NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Strike North Group

As a result of her victories in the wars against China (1894-95) and Czarist Russia (1904-05), Japan secured the basic elements of her national desires - for the time being. Afterwards she undertook the management of Manchuria. This marked the first step in Japan's policy of developing of the Asiatic continent and of striving for racial expansion (see Empire of Japan, imperialism in Asia). The Great Wall of China, stretching over 6,700 km, was erected beginning in the 3rd century BC to guard the north from raids by men on horses. ... Official language Japanese Capital Tokyo Largest City Tokyo Emperor Akihito Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Area - Total - % water Ranked 60th 377,835 km² 0. ... Approximate extent Northeast China (Simplified Chinese: 东北; Traditional Chinese: 東北; pinyin: Dōngběi; literally east-north), historically known as Manchuria, is the name of a region (ca. ... Flag of Japan adopted 1870, official 1999 Japanese Naval Ensign adopted 1889, re-adopted 1954 The Empire of Japan (大日本帝国; Dai Nippon Teikoku) was the official title of Japan before the end of World War II. The names Imperial Japan and Japanese Empire are also used. ... Large areas of Asia, as well as Africa and other areas of the world, were subjected to imperial control by European nations, China, and Japan. ...

By their very success, the major developments in national policies greatly enhanced the already dominant role of national defence in politics. They took place in an atmosphere of tension between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army, which was unresolved in the period under discussion. The Army became associated with strategic planning for mainland Asia, namely forward planning for Asian land wars; and the North Strike group. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) (大日本帝國海軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigun or 日本海軍 Nippon Kaigun) was the navy of Japan before 1945. ... The Imperial Japanese Army (大日本帝国陸軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was in existence from the Meiji Reformation to the end of World War II. It was created to replace the traditional Japanese samurai with a modern Western-style conscript army. ...

See also Japanese strategic planning for the Pacific (1905-1940) for the Navy's concept, and the South Strike group.

Policy from 1905

After the termination of the Russo-Japanese war, Field Marshal Yamagata (a political ancestor of the North Strike group) approached the Emperor, in 1906, concerning the necessity of preparing a basic national defense policy. The following year, the Army and Navy security study groups established the first national defense policy and specific programmes. The Prime Minister was shown the basic documents, after which they were submitted to the Emperor for his respective Sanction. The Russo-Japanese War ( 1904- 1905) was a conflict that grew out of the rival imperialist ambitions of Imperial Russia and Japan in Manchuria and Korea. ... Yamagata Aritomo (山県有朋; April 22, 1838–February 1, 1922) was a Japanese military leader and politician, and the third (December 24, 1889–May 6, 1891) and 9th (1898–1900) Prime Minister of Japan. ...

The main objective of national defence policy centered upon the postulation of a potential enemy. Since the first plan of 1907 the primary foe was judged to be Czarist Russia. It was presumed in Tokyo that Russia would be seeking revenge for the reverse of the 1904-1905 war. The years which followed the establishment of a new national defense policy witnessed remarkable changes in the international scene around Japan: the ruin of the Czarist Russian Empire and birth of the Soviet Union, the powerful American influence in the Far East and the Japanese exclusion movement within the United States itself. Soviet Union - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Far East is a term often used for East Asia and Southeast Asia combined, sometimes including also the easternmost territories of Russia, i. ...

Policy after 1918

As a consequence, the order of hypothetical enemies was rearranged in 1918: America assumed the primary emphasis (the Japanese Navy's idea), followed by the USSR and China (the Japanese Army's proposals). After the Washington Conference the Imperial Defense policy underwent minor revisions in 1923; by the time slight alterations were made in 1936, the Manchurian incident had already broken out. Upon these hostilities, the Army could be to expected to launch operations in offensive form. The Army General Staff drafted new operational plans against Russia only in 1928 or 29 however, as the Japanese Army really began to devote serious attention to the Soviet Union as the major hypothetical ground foe. The First Soviet Five Year Plan launched in 1928 indicated that the USSR was not only intent upon building up its total national defensive capability, but was also determined to develop the economic resources of the Soviet Far East. In addition the fierce Soviet Army Incursion against Manchouli in 1929, which gave evidence of exceptional execution and tactical skill, greatly impressed the Japanese Army. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) (大日本帝國海軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigun or 日本海軍 Nippon Kaigun) was the navy of Japan before 1945. ... The Imperial Japanese Army (大日本帝国陸軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was in existence from the Meiji Reformation to the end of World War II. It was created to replace the traditional Japanese samurai with a modern Western-style conscript army. ... The term Russian Far East (Russian: Да́льний Восто́к Росси́и; English transliteration: Dalny Vostok Rossii) refers to the extreme south-east parts of Russia, between Siberian Federal District and the Pacific. ... Red Army flag The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya in Russian), the armed forces organised by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ...

