Liberation of Sakhalin 1945. Progress of the South Sakhalin operation. We decorate not only the regional center, but also the whole of Sakhalin

The operation was completed successfully Soviet army and the fleet for the liberation of South Sakhalin from Japanese troops during the Second World War.

Under the terms of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty of 1905, which ended the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, Russia ceded the southern part of Sakhalin (along the 50th parallel north) to Japan on the condition that both sides would not build any military fortifications on the island. The treaty also provided for the withdrawal of both Russian and Japanese troops from Manchuria (northeast of modern China).

In 1925, upon establishment with Japan diplomatic relations The Soviet government recognized the agreement with the caveat that it did not bear political responsibility for it, and carried it out in good faith. Japan violated the treaty by occupying Manchuria in 1931 and building fortifications on Southern Sakhalin.

During World War II, at the Tehran Conference of Leaders anti-Hitler coalition In 1943, the USSR agreed in principle to enter the war against Japan.

The Soviet-American-British agreement worked out in Yalta in February 1945 specified that the USSR would enter the war with Japan 2-3 months after the surrender of Germany, subject to the “restoration of Russian rights violated by the treacherous attack of Japan in 1904” - the return of the southern part Sakhalin.

True to its obligations, the USSR declared war on Japan on August 8, 1945. The next day the Manchurian War began offensive, the successful development of which created the preconditions for attacks on Japanese troops in other sectors of the front.

“General Order No. 1,” later prepared by the American command in the Pacific and agreed upon with the allies, ordered Japanese troops on Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands to surrender to the Soviet command.

10 August Commander-in-Chief Soviet forces on Far East marshal Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky ordered the command of the 2nd Far Eastern Front (Colonel General Maxim Purkaev) to prepare and conduct an operation to liberate Southern Sakhalin by August 25.

Units of the Red Army in the north of the island were united by the command of the 56th Rifle Corps of the Guard, Major General Anatoly Dyakonov. The main forces of the corps were a rifle division, a tank brigade and three artillery regiments. A separate rifle brigade of the 16th Army (Major General Leonty Cheremisov), a battalion of marines and ships of the Northern Pacific Flotilla (Vice Admiral Vladimir Andreev) were also involved in the operation. These forces were based at the continental ports of Sovetskaya Gavan and Vanino. The operation was supported by a mixed air division (about 100 aircraft).

Southern Sakhalin was defended by the 88th Japanese Infantry Division (Lieutenant General Toichiro Mineki), units of the field gendarmerie and reservists (about 30 thousand people in total). The defense base was a fortified area along the border 50th parallel north of the city of Coton (Pobedino), which blocked the only road from north to south of the island along the valley of the Poronai River.

The operation plan provided for a breakthrough of the border fortified area with the forces of the 56th Corps and the defeat of the Japanese group with the participation of landing forces landing from the sea, whose task, among other things, was to prevent the evacuation of enemy troops from the island and material assets.

Having launched the offensive on August 11, units of the 56th Corps captured border fortifications by the end of August 18 and continued moving south towards administrative center South Sakhalin city of Toyohara (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk).

In parallel, from August 16 to 25, marines and soldiers of the 16th Army rifle brigade transported from the continent captured the ports of Toro (Shakhtersk) and Maoka (Kholmsk) and the Otomari naval base (Korsakov). On August 25, the city of Toyohara was taken. More than 18 thousand Japanese soldiers and officers surrendered.

The 79th Rifle Division, the 113th Separate Rifle Brigade, the 255th Mixed Air Division and several other units that distinguished themselves in battle received the honorary names “Sakhalin”.

The defeat of Japanese troops on Sakhalin predetermined the success of the Kuril landing operation, during which by September 1, 1945, Soviet troops cleared all the Kuril Islands, seized by Japan in 1855-1875, from the enemy.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

Yuzhno-Sakhalin operation(11 - 25 August 1945) - offensive operation armed forces The USSR against Japanese troops during the Soviet-Japanese War (at the end of World War II) with the goal of capturing South Sakhalin. This offensive operation is one of the operations of the Soviet-Japanese War. It ended with the victory of the Red Army - the entire island of Sakhalin became entirely owned by the USSR.

