Glantz David M. Soviet operational and tactical combat in Manchuria, 1945

London, Portland: Frank Cass Publishers, 2003. — 402 p.
The Soviet Far East Command’s strategic offensive of August 1945 against the Kwantung Army shattered Japanese defenses around the periphery of Manchuria in seven days and achieved total victory in less than two weeks, ending Japanese domination of northeastern Asia (see Map 1). The command commenced its strategic envelopment operation, a self-styled ‘Cannae’, by attacking shortly after midnight on 9 August 1945 with three separate fronts with a total of ten armies, one cavalry-mechanized group, and more than one million men. Advancing in the dark along multiple converging axes on a broad front, often across seemingly impassable terrain and in drenching August rains, the advancing Soviet forces exerted unbearable pressure on the surprised Japanese defenders. By tailoring their forces to advance rapidly in all types of terrain and by leading the advance wherever possible with armored forward detachments, the Soviets generated requisite speed and offensive momentum to overwhelm Japanese defenses and preempt Japanese defenses in the depths of Manchuria.