What was the common Western code name for the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945?

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The common Western code name for the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945 was Operation August Storm.

The Soviet campaign is formally known as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation, or the Manchurian Operation. It began on August 9, 1945, when Soviet forces attacked Japanese-held Manchuria and the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. Soviet forces advanced from several directions, including from Siberia, Mongolia, and the Soviet Far East.

The offensive rapidly overwhelmed the Japanese Kwantung Army, which had once been considered one of Japan’s most important military formations. The campaign also extended into Inner Mongolia and northern Korea. Operation August Storm is sometimes mistakenly treated as a proposed invasion plan, but that was Operation Downfall, the planned Allied invasion of Japan’s home islands. The Soviet operation was an actual late-war campaign and continued through the period surrounding Japan’s formal surrender.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026

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