Karafuto was the Japanese-controlled
southern half of Sakhalin Island, just north of Hokkaido.
The major port was Otomari. The island was governed by
the Ministry of Colonial Affairs until late 1942, when the latter was
absorbed into the new created Greater
East Asia Ministry and Karafuto became an integral part of the
Japanese home islands.
On 11 August 1945, the Russians
launched a major attack on
Karafuto from nothern Sakhalin. 1 Far East Front intended to use
Karafuto as a springboard for an invasion of Hokkaido, but
met furious resistance that could not be overcome before 3 September
1945. The combination of fanatical resistance from the Japanese and diplomatic pressure from Truman, based on provisions of
the Potsdam agreement placing Hokkaido within the American occupation zone,
prevented Russian occupation of Hokkaido.
References
Frank (1999)
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