May 22, 2006 May 22, 2006
On April, 25th we were loaded in a train and went in Russia. After Moscow we must take off medals "For the Defence of Leningrad" and paint over inscriptions "To Kenigsburg!" on the barrels of our guns and soon we understood that we were moving to fight against the Japanese.
We went to the capital of Mongolia and then we moved at foot along waterless desert for 300 km in the conditions of hot of 40 degrees Celsius and of even more temperature. There were nether trees nor grass nor water. So some wells were dug for every 30 km. We went in the region of the river of Khalkhin-Gol where there were famous combats in 1939. In the night from 8th to 9th of August we had crossed that river and moved in the direction of Khalun-Arshan.
It was there, in Mongolia, where we had gotten large replacement of men who were born in 1927. All they were belly-pinched and were drafted only for a half of year. We taught them how to master weapon and how to fight commonly. We fed them up as we got 850 grams of meat for a day in Mongolia, can you imagine it? In general, we had a lot of food excluding water.
It was difficult to cross the river of Khalkhin-Gol. It was not too wide, only 60-80 meters in width but if a laden "Studebecker" or tractor entered in the river so the stream overturned and blew up it. But the river was not too deep, its depth was only about one and a half meters. There it were Mongols with their horses who helped us. A Mongol rode on a horse and we, scouts, holds on to the horse's mane and moved together with him. Then when we captured both banks of the river a crossing for artillery and other equipment was made. In that time I was the chief of the divisional recon and our mission was to come along a parched crease and to capture a bridge and to prevent it from the blowing up by Japanese. After I reported about the completion of the mission the commander of our regiment ordered me to become the commander of the 3rd Rifle Battalion. So I became a battalion commander and all the combats for Khalun-Arshan ridge and the following combats in the plain I fought in that post. Six guns moved together with my battalion, indeed, those were small 45-mm guns. And if Japanese stopped us on a resistance point so we had to deploy in a battle order, to shoot them from guns, to attack and to eliminate them - the Samurais didn't surrender, all they were smertniks.
The war against Japan was not too long. In the spite of the fact that we overcame Khalun-Arshan ridge for only three days and were advancing in the centre of Manchuria we were remained behind by other units there. To the August, 16th the war against Japan had finished, I mean military actions exactly. And approximately in August, 25th our division was disbanded. There were a lot of POWs and we were formed in a convoy regiment.
Sometimes I am asked who was more dangerous enemy against whom I myself fought - the Germans, the Finns or the Japanese? Of course, the German were most dangerous. The Finns also were good soldiers. If to speak about the Japanese so Quantung Army was a million men army which was very well-equipped. I suppose that two Atomic bombs that were dropped in the 6th and the 9th of the August (we began to advance in the 9th) demoralized them, and when they knew that USSR joined the war, when they became aware of what huge force came there - of course, they were defeated. At first, the commander of Quantung Army ordered to surrender, then the Emperor of Manchuria was captured and also ordered to surrender. So some of their units continued to fight and some surrendered. In short, it was as mess in Japanese troops and the war had finished for them with large casualties. But if to speak about the Japanese soldiers so almost all they were ready to die in combat. And when my battalion had to deploy in a battle order and to attack their resistance points so they showed strong resistance until we eliminated them up to the last of their soldiers.
