What was the code name commonly used for the Soviet offensive against Japanese forces in Manchuria?

Operation August Storm was a common code name for the Soviet offensive against Japanese forces in Manchuria.

The offensive began on August 9, 1945, when Soviet forces attacked Japanese-held Manchuria, the puppet state of Manchukuo, and related areas. The formal Soviet designation was the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation, while “Operation August Storm” became a widely used Western name.

Soviet troops attacked across three major axes, using overwhelming manpower, armor, artillery, and air power against Japan’s Kwantung Army. The campaign also extended into Inner Mongolia, northern Korea, southern Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands. The Kwantung Army had once been regarded as Japan’s strongest field army, but by 1945 many experienced units had been transferred elsewhere.

The offensive began between the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Historians continue to debate the relative importance of the Soviet attack and the atomic bombings in Japan’s decision to surrender, but both events sharply changed the strategic situation.