Colonel-General I. V. Shikin

In the history of Soviet military art, the military actions of the Soviet Armed Forces against the Japanese Army occupy a special place. During the civil war, when Soviet Russia was attacked by the combined forces of the foreign interventionists and white guards, as well as in the initial period of the great Patriotic war 1941-1945 against Nazi Germany treacherously attacked the USSR, the Red Army was forced to begin operations from a strategic defense. In August 1945, after the Soviet Union entered the war with imperialist Japan, Soviet troops launched a strategic offensive. In its political essence, this declaration of war against the imperialist predator had and could not have had anything in common with the interventionist attack on the Soviet Republic, in particular with the seizure of the lands of our Far East by the Japanese military in 1918. These were predatory acts of the aggressors. The fulfillment by the Soviet state of its allied obligations to the countries of the anti-fascist coalition was an act of justice that pursued deeply humane goals.

Ending. For the beginning, see Voprosy Istorii, 1971, No. 3.

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Describing our war with foreign interventionists, V. I. Lenin said:" ... We are not defending the right to plunder other peoples, but we are defending our own proletarian revolution and will defend it to the end. " 1 This characteristic is fully applicable to the Great Patriotic War of the USSR against nazi Germany, as well as to the war against militaristic Japan. And if now the Japanese historian Kosaku Tamura, like many other bourgeois historians, tries to identify the agreement of the United States, Britain and the USSR on the entry of the Soviet Union into the war with Japan no more and no less than with the pre-war Munich agreement of the imperialists, then this is simply nothing more than a gross political fraud. Expelled from Soviet soil in 1922, the Japanese interventionists not only did not abandon a new attack on our country, but continuously prepared for it, waiting only for an opportunity. In those years, the Soviet Union was constantly threatened with Japanese intervention. During the Great Patriotic War, Japan intensively helped Germany, pulling large Soviet Armed Forces to the borders of Manchuria, sinking Soviet ships and Allied ships heading to the USSR. The Soviet Government's fulfillment of its allied obligations and entry into the war against Japan served the vital interests of the peoples of all the countries of the anti-fascist coalition, as well as the countries of Southeast Asia that were subjected to Japanese occupation. The Soviet government, in making this decision, proceeded, in particular, from the instructions of V. I. Lenin, who in his speech at the Eighth All-Russian Congress of Soviets on December 23, 1920, rejecting the demand of the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries to abandon offensive military operations, regardless of any situation, said:"...To tell us that we must fight only a defensive war when the knife is still raised over us ... is to repeat the old phrases of petty-bourgeois pacifism, which have long lost their meaning. If we were to make a vow to such constantly actively hostile forces, as we are being offered, that we would never take certain actions that might turn out to be offensive from a military - strategic point of view, we would be not only fools, but also criminals."2 This Leninist instruction directly echoes the analogous opinion of Karl Marx, when he wrote to Fr. To Engels: "Kugelman mixes defensive warfare with defensive military operations. This means that if a subject attacks me in the street, I can only parry his blows, but I can't beat him, because then I will turn into an attacker! All these people have a lack of dialectic in every word. " 3
A characteristic feature of the Soviet strategic offensive operation against the most powerful military grouping of imperialist Japan - the Kwantung Army-was that this operation was very short in time, extremely crushing in strength and multifaceted in content. It embodied and further enriched the invaluable combat experience gained by the Soviet Army and Navy in the fight against the armies of Hitler's Germany and its satellites. The innovative character of Soviet strategy, operational art, and tactics was vividly embodied in the combat operations of our Armed Forces. The skilful and precise organization of the leadership of this truly lightning-fast war against militaristic Japan clearly demonstrated the ability of the Communist Party to identify the main thing and focus all its efforts on it, taking into account the specific situation, both domestic and international. And it was determined primarily by the war that had just ended against Hitlerite Germany. The nations longed for peace. The heaviest casualties in the war were made by the Soviet Union. The Communist Party was faced with the task of eliminating the constant threat to our Homeland from Japanese militarism. And this task was accomplished: the Soviet people and their army firmly believed in their party and followed it, because it called them to a just cause. Lenin's wise words were once again confirmed:"The conviction of the justice of war, the consciousness of the need to sacrifice one's life for the good of one's brothers raises the spirit of soldiers and forces them to endure unheard-of hardships." 4
1 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 40, p. 182.

2 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 42, p. 173.

3 K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch. Vol. 33, pp. 36-37.

4 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 41, p. 121.

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In the conditions that developed after the victory over Hitler's Germany, the Communist Party and the Soviet Government assumed that the war against militaristic Japan should be short. All nations that were tired of war and longed for a lasting and just peace were interested in the speedy defeat of Japan. The titanic activity of the Communist Party and the leadership of the Soviet Armed Forces in preparing combat operations was embodied in the rapid and crushing blow that began on the night of August 8-9, 1945, and resulted in an offensive along our entire Manchurian and Korean borders. Having broken through the enemy's defenses, the Soviet troops delivered a sudden and powerful blow to the enemy from three directions: from Transbaikalia, the Amur Region and Primorye. Thus, the main strategic task was solved: to dismember and destroy in parts the selected troops of the Kwantung Army in Central and Southern Manchuria.

The troops of the Trans-Baikal Front, as a result of a rapid offensive to the important strategic points of Manchuria - Changchun and Mukden (Shenyang), and subsequently to the Liaodong Peninsula, cut off a strong grouping of Japanese troops in Northern China from the Kwantung Army. Advancing towards the Trans-Baikal Front, the troops of the 1st Far Eastern Front (1st Far Eastern Front) overcame the reinforced concrete belt of border fortified areas in the 700-kilometer offensive zone; after repelling Japanese counterattacks in the Mudanjiang region, they entered Jilin and, together with the formations of the 2nd Far Eastern Front (2nd Far Eastern Front), entered Harbin. Formations of the 25th Army of the 1st Far Eastern Fleet, advancing in the Coastal direction in cooperation with the Pacific Fleet landing forces, having captured the main ports on the east coast of North Korea, cut off the retreat routes of the Kwantung Army from Manchuria to the metropolis. From the Amur Region and Khabarovsk Territory, the troops of the 2nd Far Eastern Front advanced to the south. The formations that successfully advanced in the Sungarii direction, in cooperation with the Amur Flotilla, dismembered the northern grouping of the Kwantung Army into separate units and entered Harbin. During the period from August 11 to September 1, formations of the 16th Army of the 2nd Far Eastern Fleet, in cooperation with the fleet, conducted operations to liberate Southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. By the end of the 10th day of military operations, the troops had advanced 500-800 km into Manchuria from the west, 200-300 km from the east, and 200 km from the north, thus solving the main task: to encircle and dismember the main forces of the Kwantung Army.

Exceptional courage and dedication were shown by the air paratroopers who, by order of the Main Command of the Far Eastern Troops, were landed at the airfields in Harbin (August 18), Jilin, Changchun and Mukden (August 19), in Dalny and Port Arthur (August 21-22). Led by Generals G. A. Shelakhov, A. D. Pritula, V. D. Ivanov, A. A. Yamanov, and Colonels V. P. Lebedev and I. T. Artemenko, specially authorized by the military councils of the fronts, they had the task of speeding up the capture and disarmament of Japanese troops, as well as preventing the enemy from destroying material values. The paratroopers commanded by Hero of the Soviet Union Major P. N. Avramenko, Lieutenant Colonel S. I. Melnichenko, Major P. E. Chelyshev, Colonel Y. M. Skrynnikov, Major I. K. Beloded, Lieutenant Colonel B. S. Likhachev and others were 92% Communist and Komsomol members .5 The personnel of the detachments were selected by the command and political organizations from experienced, most politically mature, brave and brave soldiers and officers who had passed the harsh school of war. This allowed us to perform a complex combat task brilliantly. Hundreds of kilometers away from their troops, the paratroopers suddenly landed in the most important vital centers of Manchuria, where large military garrisons were stationed; disarmed them, seizing military facilities, command posts, communication centers, bases and warehouses with valuable property; organized the reception of surrendered units and formations. In Port Arthur and Dalny, they saved from destruction port facilities, bases and warehouses, and in Mukden-an arsenal that provided the production and repair of weapons and military equipment for the Kwantung Army. The Commander-in-Chief's telegram addressed to the Commander of the 6th Guards Tank Army, General A. G. Kravchenko, and a member of the Army's Military Council, General G. L. Tumanyan, highly appreciated the successful implementation of the landings in Dalny and Port Arthur: "Landing of air paratroopers in Port Arthur and Dairen (Dal-

5 Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, f. 31, op. 3191, 17, ll. 69-70.

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it hastened the disarmament of Japanese troops on the Liaodong Peninsula. " 6 At Mukden airfield, our paratroopers captured the puppet emperor of the" state " of Manchukuo, Henry Pu Yi, who was preparing to board a plane with his entourage to escape to Japan. The Soviet landing ensured the safety and then the release from the POW camp of a large group of American, British and other Allied soldiers, officers and generals, including American Generals Parker, Fofer, Oreik, Stevens, Bibi, Fonk and others, British - Air Vice Marshal Maltby, Generals Johnson, Chenovich and others.

In the victorious Manchurian offensive operation, the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army (MNRA) under the command of Marshal X also showed the maturity of military skill. Choibalsana. The troops of this fraternal army, developing the offensive, entered a mountainous area, where flexible tactics of small groups, fighting for separate roads, maneuvering to bypass enemy strongholds, etc., were of particular importance. Mounted squadrons of Mongolian units, together with light tanks and armored cars, perfectly coped with their tasks. They pre-empted the enemy's retreat, rapidly moving to its rear, capturing important road junctions and commanding heights. This is how the actions on the outskirts of the large city of Zhehe developed. In these heroic battles, the MNRA showed with renewed vigor its high fighting qualities and its dedication to the ideas of socialism.

Despite the difficult conditions associated with off-road driving, overcoming the hot and waterless desert and mountainous terrain, the cyriks and officers showed themselves to be persistent and courageous fighters, able to endure any difficulties and hardships. They performed the combat tasks assigned to them with dignity and honor.

The nature of fraternal interaction between the troops of the Soviet Union and the Mongolian People's Republic is very clearly shown by the following lines from the address of the MNR government "To the Mongol brothers": "Brothers! The long-awaited day has arrived... Our ancient friend and liberator is the great Soviet Union... calls for a joint sacred struggle against the Japanese invaders... The experience of our history has shown that only close friendship with the Soviet Union gave us the joy of freedom, the flourishing of our life. The mighty Red Army has more than once saved our republic from enslavement. It saved us from the domination of the Japanese protege Baron Ungern and his White Guard gangs in 1921. She cut off the claws of a predatory Japanese beast that rushed to our land in 1939 in the area of the Khalkhin Gol River. Our friendship with the great Soviet people is sealed with blood. The Soviet people have helped and continue to help our republic to multiply its wealth, develop its national culture and statehood. Arats! The now famous Red Army raised the sword of just war against the Japanese invaders to give the peoples of Asia peace... The Mongols! The Red Army, together with the armies of America and Britain, completely defeated the fascist armies of Germany and gave the peoples of Europe peace and freedom, freeing them from the fascist nightmare. All the peoples of Europe praise the Red Army as the liberator army. The time has come for our liberation from the nightmare of the Japanese aggressive and predatory regime. The Mongols! Forward to the holy war of liberation against the Japanese invaders! " 7
Just a few days after the start of the grandiose offensive operation of the Soviet troops, the Kwantung Army no longer represented an organized force: the command and control of the troops was disrupted, resistance was provided only by separate units and formations, without connection with the general tasks of the Japanese command. Such was the general scope of the military operations of our troops. To win this historic battle, it required, among other things, a huge amount of tension in the entire ideological and organizational party work among the personnel. Guided by V. I. Lenin's instructions that achieving victory in the war "should be the first and last word of our agitation, of all our political activities... 8 , the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) has directed commanders, political organizations, party and Komsomol organizations to ensure that all ideological and educational work is subordinated to the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.-

6 Ibid., op. 12191, d. 110, l. 16.

7 Ibid., f. 32, op. 11306, d. 609, ll. 95-96.

8 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 37, p. 15.

