__NOTOC__ The 2nd Far Eastern Front () was a Front—a formation equivalent to a Western

Army Group An army group is a military organization consisting of several field army, field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organizatio ...

—of the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

. It was formed just prior to the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation or simply the Manchurian Operation () and sometimes Operation August Storm, began on 9 August 1945 with the Soviet Union, Soviet invasion of the Emp ...

and was active from August 5, 1945, until October 1, 1945.

History

Shortly after its creation, the 2nd Far East Front was committed to the fighting against the Japanese First and Fifth Area Armies and the Japanese Fourth Army in

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

and the

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

. In Manchuria, soldiers of the front swiftly crossed the

Amur The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer Manchuria, Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ...

and Ussuri rivers, destroying all Japanese resistance. On August 20, the front's 15th Army took

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

. Later, the 2nd Red Banner Army entered the Kalochzhan and Lyunchzhen regions, the 15th Army entered the Sansin region, and the 5th Rifle Corps entered the Boli region. The Japanese armies failed to offer significant resistance in these regions, and by August 20, they began to surrender and move into Soviet captivity. On August 11, elements of the 16th Army began an offensive in Southern

and by August 18 they had captured most of the island. From August 19 to 25 the front conducted amphibious assault operations near the port of Kholmsk, and combined amphibious and airborne assault operations near the port of Korsakov. By August 25, Soviet forces had captured the administrative centre of Sakhalin, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. By early September, Japanese forces ended their resistance, but due to slow Soviet advances on Sakhalin, the planned operation on the Japanese island of

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

was never carried out. Meanwhile, an operational group composed of the 101st Rifle Division captured the Kurile Islands. On 1 October 1945, by a directive of the Stavka VGK dated 10 September 1945, the Front was disbanded and reorganised as the Far Eastern Military District (2nd Formation).

Composition August 1945

The 2nd Far Eastern Front included the following units on 9 August 1945: * 2nd Red Banner Army * 5th Rifle Corps * 15th Army * 16th Army * 10th Air Army *

Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively. Immediately offshore along the Pacific ...

Defensive Region ** 101st Rifle Division **198th Rifle Regiment **5th, 7th Rifle Battalions * Amur Military Flotilla * North Pacific Military Flotilla

References

{{Fronts of the Red Army in World War II Far East Front, 2nd

History

Composition August 1945

See also

References