Editing Karafuto Prefecture (section)

===Soviet invasion===
{{main|Soviet invasion of South Sakhalin
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In August 1945, after repudiating the [[Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact]] in April, and according to the signed agreements of Yalta, in which Stalin pledged that the Soviet Union would enter the Pacific War three months after the defeat of Germany, the [[Soviet Union]] invaded Karafuto. The Soviet attack started on 11 August 1945, three days before the [[surrender of Japan]]. The Soviet 56th Rifle Corps, part of the [[16th Army (Soviet Union)|16th Army]], consisting of the 79th Rifle Division, the 2nd Rifle Brigade, the 5th Rifle Brigade and the 214 Armored Brigade,<ref>[http://niehorster.org/012_ussr/45-08-08/army_16.html 16th Army, 2nd Far Eastern Front, Soviet Far East Command, 09.08,45<!-- Bot generated title -->]{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> attacked the [[88th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|Japanese 88th Infantry Division]]. Although the Soviet [[Red Army]] outnumbered the Japanese by three to one, they advanced only slowly due to strong Japanese resistance. It was not until the 113th Rifle Brigade and the 365th Independent Naval Infantry Rifle Battalion from [[Sovetskaya Gavan]] landed in [[Toro (Sakhalin)|Tōro]], a seashore village in western Karafuto, on 16 August that the Soviets broke the Japanese defense line. Japanese resistance grew weaker after this landing. Actual fighting continued until 21 August. Between 22 and 23 August, most remaining Japanese units agreed to a ceasefire. The Soviets completed the conquest of Karafuto on 25 August 1945, by occupying the capital of Toyohara.