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Planning of Japan invasion to USSR

USSR

KANTOKUEN, short for Kantogun Tokubetsu Enshu, which referred to Kwangtung Army Special Maneuvers, was an operational plan created by the Imperial Japanese Army. It was a plan to invade and occupy the far eastern region of the Soviet Union. The Imperial Japanese Army saw an opportunity after Nazi Germany’s attack of the Soviet Union to conquer it as well. It was the most exten sive Japanese military plan.
Part of the plan was to employ the heavy use of the chemical and biological weapons and to include seven Japanese armies to conquer the Soviet Union. According to the plan, the Imperial Japanese Army could defeat and destroy the Soviet Union within six months. 
​
Picture
Operational plan created by the Imperial Japanese Army.


Picture
US and Soviet sailors and seamen celebrating together on VJ Day

Picture
About 1,831,000 Soviet personnel have been awarded the Medal "For the Victory over Japan" since 30 September 1945.
However, Japan also needed to plan for its Southeast Asia attack, and the Japanese realized that Nazi Germany was not going to win Europe anytime soon, so decided to cancel the KANTOKUEN plan by September of 1941. However, they were set on their vision of employing biological weapons against the Soviet Union.
During an interrogation on December 6th, 1949, Zensaku confessed, “Being a veterinary surgeon, as a researcher, first in the 1st Section of the 2nd Division of the detachment, and later in the 6th Section of the same division formed in December 1943, I studied the action of glanders and anthrax germs, engaged in the breeding of these
germs, and took part in devising all sorts of methods of using these germs in bacteriological warfare. For this purpose, in July-August 1942, I took part in an expedition, called ‘summer maneuvers,’ in the area of Tryokhrechye.
The object of this expedition was to investigate the possibility of using anthrax and glanders germs under natural conditions approximating those in the area of anticipated hostilities—on the frontier of the Soviet Union. During this expedition, experiments were made in contaminating the river Derbul and water sources with glanders, and the soil and grass surface with anthrax. The germs for this purpose were cultivated in a field laboratory and tested on horses, sheep and guinea pigs.
From June 1944 onwards, I was with a group of researchers from Detachment 100 in North Khingan Province and, on the orders of the Command of the Kwantung Army, conducted reconnoitring operations for the purpose of gaining information on the whereabouts and number of cattle belonging to the inhabitants of the districts bordering on the Soviet Union and the Mongolian People’s Republic, on the condition of these cattle, the whereabouts of summer and winter pastures and hayfields, and the condition of the roads and water sources.
The Japanese Command needed this information in order, in the event of war against the Soviet Union, to carry out the wholesale infection of cattle as a means of bacteriological sabotage.

 As the Imperial Japanese soldiers were retreating in Central China, Unit 731 launched an expedition. As Karasawa testified about preparing for the expedition, “... An expedition against the Chinese troops was carried out in the middle of 1942, with General Ishii in charge. ... As a preliminary to this expedition, 130 kilograms of paratyphoid and anthrax bacteria were prepared under my direction, again on the orders of Major Suzuki. According to my information, fleas were also used as epidemic carriers in this expedition. ... To carry out the expedition, General Ishii left with a party for Central China, where the Japanese troops were retreating at that time. The members of the expedition took advantage of the retreat to disseminate bacteria in the abandoned territory in order to cause outbreaks of epidemic among the advancing Chinese troops.”

Book cover of
Buy Now

The Khabarovsk War Crimes Trial:
Unearthing Biological Warfare in WWII

The Khabarovsk War Crime Trial consisted of hearings held between the 25th and 31st of December, 1949.
The depositions alone filled 18 volumes with 400 pages of interrogations and documents gathered in the investigations four years after the war was over. Although there were 1000-1600 audience members each day for the trial, it was not covered by Western media because Khabarovsk was a remote destination for any foreigners to visit.
​
Although Harbin belonged to China, it always had close ties to Russia due to the close proximity of its location. Russia had enjoyed working in Manchuria as it provides ports with no ice and milder temperatures compared to their mother country. From 1896-1903, Harbin grew from a small village into a metropolitan city due to the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway financed by the Russian Empire and backed by French bankers. It was later extended to connect to the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Many Japanese saw great opportunities in Manchuria as it became a Japanese colony, and it offered more opportunities for power-hungry scientists. The conquest of Manchuria allowed the Japanese Empire to grow its confidence and let ultra-nationalistic officials take over the government. As an opportunist, Ishii seized this opportunity and used his family’s influence to obtain funding from the War Ministry to establish a biological weapons lab.


