TheFar Eastern Front (Russian: Дальневосточный фронт) was afront — a level ofmilitary formation that is equivalent toarmy group — of theRed Army during theSecond World War.[1]
Тhe Far Eastern Front was created on June 28, 1938 from theSpecial Red Banner Far Eastern Army within theFar East Military District. It included the1st Red Banner Army and the2nd Red Banner Army. In 1938 Front forces — seemingly theSoviet 32nd Rifle Division of 39th Rifle Corps — engaged JapaneseManchukuo forces at theBattle of Lake Khasan. On the eve of the invasion of the Soviet Union by Germany, the Front comprised:[2]
On August 5, 1945, the Front was divided and reorganized as the 1st Far Eastern Front and 2nd Far Eastern Front:
2nd Far Eastern Front, under GeneralM. A. Purkayev (aimed at easternManchukuo), including:
1st Far Eastern Front, under MarshalK. A. Meretskov (aimed at northern Manchukuo), including:
Transbaikal Front included the12th Air Army.
In theSoviet invasion of Manchuria it led the attack into Japanese-occupiedManchuria.[3] Although theKwantung Army of theImperial Japanese Army had more than 1 million soldiers, theJapanese defenders were overwhelmed by the offensive. Allied forces ofMongolia andChiang Kai-shek'sNationalist China aided theSoviet operation. On August 19, the Far East Front continued its routing of the Kwantung Army by capturingHarbin andMukden. By August 21, theRed Army had captured almost all ofManchuria, and the final surrender of the Kwantung Army took place.[4]
On August 11 to 12, 1945, the87th Rifle Corps was brought out from the reserve of the 1st Far Eastern Front, and received new orders to prepare for landing operations on the island of Hokkaido (Japan); however, the planned operation never took place, although elements of the 87th Corps participated in other operations against Japanese forces in the theatre.[citation needed]
On September 30, 1945, thePrimorskiy (Maritime Provinces) Military District was formed on the territory ofPrimorsky Krai (territory of the former Ussuri Oblast), from HQ1st Far East Front.[5][6]