Local residents unearthed bodies buried in the ground at the site of damage in Ikebukuro caused by the Johoku air raid on Tokyo in April 1945.On April 13-14, 1945, a large area from Toshima-ku to Kita-ku and Arakawa-ku was set ablaze, killing more than 2,400 people.

 　At the damaged site in Ikebukuro caused by the Johoku air raid of the Great Tokyo Air Raid, local residents exhumed bodies buried in the ground in April 1945. In the Johoku Air Raid, one of the five major air raids on Tokyo, from late at night on April 13 to early morning on April 14, 1945, a wide area centered on Toshima Ward, including Kita and Arakawa wards, was set ablaze, killing more than 2,400 people. Ikebukuro was a localized downtown area in Toshima Ward.

　The air raid that hit the northwest area of Tokyo from late at night on April 13, 1945 to early the next morning on April 14, 1945 scorched most of Ikebukuro and other areas in Toshima Ward, causing tremendous damage and deep grief. The number of victims was 161,661, or approximately 70% of the population at the time. Many of the victims of the Tokyo Air Raid were buried in a corner of Minami Ikebukuro Park, which was called "Nezuyama" at the time. Hundreds of air raid victims were temporarily buried in the wooded area known as Nezuyama.

　In the April 13-14 Johoku air raid, the U.S. Army targeted the Army Ordnance Plant in Oji Ward. In fact, residential areas to the south, including Toshima, Takinogawa, and Arakawa wards, were destroyed by fire. A total of 328 B-29s from various American armies dropped 2,038 tons of incendiary bombs and 82 tons of bombs. The number of houses affected was approximately 170,000, and the number of people affected was approximately 640,000. The death toll was 2,450 according to the Metropolitan Police Department, and 1,661 according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

　From 23:00 on April 13 to April 14, Johoku Air Raid bombed Toshima Ward, Shibuya Ward, Mukojima, Fukagawa, and other areas. The U.S. forces bombed the area with 352 aircraft, 81.9 tons of bombs, and 2,037 tons of incendiary bombs, for a total tonnage of 2.140 tons. The air raid resulted in 200,277 war-damaged houses, an affected population of 666,986, 2,459 dead, and 4,746 injured.

During the Hong Kong Plague of 1894, a seriously ill Hong Kong citizen patient infected with the plague lay in a glass factory in Kennedy Town. The plague patient was housed in a temporary hospital in the glass factory.

 　During the Hong Kong Plague of 1894, a seriously ill Hong Kong citizen patient infected with the plague lay in a glass factory in Kennedy Town. The plague patients were housed in a facility that used the glass factory as a temporary hospital. There were six contraceptive hospitals (hospitals specializing in infectious diseases) in Hong Kong; on May 14, Kennedy Town Hospital was opened as a temporary hospital for the Kennedy Town Police Station; on May 21, the Glass Factory Hospital was established in Kennedy Town; on May 22, the Glass Factory Hospital was opened in Kennedy Town; on May 23, the Glass Factory Hospital was opened in Kennedy Town; on May 24, the Glass Factory Hospital was opened in Kennedy Town. The photo shows a different hospital from the Kennedy Town Hospital. Pathological autopsies were performed in a shed in a corner of the Kennedy Town Hospital, a hospital specializing in infectious diseases.

　The Hong Kong Plague of 1894 was part of the third plague pandemic that swept through Hong Kong. The plague caused its most devastating deaths in 1894 and recurred every year from 1895 to 1929, killing a total of more than 20,000 people, with a fatality rate of over 93%. Hong Kong was overcrowded with poor ventilation, drainage, and sanitation services. The plague was a major turning point in the history of colonial Hong Kong, forcing the colonial government to reconsider its policies toward the Chinese community and invest in the well-being of the Chinese people.

　The most violent epidemic occurred between 1347-50, claiming the lives of 25 million people, one-third of the population of Europe. Shibasaburo Kitasato, who had traveled to Hong Kong by order of the Meiji government, was in Hong Kong on June 14, 1894, the moment he unmasked the plague that had plagued mankind and taken so many lives over the years. The plague returned to southern China in 1894 and began to rage in Hong Kong. In the microscopic field of view of the blood of plague patients, a characteristic bacterium was recognized. The plague transformed itself into a visible germ. The results were published on June 18, after the pathogen had been determined by Koch's four principles. Published in the August 11 issue of the renowned medical journal The Lancet, Kitasato Shibasaburo's results became known around the world. The plague that raged in Hong Kong finally reached Kobe five years later in 1899. Shibasaburo Kitasato passed the Contagious Disease Prevention Law in 1897, and in 1899 the plague was added to the Port Opening Quarantine Law.

Japanese troops entered the Chinese city of Nanjing on December 12, 1937, and by January 13, 1938, the water problem had become so severe that water was cut off and people could not even wash their clothes. The swamps were contaminated by the dead bodies of Nanjing residents being thrown into them.

 　The massacre broke out after the Japanese military entered the Chinese city of Nanjing from December 12, 1937. Nanking was subsequently devastated, and as of January 13, 1938, water problems became serious. The water was cut off and it was impossible to do laundry. The swamps, or marshes, were contaminated by the dead bodies of Nanjing people being thrown into them, and the situation in Nanjing on January 13, 1938 was such that telephones, telegraphs, mail, buses, cabs, and power cars all ceased to function. The water supply was stopped, and electricity was only available inside the embassy, and only on the ground floor. The British Embassy is still without electricity. 

　Traffic in Nanjing is paralyzed because the Chinese have burned the outside of the city walls and most of the city has been burned to the ground by the Japanese military. No one lives there now. About 200,000 refugees are being housed in the safety zone, a former residential area. Huddled together in houses and garden sheds, the people of Nanjing live out their days. Some 600 refugees are housed in some of the larger areas, and they are not allowed to leave. The Japanese military ordered that the protection of the refugees be taken over by a newly established self-governing committee, and that the rice sales office be closed. 

　The streets outside the Nanjing Safety Zone were deserted and the abandoned houses looked desolate. Chinese women suffered so badly that they could not even see. Food shortages have reached their limits. People in the safe zone have already resorted to horse and dog meat. The safety zone, unauthorized by the Japanese military, was organized by Chairman Rabe and became the last refuge for Chinese non-combatants. The Japanese military units had lost control. The way man wages war would probably not have made much difference if the positions of the Japanese and Chinese had been reversed, especially if there were people to instigate it. In the occupied areas, both in the city of Nanjing and in the countryside, crops were rotting in the fields. It was forbidden to go near the fields in the city of Nanjing, because in the countryside the inhabitants had either fled or been killed. Vegetables, potatoes, turnips, and everything else have all gone bad, and hunger is widespread. 

