Battles of Khalkhin Gol
| Battles of Khalkhin Gol | |||||||||
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| Part of the Soviet–Japanese border conflicts and World War II | |||||||||
Japanese infantrymen near wrecked Soviet armored vehicles, July 1939 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Soviet Union Mongolia |
Japan Manchukuo | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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57,000 (late August) 498–550 tanks 385–450 armored cars 900 aircraft (total), peak strength 623 546 artillery pieces (156 100mm+) 4,000 trucks 1,921 horses and camels (Mongol only) |
25,000 (late August) 58,925 (total) 73 tanks 19 tankettes Tanks withdrawn after July action 400 aircraft (total), peak strength 255 277 artillery pieces (50 100mm+) 2,000 trucks (20 August) 2,708 horses | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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Manpower: Total: 26,211–28,169 casualties 24,903 combat 752–2,276 noncombat 556–990 Equipment: 250 aircraft lost 253 tanks destroyed or crippled 133 armored cars destroyed 96 mortars and artillery 49 tractors and prime movers 652 trucks and other motor vehicles significant animal casualties |
Manpower: Total: ~20,000–50,000 casualties See § Casualties. 17,364–17,716 combat 2,350 noncombat 2,895 (Soviet claim) Equipment: 162 aircraft lost 29 tanks destroyed or crippled 7 tankettes destroyed 72 artillery pieces (field guns only) 2,330 horses killed, injured, or sick significant motor vehicle losses | ||||||||
Khalkhin Gol/Nomonhan Location within Mongolia Khalkhin Gol/Nomonhan Khalkhin Gol/Nomonhan (Inner Mongolia) | |||||||||
| Events leading to World War II |
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The Battles of Khalkhin Gol (Russian: Бои на Халхин-Голе; Mongolian: Халхын голын байлдаан), known in Japan as the Nomonhan Incident (Japanese: ノモンハン事件, Hepburn: Nomonhan jiken) after Nomonhan Burd Obo, were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts which involved the Soviet Union, Mongolia, Japan, and Manchukuo in 1939. The conflict was named after the river Khalkhin Gol, which passes through the battlefield. The Soviet offensive, led by a young general Georgy Zhukov, utilized airplanes, tanks, and infantry in a simultaneous three-pronged offensive, the first of its kind in modern warfare. Similar tactics were later used during Operation Uranus at the Battle of Stalingrad.
The Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact was later signed in April 1941. The decisive Soviet victory altered the eventual course of World War II by dissuading the Empire of Japan from any further confrontation with the Soviet Union under its Hokushin-ron (strike north) doctrine. During World War II, Japan favored the Nanshin-ron (strike south) strategy, attacking Southeast Asia rather than Siberia, eventually leading to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and American entry into World War II in December 1941.