"Luck" is really a magical thing. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan's luck has been very good.
The Meiji Restoration was actually promoted by Britain. At that time, Britain chose to support Japan in order to fight against Russia's expansion in Asia, which led to the Russo-Japanese War.
Japan's previous foreign wars all had a strong sense of adventurism. Winning would bring huge benefits, but losing once would be doomed.
Another Time and Space After the end of World War II, the United States, like the United Kingdom in the last century, built Japan as a bridgehead against Russia, and thus came the so-called golden forty years.
In this time and space, Japan no longer has such an opportunity. Southern Africa does not seek confrontation, and win-win cooperation is the way to go.
Russia is a very good partner, perfectly in line with the principle of distant diplomacy and close attack.
From the standpoint of Southern Africa, we also need to create some threats to European countries, so that European countries will rely more on Southern Africa to ensure their own security.
Regarding the East Asian battlefield, Big Beard still kept his promise. After completing the assembly, the Russian Far East Military Region, under the command of Marshal Vasilevsky, launched an attack at the fastest speed against the stubborn Japanese Kwantung Army. The operation was named "
August Storm".
At this time, the Kwantung Army was still quite large, with a total of 31 divisions, 13 brigades, and a total strength of about 970,000 people.
The Far Eastern Military District is stronger, consisting of the Transberga Front and the First and Second Far Eastern Fronts. The naval aspect is coordinated by the Russian Pacific Fleet and the Amur River Fleet, with a total strength of approximately 1.6 million men.
After the Russian army launched its offensive, Vasilevsky placed his headquarters in Vladivostok, which also became the base camp of the Far East Military District.
In Russia, Vladivostok is called Vladivostok, which means domination of the east.
As usual, the East Asia Allied Forces Command dispatched liaison officers to Vladivostok to be responsible for coordination work.
Before the Russian army launched its attack, Angel and MacArthur expressed to Vasilevsky that the air force could be sent to assist the Russian army's attack.
Vasilevsky decisively refused and insisted that the Far East Military Region be solely responsible for the operation against the Japanese Kwantung Army.
The fact is just as Vasilevsky predicted, the Japanese Kwantung Army is indeed strong on paper, but there is only an empty frame left. The elite troops have been exhausted in previous battles, and the remaining ones are the old, weak, sick and disabled.
, on the first day when the Russian army launched its offensive, four divisions surrendered without a fight.
The Russian army, which has been tempered on the European battlefield, is really not something that the Japanese army can compete with.
As mentioned earlier, Japan's limited resources have been used to build a combined fleet. The army's equipment level is very poor, so it can only be used to bully more backward agricultural countries. In the face of Russia's armored torrent, Kanto
The army collapsed thousands of miles away.
"The Russians are so lucky to have met Japan today." Tyler Bruce, a military observer from the United States, couldn't help but sigh. In front of him, Japanese prisoners of war who got off the ferry were lining up and were about to be sent to a prisoner of war camp.
We cannot blame Vasilevsky. The nearly one million Kwantung Army is a rare labor force supplement for Russia. In the subsequent post-war reconstruction, these prisoners will play a huge role.
This should also be inspired by the Allied Forces in East Asia.
When fighting on the European battlefield, the Russian army treated prisoners of war very cruelly, especially German prisoners of war.
Compared with the Russian army, the Allied forces on the Western Front are just a bunch of moneybags. Everything is done from an economic point of view, and even prisoners of war must extract surplus value to the maximum extent.
The role of prisoners of war is obvious to everyone, especially in France. Prisoners played a huge role in post-war reconstruction. They eat less and do much more, do not need pay, and cannot organize strikes——
Especially the last point is extremely important for France.
Russia's attitude towards German prisoners of war is also understandable. After all, it is a blood feud that cannot be resolved and can only be washed away with life and blood.
Attitudes toward Japan and Russia have quietly changed.
This is also understandable.
Japan and Russia only had a small friction where the war broke out, and then they signed the "Mutual Non-Aggression Pact" and lived in peace.
Therefore, Japanese prisoners of war became the best labor force supplement for Russia.
What's more, this is Siberia. For Russia, which is originally sparsely populated, the young and middle-aged labor force is increasingly valuable.
It is regrettable that among the Japanese prisoners of war, the proportion of young adults is very small. All the prisoners of war are either white-haired or green-faced. They are completely naked. They line up under the command of the bayonet. If they hesitate a little, they will
Beaten by Russian soldiers.
