Invasion of the Kuril Islands

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Invasion of the Kuril Islands
Part of the Soviet–Japanese War
Map of the invasion of the Kuril Islands
Date 18 August – 2 September 1945 Location Kuril Islands Result Soviet victory Territorial changes Kuril Islands annexed to the Soviet Union
Belligerents
Soviet Union	Japan
Commanders and leaders
Aleksandr Ksenofontov Aleksei Gnechko Dmitry Ponomarev	Fusaki Tsutsumi
Strength
15,000 troops[citation needed]	80,000 troops[1]
Casualties and losses
at least 962 killed[2] at least 1,026 wounded	at least 1,018 killed or wounded 50,422 surrendered

The Invasion of the Kuril Islands (Russian: Курильская десантная операция, lit. 'Kuril Islands Landing Operation') was the World War II Soviet military operation to capture the Kuril Islands from Japan in 1945. The invasion, part of the Soviet–Japanese War, was decided on when plans to land on Hokkaido were abandoned. The successful military operations of the Red Army at Mutanchiang and during the invasion of South Sakhalin created the necessary prerequisites for invasion of the Kuril Islands.