On January 11, 2024, a family, including a child, was killed in an Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Relatives Palestinians mourned over the bodies at the morgue in Rafah, southern Gaza.

　　On January 11, 2024, a family, including a child, was killed in an Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Relatives Palestinians mourned over the bodies in front of the morgue in Rafah, southern Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry reported that 112 Palestinians were killed in Israeli military attacks in the past 24 hours since January 11, bringing the death toll to 23,469. Nine Palestinians were killed and others wounded when Israeli forces bombed a house in the Shawqa neighborhood of Rafah in the evening.

　The UN's highest court opened a hearing on South Africa's claim, filed by South Africa on January 11, that the war between Israeli forces and Hamas militants constitutes genocide against the Palestinian people. The Israeli military strongly denies this allegation. South Africa has ordered the International Court of Justice to immediately halt Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

　Israeli military operations in Gaza have recently concentrated on the southern city of Khan Younis and an urban refugee camp in the heart of the region. In recent days, hundreds of people have been killed in attacks across the territory, including in the southernmost areas where Israeli forces told people to evacuate; on January 11, Israeli forces put lives in serious danger by issuing new mandatory evacuation orders for residents of the al-Mawashi neighborhood and other neighborhoods in southern Gaza to move to Deir al-Balah.

　The October 7, 2023 Hamas attack from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel that triggered the war killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages of the militants. Israel said the attack amounted to a war crime. According to the Ministry of Health in Hamas-controlled Gaza, Israeli airstrikes, ground and sea attacks killed more than 23,000 people, 70% of them women and children. This number does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. According to the Israeli military, 184 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,085 Israeli soldiers have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the ground operation began on October 7.

Warning: Palestinians mourn their relatives, including kids killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, outside a morgue in Rafah, southern Gaza, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

NAVY PHOTOGRAPHER PICTURES SUFFERING AND RUINS THAT RESULTED FROM ATOM BOMB BLAST IN HIROSHIMA, JAPAN. BLAST VICTIMS LIVE IN For FLY-INFESTED HOSPITAL IN BANK BUILDING.

 　　　　　　　

　　　　Undisclosed photos of Japanese

 　　　　　　　A-bomb survivors

　　　U.S. Atomic Bomb Surveys

The National Archives College Park, Maryland

　　　　　　　　　　February 22, 2024

                       SC-473741            　　　　　　　

U.S. NAVY NO. 80G 473741

COPY NEGATIVE

TR-15627

No.473741 Sept. 1945

SUBJECT:

CAPTION:

NAVY PHOTOGRAPHER PICTURES SUFFERING AND RUINS THAT

RESULTED FROM ATOM BOMB BLAST IN HIROSHIMA, JAPAN.

BLAST VICTIMS LIVE IN For FLY-INFESTED HOSPITAL IN BANK BUILDING.

LOCATION: HIROSHIMA, JAPAN

PHOTOGRAPHER: MILLER WAYNE, LI. 

TAKEN BY (UNIT)

LOCAL NO:TR 15627

CLASSIFICATION: RELEASED

During the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific War, Japanese soldiers who survived capture by US forces were forced to bury the bodies of their fellow Japanese soldiers killed in action in the ground.

　　During the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific War, Japanese soldiers who survived capture by US forces were forced to bury the bodies of fellow Japanese soldiers killed in action in the ground. Because of the rapid decomposition of corpses on the South Pacific islands, they were usually simply dug out and buried in mass graves without identification. American soldiers had to be bagged and Japanese soldiers had to be buried underground as soon as possible. Pests stripped all flesh from the corpses in a surprisingly short time. Overwhelmed by the heat and rain, the Marines buried the bodies after the battle was over, sometimes months later. As there was no one left on the Japanese side, the bodies were left to fall. Skeletons still survive today. After killing so many Japanese, the Americans dug a trench with bulldozers and pushed the corpses of the Japanese soldiers into it as one large mass grave.

　After about a week of fighting in the northern part of Iwo Jima, where Japanese forces had practically established a garrison in the mountains, the Battle of Iwo Jima, which broke out on 19 February 1945, ended on 25 March with a final banzai attack by about 300 Japanese soldiers. The US forces suffered many casualties, but eventually subdued the Japanese attack. The US forces declared Iwo Jima occupied the following day. American troops spent weeks roaming the jungles of Iwo Jima, finding and killing remaining Japanese soldiers who refused to surrender and chose to continue fighting, and taking some of the surrendered Japanese soldiers as prisoners of war. 2 remaining Japanese soldiers finally surrendered on 2 January 1949, almost four years after the end of World War II. They continued to hide in caves on Iwo Jima, continuing to scavenge food and supplies until they finally surrendered on 2 January 1949, almost four years after the end of World War II.

　On Iwo Jima, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare discovered two mass graves in October 2010 that may have held the remains of up to 2,000 Japanese soldiers buried there. Almost all of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers tasked with defending the rugged volcanic rocky mountain were killed in the battle. The Battle of Iwo Jima claimed the lives of 6,821 American and 21,570 Japanese soldiers. Dozens of remains are recovered each year, but some 12,000 Japanese are still classified as missing and were estimated to have died on Iwo Jima, along with 218 Americans.

The bodies of Mara Dieciocho members killed in a prison riot are brought in from El Hoyon prison in Escuintla, Guatemala, South America, on August 15, 2005

　　The bodies of Mara Dieciocho members killed in a prison riot are brought in from El Hoyon prison in Escuintla, Guatemala, South America, on August 15, 2005. The Guatemalan gang attacked each other with knives, firearms, and grenades in seven prisons across the country, killing at least 31 inmates, government officials said. Eighteen bodies, all riddled with gunshot wounds, were brought in from El Hoyon prison. The riot began with an attack on a gang rival; El Hoyon prison, which houses 400 gang suspects, was opened in an old police barracks after 14 inmates were killed in a gang riot at another prison in December 2002.

　Gangs of inmates in Guaterama's prisons have increased in size and intensity of their access to and use of firearms. On the supply side, the stronger, larger, and wealthier gangs developed extensive contacts and bribe relationships with corrupt guards. They had more economic resources to pay bribes and more outside associates with access to weapons. On the demand side, both gangs and individuals sought guns for defensive purposes. In addition, gangs of inmates took advantage of the prison-wide mayhem that firearms caused. Riots provided escape and settlement opportunities, incarceration provided protection and time-building, and hostage-taking led to negotiations and improved prison conditions. The more resources gangs had, the more they could leverage violence and disorder in strategic ways.

