Invasion of the Kuril Islands


The Invasion of the Kuril Islands was the World War II Soviet military operation to capture the Kuril Islands from Japan in 1945. The invasion was part of the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, and was decided on when plans to land on Hokkaido were abandoned. The successful military operations of the Red Army at Mudanjiang and during the Invasion of South Sakhalin created the necessary prerequisites for invasion of the Kuril Islands.

Order of battle

;Soviet Union
;Imperial Japan
The operation took place between August 18 and September 1. The attack was made by the 87th Rifle Corps of the 16th Army from the 2nd Far Eastern Front, and elements of the Kamchatka Defense Area. Ships and transportation were drawn from the Petropavlovsk military base. The 128th Aviation Division also provided support.
The islands were occupied by the Japanese 91st Infantry Division, 42nd Division, 41st Independent Regiment, 129th Independent Brigade, and 89th Infantry Division. The Japanese commander was Lieutenant General Tsutsumi Fusaki.
Initial reconnaissance was undertaken on 18 August by a detachment of the 113th Separate Rifle Brigade, carried by two mine trawlers to Rubetzu Bay on Iturup island. The landings on Iturup were continued by the 355th Rifle Division, which also landed on the smaller island of Urup.
On August 23, the 20,000-strong Japanese garrisons on the islands were ordered to surrender as part of the general surrender of Japan. However, some of the garrison forces ignored this order and continued to resist Soviet occupation.
From 22 to 28 August, troops of the Kamchatka Defense Area occupied the Kuril Islands from Urup north.
On 1 September, elements of the 87th Rifle Corps were landed by torpedo boats, mine trawlers and transports on Kunashir and Shikotan in the southern Kuril Islands. This was an assault landing against Japanese resistance. On 4 September, 87th Rifle Corps occupied five smaller islands.
After September 4, Soviet forces occupied the rest of the Kuril Islands without further resistance.
The islands remained part of Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, however their true legal status remains in question as part of the Kuril Islands dispute between Russia, Japan, and other parties.