Japan Divided Cold War WI

Why did they launch an amphibious assault on Sakhalin? They had a land border, and unless it was just a quick operation to get behind a defensive line or something of the sort, then I don't see the point.

Perhaps to flank the land border.

That, and I'm guessing the Soviets also might have thought it would be more efficient to just land the troops directly on Japanese territory rather then ship them over to the northern part of the island and then fight their way down. Plus, with the Japanese navy already sunk by the Americans there isn't really anything the Japanese can do to actually stop a landing fleet.
 
That, and I'm guessing the Soviets also might have thought it would be more efficient to just land the troops in South Sakhalin rather then ship them over and fight their way down.

While I imagine the USSR could steamroll Japan like in Manchuria, maybe their goal was speed in this case if they aren't just usimg brute force.
 
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