How the Kurils were recaptured: a landing operation on the Kuril Islands

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The Kuril landing operation of the Red Army in the Kuril Islands went down in the history of operational art. It was studied in many armies of the world, but almost all experts came to the conclusion that the Soviet landing party had no prerequisites for an early victory. The courage and heroism of the Soviet soldier ensured the success.

American failure in the Kuril Islands

On April 1, 1945, American troops, with the support of the British Navy, landed a landing on the Japanese island of Okinawa. The US command hoped to seize the bridgehead for the landing of troops on the main islands of the empire with one lightning strike. But the operation lasted almost three months, and the losses among American soldiers turned out to be unexpectedly high - up to 40% of the personnel. The resources expended were not commensurate with the result and made the US government think about the Japanese problem. The war could last for years and cost the lives of millions of American and British soldiers. The Japanese were convinced that they would be able to resist for a long time and even put forward conditions for the conclusion of peace.

The Americans and the British were waiting for what the Soviet Union would do, which at the Allied conference in Yalta undertook to open military operations against Japan. The Western allies of the USSR had no doubt that the Red Army in Japan would face the same long and bloody battles as in the West. But the commander-in-chief of the troops in the Far East, Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky did not share their opinion. On August 9, 1945, the troops of the Red Army launched an offensive in Manchuria and inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy in just a few days.

On August 15, Japanese Emperor Hirohito was forced to declare his surrender. On the same day, American President Harry Truman drew up a detailed plan for the surrender of Japanese troops, and sent it for approval to the allies - the USSR and Great Britain. Stalin immediately drew attention to an important detail: the text did not say anything about the fact that the Japanese garrisons on the Kuril Islands should capitulate to the Soviet troops, although not long ago the American government agreed that this archipelago should be transferred to the USSR. Taking into account the fact that the rest of the points were spelled out in detail, it became clear that this was not an accidental mistake - the United States tried to question the post-war status of the Kuriles.

Stalin demanded that the US President make an amendment, and drew attention to the fact that the Red Army intends to occupy not only all the Kuril Islands, but also part of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. It was impossible to rely only on Truman's goodwill, the troops of the Kamchatka defensive region and the Peter and Paul naval base were ordered to land troops on the Kuril Islands.

Why countries fought for the Kuril Islands

From Kamchatka, in good weather, one could see the Shumshu Island, which was located only 12 kilometers from the Kamchatka Peninsula. This is the extreme island of the Kuril archipelago - a ridge of 59 islands, 1200 kilometers long. On the maps, they were designated as the territory of the Japanese Empire.

Russian Cossacks began the development of the Kuril Islands back in 1711. Then the belonging of this territory to Russia did not raise doubts among the international community. But in 1875, Alexander II decided to consolidate peace in the Far East and handed over the Kuriles to Japan in exchange for her renunciation of her claims to Sakhalin. These peace-loving efforts of the emperor were in vain. After 30 years, the Russo-Japanese War began, and the agreement was no longer valid. Then Russia lost and was forced to admit the conquest of the enemy. Not only the Kurils remained for Japan, but she also received the southern part of Sakhalin.

The Kuril Islands are unsuitable for economic activity, so for many centuries they were considered practically uninhabited. There were only a few thousand inhabitants, mostly representatives of the Ainu. Fishing, hunting, subsistence farming are all sources of livelihood.

In the 1930s, rapid construction began on the archipelago, mainly military - airfields and naval bases. The Japanese Empire was preparing to fight for domination in the Pacific Ocean. The Kuril Islands were to become a springboard both for the capture of Soviet Kamchatka and for an attack on American naval bases (Aleutian Islands). In November 1941, these plans began to be implemented. It was shelling of the American naval base Pearl Harbor. After 4 years, the Japanese managed to equip a powerful defense system on the archipelago. All available landing sites on the island were covered by firing points, there was a well-developed infrastructure underground.

