page_title: 2nd Red Banner Army
section_title: Soviet invasion of Manchuria
hierarchical_section_title: 2nd Red Banner Army / History / World War II / Soviet invasion of Manchuria
caption_attribution_description: English: Soviet 2d Red Banner Army Operations, 9-15 August 1945
context_page_description: The 2nd Red Banner Army was a Soviet field army of World War II that served as part of the Far Eastern Front.
  The army was formed at Khabarovsk in the Soviet Far East in 1938 as the 2nd Army. After the Far Eastern Front was split in September that year it became the 2nd Independent Red Banner Army. When the front was reformed in June 1940, the army was redesignated as the 2nd Red Banner Army, stationed in the Blagoveshchensk area. It spent the bulk of World War II guarding the border in that area, sending formations to the Eastern Front while undergoing several reorganizations. In August 1945, the army fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, capturing the Japanese fortified regions of Aihun and Sunwu adjacent to its sector of the border, and advancing into Manchuria to Qiqihar. The army was disbanded after the war in late 1945.
context_section_description: In preparation for the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, the army became part of the 2nd Far Eastern Front after the Far Eastern Front was split on 5 August. For the invasion, the army had a strength of 240 tanks and self-propelled guns and 1,270 guns and mortars, and occupied a 612-mile (985 km) sector. It numbered 54,000 men out of a nominal strength of 59,000. The army's three rifle divisions were at around 90% of their nominal strength, with around 9,000 to 10,000 men each; the 3rd and 12th Divisions were slightly larger than the 396th. The 101st Fortified Region numbered 6,000 men and was almost at full strength. The army included three tank brigades (the 73rd, 74th, and 258th) and three self-propelled artillery battalions. Front commander Army General Maxim Purkayev initially tasked the army with defending the Blagoveshchensk area from Japanese attack, in cooperation with the Amur Flotilla's Zee-Bureysk Brigade and separate battalions of river ships. When the main Soviet attacks achieved success, the army was to launch an assault crossing of the Amur River, reduce or isolate the Japanese Sakhalian, Aihun, and Holomoching fortified regions and defenses around Sunwu, and advance south through the Lesser Khingan Mountains to Qiqihar and Harbin. The front's offensive operations were later known in Soviet historiography as the Sungari Offensive.
  An operational group consisting of the 3rd and 12th Rifle Divisions, and the 73rd and 74th Tank Brigades, was positioned in the army's center and on its left flank. It was to attack south across the Amur from Konstantinovka to capture Sunwu and its fortifications, then advance south through Peian to Harbin. Another group with the 396th Rifle Division, the 368th Mountain Rifle Regiment, and the 258th Tank Brigade was to launch a supporting drive across the Amur from the Blagoveshchensk area, take the fortified regions of Sakhalian and Aihun, and advance south to Nencheng, Noho, and Qiqihar. The army's 101st Fortified Area, with artillery and machine gun battalions, was positioned on the Amur between the two groups to conduct supporting attacks.
  The main offensive began on 9 August, but the army remained in its positions until 11 August. During this time, it conducted reconnaissance and harassing attacks across the Amur, capturing several of the river's islands. The main bodies of the operational groups were placed in concentration areas, located 12–17 miles (19–27 km) in the army's rear. Due to the rapid advance of the other Soviet forces, Purkayev ordered the army late on 10 August to begin its attack early on the following morning. Aihun, Sunwu, and Hsunho were scheduled to be captured by the end of 11 August. That night, the operational groups moved forward to their attack starting positions. The attack began early in the morning under the cover of an artillery bombardment, as reconnaissance and assault detachments from the first echelons of the operational groups crossed the Amur, capturing bridgeheads near Sakhalian, Aihun, and Holomoching, coming into contact with Japanese outposts and covering forces. The 3rd and 12th Rifle Divisions commenced crossing the river shortly afterwards, less one regiment, east and west of Konstantinovka; the 396th Division and 368th Regiment near Blagoveshchensk and the 101st Fortified Region crossed south of Blagoveshchensk.
  Due to bridging equipment shortages, the army was not fully across the river until 16 August, forcing the piecemeal commitment of forces. Forward units continued to engage Japanese advanced positions south of Holomoching and north of Aihun on 12 August, as reinforcements landed. Sufficient troops to intensify the attack had arrived on the other bank of the Amur by 13 August, allowing the 3rd Rifle Division and 74th Tank Brigade to penetrate the Japanese defenses held by the 123rd Infantry Division's 269th Infantry Regiment on the heights northeast of Sunwu. A regiment from the 12th Division crossed the Amur east of Sunwu and advanced west along the Sunwu road, attacking the Japanese left flank. The 396th Division, 258th Tank B
caption: Operations of the 2nd Red Banner Army in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, 8–15 August 1945
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