At the end of World War II, 20,000 Japanese troops hid in Changbai Mountain and refused to surrender

Mondo Tourism Updated on 2024-02-27

The protagonist of "Ghost Blowing the Lantern" accidentally breaks into the secret military base of the Japanese Kwantung Army while searching for treasures in Changbai Mountain.

Although ** is fictional, the Japanese military base in Changbai Mountain is indeed a fact. After Japan's defeat in 1945, most of the Japanese army chose to seppuku or surrender, accepting the reality of defeat.

However, some Japanese troops found it difficult to accept the reality, and after the end of World War II, 20,000 Japanese troops hid in the Changbai Mountains and refused to surrender. To this day, no trace of them has been found.

Some people say that they are trying to escape the world, and others say that they are developing secret **, hoping to make a comeback in the future. But regardless of their true intentions, we all understand that no amount of fanatical Japanese invading blood can change their fate of eventual defeat.

After Japan's unconditional surrender in mid-August 1945, most Japanese troops and civilians had ceased to resist in northeastern China, on the border with the Soviet Union.

Although tens of thousands of Japanese troops were escorted to the Soviet Union, millions of troops and civilians remained in China awaiting international repatriation. China has never been in the habit of torture and killing prisoners of enemy countries, so the CCP has classified and dealt with the millions of Japanese soldiers and civilians stranded in China in detail.

We will arrest and interrogate important **, secret service chiefs and chief advisers who have committed serious crimes in the war to ensure that they are punished as they deserve.

In addition to the necessary part of their property for daily use, the remainder will be confiscated. These confiscated properties will not be appropriated by us, but will be used to help Japanese workers.

In addition, we will treat Japanese railway chemical workers and other civilians who are not involved in the war peacefully, and as long as they do not break the law, we will provide unemployment benefits and allow them to continue to operate their factories.

The reason why we did this was that considering that the technological development of the Northeast region was relatively backward, leaving behind the technical personnel of the Japanese army would help to build the Northeast base area faster and better.

After the end of the war, the Soviets** captured the remaining Japanese troops and sent them to Siberia as laborers. Siberia is known for its harsh climate, with an average winter temperature approaching minus 30 degrees.

It turned out that in the northeast region, in addition to the Japanese soldiers and civilians who were arranged and captured by the Soviet Union, there were also some people who fled in all directions due to panic. Some of them fled to remote areas, and some even hid in the mountains and forests.

Among them, the number of Japanese soldiers and civilians who took refuge in the Changbai Mountains in eastern Liaoning was the largest, reaching more than 20,000. Nowadays, Changbai Mountain is a famous 5A-level scenic spot in China, but what tourists can reach is limited to those areas that have been developed.

For places that have not yet been developed, they are still considered hazardous areas. However, as early as more than 70 years ago, the Changbai Mountains were undeveloped, and they were deep in the mountains and old forests.

In the land of the First World War, the hidden dragon and the crouching tiger. The Changbai Mountain area was once the place where the Japanese army built combat warehouses and fortifications, and stored abundant materials and **. If you can find these warehouses, it is undoubtedly an ideal place to hide.

In November 1945, the national ** successfully took over Shenyang, Changchun, Yingkou and other places, and in order to appease the local people, a series of surrender work began. The 20,000 Japanese troops hiding in Changbai Mountain have become the key work objects of the people.

According to records, in addition to the Kuomintang, the Soviet Red Army also used the former head of the Japanese Kwantung Army to win over the remaining Japanese troops in the northeast for their use.

The Soviet side established the "Far Eastern Research Institute", issued a "letter of persuasion" to the remnants of the Japanese army in the northeast, and promised to give material and moral assistance. This move of the Soviet Union has yielded a lot of results.

In early October 1946, the Soviet Union not only persuaded 50,000 Japanese troops centered on the North Xing'an Mountains, but also collected the remnants of the Japanese army centered on Jilin.

The Soviets were making every effort to recruit the remnants of the Japanese army in the northeast, and the Kuomintang was actively following suit. In 1946, according to Xiong Shihui's instructions, the Northeast Security Commander's Department set up a special liaison group to search for the remnants of the Japanese army hiding in Changbai Mountain.

In order to appease the mood of the people in the Northeast, the Northeast Security Commander's Department also formulated the "Implementation Plan for the Propaganda and Pacification of the Provinces", and the main recruits were the generals of the Japanese puppet army and the main officers of the Japanese army.

In addition, the liaison group has recruited seven "Japanese overseas Chinese staff" in order to carry out search and arrest operations more efficiently. In the first operation of the liaison group, the Japanese telegrams hidden in the area of Old Montenegro were intercepted by radio.

After many explorations, the liaison group finally discovered the remnants of the Japanese army in the Changbai Mountain area. These Japanese troops were mainly concentrated in the basin of the Manjiang area and nearby cities, including places such as Birch Bark Factory and Siping Street.

It is estimated that their number exceeds 20,000, including infantry, cavalry, engineers, baggage and health soldiers, and even some family members of Japanese soldiers. Some of them lived in the old military houses of the Kwantung Army, while others dug caves to hide.

