CASUALTY RECORD // August 9, 1945
Soviet invasion of Manchuria
Estimated casualties — killed, wounded, captured, and missing — by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Casualties by side
2 sides catalogued · combined 31,169–33,420 estimated
Soviet Union
9,780–12,031
Medium-confidence figure
Japan
21,389
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, launched on 9 August 1945, was the largest campaign of the Soviet–Japanese War and ended nearly six years of peace between the USSR and Japan. Deploying over 1.5 million troops against a Japanese-aligned force of roughly 665,500, Soviet forces moved simultaneously against Manchukuo and Mengjiang — the Empire of Japan's puppet states in Manchuria and Inner Mongolia respectively. The operation dismantled Japan's principal continental military position and struck at the political architecture Japan had constructed across northeastern Asia, including the Manchukuo regime headed by Puyi. Soviet casualties were relatively limited compared to the scale of the offensive, while Japanese losses exceeded 21,000. The campaign effectively eliminated Japan's capacity to sustain a land war on the Asian continent and contributed to the collapse of Japanese resistance in the final days of the Second World War.
‹ Full battle dossier