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the thread is performing this main task. Even on the eve of the declaration of war on Japan, party and Komsomol meetings were held in the units with an agenda on the tasks of the party and Komsomol organizations in fulfilling the combat order. The decisions of the meetings were specific and businesslike. They obliged every communist and Komsomol member to show a personal example in battle, to draw other soldiers along with them.: "It is not enough to call ourselves an 'avangard', an advanced detachment , but we must also act in such a way that all other detachments see and are forced to admit that we are going ahead."9 This Leninist instruction permeated the decisions of party and Komsomol meetings. The ideological and educational work carried out increased morale and offensive impulse. All the warriors were looking forward to the moment when they could rush into battle.

Immediately after the Soviet Government's radio announcement that the Soviet Union considered itself at war with Japan as of August 9, the political departments of the 1st and 2nd Far Eastern, Trans-Baikal Fronts, and the Pacific Fleet were instructed to publish this statement in divisional, army, front-line, and naval newspapers, and to publish it in Russian. in Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Mongolian languages, widely explain and bring to the consciousness of every soldier, sailor and officer this most important state document, putting it as the basis for party-organizational and ideological work with the personnel of the troops. Mass rallies were held on the fronts, in the armies, in the navy and the Amur Military Flotilla, where army commanders, members of military councils, commanders of formations, units and ships, heads of political organizations, soldiers and sailors spoke. The party's political work has become widespread. It included, most importantly, all senior officials, speaking to the masses of soldiers. "Personal influence and speaking at meetings means an awful lot in politics," V. I. Lenin emphasized. "There is no political activity without them..." 10 .

All speakers assured of their readiness to carry out the order of the Motherland. It is not possible to quote in the article all the statements and solemn oaths of soldiers, sailors, sergeants, petty officers, officers, generals and admirals. But I still want to mention three letters. Here is a letter from a soldier received by the political department of the 15th Army of the 2nd Far Eastern Federal District from the division of Lieutenant V. I. Lazarev: "From this hour on, our life belongs to the Motherland. Our party and our Government can be sure that the Japanese aggressor will be defeated, and this is the goal of our struggle, which we will not spare our lives to achieve. " 11 A soldier of the 255th Separate Machine-gun Battalion, Far Eastern Potapov, wrote:: "The time of reckoning has come for all the atrocities of the Japanese inflicted on our Homeland: for Port Arthur, Sakhalin, the CER, for the atrocities during the intervention in the Far East in 1918-22, for the sinking of our ships, for bullying, for the murder of our border guards, for the death of Sergei Lazo. Let the Japanese samurai answer for their misdeeds and punish their children never to do it again! " 12 . And here is the letter of the Red Army soldier S. Izmailov: "I'm going into battle. I will fight fiercely and mercilessly, just as I swore when I took the oath. Before me is an evil and vile enemy, the sworn enemy of my Homeland, my people. How much blood was shed by the best sons of our country in the fight against the Japanese, how many dear lives were taken from us by vile murderers and executioners! We will never forget the terrible years of Japanese intervention in the Far East. The blood of innocent victims was then poured over the Far Eastern land, and thousands of graves remained a terrible reminder of Japanese crimes. How do we answer for all this to the bloody murderers? Revenge! Merciless and harsh!"13 . The party and political apparatus of the MPRA headed by the General Secretary of the MPRP, Chief of the Political Department of the Army Yu. I. did a great job in connection with the MNR's joining the Soviet government's declaration of war on Japan. Tsedenbalom.

As if to test the abilities of Soviet soldiers to endure the difficulties of the rath-

9 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 6, pp. 83-84.

10 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 47, p. 54.

11 Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, f. 32, op. 3191, d. 24, l. 71.

12 Ibid., op. 11318, d. 195, l. 27.

13 "Alarm" (newspaper of the 2nd Far Eastern Federal District), 9. VIII. 1945.

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bad weather broke out. The August season in the Far East is a time of heavy rains. August 1945 was no exception. By the night of August 8, the sky seemed to merge with the earth: heavy rain poured into Primorye and the Amur region, streams of water flowed down the slopes of hills and mountains, the level rose sharply and the flow of water in rivers accelerated. Roads and trails became impassable, and visibility almost disappeared. But the Soviet soldiers forced this obstacle to work for themselves. They secretly approached the border and waited for the signal for a general offensive. The troops of the Trans-Baikal front, overcoming off-road terrain, waterless steppes, salt marshes and sand dunes, in conditions of sweltering heat, reached the foothills and prepared to cross the Bolshoy Khingan Ridge, where the steepness of ascents and descents in some places reached 40-50 degrees. During the march, the front troops carried almost everything, starting with food, ammunition, fuel and lubricants, clothing and ending with water and fuel for cooking. At the same time, as the troops moved away from the supply bases, the transportation of goods became even more complicated and required the greatest effort of forces and means. The 1st FEF had to overcome mountainous terrain in the conditions of taiga and swamps. In the main area of combat operations of the front troops, on average, up to 3 thousand trunks of deciduous and coniferous trees per hectare of terrain. Heavy tanks were used to lay column paths for the troops advancing through such taiga, which, moving along ledges, felled the forest, and sappers, riflemen and machine gunners bucked and pulled down fallen trees, clearing a path with a width of 5 - 6 m for the movement of military equipment.

In the difficult conditions of the night march, the Communists and Komsomol members showed examples of perseverance and ability to overcome difficulties, and carried other soldiers along with them. Communists and Komsomol members were in the most difficult places: where it was necessary to pull out military equipment stuck in swamps and mud, to make a road through the steep slopes of hills and mountains, through impenetrable thickets of taiga and swamp. The political department of the 1st Red Banner Army of the 1st Far Eastern Federal District reported: "Sometimes it seemed that people forgot about themselves and their physical abilities. Their uniforms were soaked through, their shoes heavy with mud, and they were rushing forward to reach their starting positions and charge at the enemy by the specified time. It is difficult to single out anyone among all the soldiers and officers, but it was really not difficult to recognize a communist or Komsomol member who was bustling around, stuck in the mud or falling on the side of an artillery piece or a tractor-trailer, cheering on their comrades-in-arms and performing the most difficult part of the rescue work themselves..."14 .

From the very first day of the offensive, party-political work took on a broad scope, corresponding to the high rate of development of military operations, to Lenin's demand: "tighten up, revive it [political work], accelerate the entire pace." 15 Of great importance for the development of party-political work in units and divisions were the appeals of the military councils of fronts and fleets, military councils of armies to soldiers and sailors, sergeants and petty officers, officers, generals and admirals. Speaking on behalf of and on behalf of the Communist Party and the Soviet Government, the military Soviets explained the great significance of our victory and the demands of the party and Government for the speedy defeat of the enemy. These appeals to the troops were made on the first day of the offensive - August 9. The appeal of the Military Council and Political Administration of the 2nd Far Eastern Federal District stated: "You entered the land of Manchuria with a great and noble goal - to defeat the Japanese aggressors and eliminate the second hotbed of war, in order to accelerate the restoration of world peace and ensure the security of our Far Eastern borders... Be worthy of the great liberation mission entrusted to us by the Motherland, and hold high the honor of the Soviet soldier, the liberator... You also came here to help the Chinese people free themselves from Japanese enslavement ... " 16 The appeal of the Military Council of the Trans-Baikal Front said: "Remember that in victorious battles with the Japanese invaders, we are fighting for freedom, honor and independence of the Motherland, we are winning and asserting security

14 Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, f. 32, op. 3191, 17, l. 82.

15 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 51, p. 293.

16 Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, f. 32, op. 3191, 12, ll. 41-42.

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our sacred eastern borders. Beat the Japanese samurai just as the valiant Soviet soldiers beat the German invaders. Move forward swiftly and boldly, pursue, surround and destroy the sworn enemy, destroy his military equipment " 17 . Similar content was addressed to the military councils of the 1st Far Eastern Fleet, the Pacific Fleet, and the military councils of armies. These documents were reproduced in field printing houses in the form of separate leaflets, printed in all front-line, army and divisional newspapers and distributed in the battle formations of the advancing troops. They were passed from hand to hand in the units and played a great mobilizing role in organizing a victorious offensive.

Powerful, sudden strikes by our troops allowed us to fully seize the initiative from the very first days of the operation, to break the stubborn resistance of the fanatically brought up on the cult of war, well-trained and sufficiently armed soldiers and officers of the Kwantung Army. Just two days after the start of hostilities in the Changchun direction, the troops of the Trans-Baikal Front reached the western slopes of Bolshoy Khingan. By the end of the third day of the offensive, the main forces of the 6th Guards Tank Army overcame the mountain range and broke into the Central Manchurian Plain. The 1st Far Eastern Front, having broken the fierce resistance of the enemy in the border fortified areas, advanced 170 kilometers in the eastern part of Manchuria. The 2nd Far Eastern Front, in cooperation with the Amur Military Flotilla, went 120 km deep into the territory of Manchuria and started fighting on the approaches to Qiqihar. Part of the forces of the 1st Far Eastern Fleet on its left wing, in cooperation with the Pacific Fleet, landed troops on the east coast of North Korea.

It is impossible to keep silent about the unprecedented feat of Soviet soldiers on the Big Khingan. Just as the famous passage of the Russian army under the command of A.V. Suvorov across the Alps stunned the whole of Europe in 1799, so the overcoming of the Great Khingan by the troops of the Trans-Baikal Front (commander-R. Y. Malinovsky, member of the Military Council-A. N. Tevchenkov, chief of Staff-M. V. Zakharov, head of the Political Department-K. A. Zykov) turned all the canons of bourgeois military science. This operation can be attributed to the number of feats that are almost unparalleled in modern wars. After all, Big Khingan is a vast mountainous region that stretches from Lake Dalai Nur in the south to the Amur River in the north. For about 1,200 km, the ridge separates the Central Manchurian Plain from mountainous Eastern Mongolia. The range is 250 - 400 km wide, with an average height of 1000-1100 m, and in the central part the peaks reach 1700 meters. The forests that cover many of the slopes of Greater Khingan, the bare steep cliffs, the stony subsoil, the permafrost on the peaks, which contributes to the accumulation of moisture in the hollows and valleys, the abundance of water during rainy periods, the swampiness of the soil, the lack of any roads - all this created seemingly insurmountable obstacles for the actions of the troops. It should be added that from the pass the path goes through mountain valleys, in many places swampy. The valleys are crossed by countless small rivers, which after the rains overflowed their banks and flooded the area.

And this heavy natural barrier is left behind! It is difficult to describe in words that feat of arms. Just like now, I can still see the impressive picture I saw on Bolshoy Khingan. Here is a huge mountain with almost sheer cliffs in front of us. Heavy trucks, tractors and a team of 20 - 30 soldiers are on duty at the top of the mountain. It is necessary to raise and lower military equipment-tanks, artillery, vehicles. Young, inexperienced drivers were replaced with experienced ones. Heavy guns were raised by one tractor and lowered by two tractors: one carefully drags the gun, the second holds it back from behind, so that the gun does not fall into the abyss. Medium-caliber guns are being towed by heavy vehicles, and they are supported from the sides by soldiers. Throughout the ascents and descents, groups of Red Army soldiers stand ready to provide assistance at the first need. The greatest difficulties were caused by swamps in the hollows. The rains caused an increase in the level of small mountain rivers and streams. Engineer-sapper units took the brunt of the engineering crisis.

17 Ibid., op. 11318, d. 208, ll 3-4.

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ensuring the march to and from Greater Khingan, as well as the march of troops across the Manchurian Plain. Due to the excessive employment of sapper units in the passes, the laying of roads through swampy areas, the arrangement of crossings over rivers and streams were entrusted to the gunners themselves. And they coped with the assigned task: swampy areas were paved with mats tied together from gaolian and other improvised materials. Bridges over rivers, as a rule, did not exist, and those that were, had an extremely small carrying capacity. Therefore, most of the rivers were crossed by wading artillery. For this purpose, the soldiers tore down the steep banks, and on the opposite banks tractors were on duty, ready to come to the rescue at any moment if in any car during the crossing the engine stalled.