From this point the Army concentrated upon strengthening the defenses of Manchukuo, with a view of the Soviet Union as a hypothetical primary enemy of Japan. In the event of a war with Soviet Union, military operations had originally been predicated upon a defensive struggle for vital North Manchuria, in two important sectors: the plains region between Harbin and the Upper Sungari River (which flows between Hsinking and Harbin); and the plains between Taoan and Tsitsihar. In early summer of 1923, however, the Soviet Army began to erect "tochika" (Japanese for tochka, frontier pillbox) positions along the frontiers opposite the border forts which the Kwantung Army then proceded to build. This article discusses the city of Harbin in Manchuria. ... The Songhua River (松花江 song4 hua1 jiang1) is the largest tributary of the Amur River, flowing about 1,800 km from Changbai Mountains. ... Location within China Changchun ( Simplified Chinese: 长春; Traditional Chinese: 長春; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chang-chun) is the capital of the Jilin province in northeastern China. ... Qiqihar (Simplified Chinese: 齐齐哈尔; Traditional Chinese: 齊齊哈爾; pinyin: Qíqíhār; Postal Pinyin: Tsitsihar; Wade-Giles: Chi-chi-ha-er) is a major city in the Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China. ... A bunker is a defensive warfare fortification to protect oneself. ...

Policy from 1934

Under these circumstances, Japanese operational planning was revised in 1934: the opening round of a hypothetical war with the USSR was contemplated in the neighborhood of the Manchurian frontiers. In 1934 the Soviet Tupolev TB-3 (ANT-6) four-engined "Super Heavy Bomber", reportedly capable of striking the Japanese home islands, was deployed in the Maritime province of Siberia (the first direct threat to the Japanese islands). In view of this situation the Japanese Army Staff effected radical changes in its operational planning for eventual hostilities with the Soviet Union: Siberian federal subjects of Russia Siberia ( Russian: Сиби́рь, common English transliterations: Sibir, Sibir; possibly from the Mongolian for the calm land) is a vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan constituting almost all of northern Asia. ...

The idea of launching an eastern offensive was first conceived at the time of the new plan of 1934. Three years later Japanese operational planning was again revised: USS Los Angeles A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate underwater. ... Lake Baikal The Yenisei River basin, Lake Baikal, and the cities of Dikson, Dudinka, Turukhansk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk Lake Baikal (Russian: О́зеро Байка́л (Ozero Baykal)), a lake in southern Siberia, Russia, between Irkutsk Oblast on the northwest and Buryatia on the southeast, near Irkutsk. ...

In devising operational plans against the USSR, the hypothetical movements of the Soviet Far Eastern Army were a major consideration. The Japanese Army General Staff made the following estimate of the situation: the Soviets could be expect to conmmit 55-60 divisions to the Far Eastern Operations. They would launch simultaneous, converging offensives from the east, north and west of Manchuria. The enemy would strive to cut off communications between the Japanese homeland and the Asiatic continent. If war broke out with the Soviet Union, the most important problem would arise: how to terminate the hostilities? The Army General Staff feared that the Russian territory was so boundless that Japan would be unable to deal a finishing blow to the enemy.

Within the Army, the prevailing and expert opinion concerning the solution to this trouble was to employ subversion; in other words the Army therefore placed as much importance upon "political sabotage" as did upon field operations, in planning for hypothetical operations against the Soviet Union. These measures were designed to counter Soviet activities as well as to foster Japan's own strategic ends. The program was accelerated after Japanese troops reached the Soviet frontier subsequent to the Manchurian incident in 1931, and constituted a prime consideration of the Kwantung Army Intelligence Section. The Kwantung Army or Guandong Army (関東軍 Japanese: Kantōgun) was a unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that originated from a Guandong garrison established in 1906 to defend the Kwantung Leased Territory and the areas adjacent to the South Manchurian Railway. ...

