What was the Soviet operation against Japanese forces in Manchuria in August 1945 called?

Operation August Storm was the Soviet operation against Japanese forces in Manchuria in August 1945.

The Soviet invasion began on August 9, 1945, when the Red Army attacked Japanese forces in Manchuria, then controlled by Japan as Manchukuo. Soviet forces also advanced into northern Korea, southern Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands during the final weeks of the Pacific War.

The offensive involved more than a million Soviet troops and used deep armored penetrations across difficult terrain. Japan’s Kwantung Army, once regarded as one of its strongest formations, was rapidly overwhelmed. The attack destroyed Japan’s hope of using Soviet mediation to negotiate better surrender terms.

Operation August Storm is sometimes blended into accounts focused only on the atomic bombings. Historians debate the relative weight of the Soviet entry and the atomic bombings in Japan’s decision to surrender, but the Soviet offensive was a major military and diplomatic shock in August 1945.