Kuril Landing Operation of 1945

an operation for the liberation of the Kuril Islands during the war of the USSR against imperialist Japan. The operation was carried out from August 18 to September 1 by troops of the Kamchatka Defense Region (commanded by Major General A. R. Gnechko) and ships and amphibious craft of the Petropavlovsk Naval Base (commanded by Captain First Rank D. G. Ponomarev) with the support of the 128th Air Division.

The successful combat actions of the Soviet troops in Manchuria and on southern Sakhalin set the stage for the liberation of the Kuril Islands. The islands were occupied by the Japanese 91st Infantry Division (Shumshu, Paramushir, Onekotan, and Shiashkotan islands), the 41st Detached Regiment (Matua Island), the 129th Detached Brigade (Urup Island), and the 89th Infantry Division (Iturup and Kunashir islands and the Lesser Kuril Ridge). The northern group was commanded by Lieutenant General Tsutsumi Fusaki.

The operation opened with the landing of an amphibious party on Shumshu Island. Although the island’s garrison had the superiority in men and matériel, it surrendered on August 23. From August 22 to 28 the Soviet troops landed on the other islands in the northern part of the ridge, as far as Urup Island. Between August 23 and September 1 they occupied the islands of the southern part of the ridge.