The idea was to use the White Russians, Koreans, Chinese, Mongols, Buriats and others living there. Important to anti-Stalinist and anti-Soviet doctrine was the knowledgeable defector General Lushkov of the NKVD, together with other Russian ex-Soviet officers then in the service of Japanese Army intelligence. Principally responsible for Mongol, Buriat and other North Asian agents was Lieutenant General Kanji Tsuneoka, who for the Kwantung Army established the "Central Academy" in Kalgan, Mengjiang. Mongol saboteurs and agitators during the late 1920s and early 1930s provoked some disorder in the Western area of Outer Mongolia, suppressed by the Russian and Mongol authorities; this was possibly under his orders. He was a North Asian expert and studied in depth the issue of controlling Central Asia. The term White Russian may refer to: A member of the White movement, which opposed the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution and fought against the Red Army during the Russian Civil War. ... Korean is: A person from or something related to Korea. ... Honorary guard of Mongolia. ... The Buryats, numbering approximately 350,000, are the largest ethnic minority group in Mongolian descent and share many customs with their Mongolian cousins, including nomadic herding and erecting yurts for shelter. ... Black Ravens by Boris Vladimirski, a depiction of the cars used by NKVD agents. ... Kalgan can refer to: A city in China, Zhangjiakou A planet in Isaac Asimovs Foundation series, Kalgan (Foundation universe) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Mengjiang (蒙疆 in pinyin: Méngjiāng; in Wade-Giles: Meng-chiang; Postal Pinyin: Mengkiang, literal meaning: Mongolian Territories), also known in English as Mongol Border Land, was a puppet state in northern China (consisted of Chahar and Suiyuan provinces) controlled by Japan. ...

Japanese military experts placed weight on the experience during Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905 when Colonel Motojiro Akashi had used subversion. His tactics of contacting in Europe alll the opponents of the Czarist rule — Zilliakus and Plekhanov, as well as nationalists — was considered to have undermined the Russian state and was cited as a brilliant example of "political sabotage". Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov (December 11, 1856 – May 30, 1918; Old Style: November 29, 1856 – May 17, 1918) was a Russian revolutionary and a Marxist theoretician. ...

The failure of certain attempts at subversion in 1938 was later attributed to the exaggeration of the struggles of minorities within the USSR - the recurrent theme of the "Confrontation of Races", as well as to the overconfidence of agents. Japanese military missions in Germany received information of Nazi schemes of political subversion too, particularly being interested in the attempts by the Abwehr and Brandenburg unit to make use of Ukrainian and other Slavic Eastern minorities. They were in close touch with White Russian emigrés in Germany. Others Japanese reports mentioned similar comments recovered from a Serbian Communist residing in Siberia on the resentiment of the whole Siberian population towards the Soviet central authorities: their sense of being treated as second class citizens; how the workers liked to take weapons for a new and just social revolution; how students would bet on the alternatives of German Nazi or Japanese Victory over the Soviets in Siberia; and how local politicians discussed secretly collaboration with the Axis powers in case of a defeat of the Stalinist government. In sociology and in voting theory, a minority is a sub-group that is outnumbered by persons who do not belong to it. ... The Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is one of the worlds leading industrialised countries, located in the heart of Europe. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... The Abwehr was the common name for the German military foreign information and counterintelligence department, during both World War I and World War II. Abwehr is a German word, which is commonly translated to the English defence. The head of the Abwehr during World War II was Admiral Wilhelm Canaris. ... Ukrainian is: Ukrainian language a person of Ukrainian ethnicity adjective for Ukraine This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Slav, Slavic or Slavonic can refer to: Slavic peoples Slavic languages Slavic mythology Church Slavonic language Old Church Slavonic language Slavonian can also refer to Slavonia, a region in eastern Croatia. ... The word Serbian might be: an adjective, meaning: of Serbs (Serbian tradition, Serbian religion) of Serbia (Serbian government, Serbian president) both of the above (Serbian flag) a noun, meaning: a Serb a Serb from Serbia (as opposed to Serb who is not from Serbia) citizen of Serbia (regardless of nationality... The Axis Powers is a term for those participants in World War II opposed to the Allies. ...

