In February 1945, the heads of state of the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom held a secret meeting at the Yalta Palace on the Crimean Peninsula to formulate a new world order and discuss the distribution of benefits. The meeting culminated in the Agreement between the Soviet Union, the United States, and Great Britain on Japan. Unknowingly, Japan was ruthlessly divided up by the Allied powers.
This agreement is also known as the Yalta Agreement. In the agreement, Japan's Kuril Islands were assigned to the Soviet Union after the war. However, after the surrender of Japan, Stalin sent a large army in a hurry to forcibly occupy the Kuril Islands by force.
(Old photo of the heads of state of the three countries)
Then, the Agreement stipulated that the Kuril Islands belonged to the Soviet Union, so why was Stalin so anxious?
The Kuril Islands in the agreement were customarily referred to by the Soviet Union as the "South Kuril Islands", while Japan referred to them as the "Four Northern Islands". The four islands are Zekyu Island, Kunigo Island, Sedan Island, and Tooth Dance Islands.
On August 8, 1945, the Soviet Union officially declared war on Japan. After Vasilevsky's million-strong army arrived in northeast China, they swept through the Japanese Kwantung Army with the power of destruction. In just one week, nearly 700,000 Kwantung Army killed 100,000 people, and the remaining 600,000 became Prisoners of the Soviet Union.
In fact, the timing of the Soviet Union's declaration of war on Japan was very ingenious. In the first half of 1945, the Americans and the Japanese were engaged in a fierce island battle, and the Soviet Union was busy giving the Germans a final blow. After Germany surrendered in May, the Soviet Union began to silently watch the War between the United States and Japan on the grounds of "rest". For the Soviet Union, its biggest post-war opponent was the United States, and if it could consume the strength of the United States for legitimate reasons, it was naturally the Soviet Union that it was happy to see.
But on August 6, 1945, after the United States sacrificed the "great weapon" and dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the Soviet Union could no longer sit still. Stalin knew very well that if he did not declare war on Japan and did not send troops at this time, I am afraid that this cake of Japan would have nothing to do with him.
(Vasilevsky)
The situation of the confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States was clearly demonstrated as early as the Battle of Berlin. Since the Battle of Kharkov, the Soviets have been singing triumphant songs on the Eastern Front. However, Britain and the United States also made a Normandy landing in the west. In this way, Berlin seems to be the prize of the competition. Whoever arrives first will reap the greatest benefits.
So the Soviet Union held its breath and entered Berlin in one breath. You know, at that time, Berlin's supplies had been cut off, and the Soviet army could choose to encircle and not attack, waiting for the Germans to surrender. But Stalin could not afford to wait. Because on the Western Front, countless German officers voluntarily surrendered to the United States and Britain. Even some German commanders on the Eastern Front frantically led their troops to the west, unwilling to surrender to the Soviet Union.
Under such circumstances, Stalin, in order to ensure the maximization of profits, had to order Zhukov to attack the city with his soldiers. As a result, Berlin was defeated, but the Soviets themselves suffered up to 300,000 casualties.
Thus, when Japan formally announced its surrender on August 15, 1945, Stalin had no intention of giving it back. In his view, now that even Japan, the last common enemy, has been swept away, the United States will only see the Soviet Union in its eyes. What the Yalta Agreement, these are nothing more than empty words. Only by personally sending troops to occupy will they truly belong to themselves.
With this in mind, Stalin ordered an attack on the Kuril Islands on August 18. At this time, just three days had passed since Japan's surrender.
(Stalin)
In the Kuril Islands, Japan has more than 80,000 troops stationed and several well-established naval bases. After the Soviets launched an attack, the Japanese engaged the Soviets in a firefight on the most fortified island. The Soviets sent the cruiser Kirov to cover the landing forces, but they were attacked by strong Japanese fire on the shore. Not only were the beach-grabbing fighters killed and wounded, but even the landing ships were sunk.
Later, the Soviet army was difficult to get ashore and began to fight with Japan in a high-altitude battle. The two sides came and went, repeatedly charging, and the battle situation was once very tragic. And the Soviet army is still faintly at a disadvantage.
Soon after, Emperor Hirohito's order to surrender finally came, and the Japanese side offered an armistice. It was not until the 8th day after The Japanese announced their surrender that the chamojima defenders all surrendered.
Subsequently, the Soviet army attacked all the way south and began to slowly enter the South Kuril Islands. When the successful landing on the island was successfully landed, the 15,000 Japanese troops on the island did not choose to resist, which finally made the Soviet army breathe a sigh of relief. It was not until September 5, after the Successful Capture of the Tooth Dance Islands by the Soviets, that the military operation officially ended.
During this period, Stalin wanted to further expand the fruits of his victory and began to try to station troops in Hokkaido while sending people to negotiate with MacArthur. However, MacArthur was very determined, and he strongly forbade the Soviets from landing on the Japanese mainland, even at the expense of threats by force.
Eventually, Stalin abandoned his plan to land on the Japanese mainland. Until now, the four northern islands remain under Russian control.
(Reference: History of the Second World War)