It is impossible to execute someone by firing squad. It is a waste of bullets. Even if you want to kill someone, you will stab him with a bayonet and throw the body directly into the river. It is clean and tidy.
"These people don't look like they can work, they are a waste of food!" Franklin from the Australian military was extremely disgusted. These prisoners were exchanged for the East Asian Allied Forces and they were not given free of charge.
The prisoners of war managed by the Australians were all strong and strong, and none of them were old, weak, sick or disabled. If they were sick, they would not find a doctor. They would continue to work if they could survive. If they could not, they would consider themselves unlucky.
Australia is vast and sparsely populated, even more so than Russia. The working location of many captives is no longer limited to the Philippines, but has been sold and sent to the Australian mainland.
There are many mines in Australia, and the demand for labor is unlimited.
So in Franklin's view, these prisoners were all walking cash cows.
Unfortunately, these money trees are not very healthy.
"This number doesn't match up, does one division only have so many people?" Feng Xia from the Southern African Expeditionary Force was curious. One division of the Japanese army, even the smallest C division, had about 10,000 people. The division in front of him only had about 10,000 people.
About three thousand people.
"Dead in battle?" Bruce guessed.
"Maybe he was massacred——" Franklin was full of malice.
The job of a liaison officer is actually not easy, with heavy responsibilities and busy affairs.
Vasilevsky rejected the intervention of the East Asian Allied Forces, and the liaison officer had nothing to do but come to the dock to count the prisoners.
"Gentlemen, would you like a cup of coffee?" Major Yuri, who is responsible for accompanying the liaison officer, is very attentive. Coffee is not a common thing in Russia. At least it is rare for ordinary soldiers to see it. It is not on the Russian military's material ration list.
Although Vasilevskiy did not like to see the East Asian Allied Forces, he still treated the liaison officers with high standards. Russians also have a good reputation and cannot show cowardice in front of their allies.
"Where will these prisoners be sent next?" Feng Xia seemed nonchalant, trying to get something out of Yuri's mouth.
"I'll probably be sent to grow potatoes—" Yuri didn't even tell the truth.
Although growing potatoes is also physical work, it is not the turn of these prisoners because it is not dangerous or challenging.
"Can't you put some clothes on them? Let them take a good bath, it smells so bad." Bruce is probably a bit of a germophobe and has high standards for hygiene.
The Russians probably did not dress the prisoners of war for the sake of easier management. This has absolutely nothing to do with the Russians' habit of cleaning the battlefield.
As for the health standards, they are a bit picky. Vladivostok is not Washington or Pretoria, so they cannot be copied mechanically.
"It's not necessary, it's just some consumables." Yuri accidentally told the truth. As expected, the fate of these prisoners of war will be worrying.
In the next few days, more and more prisoners arrived in Vladivostok, and more and more news came from the front line.
Bruce was right. The Russians were indeed very lucky. The two atomic bombs completely broke the backbone of the Japanese. The Kwantung Army had no fighting spirit and no fighting spirit. Facing the Russian army's attack, the Kwantung Army hardly resisted.
The entire division and brigade surrendered en masse, which also made Vasilevsky's victory seriously lacking.
It was not the tanks of the Russian army that caused the greatest casualties to the Japanese army, but the grenades of the Japanese themselves.
The Japanese are really strange. When they are on the verge of despair, they do not fight to the death or surrender to survive, but they choose to commit suicide and die for the empire.
In the past, when the Japanese army was in battle, if they lost, they would commit suicide in an extreme way to apologize to the king. Ordinary officers and soldiers rarely did this.
Now suicide has become a common behavior, and it has spread to ordinary Japanese. Even if they are not soldiers, they are just civilians who will commit suicide when the Russian troops arrive.
There is such a deep blood feud between the Germans and the Russians, and no matter how worried the Russians are about their revenge, we have not seen many German civilians commit suicide after Russia invaded Germany.
Many Japanese immigrants under the control of the Kwantung Army chose to commit suicide, and some committed suicide passively. This is normal in Japan.
During the Ryukyu War, at least 100,000 Ryukyu people were asked by the Japanese government to commit suicide to show their determination to die for the empire.
Now that the Kwantung Army is about to be destroyed, even if these Japanese immigrants are not liquidated by the Russians, they may still be doomed.