Detailed planning of Japanese operations against the USSR

In 1934 Japanese Kwantung Army forces had four complete armored divisions, 18 air squadrons and 164,100 in infantry divisions. At a secret military conference they fixed July 2 as X-day for the fight against the Soviets. They concluded the following points: (a) initially not to intervene in a Russo-German War; (b) to proceed with prudent diplomatic negotiations, while consolidating secret preparations against USSR; (c) if a Russo-German War turns out favorably for Japan, to settle the Northern problem by force and maintain stability in recent northern conquests. Accordingly, from the outbreak of a Russo-German War the Chungking operation (Chinese war) should be suspended. Army High Command was traditionally watchful towards the Soviet Union. They considered the settlement of the 'China incident' incomplete, because Japan was tied down by the USSR. At the root of the High Command attitude towards the USSR lay the following consideration: conflict between Japan and Russian was just a matter of time. It was taboo for Japan to demonstrate weakness towards the Soviet Union. Armaments were therefore the only means of stabilizing matters with Russia. A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around 10,000 soldiers. ... A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around 10,000 soldiers. ...

The main objective of the Imperial Army would be to build up to the strength necessary to occupy all the Maritime Province and Sakhalin Island, while at same time securing Manchuria and occuping exterior Mongolia and the Lake Baikal. Other probable objectives added to the basic war plan were a possible invasion of Irkutsk-Krasnoyarsk (East-Central Siberia), and/or an incursion to occupy Central Asia mainland. Sakhalin (Russian: Сахалин), also Saghalien, 库页岛 (Ku Ye Dao, Chinese), or Karafuto (Japanese: 樺太) is a large elongated island in the North Pacific, lying between 45° 50 and 54° 24 N, in East Siberia, Russia. ... Lake Baikal The Yenisei River basin, Lake Baikal, and the cities of Dikson, Dudinka, Turukhansk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk Lake Baikal (Russian: О́зеро Байка́л (Ozero Baykal)), a lake in southern Siberia, Russia, between Irkutsk Oblast on the northwest and Buryatia on the southeast, near Irkutsk. ... A traditional house in Irkutsk The Yenisei watershed, Lake Baikal, and the cities of Dikson, Dudinka, Turukhansk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk Irkutsk (Ирку́тск), the chief town of the Irkutsk Oblast, is one of the most important places in Siberia, being not only the principal commercial depot north of Tashkent, but also a... Krasnoyarsk on the Yenisei River Krasnoyarsk (Russian: Красноярск), administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, is the third largest city in Siberia. ...

After this secret conference, Imperial Headquarters ordered the implementation of the revised policy toward the Soviet Union by commencing large scale reinforcements of the Kwantung Army. To keep the true reasons secret, the build-up was called the "Special Manoeuvers of Kwantung Army" or KANTOKUEN for short. The 400,600 troops of the Kwantung Army suddenly rose to over 700,000 and some billion Yen in military funds were allocated. These maneouvers prepared the use of force against Soviet Union, based upon the prospect that the Russo-German war might rapidly take a favorable turn for Germany. In the event that force was used against the USSR, the new operational plan of 1939 was scheduled to go into effect, whereby simultaneous offensives were to be mounted north and east from Manchuria. Additionally the new plan included landings in Soviet Far East islands and coastal areas, and land operations in Outer Mongolia. Japan also had in Manchuria 150,000 to 200,000 troops.

The Imperial Army anticipated the German offensive, to commence in 1941-42. The Russians had to transferred several divisions from the Far East to European sectors, but the USSR would never leave Siberia defenseless, even if the war with Germany turned badly for her. It was thought to be almost beyond the realm of possiblity for the Soviet Union to participate in a war between Japan and United States, of her own accord, thereby having to wage two-front operations. Certain reports mentioned the sending of 20 or 30 divisions to the European battlefront.

Although the Kwantung Army had been reinforced, the Russo-German War for which the Japanese Army had held such great expectations might not turn out favorably for Germany, despite Hitler's boasts. A serious problem consequently demanded response: how could the expanded Kwantung Army pull through the rigorous cold of a Manchurian or Siberian winter? Military materiel was geared to hypothetical mobile operations against the Soviet Union, characterized by light weapons, large scale logistical systems, light armored groups and many horses. If after the southern operations are underway, the Soviet Army appeared to be mounting an invasion of Manchuria, requisite forces could be diverted there in ample time.

As defensive measures against any Soviet counteroffensive, Japan had the primary goal of knocking out the Soviet Far Eastern Air Forces, as necessary to protect Manchuria and Japan. The Kwantung Army laid plans for a border defense system in 1934, but construction work did not begin until 1935. To begin with, to 1938 only four zones were fortified in East Manchuria, plus three in the north and one in the west.

