Kuril landing operation. how the USSR took the Kuriles from Japan

The Lopatka peninsula is the southernmost tip of Kamchatka, stretching for 25 km with a width of 2 to 7 km. Its surface is largely swampy and is distinguished by an abundance of tundra lakes.

The natural appearance of the southernmost point of Kamchatka is more reminiscent of the subarctic than the middle temperate zone at latitude 51o north latitude.

The vegetation of the southern tip of the Lopatka Peninsula is rather monotonous. There are no forests here, vast areas are occupied mainly by thickets of alder and dwarf pine. In shallow coastal waters, there are extensive fields of brown algae, which are associated with sea otter habitats. Thousands of sea otters live off the coast of Lopatka. Severe storms, especially in winter, force them to land, and then they form dense haulouts on small islands and rocky capes.

The penetration of elements of the subarctic natural complex far to the south on Lopatka is especially clearly manifested in the example of birds. Indeed, real hypoarctic species nest here - long-tailed duck, Beringian sandpiper, dunlin, red-throated pipit, Lapland plantain. Summer encounters with polar owls are known.

The population of the Bering sandpiper, the only one in Kamchatka, is limited in its distribution exclusively to Cape Lopatka and Shumshu Island and is represented by a subspecies endemic to this region. Its number does not exceed several hundred pairs. The South Kamchatka Bering sandpiper is listed in the Red Book of Russia.

Cape Lopatka acquires special significance during periods of bird migration. The autumn flow of migrants through Cape Lopatka is unparalleled in its density and intensity in the Far East region. During peak days, from 9 to 110 thousand individuals of land birds fly through the cape during daylight hours; the intensity of their migration is very high at night. For most species, a high-altitude span is characteristic. The most numerous of the birds are small passerines (especially the Chinese greenfinch, reed bunting, Okhotsk cricket, rubythroat). Migration is active birds of prey. Intensive passage of aquatic and semi-aquatic birds passes along the western and eastern coasts of the peninsula.

The high density of bird migrations on Lopatka is explained by the fact that birds fly here in autumn, flying south along both coasts of Kamchatka.

The waters washing the Lopatka Peninsula, mainly the First Kuril Strait, are a place of mass wintering of auks, anseriformes and gulls. Everywhere on the coast there is an abundance of sea birds - gulls, hatchets, cormorants, etc. ptarmigan, stone capercaillie, several species of ducks and geese are also protected by the reserve.

Animal world area is typical for the south of the region. Scapula is traditionally famous for its abundance of foxes. Brown bears, ermines, wolverines, hares, etc. are common here. On the coast there are rookeries of sea pinnipeds: fur seals, seals, sea lions.

The Cossacks headed by D. Antsiferov and I. Kozyrevsky (1711) were the first Russians to visit Lopatka. Attempts to preserve the unique fauna of this region were made already in the 19th century. In 1892, the district administration of Kamchatka managed to achieve seasonal protection of the "beaver rookeries" of Lopatka. In 1927, by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, the state reserve "Beaver rookeries of Cape Lopatki" was approved. On Cape Lopatka there is a lighthouse and a weather station - the center of many years of poaching activities, traditional for such organizations. The remnants of the battery of the war period have been preserved. There is also a stationary point Sevvostrybvoda.

The scapula strikes with unusually severe natural conditions. The open, slightly undulating relief, peculiar, reminiscent of the tundra, meadow vegetation, interspersed with bare rubble areas, contribute to dank fog and almost never-ending, often stormy, winds. Numerous cases of release of large whales and mass (up to 5 individuals at the same time) death of killer whales are known.

