Harbin–Kirin Operation

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Harbin–Kirin Operation
Part of the Soviet invasion of Manchuria of World War II
Cavalry of Manchukuo in training
Date 9 August – 2 September 1945 Location Harbin, Manchuria Result Soviet victory
Belligerents
Soviet Union	Japan  Manchukuo
Commanders and leaders
Kirill Meretskov	Seiichi Kita
Units involved
1st Far Eastern Front[1] 5th Army[2] 1st Red Banner Army[3]	First Area Army[4] Fifth Army[5]
Strength
589,000 soldiers 11,430 guns and mortars 274 rocket launchers 1,974 tanks and self-propelled guns 1,137 aircraft[6]	250,000 soldiers[7]
Casualties and losses
22,000[8]	40,000[9]

The Harbin–Kirin Operation was a military operation of the Red Army against the Japanese Forces during the Soviet–Japanese War. Conducted from August 9 to September 2, 1945, by troops of the 1st Far Eastern Front and Pacific Fleet with the goal of defeating the Kwantung Army in eastern Manchukuo and northern Korea. Part of the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation.

USSR and Japan had their first conflicts way back 1939. In many border conflicts and finally in Battles of Khalkhin Gol. Because of the heavy defeats at the time, Japan did not want to take military action against the USSR during World War II. The Soviets had a significant number of tanks and a huge number of soldiers in the Far East drawn back by the experiences of the Russo-Japanese War. Also, Japan was extremely active in military operations in China and in the Pacific, so opening a front against the USSR would be a disastrous move for Japan.^[10]

The Soviet invasion of Manchuria was planned for 14 August 1945. And that Stalin pointed out at the Conference in Potsdam. However, already August 3 Marshal Vasiljevski reported to Stalin that he would be ready to attack Japan in two days if necessary.^[11]

The main trigger for launching the invasion earlier was the American dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima August 6, and the dropping of the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki August 8. After that, the Soviet armies launched a joint attack on the puppet state Manchukuo.

On 8 August 1945. The Soviet Union declared war on the Empire of Japan. At 23:00 (Baikal time) the Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov delivered a declaration of war to the Japanese ambassador Naotake Sato. At 10 minutes past midnight, Soviet troops crossed the border after heavy bombardment of Japanese positions in North Korea and Manchuria. The Soviets began advancing simultaneously on three fronts: east, north, and west (from People's Republic of Mongolia) Manchuria.

On June 28, 1945, the troops of the Primorsky Group of Forces^[12] in the directive Headquarters of the Supreme High Command No. 11113 an order was given to prepare an offensive operations in central Manchuria.^[13] When developing an operation plan it was required:

• deliver the main blow in the general direction to Mulin, Mudanjiang with the forces of the 1st Red Banner and 5th armies, one mechanized corps and one cavalry division, while using the bulk of the artillery of the RGK and tanks
• deliver an auxiliary strike in the direction of Mishan by the forces of the 35th Army;
• part of the forces of the 25th Army to deliver an auxiliary attack in the direction of Hunchun, Antu, with the goal of subsequently capturing the ports of Korea Ranan, Seishin and Racine;
• complete all preparations for the operation by July 25.

Subsequently, as part of the entire Manchurian strategic operation, the front was to advance on Xinjing and Jilin, together with the troops of the Trans-Baikal Front, to encircle and defeat the main forces of the Kwantung Army .

1st Far Eastern Front (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union Meretskov K.A., chief of staff, Lieutenant General Krutikov A.N.) in composition:

• 1st Red Banner Army (Colonel General Beloborodov A.P.)
• 5th Army (Colonel General Krylov N.I.)
• 25th Army (Colonel General Chistyakov I.M.)
• 35th Army (Zakhvataev N. D.)
• 9th Air Army (Colonel General of Aviation Sokolov I.M.)
• Chuguev operational group (Lieutenant General Parusinov F.A., then^[14] (Lieutenant General Zaitsev V. A.)
• Primorsky Air Defense Army (Lieutenant General of ArtilleryGerasimov A.V.)
• In front reserve:
  • 10th mechanized corps (lieutenant general of tank forces Vasiliev I.D.)
  • 87th Rifle Corps
  • 88th Rifle Corps (Lieutenant General Lovyagin)
  • 126th Light Mountain Rifle Corps (Major General Soloviev, Vladimir Nikolaevich

Part of the Kwantung Army forces (Army General Otozo Yamada):

