At 3:30 p.m. on August 26, 1945, more than 50 Japanese officers and soldiers lined up to walk out of the dilapidated fortress. They were surrounded by blond-haired, blue-eyed Soviet soldiers, each with a gun in their hand, a black hole pointed at a Japanese.
This is the Chinese town of Hutou on the border between China and the Soviet Union, and this fortress is famousTiger Head Fortress
A few hours earlier, the recalcitrant Kwantung Army had launched a final charge against the Soviets with grenades aloft.
But how can the artillery fire of the Soviet army be withstood by flesh and blood?In the end, these so-called "practitioners of the bushido spirit" did not dare to shout "Banzai" and rush towards the enemyThe two walked out obediently and surrendered empty-handed.
This "Tiger Head Fortress Battle" was the battle of the destruction of the Kwantung Army. More than 1,000 Soviet officers and soldiers paid for their lives to annihilate more than 2,000 defenders of the Kwantung Army here, ending World War II.
At this time, it was less than a month before the Soviet army entered the war.
The Kwantung Army, with a strength of 700,000, occupied the northeast of our country for 14 years.
It stands to reason that such an army should not be completely wiped out in such a short period of time.
Was it really just the reason for the superiority of firepower that the Soviet army was able to win?Are there other factors in this?The answer is yes.
The reason why the Kwantung Army was routed in such a short period of time,There are four main reasons for this.
The fact that the Soviets will join the battle is not an outcome that is difficult to guessBut the Japanese army at that time thought that the Soviet army would not end up in 1945.
In Japan's analysis, even if the Soviet Army were to send troops to attack the Kwantung Army, it would be in 1946 at the earliestSo the Kwantung Army doesn't need to be too nervous, just prepare for the next battle slowly.
Who knows, the Soviet army entered Northeast China on August 8, 1945, and slapped the Kwantung Army in the face loudly. Because of this unexpected time, the Kwantung Army did not have time to make any preparations, and this was a huge advantage of the Soviet army.
And unlike the Kwantung Army, the Soviet Army did enough intelligence work before leaving.
They collected information on the Kwantung Army from all over the place, and fully understood the characteristics of the opponent's strategic situation, operational deployment, fortifications, and operational characteristics.
After learning about all aspects of the Kwantung Army - in particular, the Kwantung Army at this time had only 2 fronts, 1 army group, 1 air force group and 1 fleet - the Soviet army felt a little more relaxed.
Don't look at the Japanese army's establishment, it seems to be a lot, but in front of the army that the Soviet army is preparing to dispatch this time, it is as vulnerable as a mantis arm as a car.
It was the Soviet Army that was about to become the opponent of the Kwantung Army11 composite armies, 1 tank army and 3 air force armies.
Look at the Kwantung Army again, how large are their troops?This gap in strength can only be described as "terrifying".
In the previous article, we mentioned that the Kwantung Army had about 700,000 men at this time, and the Soviet Union was going to dispatch more than twice as many troops as the Kwantung ArmyThe Soviet troops mentioned above numbered more than 1.57 million people.
At that time, it was the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and the first ammunition of the Japanese army invading China had been almost exhausted. Japan was on the verge of surrender, and naturally there was no time to rearm them.
At this time, the Soviet army was in its heyday in terms of equipment. Because the fighting on the European battlefield was basically over, the Soviet army could come up with the best equipment to deal with the Kwantung Army.
The Soviet Union was a world power that could wrestle with the United States, and in the face of such an enemy, it is difficult to say how high the chances of victory can be in the Kwantung Army, which is almost "half-disabled" in equipment.
Moreover, the logistical capabilities of the Soviet army were far superior to those of the Kwantung Army at this time. From May to July 1945, the Soviet Union was carrying out a major troop movement from west to east.
In this short period of three months, the Soviet army crossed the Trans-Siberian Railway, spanning more than 10,000 kilometers, with 13More than 60,000 carriages transported a large number of troops, ** and military suppliestripled the forces in the Far East.
After that, the Soviet Union transferred more than 1 million men and tens of thousands of tons of ammunition and supplies.
In the face of such a Soviet Union, a Kwantung Army of 700,000 people is really not enough.
This is the main of the above four reasons.
Let's look first at the international community.
In May 1945, Germany, Japan's Axis "partner," announced its unconditional surrender to the world.
At this point, two of the three Axis powers were gone. And Japan, which had already been violently beaten in the Pacific theater, was almost to the limit.
From the second half of 1943, the Japanese army was seriously under-armed because the front in the Southeast Asian theater was stretched too long. In order to recover the declining situation, Japan drew many elite troops from the Kwantung Army and transferred them over.
Is this kind of extraction a good idea?From the point of view of the US military, it is definitely yes. Because most of these elites of the Kwantung Army became cannon fodder under the US ** artillery shortly after they went to the battlefield.
