Battles of Khalkhyn Gol (Battles of Nomonhan) |
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Part of the Soviet–Japanese Border Wars | |||||||||
Khalkhyn Gol, August 1939. Offensive of Soviet BT-7 tanks |
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Soviet Union Mongolian People's Republic |
Empire of Japan Manchukuo |
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Grigoriy Shtern Georgy Zhukov Yakov Smushkevich Khorloogiin Choibalsan |
Michitarō Komatsubara Yasuoka Masaomi Kōtoku Satō |
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Strength | |||||||||
61,860–73,961
4,000 trucks 1,921 horses and camels (Mongol only) |
30,000–38,000
1,000 trucks 2,708 horses |
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Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Manpower: 27,880 556-990 Equipment: 208 aircraft 253 tanks destroyed 133 armored cars destroyed 96 mortars and artillery 49 tractors and prime movers 652 trucks and other motor vehicles significant animal casualties |
Manpower: 17,000–20,000 2,895 Equipment: 162 aircraft 42 tanks destroyed or crippled Many tankettes destroyed 72 artillery pieces (field guns only) 2,330 horses killed, injured, or sick significant motor vehicle losses |
Soviet and Mongolian victory
61,860–73,961
498–550 tanks
385–450 armored cars
900+ aircraft (participated)
30,000–38,000
73 tanks
64 tankettes
400+ aircraft (participated)
Coordinates: 47°43′49″N 118°35′24″E / 47.73028°N 118.59000°E
The Battles of Khalkhyn Gol were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts fought among the Soviet Union, Mongolia and the Empire of Japan in 1939. The conflict was named after the river Khalkhyn Gol, which passes through the battlefield. In Japan, the decisive battle of the conflict is known as the Nomonhan Incident (ノモンハン事件 Nomonhan jiken?) after a nearby village on the border between Mongolia and Manchuria. The battles resulted in the defeat of the Japanese Sixth Army.
After the Japanese occupation of Manchuria in 1931, Japan turned its military interests to Soviet territories that bordered those areas. The first major Soviet-Japanese border incident, the Battle of Lake Khasan, occurred in 1938 in Primorye. Clashes between Japanese and Soviet forces frequently occurred along the border of Manchuria.