| 9 August 1945 Soviet Forces Invade Manchuria |
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| Although the Soviet Union had played a critical role
in the war against Nazi Germany, the Soviets had remained neutral in the struggle against Japan.
However, immediately after Germany surrendered in May the Soviet premier, Josef Stalin, began transferring
troops to the East. They were stationed along the border with Manchuria, a part of China that the
Japanese had occupied since 1931. On August 9—the same day as the atomic bombing of Nagasaki—the
Soviets came pouring across the border. The Japanese government, still reeling from the effects
of the atomic bomb attacks, found itself divided between the civilian leadership, which argued
in favor of peace, and the military, which demanded a fight to the finish. Only the personal intervention
of Emperor Hirohito settled this debate, and on August 10 the emperor announced to his people that
Japan would surrender. The war in the Pacific had finally ended.
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