Fear of Soviet military power After the end of
World War II, human history entered the Cold War period (1947-1991). The United States and the Soviet Union, which once fought together against fascism, became enemies and launched an arms race for more than 40 years. However, Japan, once an enemy of the United States, became an ally of the United States after the war, and became an outpost for the United States to defend against the Soviet Union in the Far East. After the outbreak of the Cold War, in order to counter the Soviet Union, the United States spared no effort in arming the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, providing the Japanese Self-Defense Forces with all modern equipment except offensive weapons.
So, why did Japan, backed by the United States, fear the Soviet Union for more than 40 years?
The Shackles of the Peace Constitution One of
Japan 's favorite things to do is sneak attacks. For example, in February 1904, the Japanese navy attacked the Russian Pacific Fleet base stationed in Lushunkou, China, provoking the Russo-Japanese War. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese navy attacked Pearl Harbor, launching the Pacific War.
However, by the end of World War II, Japan had become a defeated nation, disbanding its entire army. On November 3, 1946, Japan promulgated the "Constitution of Japan", also known as the "Constitution of Peace". With the shackles of the "Peace Constitution", Japan no longer dared to attack the Soviet Union as it did during the Russo-Japanese War and take the initiative to launch a war against the Soviet Union. The rapid development of the Soviet military force made Japan feel the enormous pressure of the thorns in the back.
The Soviet Union concentrated a large number of
troops in the Far East In order to safeguard its interests in the Far East, the Soviet Union deployed a large number of troops and nuclear strike forces in the Far East. The total number of Soviet troops in the Far East alone is 700,000, with 10,000 tanks and at least 10,000 large-caliber artillery and rocket launchers.
The strength of the Soviet Air Force in the Far East should not be underestimated. During the Korean War, there were 6,500 aircraft in the Soviet Far East's air and naval aviation. During the same period, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force had not yet been formed. The Soviet Union also has Figure 22M backfire bombers, which have the strength to sink American aircraft carriers. At the height of the Cold War, the Tu-22M Backfire bombers posed a direct threat to the Japanese mainland.
By the mid-to-late 1950s, the Soviet Union began to fully expand its naval power. The Pacific Fleet also became an important symbol of the expansion of the Soviet navy. The Type 1144 guided missile cruiser of the Pacific Fleet has a full-load displacement of 25,000 tons and has about 400 missiles. It can be called an "arsenal ship". of large surface ships. The 1144-type missile cruiser not only has an advanced three-dimensional air defense system, but also a P700 granite anti-ship missile launcher, which can directly destroy the warships of the US Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
All in all, the Soviet Union has the ability to carry out unilateral strategic bombing of the Japanese mainland, seize sea power and blockade the Japanese mainland. Aircraft in the Soviet Far East can fully participate in the battle for air supremacy with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. Japan, which lacks strategic bombers, is not an opponent of the Soviet Union at all.
Losing sea and air dominance, all the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force can do is to defend the homeland. However, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force is a newly formed army team after the war. It lacks not only soldiers with actual combat experience, but also the Bushido spirit of the Japanese army during World War II. Once the mechanized troops of the Soviet Army landed in Japan with the cooperation of the Soviet Navy and Air Force, and the Soviet airborne troops were airborne in Japan, even the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces would be useless to resist.
Japan has a natural fear of the Soviet Union. Put
aside the comparison of military strength, and then speak with historical facts. The Soviet army defeated the Japanese army in the Battle of Nomenkan during World War II, stabilized the situation in the Far East, and annihilated the Japanese Kwantung Army in the Battle of the Far East, and escorted hundreds of thousands of Japanese prisoners of war to Siberia as coolies. The Japanese army was defeated by the Soviet army, and they endured the freezing weather in the prisoner of war camp in far East Siberia. Japan's national character of bullying the soft and afraid of the hard is reflected. So during the Cold War, Japan succumbed to the United States, which defeated it in naval battles and dropped atomic bombs on it, and the Soviet Union, which defeated it during World War II.
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