The End of the Kwantung Army Kantokuen

japanese soldiers on tokyo express in solomons, 1942

when us, having bypassed fortress atoll of truk, decided strike directly against marianas , decisively defeated ijn s counterattack in battle of philippine sea, inner perimeter of japanese empire threatened. having still done little strengthen reserves, in june , july 1944 ighq sent 7 divisions, 1st, 8th, 10th, 24th, 9th, 28th, , 2nd armored, fray, joined eighth, 23rd (veterans of khalkhin gol fighting in 1939), in october. of above, except 9th, bypassed on formosa, , 28th, on miyako jima, avoided being devastated battle, starvation, , disease during brutal combat in philippines , okinawa. decision reinforce formosa of particular consequence japan: recognizing island s strategic importance regard flow of vital raw materials mainland, tokyo resolved @ costs prevent falling allied hands. thus, in december 1944 , january 1945 12th , 71st divisions ordered there manchuria reinforce 2 division garrison augmented kwantung 9th division had arrived via okinawa. loss of 9th division seen nothing less body blow okinawa s 32nd army commander, lieutenant general mitsuru ushijima, warned: if 9th division detached , transferred, cannot fulfil duty of defending island. in end, because of s island-hopping strategy, none of 5 divisions (including 3 kwantung army) ever fire shot in anger against american invasion , left wither on vine.

even before 71st division departed in january 1945, kwantung army found reduced paltry 460,000 men in 9 remaining divisions. not single division left defend korea, , there 120 operable aircraft in of manchuria. worse still, divisions stayed behind ruined transfers of men , equipment: infantry companies left 1 or 2 officers, , entire artillery regiments lacked guns. although kwantung army held little illusions miserable state of affairs (its own exhaustive studies concluding had been weakened far beyond estimation , new divisions formed counterbalance withdrawals, though raised, possessed fraction of fighting power of originals), senior leaders continued rationalize. in audience hirohito on february 26, tojo attempted placate emperor noting soviets had earlier done same thing, characterizing strength of soviet far east forces , kwantung army being in balance. next month, american juggernaut @ last nearing home islands , none of multitude of new formations hastily raised in defense ready until summer, kwantung army called on yet again 11th, 25th, 57th, , 1st armored divisions recalled japan while 111th, 120th, , 121st divisions sent south korea pre-empt possible allied incursion. hemorrhage of equipment , manpower once prestigious outfit in japanese army stopped on 5 april 1945, when ussr announced not renew neutrality pact japan.

depth of soviet penetration manchuria of 15 august 1945 (credit: jm-154, 1954.)

as kwantung army s fighting power diminished, had amend operational plans against soviets accordingly. while strategy 1942 same had been in 1941, 1943 had been abandoned in favor of 1 attack – either on eastern front against primorye or in north against blagoveshchensk – gave way holding action on fronts, attempting check red army @ borders. kwantung army continued weaken, became apparent much, , final operational plan adopted on 30 may 1945 in ija delay soviet advance in border zones while beginning fighting retreat fortifications near korean border, centered around city of tonghua – move that, in effect, surrendered majority of manchuria opponent matter of course. although august 1945 kwantung army manpower had been boosted 714,000 in 24 divisions , 12 brigades exhaustion of local reserves, cannibalization of guards units , transfers china, privately officers , men in despair. of new formations, staffed old, infirm, civil servants, colonists, , students @ barely 15% combat effectiveness , heavily lacking in weapons; out of 230 serviceable combat planes, 55 considered modern. briefly recommended army headquarters pre-emptively evacuated changchun, rejected on security, political, , psychological grounds. after war, colonel saburo hayashi admitted: wanted provide show of force. if russians knew weakness of our preparations in manchuria, bound attack us.

a t-34 tank crossing great khingan in western manchuria, 1945

simultaneously, japanese intelligence watched helplessly soviet strength opposite them began soar: honoring promise @ yalta enter war in pacific within 3 months of germany s defeat, josef stalin ordered transfer europe far east of 403,355 crack troops, along 2,119 tanks , assault guns, 7,137 guns , mortars, 17,374 trucks, , 36,280 horses. these men , commanders specially picked because of past experience dealing types of terrain , opposition during war germany beneficial approaching campaign. beginning of august ija pegged red army forces in siberia @ 1,600,000, 4,500 tanks , 6,500 aircraft in 47 division-equivalents; actual totals 1,577,725, 3,704, , 3,446, respectively. soviets deliberate in preparations: because operations last 8 weeks owing tenuous supply situation, determined all-axes surprise offensive sufficient surround kwantung army before had chance withdraw depths of china or korea. aware japanese knew limited capacity of trans-siberian railway mean preparations attack not ready until autumn , weather conditions rather unfavorable before time, soviet planners enlisted of allies deliver additional supplies facilitate earlier offensive. because of this, japanese caught unprepared when soviets attacked in august. despite impending catastrophe facing japan on fronts, kwantung army commander, general yamada, , top leadership, continued live in fool s paradise. after obliteration of hiroshima on 6 august, there no sense of crisis , special war games (expected last 5 days , attended number of high-ranking officers) conducted near borders, while yamada flew dairen dedicate shrine. therefore, army headquarters taken complete surprise when soviets launched general offensive @ midnight on august 8/9 1945. although japanese offered vicious resistance when allowed stand , fight, such @ mutanchiang, without exception overwhelmed , pushed front. after week of combat, reacting soviet declaration of war , destruction of nagasaki second atomic bomb, emperor hirohito overrode military , ordered capitulation of japan allied nations in accordance potsdam declaration. after clarifications , second rescript reaffirming japan s defeat, general yamada , staff abandoned plan withdraw tonghua, though command still intact; kwantung army officially laid down arms on 17 august 1945 sporadic clashes persisting until end of month. final casualties on both sides numbered 12,031 killed , 24,425 wounded soviets , 21,389 killed , 20,000 wounded japanese. in end, foreign minister shigemitsu signed unconditional surrender of japan aboard uss missouri in tokyo bay, men of vaunted kantogun, having once dreamed of riding siberia conquerors, instead found trudging there prisoners of war.

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