Siege of Hutou Fortress | |||||||
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Part of the Soviet invasion of Manchuria of World War II | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Soviet Union | Japan | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Nikanor Zakhvatayev | Tadashi Oki † | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
About 20,000 | About 2,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
All killed, deserted or surrendered |
In the closing stages of the Soviet–Japanese War during August 1945, the Japanese Kwantung Army maintained strong resistance at the Hutou Fortress. Despite fierce and suicidal Japanese resistance, the Red Army, with the support of local Chinese fighters, captured the fortress on August 26, 1945. This marked the end of one of the final campaigns of the Second World War.
Following the battle, Japan’s unconditional surrender occurred just 11 days later. Of the approximately 1,400 Japanese soldiers stationed at the fortress, only 53 survived. The significance of this battle was recognized in a 2009 study by the Social Science Academy of Heilongjiang Province, titled “The Final Battle of World War II”.[2][3][4]