Here, for example, is what the head of the political department of the 53rd Army, Major General G. M. Martynov, wrote in his report: "Exactly on time, units and formations of the army approached Bolshoy Khingan and immediately began to cross it along mountain camel trails, through completely uncharted terrain, where the troops had never passed, without having the opportunity to cross it. at the same time, there are no accurate topographic maps of the area, no guides... The path had to be cut through mountains and swampy narrow valleys. Huge efforts were required, people worked for several days without sleep or rest on the construction of roads and passageways, blew up rocks, tore down slopes, built bridges, filled up ravines, dug ditches, dragged cars, guns, carts over mountains, through swamps and sands, and carried ammunition on their hands."18 The statement of Colonel Savokin, commander of the 1136th rifle regiment of the 338th Rifle Division of the 39th army, is also characteristic in this regard: "If someone had told me earlier that my regiment would pass through the mountains and gorges 65 km per day, I would never have believed it. And now we're going. The great Suvorov was a master of large transitions, but he had trained soldiers who served for 20-25 years in the army. I have in my regiment 65% of young people born in 1927. Therefore, only people who are strong in their morale can go this way. " 19
I would especially like to mention the skillful and courageous actions of the 6th Guards Tank Army (commander-A. G. Kravchenko, member of the Military Council-G. L. Tumanyan, Chief of Staff-A. I. Shtromberg, Head of the Political Department-K. I. Filyashkin) and the 39th Army (commander-I. I. Lyudnikov, member of the Military Council-V. R. Boiko, Chief of Staff-M. I. Siminovsky, Head of the Political Department-P. P. Petrov). Watching the Soviet soldiers confidently overcome the impregnable Bolshoy Khingan, I couldn't help but remember their glorious military path on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Units and formations that were part of the 6th Guards Tank Army fought in the historic Battle of Stalingrad, fought heroically on the Kursk Bulge, were among the first to cross the Dnieper, participated in the expulsion of Hitler's hordes from Ukraine and Moldova, in the liberation of Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Austria and Czechoslovakia, having fought over 4 thousand kilometers. Formations of the 39th Army went through a glorious battle path to Konigsberg, and from there they were transferred to the Far Eastern Theater of War. And so, fanned with military glory, the banners of the units and formations of these armies now flew proudly over the peaks of Greater Khingan. On the pass itself, on the instructions of the commander of the 7th mechanized corps, F. G. Katkov, a tank was installed, on the tower of which an autogen inscription was made: "Soviet tanks passed through here in August 1945."

In overcoming the waterless steppes of Mongolia, the mountain ranges of the Greater and Lesser Khingan, the taiga wilds and swamps, in crossing water barriers, in the rapid assault on fortified enemy areas, the unparalleled courage and heroism of our soldiers from ordinary soldier to general, all branches of the armed forces, without exception, their excellent combat training and skill, high morale, and high moral standards were shown with all their might.- combat qualities.

The Japanese command hoped, relying on powerful fortified areas, to provide long-term resistance to the Soviet troops, prevent their breakthrough into the central regions of Manchuria and then launch a general counteroffensive. This is evidenced by the order of Emperor Hirohito, given to the Kwantung Army on the first day of the war against the USSR: "conduct a stubborn defense and prepare military operations-

18 Ibid., 206, rooms 248-251.

19 Ibid., f. 394, op. 9087, d. 195, l. 150.

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large-scale operations that will be carried out according to the Stavka plan." The directive of the Imperial headquarters of August 9 prescribed: "To deploy military operations everywhere with the aim of the subsequent defeat of the USSR." In pursuance of this directive, the Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army ordered: "To all fronts and armies, in accordance with the army's operational action plan, destroy the invading enemy."20 On the second day of the war, the Japanese Minister of War, General Anami, issued an appeal to the generals, officers and soldiers of the army and gave the following order: "Finish the holy war in defense of the land of the gods, fight unwaveringly, even if you have to gnaw the ground, eat grass and sleep on the bare ground. There is life in death-this is what the spirit of the great Nanko teaches us, who died seven times, but each time was reborn to serve the motherland. This is taught to us by the indomitable spirit of Tokimune, who did not give in to persuasion and hurried to ruthlessly crush the enemy. The officers and soldiers of our army must accept the precepts of Nanko and Tokimune and stand boldly against the mortal enemy."21 . But these and other calculations and appeals of the Japanese military were in vain.

The main Japanese military forces, concentrated in Manchuria and Korea, on Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, were hit like a giant avalanche, sweeping away everything in its path, by the Red Army's offensive on land, in the air and at sea. Infantry and artillery, tanks and cavalry, combat aircraft and Navy ships, skillfully and quickly interacting with each other, rapidly moved forward, hacking and destroying numerous pockets of enemy resistance, taking large formations and units of the" Kwantung Army " in a pincer grip and forcing them to surrender. Like the Nazis, some of the ruling circles of Japan (for example, former Prime Minister Konoe) until the last minute pinned their hopes on the fact that between the United States and England, on the one hand, and the USSR, on the other hand, there would be a clash that the Japanese militarists could use to their advantage. But even those ruling circles who cherished the hope of such a split, and those who did not count on such a turn of events, did not think about the unconditional surrender of Japan until the last moment, that is, until the complete defeat of the Kwantung Army by Soviet troops. Back in April 1945. Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki spoke: "We are not losing the war at all... We have no choice but to fight. " 22 A little later, he said,"I think we can hold out for two or three years." 23 And even after the Americans dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japanese army leaders said that "while there is no accurate information about the Russian advance on land, they refuse to accept the fact that Japan was defeated." 24
An ardent supporter and main ideologue of the "war to the end" was the Minister of War, General Anami. With pure samurai pomposity, he declared:: "One hundred million Japanese will prefer death to shameful surrender." 25 And these were not only loud words, but also a well-thought-out position of all the most prominent leaders of the Japanese military. General Anami was fully supported by the Chief of the General Staff of the Army, General Umezu, the Chief of the General Staff of the Navy, Admiral Toyoda, and others from the Military high Command. 26 This was also the position of Prime Minister Suzuki and Japan's Supreme War Leadership Council. When the Japanese military suspected the government that after the defeat of the Kwantung Army, its determination to fight the "war to the end" was replaced by thoughts of possible surrender, a conspiracy arose among the top officers to forcibly eliminate the "weak" government and replace it with people from the most aggressive military circles, in particular from the Young Tigers organization (so-called Young tigers). they called themselves members of the conspiracy). General Anami was asked to lead the plot. He gave his consent, but then, after being convinced of the lack of-

20 See T. Hattori. Daitoa senso zenshi. (Complete history of the Great East Asian War). Tokyo, 1956.

21 L. Brooks. Behind the Scenes of the Japanese Capitulation, Moscow, 1970, p. 25. Editor's note: Nanko-hero of Japanese Mythology. Tokimune, ruler of Japan in 1268-1284, led the country's defense against the Mongol invasion.

22 Ibid., p. 39.

23 Ibid., p. 43.

24 Ibid., p. 66.

25 Ibid., p. 88.

26 Ibid., p. 94.

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In order to avoid further fighting after the defeat and surrender of the Kwantung Army, he chose to commit hara-kiri, a traditional samurai suicide .27 These are some of the facts. They do not leave a stone unturned from the malicious slander of bourgeois falsifiers that the entry of the Soviet Union into the war with Japan was a purely symbolic "blow to the dying"; that the US armed forces allegedly already "brought the Japanese empire to its knees" (K. Greenfeld); that Russia entered the Pacific War "almost on the eve of Japan's agreement with the conditions of unconditional surrender" (G. Feis); that, moreover, " by the middle of 1944 it was finally clear that the war was lost. At the end of 1944, the government leaders realized that all was lost. " 28
In connection with the Soviet offensive operation that had unfolded along the entire gigantic front, the powerful means of ideological influence on the masses (the press, radio, cinema, the activities of cultural and educational institutions, various forms of oral agitation and propaganda) were subordinated to the central task of ensuring the exemplary execution of combat orders to defeat the enemy. Although with the development of the offensive into the depths of Manchuria, combat maneuver operations were carried out in separate and geographically dispersed operational areas, the offensive was conducted as a single operation, in exact accordance with the developed plan. This imposed a special responsibility on the command of the troops and their staffs, political bodies, party and Komsomol organizations, which, in the conditions of a rapidly changing situation and the rapid advance of troops, skillfully exerted the necessary influence on the soldiers, increased their high offensive impulse, and promptly and clearly informed the personnel about the general situation on all fronts. Political bodies and party organizations paid great attention to the material and technical support of the troops, the coherence of the work of the rear, including food and medical institutions. Concern for the nutrition, health of soldiers, timely evacuation of the wounded, burial of the brave who died on the battlefield was constantly in the field of view of political organizations.

Although the Kwantung Army suffered huge, irreparable losses from the very first days and its headquarters lost control of the troops, nevertheless the enemy put up a fierce resistance, stubbornly clinging to favorable natural borders and fortified settlements. Embittered by their failures, doomed to defeat, the Japanese resorted to any methods of struggle: they committed sabotage in the rear of our troops, attacked hospitals and bases, poisoned wells and reservoirs, set fire to dry perennial grasses in the steppe, blew up bridges, destroyed communication lines, destroyed enterprises, bases and warehouses. For example, a monk (lama) was detained in the offensive zone of General I. A. Pliev's group of troops, and a supply of strychnine was found with him. During the interrogation, Lama testified that he had received a task from the Japanese command to poison water sources in the territory occupied by the Red Army, and he had already managed to poison several wells .29 To understand the full danger of this sabotage, it is enough to say that in the units and formations of the Trans-Baikal Front, advancing in the desert-steppe part of Outer Mongolia, on August 11, the soldiers were given only 300 grams of water, and on August 12 until 14 hours. they didn't give out water at all. Due to the lack of water, more than 250 vehicles were standing still and lagged behind the main forces, which had gone ahead by 250-500 kilometers 30 . In the direction of the offensive of the 1st Red Banner Army of the 1st Far Eastern Federal District, only on August 10-11, Japanese suicide squads disguised in civilian clothes committed 17 sabotage attacks in its rear, which led to 31 casualties in military units .

Retreating in disorder into the depths of Manchuria under the rapid onslaught of our troops, the Japanese resorted to provocative actions. On August 17, in the area of Wanemiao (Trans-Baikal Front), Japanese soldiers disguised as Red Army soldiers shot 500 civilians while retreating in the old riverbed.

27 Ibid., pp. 161-163, 192, 213.

28 Ibid., p. 121.

29 Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, f. 32, op. 3191. d. 15, l. 41.

30 Ibid., 7, ll. 1, 27, 67, 83.

31 Ibid., op. 11289, d. 777, l. 242.

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population: women, children, and the elderly. When examining the corpses, 150 people were found to have stab wounds. The villainous murder of innocent people committed by the samurai was intended to arouse hatred and anger towards the Red Army on the part of the local population .32 There were cases when Japanese troops, while retreating, shot women and children of the same Japanese nationality, whom they could not evacuate. South of Jishi and near Didao station, our soldiers found more than 400 corpses of Japanese women and children shot or stabbed to death. When interrogating Japanese prisoners, it was established that this atrocity was committed by them allegedly with the "consent" of the dead themselves, so that they would not fall into the hands of the "Reds"33 . The savage atrocities of the samurai are also evidenced by the fact that, while retreating from the city of Sakhalyan, they stabbed 18 political prisoners in a local prison. It happened more than once that Japanese officers, not relying on the steadfastness of their soldiers to force them to fight to the last, chained them to machine guns, and snipers and "cuckoos" - to towers.

Every possible increase in vigilance in the troops was considered by political organizations as one of the important tasks. On August 11, the political Department of the 1st Far Eastern Federal District and the political departments of the 1st Red Banner, 5th and 25th Armies issued and distributed more than 160,000 leaflets "Be especially vigilant when you are outside the borders of your homeland."34 The political department of the Trans-Baikal Front has published a mass-circulation leaflet and poster "Chatterbox-a godsend for a spy". Propagandists and agitators of units and formations used them to conduct conversations with soldiers and officers directly in combat formations. This was of great importance, because separate groups of defeated enemy units roamed the territory of Manchuria. They were disappearing among the Chinese, Mongolian, and Korean populations, which were also partly on the move, leaving the most dangerous areas of combat. Only in the area of the city of Hulin (1st Far Eastern Front), the Japanese left 600 snipers disguised in civilian clothes in the rear of our troops.

