Soviet offensive, key to japans wwii surrender, was. But stalin never committed himself to a specific date. I had never took the time to study the campaign in detail given its timing in relation to the end of the war and collapse of japanese resistance. The japanese army went so far as to believe that they would not have to engage a soviet attack.
Soviet policy toward japan during world war ii openedition journals. At the february 1945 yalta conference, stalin agreed that the soviet union would enter the war against japan three months after germanys. Germans attacked the soviet union on june 22, stalin ordered the far eastern front not to take. Glantz has presented a masterful work describing in detail the soviet offensive of 1945 in japanese held manchuria.
The dropping of the bomb on hiroshima by the americans did not have. View that fear of soviets, rather than abomb, forced. Historians rethink key soviet role in japan defeat. Nazi germany and the soviet union agreed not to attack each other or support aggressive third powers. Japan s neutrality had enabled stalin to move far eastern forces to the german front where they contributed significantly to soviet victories from moscow to berlin. As the united states dropped its atomic bombs on hiroshima and nagasaki in august 1945, 1. The soviet union agreed at the yalta conference to join the war against japan after the defeat of germany and reiterated its commitment at the potsdam conference with an additional stipulation that it would enter the war in august 1945. On this day in 1945, the soviet union officially declares war on japan, pouring more than 1 million soviet soldiers into japaneseoccupied manchuria, northeastern china, to take on the 700,000strong japanese army. View that fear of soviets, rather than abomb, forced japans surrender gains traction a soviet soldier inspects a damaged japanese fortification in china in this photo dated aug. Within days, emperor hirohitos millionman army in the region had collapsed.
In february 1945, stalin concluded the yalta secret agreement with roosevelt and churchill. The soviets terminated japanese control of manchukuo, mengjiang inner mongolia, northern korea, southern sakhalin, and the kuril islands. Soviet operational and tactical combat in manchuria, 1945. Operation downfall and the invasion of japan, 19451947. Japan prepares for soviet attack cold war era documentary 1954. David glantz has again provided a first rate history of a part of world war ii that few know about, in this case the soviet attack on manchuria in august of 1945. Stalin decides to attack and japan requests for moscows mediation. Soviet japanese war, began on august 9, 1945, with the soviet invasion of the japanese puppet state of manchukuo. Japan had not been too worried about the soviet union, so busy with the germans on the eastern front.
When the germans attacked the soviet union on june 22, stalin ordered the far eastern. The hypothetical date for the start of the allied invasion of sovietheld europe was scheduled for 1 july 1945, four days before the uk general election. Text sets the stage for the soviet attack on the japanese with thorough data and analysis. The neutrality pact between japan and the soviet union, signed in april 1941, lapsed only nine months before its expiry date of april 1946 when the soviet union attacked japan. As many as 27 million soviet soldiers and civilians died as a result of the conflict that started with the german invasion. A list of books and articles provide a range of perspectives on the atomic bombings. He explains how the soviets planned and executed the complete destruction of japans kwantung army in manchuria. The soviet strategic offensive in manchuria, 1945 soviet russian study of war 9780415408615. The soviet factor in ending the pacific war university center for. The plan assumed a surprise attack by up to 47 british and american divisions in the area of dresden, in the middle of soviet lines.