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August Storm was the code name for the Soviet invasion of Japanese occupied Manchuria during World War II. The Soviets agreed at Yalta to enter the war against Japan within 3 months of the end of the war in Europe. Three months after May 8, 1945 was August 8, when the invasion began. It was a large attack, involving at least 80 divisions and incorporated all the experience in maneuver warfare that the Soviets had acquired fighting the Germans. The Kwangtung Army was the Japanese force opposing them. It was the major part of Japanese occupation forces in mainland Asia. Manchuria had the bulk of usable industry and raw materials for the Japanese in China. Japanese forces were no match for the Red Army which had vastly superior equipment, material, and military tactics by that time.
Fighting only lasted for about a week before Japan surrendered. Soviet forces were penetrating deep into Manchuria when fighting ceased. The plan had been to penetrate all the way to the end of the Korean peninsula and also invade Hokkaido.
August Storm, along with the two atomic bombings, were what broke the Japanese political deadlock and forced surrender since they made it clear Japan had no hope of even holding out in the home islands.
World War II