Other Japanese military technical details

The Japanese during the 1918-1927 armed intervention in Siberia had studied geographical features serving for possible fortification in the Russian Far East. Most important were the Trans-Siberian Railway and the recent Amur-Baikal Railway. In Manchukuo a system of nine railway lines reached towards Soviet lands. To cut Russian railways Japanese experts considered paratroops. The Siberian river system was also looked on as possibly important. The strength of Russian fortifications demanded the use of heavy artillery, that had been sent to Manchukuo for use on Chinese positions. ... An American Paratrooper using a T-10C series parachute Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and formed into an airborne force. ... Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ... Manchukuo was a nominally independent puppet state set up by the Empire of Japan in Manchuria (Northeastern China) which existed from 1931 to 1945. ...

Soviet Far East military dispositions

With respect to Russian Forces in the Soviet Far East, the reports are various. The term Russian Far East (Russian: Да́льний Восто́к Росси́и; English transliteration: Dalny Vostok Rossii) refers to the extreme south-east parts of Russia, between Siberian Federal District and the Pacific. ...

The Soviet Far East Front (official name of the relevant military district) was under the Red Flag Special Army from 1929. This army was divided into First and Second Red Flag Army durng 1938. These forces had 450,000 to 600,000 armed soldiers; other sources mention 225,000 men, 5,000 tank pilots and 15,000 frontier guards for a total of 290,000 or 840,000 units.

The regular Soviet division always counted as 20,000 soldiers. In the Baikal region are estimated to have been 630,000 men, 3000 aircraft, and 2,300 armored vehicles. The Soviet government funded construction of 4,000 defensive fortifications on the Manchukuan-Soviet frontier.

The Soviet Air Force in the Russian Far East had airbases in Chita, Blagoveschensk, Khabarovsk, Konsomolsk, Nikolayevsk and other sites. It is supposed that these sites were heavily armed, with anti-aircraft guns and fortified positions, as was the case for the Moscow and Leningrad defenses. Soviet Air Force, also known under the abbreviation VVS, transliterated from Russian: ВВС, Военно-воздушные силы (Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily), formed the official designation of the airforce of the Soviet Union. ... Chita may refer to one of the following. ... Khabarovsk (Хабаровск) (population 582,700) is the capital city of the Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, some 30 km from the Chinese border. ...

The Soviet Pacific fleet is estimated at 100 or more vessels. According to one source,in 1938-39 this fleet consisted of 18 destroyers, 90 diesel submarines, 80 coastal patrol boats, 30 gunboats, 75 armored light boats (mosquito boats), with bases in Nikolayevsk, Vladivostok, Ohkostk, Nagaevo, Petropavlovlsk-Kamchatski, Konsomolsk and Khabarovsk. Also 60 "shark" boats, 42 other submarines, and river patrol boats. Others preparations were the construction of the Amur-Baikal railway, industrial development in the Baikal area and the rapid production from Zabaikalsk and Konsomolsk factories of 1,000,000 tonnes of steel per year, for a prolonged war in the Soviet Far East. This article is about the warship. ... USS Los Angeles A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate underwater. ... A patrol boat is a small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence duties. ... A gunboat is literally a boat carrying one or more guns. ... Vladivostok Train Station Vladivostok (Russian: Владивосто́к) is a city in Russia. ... Khabarovsk (Хабаровск) (population 582,700) is the capital city of the Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, some 30 km from the Chinese border. ...

During the war with Germany, Pacific naval personnel built and fortified Soviet naval bases. The navy was stripped of many sailors who were sent to fight on the front in the west. In 1943 the Soviet Pacific Fleet trained for amphibious and combined operations.

Summary of Russo-Japanese conflicts 1929-1939

Russo-Japanese Eastern Chinese Railway Incident (1929)

This refers to the attempt at armed provocation or capture of the Soviet Eastern Chinese Railway realized on August 7 1929 by Japanese, Chinese agents and Manchukuo railway troops against Soviet Railway units. This was rapidly responded to by the Russians, and the aggressors defeated. Consequences of this incident were the creation of a Special Red Flag in the Soviet Far East area, a Russian armed incursion to Manchouli in the same year (mentioned above), and the decision of Soviet Government to sell rights in the Eastern Chinese Railway Zone to Manchukuo in 1935.