Cape Lopatka is the extreme point of the Kamchatka Peninsula, located in the southern part of the peninsula on the territory of the South Kamchatka Reserve. The cape is washed by the waters of the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

On maps and drawings of the XVIII century. the cape was designated under different names - the Nose, the Kamchadal Nose, the Kuril Lopatka, the Southern Corner, the Lopatka. The modern name of the cape was substantiated by the Kamchatka researcher S. Krasheninnikov, explaining the similarity of the outlines of the cape with the part of the human body of the same name - the shoulder blade. At the same time, in Russian Siberian dialects, the word "shovel" means a flat cape and a sandbank. And the shores of Cape Lopatka are really quite low, made of sand and pebbles.

Part of the territory of the cape is swampy and is distinguished by a large number of tundra lakes. There are practically no forests on the cape, a significant part of its area is occupied by thickets of cedar and alder elfin. Coastal shallow water areas are characterized by a large amount of brown algae. It is here that one of the largest habitats of the sea otter is located, the population of which off the coast of Lopatka has about a thousand individuals. Severe storms force sea otters to come ashore, where they create dense haulouts on rocky headlands and small islands. The unique fauna of this peninsula has been protected since the 19th century. So in 1897, seasonal protection of sea otter rookeries was organized here.

The high density of bird migrations is explained by the fact that in the autumn season birds flock here, which keep their way to the south, crossing both coasts of the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The fauna of Cape Lopatka is typical for the south of the Kamchatka region. A huge number of foxes live on the territory of the cape, as well as hares, wolverines, brown bears, and ermines. On the coast, you can find rookeries of marine pinnipeds, such as sea lions, fur seals and seals.

In 1983, Cape Lopatka, together with the adjacent territories, became part of the South Kamchatka Reserve.

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Average temperature and precipitation

The "mean daily maximum" (solid red line) shows the maximum temperature of an average day for every month for Cape Lopatka. Similarly, the "Minimum Mean Daily Temperature" (solid blue line) indicates the minimum average temperature. Hot days and cold nights (The dotted red and blue lines indicate the average temperature on the hottest day and coldest night of each month for 30 years. When planning your vacation, you will be aware of the average temperature and prepared for both the hottest and the coldest nights. cold days The default settings do not include wind speed readings, however you can enable this option using the button on the graph.

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Cloudy, sunny and rainy days

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Maximum temperatures

The chart for maximum temperature in Cape Lopatka shows how many days per month reach certain temperatures. In Dubai, one of the hottest cities on earth, almost never drops below 40°C in July. You can also see the diagram cold winters in Moscow, which shows that only a few days in the month the maximum temperature barely reaches -10°C.

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Wind speed

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wind rose

The wind rose for Cape Lopatka shows how many hours per year the wind blows from the indicated direction. An example is a southwesterly wind: The wind blows from the southwest (SW) to the northeast (NE). Cape Horn, the southernmost point in South America, is characterized by a characteristic powerful westerly wind, which significantly impedes the passage from east to west, especially for sailing ships.

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The Kuril landing operation, which was carried out by the Soviet troops in the period from August 18 to September 2, 1945, entered forever as a model of operational art. Soviet troops with smaller forces were able to solve the problem facing them, having completely mastered the Kuril Islands. The result of the brilliant operation of the Soviet troops was the occupation of 56 islands of the Kuril chain, with a total area of ​​10.5 thousand km2, all of which were included in the USSR in 1946.

The defeat of Japanese troops in Manchuria as a result of the Manchurian strategic operation and on Sakhalin Island as part of the South Sakhalin offensive operation created favorable conditions for the liberation of the Kuril Islands. The favorable geographical location of the islands allowed Japan to control the exit Soviet ships into the ocean and use them as a springboard for possible aggression against Soviet Union. By August 1945, 9 airfields were equipped on the islands of the Kuril archipelago, 6 of them were located on the islands of Shumshu and Paramushir - in the immediate vicinity of Kamchatka. Airfields could accommodate up to 600 aircraft. But in reality, almost all aircraft had previously been recalled to the Japanese islands to protect them from American air raids and to fight American troops.