An important feature of ideological work on the fronts was its mass character, and it covered all personnel from soldiers to officers and from units of battle formations to the military rear. The work was conducted with each individual; it was taught "to each individual," as V. I. Lenin taught, " that the end of the war depends on his courage, determination, and loyalty."35 As a result of this all-encompassing ideological and educational work in units and formations, examples of dedication of soldiers and officers, self-sacrifice in the name of performing combat tasks multiplied every day. It is impossible to list the names of all the heroes of battles who wrote their names in gold letters in the annals of military glory, because there are many thousands of them. Here are just a few examples. In the 39th Army of the Trans-Baikal Front on August 10-14, 17 soldiers and sergeants volunteered to block enemy bunkers and bunkers that prevented the advance of the advancing units. The sapper of the 4th sapper company, private Komsomol member V. S. Kolesnik, repeated the feat of Alexander Matrosov, closing the embrasure of the enemy pillbox with his chest, ensuring the successful attack of his company and the fulfillment of its combat task 36 . A similar feat in the battles for the city of Dunning was performed by a junior sergeant of the 567th SO of the 384th division A. Ya. Firsov. The immortal exploits of V. S. Kolesnik and A. Ya. Firsov immediately became known to all the personnel of the troops of the 1st Far Eastern Federal District. The political department issued special leaflets describing the feat of the heroes. Meetings were held in many units and divisions, and where the situation allowed, Komsomol meetings on the theme " To be as fearless in battle as Komsomol members Vasily Kolesnik and Alexander Firsov." Conversations were held with the soldiers on the topic "To love your homeland as the Komsomol heroes loved it".

In one of the reconnaissance units, during a night search, all the attempts of the fighters to slip through the hollow being shot through and destroy the machine gun of the enemy pillbox were unsuccessful. To sneak up on the pillbox and throw grenades at it would be able to practice-

32 Ibid., l. 249.

33 Ibid., op. 3191, d. 17, l. 47.

34 Ibid., 22, l. 19.

35 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 38, p. 317.

36 Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, f. 32, op. 1211, 3363, l. 69.

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chesky is only one person. G. E. Popov, a non-partisan Red Army soldier, volunteered to do this. Under machine-gun fire, he reached the pillbox and threw two grenades into the embrasure. The enemy machine gun was silent for a while, but as soon as the soldiers rose to the attack, it opened fire again. Then Popov rushed to the embrasure. A few meters from the embrasure, he was wounded. Exerting all his strength, Popov took a few steps forward and, bleeding profusely, closed the embrasure with his chest. Inspired by the feat of their comrade, the soldiers boldly rushed to the attack and destroyed the enemy stronghold ... 37 . Agitator of the company, Comrade. Simkin quickly passed the handwritten leaflet along the chain: "Comrade. Georgy Popov repeated the immortal feat of Alexander Matrosov. Glory to the hero!" During the storming of the pillbox on the outskirts of Fukdin on August 13, Ivan Yakubin, a senior sergeant of the 21st assault engineering and sapper brigade of the Komsomol, performed a heroic feat. After a serious wound received in battle during the rescue of platoon commander V. A. Nikolaev, the brave soldier did not leave the battlefield. He asked only his comrades-in-arms to accept from him and keep the Komsomol ticket washed in blood. And the battle didn't stop. From the embrasure of the pillbox, Japanese samurai poured lead on our attacking fighters. Gathering the last of his strength, Yakubin crawled up to the enemy embrasure with grenades in his hands and with an exclamation of "Goodbye, friends!" rushed to the embrasure. An explosion rang out, and the enemy's emplacement died down. Yakubin himself died a hero's death.

Komsomol members Alexey Shilonosov and Vasily Bulba earned eternal glory, who also covered the embrasures of enemy pillboxes with their bodies in a difficult moment of battle. They were both 24 years old in 1940. they joined the Komsomol and in the same year were drafted into the Red Army. They were excellent students of combat and political training, active Komsomol members and good comrades, and as part of their units they operated on one sector of the front. Both had the same idea, the same desire: to fulfill the order of the Motherland at all costs and defeat the enemy. Before the battle, at a Komsomol meeting, Bulba said: "The motherland ordered us to go into battle. I walk unwaveringly. If I have to give my life, the most precious thing I have , I will give it in the name of defeating the enemy. For the Motherland is dearer than anything else. I will fight like Alexander Matrosov did." There was a bloody battle going on. The Japanese, sitting on the hills in pillboxes, watered our fighters with lead. Moving forward was difficult. The companies lay low. At this time, A. Shilonosov and V. Bulba got out ahead and, tightly pressed to the ground, crawled like plastunsky to the enemy pillboxes. Bundles of grenades flew one after another into the embrasures of the pillboxes. The fire stopped. The soldiers rose to the attack. But when the strongholds were no more than 150 meters away, two enemy machine guns were scribbled. We need to silence them. But how? There are no more grenades. Then Shilonosov and Bulba, having got close to the pillboxes, rushed to the embrasure, and the enemy's machine guns drowned in the blood of the heroes. The soldiers rushed to the attack and completed the task with honor. Only one unit, where V. Bulba served, captured several enemy pillboxes in that battle and destroyed more than 100 Japanese soldiers .38
In the battles for the port of Racine, the pilot of the 12th Air Division of the Pacific Fleet, junior lieutenant Komsomolets M. E. Yanko, with the air gunner-radio operator Komsomolets I. I. Babkin, repeated the feat of Nikolai Gastello. On the third sortie, the plane was hit by enemy anti-aircraft artillery. The car began to fall. The crew had the opportunity to parachute out and land on enemy territory. But that meant enemy capture. Then Janko sent a plane to the port's power plant and blew it up, preferring an honorable death to captivity .39 The Komsomol commander of the 138th Rifle Regiment, Sergeant Tretyakov, knocked out three enemy tanks with an anti-tank rifle in a battle on August 11, and destroyed the fourth with a bunch of grenades. Junior Sergeant Sultanov got close to the enemy tank that broke through, jumped on it and shot the crew through the viewing slots, and he himself died a brave 40. The landing of sappers of the 26th rifle Corps under the command of senior sergeant Tsygankov, who was on a tank, was attacked by a detachment of "suicide bombers". Tsygankov fought back to the last bullet, and then, using a dagger, stabbed five Japanese soldiers 41 .

37 Ibid., op. 3191, d. 1, l. 84.

38 Ibid., op. 11318, d. 208, l. 101.

39 Ibid., op. 3191, d. 19, l. 8.

40 Ibid., d. 12, l. 17.

41 Ibid., f. 69, op. 12111, d. 3363, ll. 69-70.

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In the rapid offensive, the signalmen selflessly performed their duty, following the infantry, gunners, and tankers in battle formations. The signalmen of Officer Maksimov's unit (Trans-Baikal Front), when crossing the Bolshoy Khingan, laid an average of 50-60 km of cable and pole line in mountainous terrain per day, providing commanders with continuous control of units and units on the battlefield .42 All signalmen from the Far East performed their duty with honor. Our orderlies, nurses and doctors showed their personal bravery and bravery in the battles. They saved many soldiers ' lives and gave them the opportunity to return to the ranks again. The following facts clearly attest to their courage and indomitable will. The medical and sanitary battalion of the 3rd Rifle Division of the 2nd Far Eastern Federal District was attacked by a Japanese saboteur squad. After killing the wounded soldiers, they captured doctor Solomatina and paramedics-Komsomol members Gaivoronskaya and Selezneva. The Japanese subjected them to inhuman tortures, demanded that they give up secret information about the unit in which they served. But the glorious patriots didn't say a word. Then the Japanese fiends twisted their arms and legs, and stabbed their bodies with knives. Having learned of this atrocity, the Komsomol member of the regiment, com. Ponomarev immediately distributed a handwritten leaflet "To revenge, warrior!" to the units, which ended with the words:: "Warrior, remember this bloody atrocity of the Japanese fascists. Beat the enemy mercilessly, avenge our girls!" 43 rallies were held in all parts of the division . In the Seishin area, the 355th Marine Battalion of the Pacific Fleet was engaged in a fierce battle with Japanese samurai. Together with the soldiers, a nurse, a non-partisan Tsukanova, was also in the battle formations. She provided medical assistance to many soldiers and officers, carried out many wounded from the battlefield and thereby saved their lives. Being wounded herself, she did not leave the battalion and, overcoming the pain, provided all possible assistance to the soldiers. From the loss of blood, she lost consciousness and fell into the hands of the enemy. Japanese fiends mocked her in every possible way, trying to extract secret information about her military unit from her. But she didn't answer them. Then Japanese bandits gouged out her eyes, and after that, without getting a word out of her, they brutally cut her body with knives. For her heroism and courage, Maria Nikitichna Tsukanova was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. 44 These and thousands of other feats of arms of Soviet soldiers, sailors, and officers are the brightest expression of Soviet socialist patriotism, selfless devotion to the Motherland, the Communist Party, and military duty.

During the offensive battles, political organizations widely issued thank-you leaflets, which were awarded to particularly distinguished soldiers and sergeants. These leaflets, which had the motto " For our Soviet Homeland!", read: "Comrade! In the battle against the Japanese imperialists, you proved to be a fearless, courageous soldier of the Red Army. Our unit and our people are proud of your feat. On behalf of the service, we congratulate you on your military feat and express our gratitude. We hope that in the future you will spare no effort for the cause of our complete victory over the enemy." Such leaflets were systematically issued, for example, by the command and political department of the 124th Rifle Division 45 . This work was carried out in units and formations of all three fronts and in the Pacific Fleet. Military exploits of soldiers were quickly and widely popularized in oral and printed propaganda by issuing special leaflets describing combat exploits or through" Read and pass along the chain "lightning sheets. Here are two examples. A leaflet issued by the newspaper of the 97th Rifle Division reads:: "A knight of the Order of the Red Star and Glory of the III degree, who had previously exterminated more than a hundred Nazis, Galiulin again glorified the power of Soviet weapons in battles against the Japanese. The motherland is proud of the victorious warrior! ...Avzal Galiulin scored again! 19 Japanese were killed by a brave machine gunner. Sergeant Galiulin discovered the enemy unit. In a fierce battle, he personally exterminated 12 Japanese. Repelling a counterattack by a Japanese company, communist Galiulin destroyed four more samurai, and then increased his score to 19 Japanese killed. " 46 Communist Sergeant

42 " Suvorov onslaught "(newspaper of the Trans-Baikal Front), 31. VIII. 1945.

43 Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, f. 32, op. 11289, d. 777, ll. 257-258.

44 Central Naval Archive, f. 3, op. 2422, 21, l. 149.

45 Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, f. 32, op. 3191, 12, l. 79.

46 Ibid., op. 3225, d. 27, l. 105.

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Shcherbakov led his squad to attack several times, personally destroyed 10 samurai in hand-to-hand combat, and died a hero's death himself. In connection with this feat, Deputy the commander of the battalion on the political side, the captain of Carriers, wrote a "leaflet -" lightning " and passed it along the chain of battle formations of the unit. The leaflet read: "Warrior! Our glorious comrade, the communist Shcherbakov, died a brave death. He skillfully led his squad to attack. With fire, bayonet, grenade and rifle butt, he mercilessly destroyed Japanese samurai. He honestly fulfilled his military oath. He gave his life for our beloved Homeland, for the people. Let's take revenge on the bandits for the death of T. Shcherbakova. Forward to the enemy!"47 .

