A Soviet Push Helped Force Japan to Surrender

[CHIMO]

A Soviet Push Helped Force Japan to Surrender

By Slobodan Lekic
The Associated Press

LONDON -- On Aug. 8, 1945 -- a week before Japan's surrender in World War II -- 1.5 million Soviet troops began a gigantic surprise attack against Japanese occupation forces in northern China and Korea, an area the size of Western Europe.

Within days, Tokyo's million-man army in the region had collapsed in one of the greatest military defeats in history.

"It was a massive campaign and a crushing blow for Japan, which was already in a bad way after fighting for almost four years in the Pacific War," said Nigel Steel, a World War II historian at the Imperial War Museum in London.

Historians say the now largely forgotten Red Army victory -- codenamed August Storm -- not only hastened the end of World War II but also set the stage for the Korean War and for the victory in 1949 of the Chinese communists in the civil war against the Nationalists.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/08/08/016.html

Another part of history.

[Briar]

1. Shhh!

This just might help undermine the defence that dropping two atomic bombs on Japanese cities ended the war.

Can't have that now, can we? Especially not on the sixtieth anniversary of the day when Nagasaki was bombed.

[CHIMO]

2. Interesting

We don't hear any part of this but it stated that 1.5 million soldiers were able to sweep in. They may not have wanted the Russians running things.

The article mentions that it also led up to the Korean war and the take over by Mao in China.

[Igel]

3. Yes.

One must remember that Stalin was sure that Hitler wouldn't attack him because of the accords signed with German that, among other things divvied up Poland. Germany was an ally, a friend: the Russians weren't going to be 'western cannon fodder' again. After Hitler attacked, Stalin vanished: he'd screwed over the Soviet army, the army re-armament program was years behind schedule. Stalin was in shock for a few days. Nonetheless, Stalin was sure there'd be war with Germany. No doubt, just as there had been with Finland. I'm not with Suvorov, but it's an interesting thesis.

Having reached a non-aggression pact with Japan in 1939 things were fairly calm on the eastern front: the Japanese rear was well protected. Until it was obvious that Japan was going to collapse, that is--remember all the "the use of the A-bomb was unnecessary ... the Japanese wanted to surrender" quotes? Remember whose embassy the messages were to be forwarded through?

Just as it was only the USSR that won the western front, so it was only the USSR that won the eastern front. Buy into jingoism at your own risk.

Somehow, Stalin/Soviet Union managed to get permanent territorial gains out of WWII: a slice of Finland there, some territory in the east, a strip of what used to be Poland. The Russo-Japanese territorial dispute continues.

[Admiral Scheer]

4. Gee....

...how nice of the soviets to actually pitch in and help against the japanese in the final week...what a joke. The Soviets were merely in it for a land grab, nothing more.

One must also remember, that the Japanese were NOT going to surrender prior to the a-bombs. In fact, there was nearly a military coup by the hardliners NOT to surrender even AFTER the a-bombs. This was averted by only the narrowest of margins and circumstances.