Soviet Invasion of Manchuria
A tidal wave of 1.5 million Soviet soldiers crashed into Manchuria on August 9. Japan’s once-proud Kwantung Army, reduced from 700,000 to a shadow force through earlier troop transfers, couldn’t stem the tide. Soviet tanks rolled across territories Japan had controlled for years. Within days, vital coal and iron supplies were gone. Military planners in Tokyo had predicted they might hold out for weeks—yet Soviet forces advanced almost unopposed in some sectors.
