Comrades! Since the launch of Harbin on the Far East battlefield,
We’ve pretty much had enough of it.
Now we need more maps of Soviet Japan.
Otherwise, we would be too boring and monotonous.
I recommend this one - the landing battle that took place in the Far East, the Sakhalin Island landing battle!
Apart from the Normandy landing, we can also have other landing operations!
1、The course of the war。
There, a large number of Soviet naval forces were involved, and it was also one of the few landings carried out by the Soviet Union.
In addition to the regular military forces stationed there, the Japanese also mobilized a large number of civilians to form their own units, much like the German People’s Stormtroopers.
On August 16th, which was the very day when the Emperor of Japan announced his surrender. The North Pacific Fleet of the Soviet Pacific Fleet (commanded by Yumashev) dispatched a vanguard force - the 365th Naval Infantry Battalion - to carry out a landing operation at the port of Turu (now Shahchorsk) on the west coast of South Sakhalin Island.
On August 20th.
On this day, the 113th Infantry Brigade of the Soviet Army and a naval infantry battalion, under the cover of heavy artillery fire, launched a forced landing on the second-largest port on the west coast, Tsugon (nowholmsk).
However, the Japanese defenders (mainly consisting of reservists and armed militias) had no idea whether to fight or to surrender. In the chaos, they chose to “fight to the death on home soil”.
Immediately, an extremely fierce street battle broke out between the two sides.
The Soviet warships even entered the port and used their naval guns to fire “at zero range”, bombarding the Japanese military positions in the city.
This battle also led to one of the most tragic scenes in the history of World War II.
As the Soviet troops entered the city, the Japanese civilians within it fell into despair.
On August 25th, the Soviet forces launched their last major landing operation.
The Marine Corps landed at the largest port on the southern Kamchatka Peninsula - Dapei (now Korsakov).
Almost at the same time, the 56th Infantry Army that broke through from the Goutun Fortress also entered the capital of South Sakhalin Island - Fengyuan (now South Sakhalinsk).
The two armies met victoriously.
The 88th Division General Shishimura Eiji, who was in a desperate situation, officially led the remaining troops to surrender.
On August 25, 1945, the Battle of South Sakhalin Island came to an end.
The Soviet forces then quickly occupied all the Kuril Islands before September 1st.
Stalin finally managed to regain all that the Tsar had lost 40 years ago, just before the US military held the surrender ceremony on the battleship “Missouri” on September 2nd.
2、The participating troops of both sides
The battle on the South Sakhalin Island was commanded by the Second Far East Front, led by General Maxim Pulkachev, with the main attacking force being the 16th Army Group. The Japanese troops stationed on the South Sakhalin Island mainly consisted of the 88th Infantry Division of the Japanese Army, commanded by Shishimura Eiji. This unit had only about 20,000 regular troops, along with 10,000 reservists and militiamen. Compared to the powerful forces of the Soviet army, this was insignificant. The only advantage of the Japanese was their geographical location.
I hope to see the Soviet Marine Corps in navy uniforms, as well as the Japanese militia in civilian clothes.
This is an element that is relatively rare in World War II-themed games.
I’m really looking forward to it.
What do you all think about this?
- Yes
- No