T he battle of Nomonhan between the Japanese Imperial Army and the Soviet Army is a little known confrontation that had a significant impact on both countries diplomatic maneuvering and war planning on the eve of World War II. This was a bloody, undeclared war in the remote border region of Mongolia and Manchuria, one with immense geopolitical implications. It was also a stunning and costly defeat for Japan, one fought over a minor border issue that spiraled out of control.
The victor: Marshal Georgy Zhukov led the Soviet troops that defeated the Imperial Japanese Army at Nomonhan
Goldman masterfully untangles the complicated diplomatic context and battlefield maneuverings in a tour de force that shows how global diplomacy and WWII were affected by the outcome of hostilities in an obscure backwater of little strategic importance.
In the spring of 1939 the Nomonhan hostilities began and the fighting proceeded in sanguinary spurts until the Red Army launched a devastating offensive in August. At that time, Josef Stalin was adroitly negotiating with both the Nazis and the British and in the end finalized a Non-Aggression Pact with Germany. With victory against Japan at hand, cutting a deal with Germany left Tokyo diplomatically isolated and protected the Soviet Union from a two-front war. It also left Poland ripe for the picking, the spark that ignited a wider war and pitted Germany against the U.K. and France.
General Georgy Zhukov's brilliant victory at Nomonhan led to his promotion to command of the Red Army in 1941. He later became famous for his rousing defense of Moscow against the Nazis, made possible with seasoned reinforcements from the Soviet Far East. If the Soviets had not sorted out the Japanese threat in the Far East at Nomonhan, these troops might not been available and Moscow could have fallen, dramatically changing the course of WWII.
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