Balance of power

USSR

• 16th Army (commander General L. G. Cheremisov) 2nd Far Eastern Front (commander Army General M. A. Purkaev)
• 56th Rifle Corps
• 79th Infantry Division
• 2nd Rifle Brigade
• a number of separate rifle, tank and artillery units
• 113th Infantry Brigade
• 214th Tank Brigade
• 255th mixed aviation division (106 aircraft)
• Northern Pacific Military Flotilla (commander Vice Admiral V. A. Andreev) Pacific Fleet(Commander Admiral I.S. Yumashev)
• About 30 ships and boats of the flotilla were involved in the operation
• naval aviation of the Pacific Fleet (80 aircraft)

Japan

• 88th Infantry Division, 5th Front (commanded by Lieutenant General K. Higuchi)
• Koton fortified area (17 pillboxes, 28 artillery and 18 mortar positions and other structures, garrison - 5400 people)
• border guard units
• reservist units

Progress of the operation

Northern and Southern Sakhalin were connected by a single road that ran along the meridianally elongated valley of the Poronai River. Here the Japanese built the Koton fortified area, with its left flank resting on the Poronai chain, and its right flank on the swampy right bank of the Poronai.

Attack on the Koton fortified area

The main blow to the Koton fortified area in the Poronai River valley was delivered by the 56th Rifle Corps, under the command of Major General A. A. Dyakonov. The corps consisted of the 79th Rifle Division of Major General I. P. Baturov, the 2nd Rifle Brigade of Colonel A. M. Shchekalov, the 214th Tank Brigade of Lieutenant Colonel A. T. Timirgaleev, the 678th and 178th Separate Tank battalions, a separate Sakhalin rifle regiment, an artillery brigade (machine gun, howitzer and mortar regiments), the 82nd separate machine gun rifle company. Air support for the corps was provided by the 255th mixed aviation division (106 aircraft).

The main blow was delivered by the 79th Infantry Division, reinforced by the 214th tank brigade and artillery, in the direction of Honda, Coton. Another regiment advanced off-road through the Muika police stronghold, bypassing the main strip of the fortified area on the eastern side.

The advance detachment under the command of Captain G.G. At 11 a.m. on August 11, the Svetetsky 165th Infantry Regiment began a battle for the border stronghold of Honda (Handa), which covered the first line of defense of the fortified area. Soviet troops energetically attacked the Japanese, captured four cylindrical pillboxes and firmly established themselves on this line. The stubbornly resisting enemy blew up the bridge across the river and thereby blocked the path for Soviet tanks. The main forces of the 165th Infantry Regiment entered the battle. During the night, a temporary crossing was built from logs and improvised means, and at dawn infantry and tanks attacked Honda. The 6th company of Captain Farafonov bypassed the strong point from the rear and captured part of the trench. Then Svetetsky brought the 5th company into battle, thereby cutting off the enemy’s route of retreat. All attempts by enemy soldiers to break out of the encirclement were unsuccessful. The fierce battle continued until the evening and ended in the complete defeat and capture of the Japanese garrison.

On the night of August 11-12, the advance detachment of the 179th Infantry Regiment, led by the battalion commander, Captain L.V. Smirnykh, passed along the swampy left bank of the Poronai River and, unexpectedly for the enemy, attacked the Muika stronghold. As a result of hand-to-hand combat, the garrison was defeated. However, the main forces of the regiment that arrived in the morning were unable to move further south due to heavy fire from a neighboring strong point. Then the regiment commander decided to block it with one battalion, and with the rest of his forces to go straight through the swamps to the city of Coton - the most important resistance center of the fortified area. Throughout the night of August 13, the fighters made their way through bushes and swamps, sometimes waist-deep in water, carrying weapons and ammunition above their heads. The first was the battalion of Captain Smirnykh.

