Which Japanese army surrendered to Soviet forces during the final 1945 campaign?

The Kwantung Army surrendered to Soviet forces during the final 1945 campaign.

The Kwantung Army was Japan’s major military force in Manchuria, where Japan had established the puppet state of Manchukuo. The Soviet Union launched its invasion of Manchuria on August 9, 1945, attacking across multiple fronts with a large, mechanized force.

Although the Kwantung Army had once been regarded as an elite formation, by 1945 many experienced units and weapons had been transferred to other theaters. Its defeat was rapid, and the army officially surrendered on August 16, one day after Emperor Hirohito’s broadcast to the Japanese public.

The force did not represent every Japanese unit worldwide, so its surrender did not itself complete Japan’s formal capitulation. The legal surrender was signed aboard USS Missouri on September 2. The Kwantung Army is also distinct from Japan’s Home Army, which defended the Japanese home islands.