At this time, Japan "wounded 80 enemies and lost 10,000 of its own." The elite has become cannon fodder in Southeast Asia, and the strength of the Kwantung Army itself has been greatly weakened, which has caused depression in the troops.
After the surrender of Germany, not to mention the Kwantung Army, the defeat of the whole of Japan was only a matter of time. However, the Japanese militarists are not willing to give up and want to mobilize troops for a last-ditch effort.
On May 30, 1945, the Japanese Army Headquarters issued new instructions to the Kwantung Army, asking them to defeat the "enemy invading Manchuria" and ensure the security of strategic points south of the Xinjing-Tumen Railway and east of the Dalian-Xinjing Railway, so as to facilitate all-out operations.
The "enemy invading Manchuria" here refers to the Soviet army.
If this order had been given before the surrender of Germany, it would have been fine, but now the German army has been defeated by the Soviets.
After defeating the biggest enemy, dealing with a mere Kwantung Army was like chopping melons and vegetables for the Soviet army.
Of course, the mouth is babbling all day long"The Emperor is onboard".The Kwantung Army was not yet intimidated by a powerful enemy.
The one who really broke these guys was the emperor himself.
At 12 noon on August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito of Japan made a broadcast and read out the "Edict of the End of the War", officially announcing Japan's defeat in World War II.
This broadcast was not only aimed at the Japanese people in Japan itself, but also the Japanese troops who were nesting in various parts of East and Southeast Asia, and heard the emperor's own announcement of surrender.
This is simply a big ** for the Japanese militarists. They are the most worshipful of the emperor on weekdays.
I usually worship a lot, but after hearing the word "surrender" from the emperor's mouth, I feel so depressed.
It can be said that for these people, the two atomic bombs dropped by the US military on the Japanese mainland may not be so shocking.
This was a devastating blow to the morale of the Kwantung Army, and it was even more sour than being hit by 16 Katyusha rockets in a row. At this time, the Kwantung Army had almost lost the will to fight.
Of course, there are still some diehards among them who want to continue to resist. But in the face of the Soviet artillery fire, this person can only become cannon fodder.
Later, the Soviet army entered northeastern China and fought a final decisive battle with the Kwantung Army, which did not take too long to end the battle.
Many of the fortresses built by the Kwantung Army in the northeast were broken down one by one by the Soviets with a devastating offensive, and finally only one Tiger Head Fortress was left in the Tiger Mountain.
On August 18, 1945, the Soviets issued an ultimatum to the Japanese troops hiding in the Tiger Head Fortress to surrender unconditionally in accordance with the emperor's edict. But the Japanese troops here did not believe what the Soviets said at all, they did not know that Japan had surrendered!
What's going on?
It turned out that the radio station in the Tiger Head Fortress had long been damagedThe defenders here knew nothing about the outside world, so naturally they did not hear the emperor's declaration of surrender.
They have a fierce attitudeHe even killed the Soviet courier who came to persuade him to surrender. As a result, the Soviets stopped talking nonsense with these defenders, and the next day they pulled out all the artillery they could use and bombarded the Japanese positions indiscriminately.
The intensity of the artillery fire was so strong that the concrete bunkers buried in the ground of the fortress were cracked. This round of shelling dealt with many Japanese troops.
After a few hours of bombardment, the Soviets drove the Katyusha chariot into the Tiger Mountain, and with a few shots, the above-ground artillery towers built by the Japanese army were blown to ashes.
The Japanese were still resisting, but now that they had run out of shells, they had no choice but to fire explosives to return fire.
Within a day,The Soviets annihilated the 1st Infantry Squadron, the Infantry Headquarters, the Infantry Artillery Squadron, and the Artillery Headquarters of the Japanese garrison stationed at Tiger Mountain, and occupied all the commanding heights around the Tiger Head Fortress.
The remaining Japanese troops were unable to fight back and fled into the Tiger Head Fortress in disarray.
This evasion, of course, is useless. On the third day, the Soviets again pulled out various artillery pieces and fired shells one after another at the positions of the Tiger Head Fortress.
The constant shelling almost deafened the human ear, and the earth was like ** incessant**.
After about 20 minutes, the shelling stopped, and the Soviet infantry came into play with rifles. A large number of Japanese troops also rushed out of the fortress at this time, roaring like beasts and throwing grenades at the Soviet troops......
Without any suspense, these Japanese troops were wiped out by the Soviet troops.
There are still the last 53 Japanese troops in the fortress, which is quite clear-headed. They knew that they couldn't win, so they threw ** to the ground and surrendered to the Soviet army with their hands raised one by one.
These 53 Japanese officers and soldiers were captured alive by the Soviet troops, and what awaited them wasDigging potatoes in SiberiaThe second half of his life.
It was the 11th day since the Emperor announced his surrender, and Japan was finally truly defeated, and World War II came to an end.
Why was the Soviet army able to sweep away 700,000 Kwantung Army in more than ten days?Here's why.