　Outside of prison, as with other gangs and criminal organizations, they relied on firearms and armed violence. They used armed force and prison insurance to induce cooperation from outside members and sympathizers. By coordinating the actions of dozens to hundreds of outside gang members, the destructive power of a given arsenal was dramatically expanded. To procure weapons, prison gangs established strong connections with a network of corrupt bureaucrats and other illicit small arms suppliers who could exercise power beyond their walls.

　The problem in many shootings is not the absolute number of weapons available, but the manner in which they are used. For prison gangs, the potential impact of small arms inventories depended critically on the management organization. With firearms smuggled into the prisons, armed individuals inflicted deadly violence and protected themselves from violence. Conversely, they could be tipped off, subdued by the group, or simply found. The same firearms could be used by gangs to quickly dominate and slaughter members of rival gangs who had only knives, allowing them to strategically exploit prison-wide mayhem.

Bodies of Iranian soldiers killed by Iraqi forces in the Iran-Iraq War, near the Iraqi capital Baghdad, after fighting in Al-Beida, Iraq, on 29 February 1984, were scattered.

　　The Bodies of Iranian soldiers killed by Iraqi forces in the Iran-Iraq War, near the Iraqi capital Baghdad, after fighting in Al-Beida, Iraq, on 29 February 1984, are scattered. The Iran-Iraq War broke out in 1980 and lasted until 1988 due to disputes over border disagreements. The Iraqi pre-emptive invasion began on 11 February 1984, the fifth anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, when a large-scale offensive broke out from the central and soft parts of the country.

　The Iran-Iraq war lasted almost eight years, from the outbreak of fighting on 22 September 1980 until 20 August 1988. The two countries' war originated directly from issues such as territorial disputes, interference in internal affairs and the exportation of the Islamic Revolution. At the root of the conflict, there are also Arab-Persian rivalries, religious issues and other points of contention, and the conflict between the two countries has deep roots. The Arab countries referred to it as the First Gulf War.

　In July 1987, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 598 calling for an immediate ceasefire and other measures in the Iran-Iraq war. Peace efforts led by the UN Secretary-General continued, with Iran accepting the resolution on 18 July 1988 and Iraq accepting it immediately after its adoption; a ceasefire took place on 20 August and direct negotiations between the two countries under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General took place from 25 August, making significant progress towards a ceasefire.

  The major war between Iran and Iraq set the scene for widespread and enduring regional dynamics. The conflict, which erupted in September 1980 when Saddam Hussein invaded Iran and reached a stalemate in 1988, was the first major military test for the emerging Islamic Republic of Iran. It came just a year after the 1979 Iranian Revolution and was an existential struggle for the Iranian leadership. The Iran-Iraq war claimed at least one million lives.

On March 1, 1932, Colonel Daihachi Hayashi, commander of the 7th Infantry Squadron, 6th Brigade, 9th Infantry Division of the Japanese Army, which invaded Shanghai, was killed by Chinese troops and killed in action during the First Shanghai Incident of January 28, 1932. Japanese soldiers carried Colonel Hayashi Daihachi's body on a stretcher.

　　On March 1, 1932, Colonel Daihachi Hayashi, commander of the 7th Infantry Squadron of the 6th Brigade of the 9th Infantry Division of the Japanese Army that invaded Shanghai, was killed by Chinese troops in the battle of the 1.28 Incident, the name given to the First Shanghai Incident. Japanese soldiers carried the body of Colonel Hayashi Daihachi on a stretcher. The body of Japanese Colonel Hayashi, who was killed by the Nationalist Revolutionary Army's Nineteenth Route Army in Jiangwan, Shanghai, was recovered by the Japanese Army's medical unit. Colonel Hayashi Daihachi was posthumously promoted to major general, becoming the first Japanese general to be killed in action against China.

　Hayashi Daihachi came to northeastern China in 1914 and was appointed to the Army Department of the Governor-General of Kanto in September 1918. in 1924, Lieutenant Colonel Hayashi Daihachi was sent by the Japanese Army to the Mukden Warlords as an advisor to the Jilin Army Governor-General. in 1930, Hayashi Daihachi participated in the planning of the Manchurian Incident, 9.18 Incident, by Itagaki Shojiro and others, the perpetrators. Without the merit of working with Itagaki and others in the Manchurian Incident, he returned to Japan on May 31, 1931, and was transferred to the 1st Division Headquarters. on August 1, 1931, Hayashi was promoted to colonel and became commander of the 7th Infantry Group, 6th Infantry Brigade, 9th Division, Japanese Army, and after the first Shanghai Incident, known as the 1.28 Incident, in early 1932, the 9th Division was deployed to the Shanghai front as reinforcements. Having missed the September 18 Incident, Lin Daihachi continued to rush to the front until he was arrogantly killed in action in order to achieve battle results in the January 28 Incident.

　On March 1, 1932, the 9th Division of the Japanese Army launched a third general offensive to settle the war just before the League of Nations Conference on March 3 and to prepare for the landing of the 11th Division, which came as reinforcements. At 11:00 a.m., the 7th Infantry Company led by Hayashi Daihachi, as the left wing company, launched a surprise attack on the Jiangwan Township area with tanks in advance, attacking in the direction of the Maiwanzhai and Lujiazhai lines. At 6:30 a.m. on March 1, the Japanese Navy Air Corps in front of the left wing of the Chinese positions conducted an air attack. At 8:30 a.m., Japanese artillery units focused their fire on the left forward flank of the Chinese positions. At 11:00 a.m., after the Japanese artillery ceased its concentrated bombardment, two companies joined the attack on the left flank. Kenkichi Ueda, commander of the Japanese 9th Division, climbed the clock tower of the Ewan Racecourse himself at 9:00 a.m. to get a bird's-eye view of the battlefield.

　On March 1, 1932, the Japanese conducted a fierce air raid and artillery bombardment in the direction of the attack, but were unable to overwhelm the Chinese troops defending their positions. Just under the watchful eye of Kenkichi Ueda, the second-in-command, Daihachi Hayashi, was killed in action as soon as the attack began. According to internal Japanese military documents, after the attack began at 11:00 a.m. on March 1, Hayashi Daihachi led his troops to attack the Chinese positions in front of the left flank, where they were met with firm resistance from the Chinese troops. At 11:25 a.m., a bullet inflicted a penetrating wound to Lin Daihachi's abdomen. At 11:25 a.m., a bullet inflicted a penetrating wound to the abdomen of Lin Dai Yaohao. While on the ground, Daihachi Hayashi shouted "Japanese flag, advance! Thereafter, Hayashi Daihachi was evacuated unconscious and died at 13:00 p.m. on March 1, 1932, in his rear position. Hayashi Daihachi became the first Japanese general to be promoted to major general since the Japanese invasion of China and the first Japanese general to be killed by Chinese soldiers and civilians during the 14-year war against Japan.