By the evening of August 12, the 165th Infantry Regiment approached the front edge of the main strip of the Kharamitog fortified area and, together with the 157th Infantry Regiment, which was traveling in the second echelon of the division, began the assault.

By the morning of August 13, a company of senior lieutenant Dorokhov from the Smirnykh battalion reached the Coton station. At dawn, the Japanese launched a sortie, first opening heavy mortar and machine gun fire. Soviet soldiers responded with long machine-gun bursts. Dorokhov raised the soldiers to attack. Almost simultaneously, Captain Smirnykh with the main forces of the battalion began an attack on the opposite side of the station. Having captured the road, he set up a barrier and ordered the soldiers to break through to the station, where enemy reserves could approach at any moment. However, having encountered fierce resistance, the battalion suffered its first losses in this operation.

The battle for the city and the station lasted two days. The active actions of the Smirnykh battalion decided the outcome of the battle. By the evening of August 15, the regiment completely captured Coton. On August 16, Captain Smirnykh died. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the USSR. On Sakhalin, two settlements (Leonidovo and Smirnykh) and an urban district are named after him.

At dawn on August 16, after an hour of artillery and air preparation, Soviet troops began an assault on the main line of Japanese defense simultaneously from the front and rear. By the end of August 17, they divided the enemy troops into separate groups. By the evening of the next day, after capturing the main Harami-Toge pass, the fortified area was finished. The remnants of the Japanese garrison capitulated.

In these battles, the artillerymen of the battery, commanded by Senior Lieutenant P. N. Sidorov, showed high combat skills and courage. Operating in infantry combat formations, artillerymen destroyed firing points with direct fire and repelled enemy counterattacks. On August 16 alone, the battery destroyed up to a company of infantry, 6 observation posts and suppressed 4 pillboxes.

Landings

This was the case on the lines dividing the northern and southern parts of the island. To speed up the defeat of the Japanese, by decision of the commander of the 16th Army, a detachment of ships of the Northern Pacific Flotilla with a landing of sailors and soldiers of the 113th Infantry Brigade, Colonel N. Z. Zakharov, left Sovetskaya Gavan. The transition was made in force 5 winds and visibility of less than one cable. On the morning of August 16, having suppressed enemy fire resistance, the 365th Separate Marine Battalion and the 2nd Battalion of the 113th Infantry Brigade landed in the port of Toro and quickly captured the port and the city of Toro (Shakhtersk). On August 20, troops were landed in the port of Maoka (Kholmsk). Despite the statement about unconditional surrender, Japanese troops on the island continued to resist. This was the demand of the Japanese government. It tried to gain time for the last act of robbery of the South Sakhalin colony that it had actually already lost. The landing at the port of Otomari (Korsakov) on August 25, through which the evacuation and removal of material assets was mainly carried out, was the last act of hostilities on the island. As a result of the operation, 18,320 Japanese soldiers and officers were captured.

Main fights in South Sakhalin deployed on the Soviet-Japanese border, which ran along the 50th parallel. Here, north of the Koton (Pobedino) railway station, long before the start of the Soviet-Japanese War, the Japanese erected powerful structures: about 17 reinforced concrete pillboxes and more than 130 bunkers, anti-tank ditches, many trenches, wire fences and minefields. Garrison of Koton (Kharamitogsky) fortified area numbered over 5 thousand soldiers and officers. The assault on the Kharamitog fortifications was a decisive event in the outcome of the entire Yuzhno-Sakhalin operation.

On August 11, 1945, at 7:45 a.m., the offensive began. The commander of the 56th Rifle Corps, Major General Anatoly Aleksandrovich Dyakonov, directed the main attack on Haramitoge. It was not possible to break through the Japanese defenses on the move. With the onset of darkness, the 79th Division under the command of Major General Ivan Pavlovich Baturov took a detour through the swamps and taiga. With an unexpected attack from the flanks and rear, Japanese resistance was suppressed, opening the way for further advance of the division. By the end of the day on August 15, she reached the main strip of Haramitoge and began the assault. The enemy did not expect the appearance of Soviet troops in the rear of his main line of defense.

