Operation East Wind

### Outcome

Officially "scrapped"; unofficial Soviet victory:* Plotters behind Operation East Wind arrested
* Heavy losses inflicted on the Imperial Japanese occupation forces in Manchuria

## Commanders

### Allied Commanders

Soviet Union:* Joseph Stalin (1932-1934)

Division X:

* Vladimir Sabgaida
* Konstantin Petrov
* Pavel Svirin
* Kolya Dovzhenko
* Anatoly Voroshilov
* Katya Andropova
* Svetlana Tereshkova

### Opposition Commanders

Hirohito Shunroku Hata

Yasuji Okamura

Kotohito Kan'in

Naozaburo Okabe

Hayao Tada

Puyi

## Strength

### Allied Forces

Soviet Union Armed Forces:* Task Force Hydra

## Casualties and Losses

### Enemy casualties

At least 50,000 Imperial Japanese soldiersAt least 500,000 Collaborators

**Operation East Wind** (Russian: **Операция Восточный ветер**), also known as the East Wind Conspiracy (Russian: **Заговор Восточного Ветра**) or simply **Project East Wind** (Russian: **Проект Восточный ветер**), was a top-secret Soviet plan to provoke war against the Empire of Japan following the Soviet-Japanese Border conflicts between from 1932 to 1939, under the pretense of assisting Communist Chinese allies against the Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation of Manchuria, when it was really simply a long-winded plan of retribution against Japan for the Sino-Japanese Border Conflicts that occurred from 1932-1939. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was initially in league with the plotters, a secret cabal of Soviet politicians and military officers known as Task Force Hydra, but upon realizing the scale of the operation and its ultimate goal-the assassination of the Japanese Emperor himself-he immediately called for the operation to be scrapped. The outraged leaders of Division X feigned compliance initially, but in 1938 the leaders of Task Force Hydra secretly launched Operation East Wind behind Stalin's back, and the operation continued until 1943, when the KGB secretly ratted out the Division X plotters to Stalin, who promptly ordered everyone associated with East Wind arrested and the operation halted immediately. Unfortunately, his order came too late to some field agents of Task Force Hydra, which didn't receive the order until June 25, 1941, three days after the Nazi invasion of the USSR. Because of the blitzkrieg, Division X never knew that East Wind had been exposed to the Soviet government and continued fighting against the Imperial Japanese Army. When news of the order to halt East Wind finally reached Task Force Hydra handlers, they too went rogue; instead of complying and returning their field operatives to the USSR to face trial for "committing treason against the Motherland", the remaining Division X handlers instead gave orders to continue providing covert aid to the Communist Chinese forces under Mao Zedong in repelling the Japanese invasion, in addition to fighting Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalists. This lasted until late August, 1945, during the Soviet-Japanese War.

Operation East Wind was also believed to be the inspiration behind the scrapped Operation Downfall, the planned Allied invasion of the Japanese Home Islands (Japan itself) in 1945.

## Background

*For more information, see* Soviet-Japanese Border Conflicts *and the* Battles of Khalkhin Gol

Following the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, the Imperial Japanese Empire turned its military interests to Soviet territories that bordered those areas. The first major Soviet-Japanese border incident, the Battle of Lake Khasan, occurred in 1938 in Primorye. Clashes between Japanese and Soviet forces occurred frequently along the border of Manchuria.

In 1939, the puppet state of Manchukuo was established following the successful Japanese invasion. of Manchuria. Upon hearing news that Chinese forces were facing heavy losses there, a top secret cabal of Soviet politicians and military officers was formed to combat the Imperial Japanese occupation, known as Division X. Division X's existence was known to only a handful of Soviet government officials, including Joseph Stalin himself.

Ostensibly, Division X was formed to provide covert aid to Chinese Communist forces fighting against both the Imperial Japanese occupation of Manchuria and Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalists. However, all this was merely a smokescreen-a plan to divert the Imperial Japanese government's attention-for *Operation East Wind*, a conspiracy to assassinate Japanese emperor Hirohito in the hopes that his death would lead to the collapse of the Imperial Japanese Empire entirely.

## Funding

Funding for Operation East Wind came from Soviet commissars and future USSR leaders Leonid Brezhnev and Nikita Krushchev, along with Soviet Commissar Dima Letlev.