The beginning of the Kuril airborne operation

At the 1945 Yalta Conference, the Allies decided to take Korea under joint tutelage, and recognized the USSR's right to the Kuril Islands. The United States even offered assistance in conquering the archipelago. As part of the secret Hula project, the Pacific Fleet received American landing craft. On April 12, 1945, Roosevelt died, and the attitude towards the Soviet Union changed, as the new President Harry Truman was wary of the USSR. The new American government did not deny possible military action in the Far East, and the Kuril Islands would become a convenient springboard for military bases. Truman sought to prevent the transfer of the archipelago to the USSR.

Due to the tense international situation, Alexander Vasilevsky (commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in the Far East) received an order: “Using the favorable situation that developed during the offensive in Manchuria and on Sakhalin Island, occupy the northern group of the Kuril Islands. Vasilevsky did not know that such a decision was made due to the deterioration of relations between the United States and the USSR. It was ordered to form a battalion of marines within 24 hours. The battalion was led by Timofey Pochtaryov. There was not much time to prepare for the operation - only a day, the key to success was close interaction between the forces of the army and the navy. Marshal Vasilevsky decided to appoint Major General Alexei Gnechko as commander of the forces of the operation. According to Gnechko's recollections: “I was given complete freedom of initiative. And this is quite understandable: the command of the front and the fleet was located a thousand kilometers away, and it was impossible to count on the immediate coordination and approval of each of my orders and orders."

The naval artilleryman Timofey Pochtaryov received his first combat experience back in the Finnish war. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he fought in the Baltic, defended Leningrad, took part in the battles for Narva. He dreamed of returning to Leningrad. But fate and command ordered otherwise. The officer was assigned to Kamchatka, to the coastal defense headquarters of the Petropavlovsk naval base.

The most difficult was the first stage of the operation - the capture of Shumshu Island. It was considered the northern gate of the Kuril archipelago, and Japan paid special attention to strengthening Shumshu. 58 bunkers and bunkers could shoot every meter of the coast. In total, there were 100 artillery mounts, 30 machine guns, 80 tanks and 8, 5 thousand soldiers on the Shumshu island. Another 15 thousand were on the neighboring island of Paramushir, and they could be transferred to Shumshu within a few hours.

The Kamchatka defensive area had only one rifle division. The divisions were dispersed throughout the peninsula. All in one day, on August 16, they had to be delivered to the port. In addition, it was impossible to ferry the entire division across the first Kuril Strait - there were not enough ships. Soviet troops and sailors had to act in extremely difficult conditions. First, land on a well-fortified island, and then fight an outnumbered enemy without military equipment. All hope was on the "surprise factor".

The first stage of the operation

It was decided to land the Soviet troops between the Kokutai and Kotomari capes, and then with a blow to seize the center of the island's defense, the Kataoka naval base. To mislead the enemy and disperse the forces, they planned a diversionary strike - a landing in Nanagawa Bay. The day before the operation began shelling the island. The fire could not do much harm, but General Gnechko set other goals - to force the Japanese to withdraw their troops from the coastal territory, where the landing of the landing troops was planned. Part of the paratroopers under the leadership of Pochtarev became the core of the detachment. By nightfall, the loading onto the ships was completed. On the morning of August 17, the ships left Avacha Bay.

The commanders were instructed to observe the radio silence and blackout regime. The weather conditions were difficult - fog, because of this, the ships arrived at the site only at 4 am, although they had planned at 11 pm. Due to the fog, some ships could not come close to the island, and the remaining meters of the marines sailed, with weapons and equipment. The vanguard reached the island in full force, and at first met no resistance. Yesterday, the Japanese leadership withdrew its troops deep into the island to protect them from shelling. Using the factor of surprise, Major Pochtarev decided to seize enemy batteries at Cape Katamari with the help of his companies. He personally led this attack.