At the same time, by the beginning of the Soviet-Japanese War, there were more than 80 thousand Japanese troops, about 60 tanks and more than 200 artillery pieces in the Kuriles. The islands of Shumshu and Paramushir were occupied by parts of the 91st Japanese Infantry Division, the 41st Separate Mixed Regiment was located on the island of Matua, and the 129th Separate Mixed Brigade was located on the island of Urup. On the islands of Iturup, Kunashir and the Lesser Kuril Ridge - the 89th Infantry Division.

Loading troops on ships

The most fortified island of all was Shumshu, which was separated from Kamchatka by the First Kuril Strait, 6.5 miles (about 12 kilometers) wide. This island, measuring 20 by 13 kilometers, was considered by the Japanese command as a springboard for the capture of Kamchatka. On the island there was a well-equipped and equipped naval base of the Japanese fleet - Kataoka, and three miles from it on the island of Paramushir was another naval base, Kashiwabara.

The 73rd Infantry Brigade of the 91st Infantry Division, the 31st Air Defense Regiment, the 11th Tank Regiment (without one company), the Fortress Artillery Regiment, the garrison of the Kataoka Naval Base, the airfield team and separate units of the Japanese troops were stationed on Shumshu Island. . All sections of the coast that were available for landing were covered by bunkers and bunkers, which were interconnected by trenches and underground passages. Underground passages were used not only for maneuvering forces, but also as shelters for communication centers, hospitals, various warehouses, power plants and other military facilities. The depth of some underground structures on the island reached 50 meters, which ensured their invulnerability to Soviet artillery fire and bomb attacks. The depth of the antiamphibious defense engineering structures on the island was 3-4 kilometers. In total, there were 34 concrete artillery bunkers and 24 bunkers on Shumshu, as well as 310 closed machine-gun points. If the paratroopers captured certain sections of the coast, the Japanese could secretly retreat deep into the island. Total population The Shumshu garrison consisted of 8.5 thousand people, more than 100 artillery pieces and about 60 tanks. At the same time, the Shumshu garrison could easily be reinforced with troops from the neighboring well-fortified island of Paramushir, on which there were up to 13 thousand Japanese troops.

The idea of ​​the Soviet command was to suddenly land an amphibious assault for the enemy on the northwestern part of Shumshu Island, which was the main stronghold of the Japanese troops in the Kuriles. It was planned to strike the main blow in the direction of the Kataoka naval base. Having captured the island, the Soviet troops planned to use it as a springboard for a further offensive on Paramushir, Onekotan and other islands of the archipelago.

Landing on the Kuril Islands. Artist A.I. Plotnov, 1948

The landing forces included two reinforced rifle regiments of the 101st rifle division of the Kamchatka defensive region, which was part of the 2nd Far Eastern Front, a marine battalion, an artillery regiment, an anti-tank fighter battalion, a consolidated company of the 60th naval border detachment and other units . In total, 8824 people, 205 guns and mortars, 120 heavy and 372 light machine guns, 60 different ships were involved in the landing. The landing party was reduced to a forward detachment and two echelons of the main forces. The commander of the 101st Infantry Division, Major General P. I. Dyakov, commanded the landing on Shumshu Island. Maritime forces The landing force, led by the commander of the Petropavlovsk naval base, captain 1st rank D. G. Ponomarev, consisted of 4 detachments: guards, minesweeping, artillery support ships and directly transports and landing craft. Air support for the landing was to be provided by the 128th mixed aviation division, which consisted of 78 aircraft and the 2nd separate bomber regiment. naval aviation. The general leadership of the landing operation was carried out by Admiral I. S. Yumashev, and the direct commander of the Kamchatka Marine Defense Region, Major General A. R. Grechko.

