II ww history: russia vs japan - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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#15118271
In the spring of 2020, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted a bill establishing the date for the end of World War II on September 3. Previously, it was celebrated on September 2 as on this day in 1945 aboard the United States Navy battleship “Missouri” was signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender. Why was the date marking the end of the II World War been shifted to September 3?
Firstly, in 1945 the victory over militaristic Japan by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet nationally was celebrated on September 3, because that victory was reached by allies only after the Soviet army joined the war in the Far East destroying Kwantung Army which had been entrenched in Manchuria within two weeks.
Secondly, this very date is engraved on the reverse of the medal "For Victory over Japan" minted in 1945, which was awarded to nearly two million soldiers and officers.
Thirdly, on September 3, the PRC celebrates the Day of the Chinese People’s Victory in the War of Resistance against Japan.
But if there are only minor disputes in the expert community about whether to consider September 2 or 3 as the date of the end of World War II, then the question of the USSR's role in the victory over Japan is much more serious. It’s a political nature.
What do we know and remember about Soviet-Japanese relations?
The roots of the conflict go back to 1927. At that time General Tanaka Chiichi handed over a memorandum to the Japanese emperor with clearly expressed plans: “In order to conquer China, we must first conquer Manchuria and Mongolia. In order to conquer the world, we must first conquer China.”
In 1932 Japanese troops occupied North-West China, established there a puppet state of Manchukuo. The samurai demanded the Khalkhin Gol River be considered as its border with Mongolia, although in reality it was 20-25 km further to the east, which was recorded in international documents. To justify territorial claims in Tokyo, geographical maps were falsified, and then the Japanese and Manchus began to arrange provocations in the “disputed” area.
In 1936 Mongolian People's Republic concludes a mutual assistance pact with USSR. On the Mongolian territory were based Soviet troops, the 57th red army corps in amount of 30 thousand people, 265 tanks, 107 aircrafts, artillery pieces and other military equipment. Japanese, of course, liked this less and less. By the way, Soviet troops prevented further conquering of China, friendly assisting China military.
The scenario of events unfolding near the Khalkhin-Gol River is similar to what happened a year earlier on Lake Khasan. Japan showed an ultimatum letter. That time, not the USSR, but the authorities of the Mongolian People's Republic, in which this time it claimed not Soviet, but Mongolian territories. But no one was going to voluntarily give away these lands. The Mongols turned to the friendly Soviet Union for help.
On August 20, 1939, Soviet-Mongolian troops under the command of corps commander Georgy Zhukov launched a decisive offensive against the positions of the Japanese army on the eastern bank of the Khalkhin-Gol River. By the morning of August 31, on the territory of Mongolia, where the samurai invaded in May, not a single living Japanese soldier with weapons in his hands remained. The unconditional victory of the USSR in the armed conflict did not raise doubts among any of the contemporaries. And now Japan, which has suffered a crushing defeat from the Red Army, is trying to rewrite history by replicating fictional stories about the causes of the conflict with the USSR, allegedly caused by "Soviet aggression."
In 1941, two years after the border war, Japan and the Soviet Union signed a Neutrality Pact. Later that year, Japan contemplated canceling the pact when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union with Operation Barbarossa at the start of World War II. It did not do this mainly because of the defeat in the battle at Khalkhin Gol, even though it was a member of the Triple Pact together with Germany. However, despite the Neutrality Pact, Tokyo until 1945 kept the Kwantung grouping of troops numbering up to 1.5 million people near Soviet territory. Thus, Japan forced the USSR, even at the most difficult stages of the war with Germany, to maintain large covering forces in the Far East.
In February 1945, in Yalta, Roosevelt agreed to almost all of Stalin's conditions on the post-war world order in order to receive assurances from the Supreme Commander that the USSR would join the solution of the Japanese problem within three months after Germany's surrender. The president's compliance was due to the position of the US military command, which proceeded from the fact that the losses of the American army during the invasion of the Japanese islands would exceed a million people, and the operation itself would take at least a year. During this time, up to 10 million Japanese residents could have died - and not only from the military, but also from the civilian population.
On August 9, 1945, exactly three months after the victory over Germany, the Soviet Union, fulfilling the promises made to the allies during the Yalta Conference, began military operations against the Japanese Kwantung Army, entrenched in Manchuria. At the start of the offensive, the Red Army grouping had a serious numerical superiority over the enemy. It reached 1.6 times only in terms of the number of fighters. In terms of the number of tanks, the Soviet troops outnumbered the Japanese by about 5 times, in artillery and mortars - 10 times, in aircraft - more than three times. The superiority of the Soviet Union was not only quantitative. The equipment used by the Red Army was significantly more modern and powerful than that of its Japan. The experience gained by our troops during the war with Nazi Germany also gave advantage.
While there was no «treacherous» attack on Japan. Moscow denounced the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in full compliance with the rules of international law four months before these events.
The troops of the Transbaikal Front, the 1st and the 2nd Far Eastern Fronts and the forces of the Pacific Fleet fully defeated the enemy liberated the Northeast China, the north of the Korean Peninsula, the southern part of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Having lost the pillar on the mainland and the opportunity to continue the resistance, the Government of the Emperor Hirohito decided to surrender. The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on 2 September 1945 on the board of the USS Missouri battleship.
I emphasize once again that 75 years ago the entire world watching the rapid offensive of the Soviet troops in Manchuria admitted its crucial role in the fast collapse of Japan and the Soviet actions fully met the international law. Although nowadays Russian overseas partners have a radically opposite position led to the series of myths about the Second World War in the Far East promoted both by our allies and our enemies.
For example, the contribution of the American atomic bombings of Japan to the victory was highly exaggerated. The US dropped two bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (US), the successful landing on the islands required for at least nine bombs that were yet to be created.
The professor at the University of California Tsuyoshi Hasegawa told that despite their destructive power, the atomic bombs were not sufficient to change the direction of Japanese diplomacy. The Soviet invasion was. Without the Soviet entry into the war, the Japanese would have continued to fight.
The offensive of the Soviet troops in Manchuria that deprived the empire of the largest overland group and logistics bases in the event of the American invasion on the islands, defined the outcome of the war. That was stated by the head of the Japanese government Kantarō Suzuki at the emergency meeting of the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War on the 9th of August and the emperor Hirohito signing the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War.
But one should not forget that the Soviet war against Japan had exclusively fair and liberating character. It put an end to a multi-year Japanese oppression of the peoples of other regions. In doing so, Moscow denied any annexation in spite of the allies commitment to compensate its entering the war by the incorporation of new extensive territories and just announced its intention to return the Southern Sakhalin deprived by Japanese in 1905 and the Kuril Islands assigned to them in 1875.
#15118275
While there was no «treacherous» attack on Japan. Moscow denounced the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in full compliance with the rules of international law four months before these events.