• 1st Front (General Seiichi Kita):
  • 5th Army (General Noritsune Shimizu)
  • 3rd Army (Lieutenant General Keisaku Murakami)
• Part of the forces of 17th Front (Lieutenant General Yoshio Kozuki)
  • 34th Army

In total, the 1st Front consisted of 175,000 people, and the 17th Front included. 150,000 people^[14]

On the night of August 9, heavy rain began to fall in the zone of action of the front's strike group. This circumstance forced the Soviet command to adjust the operation plan. It was decided to launch an offensive under cover of darkness and bad weather without artillery preparation.^[15] At 1 a.m. on August 9, advanced detachments of rifle troops and border guards crossed the Soviet-Chinese border. The rain, hiding movements, contributed to the achievement of surprise, which allowed Soviet troops to break into fortified areas and take the enemy by surprise. By morning, the advanced detachments managed to advance 3–10 km deep into the Japanese defense. At 8:30 a.m. the main forces of the front went on the offensive. By the end of the first day of the operation, the 5th Army broke through the Suifenhei fortified area and advanced up to 23 km. The 1st Red Banner Army, advancing in difficult conditions of mountain-taiga terrain with complete impassability, covered 5–6 km in a day.

The offensive of the 35th Army in the auxiliary direction began with a strong artillery attack on enemy strongholds. Then the main forces of the army crossed Ussuri and Sungacha and, having overcome a vast swampy area, by the end of the day reached Hutou, a powerful hub of resistance.

The offensive of the 25th Army developed successfully, which by noon on August 10, with its main forces, captured the main strongholds of the Japanese defense and liberated the cities of Dongning, Tumen and Hunchun. At the same time, the left-flank formations of the army advancing along the coast of the Sea of Japan, with artillery support from ships of the Pacific Fleet, successfully overcame long-term enemy fortifications on the border with Korea. On August 12, through joint actions of the 393rd Rifle Division and the Pacific Fleet paratroopers, the port cities of Landing to the port of Yuki and Racine landing.^[16] In the following days, Soviet troops captured a number of settlements. The Seishin Operation lasted for four days for a large industrial center and a Japanese naval base, the city of Seishin (Chongjin). With the loss of Korean ports, the Kwantung Army lost contact with Japan.

By the end of August 14, Soviet troops broke through all border fortified areas and advanced 120–150 km deep into Manchuria. One of the targets on the way of the attackers was an important road junction, a large city in Eastern Manchuria - Mudanjiang. Back on August 13, the 26th Rifle Corps under the command of Major General Skvortsov A.V. burst into the city from the north and started fighting in its streets. However, soon, under the pressure of counterattacking Japanese troops, the corps was forced to retreat 8–10 km northeast of the city. Only on August 16, formations of the 1st Red Banner and 5th Armies, as a result of a four-day assault, captured this large center of resistance and thereby dismembered the 1st Front of the Kwantung Army. Having captured the city, Soviet troops entered the operational space and launched a rapid offensive against Harbin and Girin.

On August 17, the mass surrender of Japanese troops began. To speed up their surrender, airborne assaults were landed in a number of large cities, including Harbin, Girin and Heijo from August 18 to 24. In addition, to capture important industrial centers, strong mobile detachments were created, which, through swift action, were supposed to prevent the Japanese from exporting or destroying material assets.

Despite the fact that the organized resistance of the Japanese troops was broken, their individual groups, remaining completely cut off from the main forces, continued to fight. However, they were soon destroyed or captured.

As a result of the operation, Soviet troops defeated the opposing enemy group, advanced into the territory of Manchuria to a depth of 300 km and, in cooperation with the Pacific Fleet, liberated the northern part of the Korean Peninsula from Japanese troops.

During the operation, after the USSR Pacific Fleet entered hostilities in a zone previously agreed upon with the allies, the United States installed several hundred sea mines of various types in the waters of the ports of Racine, Gyonzan and Seishin, including acoustic, hydrodynamic and magnetic . At the same time, the US command did not inform the USSR about the laying of minefields in this area, and after an official appeal from the USSR government to the US naval attache in Vladivostok, Roulard reported that “the coordinates of the minelaying are unknown, since they were carried out by army aviation.” On August 16, 1945, the Soviet transports Noginsk and Dalstroy were blown up by American mines installed in the waters of the port of Seisin, and only the efforts of the teams saved the ships from sinking.^[17]

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