"l'URSS a vaincu le JAPON"

Les tankies vont forcer pour dire que les US n'ont eu aucun impacte et les américanisés vont te dire qu'ils ont gagné la 2nd guerre a eux tout seul, aucun intérêt ces topics.

l'URSS a immédiatement donner la Mandchourie à la Chine et même aux chinois nationalistes.

The Soviet denounciation of the Neutrality Pact in 1941 was a clear warning os Stalin's intentions. Now the Red Army began to build up its forces at the Far East. The new arrivals included the 53th Army and the 6th Tanks Guard Army redeployed from Czechoslovaquia. Their experience in fighting in the mountain of Romania and Austria would prove extremely valuable in the Far East. Some of the soldiers thought they would going home after the defeat of Germany. But their war wasn't over yet. Japan had attacked Mandchouria in the northesast China in 1931 before Hitler came to power. It lead to border clashes with the Soviet in 1938 at Khasan Lake and then at Khalkin Gol Lake in 1939. The imperial of Japan lead to the war with the China, the United States and the British Empire. The Allies met at Postdam for a conference near Berlin after Germany defeat. Here they would threat Japan to either surrender either face utter destruction. The Japan Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki stated that the Japanese governement would ignore the declaration and move forward to successfully conclude the war. The response would lead to an unprecedented fate for Japan. When it comes to nuclear bombs, primary target was Hiroshima, the alternative targets being Kokura and Nagasaki. On 6th and 9th August, both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were targeted with these new type of bombs. But a third blow would soon be launched during the same month. The Japanese had detected heavy troops movement along the Transiberian railway. The US just completed a brutal struggle for the island of Okinawa. 300 miles osuth of the Japanese mainland. The experience told that the invasion of the Japanese homaland would be a long and bloody affair. A blow from the Red Army could be decisive and particulary if it was struck in a strategiccally vital part for the Japanese empire.
Mandchouria in northeast China was such a place. With Korea to the south, it was indispensable to Japan's economy. It's industries produced coal, iron, steel, electricity and more than half oa Japan's synthetic fuel. Factories had been moved here from Japan to be out of range of the US bombers. But Mandchuria is as big as Germany and Italy combined. It's central plain is like a fortress surrounded by a ring of mountains. And the remoteness of it's frontiers was another important factor. Between the Far East and the Russian interior, the roads and the railways simply didn't exist to move or supply a big army. Japanese forces in Mandchuria centered on the Kwantung Army had been greatly weakened to reinforce the Pacific but still contained 700 000 mens. The Commander of the Kwantung Army, General Yamade knew it was impossible to defend the whole lenght of the frontier. So he placed only light screening forces along the border. His reserves were lcoated in the interior. They were stationed close to the railways hubs ready to rapid deplyment when the enemy intentions become clear. The Soviet High Commandement planned a double enveloppement of the whole of Mandchuria. One pincer would attack from Mongolia, and the other from Vladivostok. The attack from the west would be made by Marshall Malinosvski who has been commanding the Trans Baikal Front. From the east, by Marshal Meretskov commanding the 1st Far Eastern Front. The distance between the two forces was 3 000 kilometers. In th e path of Kravchenko's 6th Guards Tank Army, lay the Greater Khingan Range. Kravchenko's order stipulated that he was to cross the mountains in no more than 5 days. Any hold up and the Japanese troops could send troops to fortify the passes and then the entire Soviet offensive could grind to a halt.
At the Yalta Conference helf in February 1945, Stalin had promessed that the USSR would join the war against Japan once Germany and the others European axis powers were defeated. 