The operation began on August 17, when at 17 o'clock the ships with the landing force went to sea from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky under the cover of fighters and a submarine. They carried out the night trip to Shumshu in dense fog. On August 18, at 02:38, the coastal battery of 130-mm guns located at Cape Lopatka opened fire on the enemy fortifications, and at 04:22 minutes, the landing of the forward detachment of the assault force began, which consisted of a battalion of marines (without a company), machine gun and mortar companies , a sapper company, a company of machine gunners and anti-tank rifles, reconnaissance units. The fog helped the paratroopers covertly approach the shore, but it also complicated the actions. Soviet aviation, which still made almost 350 sorties on August 18, working mainly in the depth of the Japanese defenses and on the neighboring island of Paramushir.

One of the shortcomings of the reconnaissance was immediately revealed - the bottom in the landing area turned out to be with large pitfalls, and the approach of landing craft to the shore turned out to be difficult. Overloaded landing craft stopped far from the coast, sometimes 100-150 meters away, so paratroopers with heavy equipment were forced to swim to the island almost by swimming under enemy fire and ocean surf, while some of the paratroopers drowned. Despite the difficulties, the first wave of landing took advantage of the effect of surprise and entrenched themselves on the coast. In the future, the opposition of the Japanese, their artillery and machine-gun fire only increased, especially the Japanese batteries on Capes Kokutan and Kotomari, which were placed in deep caponiers, annoyed the landing. The fire of naval and coastal artillery of the Soviet troops on these batteries was ineffective.

Soviet armor-piercers on the island of Shumshu

By 9 o'clock on August 18, despite the active fire resistance of the enemy, the landing of the first echelon of the main landing forces - the 138th rifle regiment with reinforcement units - was completed. Thanks to courage and dedication, the paratroopers managed to capture two dominant heights, which were of great importance for organizing a bridgehead and further moving inland. From 11-12 o'clock in the afternoon, the Japanese troops began to launch desperate counterattacks, trying to throw the paratroopers into the sea. At the same time, additional Japanese reinforcements from the neighboring island of Paramushir began to be transferred to Shumshu.

In the second half of August 18, the decisive event of the day and the battle for the island took place. The Japanese threw into battle all the tanks they had, the landing forces attacked up to 60 Japanese tanks. At the cost of heavy losses, they managed to move forward, but they could not throw the paratroopers into the sea. The bulk of the Japanese tanks were destroyed in close combat with grenades and anti-tank guns, some were destroyed by naval artillery fire, which was brought by paratroopers.

The Japanese used their only mobile reserve - the 11th tank regiment, which by August 1945 had 64 tanks, including 25 light Type 95 "Ha-go", 19 medium - Type 97 "Chi-ha" and 20 medium type 97 "Shinhoto Chi-ha". The regiment's materiel was relatively new, but even these Japanese tanks were vulnerable to conventional anti-tank guns. According to Soviet data, the paratroopers managed to destroy or damage about 40 Japanese tanks, the Japanese admit the loss of 27 combat vehicles, while the commander of the 11th tank regiment, Colonel Ikeda Sueo, was killed in battle, as well as all but one tank company commanders, a total of 97 were killed in battle Japanese tankers. At the same time, the paratroopers suffered significant losses - up to 200 people. The skeletons of destroyed Japanese tanks more than 70 years after the battle can still be found on Shumshu Island today.

Destroyed Japanese tank on Shumshu island

By evening, the second echelon of the landing force, the 373rd Infantry Regiment, was landed on the shore, and at night a temporary berth was built on the shore, designed to receive new ships with ammunition and landing. It was possible to transport 11 guns and a large amount of ammunition and explosives ashore. With the onset of darkness, the fighting on the island continued, and according to the accumulated during the Great Patriotic War experience, the main emphasis was placed on the actions of small assault groups. It was in the evening and at night that the Soviet troops achieved the most significant successes, having managed to capture several heavily fortified positions. In conditions when the enemy could not conduct aimed artillery and machine-gun fire, the paratroopers got close to the Japanese pillboxes and blew them up with the help of sappers, along with garrisons or explosions, filled up their embrasures.