However, the text of the treaty stated that the pact remained in force until one year after the denunciation of the treaty by one party. Molotov confirmed that the treaty did remain in force until April 1946 (Hasegawa 2005, 46-7) and Soviet Russia had to denounce the treaty one year ahead to be fully compliant with Article 3. The Soviet invasion of Manchuria was a stab in the back even though it was widely expected without the knowledge of the Yalta secret pact. Stalin could not miss the golden opportunity to regain the lost territories (Sakhalin, Kuril) and the northern half of Korea to boot, which was reduced to one of the poorest countries in the world under a cruel communist regime.

ARTICLE ONE
Both Contracting Parties undertake to maintain peaceful and friendly relations between them and mutually respect the territorial integrity and inviolability of the other Contracting Party.

ARTICLE TWO
Should one of the Contracting Parties become the object of hostilities on the part of one or several third powers, the other Contracting Party will observe neutrality throughout the duration of the conflict.

ARTICLE THREE
The present Pact comes into force from the day of its ratification by both Contracting Parties and remains valid for five years. In case neither of the Contracting Parties denounces the Pact one year before the expiration of the term, it will be considered automatically prolonged for the next five years.

ARTICLE FOUR
The present Pact is subject to ratification as soon as possible. The instruments of ratification shall be exchanged in Tokyo, also as soon as possible.

In confirmation whereof the above-named Representatives have signed the present Pact in two copies, drawn up in the Russian and Japanese languages, and affixed thereto their seals.

Done in Moscow on April 13, 1941, which corresponds to the 13th day of the fourth month of the 16th year of Showa.

V. MOLOTOV
YOSUKE MATSUOKA
YOSHITSUGU TATEKAWA


Пункт 1

Обе договаривающиеся стороны обязуются поддерживать мирные и дружественные отношения между ними и взаимно уважать территориальную целостность и неприкосновенность другой Стороны .

Пункт 2

Если одна из Договаривающихся сторон станет объектом военных действий со стороны одной или нескольких третьих сил, другая Сторона будет соблюдать нейтралитет на протяжении всего конфликта.

Пункт 3

Существующий Договор вступает в силу со дня ратификации обеими договаривающимися сторонами и остается в силе в течение пяти лет.
В случае, если никакая из Договаривающихся сторон не денонсирует Договор в год истечения срока, он будет считаться автоматически продленным на следующиеe пять лет.

Пункт 4

Настоящий Договор подлежит ратификации как можно скорее.
Ратификационные грамоты должны быть обменены в Токио также как можно скорее.
В подтверждение этого вышеназванные Представители подписали существующий Договор в двух копиях, составили на русском и японских языках, и скрепили печатями.

Сделано в Москве 13 апреля, 1941, который соответствует 13-ому дню четвертого месяца 16-ого года Showa.

Вячеслав В.Молотов
Юсуке Матсуота
Юшитсугу Татекава

https://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/s1.asp
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