From August 9th to August 15th, in just one week, the Russian army wiped out 12 Japanese divisions, and it was smooth sailing.
On August 15, Emperor Showa of Japan issued the "End of War Edict", announcing his acceptance of the "Potsdam Proclamation" and unconditional surrender to the Allies.
Before this, news about Japan's surrender had broken out many times, but within the Japanese government, the war faction and the peace faction had not reached an agreement on the surrender, so it was postponed until today.
As early as August 9, the day when "Operation August Storm" began, the Japanese government sent a note to the ambassadors of the neutral countries Switzerland and Sweden in Japan, conveying the news of Japan's decision to surrender to the two governments, and through them the signal of surrender was conveyed to the Allies.
.
Since it was just a note and not really announced to the outside world, the Allies did not stop military operations, and "Operation August Storm" continued as scheduled.
On the 10th, Emperor Hirohito ordered an end to the war, but there was a quarrel within the Japanese government. The emperor's order was ignored. At this time, the Russian army had launched a full-scale attack on the Kwantung Army.
From the 10th to the 14th, the Japanese government was unable to reach an agreement on the surrender issue, and Russian attacks continued.
On the morning of the 14th, the emperor held the last imperial meeting. Faced with the main war and peace factions who still had no consensus, Hirohito ordered an end to the quarrel and asked Prime Minister Suzuki to draft the "End of War Edict" and submit the edict on the 15th.
Announcement to the world.
When the news of Japan's surrender reached Vladivostok, it did not have much impact. There were no celebrating crowds on the streets, and there were no activities such as discounts and free meals at restaurants. Prisoners were still being sent there one after another on the pier. Yuri
The brewed coffee is still so fragrant and delicious.
"My friend, cheer, the war is finally over!" Bruce was very happy. After six years, he could finally leave the damn battlefield and return to his hometown.
Neither Yuri nor Feng Xia was as excited as they imagined. Franklin responded with a few words, feeling more regret than the joy of victory.
"What's wrong with you? We won, we can go home!" Bruce suspected that Yuri and Feng Xia had not recovered from the huge shock.
As for Franklin, the money man, Bruce was already desperate, because when the war ended, Franklin would lose his greatest source of happiness.
Franklin's happiness lies in browsing the news about the Allied victory in various newspapers and magazines. When he is happy when he sees it, he will recite it loudly and dance.
"The Kwantung Army has not stopped resisting, so for us, the war is not over yet." Yuri was serious and did not recognize the "End of War Edict".
Feng Xia nodded in agreement, but suddenly frowned again.
What Yuri said is partly correct. The war was started by Japan. It was not Japan who had the final say on how it would end. It was the Allies who had the final say.
However, Yuri's starting point was obviously different from Feng Xia's. The Russians did not stop attacking, and their purpose was not to punish the Japanese, but to seize as many fruits of victory as possible.
After decades of establishment, the Kwantung Army has accumulated quite a lot of wealth. Even if it has no money, it still has a labor force of more than one million people. This is all wealth.
If Vasilevsky wanted to end the war as soon as possible and Japan issued the "End of War Edict", Vasilevsky would order the troops to stop attacking and give the Kwantung Army time to prepare for surrender, which would also reduce unnecessary casualties.
In reality, Vasilevsky not only did not order the troops to stop the offensive, but instead ordered the Russian army to carry out landing operations and airborne landings in the cities behind the Kwantung Army, completely ignoring his allies.
"Is the Kwantung Army still resisting?" Bruce curled his lips, the Russians looked really ugly.
While Vasilevsky ordered the troops to continue the offensive, he touted the Russian army's victory in newspapers, claiming that the Kwantung Army was carrying out a desperate resistance, but was vulnerable to the Russian army's attack.
Desperate resistance and vulnerability are inherently contradictory.
In fact, the Kwantung Army is now completely defeated. Since the beginning of "Operation August Storm", the Russian army has encountered almost no decent resistance and suffered minimal losses.
The harvest was fruitful.
The East Asian Allied Forces' attack on Japan was limited to the Japanese mainland and did not include the areas controlled by the Kwantung Army.
Therefore, within the area under the jurisdiction of the Kwantung Army, industry and agriculture are relatively well protected, and the cities have not been damaged by the war and are relatively well preserved.