 

On the Western Front of World War II, French resistance fighters captured near Amiens in 1941 while attempting to destroy telephone lines leading to German headquarters were prepared to be shot to death.

　　On the Western Front of World War II, in 1941, French resistance fighters captured near Amiens in an attempt to destroy telephone lines leading to German headquarters were prepared to be shot. Such was the end that awaited many of the maquis captured by the German occupying forces. by the Germans who occupied France at a firing range in Vincennes, France. One of the 30,000 Frenchmen executed as hostages of the resistance was executed by firing squad.

　The Maquis were a rural guerrilla group of French and Belgian resistance fighters. During World War II, the Maquis were referred to as the Marquises by the German military government in occupied France. Initially they were captured by the Forced Labor Service, which provided forced labor to Germany by Vichy France, and organized into increasingly active resistance groups to avoid deportation to Germany. in March 1944, as the Allies gained the upper hand, the Maquis intensified their activities. in the fall of 1943, an estimated 25,000 to 40,000 members; in June 1944 there were approximately 10,000 members.

  The French Resistance, an organization that fought the Nazi occupation and the communist Vichy regime from its inception on June 22, 1940, when France was occupied, operated in France during World War II. Charles de Gaulle appealed to the French people from his London-based government-in-exile, Free France, on June 18, 1940, to resist the German occupation of Free France. The resistance was a small group of armed men and women, known in rural areas as the Maquis. They waged guerrilla warfare, published underground newspapers, and provided intelligence information and means of escape to the Allied forces. The men and women of the resistance were assembled from many parts of French society, including immigrants, scholars, students, aristocrats, and conservative Roman Catholics and clergy. The percentage of Frenchmen who joined the organized resistance was estimated to be between 1 percent and 3 percent of the total population.

　 By the summer of 1944, informal purges of Vichy cadres and supporters had already begun, and summary executions against resistance organizations exceeded 10,000. Special courts trying citizens accused of conspiracy held 125,000 hearings over the next two years. Some 50,000 offenders were punished by loss of citizenship for several years, some 40,000 were imprisoned, and 700 to 800 were executed. Partisan operations against the Germans resulted in the deaths of approximately 13,000 to 16,000 French citizens, including 4,000 to 5,000 innocent French civilians.

A dead Russian soldier lies in the rubble of a trench in Avdivka, Ukraine, on December 23, 2023, in the Russian-Ukrainian War.

 　　A dead Russian soldier lies in the rubble of a trench in Avdivka, Ukraine, on December 23, 2023, in the Russian-Ukrainian War. Bodies left in unoccupied trenches can sit for months, reeking of decay. Trenches save lives, but on the other hand it is impossible to escape from them, and the trenches can become graveyards.

　The Battle of Avdiivka was a major battle between Russian and Ukrainian forces for control of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast; after more than a year and a half of intermittent fighting on the outskirts, Russian forces captured the city of Donetsk. The Russians launched an offensive to occupy Avdiivka on October 10, 2023, and the bloodiest battle of all took place. In the battle of Avdiivka alone, the Russians lost about 10,000 more soldiers. Including others, the Ukrainian military announced on February 25, 2024, a death toll of 31,000 from the Russian military invasion two years earlier.

　Avdiivka, the gateway to the nearby provincial capital of Donetsk, was one of the most heavily fortified settlements in Ukraine. With Ukrainian forces in control of Avdivka, the Russians were able to prevent a Russian breakthrough, as the city of Donetsk and its resources were no longer a communications hub; on February 17, 2024, the last Ukrainian supply route to the city was threatened, and to avoid a Russian siege and protect the lives and health of military personnel, Ukrainian forces withdrew from the city of Avdiivka. The capture of Avdiivka was the largest territorial incursion for Russian forces since they occupied Bakhmut in May 2023.

　With the expansion of the armaments of both armies, the war became more and more a battle of positions and the trenches became deeper and wider. In contrast to maneuver warfare, which was based on the mobility of armies and massive encirclements, positional warfare was based on the destruction of enemy resources through firepower attacks. Soldiers from both armies retreated to their trenches in the spring and fall, when heavy rains filled the trenches with water and left them waiting in the sinking mud By the end of 2023, the Russian and Ukrainian armies were caught in a never-ending cycle of offensive and waste, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. In the Russian trenches, soldiers were dispersed, preventing annihilation by a single enemy blow. Fortified trenches had to be at least two meters deep. Artillery fire and drones circled incessantly overhead.

Photographing the damage and ruins of the Hiroshima atomic bomb, hibakusha lie in a temporary hospital in a bank building. An American naval photographer filmed the damage and ruins of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.

 

                       Undisclosed photos of Japanese

 　　　　　　　A-bomb survivors

　　　U.S. Atomic Bomb Surveys

The National Archives College Park, Maryland

　　　　　　　　　　February 22, 2024

                       SC-473739           

5625

U.S. NAVY NO.

NEU

473739 Sept.1945

SUBJECT:

CAPTION:

NAVY PHOTOGRAPHER PICTURES SUFFERING AND RUINS THAT RESULTED FROM ATOM BOMB BLAST IN HIROSHIMA, JAPAN.

VICTIM LIES IN MAKESHIFT HOSPITAL IN BANK BUILDING.

LOCATION: HIROSHIMA, JAPAN

PHOTOGRAPHER:MILLER, WAYNE, LI.

TAKEN BY (UNIT)

LOCAL NO:TR 15625

CLASSIFICATION:RELEASED

Fellow US soldiers mourn by the body of a US soldier killed in action after the Battle of Dak Tho in the Shan Valley during a battle between US and Viet Cong soldiers in the Vietnam War.

　　Fellow US soldiers grieve and mourn beside the body of a US soldier killed in action after the Battle of Dak To in the Shan Valley in a battle between US and Viet Cong soldiers in the Vietnam War. During the fierce civil war between South Vietnam and North Vietnam, US soldiers were caught in the middle of the conflict and were killed in action.

　The 1st North Vietnamese Division attacked an allied outpost near Dak To on the Central Plateau. The US Army's 4th Infantry Division, 1st Cavalry Division (Airborne Division) and approximately 1,400 troops of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, reinforced by South Vietnamese troops, engaged some 12,000 North Vietnamese troops and Vietcong in the difficult, jungle-strewn hills On 19 November 1967, in the Battle of Dak Tho The bloodiest fighting took place. Troops of the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the US Army encountered an ambush attack by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces at Hill 875. By 23 November, after weeks of intense fighting, most of the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong had been destroyed and forced to withdraw; the North Vietnamese regiments that were to be part of the Tet Offensive from 30 January 1968 were decimated.