To ensure the continuous party influence on the masses of soldiers, their high fighting spirit, the correct alignment of forces of Communists and Komsomol members, the presence of full-blooded company and their equal party and Komsomol organizations were invaluable. Political organizations paid exceptional attention to this issue. Even V. I. Lenin pointed out that we defeated our enemies on all fronts "... thanks to the existence of communist cells in the Red Army, which are of great propaganda and agitation significance. " 48 Bearing this in mind, political organizations in all rifle units reviewed the composition of party organizations and arranged Communists by division. In the tank and artillery units, the party and Komsomol forces were arranged in such a way that in each crew or gun crew there were communists and Komsomol members who could influence non-party soldiers by word and personal example. A significant number of Communists who were fit for combat service were sent from rear units to linear units, and from cadre formations to newly formed units.

The work carried out on the organizational strengthening of party organizations can be clearly shown by the example of formations and units of the 5th Army of the 1st Far Eastern Federal District. If on July 1, 1945 there were 409 company and equal party organizations in the army, then by the beginning of hostilities there were already 1,600 company party organizations and 79 party groups .49 In the 1st Airborne division, by August 1, 17 primary and 113 more party organizations were created in divisions. In the 52nd Rifle Division of the 53rd Army, the number of company party organizations doubled by the beginning of hostilities. In the army as a whole, by August 1, only 37 companies or their equal units did not have party organizations (the latter were later created during the fighting). In total, by the beginning of the offensive operation, our troops in the Far East had 10438 primary and 20 thousand company or equal party organizations 50 .

Political organizations, party and Komsomol organizations conducted daily and painstaking work to receive the best soldiers into the ranks of the party and Komsomol, to strengthen the party and Komsomol stratum among the personnel. Only in June-July 1945, the troops of the Trans-Baikal, 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Fronts accepted more than 20 thousand soldiers and officers into the party and 15286 people into the ranks of the Komsomol 51 . By the beginning of hostilities in the Far Eastern troops there were 885500 Communists and Komsomol members, that is, more than half of the total personnel. In addition, there were 124,285 Communists and Komsomol members in the Pacific Fleet and the Amur Military Flotilla. This was a huge ideological and cementing force in the troops.

The influx of applications to the party and Komsomol increased especially during the offensive days. In August 1945, mainly during the period of intense military operations, 1,936 applications for admission to the party were submitted in formations and units of the 2nd Far Eastern Federal District, 2,399-to party candidates and 2,209-to the Komsomol 52 . Only during the first two days of fighting in the Pacific Fleet, 600 applications for admission to the party and 603 - to the Komsomol were received. From 9 to 20 August to the party organizations of the 1st, 5th, 25th, and 35th armies

47 Ibid.

48 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 39, pp. 313-314.

49 Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, f. 32, op. 3191, 15, l. 47.

50 Ibid., op. 11318, d. 206, ll. 267-268; op. 11289, d. 2371, ll. 258-260.

51 " Party and political work in the Soviet Union. Armed Forces", Moscow, 1968, p. 471.

52 Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, f. 238, op. 1597, d. 387, ll. 17-18.

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and the 9th Air Army of the 1st Far Eastern Federal District received 6,748 applications from soldiers and officers for admission to the party 53 .

"I want to go into battle as a communist" - this is the leitmotif of all submitted applications. Out of many thousands of statements, we will give here one-the gunner of the battery of 76-mm guns of the 9th Joint Venture of the 94th sd, Red Army soldier Rodionov: "I ask the party organization to accept me as a candidate for membership of the CPSU (b). I will justify this great title of communist in battle." The fighter Rodionov fulfilled his promise with honor. The battery commander Lieutenant Demchak wrote in his combat report to Rodionov:: "Tov. Rodionov, being a gunner, in a battle with Japanese samurai boldly smashed enemy firing points. Direct fire destroyed two machine guns, three hoods, suppressed one pillbox. When the gun commander failed, he assumed command and successfully coped with this duty, for which he was presented with a government award. " 54 Political organizations reviewed applications and handed over newly accepted party documents in a combat situation. Timely delivery of party and Komsomol documents raised people's morale. Receiving a candidate card, a Red Army soldier of the 361st Rifle Division Derkach stated:: "I am proud to join the party's candidates during the days of the war against the Japanese invaders. I am going into battle as a Communist, and I will fight for our party with all my strength and life."55. Receiving a Komsomol ticket on the front line before the battle, Red Army soldier Kabduakhatov said: "In a few minutes I'm going to attack; I swear that I will not disgrace the title of Komsomol member, the title of war." Breaking into the city of Sunu with his comrades, he fought bravely, destroying the enemy 56 .

Much attention was paid to the selection of party officials and their deputies, the creation of a reserve of party officials, which would allow quickly replacing party organizers who dropped out during the fighting. Communists and Komsomol members made an invaluable contribution to the victory over the samurai. They fearlessly marched in the vanguard of battles, were the true soul of the attackers. With their fiery Bolshevik words and personal example, they raised the soldiers to defeat the enemy, instilled in them courage and selfless devotion to the party and the Motherland. The communist soldiers of the Far East multiplied the glorious fighting traditions of the older generation of communists during the Civil War, which V. I. Lenin spoke about: they went ahead of everyone and "...died, thereby raising the mood of the entire army..."57 . Of the hundreds and thousands of relevant examples, here are a few. On August 10, Communist Innokenty Batorov, a Red Army soldier of the 205th Tank Brigade's motorized rifle battalion, overcame two anti-tank ditches and threw grenades into the embrasures of two pillboxes in the battle for a fortified junction at Abotu Hill north of Hailar, ensuring the advance of his unit. When the grenades were used up, and the enemy's machine gun forced the unit to lie down, the communist Batorov crawled up to the pillbox and closed the embrasure 58 with his body .

During the battle for Echo Station, the Japanese heavily shelled the advancing tanks of the 77th Tank Brigade of the 1st Far Eastern Front. The tank, driven by Komsomol member Antonenko, had a cannon and machine gun disabled by a direct shell hit. The tank commander, a turret gunner and a radio operator were seriously injured. Only the driver remained unharmed. Having increased the speed to the limit, Antonenko led the tank to the enemy's firing positions, crushed four guns and was the first to break into the Echo station. Fuel ran out. The Japanese surrounded the hero and offered him to surrender. In response, Antonenko threw grenades at the samurai and fired at them from a submachine gun. Samurai set fire to the tank, but the brave warrior in the burning car continued to fight and held out until the approach of his troops .

A member of the party, pilot of the 12th Air Division of the Pacific Fleet, Captain I. F. Voronin, with a group of attack aircraft, successfully bombed an oil refinery on the first sortie, then, together with pilot Yudaev, sank a Japanese trans into the sea-

53 Ibid., f. 32, op. 11318, d. 195, ll. 47-49.

54 Ibid., d. 206, l. 351.

55 Ibid., 12, l. 132.

56 Ibid., l. 137.

57 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 40, p. 127.

58 Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, f. 32, op. 11318, 206, l. 132.

59 Ibid., d. 195, l. 31.

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port. On the third day of the war, Officer Voronin sank the enemy destroyer 60 with a well-aimed hit .

Eternal glory was earned by the party manager of the company of anti-tank guns of the 101st Rifle Division of the 2nd Far Eastern Fleet, Senior Sergeant Cherepanov. In the battle of Paramushir Island, he shot down two Japanese tanks. The third tank continued to move and fire at the advancing infantry. Then the communist Cherepanov with a bunch of grenades rushed under the enemy tank and blew it up. The deputy commander for political affairs of the 3rd rifle battalion of the 112th Joint Venture of the 190th sd of the 5th Army, Senior Lieutenant Prikhodko, fought heroically against the samurai. He repeatedly personally led the battalion in the attack and always ensured the successful implementation of combat orders of the command. In the battles for one of the heights, enemy soldiers launched a counterattack. The battalion was forced to lie low. Then Prikhodko himself lay down for a machine gun, began to shoot the counter-attackers and, despite the fact that he was wounded, did not leave the battlefield. Having repulsed the enemy's counterattack, Prikhodko raised the battalion, which occupied the height with a rapid throw. At this point, Prikhodko was wounded a second time, but did not leave the battlefield and only after the third, severe wound was evacuated .61 The hero of the battles on the hills of Manchuria was a young communist officer Nikolai Khabarov. Together with the soldiers of his platoon (Senior sergeant Kuzmin, junior sergeant Murashev, Red Army soldiers Grishin, Doshanov, Buev and Serebryakov), he volunteered to destroy two enemy reinforced concrete pillboxes that blocked the path of our advancing unit. Seven brave men, with a swift and daring dash, captured enemy fortifications, exterminated 18 Japanese soldiers and two officers, without losing a single person .62
The Soviet Motherland highly appreciated the military exploits of Communist soldiers and Komsomol members of the Far East: of the 87 Heroes of the Soviet Union who received this high title, 76 people were party members. Among 6884 soldiers and officers of the 2nd Red Banner Army of the 2nd Far Eastern Federal District who received government awards, 3578 were Communists. In the 15th Army of the same front, 55% of those awarded were Communists. In the 25th Army of the 1st Far Eastern Federal District, more than 6,500 Komsomol members received government awards, and in general, 21,119 members of the Leninsky Komsomol were awarded on this front .63
In fierce and bloody battles, the Kwantung Army was completely defeated. On August 14, with the complete collapse of the front in Manchuria and North Korea, the Japanese government was forced to recognize the need for surrender. But at the same time, it put forward various reservations, such as granting the Japanese government the right to withdraw troops from the occupied territories, disarm them and demobilize them; to bring charges for war crimes itself and determine the penalties for these crimes in its own court; to carry out the occupation of Japanese territory for a short time and with limited allied forces, etc. they tried to delay the adoption of the proposals of the Soviet command to end the resistance and surrender. In this connection, on August 16, 1945, a statement of the General Staff of the Red Army was published in our press, which stated: "The message made by the Japanese Emperor on August 14 about the surrender of Japan is only a general declaration of unconditional surrender. The order for the armed forces to cease hostilities has not yet been issued, and the Japanese armed forces still continue to resist. Consequently, there is no actual surrender of the Japanese armed forces yet. The surrender of the Japanese armed forces can only be considered from the moment when the Japanese Emperor gives an order to his armed forces to cease hostilities and lay down their weapons, and when this order is practically implemented. In view of the above, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union in the Far East will continue their offensive operations against Japan. " 64
There was still heavy fighting going on everywhere. On August 16-19, the troops of the three fronts and the Pacific Fleet continued to develop the offensive, overcoming resistance

60 Ibid., op. 3191, d. 19, l. 8.

61 Ibid., f. 234, op. 3225, d. 27, l. 118.

62 Ibid., f. 32, op. 11318, d. 197, l. 259.

63 Ibid., f. 238, op. 1597, d. 383, l. 18.

64 Ibid., f. 234, op. 3213, d. 397, ll. 131-132.

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separate enemy units and groups. On August 19, the Main Command of the Soviet forces in the Far East issued an ultimatum to the Commander - in-Chief of the Kwantung Army, General O. Yamada, "to immediately cease combat operations of the Kwantung Army units everywhere, and where it turns out to be impossible, to quickly inform the troops of the order for an immediate cessation of hostilities-to cease hostilities no later than 12: 00 on 20.08.45."65 On the same day, the reception of surrendered Japanese units and formations in Manchuria and North Korea began. On August 20, our troops entered Mukden, Changchun, Jilin and Harbin, and on August 23 they entered the legendary Port Arthur, where on August 25 the flag of the Soviet Navy was hoisted in a solemn atmosphere. By the end of August, Manchuria, North Korea, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were completely liberated.