The battalion of captain Grigory Grigorievich Svetetsky in a heavy battle destroyed 12 pillboxes, 8 bunkers, captured the height with the tower and ensured a breakthrough in the fortified area.

The battery of senior sergeant Pavel Nikitovich Sidorov in one battle destroyed 6 concrete observation posts, 4 bunkers and several more firing points.

The battalion of Captain Leonid Vladimirovich Smirnykh, having made a forced march through the swamps, went to the rear of the Haramitoge fortified area and started a battle for the Koton (Pobedino) station. Over five days, the battalion withstood dozens of counterattacks, killing hundreds of enemy soldiers and officers. On August 16, the fearless captain Leonid Vladimirovich Smirnykh died from a bullet from a Japanese “cuckoo” sniper. The next day, the liberation of Coton (Pobedino) was completed.

On August 17, the success of the battle for the Long height was decided by the company of senior lieutenant Sergei Timofeevich Yudin. Being wounded, he personally hoisted the victory banner on high.

Senior Sergeant Anton Buyukly proved himself in a fierce battle. That battle was difficult; our troops had just approached the Kharamitog Heights, where carefully camouflaged and prepared enemy strongholds were located. The fifth company of the second battalion of the 165th Infantry Regiment, in which Anton Buyukly served, lay down near one of them. Someone needed to get as close to the bunker as possible and throw grenades at it and force it to shut up. Sergeant Anton Buyukly volunteered to suppress the fire. And then, hiding behind the machine gun shield, he crawled towards the bunker. Anton first fired a burst from a machine gun, the bunker fell silent, but not for long. Now all the fire was directed against him. And suddenly there was a blow to the chest, the earth floated in circles. But Buyukly found the strength to crawl the last meters of his life. He rushed to the black mouth of the bunker embrasure, covering it with the machine gun shield and his body. The comrades went on the attack and quickly took possession of the bunker, opening the way for the battalion to attack.

Assault groups, tanks, aircraft, and artillery destroyed Japanese pillboxes and bunkers one after another. On August 18, the entire fortified area on the Kharamitog Heights was destroyed. The remnants of the Japanese garrison - over three thousand soldiers and officers, laid down their arms and began to surrender. The road to Toyohara (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) was open.

At the same time, fighting was going on on the west coast of the island. On August 16-17, ships of the Northern Pacific Flotilla under the command of Vice Admiral Vladimir Aleksandrovich Andreev landed amphibious assault forces in the ports of Toro (Shakhtersk), Esutoru (Uglegorsk), and on August 20 in the port of Maoka (Kholmsk). In fierce battles with the enemy that lasted several days, these cities and ports were liberated, after which one part of the landing force moved to Toyohara (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), the second - through the city of Rudaka (Aniva) to Otomari (Korsakov). The main landing forces, having passed on ships and liberated the ports of Khonto (Nevelsk), Nayhoro (Gornozavodsk), on August 25 approached the berths of the naval base of the port of Otomari (Korsakov). The landing did not meet any resistance. A group of Japanese led by the mayor came out to meet the sailors and announced the surrender of the garrison. Without encountering enemy resistance, the landing units occupied the city of Rudaku (Aniva).

On August 25, troops of the 56th Rifle Corps, in cooperation with airborne units, liberated main city Sakhalin Toyohara (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk).

As a result of the Yuzhno-Sakhalin operation, troops of the 16th Army, in cooperation with the Northern Pacific Flotilla, defeated the enemy group on the island and captured more than 18,000 soldiers and officers of the Japanese army.

The operation of Soviet troops in Southern Sakhalin is a combined action of ground and naval forces with aviation support. Difficult terrain conditions, outflanking maneuvers of troops, assault operations, mass heroism of soldiers, paratroopers, and officers - all this contributed to the victory.