The day of August 18 became the most furious and dramatic day of the entire landing operation, both sides suffered the greatest losses on this day. Soviet troops lost 416 people killed, 123 missing (mostly drowned during the landing), 1028 people wounded, in total - 1567 people. The Japanese on this day lost 1018 people killed and wounded, of which more than 300 were killed. The battle for Shumshu was the only operation of the Soviet-Japanese War in which the Soviet side lost more killed and wounded than the enemy.

The next day, August 19, the fighting on the island continued, but was not as intense. Soviet troops began to increase the use of artillery, systematically suppressing the Japanese defenses. And already at 5 p.m. on August 19, the commander of the Japanese 73rd Infantry Brigade, Major General S. Iwao, entered into negotiations with the Soviet command. At the same time, the Japanese initially tried to delay the negotiations. Only at 2 pm on August 22, 1945, the commander of the Japanese troops in the northern Kuril Islands, Lieutenant General Fusaki Tsutsumi, accepted the Soviet terms of surrender. In total, two Japanese generals, 525 officers and 11,700 soldiers were captured on Shumshu. 17 howitzers, 40 cannons, 9 anti-aircraft guns, 123 heavy and 214 light machine guns, 7420 rifles, several surviving tanks and 7 aircraft were captured. The next day - August 23, the powerful garrison of the neighboring island of Paramushir surrendered without resistance: about 8 thousand people, mainly parts of the 74th Infantry Brigade of the 91st Infantry Division. Up to 50 guns and 17 tanks (one company of the 11th Tank Regiment) were captured on the island.

Shumshu Island, preserved Japanese anti-tank ditches

By the end of August 1945, the forces of the Kamchatka defensive region, together with the ships of the Peter and Paul Naval Base, occupied the entire northern ridge of the islands, including Urup, and the forces of the Northern Pacific Flotilla, by September 2 of the same year, occupied the rest of the islands located south of Urup. In total, more than 50 thousand Japanese soldiers and officers were taken prisoner, including 4 generals, more than 300 artillery pieces and about 1000 machine guns, 217 vehicles and tractors were captured, about 10 thousand more soldiers were evacuated by the Japanese command to the territory of Japan.

The Kuril landing operation ended in a brilliant victory and the capture of all the islands of the Kuril chain. Despite the fact that it was prepared within a limited time frame, the well-organized interaction of ground units, fleet and aviation, as well as the well-chosen direction of the main attack, decided the outcome of the battle. The courage, heroism and skill of the Soviet soldiers made it possible to solve the task in almost one day - August 18th. The Japanese garrison, which on the islands of Shumshu and Paramushir had a serious numerical advantage over the landing forces, already on August 19 entered into negotiations with the Soviet units, after which most of the Kuril Islands were occupied without resistance from the enemy.

The most distinguished units and formations in the Kuril landing operation were given the honorary names of Kuril. Of the participants in the landing on Shumshu, more than three thousand people were awarded various orders and medals, 9 of them were awarded the honorary title of Heroes of the Soviet Union.

Shumshu near the village of Baikovo. On the left you can see the strip of the old Japanese airfield

The issue of ownership of the islands

It is difficult to talk about the Kuril Islands without considering the issue of their ownership. The territorial dispute between Russia and Japan still exists and is raised almost every time in the framework of meetings between the political leadership of the two countries. The Kuril Islands are a chain of islands located between the Kamchatka Peninsula and the island of Hokkaido, a slightly convex arc separating the Sea of ​​Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean. The length of the chain of islands is about 1200 km. total area all 56 islands - 10.5 thousand km2. The Kuril Islands form two parallel ridges: the Greater Kuril and the Lesser Kuril. The islands are of great military-strategic and economic importance. Currently, the state border between the Russian Federation and Japan passes to the south of the islands, and the islands themselves are administratively part of the Sakhalin Region of Russia. The southern islands of this archipelago - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai group are disputed by Japan, which includes these islands in its Hokkaido prefecture.

