| 2nd Far Eastern Front | |
|---|---|
| Active | 5 August – 1 October 1945 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Army group |
| Size | SeveralArmies |
| Engagements | Soviet invasion of Manchuria Invasion of South Sakhalin Invasion of the Kuril Islands Proposed Soviet invasion of Hokkaido |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Maksim Purkayev |
The2nd Far Eastern Front (Russian:2-й Дальневосточный фронт) was aFront—a formation equivalent to a WesternArmy Group—of theSoviet Army. It was formed just prior to theSoviet invasion of Manchuria and was active from August 5, 1945, until October 1, 1945.
Shortly after its creation, the 2nd Far East Front was committed to the fighting against the JapaneseFirst andFifth Area Armies and the JapaneseFourth Army inManchuria,Sakhalin and theKuril Islands. In Manchuria, soldiers of the front swiftly crossed theAmur andUssuri rivers, destroying all Japanese resistance. On August 20, the front's15th Army tookHarbin. Later, the2nd Red Banner Army entered the Kalochzhan and Lyunchzhen regions, the 15th Army entered the Sansin region, and the5th 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 the16th Army began an offensive in SouthernSakhalin 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 ofKholmsk, and combined amphibious and airborne assault operations near the port ofKorsakov. 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 ofHokkaidō was never carried out.
Meanwhile, an operational group composed of the101st Rifle Division captured theKurile Islands.
On 1 October 1945, by a directive of the Stavka VGK dated 10 September 1945, the Front was disbanded and reorganised as theFar Eastern Military District (2nd Formation).[1]
The 2nd Far Eastern Front included the following units on 9 August 1945:[2]