90 days after Germany surrendered, troops from 1st Far Eastern Front prepared to enter into action. In Mandchuria, August is rainy season and downpour began on 8th August, the eve of the offensive. Some rivers levels rose by 2 or 3 meters. The groudn was soon sodden. The Mandchurian Strategic Operation would begin in the dark in the pouring rain. There is supposed to have no artillery preparation since the Japanese were to have no warning. The attack would be lead by assault teams supported by ISU 152 self propelled guns. But their main weapon would be surprise. The assault team was build around hardened fighting veterans that fought in Europe. For identifications, they sewed patches of white cloth to their cap and tunics. The password was "Petrov". On the 9th August at 1 am, assault troops from the 1st Far Eastern Front began their advance. Scouts led the way, laying telephone wire for the infantry to follow. Officers waited anwiously for new at their command posts. If the attack failed, the plan B would have consisted of a 4 hours artillery barrage. The Red Army's sudden onslaught against Mandchuria caught the Japanese by surprise. Some soldiers were still caught in their barracks. Those that manned their defensives positions in time were soon encircled and taken out with explosives or flametowers. The assaults teams used infiltrations tactics to bypass enemy strongpoints and advance up to 20 kilometers in the first few hours of the operation. The city of Moundanjiang was next in their sights. The Soviet advance was so fast and unexpected that It took several hours for news of the attack to filter back to Kwantung Army headquarters and from there to Tokyo.
The Japanese Command believed that the Soviets would not be ready to attack for several more weeks. General Yamada was so sure of this that o 9th August, he was in a conference, hundred of miles from his headquarter. The Trans Baikal Front offensive began at dawn and met little resistance. Kravchenko's 6th Guards Army led the way with 75 00 soldiers, 6 000 vehicles, 600 tanks and 200 self propelled guns. The Lendleased Shermans and the T 34 advanced alongside old BT 5s and the T 26s which had been stationned at the Far East throughout the war. They overran the weak Japanese units in their path and advanced 120 kilometers on first day. A simultaneous supporting attack was made along the rail line. As the first report of the Soviet attack reached the Japanese High Command, the senior staff didn't initially comprehend its scale. Yamade received instructions to maintain a staunch defense of areas occupied by Japanese troops and prepare for a large scale military operations. But there were more news that day. From Hiroshima came a detailed report on the the scal of the devastation. A few hours after the Soviet attack, the news reported that a second bomb had hit Nagasaki. The Japanese bunkers were routinely demolished by the Soviets weapons. Otherwise, Japanese survivors would hide and wait for the first wave to pass then rush back to their positions and resume firing. Mine clearance experts who have served in Germany were struck by the simplicity of the Japenese minefields. They caused little hold up for the Soviet tanks and infantry. The Red Army met more serious opposition to the north aroud the Hailar fortified zone. After several days of heavy fighting, the Japenese defenders were encircled. Then, the Soviet air forces went in. And more than 80 Soviet bombers dropped more than 120 tons of bombs on the Japanese. 2 hours later, they surrendered. Kravchenko's Tank Army struggled in the other hand to pass the Greater Khingan Mountains.
But by the 12th August, they were though with the mountains behind them and one day to spare. They left an old BT tank at a crossing and inscribed on its turret : " Soviets tanks passed here in 1945". The Japanese aircrafts arrived to strafe the Soviet columns with cannon and bombs. Some even made suicidal ramming attacks. 9 kamikazes attacks were recorded by the tank crews. But not a single tank was lost. Tank track quickly chewed the wet dirt road into bogs. So resupply became a major problem. But despite making 160 deliveries per day, it wasn't enough. As the Soviet advance struggled on, on the 14th August news came that the Japanese government had agreed to surrender. B Despite this, the order to surrender was slow to reach the Kwantung army and the fight still went on. General Yamada orders only instructed him to burn all banners, imperial portraits and edits and all secret documents. In western Mandchuria, the incredibly one sided fight caused many Japanese troops to surrender regardless. In Eastern Mandchuria, the Soviet 1st Far Eastern Front faced a diferent situation. Suicide attacks by Japanese infantry. A special unit of 1 700 soldiers commanded Kobayashi officer, was sent into battle near Mudanjiang. General Beloborodov witnessed their attack. He said " Soldiers with green uniformed emerged from camouflaged foxholes and ran at the tanks ". The paratroopers shoot them down. They were decimated by machine guns. But more of them emerged from foxholes and trenches, throwing themselves at the tanks. On 15th August as Emperor Hiro Hito made an adresse to its people announcing his decision to surrender, Soviet tanks of the 5th Army rolled on toward Mudanjiang. The next day, the Soviet General Staff issued a bulletin, saying that it was just a general surrender and that no order was issued to the armed forces to cease fire, that Japanese forces still continue to resist.