　The Battle of Dak Tho from 1 to 30 November 1967 was the largest and most costly battle in the Central Highlands of Vietnam since 1965. Dak Tho was bordered by Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, and from 19 November an even larger battle over 875 was fought in the Shan Valley below Hill 875. More than 100 US paratroopers were killed and about 250 wounded in four days of fighting over the hilltop. Hill 875 was occupied by US troops, but they left the area a few days later and Hill 875 was abandoned. The 1,400 infantrymen of the US Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade, who fought for three weeks in the Battle of Ducto, suffered 60% casualty losses, including more than 200 killed and 650 wounded.

During the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific War, on 26 February 1945, an American soldier looks down on the scattered bodies of dead Japanese soldiers folded around a blasted gun emplacement in the vicinity of Motoyama Airfield.

　Two American soldiers looked down on dead Japanese soldiers folded around a blasted gun emplacement around Motoyama Airfield during the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific War on February 26, 1945.Starting on February 24, fierce fighting over Motoyama Airfield took place between American and Japanese forces in the western and southern areas throughout the day. After 9:00 a.m. on February 25, the U.S. forces, which had just landed on February 24, launched an attack to take complete control of Wonsan Airfield.

　By February 25, the U.S. forces reached the Motoyama Airfield runway, and the M4 Sherman medium tanks attacking the airfield perimeter at once, the 3rd Infantry Battalion of the Japanese Army concentrated all its fire without the support of the Marines. The tanks were subjected to concentrated fire from the Army's field artillery and rapid-fire artillery, and three tanks were quickly destroyed and set ablaze. Against the invading M4 Sherman medium tanks, the 3rd Battalion of Japanese soldiers made a thinly veiled attack on the tanks with explosive mines. The Japanese soldiers' thinly-veiled attack on the tank caused the M4 Sherman tank to falter. Other U.S. tanks opened fire on the Japanese soldiers who were attacking the tanks. Japanese soldiers also launched a thinly veiled attack on other tanks, and on February 25 alone, nine M4 Sherman medium tanks were destroyed.

　However, the Japanese 3rd Battalion was also severely depleted, and on February 26, the Americans invaded Wonsan Airfield and the surrounding area with about one battalion of marines accompanied by tanks. The Japanese Army's mixed Army-Navy units destroyed three more M4 Sherman medium tanks. Despite the Japanese Army's valiant efforts, by the evening of February 26, most of Wonsan Airfield had been taken over by American forces. On February 27, the 3rd Battalion, 145th Infantry Regiment was ordered to withdraw. The battalion was awarded a letter of commendation for its outstanding achievements, and its successes reached the Emperor Showa's superior courtesy. The U.S. forces lost 33 M4 Sherman medium tanks in the fighting around Wonsan.

On the Eastern Front of the Second World War, German troops invaded the Soviet Union from 22 June 1941. During a firefight on 23 June, the second day of the Russian invasion, one German soldier became the first casualty of the Russian invasion to be killed by Soviet troops.

  On the Eastern Front of World War II, German troops invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa from 22 June 1941. During a firefight on 23 June, the second day of the Russian invasion, one German soldier became the first casualty of the Russian invasion to be killed by Soviet troops. The German company commander sat beside the corpse of his fellow German soldier and mourned. With the dead bodies of the German soldiers, he realised the reality of the casualties. The German company commander lost one German soldier. The expression on the German company commander's face expressed every emotion of despair, anger, confusion and shock. The next step was the tenacious defence of the Soviet forces, which increasingly reduced the thrust of the German units. Moreover, with every kilometre advanced, the front line expanded and its strength decreased accordingly.

　Operation Barbarossa was the Wehrmacht's war of aggression against the Soviet Union in World War II: on 22 June 1941, a military invasion by the Nazi regime started the German-Soviet War. Around three million German soldiers crossed the borders of the Soviet Union, making Operation Barbarossa the largest and most destructive military operation in history, which ended in failure as early as 7 January 1941 with the German defeat at the Battle of Moscow. Nevertheless, the Nazi regime and the Wehrmacht continued the war and holocaust against parts of the civilian population until the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht on 8 May 1945. In the course of the war, between 24 and 40 million Soviet civilians died as a result of German war crimes, and 84 million Soviet soldiers were killed. 1.1 million German soldiers died as prisoners of war in the Soviet army, and 2.7 million German soldiers were killed on the Eastern Front.

　The Soviet Red Army entered full war readiness at 0:30 am on 22 June, but the Soviet side was unable to launch tactical surprise attacks in all sectors. The river crossings necessary for the movement of the far-flung armoured units quickly fell into German hands. Despite the fierce resistance of the Soviet Red Army, which was put on alert for too short a time, the Wehrmacht was able to make significant gains in the first few weeks. In the early stages of the war, border fighting took place from 22-29 June 1941 in the Soviet border areas within the territory of Lithuania, southern Latvia, Belarus and western Ukraine. Within about three weeks of the outbreak of the war, German forces occupied the entire Baltic region, Belarus, most of Ukraine and Moldavia.

On the Eastern Front of World War II, on the steppes of Belarus in April 1943, Belarusian partisans took machine guns from the bodies of dead German soldiers and charged them.

 　On the Eastern Front of World War II, on the steppes of Belarus in April 1943, a Belarusian partisan takes a machine gun from the corpse of a fallen German soldier and charges him. The Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 on the Eastern Front of World War II claimed the lives and mutilated the bodies of countless others, leaving a tragic toll and mark on millions of people.

　Partisan resistance movements covered almost all fronts and occupied territories from the beginning of the German invasion of Soviet territory. The partisan resistance movement operated from the beginning of the German offensive with irregular units composed of civilian militias. Partisans, who engaged in special guerrilla activities, fought on steppes where there was little or no forest. All partisan detachments retreated with Red Army units when the Germans approached and were incorporated into regular units by early November 1941. Partisans with inadequate military training, older age, and weaker armament had little chance of surviving the battle with the Germans. On a small island in the forested area of the Krasnolimansk district, the Artemovsk partisans were surrounded by German troops and wiped out.

　　Belarusian partisans during World War II opposed the Germans from 1941 to 1944. Belarus was one of the Soviet republics occupied by the Germans during Operation Barbarossa. The Belarusian partisans suggested not only the irregular forces of the Soviet formation, but also Jewish groups, Polish groups, and nationalist Belarusian forces opposed to Germany, who also fought as guerrillas at the time. The Belarusian partisans heard Stalin's report and the October 1942 order. With great excitement the Belarusian partisans listened to Stalin's report and his October order, as conveyed over the radio. Meetings were held in many partisan detachments. At the detachment meetings the partisans vowed to fulfill Stalin's orders. Stronger and more ruthless, the partisans of all detachments were unanimously enthusiastic about defeating the German invaders.

