Marshal Vasilevsky had been in the Far East for a year, and in fact the Soviet Union was not completely unprepared for war against Japan, and as early as after the end of the Belarusian campaign, the Supreme High Command entrusted Vasilevsky with the task of making preliminary calculations for the build-up of Soviet troops along the Heilongjiang River, in the Primorsky region and in the Transbaikal region, and to determine the necessary materials for the war against Japanese imperialism.

Prior to the Battle of Berlin, the Far East operational plan had been approved by Moscow, and after the formal surrender of Germany, Vasilevsky was appointed commander-in-chief of the Soviet forces in the Far East, with command of the Transbaikal Front, the 1st Far Eastern Front, the 2nd Far Eastern Front, and the Pacific Fleet.

However, compared to the Soviet Union's ease on land, the sea power it relied on was only a drop in the bucket, and although Moscow suddenly increased its support for the Far East before and after the Battle of Berlin, the Soviet Union could only organize a force of 50,000 to 60,000 people.

Of course, the telegram that arrived in the hands of Marshal Vasilevsky at the same time also showed the determination of the base camp to do whatever it takes. He also said that the British fleet in Southeast Asia had arrived at night and would provide support for the landing operation.

For this reason, Marshal Vasilevsky changed the landing plan in the Kuril Islands and set his sights on Hokkaido, the second largest island in Japan, and in the Far East Command, Marshal Vasilevsky said to his subordinates, "If the intelligence is true, the number of Japanese troops in Hokkaido is really not much more than that of the defenders of the Kuril Islands." In the frontline of the Pacific battle, the US military has adopted a combat method called island hopping tactics, and it is more important for our maritime forces, which are already overstretched, to formulate clear offensive objectives and not waste military strength on worthless targets. ”

The island-hopping tactic is a tactic adopted by the U.S. military during the counterattack against Japan, not conquering each island one by one or sequentially, but attacking one by one, thus achieving the actual occupation of the attacked islands and forcing other islands to surrender without a fight.

Therefore, the Battle of Okinawa broke out, but the island was still under Japanese rule, because the island was the stronghold of the U.S. military's island-hopping tactics, occupying Okinawa to cut off the connection between the Japanese mainland and the island.

Marshal Vasilevsky, knowing Moscow's eagerness, abandoned the landing of the Kuril Islands and prepared to replicate the island-hopping tactics of the American army and attack Hokkaido.

"Although the objective conditions are insufficient, comrades do not need to be too anxious, and we also have favorable conditions, such as the telegram from Moscow, which also explains Japan's remarks about seeking peace. According to the analysis of the diplomatic comrades, Japan's attitude toward the Soviet Union was to avoid war and seek peace, while its attitude toward the United States should be to seek peace with war. ”

"Under the existing conditions, the core of the Far Eastern campaign, it is necessary to think of ways on the Korean Peninsula to supplement the lack of preparation for the Hokkaido front, the distance between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese mainland is not far, please remember a term, the Tsushima Strait."

As soon as Marshal Vasilevsky's words fell, there was a silence in the Far East Command, the Falklands Strait is the western edge of the North Pacific Ocean, the southwestern tip of the Japanese archipelago, and the waters between Tsushima Island and Ikishima Island. The Tsushima Strait stretches from northeast to southwest, with a length of about 200 kilometers, 40 kilometers at its narrowest point, and a depth of 100 meters. The continental shelf is well developed, and the bottom of the gorge is relatively gentle.

It was the site of the Imperial Japanese Navy's defeat of the Imperial Russian Navy at the Battle of Tsushima, but for Marshal Vasilevsky, the naval battle of decades ago was not what he was talking about.

The next thing is what he has to say, "Comrade Malinovsky, your mission is to attack Japanese-occupied Korea and rush all the way to the Korean Peninsula and the Tsushima Strait, the nearest to the Japanese mainland, and you don't care about anything else." Annihilate the Japanese forces on the peninsula, collect ships that can cross the sea on the peninsula, and decide whether to carry out the next operation according to the progress of the occupation. ”

"Understood, Vasilevsky ruled." Malinovsky, who was born in Ossad and is now the commander of the Transbaikal Front, arrived in the Far East only after the end of the European War, a year later than Marshal Vasilevsky.

After revising the battle plan, Marshal Vasilevsky placed the main target of the Transbaikal Front led by Marshal Malinovsky on the Korean Peninsula. Cover the Soviet attack on Hokkaido!

Leaving aside the impact of the Far East Command on the revision of the operational plan, the Potsdam Conference continued. Even Alan Wilson was still conducting black-box operations, and he originally thought that once the issue of war against Japan was decided, his work would be over.

Facts have proved that he, a civil servant in British India, is still relatively naïve about the problem of black-box operations, and as long as black-box operations are started once, they will inevitably be countless times.

Cabinet Secretary Edward Bridges shattered Alan Wilson's naivety in two sentences, and if the formal talks of the Potsdam Conference were not over for a day, there would be no reason for the private bargaining with the Soviet Union to end.

Seeing Alan Wilson's surprised look, Edward Bridges explained indifferently, "At the Munich Conference, this was the case, the negotiation object was changed, and the British Empire was still a party. ”

"But I don't have anything more to say, isn't the issue of war against Japan finished?" Alan Wilson smiled wryly, "You can't eat in front of a white wine bar with a Soviet woman every day." Isn't that a waste of national resources? ”

"Yes......" Edward Bridges acknowledged Alan Wilson's understanding of the waste of national resources, and gave encouragement, but answered the question without changing his original intention, "but we generally call it diplomatic ......"

Isn't that worldly? Alan Wilson couldn't cry or laugh, and said with a bitter face, "Sir Edward, I shouldn't have too much contact with the Soviets, I still want to improve, I want to improve too much." If, at the Potsdam Conference, I secretly conducted a covert operation with the Soviets, it would become known later, and it could cause problems for my future. ”

"All your actions are for the good of the British Empire, and all your words and deeds will be archived." Edward Bridges said unhurriedly, "There is no possibility of leakage, and no one can verify it." ”

"But elections are coming up, what if the next government knows?" Alan Wilson also knew that this kind of thing could not be talked about, so he deliberately lowered his voice.

"Is it the opposition that has come to power? What do you think our esteemed Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary say to the leaders of the initiative and the opposition? Betrayed the interests of loyal allies again? Rest assured, you are our people. Edward Bridges raised his eyebrows, raised his wrist and looked at the time, "I'll say you're dealing with the British occupation in the past few days, let's go." ”