Editing Red Army (section)

===Soviet–Japanese War (1945)===
{{Details|Soviet–Japanese War}}

While the Soviets considered the surrender of Germany to be the end of the "Great Patriotic War", at the earlier [[Yalta Conference]] the Soviet Union agreed to enter the [[Pacific War|Pacific Theater]] portion of World War II within three months of the [[Victory in Europe Day|end of the war in Europe]]. This promise was reaffirmed at the [[Potsdam Conference]] held in July 1945.<ref>Robert Cecil, "Potsdam and its Legends." ''International Affairs'' 46.3 (1970): 455–465.</ref>

The Red Army began the [[Soviet invasion of Manchuria]] on 9 August 1945 (three days after the first [[Atomic bombings#Hiroshima|atomic bombing of Hiroshima]] and the same day the second [[Atomic bombings#Nagasaki|atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki]], while also being exact three months after the surrender of Germany). It was the largest campaign of the [[Soviet–Japanese War]], which resumed hostilities between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the [[Empire of Japan]] after almost six years of peace following the 1932–1939 [[Soviet–Japanese border conflicts]]. The Red Army, with support from [[Mongolia]]n forces, overwhelmed the Japanese [[Kwantung Army]] and local Chinese forces supporting them. The Soviets advanced on the continent into the Japanese [[puppet state]] of [[Manchukuo]], [[Mengjiang]] (the northeast section of present-day [[Inner Mongolia]] which was part of another puppet state) and via an [[Seishin Operation|amphibious operation]] the northern portion of [[Korea]].<ref >[[Robert Butow]], ''Japan's Decision to Surrender'', Stanford University Press, 1954 {{ISBN|978-0-8047-0460-1}}.</ref><ref>[[Richard B. Frank]], ''Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire'', Penguin, 2001 {{ISBN|978-0-14-100146-3}}.</ref><ref>[http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/hasegawa.htm Tsuyoshi Hasegawa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924030458/http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/hasegawa.htm |date=24 September 2015 }}, ''Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan'', Belknap Press, 2006 {{ISBN|0-674-01693-9}}.</ref> Other Red Army operations included the [[Soviet invasion of South Sakhalin]], which was the Japanese portion of [[Sakhalin Island]] (and Russia had lost to Japan in 1905 in the aftermath of the [[Russo-Japanese War]]), and the [[invasion of the Kuril Islands]]. Emperor [[Hirohito]] announced the surrender of Japan on 15 August. The commanding general of the Kwantung Army ordered a surrender the following day although some Japanese units continued to fight for several more days. A [[proposed Soviet invasion of Hokkaido]], the second largest Japanese island, was originally planned to be part of the territory to be taken but it was cancelled.<ref>Archive, Wilson Center Digital. Wilson Center Digital Archive, digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/122335. http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/122335 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111193316/https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/122335 |date=11 November 2020 }}</ref>