The Karafuto Fortress was the defensive unit formed by the

Karafuto Karafuto Prefecture ( ja, 樺太庁, ''Karafuto-chō''; russian: Префектура Карафуто, Prefektura Karafuto), commonly known as South Sakhalin, was a prefecture of Japan located in Sakhalin from 1907 to 1949. Karafuto became t ...

fortification installations, and the Karafuto detachment of Japanese forces, the 88th Division. The headquarters was in Toyohara, capital of the province, based on the Suzuya plain, in the Southern Karafuto area, not far from the ports of Otomari and Maoka.

Conformation of Fortified district in Karafuto Prefecture

One example of such defensive structure was in Japanese fortifications to the north of Koton ( Naramitoshi) Fortress (now Pobedino) part of Shikuka

Fortified District A fortified district or fortified region (russian: Укреплённый район, Укрепрайон, ukreplyonny raion, ukrepraion) in the military terminology of the Soviet Union, is a territory within which a complex system of defense fo ...

(FD). It extended twelve kilometers along the front and was thirty kilometers deep, between the cities of

Hanno Hanno may refer to: People * Hanno (given name) :* Hanunu (8th century BC), Philistine king previously rendered by scholars as "Hanno" *Hanno ( xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤀 , '; , ''Hannōn''), common Carthaginian name :* Hanno the Navigator, Carthagi ...

, Futaro, Horomi, Miyuki and Horonai with central command in Koton. In this area, along the principal railroad that crossed the island from north to south, there were 17 permanent emplacements, 31 artillery and 108 machine gun bunkers, 28 artillery and 18 mortar positions and 150 shelters, these installations was constructed by Obishiro Nayaro in 1939 over ancient fortifications from the

Russian-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

period. The Karafuto Mixed Brigade protecting the fortified district was expanded 28 February to 88th Division. Together with support units it numbered up to 20,000 officers and men. The Japanese had 10,000 Military veterans serving as reservists and civil volunteer defenders. This structure was very similar in the following areas: * Toyohara Fortified District * Toyo-Sakae Fortified District * Otomari Fortified District * Rutaka Fortified District * Honto Fortified District * Maoka Fortified District *

Tomarioru Tomari (russian: Томари) is a coastal town and the administrative center of Tomarinsky District in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located on the western coast of the Sakhalin Island, northwest of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the administrative center of ...

Fortified District * Motodomari Fortified District * Shikuka Fortified District *

Esutoru Uglegorsk (russian: Углего́рск) is a coastal port town and the administrative center of Uglegorsky District in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located on the west coast of Sakhalin Island, northwest of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the administrative ...

Fortified District *

Kita Nayoshi Kita or KITA may refer to: People * Kita (surname) * Kita Alexander (born 1996), Australian singer-songwriter * João Leithardt Neto, Brazilian footballer nicknamed Kita * Sampsa Astala, Finnish musician whose stage name is Kita Places In Ja ...

Fortified District additionally including airbases, Naval bases, some Army or Navy detachments and others, along with civil defence units inland.

Karafuto Fortification system

Special frontier unit with HQ in Toyohara and detachments and fortified installations in:

Southern Karafuto Fortress area

Toyohara Sub-Prefecture

Toyohara Fortified District *3 detachments *3 fortifications *1 airfield

Otomari Sub-Prefecture

Toyo-Sakae Fortified District *1 detachment *4 fortifications *1 airfield Otomari Fortified District *2 detachments *5 fortifications *1 airfield *1 naval base Rutaka Fortified District *2 fortifications *1 airfield

Maoka Sub-Prefecture

Honto Fortified District *2 fortifications *1 airfield Maoka Fortified District *2 fortifications *1 airfield *1 Naval Base

Fortified District *1 detachment

Northern Karafuto Fortress Area

Shikuka Sub-Prefecture

Mototomari Fortified District *5 fortifications Shikuka Fortified District *3 airfields *7 fortifications *2 detachments *3 frontier posts

Esutoru Sub-Prefecture

Fortified District *7 fortifications *1 detachment *1 airfield

Fortified District *3 fortifications *1 frontier post

Karafuto Detachment

*88th Division HQ. ( Toyohara) (Lt. Gen. Junichiro Mineki) **25th Infantry Regiment **125th Infantry Regiment **306th Infantry Regiment **88th Mountain Gun Regiment **88th Signals company **88th Transport Regiment *88th Railway Guards Unit *351st Special Guards Battalion *352nd Special Guards Battalion *353rd Special Guards Battalion *301st Special Guards Company *303rd Special Guards Engineer Unit *50th Infantry Battalion (served as Koton Fortress detachment)

Japanese Navy detachments in Karafuto

Japanese naval forces, had some bases and infantry naval detachments in Maoka (front at the

Strait of Tartary Strait of Tartary or Gulf of Tartary (russian: Татарский пролив; ; ja, 間宮海峡, Mamiya kaikyō, Mamiya Strait; ko, 타타르 해협) is a strait in the Pacific Ocean dividing the Russian island of Sakhalin from mainland Asia ...

) and Otomari (in Aniwa Gulf) ports, the principal ports in Karafuto. Probably there were some units in ports in coasts of Taraika Bay, and city of

at north of province.

References

{{Reflist Karafuto History of Sakhalin Military history of Japan during World War II