"Once I saved the Japanese from the Chinese"
Zabaykalsky veteran - about service in China after the end of World War II
The victory over Japan, 70 years ago, put an end to World War II, was quick: it took the Red Army the entire 24 of the day to defeat the million Kwantung group. Having liberated northeastern China from the Japanese invaders, the forces of the Trans-Baikal Front until the spring of 1946 remained in the territory of this country. About what service was in China after the war and how the relationship with the local population evolved, the “Russian Planet” was told by the signalman of the Trans-Baikal Front Sergei Savelyevich Radionov.
“They are shot for bad communication, so learn seriously”
In August, 1941, I was summoned to the Krasnochikoye District Komsomol Committee. When I got there, there were about ten guys like me. The secretary of the district committee says: “Our military registration and enlistment office was given a distribution list for two-month courses of radio telecommunications operators in order to go to the front at the end of these courses. How do you feel about this? ”We say:“ Of course, we agree. ” - "Then let's go to the draft board."
They came to the military enlistment office, and they began to draw us out. It came to me, and the employee of the military registration and enlistment office said: “I cannot write you down. The age did not reach the draft. ” I say: "Do you think of something that I should go home now?" - "Well, if you write a statement as a volunteer, then please." And I wrote a statement that I voluntarily join the ranks of the Red Army. After we were sent home and told to appear in a day. I arrived, and they say to me: “You can go home, because there were a lot of volunteers”. And I answer: "Nothing of the kind, I wrote a statement in advance." In general, they agreed and sent me to Chita.
We brought communications to the garrison, on the basis of which the courses were organized, and we began to study. A fortnight later, the lieutenant appears. Also a radio operator, came from the front. He began to tell that the Germans are advancing rapidly. The commanders are angry, the connection is bad, and if any of the radio operators can not provide it, they can shoot on the spot. “Therefore,” he tells us, “learn seriously.”
After that, I began to really get serious and at the end of the course I entered the top ten best students. The courses ended, we were lined up on the ground and they say: "By order of Stalin, the graduates of the courses remain at the disposal of the Trans-Baikal Military District." A day after that, representatives of the units began to arrive and disassemble us. We, excellent students, were hidden from them in order to leave for themselves. In the garrison, a communications battalion was organized, which served the headquarters of the military district, to which I myself was. Began to serve. For the first year he became a corporal, for the second he became a sergeant. Then I was sent to the village of Hadabulak, where the training headquarters of the front was located. When I arrived there, I was told that front hydrometeorological station was being organized here and I would be responsible for radio communications, the collection of meteodata and radio sounding.
“There was no hostility from the Japanese”
When the war with Japan began, we moved to Chinese territory with our headquarters. First they stopped in Bayan-Tumen in Mongolia, then they moved to Tamtsag-Bulak and eventually ended up in Changchun, China. They occupied the former headquarters of the Kwantung Army. The war ended, but we stayed there.
One day in February, 1946, as a foreman, was sent to Harbin with a chauffeur to get a car and drive it to Changchun. We arrived, got a car and brought it to the station. Loaded onto the platform, secured and began to think how to drive us. It is dark outside, the frost is strong, you will not go in the cab of the car. We went along the train, we saw smoke coming from one car. Knocked. We were discovered by the Chinese, who were bringing coolies with cereals, pasta and flour. Among them was an elderly Chinese about sixty and three or four young. They were going to Mukden. I assumed that this is a Chinese merchant carrying products for sale.
We began to interpret that we were accompanying the car and we needed to get to Changchun. They gladly accepted us, and we went. In the morning the train stopped. Nothing around. Suddenly, several people outside opened the door and burst into the car. We understood that they were bandits. We had rifles and a driver with us, and we started shooting over our heads. They, of course, were frightened and retired. We closed the door, waited an hour and went to the locomotive. Not reaching the head of the seventy meters, I noticed an ice track - it means that the engineer drained the water. We are approaching, but the machinist has extinguished the furnace and shows that there is no water and cannot go.
We realized that, most likely, the robbery of this merchant was organized, and we prevented this. We took the driver and walked to the nearest station. They passed him there and told him what was the matter. Then another locomotive came and dragged our train to the station. The Chinese merchant began to treat and thank us for saving him. I bought a bottle of local vodka - called Khanshin. It smelled very unpleasant. He put the glasses on the table - small as thimbles. My chauffeur looked, looked, then dared it all off the table, brings the Chinese to the counter and points to a bottle of whiskey. Well, what to do? Bought.
Of course, it was possible to communicate with the Japanese. We had normal relations - there was no hostility. Here the Chinese were very angry with them, and once I even saved the Japanese from the Chinese. Not far from the location of our unit was the police station. And I got acquainted with the local policemen, came to them sometimes. Once I came, and they caught two Japanese somewhere on the street, dragged them to the station and let's beat them up. I decided to intervene, robbed these Japanese from the police and released them.