For the Japanese command, such a rapid and stunning development of the offensive actions of the Red Army came as a complete surprise. Covering the main direction-the approaches to the cities of Mudangjiang and Harbin-the 5th Japanese Army lost two-thirds of its personnel and military equipment. Its commander, Lieutenant General Shimazu Noritsune, surrendered. During the interrogation, he said: "We did not think that the Russian army would pass through difficult areas of the taiga. Such a lightning-fast performance of the Russians was unexpected for us. After the losses suffered, the army could not offer further resistance. " 66 The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army, Major General Matsumura Tomokatsu, who was also captured by our troops, said: "For the Kwantung command, the declaration of war by the Soviet Union on August 8 and the beginning of hostilities by the Red Army on August 9 were completely unexpected... On August 9, the headquarters of the Kwantung Army received the first order of the emperor, which required to conduct a stubborn defense in the areas actually occupied by Japanese troops, and prepare large-scale military operations that would be carried out according to the Stavka plan. The second stavka order was received on August 10 and contained a requirement to act... according to the preliminary general operations plan. This plan was developed in the spring of 1945 by the Main Headquarters and provided for the stubborn resistance of Japanese units to the actions of the Red Army in the border areas... I and all the generals and officers I knew believed that we would not be defeated in this war against the Allied Nations, and that the war would only drag on for a few more years. " 67 He added, with samurai confidence, "We would not have been defeated if the Emperor had not ordered us to lay down our arms and surrender." Subsequently, the Japanese military historian Hayashi echoed him: "Just as the Soviets were invading Manchuria, Northern China, and Southern Sakhalin, and the main Kwantung Army forces were about to launch a counteroffensive, the Imperial High Command gave the order to stop resisting."68
The captured commander of the 3rd front of the Kwantung Army, General Usiroku Jun, as if summing up the Manchurian operation, said during the interrogation:: "I believe that the Soviet Army has a huge combat capability and is certainly superior to the armies of America, Britain, Germany and other countries. The Soviet-German war clearly proved the superiority of Soviet strategy and tactics over the strategy and tactics of the armies of America and Britain, which were revealed in the war of these countries against Japan. The Soviet command showed a high level of leadership skills. It demanded a high degree of activity from its troops, skilfully prepared operations to expand combat successes, and in unfavorable conditions sought to switch to conducting intense and protracted battles... The conduct of this operation testifies to the skilful operational leadership of the troops on the part of the high command of the Soviet troops. " 69
September 2, 1945 on the American battleship "Missouri" in Tokyo Bay in the presence of representatives of the command of the Allied Powers authorized by Japan-

65 Ibid., l. 168.

66 Ibid., f. 32, op. 11318, d. 195, l. 72.

67 Ibid., op. 11306, d. 607, l. 277.

68 p. Hayashi. The Japanese Army in military operations in the Pacific Ocean, Moscow, 1964, p. 163.

69 Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, f. 32, op. 11306, d. 607, ll. 292-293.

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The Japanese Government and military commanders signed the act of unconditional surrender of Japan. Thus, the war in the Pacific, which, as the United States and Britain feared, could drag on until 1946 or even 1947-1948, was victoriously completed less than a month after the start of the crushing Soviet offensive, which overturned all the "long-term plans" of the Japanese command. This fact alone completely rejects any fabrications of bourgeois falsifiers and history and reveals the great significance of the Manchurian strategic offensive operation of the Soviet troops. The defeat of the Kwantung Army and the unconditional surrender of Japan are of lasting importance. The myth of Japanese propaganda about the invincibility of the Japanese army, which was spread by it for decades, using for this purpose the defeat of tsarist Russia in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905, was exposed. Inflating this myth, the Japanese militarists made a fatal miscalculation. They talked about tsarist Russia and forgot that the tsarist autocracy, not the Russian people, was defeated in the Russo-Japanese war; that in October 1917 a new, socialist Russia was born - the USSR, which cannot be defeated. By defeating militaristic Japan and liberating a number of territories and peoples from enemy occupation, the Soviet Armed Forces at the same time washed away the black spot that fell on our country as a result of the defeat in 1905. The Victory Day has arrived; as a thanksgiving to the Soviet soldiers, it will live forever in the hearts and memories of generations.

The development of a strategic plan for this unprecedented scale and pace of offensive operation was the result of intense creative activity of the Supreme High Command Headquarters, the General Staff, the command and Headquarters of all types of troops, fronts, fleets, armies and flotillas. Paying tribute to the experience and knowledge of other military leaders, I would like to emphasize here the role of the outstanding Soviet commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky. He directly participated in the development of the Far Eastern campaign plan together with the General Staff and front-line commanders. As a member of the Military Council of the High Command of the Soviet Troops in the Far East, I had to observe on a daily basis how tirelessly and purposefully Alexander Mikhailovich worked as Commander-in-Chief. Always calm, thoughtful, and able to listen to the opinions of others, A. M. Vasilevsky created an atmosphere in which everyone who worked with him felt very satisfied and learned a lot from him. A major contribution to the preparation and conduct of the military campaign in the Far East was made by the famous Soviet commanders Marshals of the Soviet Union R. Ya. Meretskov, who commanded the troops of the Trans-Baikal and 1st Far Eastern Fronts, respectively, Army General M. A. Purkaev, commander of the 2nd Far Eastern Front, and Admiral I. S. Yumashev, Commander of the Pacific Fleet. The Chief of Staff of the Main Command, General S. P. Ivanov, the chiefs of Front and Fleet staffs, Generals M. V. Zakharov, A. N. Krutikov, F. I. Shevchenko, Vice Admiral A. S. Frolov, as well as army commanders, army chiefs of Staff, formation commanders and other military leaders showed high skill in leading the troops.

It should be noted that a significant role was played in the preparation and conduct of the operation by Chief Marshal of Aviation A. A. Novikov, Admiral of the Fleet N. G. Kuznetsov, Marshal of Artillery M. N. Chistyakov, Generals M. D. Solomatin, V. I. Vinogradov, N. D. Psurtsev, M. M. Potapov, K. S. Nazarov, P. A. Lapkin, who arrived together with A. M. Vasilevsky in early July 1945 to the Far East. Skilfully, flexibly and promptly, in accordance with the current combat situation and the tasks facing the troops, experienced political workers - members of the military councils of the fronts and the fleet T. F. Shtykov, A. N. Tevchenkov, D. S. Leonov, S. E. Zakharov and heads of political departments K. A. Zykov, P. T. Zykov - managed the party and political support of combat operations. Lukashin, K. F. Kalashnikov, A. A. Muravyov, members of military councils and heads of political departments of armies, political workers of formations, units and ships.

All of us in the Far East, both during the preparation of the operation and during its implementation, constantly felt the leading and guiding role of the State Defense Committee and the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. Supreme Commander-in-Chief J. V. Stalin systematically took an interest in the state of affairs, paying close attention to-

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He thoroughly and deeply delved into all the most important political, economic and military aspects of the Far Eastern campaign. He demanded daily reports from us, both on the preparation of the operation, and then in particular on the progress of its implementation. Directive guidelines and councils of the Supreme High Command provided great assistance to the High Command, military councils of fronts and armies, commanders of formations, units and ships in implementing the tasks assigned to them of enormous military and historical significance. As A. M. Vasilevsky later recalled, even during the work of the Potsdam Conference, J. V. Stalin from Berlin on July 16, 1945, contacted the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief in Chita and demanded from him a detailed report on the readiness of troops for combat operations.

The organizer and inspirer of the victory in the Far East was our Communist Party. It turned the task of defeating Japanese imperialism, as well as the German-Fascist invaders, into the work of the entire people. The working class, the collective farm peasantry, and the intelligentsia-all Soviet people approved and supported the policy of the Soviet Government. At the call of the party, and implementing Lenin's instruction "Let every organization in Soviet Russia never cease to put the question of the army first" 70, the Soviet people surrounded the soldiers of the Far East with attention and care. The Communist Party and its Central Committee paid unflagging attention to ideological and party-organizational work in the army and navy. The Party determined its content and direction, demanding that political organizations apply various forms and methods of using the rich experience gained in the fight against the Nazi invaders. The Party continuously taught commanders, political organizations, party and Komsomol organizations to fully " use the full force of such a powerful weapon as party and political work. The tireless activity of Communists and Komsomol members in the Far East can serve as one of the clearest illustrations of what the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Leonid Brezhnev, said in a speech at a reception in the Kremlin in honor of graduates of military academies: "The power of these weapons has been tested in the fire of battles. It still frightens our enemies. " 71 Through the whole system of ideological and political influence, the Communist Party fostered in the soldiers of the Far East a fervent love for the Soviet Homeland and a burning hatred for the enemy, high consciousness, understanding of the goal, firmness and determination in the struggle , and an unyielding will to win-those moral and combat qualities that V. I. Lenin called "not only a historical factor, but also a decisive, winning factor " 72 .

The troops of the Far East honorably fulfilled the instructions of the party and the Motherland. On the Far Eastern battlefield, our soldiers fought for the freedom, honor and dignity of the socialist Motherland, and for world peace. They fought without sparing either blood or life itself, skillfully crushed all obstacles on the way and won a brilliant victory over the samurai. Decades and centuries will pass, but our people will never forget the great military feat of soldiers from the Far East, both soldiers and sailors! The party and the government highly appreciated the combat activity of the Far Eastern troops. For their courage and military skill, more than 308 thousand soldiers were awarded orders and medals of the USSR, 87 were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, and 6 people were awarded the second Gold Star medal, 1725 thousand were awarded the medal "For Victory over Japan", 220 formations and units were awarded the honorary names "Khingan", " Harbin", "Amur", "Ussuri", "Kuril", "Mukden", "Port Arthur" , etc. 25 formations and units became Guards, on the battle banners of 306 formations, units and ships shone the Orders of Lenin, the Red Banner, Suvorov, Kutuzov, Ushakov, Nakhimov, Alexander Nevsky, the Patriotic War of the 1st degree and the Red Star.

On August 23, 1945, our capital, Moscow, on behalf of the Motherland, saluted the valiant soldiers of the Far East, as well as the soldiers of the Mongolian People's Republic, with 24 artillery volleys from 324 guns. Our army and people, and together with them the armies and peoples of the allied Powers, triumphed over Japanese militarism.

70 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 37, p. 125.

71 L. I. Brezhnev. Lenin's course. Speeches and Articles, vol. 2, Moscow, 1970, p. 51.

72 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 40, p. 249.

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* * *

The Soviet people always sympathized and helped the peoples struggling for liberation from colonial oppression. Especially much was done during the years of Soviet power to help the Chinese people, who by the time the military events unfolded in August 1945, had been defending their country's freedom and independence with weapons in their hands against the Japanese aggressors for more than eight years. The situation of war in China by the summer of 1945 was somewhat similar to the situation of the civil war. It was fought between the Kuomintang Army, the former puppet army of Wang Jingwei, on the one hand, and the 8th, the New 4th People's Liberation Army, as well as the Communist-led guerrilla forces of China, on the other. The Japanese command, especially after April 5, 1945, when it became increasingly clear that the Soviet Union would strike at the Samurai, took all measures to organize a strict and deep blockade of the partisan areas and Communist-led troops in Northern China. By that time, a multi-layered blockade of the partisan areas was already being carried out, in which the troops of Chiang Kai-shek, Wang Jingwei, as well as the forces of the Japanese army (about 800 thousand soldiers and officers in total)70 participated . The blockade of the partisan areas, especially Shenganning, where the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Command of the People's Liberation Forces of China were located in Yan'an, created extreme difficulties and was fraught with great danger for the Communist Party of China and the People's Liberation Army. The Japanese command took advantage of the blockade of the partisan areas and freely transferred troops of the 6th front from Central China to the borders of Manchuria and the Mongolian People's Republic, preparing them to assist the Kwantung Army in Manchuria. At that time, the 8th People's Liberation Army of China was unable to prevent this regrouping.

The situation in China, therefore, turned out to be extremely difficult. The rapid advance of the Soviet troops had a decisive impact on the liberation movement of the Chinese people. On August 10 and 11, our aircraft scattered leaflets in Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Mongolian over the most densely populated areas of the Central Manchurian Plain with the text of the appeal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union in the Far East "To the fraternal Chinese people", "Korean brothers", "Mongol Brothers", " To the Japanese Army and to the Japanese people." In the address "To the fraternal Chinese people" it was said: "The Red Army of the Soviet Union not only liberated its land from German invaders, it brought freedom to the peoples of Europe from German slavery... The Red Army came as a liberating army to the Far East to defeat the Japanese invaders and bring freedom to the Chinese, Korean, Mongolian and other peoples suffering from Japanese colonizers... Help the Red Army achieve an early victory ... " 71 . The appeal "To the Japanese Army and the Japanese people "said:" Just as Hitler's Germany was a hotbed of war and disaster for the peoples of Europe, your ruling clique has turned Japan into a hotbed of war and disaster for the peoples of the Far East... The hotbed of war and disaster in the West-Hitler's fascism-has been destroyed. Peace and order are now established in Europe... Your rulers and a military cabal of adventurers are left alone. It is clear to all of you that Japan's ultimate defeat is inevitable. Japan is doomed. Any continuation of resistance will only lead to new defeats for the country... Japanese men and women! Officers and soldiers!.. Don't let that happen. Japanese militarism must be destroyed, and the Japanese people must live. End the senseless war for you. Demand the immediate and unconditional surrender of the Japanese Army and Navy to the Red Army and the armies of our allies ... " 72 .