A number of civilians were massacred in Hamhung, North Korea, in October 1950 by communists before North Korean troops withdrew during the Incheon landings by Allied forces beginning September 15, 1950, in the Korean War. Survivors are trying to find the bodies of their relatives.

　　A number of civilians were massacred in Hamhung, North Korea, in October 1950 by communists before North Korean troops withdrew during the Incheon landings by Allied forces beginning September 15, 1950, in the Korean War. Survivors are trying to find the bodies of their relatives. At the massacre site, only the bodies of the victims were buried. The Koreans massacred their own people with guns and bamboo spears. At the time of the Korean War, the corpses were accumulated by the retreating North Korean People's Army in the Hamhung area, which ruthlessly massacred Hamhung residents. More than 300 corpses were found in the caves around the area alone.

　The Hamheung Massacre was a massacre in the city of Hamheung, South Hamgyeong Province, under the direction of North Korean leader Kim Il Sung. The number of victims is estimated to be about 12,000 (excluding abductees and missing persons). The massacre was carried out mainly through shooting, well burial, and dialysis. In the case of the air-raid shelter at Mt. The number of victims was as follows: 700 were massacred in Hamhung Prison, 200 in the basement of Chungnyeongtaek, 300 in the three basements where the Political Security Department was located, 6,000 in the nickel mine in Deoksan, and over 8,000 in the air-raid shelter in Hallyongsan.

　The Korean War lasted three years and one month, and the human casualties from the war reached approximately 4.5 million, including civilians. Of the total, the South suffered about 2 million casualties, including about 1 million civilians, while the Communist camp suffered an estimated 2.5 million casualties, including 1 million civilians.

　The number of South and North Korean soldiers killed in action was 227,748 by South Korean forces, 33,629 by U.S. forces, and 3,194 by other UN forces, while the exact number of casualties by Chinese People's Support Units and North Korean forces has not yet been confirmed. During the Korean War, 43% of South Korea's industrial facilities and 33% of its housing were completely destroyed. In accordance with Article 60 of the Armistice Agreement, political talks for a political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue were held in Geneva in April 1954 in the presence of the Republic of Korea, the 16 UN participating countries, and North Korea, China, and the Soviet Union. The ROK and the UN allies insisted on holding free general elections under the supervision of the UN, with proportional representation of the indigenous populations of the North and South Koreas, and the establishment of a democratic unified government as a result. The communist side insisted only on the withdrawal of U.N. troops from South Korea, and no agreement was reached. The talks broke down in June of the same year, and to this day, there is no permanent peace between the two Koreas, but rather a ceasefire.

 

Palestinians surround the body of a young boy killed in Israeli bombardment, in the yard of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on May 11, 2024.

   On 11 May 2024, Palestinian relatives grieved around the body of a boy killed by Israeli shelling in the garden of al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, amid ongoing conflict between Israeli forces and Palestinian Hamas militants.

 　A number of Palestinians were killed and injured by Israeli warplanes and artillery missiles and shelling of homes in various areas of the Palestinian Gaza Strip in the early hours of 10 May. The bodies of 24 Palestinians were reported to have arrived at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah on 11 May after Israeli forces shelled several areas in the central Gaza Strip.

  Israeli artillery fired dozens of shells into the Zeitoun area, south-east of Gaza City, in heavy rocket and artillery fire for three consecutive days, killing dozens of Palestinians. Israeli artillery also attacked al-Sabla land in central Gaza City with dozens of shells, causing extensive damage to houses. In Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli fighters targeted dozens of houses, killing seven Palestinians and wounding others.

  Israeli artillery also fired shells into al-Shikka Street and eastern areas, setting houses ablaze. Israeli warplanes raided the house of the al-Masri family near Beit Lahia Cemetery in the northern Gaza Strip and targeted the house of the al-Kabat family near Beit Lahia Club. In Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli warplanes bombed the Al Salam area and near the Rafah crossing. This was due to Israeli forces forcing Palestinians to evacuate new areas in Rafah city. The Israeli army described the situation as dangerous, demanding immediate evacuation from new areas in Rafah as well as Jabalia and Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.

  Through a leaflet distributed to Palestinian residents, an Israeli military spokesperson stated in Arabic that. 'Attention all residents and displaced persons - head immediately to the evacuation centres in western Gaza City! This is a dangerous combat zone." He demanded that residents and displaced persons in the district blocs evacuate under the pretext that it is a dangerous combat zone.

  Israeli forces continued to close the Rafah land crossing to the Egyptian border and Kerem Shalom, the only commercial crossing in the Gaza Strip. For the fifth consecutive day, Israeli forces continued to close the Rafah land bridge, causing the movement of travellers, especially the sick and wounded, the delivery of humanitarian aid, and the transport of aid to Gaza Strip residents in the south and north to come to a complete halt, amid fears of famine and danger, and a deteriorating humanitarian aid situation. The Israeli army continued to close the Kerem Shalom crossing for the ninth consecutive day and completely halted aid deliveries.

  Meanwhile, Israeli forces arrested at least 15 Palestinians from the West Bank, including women and former prisoners held hostage by Israeli forces. The Prisoners and Liberators Affairs Authority and the Prisoners' Club said that the arrested were deported to the governorates of Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron, Qalqilya and Jerusalem.

Warning: Palestinians surround the body of a young boy killed in Israeli bombardment, in the yard of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on May 11, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)

A temporary hospital in the Bank Building, exposed to the Hiroshima atomic bomb, houses survivors of the bombing on 8 September 1945. A mother reaches out to her sleeping child in a poor bed on the floor.

                    Undisclosed photos of Japanese

 　　　　　　　A-bomb survivors

　　　U.S. Atomic Bomb Surveys

The National Archives College Park, Maryland

　　　　　　　　　　February 22, 2024

                                               SC-473740             

TR-15626

80-G-473740  Sept.1945

SUBJECT:

CAPTION:

NAVY PHOTOGRAPHER PICTURES SUFFERING AND RUINS THAT RESULTED FROM ATOM BOMB BLAST IN HIROSHIMA, JAPAN.

MAKESHIFT HOSPITAL IN BANK BUILDING HOUSES VICTIMS.

LOCATION: HIROSHIMA, JAPAN

PHOTOGRAPHER: MILLER, WAYNE, LT. 

TAKEN BY UNIT)

LOCAL NO: TR 15626

CLASSIFICATION:RELEASED

The charred bodies of concentration camp prisoners burned to death in a barn near Gardelegen in eastern Germany on April 13, 1945. The massacre was a massacre by the German SS and Luftwaffe.

