ABSTRACT
Among the most vexing realities that the 1st Far Eastern Front’s military planners faced while orchestrating their portion of the Manchurian strategic offensive were the imposing terrain barriers in eastern Manchuria that blocked access into the vital central Manchurian valley. These barriers, which primarily take the form of vast mountainous and forested regions and expansive swamps and bogs, severely limit the number of suitable axes of advance along which military forces can advance into Manchuria’s central valley. Indeed, it seemed to Soviet planners as if all of the solid ground in eastern Manchuria rose and fell precipitously, while the little flat ground that did exist was inundated by water and swampy marshes which threatened to consume within its depths any men or equipment attempting to cross it.