After the initial results of the search work, the Northeast side sent a liaison team to Changbai Mountain to continue the investigation. In the northwestern part of the Hunjiang River, the liaison group encountered a Japanese force of about 800 men, who were in charge of the outpost guard, not the main force.

Takagi and others showed the "appeasement order" in the Tohoku region and asked them about the situation of the remaining Japanese troops and their families. This expedition to Changbai Mountain yielded many results, and Takagi and others immediately reported their findings to Changchun and other places by telegram.

In the Changbai Mountains, there are 30 unit commanders and about 30,000 soldiers, in addition to about 40,000 Japanese refugees, women and children. During the period of hiding, the remaining Japanese troops also sent people to contact **, expressing their willingness to hand over all ** and ammunition, and willing to surrender.

During the move-in period, they hope to receive a grant of 5 radios and 300,000 yuan in cash. They said that food is sufficient, but they hope that they can provide medical support and safely repatriate all the women and children they have received before the beginning of spring.

Zheng Dongguo of Changchun received a telegram detailing the remnants of the Japanese army in the Changbai Mountains. Zheng Dongguo immediately contacted the headquarters of the Northeast Security Commander, and according to the request of the remaining Japanese troops, he requested that an aircraft be sent to reconnoiter and distribute leaflets in the relevant areas to comfort the remaining Japanese troops.

Since then, the search for the remnants of the Japanese army has begun to get on track. After receiving the contents of the telegram, Du Yuming specially asked Xiong Shihui and others for advice on how to deal with the matter and sent a telegram to Zhang Tingmeng, commander of the First Military Region of the Air Force, asking them to immediately print propaganda leaflets and ordering the Air Force to send planes to reconnoiter the situation.

Since then, the Northeast Security Command, under the command of the Kuomintang senior **, has repeatedly sent personnel deep into the Changbai Mountain area to find the hidden remnants of the Japanese army. During this period, the Kuomintang Changchun Liaison Group sent the Japanese spy Zhong Derong to infiltrate the East Manchurian Liberated Area to contact the remaining Japanese troops.

Zhong Derong contacted some scattered remnants of the Japanese army, but instead of reporting it to the liaison group in time, he organized an armed insurrection and killed civilians. The Dunhua County Public Security Bureau then arrested the Zhongde Rong organization and executed 12 people.

Between 1946 and 1947, the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army occupied several major communication routes of the Kuomintang army, and the Kuomintang was forced to terminate the recruitment of the remaining Japanese troops in Changbai Mountain, and telegraph communication with the remaining Japanese troops in Changbai Mountain was interrupted.

As for the final outcome of the remaining Japanese troops, it is not known due to the disappearance of archival materials. The work of recruiting the remnants of the Japanese army in Changbai Mountain was mainly carried out by the Kuomintang side, and after the liberation of the northeast region, due to the lack of information, the follow-up is unknown.

In this regard, the world has speculated, some people think that they froze to death and were devoured by wild beasts, some people think that they crossed the Changbai Mountain and sneaked to North Korea, and some people think that they disguised themselves as Kuomintang troops.

However, these are just speculations and have no basis in reality. However, no matter what the remnants of the Japanese army are, China will never wantonly kill innocent civilians like the brutal Japanese invading army.

Although the younger generation rarely experienced the bloody and tearful years of Japan's invasion of China, the older generation still remembers it vividly. The destruction of houses, the humiliation of loved ones, and the shedding of blood are not an exaggeration, but a true portrayal of war.

Fortunately, under the leadership of the Communist Party, the Chinese people eventually prevailed over the brutal Japanese invaders. As the victorious power, China has the right to retaliate against Japan.

However, China has chosen tolerance and benevolence over a tooth for tat. The only purpose of the Chinese people to pick up is to defend their homeland. They never thought of wielding knives at prisoners of war.

Japanese prisoners of war arranged through Chinese hands either continued to work in China as Japanese expatriates or were safely repatriated. China even provided assistance to Japanese women and children who were abandoned during the war.

However, there are still some Japanese soldiers and civilians who are stubborn. Some of them chose to surrender, while others chose to hide in the mountains and forests in an attempt to make a comeback. No matter which path they choose, the outcome of the war will be an irreparable regret for most Japanese soldiers and civilians.

They saw the defeat as a humiliation, but turned a blind eye to the suffering of China's innocent people. The heinous crimes committed by the Japanese invading forces on Chinese soil cannot be forgiven for generations.

Countless Chinese people brutally killed by the Japanese army have turned into heavenly heroes, and every living Chinese has no right to forgive them.

Seventy-seven years have passed since the victorious War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and China has experienced a strong national strength and a remarkable improvement in living standards, but our love for peace has never changed. At the same time, some changes have taken place in Japan, but some things have remained the same.

Shortly after the end of World War II, more than 20,000 Japanese troops could not accept defeat and fled to Changbai Mountain, refusing to surrender. Despite their defeat, their aggressive mentality did not disappear.

Now, 77 years later, some Japanese still have not extinguished their desire for aggression. They denied the existence of the Nanjing Da**, ignored the tragic experience of the ***, and the physical abuse and mental destruction of the Chinese people were outrageous.

For every living Chinese, remembering the national calamity and remembering the national humiliation is both a responsibility and an obligation.

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