   Charred corpses of concentration camp prisoners burned to death in a barn near the medieval walled town of Gardelegen in eastern Germany on the night of April 13, 1945, at the end of World War II. The Gardelegen massacre, a World War II massacre by the German SS and Luftwaffe, took place on April 13, 1945, at the Isenschnibbe farm near the northern German town of Gardelegen, when German troops evacuated 1,016 slave laborers from the Mittelbau Dora labor camp, many of whom were Poles) were forced into a large barn and set on fire. Most of the prisoners were burned alive, and some were shot while trying to escape. The crime was discovered two days later by Company F, 2nd Battalion, 405th Regiment, 102nd Infantry Division, U.S. Army, when American troops occupied the area.

　On Friday, April 13, some 1,050 to 1,100 of the concentration camp's prisoners were herded into a grain barn with knee-high piles of straw that had been doused with gasoline beforehand. According to survivors, the barn was deliberately torched by German SS and Luftwaffe soldiers and teenage Hitler-Jugend boys. Prisoners who tried to escape the fire were machine-gunned by German troops and Hitler-Jugend boys who were guarding the barn. A total of 1016 POWs were burned to death or shot to escape in the unlocked barn. About 100 of the POWs survived, including some Russian POWs.

　The main instigator was 34-year-old Gerhard Thiele, the Nazi Party district leader in Gardelegen, who on April 6, 1945, called his men and other officers to order that prisoners who had looted or escaped, as issued a few days earlier by the governor of Jordan, Rudolf Jordan, should be shot on the spot.

　On October 14, the U.S. 102nd entered Gardelegen and discovered the atrocities on October 15. In a still-smoldering barn and nearby trenches, they found 1,016 dead prisoners; on April 21, the 102nd's commander ordered 200 to 300 German soldiers to bury the prisoners killed by the inhabitants. Within a few days, German soldiers dug 586 bodies out of the trenches, retrieved 430 bodies from the barns, and buried them in individual graves. on april 25, the 102nd held a ceremony to commemorate the dead and erected a monument. on april 25, colonel George Lynch made a statement before the German civilians in Gardelegen.

　Gerhard Thiele managed to escape justice in January 1946. He escaped but lived in Düsseldorf until at least 1991 under a false identity; at his trial in 1947, SS Obergruppenführer Erhard Brauny, who ordered the prisoner's transfer, was sentenced to life in prison and died of natural causes in prison in 1950.

On 26 March 1945, the closing day of the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific War, Japanese soldiers made a slashing attack on the American positions. The bodies of Japanese soldiers killed by US troops were scattered.

    On March 26, 1945, the closing day of the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific War, Japanese soldiers charged and made a cutting attack on American positions. The bodies of the Japanese soldiers were scattered after they were subsequently killed by the American troops. The American soldiers looked down on the Japanese soldiers' lifeless corpses and performed autopsies on them.

　In the early morning of March 26, on Iwo Jima, Ogasawara Islands, near the tent of a U.S. Army officer of the 21st Fighter Wing, he was assaulted by Japanese soldiers. Shortly thereafter, members of the U.S. Signal Air Alert Squadron, Black Air Force, Night Fighter Squadron, Naval Construction Battalion, Marine Corps Pioneer Force, and many other nearby U.S. military units entered the battle shortly thereafter. Approximately 300 Japanese soldiers, the remnants of three Japanese units, participated in the Japanese assault, attacking various American positions simultaneously. With flamethrowers, Tommy guns, and hand grenades, the U.S. Marines closed in on the Japanese assault from behind, killing and annihilating everyone down to the last Japanese soldier. The bodies of the Japanese soldiers left on the battlefield were littered with the wretched remains of Japanese soldiers.

 　The Battle of Iwo Jima broke out on February 19, 1945, and on March 26, Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi and other high-ranking officers led the final Japanese attack. The attack was not a banzai assault, but created maximum chaos and destruction. Remnants from the Japanese Army and Navy headquarters, some 200 to 300 Japanese soldiers moved down from the north along the western side of Iwo Jima at 5:15 a.m. on March 26. Near the western shore, they attacked U.S. Marine and Army outposts. The command post of the 7th Fighter Group suffered heavy casualties, but the Americans recovered from the chaos and launched a counterattack. The U.S. Army's 5th Engineer Battalion hastily formed a battle line to hold off the Japanese attack. The chaotic battle lasted about three hours, and the Japanese soldiers were annihilated, leaving behind 196 corpses. About 40 Japanese troops, armed and carrying military swords, suggested high-ranking officers.

The bodies of Philippine soldiers killed in action at Caloocan by the U.S. Army's 1st Nebraska Volunteer Army were scattered on February 4, 1899, near Manila, when the 1st Nebraska Infantry Regiment opened fire on the Philippine troops it encountered, sparking the Philippine-American War.

      Bodies of Filipino soldiers killed in action at Caloocan by the U.S. Army's 1st Nebraska Volunteer Army were scattered on February 4, 1899, when a patrol of the 1st Nebraska Infantry Regiment opened fire on Filipino troops they encountered near Manila, beginning the first fighting of the Philippine-American (U.S.-Philippines) War, which lasted all day. American and Filipino troops exchanged gunfire throughout the day. The next day, the U.S. forces went on the offensive, storming and occupying Filipino positions. The annual report of the U.S. War Department listed 5 Americans killed and 45 wounded, and 200 Filipinos killed and 800 wounded in the Battle of Caloocan.

　The U.S. forces moved on to Caloocan, an important railroad center 17 km north of Manila, and in the February 10 capture of Caloocan, the Filipino troops resisted stubbornly step by step, but the Americans drove the insurgents out at bayonet point. Abandoning Caloocan, the Filipinos attempted to burn the main part of the town, turning small houses into a mass of flames. Against churches and city halls, American troops interfered with the burning by Filipino troops, and many insurgents were captured and made prisoners of war. The general advance of the American troops began at 1:00 p.m. At 1:30 p.m., Old Glory swung into the breeze from the flagstaff of the City Hall, ending the rebel rule in Caloocan. When the smoke of war cleared, the town's inhabitants had their homes reduced to ashes and their buildings demolished, leaving only the Casa Tribuna, the church, and the monastery. The 17,000 inhabitants of Caloocan were swept away by the 20th Kansas Volunteer Army, and there is not a single indigenous person still living in Caloocan. 5,000 inhabitants of the village of Maypaja, where the first battle was fought on the night of the 4th, not a stone remains.

　On February 22, Filipino troops launched an attack on American positions in Manila, retreating after two days of fighting. Allegations of atrocities followed, including the summary execution of Filipino prisoners of war by U.S. troops during the battle. The Senate Committee on the Philippines investigated, but chose not to pursue the matter further with the U.S. military.

