imperial court departed Hsinking by train. Hiro Saga
Hiro Saga
- External links :*...
witnessed the local population preparing to receive the Red Army by making hammer and sickle
Hammer and sickle
The hammer and sickle is a part of communist symbolism and its usage indicates an association with Communism, a Communist party, or a Communist state. It features a hammer and a sickle overlapping each other. The two tools are symbols of the industrial proletariat and the peasantry; placing them...
flag
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...
s. Because of the rapid Soviet advance, the entourage was unable to reach Tunghua, and changed its route to Talitzou, arriving at night. On the way, they witnessed Japanese military convoys fleeing south, in contrast to General Yamada's assurances that "the Japanese army are gaining and destroyed many aircraft and enemy tanks". Talitzou station was a scene of panic, with civilians desperately attempting to board the overcrowded last trains "crying and bribing guards to let them enter and between guards there were fights."
At Talitzou Puyi and his court stayed in a two-storey administrative building belonging to a mining company. Puyi talked with his Japanese advisors about his future, and plans were made to take him to Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, which the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
had yet to invade, and from there to Japan. Puyi was uncertain where he would like to stay, but settled upon Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
.
On August 15, the group met around a radio receiver, listening to Japanese emperor Hirohito
Hirohito
, posthumously in Japan officially called Emperor Shōwa or , was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to...
announcing the unconditional surrender of Japan
Surrender of Japan
The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...
. Pujie translated the speech for the group. Hiro mentioned how both brothers shook hands and cried.
Two days later, on August 18 Puyi formally renounced the Manchukuo throne and proclaimed the dissolution of the Manchukuo government. In a symbolic vote, all present approved, and Puyi stamped his seal
Seal (device)
A seal can be a figure impressed in wax, clay, or some other medium, or embossed on paper, with the purpose of authenticating a document ; but the term can also mean the device for making such impressions, being essentially a mould with the mirror image of the design carved in sunken- relief or...
to enact the law, ending the Manchukuo government after 13 years and five months. Coincidentally, it was at Talitzou 350 years before that Puyi's ancestor Nurhaci
Nurhaci
Nurhaci was an important Jurchen chieftain who rose to prominence in the late sixteenth century in what is today Northeastern China...
began his campaign to defeat the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
.
The region was no longer safe due to Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
guerrillas, and the group divided; one part returned to Hsinking with ex-prime minister Zhang Jinghui
Zhang Jinghui
Zhāng Jǐnghuì ; 1871 – 1 November 1959) was a Chinese general and politician during the Warlord era. He is noted for his role in the Japanese puppet regime of Manchukuo in which he served as its second and final Prime Minister.-Biography:...
for a last radio contact with Chiang Kai Shek, in an unsuccessful attempt to give over control of Manchukuo to the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
to prevent Soviet occupation. The women in the entourage were sent separately by train towards Korea, as it was thought that they were not in immediate danger, and were not political targets of the Soviet or Chinese forces. As the train left Hiro saw Puyi cry.
At Talitzou airport a Tachikawa Ki-54
Tachikawa Ki-54
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Francillon, Ph.D., René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 1979. ISBN 0-370-30251-6....
, was prepared for Puyi's escape. Puyi selected only eight people, including his brother Pujie
Pujie
-External links:**...
, Yuyan
Yuyan
Yuyan , style name Yanrui , nickname Xiaoruizi , was a Chinese calligrapher and a member of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, the imperial clan of the Qing Dynasty. He claimed that he was appointed heir by Puyi, the Last Emperor of China...
, Big Li and his personal medic. The small plane took the imperial entourage to Mukden where a larger plane,one Mitsubishi Ki-57
Mitsubishi Ki-57
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Francillon, Ph.D., René J. The Mitsubishi Ki-21 . Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1967....
was to take them to Korea. However, while waiting at Mukden, Soviet troops seized the airport, disarming the small Japanese garrison.
Puyi and his companions spent the night at the airport under guard, and the next morning were taken aboard a Russian plane. Between Mukden and Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk is the largest city and the administrative center of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located some from the Chinese border. It is the second largest city in the Russian Far East, after Vladivostok. The city became the administrative center of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia...
the plane landed for refueling, where Puyi spoke to the Soviet commander, telling him that he "did not like being in the same airplane with Japanese war criminals" and the Japanese were left at the airfield while Puyi continued on. On reaching Khabarovsk, Puyi was first sent a hotel which was transformed into a detention centre. Later he was sent to "Detention Center N°45" in a school building in same city.