Litiaokou Incident (1931)

See main article Mukden Incident The Mukden Incident (September 18, 1931), also called Manchurian Incident, occurred in northern Manchuria when the Japanese blew up a section of their own railroad near Mukden (todays Shenyang). ...

On September 18, 1931, some provocateurs (in fact Japanese special forces), purportedly in the Japanese official version Russian or Chinese "bandits", began armed aggressions in the Litiaokou area, near Mukden. The Kwantung Army HQ was located at Port Arthur, and the garrison troops consisted of one main infantry division and six battalions of independent garrison units (with detachment in Mukden). Major districts of Shenyang. ... Port Arthur is the name of some places: Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia Old Western name for Lushun, China Port Arthur, Texas, United States of America Port Arthur, Ontario, a city in Ontario, Canada, became part of Thunder Bay in 1970. ...

Existing treaties provided for no more than seventeen railway guards per kilometer and the total strength of the Kwantung Army at this time amounted to only 10,400 troops.

On September 19 the Japanese Government, which had decided upon a policy of localizing the incidents, communicated its decision. Despite this, the Kwantung Army rapidly proceeded to expand its operation, and in the next five months had seized most the principal cities and towns throughout Manchuria.

This is called also the "Mukden incidents" (the Japanese invasion of Manchuria), leading to Japanese control there. (This was not, naturally, a Japanese-Russian combat, but a preliminary move by Japan.)

Russian-Japanese Changkufeng Hill incident (1938)

In this armed confrontation, the Japanese 19th Division from Chosen (Korea) took on at least two Soviet infantry divisions, in a territorial dispute between Japan and Manchukuo on the one hand, and the USSR on the other. It is also known as the Lake Khasan Incident, for the lake of the same name in the area, which is the conventional title. Joseon (Cháoxiǎn (朝鲜) in Chinese; Chosen (朝鮮) in Japanese) is a name for Korea, as used in the following cases: As part of the name of several ancient kingdoms (including Gojoseon, Gija Joseon, and Wiman Joseon); During most of the Joseon Dynasty, when the countrys full official name was...

Russian-Japanese Nomonhan incident (1939)

See main article Battle of Halhin Gol The Battle of Halhin Gol, sometimes spelled Khalkhin Gol and alternately known as the Nomonhan Incident in Japan, was the decisive engagement of the undeclared Soviet-Japanese Border War (1939), or Japanese-Soviet War. ...

This arose from border problems involving Japan-Manchukuo and the Soviet Union-Outer Mongolia. In April 1939, the Kwantung Army laid down regulations to guide frontline units with frontier troubles. "The principles for the Settlement of Soviet-Manchurian Borders Dispute" stipulated: The Kwantung Army or Guandong Army (関東軍 Japanese: Kantōgun) was a unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that originated from a Guandong garrison established in 1906 to defend the Kwantung Leased Territory and the areas adjacent to the South Manchurian Railway. ...

In the Nomonhan region of west Manchuria, the Japanese and the Manchoukoans contend that the border line ran along the Halha River (known in Russian as Khalkhin-Gol), which flows into Lake Buir Nor. the Soviets and Outer Mongoliams insisted however,that the frontier lay about 30 Kilometers east of Nomonhan Town.

on May 12,1939,some 700 outer mongolians horsemen crossed the Halha River.the Kwantung Army considered this action how one violation of Manchuokouan Frontier and repelled these raiders in conformity with the current Border Defense Guide Regulations mentioned above.the Outer Mongolians,however,received reinforcements,re-crossed the river ,and attacked again.in the course of sucesive engagements,both sides gradually build up their forces-the Russians and Outer Mongolians Vs. Japanese and Manchuoukoans.by the middle of August,greatly reinforced Strength confronted each other.Kwantung Army forces were build around the Lieutenant General Michitaro Komatsubara 23d Division,with Hq in Hailar,Tsingan Province,over 100 miles from the site of the figthing, the Soviets had three infantry divisions and five mechanized brigades, (430 tanks and same number of armored cars) while the Outer Mongolian posseses two Cavalry Divisions and Japan poses only the 3th Tank Regiment,unit of Yasuoka s Detached Armored Forces and somes armored Car units.(Yasuoka s Units poses the new Medium Tank Type 97 "Chi-Ha" ,just at Nomonhan incident,joining at Ligth Tank Type 95 "Ha-Go",the standart tank in this times).

