After Pearl Harbor United States came face to
face with the reality of the war and an enemy that almost everyone in the
Government or in the military underestimated and ultimately paid a heavy price.
On the other side, Russia though not fully prepared to take on the military
might and readiness of Adolf Hitler, fought back very hard and eventually
pushed back the Nazis and defeated them in and around Berlin.
These Russian success in Europe were perceived
by the US as a threat since Russians were now expected to take part in the
Pacific theater of the war if US failed to bring Japan to its knees.
Russian experts have been excavating and
looking for the remnants of one of the Russia-Japan battles in the Second World
War. So far Russian researches have unearthed the remains of at least 26 soviet
and 9 Japanese troops from the Shumshu Island. In the battle fought between the
Russian troops and Japanese Imperial Army 500 Russians and 250 members of
Japanese Army perished, Russia ultimately claimed victory.
Last month marked the anniversary of the
Russian invasion of Shumshu Island, a part of the Kuril chain of islands.
Although it was not a massive battle and did not result in large number of
causalities. This invasion came after Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945 with
atomic bombs being dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Japan had the ownership of the Kuril Islands as
a result of an 1875 treaty with then Russian Empire. In return Japan abandoned
its right over Sakhalin Island that went under Russian control. However Russia
maintains that it has actually liberated the Kuril Islands from Japanese
occupation, essentially denying the existence of any such treaty.
A senior Russian researcher said on Tuesday,
that Russia’s campaign on Kuril Islands must be regarded as a wartime effort
and as part of Russia’s vital role in the fight against fascism and Nazi axis
in Europe and Pacific.
After defeating the Imperial Japanese Army on
Shumshu Island, Soviet Armies slowly took over the whole chain of the Kuril
Islands along with another four islands that lied outside the chain. The
Japanese civilians living on the islands were forcibly evicted from their homes
and sent to live inland Japan. A large number of Japanese soldiers were taken
in as POW’s by Russian Army and were sent to Siberia. Russia maintains its
legitimacy over the disputed islands citing that this was a direct consequence
of the war and must stay under Russian control. This longstanding dispute over
some of the islands in the Northwestern Pacific has prevented both countries to
bury any animosities from the World War and sign a peace treaty like many other
nations of the world did after the war.
fonte: https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/the-last-russian-battlefield-of-wwii-remains-of-russian-and-japanese-soldiers-found-on-shumshu-island.html?src=fba&type=wca&page=who
fonte: https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/the-last-russian-battlefield-of-wwii-remains-of-russian-and-japanese-soldiers-found-on-shumshu-island.html?src=fba&type=wca&page=who
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