Organization of Kita and Minami Fortresses

The Kita and Minami Fortresses (Japanese kita, "north" and minami, "south") were defensive structures of the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy in the Kuril Archipelago.

The most northerly points were on the Kokutan and Kurabu Zaki capes, and its coastal front on the Shumushu Strait near Lopatka Cape in the Soviet Union's Kamchatka peninsula.

This military organization was under the Twenty-Seventh Army (Chishima Area Base Unit or Kuril Area Army), led by Shozo Terakura. The Twenty-seventh Army was under the leadership of the Fifth Area Army, under the command of Kiichiro Higuchi whose headquarters was in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. The Twenty-Seventh Army was composed of the 42nd and 91st Divisions.

These defensive structures in the Kurile Islands were somewhat similar to the Karafuto fortifications. The key Japanese position was on Shumushu Island, whose defense consisted of permanent emplacements protected by field and AA artillery. A garrison of over 8,000 men reinforced by 60 tanks defended the islands of Shumushu and Paramushiro. All the coastal sections convenient for landings were covered with permanent emplacements and bunkers, interconnected with underground passages and trenches. All the warehouses, power stations and hospitals were underground, up to 50 m deep.

There are also some similar military buildings in other islands in the Northern Kuriles (Shimushiro, Onnekotan, Uruppu, Matsuwa) and Southern Kuriles (Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and Habomai archipelago).

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