 

North Korean communist guerrillas targeted and attacked police stations with weak equipment and security in the Yeosu and Suncheon incidents, inflicting heavy casualties on police officers. Police officers were killed and their bodies were scattered.

 　　North Korean communist guerrillas targeted and attacked police stations with weak equipment and security in the Yeosu and Suncheon incidents. The casualties of police officers with weak firepower were also enormous. The police officers who were involved in the Yeosu and Suncheon Incidents were killed and their bodies were scattered. Jeollanam-do Province estimated the number of civilian victims of the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident at 11,131.

　　The Yeosu-Suncheon Incident took place on September 6, 1945, when the Korean government was established and a rebellion broke out in October 1948 when some of the troops stationed in Yeosu and Suncheon refused orders from the Syngman Rhee regime to deploy to Jeju Island to suppress the 4.3 Incident. The 14th Yeosu Regiment, which had received orders to deploy to Jeju, refused, saying that it could not massacre its own people. Korea has used the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident as its official name since 1995

　In the night of October 19, 1948, in the Yeosu-Suncheon area, about 40 members of the South Labor Party cell organization in the 14th Regiment of the National Defense Guard occupied an armory. They blew a trumpet and lined up about 2,000 members of the entire unit and urged them to make a rebellion resolution. A large number of North Korean sympathizers in the National Defense Guards responded with cheers. Those who opposed the insurgency were shot dead on the spot. This caused all of the insurgent units to join the insurgency. The insurgents immediately divided into vehicles and occupied the Yeosu Police Station and the Yeosu County Office in Yeosu-eup, killing about 100 police officers and about 500 civilians. Police officers, civil servants, and landowners who quelled the riot were captured and executed. Political prisoners imprisoned in the police station were released, and with their guidance, police officers from that town, as well as members of the pro-Lehman Hanmin Party and right-wing groups, were sought out and shot dead one after another. Within a few days, about 100 police officers and 500 pro-Ri civilians were killed by the insurgents.

　A week later, the ROK military crushed the insurgency, killing between 439 and 2,000 civilians in the process. In 1948, 18 officers and 1,693 privates were discharged from military service, and in 1949, 224 officers and 2,440 privates were discharged from military service, due to the suppression of officers who did not recognize Seung-man Rhee as president. The Syngman Rhee regime enacted the National Security Law on December 1, 1948, which suppressed the entire society.

A German soldier was killed in the Bryansk Forest during the Battle of Bryansk during Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front of World War II. The bodies of German soldiers killed in action littered the wilderness.

　　　On the Eastern Front of World War II, German soldiers were killed by the Soviet Red Army in the Bryansk Forest during the Battle of Bryansk during Operation Barbarossa. The bodies of German soldiers killed in action littered the wilderness. The Soviet Red Army units, surrounded by German troops, continued fighting, delaying the German invasion of Moscow for about two weeks, and the bitterly cold winter season arrived. German casualties from the destruction of Soviet positions contributed to the collapse of the German army on the doorstep of the crisis-stricken capital, Moscow.

　　The Battle of Bryansk broke out on October 2-21, 1941. It was fought in Bryansk Oblast as part of the Moscow offensive. The Wehrmacht, returning from the Kiev campaign in Ukraine, unexpectedly attacked the Soviet forces and occupied Bryansk and Oryol with few casualties. The Germans surrounded two Soviet formations, the 3rd and 13th Armies, and a third, the 50th Soviet Army, was surrounded by infantry from the German 2nd Army north of Bryansk. As a result of this battle, the Germans occupied Bryansk until they were expelled by the Soviet Red Army on September 17, 1943 as part of Operation Smolensk. During the Battle of Bryansk, the Germans suffered 48,000 casualties, the Soviets 100,000 killed in action, and 600,000 taken prisoner.

　　Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the Kalashnikov rifle, was wounded during the Battle of Bryansk, but walked to the hospital and received medical attention. While recovering from his wounds, Kalashnikov became obsessed with developing a machine gun that would drive the Germans out of the Soviet Union. The Kalashnikov gun became the weapon that killed the most people in human history. Born secretly in the Soviet Union, they were easy for anyone to handle, never malfunctioned, could be had for as little as $10 a gun, and spread around the world. Kalashnikovs were used in the Vietnam War, in the African Civil War, and in terrorism. Mikhail Kalashnikov himself continued to deny his guilt. In a letter he sent to his church after his death, he wrote: "The pain in my heart is unbearable. My gun took people's lives. Even if the gun went to the enemy, am I guilty of 'the death of people'?" Even now, the cycle of Kalashnikov gun killings continues unabated.

 

The bodies of Russian soldiers, already decomposed and bleached, lying on the frontline in the Sloviansk region of Ukraine, were autopsied one by one by the Ukrainian Corpses Recovery Unit on 24 October 2023.

  The bodies of Russian soldiers, already decomposed and bleached, lying on the frontline in the Sloviansk region of Ukraine, were autopsied by the Ukrainian Corpses Recovery Unit on 24 October 2023. The real victims of the Russian-Ukrainian war are the corpses. The Ukrainian units recovering the corpses autopsied the war dead one by one. The bodies of Russian soldiers killed in action were loaded onto refrigerated trucks.

    The Siege of Sloviansk broke out in the Donbass War from 12 April 2014 to 5 July 2014. Sloviansk's Russian-backed separatists declared the Donetsk People's Republic's independence from Ukraine on 7 April. After three months of heavy fighting between Ukrainian and Donetsk People's Republic forces, pro-Russian rebels retreated to Donetsk and Ukrainian forces retook Sloviansk on 5 July. Sloviansk is a city in Donetsk Oblast, in the northern part of the Donbass region. During World War II, it was filled with the corpses of German and Soviet soldiers.

    More than 50,000 Russian servicemen have been killed in action in Ukraine since the Russian-Ukrainian war began on 24 February 2022, the BBC reported on 17 April 2024, based on its own research. This is more than eight times the number of war deaths officially acknowledged by the Russian military. The BBC referred to the way Russian soldiers were deployed as Mincer tactics.

Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the independent Russian news media MediaZona and BBC Russia, together with volunteers, have investigated the number of casualties. To do so, they analysed official reports, social media, newspaper reports and other official sources. By examining headstones in Russian cemeteries, they were able to identify the names of many servicemen. The absolute number of war dead is even higher, as the investigators were unable to trace the origin of all the bodies. This does not include servicemen killed in action in the Russian-occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.

   Both the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces rarely reveal the scale of casualties of the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in February 2024 that 31,000 Ukrainian servicemen had died. Previous analyses suggested that the Ukrainian military suffered much higher casualties.

 

Warning: Oleksii Yukov examines the body of a Russian soldier he collected on the frontline in the Sloviansk region, Ukraine, Oct. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)