Front. Here, he participated in the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive that started in June 1944. His front liberated the city of Petrozavodsk and East Karelia. In October, Meretskov was ordered to clear the city of Petsamo, in northern Finland, of Germans and to drive the German army back into Norway. Meretskov was able to use his knowledge of Arctic warfare to launch a co-ordinated offensive called the Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive that drove the Germans back from their positions. After this offensive Meretskov was promoted to the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union, on October 26, 1944. Meretskov's next major command was in Manchuria in 1945, in the Far East, where he was selected to lead the 1st Far East Front during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, under the overall command of Aleksandr Vasilevsky. According to the plan, the main force of the 1st Far East Front Army of set out from Primorsky Krai, broke through the Japanese defense line set up in the East Manchuria, and carried out assaults against the Kwantung Army in Jilin, in order to compete with Marshal Rodion Malinovsky's Transbaikal Front. The Transbaikal Front Army cooperated and advanced towards Changchun. Meretskov's Far East First Front Army and Maksim Purkayev's 2nd Far East Front jointly enclosed the Kwantung Army at Harbin in an area with a circumference of 1,500 kilometers. Before the attack on August 9, there was a heavy rain. Meretskov decisively ordered the attack without artillery fire as planned. The sudden attack worked and the Soviet army successfully seized the forward position. Within a week, the 1st Far East Front Army broke through the Kwantung Army's 1st Front Army permanently prepared fortifications and penetrated 120 km-150 km. The Japanese headquarters completely lost command of the team and did not organize strong resistance until August 15. After August 15, the Japanese tried to organize heavy resistance in Mudanjiang, but they still could not stop the advancement of Meretskov's 1st Far East Front Army. On the 18th, the commander of the Kwantung Army Otozō Yamada did not reply to Meretskov's telegram requesting him to surrender. Meretskov ordered the airborne troops to be dropped at Harbin and other airports. The Kwantung Army surrendered on August 19. In addition to military work, Meretskov also did political work. At the end of August, he went to the Chinese brigade inspection training led by Zhou Baozhong and asked his subordinates to provide the