The outcome of the Potsdam Conference was the entry of the USSR into the war with Japan. In accordance with the Yalta accords, the Soviet Union, on April 5, 1945, denounced the neutrality pact with Japan, and after the end of the war with Germany, began the transfer of armed forces to the Far East.

Despite the successful military operations of the Allies in 1944 and the beginning of 1945, according to the calculations of the Allied Command, the final defeat of Japan without Soviet participation was possible only after half a year. First of all, the millionth continental Kwantung Army, based in Manchuria and Korea and capable of autonomously resisting for a long time, represented a big problem for the allies.

Under these conditions, the support of the Soviet troops was desirable even after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.

The general leadership of the Soviet armies in the Far East was carried out by Marshal A. M. Vasi-Levsky. The planned Manchurian operation (August 9 - September 2, 1945) provided for coordinated actions of the Trans-Baikal (Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky), the 1st Far Eastern (Marshal K.A. Meretskov) and the 2nd Far Eastern Fronts (General M.A. Purkaev). The component of the grouping of the Soviet troops was the Pacific Fleet (Admiral I. S. Yumashev) and the Amur Military Flotilla (Admiral N. V. Antonov). Above the Kwantung Army, a numerical superiority was achieved by 1.2 times, in tanks - by 4.8, in artillery - by 4.8, in aviation - by 1.9 times.

Together with the Soviet units, units of the Mongolian Peoples Army (Marshal of the MPR X. Choibalsan) took part in the preparation and conduct of the operation. The numerical superiority of the Soviet troops over enemy units, superiority in technique and tactics, in combat experience led to the defeat of the Japanese armies in less than two weeks.

Already on August 19, the command of the Kwantung Army declared its readiness to lay down arms, recognizing its military defeat by the Soviet troops. During the week, parts of the Japanese army that continued to resist were destroyed.

The rout of the Kwantung Army (August 9 - September 2, 1945) led, along with new successes of the Allies, to the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II. The Soviet Union regained lost at the beginning of the XX century. territory (South Sakhalin, Kuriles) and established itself as a Pacific state. The war and its results signified not only the increased potential of the country, but also its new status as a superpower.