before the arrival of Kwantung Army reinforcements,the soviet Army Launchered an offensive on August 20, and inflicted severe losses to Japanese.the Russians employed encircling tactics and made skillful use of their superior artillery and armor.of the august 15,140 men in the Komatsubara Force,of which the 23 Division was core,11,124 were killed or wounded in action.during the period between july 1 and september 16 which cover most the figth at Nomonhan casualities totalled no less than 73%,as a percentage of the force engaged.most of these losses incurred during Soviet August Offensive.by way of com parison,the percentage of casualities suffered by the Japanese during the bloody figthing in major battles of Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905 had approximated:

still awaiting the arrival of reiforcements,the Kwantung Army girded for a counteroffensive,but on september 15 an armistice was arranged in Moscow,the troops stopped figthing next day.

among certain Japanese authorities,the most widespread opinion was that the nomonhan incident had been a maneouver instigated for Soviet Union in order to Restrain the Japanese Army from disposing of a "China Incident".after the negotiations of Nomonhan Armistice, the Newly appointed Commanding General Staff of Kwantung Army,General Yosihiro Umezu,took inmediatelly steps to prevent further border troubleshe pulled back to Japanese troops some what behind the frontiers where demarcation lines where not precise.a fundamental principle designed to prevent border incidents was General Umezu s order that,in the event of Soviet or Outer Mongolian penetration of at disputed area,only the Commander of Kwantug Army himself from Ryojun hq could to decide whether japanese migth counterattack. the new measures represented a fundamental revision of the old Border Defense Principles.bold and positive front-line attacks the enemy,which had been formerly stressed,were not to be sanctioned now. as a result,a more pacefull atmosphere thereafter prevailed in vici- nity of the frontiers.

The "Nomonhan Incident" gave the japanese Army an opportunity to realize the actual ability of Soviet Army. Seeings was Believing:

After the end of the Nomonhan figthing, the Army High command set up a experts Commitee to investigate the whole incident. The commision was to evaluate the abilites of the Soviet Army, and reexamined the performances of Japanese Armaments and its operations against Russians( from this if obseved the deficience of low 57mm AT Cannon in Favour of Rapid Fire 47mm AT Cannon), where military equipment was concerned, japanese firepower proved far inferior.

Heated debates ensued about two basic alternatives: whether to effect a thoroughgoing reorganization, or whether to go only as far reinforcing current firepower materiel. The second alternative was selected. Lurking in the background of the controversy was the problem of abandoning the principle of hand-to-hand figthing (these principle are used with limited sucess during Lake Khasan first incursions in Soviet lands), tradition of the Japanese infantry. the higth Command did not awaken to remarkable progress of material potentials in modern warfare, but instead continued to esteem the superiority of spiritual figthing strength. this atitude could perhaps be traced to the fact that Japanese Army did not progress beyond comprehending firepower at levels of 1904-1905. it had never received a baptism of fire on the modern scale of World War I. now the second world war had just broken out, Japanese Military autorities admiring the brilliant sucess of German Army operations, began to cherish a desire to learn from german experiences rather tham from that of the Nomonhan Incident.this desire cristallized into the dispatch of the Yamashita Military Team to Germany.

The higth ranking officers of Army Staff of Kwantung Army Hq,were called to account for defeat of Nomonhan.in Tokio,Deputy Chief of general Staff Tetsuzo Nakajima and Chief of First Bureau Gun Hashimoto were ordered to retire from service.in Hsinking enforces retirements were imposed upon Commander of Kwantung Army in incidents days,Kenkichi Ueda,and your his Chief of Staff Renzuke Isogaya.despite the shake-up most of the staff officers in 1st section of Operations at Kwantung Army Hq officers,who were allegued to have been really responsible and to have exerted major influence during the Nomonhan incident-were transferred to sinecures. Moreover,the transferred officers afterwards obtained important posts withing Higth-Command unnoticed.Some of them,indeed ended up by occuping key positions within the Operational Bureau at Imperial Headquarters itself. in other terms the "Shake-up" was merely for sake of appareances,such were the workings of military administration.its generally acknowledged by those who held contemporaneous Higth Command post that officers responsible for the "Nomonhan Debacle" became strong advocate for launching the Pacific War(some of theirs pass to the band of "Strike South" Group of Japanese Navy).

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