War Against Japan
On August 5, 1945, the Front was divided and reorganized as the 1st Far Eastern Front and 2nd Far Eastern Front:
2nd Far Eastern Front, under General M. A. Purkayev (aimed at eastern Manchukuo), including:
- 2nd Red Banner Army.
- 15th Army.
- 16th Army.
- 10th Air Army.
1st Far Eastern Front, under Marshal K. A. Meretskov (aimed at northern Manchukuo), including:
- 1st Red Banner Army.
- 5th Army.
- 25th Army.
- 35th Army
- 9th Air Army
- Chuguevsk Operational Group.
- Amur River Flotilla.
Transbaikal Front included the 12th Air Army.
In the Soviet invasion of Manchuria it led the attack into Japanese-occupied Manchuria. The Kwantung Army of the Imperial Japanese Army had more than 1 million soldiers, the Japanese defenders were overwhelmed by the offensive. Allied forces of Mongolia and Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalist China aided the Soviet operation. On August 19, the Far East Front continued its routing of the Kwantung Army by capturing Harbin and Mukden. By August 21, the Red Army had captured almost all of Manchuria, and the final surrender of the Kwantung Army took place.
On August 11 to 12, 1945 the 87th Rifle Corps was brought out from the reserve of the 1st Far Eastern Front, and received new orders to prepare for landing operations on the island of Hokkaido (Japan), however the planned operation never took place, although elements of the 87th Corps participated in other operations against Japanese forces in the theatre.
Read more about this topic: Far Eastern Front (Soviet Union)
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