What was the Western nickname for the Soviet campaign that began with its 1945 invasion of Manchuria?

Operation August Storm was the Western nickname for the Soviet campaign that began with the 1945 invasion of Manchuria.

The Soviet offensive began on 9 August 1945, after the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. Soviet forces attacked Japanese-held Manchuria from several directions, while also advancing into areas of Inner Mongolia and northern Korea. The campaign is formally known as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation.

The invasion came three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and on the same day as the bombing of Nagasaki. Japan’s leaders had hoped the Soviet Union might mediate with the Western Allies, so Soviet entry into the war destroyed an important diplomatic assumption as well as adding a major military threat.

Operation August Storm is sometimes confused with Operation Downfall, the proposed Allied invasion of Japan’s home islands. Downfall was never carried out. The Soviet campaign instead rapidly defeated the Kwantung Army and contributed to Japan’s decision to accept surrender terms.