Initially, all the Kuril Islands were inhabited by Ainu tribes. The first information about the islands was received by the Japanese during the expedition of 1635-1637. In 1643 they were surveyed by the Dutch (led by Martin de Vries). First Russian expedition, which was led by Atlasov, reached the northern part of the Kuril Islands in 1697. In 1786, by decree of Catherine II, the Kuril Archipelago was included in the Russian Empire.

On February 7, 1855, Russia and Japan signed the Shimodsky Treaty, according to this agreement, the Iturup, Kunashir and the islands of the Lesser Kuril Ridge were transferred to Japan, and the rest of the Kuriles remained in the ownership of Russia. At the same time, Sakhalin Island was declared a joint possession - an "undivided" territory. But some unsettled questions about the status of Sakhalin became the cause of conflicts between Russian and Japanese sailors and merchants. To eliminate these conflicts and resolve contradictions, in 1875 an agreement on the exchange of territories was signed in St. Petersburg. In accordance with the agreement, Japan renounced its claims to Sakhalin, and Russia transferred all the Kuriles to Japan.

Another agreement between the countries was signed on September 5, 1905 following the results of the Russo-Japanese War. According to the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, Japan also crossed a part of Sakhalin Island south of the 50th parallel, the island was divided into two parts by the border.
The problem of the Kuril Islands arose again at the end of World War II. As part of the Yalta Allied Conference in February 1945, the Soviet Union called the return of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands one of the conditions for entering hostilities against Japan. This solution was enshrined in the Yalta Agreement between the USSR, Great Britain and the USA of February 11, 1945 (“Crimean Agreement of the Three Great Powers on the Far East”). Fulfilling its obligations, the Soviet Union on August 9, 1945 entered the war against Japan. As part of the Soviet-Japanese War, the Kuril landing operation took place (August 18 - September 2, 1945), which led to the capture of the entire archipelago and the surrender of Japanese troops on the islands. On September 2, 1945, Japan signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender, accepting all the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. According to this declaration, Japanese sovereignty was limited only to the islands of Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku and Hokkaido, as well as a number of smaller islands of the Japanese archipelago. On February 2, 1946, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Kuriles were included in the Soviet Union.

According to the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951, which was concluded between Japan and the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, Tokyo renounced all rights, titles and claims to Sakhalin and the Kuriles. But the Soviet delegation did not then sign this document, because it did not stipulate the question of the withdrawal of the occupying troops from the territory of Japan. In addition, the text of the document did not spell out which particular islands of the Kuril archipelago were discussed, and also in whose favor Japan refused them. This step was the main reason for the territorial problem that exists to this day, which is still an obstacle to the conclusion of a full-fledged peace treaty between the Russian Federation and Japan.

On this moment time, the essence of the disagreement of the parties is as follows:

The principled position of the Soviet Union and Russian Federation, which became its successor, lies in the fact that the belonging of the Kuril Islands (Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Khabomai) to Russia is based on the generally recognized results of the Second World War and the unshakable post-war international legal basis, including the UN Charter. Russian sovereignty over the islands has a corresponding international legal basis and is beyond doubt.

Japan's position is that it refers to the Shimodsky Treaty of 1855, claims that Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and a number of small islands of the Kuril archipelago never belonged to the Russian Empire and considers their inclusion in the Soviet Union illegal. In addition, according to Japan, these islands are not part of the Kuril archipelago, and therefore do not fall under the term "Kuril Islands", which was used in the San Francisco Treaty of 1951. At the moment, in Japanese political terminology, the disputed Kuril Islands are called the "northern territories."

Information sources:
http://mil.ru/winner_may/history/more.htm?id=12055403%40cmsArticle
https://tass.ru/info/3873269
https://pochta-polevaya.ru/aboutarmy/history/sovetskoye-vremya/a192331.html
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