ABSTRACT
The Stavka and Far East Command anticipated that its strategic offensive against the Kwantung Army in Manchuria would last for about 30 days and prepared accordingly. Achieving victory in so brief a campaign involved redeploying massive quantities of forces, weaponry, and supplies to the new theater of military operations secretly and within an extremely short period of time. To control these forces effectively, the Stavka created a unified theater command structure and manned it with commanders and staffs whose experience suited them to control massive forces operating across a broad front in the challenging and diverse terrain and weather conditions of Manchuria.