The Main Command of the Soviet Far Eastern troops worked out the conditions for accepting the surrender of Japanese formations and units. With the beginning of the capitulation, political bodies, through departments, departments and instructors of the political departments of divisions for work among the enemy's troops and population, organized work at the assembly points-

70 "Haisen no kiroku". Tokyo. 1953, p. 249 (in Japanese).

71 Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, f. 32, op. 3191, 17, l. 81.

72 Ibid., pp. 82-83.

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They told Japanese soldiers, officers and generals who had laid down their weapons about the Red Army, the conditions of their captivity, and the requirements of the Potsdam Declaration of the Allies, especially on the issue of demilitarization and democratization of public and political life in post-war Japan. Only on August 10-14, our aircraft scattered over the cities and other large settlements of Manchuria over 24 million copies of leaflets with texts of appeals to the Chinese, Korean, Mongolian population and Japanese troops. Only the Political Department of the 39th Army (head of the Political Department-General E. I. Filyashkin) distributed 1,160 thousand leaflets with appeals, including 700 thousand in Japanese, 430 thousand in Chinese, and 30 thousand in Mongolian, on August 11-12 .73
And in August 1945, when the advancing units of the Soviet Army broke into the Central Manchurian Plain and continued to defeat the enemy's formations, the situation in Northern China changed dramatically. The former army of the Japanese puppet Wang Jingwei withdrew from its position and left the zone of blockade of partisan areas occupied by it; Japanese units withdrew to the railways and highways in order to be able to quickly reach the front against the Soviet Army in Southern Manchuria, and the remaining Kuomintang troops in the blockade zone, influenced by the success of the Soviet Army, entered the path of"fraternization" with partisan troops. The PLA received weapons, material resources, and much more from the Soviets. All this made it possible for the People's Liberation Army command of China to order an offensive 74 . This is how the armies of the fraternal peoples of the USSR and China joined forces in the war against imperialist Japan.

The Japanese command and administration, which plundered the riches of China and predatingly oppressed the Chinese people, sharply increased anti-Soviet propaganda in connection with the entry of Soviet troops into the territory of Manchuria. They intimidated the Chinese, Manchus, Mongols, and Koreans into thinking that the Red Army would also "carry out mass murder, looting, and violence" among local residents. These lies and slander were supported by the White Guard "Main Bureau of Russian Emigration" in Harbin and its local branches 75 . The command and political organizations of the Far Eastern troops have done a great job to expose this slander. Our soldiers and officers remained at the level of their great international liberation mission. A mass - circulation leaflet - appeal "Hold high the honor of our army-the liberation army" was issued, which explained the goals and objectives of our army in relation to the fraternal peoples of China, Korea, and Inner Mongolia. This leaflet and other materials played a role in instilling in soldiers and officers a sense of international solidarity with the working people of the Manchus, Chinese, Koreans and Mongols. When our soldiers and officers met with the local population, they expressed their sincere sympathy and at the same time tried to do everything possible to help the workers who suffered for many years under the yoke of colonial exploitation. At the rallies and meetings that spontaneously emerged in the liberated localities, our soldiers and officers became ardent propagandists of the truth about the Soviet Union, about the international friendship of peoples fighting against imperialism, for peace and social progress.

The Chinese population greeted the Red Army enthusiastically. The population of Harbin, Changchun, Mudanjiang, Jilin, Mukden, the legendary Port Arthur and other cities where the Red Army-liberator entered, almost without exception, with red armbands on their hands and in festive clothes, took to the streets and enthusiastically greeted the Soviet soldiers covered with glory. A mass rally in Harbin resulted in a grandiose demonstration with the participation of all segments of the city's population. The clergy came with a banner that read:: "Let us give thanks to the great men of this world." 76 Even Metropolitan Melentius of Harbin and Manchuria at-

73 Ibid., 15, l. 42.

74 "Senjupu no horeishu", B. M. 1945, p. 164 (in Japanese).

75 Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, f. 32, op. 11306, 610, l. 222.

76 Ibid., f. 234, op. 3225, d. 27, l. 125.

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He was responsible for the entry of the "victorious Russian army" into Harbin. I had to witness how cordially the Red Army was received by the Chinese and Mongol populations. Workers and peasants where our troops entered provided them with all possible assistance: they helped to restore destroyed bridges and roads, to catch and disarm the remaining Japanese sabotage detachments in the rear, to protect prisoners of war at assembly points, to pull out artillery pieces, vehicles with ammunition, food and other property that were stuck in the gates. On the roads where our troops passed, the population took out drinking water, vegetables, fruits and milk, which were treated to our soldiers and officers. On August 10, when units of the Soviet-Mongolian group of troops approached the large Mongolian monastery of Ulan-Khalga-sume, a delegation from monks and a nearby Chinese village came out to meet them with flags. The delegation welcomed the arrival of the Red Army, and was especially welcomed by the Chinese. When the monks and residents of the village saw firsthand the falsity of the Japanese slander against the Red Army, they presented gifts to the soldiers the next day as a sign of gratitude .77 Even the merchants of Fujin gave 20 tons of flour and rice as a gift to the Red Army and asked them to transfer them to the unit that first liberated their city .78 In the military town of Fujin, where the Japanese put up fierce resistance to our troops, a pillbox was discovered in which Japanese soldiers were holed up. During the liquidation of the pillbox, local residents actively helped our fighters. After the destruction of a group of Japanese troops in this city, scattered enemy detachments left for the area of Mount Wohulishan. The inhabitants of the village located near this mountain sent messengers three times to inform the Red Army command where the Japanese soldiers were located and that 300 to 350 more Japanese had then appeared on Mount Wohulishan .79 Many Chinese and Koreans persistently asked for weapons to fight against the hated samurai. This desire was especially evident in the soldiers of the units we disarmed, formed by the Japanese from the Chinese and Mongolian populations (we are talking about the population of Inner Mongolia-I. Sh.). It is interesting to note that these units, as a rule, did not resist the advancing Red Army. When our troops approached, they put their hand weapons in trestles, and the Japanese instructors who were with them usually had their heads cut off. This happened, for example, in the 7th Manchurian Brigade of the Manchukuo Army, which surrendered on August 18 on the Trans-Baikal Front. The same thing happened in the 1st Manchurian Division, whose personnel, led by its commander, Colonel Li, met the approaching Red Army with banners 80.

A peasant from Chifyn County expressed his gratitude to the Red Army in a conversation with our officer: "Thank you to the Red Army for expelling the Japanese, now no one will take away our harvest, and it will all remain in our hands. Thank you to the Red Army for not allowing the peasant to be offended now. " 81 This simple statement expressed the hopes of the Chinese peasants associated with the liberation campaign of the Red Army and the defeat of the Japanese invaders. Our formations and units located in Manchuria and North Korea enjoyed exceptional respect from the local population. The workers of China, Korea, and Inner Mongolia saw Soviet soldiers as representatives of the great and friendly Soviet people. The public of cities and villages at rallies and meetings received welcome addresses and letters to the Red Army command, thanked them for their liberation from Japanese colonialism, and solemnly swore eternal and unbreakable friendship with the Soviet people. Hundreds and thousands of gifts, letters of thanks, and banners presented by the Manchu, Chinese, Korean, and Mongolian populations to the Red Army command are preserved as relics in the Central Museum of the Soviet Army in Moscow.

Among these documents is a 717-meter-long silk roll covered with hieroglyphs: a letter of gratitude from the workers of Northeast China to the Soviet soldiers-

77 Ibid., f. 32, op. 11542, d. 181, l. 398.

78 Ibid., op. 11306, d. 683. l. 101.

79 Ibid., pp. 81-82.

80 Ibid., op. 11289, d. 777, l. 150.

81 Ibid., op. 11318, d. 206, l. 224.

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liberators. Another message to the Soviet Supreme Command, signed by 16767680 Koreans, says:: "More than once in the entire centuries-old history, Korea has seen foreign troops at home. Our patriots died from their swords, and civilians were killed. They burned our cities and villages, turning them into ruins and piles of ashes. And only the Soviet troops came to us not as conquerors, but as liberators. Freed from slavery, the native country breathed freely. We saw a radiant sky. Our land bloomed... The Korean people will never forget the heroic deeds of Soviet soldiers: they will be passed down from generation to generation as wonderful fairy tales, forever evoking a warm feeling of love and gratitude for the Soviet Army."

"The direct liberation of Korea by the Soviet Army from the yoke of Japanese imperialism," Kim Il Sung later wrote, " was the most important reason for the creation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the victorious advance of the national liberation movement. If the Soviet Army had not liberated Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea itself would not have been able to exist, and our national liberation movement would not have been able to advance so victoriously. Therefore, the victory of the Soviet Union in World War II opened a new page in the history of the Korean people ... " 82 .

And here is another document. A letter addressed to the Soviet commandant of Changchun, Major General F. V. Karlov, said: "We, the Chinese people living in the Northeast of China, have been experiencing the oppression of Japanese rapists for many years since their invasion of Manchuria. They caused us great distress when the Pacific War broke out. They shamelessly demanded from us everything we had, namely, people, property, and food. They squeezed everything they could out of us... At a time when the entire population was howling with hunger and cold and groaning in terror and sorrow, your valiant Red Army came to our land and rescued us from such a difficult and hopeless situation, defeating the Japanese imperialists in just a few days. Not only are we in Northeast China happy about this, but the whole world is also happy about it. We have received the peace and tranquility established here thanks to the Red Army's victories over the Japanese imperialists. I bear witness to the remarkable discipline of the Red Army, the love and sincere attitude of your military unit towards the population, for which the population of our city is very grateful. As the head of the city here, I consider it my duty to express to you and ask you, Mr. Major General, to convey to your Red Army the feeling of sincere gratitude both from myself and from the entire population of our city, and I sincerely wish that the friendship between our peoples will be further strengthened. Long live the friendship of the two peoples - Russians and Chinese-and their joint cooperation in maintaining world peace! With perfect respect, I remain Cao Zhao-yuan, the head of Changchun City, who sincerely respects you. " 83
These relics of a great and sincere friendship belong to history. They show how deep the roots of Soviet-Chinese, Soviet-Korean, and Soviet-Mongolian fraternal relations are. And it is not the fault of the Soviet people that the current Chinese leaders are trying to forget the heroic feat of the Soviet Army in the days of struggle and victory over Japanese imperialism - the days of the liberation of the Chinese people from the colonial yoke.

* * *

More than twenty-five years ago, Japanese imperialism suffered a severe defeat. The main strike force of the Japanese land Forces-the Kwantung Army-was defeated. The total losses of the enemy amounted to more than 677 thousand soldiers and officers, of which about 84 thousand were killed . As a result of this victory, the following persons were released:-

82 Kim Il Sung. Selected Works, vol. 3. Pyongyang, 1953, pp. 349-350 (in Korean).

83 Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, f. 32, op. 11318, d. 208, ll. 384-385.

84 " The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945. A brief history", Moscow 1970, p. 553.

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The Soviet Army liberated from the invaders 58-60 million people of Chinese, Mongolian, Korean and other nationalities who were in colonial slavery in Manchuria, North Korea, Inner Mongolia, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. In the address of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Armed Forces of September 2, 1945, it was emphasized that the conditions necessary for the establishment of world peace had been won; that our country, as a result of its victory in World War II, was spared the German invasion in the West and the Japanese invasion in the East.