The liberation of South Sakhalin from the Japanese invaders was completed.

For exemplary performance of combat missions of the command during the Yuzhno-Sakhalin operation, outstanding courage and military skill, the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to: Grigory Grigorievich Svetetsky, Sergei Timofeevich Yudin, Pavel Nikitovich Sidorov and posthumously Anton Efimovich Buyukly, Leonid Vladimirovich Smirnykh.

The names of the heroes-liberators of Southern Sakhalin are immortalized in the names of settlements on the island; the village of Koton was renamed Pobedino. In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, there is a memorial on Victory Square with guns and armored vehicles from the Second World War - this is a monument-symbol of the courage and heroism of the soldiers-liberators of Southern Sakhalin.

Prepared by O. A. Litvintseva, ch. librarian

Coming. operation of troops of the 16th A of the 2nd Far East. fr. in cooperation with Sev. Pacific. military flotilla, carried out on August 11-25. for the purpose of liberating South. Sakhalin, seized by Japan in 1905. The successful development of the Manchurian operation of 1945 allowed the Soviets. command to launch an offensive on Sakhalin. To carry out Yu.-S. O. the 56th infantry brigade, 113th brigade and 214th brigade of the 16th A (lieutenant general L. G. Cheremisov), naval forces were involved. infantry, approx. 30 ships and boats Northern. Pacific. flotilla (Vice Adm. V. A. Andreev), 255th mixed air division (106 aircraft) and naval. Aviation Pacific. fleet (80 aircraft). South Sakhalin was defended by the reinforced 88th Japanese. infantry division (19 thousand soldiers and officers, about 10 thousand reservists), based on the Koton (Kharamitog) fortified area with a length of 12 km along the front and up to 30 km in depth (17 pillboxes, 28 artillery and 18 mortar positions and other structures , garrison - 5400 people). The idea of ​​the owls. command: with the forces of the 56th Infantry Corps, break through the defense of the Koton fortified area from the front and, rapidly advancing along the east. the coast of the island in the direction of Toyohara (the administrative center of South Sakhalin), in interaction with the sea. landings, which the flotilla was supposed to land in the rear of the pr-ka, destroy the enemy group and take possession of the south. part of the island. Fighting began on the night of August 11. blows of the sea aviation at the sites of Esutoru, Toro, Ushiro and Kotona. In the morning, units of the 56th Infantry Brigade and the 214th Tank Brigade went on the offensive, and the Crimea had to advance along the unities, a dirt road that connected the North. Sakhalin with the South and passing between the inaccessible spurs of the mountains and the swampy valley of the river. Poronay. The enemy offered fierce resistance. On the night of August 13. The 179th regiment of the 79th infantry division, advancing in the first echelon of the 56th infantry regiment, crossed the swampy area and reached the rear of enemy fortifications. On August 16, the flotilla landed troops at the port of Toro (the 365th Marine Battalion and the 2nd Battalion of the 113th Brigade), which by the end of the day had cleared several of the pr. populated points within a radius of 8-12 km, and the next day he captured the city of Yama-Sigai, the port of Esutoru and blocked the roads to the Koton UR along the west. coast of Sakhalin. Aug 18 Counter strikes from units of the 56th Rifle Corps from the front and rear broke through the defense of the Koton Urals, after which the Soviets. The troops launched a rapid offensive to the south. coast of the island. Aug 20 mor. The landing force (113th brigade, combined battalion of marines) captured the port of Maoka. Aug 25 a combined brigade of sailors, landed from the sea, captured the Japanese. naval Otomari base. On the same day, units of the 56th Infantry Division entered Toyohara. Sov. troops, having eliminated the Sakhalin group of pr-ka (18,320 Japanese soldiers and officers were captured), liberated South. Sakhalin, which, in accordance with the decisions of the Crimean Conference of 1945 and the Berlin Conference of 1945, was returned to the USSR. 14 Land units and formations that distinguished themselves most in battle. troops and navy received honorary names. "Sakhalin".

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