The second stage of the operation

The terrain was flat, so it was impossible to approach unnoticed. The Japanese opened fire, the advance stopped. It remained to wait for the rest of the paratroopers. With great difficulty and under Japanese fire, the main part of the battalion was delivered to Shumshu, and the offensive began. The Japanese troops had by this time recovered from their panic. Major Pochtarev ordered an end to frontal attacks, and assault groups were formed in a combat situation.

After several hours of the battle, almost all the bunkers and bunkers of the Japanese were destroyed. The outcome of the battle was decided by the personal courage of Major Pochtarev. He stood up to his full height and led the soldiers behind him. Almost immediately he was wounded, but did not pay attention to her. The Japanese began to retreat. But almost immediately they pulled up the troops again, and began a counterattack. General Fusaki ordered to repulse the dominant heights at any cost, then cut the landing force into parts and throw them back to the sea. 60 tanks went into battle under the cover of artillery. Ship strikes came to the rescue, and the destruction of tanks began. Those vehicles that could break through were destroyed by the forces of the marines. But the ammunition was already running out, and then horses came to the aid of the Soviet paratroopers. They were allowed to swim to the shore, loaded with ammunition. Despite heavy shelling, most of the horses survived and delivered ammunition.

From the island of Paramushir, the Japanese deployed forces of 15 thousand people. The weather improved, and Soviet aircraft were able to take off on a combat mission. The pilots attacked the piers and piers on which the Japanese were unloading. While the advance detachment was repelling the Japanese counteroffensive, the main forces went into a flank attack. By August 18, the island's defense system was completely disrupted. A turning point has come in the battle. The fighting on the island continued with the onset of dusk - it was important not to allow the enemy to regroup, to pull up reserves. In the morning the Japanese surrendered by flying a white flag.

After the storming of the island of Shumshu

On the day of the landing on Shumshu Island, Harry Truman recognized the USSR's right to the Kuril Islands. In order not to lose face, the United States demanded to abandon the attack on Hokkaido. Stalin left Japan with its own territory. Tsutsumi Fusaki postponed negotiations. He allegedly did not understand the Russian language and the document that needed to be signed.

On August 20, Pochtaryov's detachment receives a new order - they will land on the island of Paramushir. But Pochtarev no longer took part in the battle, he was sent to the hospital, and in Moscow they had already decided to give the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. When the Soviet ships entered the second Kuril Strait, the Japanese unexpectedly opened crossfire. Then the Japanese kamikaze attacked. The pilot threw his car directly at the ship, firing incessantly. But the Soviet anti-aircraft gunners thwarted the Japanese feat.

Upon learning of this, Gnechko again ordered the attack - the Japanese hung out white flags. General Fusaki said that he had not given the order to fire on the ships and offered to return to the discussion of the disarmament act. Fusaki yulil, but the general agreed to personally sign the act of disarmament. He in every possible way avoided even uttering the word "surrender", because for him, as a samurai, it was humiliating.

The garrisons of Urup, Shikotan, Kunashir and Paramushir surrendered without resistance. It came as a surprise to the whole world that Soviet troops occupied the Kuril Islands in just one month. Truman asked Stalin to locate American military bases, but was refused. Stalin understood that the United States would try to gain a foothold if it got territory. And he was right: the United States immediately after the war Truman made every effort to include Japan in his sphere of influence. On September 8, 1951, a peace treaty was signed in San Francisco between Japan and the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. The Japanese abandoned all the conquered territories, including Korea.

According to the text of the treaty, the Ryukyu archipelago was transferred to the UN; in fact, the Americans established their protectorate. Japan also renounced the Kuril Islands, but the text of the treaty did not say that the Kurils were transferred to the USSR. Andrei Gromyko, Deputy Foreign Minister (at that time), refused to put his signature on the document with this wording. The Americans refused to amend the peace treaty. So it turned out a legal incident: de jure they ceased to belong to Japan, but their status was never fixed. In 1946, the northern islands of the Kuril archipelago became part of the South Sakhalin region. And that was undeniable.