This is what the world looked like more than twenty-five years ago... The reactionary forces of the imperialist states, however, even then, in the days of the triumph of the peoples freed from the horrors of the Second World War, were extremely frightened by the powerful upsurge of the communist, workers ' and national liberation movement. Socialism has gone beyond the borders of one country and turned into a world system. The old colonial empires were collapsing. Almost at the same time that the act of unconditional surrender of Japan was being signed on the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, in Hanoi, the hero of the Vietnamese people, communist Ho Chi Minh, announced the formation of an independent and free Democratic Republic of Vietnam. In India, Indonesia, Burma, Malaya, and other countries of South and Southeast Asia, peoples were preparing for a decisive battle against colonialism. In China, the movement for democratic transformation and the creation of the People's Republic was growing. In Japan, contrary to the strict orders of General MacArthur, who led the occupation authorities, the people rose up to fight for democracy and progress. There was something to enrage and alarm the imperialists!

The American imperialists, who as a result of the war assumed the role of legislator and dictator in the capitalist world, began to take urgent measures to save the decrepit colonialism, to give it new forms and not allow it to finally perish. First of all, they used their army and navy off the coast of China to intervene on the side of the counter-revolutionary Kuomintang in the internal affairs of that country, to try to disrupt the struggle of the Communist-led People's Liberation Forces, and to keep China as a key military and economic springboard for imperialism. As you know, this attempt failed completely. Through blackmail and various promises in the countries of Southeast Asia, American intelligence and diplomacy distracted the masses from the struggle against imperialism and colonialism, and tried to incite internal and internecine clashes on the basis of national and religious discord. In Japan, General MacArthur, although he was forced to allow democratic elections to be held there, a new constitution to be enacted, and progressive political parties to operate legally, secretly prepared the ground with his staff and numerous US experts for remilitarization and a return to the old Japanese policy of expansion in the new conditions.

The imperialist circles of the United States soon switched from a policy of cooperation with the Soviet Union to a policy of "cold war" and forming anti-communist blocs, preparing the ground for subsequent anti-people wars of conquest under the old and long-discredited slogan of "struggle against communist aggression." Further failures of American plans in China and the formation of the People's Republic of China, the success of the people's democratic system in North Korea, the military and economic success of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the creation of united and anti-colonial fronts in many countries of Southeast Asia-all this was countered by the reaction of new anti - popular actions of US imperialism, In particular, the "peace treaty" with Japan was unilaterally prepared and concluded on September 8, 1951 in San Francisco, and then a series of treaties and agreements (including the "security treaty") entangled Japan with obligations to participate in the aggressive imperialist policy of the United States in Asia. During the twenty years of the existence of the Japanese-American military-political alliance, with the help of American monopolies and the Pentagon, the army, navy and aviation were intensively revived in Japan, and intensive preparations were being made to participate in military operations together with the army and navy of the United States and its Asian satellites against the national liberation movement of the peoples of Asia.

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In terms of ideological preparation for such participation, Japanese government circles and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party once again raise aggressive military actions of the former imperial army, its generals and officers of all ranks to the "shield of glory". In recent years alone, the government has given awards and various military ranks to more than two million soldiers, officers and generals of the former Imperial Army in connection with the unspoken "anniversaries" of Japan's military history. It was as if nothing had happened: there was no catastrophe of Japanese imperialism in World War II, no grief and suffering of the Japanese people as a result of the aggressive, aggressive policy of the Japanese militarists! Reactionary theories of the "exclusivity of the Japanese army" and dreams of "restoring the traditions and significance of the Yasukuni Jinja Temple" (where "the souls of Japanese soldiers live") were once again brought to light. These theories and dreams of the most reactionary circles of Japanese imperialism are connected with the persistent political campaign to attract young people to serve in the "self-defense forces". The campaign organizers are doing everything possible to raise the nationalist spirit in the country again.

In many post-war historical works of Japanese bourgeois authors, the historical regularity of the catastrophe of Japanese imperialism in World War II is stubbornly ignored or completely denied. Its collapse was, as we know, due to the fault of monopolies, the military and the state, which for many years carried out a policy of aggression and colonial seizures. But there are some people who try to explain the reasons for the military defeat of Japan by the" unwillingness " of the Soviet Union to fulfill the terms of the neutrality treaty concluded in April 1941, and to mediate peace negotiations with Britain and the United States at the final stage of the war. However, it is well known that Japanese statesmen themselves, firmly adhering to the alliance with nazi Germany, violated the terms of this agreement throughout the German - Soviet war and reduced it to a "blank piece of paper". Why did reactionary circles now need such a gross falsification of history? Only in order to artificially inflame the mood of revanchism and cause hatred towards the peoples of the USSR. Reactionary theories of the "exclusivity of the Japanese army", dreams of "restoring the traditions and dominant place of Japan in Asia", and bringing the country's increased economic power in line with its "political role on the continent"are once again being propagated. These theories of the most reactionary circles of Japanese imperialism are connected with the persistent political campaign for the revision of paragraph 9 of the constitution, which prohibits Japan from having an army, navy and air force, for attracting young people to serve in the "self-defense forces" and introducing a law on compulsory military service for this purpose.

After the announcement of the so-called "Guam Doctrine" by the US President in 1969, and especially after the indefinite extension of the Japan-US "security treaty" on June 23, 1970, the Government of Eisaku Sato openly demanded that Japan play a more independent and significant role in the imperialist policy in the Far East and South-East Asia, a policy that goes beyond the Soviet Union. beyond the current Japanese-American alliance. The Japanese government is establishing increasingly close economic and political ties with the arch-reactionary regimes of South Korea and Taiwan, and with members of the aggressive SEATO and ANJUS military pacts. The possibility of using the bridgehead on the island for military purposes is already being considered. Okinawa after the promised US "return" of this island to Japan in 1972. The leading circles of the United States are intensely concerned about using Japanese imperialism for joint actions against the countries of socialism and against the national liberation movement in Asia.

And the very military training of Japan in recent years, the process of militarization carried out there gradually, and the rearmament of the "self-defense forces" cannot but cause concern for all peace-loving forces. Taking into account the lessons of World War II, when the training and operations of the army and navy far exceeded the capabilities of the Japanese economy and it suffered a crushing defeat, Japanese monopoly capital and the state are currently creating a powerful apparatus for economic and technical development of the country. Its army, navy, and air force are still few in number. However, if there are command personnel and an industrial base, they can be deployed more widely in a short time. Japanese militarism

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in a rather peculiar way, it marked the 25th anniversary of its crushing defeat: in September 1970, the head of the National Defense Department of Japan, Yasuhiro Nakasone, paid an official visit to the United States; speaking at a press conference, he said that Japan's military expenditures would double in five years, starting in 1970, and amount to $ 16 billion; special emphasis will be placed on the It is aimed at modernizing the Japanese Air Force, which in 1972-1976 is going to receive 104 of the latest Phantom 85 fighter-bombers from the United States .

Despite Prime Minister Sato's statement during his speech at the UN General Assembly's anniversary session on October 21, 1970, that "my country will use its economic power to strengthen world peace," the facts of recent years do not give reason to take this statement on faith. In recent years, the militarization process in Japan, as well as the persistent rearmament programs of the "self-defense forces", make us remember the words expressed by Sato at the same session: "World history has shown us that countries with enormous economic power are tempted to create appropriate armed forces." 86 Did the Japanese Government betray that it was under the power of such a temptation? Japan has a modern armed forces that are equipped with first-class military equipment. Its army, navy, and air force have command personnel and a broad industrial base, and can be deployed to perform major combat missions in a short time. This is not hidden by the current military leaders of Japan. Promoting the so-called fourth rearmament program of the " self-defense forces "(for 1972-1976), the information weekly of the National Defense Administration of Japan "Boei" (No. 18, October 1970) wrote that "5500 billion rubles. the yen for the fourth program is not the limit, because the country's economy is growing at such a pace that it is unwise to lag behind in the field of defense." And the current budget allocations "for defense" are growing extremely fast.

In order to distract the attention of the Japanese people from the uneasy sense of danger, from the fear that the bitter lessons of World War II will be repeated, Japanese reactionary circles and the government of the country are spreading the "revanchist itch". The Sato government spearheaded this campaign, and the Prime Minister himself, speaking at the UN session on October 21, 1970, declared that "no progress has been made on the northern territories that belong to Japan." 87 It was not entirely clear whether Sato was working for the Japanese military, which was obsessed with the spirit of revanchism, or for their American masters. This question is appropriate, especially in the light of the not forgotten attempts of the US ruling circles to get one of the Kuril Islands in August 1945, which they were preparing for the fate of the "second Okinawa". On August 18, 1945, US President Truman wrote to Stalin:"...The United States Government wishes to have rights to air bases for land and sea aircraft on one of the Kuril Islands, preferably in the central group, for military and commercial purposes. " 88 Even then, Truman was politely but firmly put in his place by the response of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR."..."Demands of this kind," Stalin ironically remarked, " are usually made either to a defeated state or to a union state that is unable to defend one or another part of its territory and expresses its readiness to provide its ally with an appropriate base. I do not think that the Soviet Union can be classified as such a state. " 89 It would be useful for Mr. Sato to reflect on this answer, regardless of whether he is expressing his own or American interests by making such groundless territorial demands to the Soviet Union regarding the revision of the results of World War II in the Far East.

The Soviet Union wishes to further develop cooperation with Japan. This was stated in his report by the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Leonid Brezhnev.

85 Pravda, 12. IX. 1970.

86 "Yomiuri", 22. X. 1970.

87 Ibid.

88 "Correspondence of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR with the Presidents of the United States and the Prime Ministers of Great Britain during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945". Vol. II. Moscow, 1957, p. 264.

89 Ibid., p. 265.

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XXIV Party Congress: "We see considerable opportunities for further expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation with Japan, although attempts by some Japanese circles to exploit the so-called "territorial issue", of course, do not benefit Soviet-Japanese relations. Their full normalization on an appropriate contractual basis is also hindered by the presence of foreign military bases in Japan. Meanwhile, such normalization would correspond to the long-term interests of the peoples of both countries, the interests of peace in the Far East and in the Pacific basin. " 90
The Japanese people, despite the extensive campaign for the" return of the northern territories " fanned by the government and bourgeois parties, are increasingly aware of the danger of a resurgence of militarism for their homeland and are directing their efforts to fight for the dissolution of the Japanese-American military-political alliance, for the elimination of US military bases and garrisons in Japan, rightly considering this one of the conditions for maintaining peace in the Far East. Japanese workers, progressive parties and organizations are aware that the conclusion of a peace treaty with the Soviet Union would be a major contribution to the cause of peace and security in Asia. Therefore, while demanding the removal of obstacles to the conclusion of a peace treaty with the USSR (and most importantly, the existence of a Japanese - American military-political alliance, the presence of US bases and armed forces in Japan), insisting on the rejection of the revival of militarism and revanchism, Japanese workers associate this with the fundamental tasks of peaceful and democratic development of their country.

The lessons of the Second World War teach us that the imperialist instigators of aggressive wars against the countries of socialism, against democracy and progress are inevitably defeated, because all peace-loving peoples, all anti-fascist, democratic forces, including those in capitalist countries, are rising up against them. The tragedy of World War II must not be repeated! In the struggle to defuse international tensions, the foreign policy of the Soviet Union is aimed at preventing a new world war and at strengthening peace between peoples. In his Report to the XXIV Congress of the CPSU, Leonid Brezhnev said: "...we do not threaten anyone and are not going to attack anyone, we stand for the free and independent development of all peoples. But let no one try to talk to us in the language of ultimatums and force. We have everything necessary - an honest policy of peace, military might ,and the unity of the Soviet people-to ensure the inviolability of our borders from any encroachments and to protect the gains of socialism. " 91
The Soviet Union, faithful to Lenin's principles of a peaceful foreign policy, is taking and will continue to take urgent measures to strengthen business, mutually beneficial cooperation and good-neighborly relations with all countries, including Japan. All that is needed for such a relationship is good will, reciprocity,and a sober policy.

90 Pravda, 31. III. 1971.

91 Ibid.

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