Signaller of the headquarters of the Trans-Baikal Front Sergei Savelyevich Radionov. Photo: Matvey Zhurbin / "Russian Planet"
Some Japanese women engaged in prostitution. Many of them lost their jobs and traded. There was such a case. The firewood was bad, and I found out that in the former Japanese arsenal all the weapons had been taken out, but there were wooden decking from the bars. And we decided to go there to ask them for firewood. We did not get to the arsenal from a mile away, we see that a soldier is walking. We stopped, and I asked him where he was going. He replied that he was going to guard the arsenal. We told him that we would like to receive these firewood floorings. He says: "If you take the Japanese women out of our unit, then I will load you."
We loaded the car with a bar, our shiftman sat down to us, and we went to their unit. We arrived, put four Japanese women in our car. One in the cabin sat down to show the way, and the rest in the body. We brought them right to the center of Changchun. They came out, and then a military man with the rank of captain came up to the car and said: “Who is the oldest in the car?” I say: “I”. - "What are you doing?! You're *** (prostitutes. - RP) deliver! You will go to court! ”He told me off, and I explained to him why I had to drive them. He says: “Only in your youth I will not bother with you. But keep in mind that you can thunder for it. "
Once we conducted an anti-operational struggle there. After all, in the Soviet Union, the exploitation of man by man was considered a disgrace. And we saw that the Chinese, harnessed to the shafts, were carrying a cart, and there was a Chinese woman in it. We were indignant: how is it that a person’s person is lucky? Stopped them, they said that the Chinese woman got off. She went out, and her legs were disfigured. Rewind them so that they were small. They thought it was beautiful. And she has such feet, she can't even stand on them properly. Then we allowed to drive it further.
Once we were sent with another soldier to Harbin. We walk through the city and see the inscription in Russian: "Tea, milk." We decided to go. It turned out to be a small cafe, which was managed by a Chinese, and a Japanese woman worked as a waitress. Beautiful, although the figure is not visible: she was wearing some kind of baggy dress. I show her that she is beautiful, only the clothes are not very. She brought a phrase book, and we began to communicate. And my friend says: “Listen, if you liked her, let's take her to Changchun. We'll arrange a sewing room there, and you will be friends with her. ” Let me woo her in this phrase book. And she almost agreed, but said that she needed to talk to her mother and brothers. And the Chinese, the owner of the cafe, became alert. Apparently, he did not want to let her go. We agreed that she would come in the evening and she would give an answer. They came, but she refused, said she could not leave relatives.
For looting or cruelty towards the locals we were punished severely. That was the case. We came to the Chinese shop, we saw radio tubes. Began to watch them and bargain with the Chinese. Suddenly comes such a boss - fattened, in leather. Not a chase, he has nothing. The Chinese asks: "These?" The Chinese nods his head. The boss opens the door and says: “Patrol! Come here. Take these to the first commandant's office. ” Brought us there. Let's interrogate, but we can not understand anything. They say: “Why do you engage in looting?” We answer that we have not done anything like that. They search us, and we have nothing. They called a translator - a Russian boy of about twelve, and a Chinese teenager came from a shop. The Chinese man argues that we threatened them, and the Russian stood up for us, shouting: “He's lying, lies!” In the end, they didn’t get anything from us, took him to the main commandant’s office and put him in a cell. The next morning the lieutenant came from our unit, and we were released. And still they could not understand: why did they arrest us?
Came to the location of the part, and then everything turned out. With us in the shop was Sergeant Fukin, who got hold of a Mauser somewhere and walked with him all the time. He saw that we were bargaining with the Chinese, and decided to "help." The Mauser showed from behind our backs to the Chinese that he sell us cheaper. A Chinese boy sent to the commandant's office. Fukin himself showed the gun and came out of the shop, and we were raked.
"Domestic not brought up"
During my service in Changchun, I managed to see various famous people. Once, the commander said: “Major General Belyakov, who flew with Chkalov to America across the North Pole, will come here now. He organizes radio beacons and will come to your radio station to listen to how they work. ” Here he came, I told him that the radio station was ready, he listened and left. That's how I saw the famous pilot.
On another occasion, I lead my department from lunch. Suddenly I see the bosses going to meet me - they sparkle with stripes and round band. Looked closer, and this is Marshal Malinovsky and a member of the military council of the front, Lieutenant General Tevchenkov. I even became frightened and decided that now I would give the command: "Equalization to the left". I will take a visor and go. But, not reaching ten meters from us, Malinovsky waves his hand to me so that I come up. I jump up to him and report: "Comrade Marshal of the Soviet Union, a group of fighters follows from lunch." He asks me: “Why do you have part of the fighters in trophy uniforms?” The fact is that part of the old servicemen had already been demobilized by that time and we didn’t have enough people. And we were allowed to take people from an artillery regiment. We went and took about seven people, and they were in Japanese uniform. I say: "The Patriotic has not yet been brought up!" He looked at me, waved his hand and walked on.
In 1946, the headquarters was transferred from Changchun to Khabarovsk. Then he was disbanded, and I got to the city of Bikin in the Red Banner Harbin Artillery Brigade. And there he served before the demobilization in March 1947 of the year.
Information