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  • Home
    • About >
      • FAQ's - Frequently Asked Questions
    • Support Us >
      • Projects you can support! >
        • Distributing Books
        • Presenting at 112th Annual Meeting of Pacific Coast Branch
        • Summer Research Relocation Fund
    • Contact
  • Stories
    • Videos >
      • Black Hearts (2021)
    • Blog
    • Podcast: Forgotten History
  • Internship
    • Summer 2023 Internship
    • Fall 2022 Internship
    • Summer 2022 Internship
    • Summer 2021 Internship
    • Fall 2020- Spring 2021 Internship
    • Summer 2020 Internship
    • Fall 2019 Internship
    • Summer 2019 Internship >
      • Public History Night
    • School Year 2018-2019 Internship
    • Summer 2018 Internship >
      • 2018 Summer Showcase + Fundraiser
    • Fall 2017 Internship
    • Summer 2017 Internship >
      • 2017 Summer Showcase & Fundraiser
  • Books
  • Archives
  • Resource Page
    • Supplementary Research Guides >
      • Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Background of Biochemical Warfare Development
        • Imperial Japan's Chemical Warfare Development Program
        • Map of Unit 731
        • Personnel of Unit 731
        • Duties of Unit 731
        • Human Experimentation
        • [GRAPHIC] Germ Warfare Attacks
        • Cover Ups After the War
        • [OLD] Cover Ups After the War
      • Philippines' Resistance - Guide >
        • Philippines World War II Timeline
        • The Japanese Invasion & Conquest of the Philippines
        • Bataan Death March
        • Formation of Underground Philippines Resistance
        • Supplies of the Guerrilla Fighters
        • The Hukbalahap
        • Hunter's ROTC
        • Marking's Guerrillas
        • United States Army Forces in the Philippines of Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL)
        • The Aetas
        • Chinese and Filipino-Chinese Nationalist Guerrilla Units
        • The Female Faces of the Philippine Guerrillas
      • Rising Sun Flag - Guide >
        • History of the Rising Sun Flag
        • Atrocities Committed Under the Flag
        • Rising Sun Flag in Pop Culture
      • Pinay Guerrilleras - Guide >
        • Japanese Occupation of the Philippine Islands: Pinays Answering the Call to Arms
        • The Fierce Heneralas and Kumanders of the Hukbalahap Guerrillas
        • Amazons of the Pacific Theater
        • Filipina American Veterans: Recovering the Extraordinary Feats of the Ordinary Pinays
        • The Legacy of the Asian Women Soldier
      • Fall of Singapore - Guide >
        • Singapore World War II Timeline
        • History of World War II in the Pacific
        • History of Singapore
        • Japan's Conquest in Asia
        • Japan's Invasion of the Malay Peninsula
        • Sook Ching Massacre
        • Double Tenth Incident
        • Social Changes and Challenges in Singapore
        • Voices from Syonan
        • Return to British Rule
      • Three Years and Eight Months - Guide >
        • Hong Kong before WW2
        • Buildup to World War 2
        • The Battle of Hong Kong
        • Life during 3 Years and 8 Months
        • East River Column Guerrilla Fighters
        • Prisoners of War Camps
        • End of Japanese Occupation
        • War Crimes Trials
      • Siamese Sovereignty - Guide >
        • The Land of Smiles
        • The Thai-Japanese Relationship
        • Phibun’s Domestic and International Policies
        • The Free Thai Resistance Movement
        • Post WW2 Aftermath of Thailand
      • The Khabarovsk War Crimes Trial - Guide >
        • Defendants of Khabarovsk War Crime
        • The Japanese Empire and USSR in WW2
        • The Employment of the Bacteriological Weapon in the War
        • Planning of Japan invasion to USSR
      • Unit 731 Cover-up : The Operation Paperclip of the East - Guide >
        • Establishing Manchukuo
        • The Development of Unit 731
        • Plan Kantokuen and Bacteriological Warfare
        • The Downfall of the Japanese WW2 Era
        • Three Stages of Interrogations
        • Lasting Impacts
      • Marutas of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • How did Ishii Shiro start unit 731?
        • A Beta Testing Site
        • Establishing Pingfan
        • Experiences at the Human Experimentation Complex
        • Vivisection at the Unit 731
        • Anta Testing Grounds
        • Overall Advance from the Laboratory Creations
        • The End of the War
      • Prince Konoe Memoir - Guide >
        • Who is Prince Konoe?
        • Preparation to Tripartite Pact
        • Emperor Hirohito and Prince Konoe
        • The End of Prince Konoe
      • Competing Empires in Burma - Guide >
        • What was the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • When did the China-Burma-India Theater Happen?
        • Who Fought in the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • The Second Sino Japanese War
        • Japan in the South
        • Operation U-Go
      • Battle of Shanghai - Guide >
        • The Battle of Shanghai. Background
        • Shanghai Before War
        • The First Battle of Shanghai 1932
        • Battle of Shanghai 1937
        • Aftermath of Battle for Shanghai
      • Ishi Shiro - Guide >
        • History of Biological Weapons and The Young Ishii Shiro
        • Establishment in Manchuria
        • Pingfang District - Harbin
        • Failures and Corruption
        • Post War
      • Taiwan The Israel of the East - Guide >
        • Background of Formosa
        • Industrialization of Japan
        • China During WWII
        • Taiwan under Kuomintang
        • New Taiwanese National Identity
      • Seeking Justice for Biological Warfare Victims of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Introduction of Wang Xuan
        • Colonel Memorandum
        • The Beginning of Biological Warfare
        • The Bacteriological Warfare on China
        • Victims in Zhejiang’s Testimonies
        • After the War
      • Rice and Revolution - Guide >
        • The French Colonial Period
        • Anti-Colonial Resistance
        • The Rise of the Communist Movement
        • Imperial Japan’s Entry into Indochina
        • The Portents of Famine
        • The Famine (1944-45)
        • Legacy of the 1944-45 Vietnam Famine
      • Clash of Empires - Guide >
        • Japan’s Imperialist Origins
        • Japan’s Competition against the West: Nanshin-ron and Hokushin-ron
        • Japanese Imperialism Through the Lens of French Indochina
        • The U.S.-Japan Relations and the Pearl Harbor Attack
    • Lesson Plans >
      • Reparations
      • Ethics in Science
      • Writing the Narrative of a Pinay Fighter
      • Privilege Journal
      • Environmental Injustices
      • Female Guerrillas
      • Hunter's ROTC
      • Scientific Advancements
      • Seeking Justice: A Humanities Lesson Plan
      • The Hukbalahap
      • Trading Immunity
      • Bataan Death March
      • Biochemical Warfare Development
Contribute