A short course in history. Fighting at Lake Khasan

75 years ago, the Khasan battles began - a series of clashes in 1938 between the Japanese Imperial Army and the Red Army due to Japan's dispute over the ownership of the territory near Lake Khasan and the Tumannaya River. In Japan, these events are referred to as the "Janggufeng Height Incident" (Jap. 張鼓峰事件).

This armed conflict and all the dramatic events that took place around it cost the career and life of Vasily Blucher, a prominent hero of the Civil War. Taking into account the latest research and archival sources, it becomes possible to take a fresh look at what happened in the Soviet Far East in the late 30s of the last century.

INGLORED DEATH

One of the first five Soviet marshals, the first holder of the honorary military orders of the Red Banner and the Red Star, Vasily Konstantinovich Blyukher, died from severe torture (according to the conclusion of the forensic expert, death was caused by blockage of the pulmonary artery by a thrombus formed in the veins of the pelvis; an eye was torn out. - Auth.) in the Lefortovo prison of the NKVD on November 9, 1938. By order of Stalin, his body was taken for a medical examination to the infamous Butyrka and burned in a crematorium. And only 4 months later, on March 10, 1939, the courts sentenced the dead marshal to capital punishment for "espionage in favor of Japan", "participation in the anti-Soviet organization of the right and in a military conspiracy."

By the same decision, Blucher's first wife, Galina Pokrovskaya, and his brother's wife, Lydia Bogutskaya, were sentenced to death. Four days later, the second wife of the former commander of the Separate Red Banner Far Eastern Army (OKDVA), Galina Kolchugina, was shot. The third, Glafira Bezverkhova, was sentenced exactly two months later by the Special Meeting of the NKVD of the USSR to eight years in labor camps. A little earlier, in February, the brother of Vasily Konstantinovich, Captain Pavel Blyukher, was also shot, the commander of the air unit at the headquarters of the OKDVA Air Force (according to other sources, he died in custody in one of the camps in the Urals on May 26, 1943 - Auth.). Before the arrest of Vasily Blucher, his assistant Pavlov and driver Zhdanov were thrown into the casemates of the NKVD. Of the five children of the marshal from three marriages, the eldest - Zoya Belova in April 1951 was sentenced to 5 years of exile, the fate of the youngest - Vasilina (at the time of Blucher's arrest on October 24, 1938 he was only 8 months old), according to his mother Glafira Lukinichna, who served term and fully rehabilitated (like all other family members, including Vasily Konstantinovich) in 1956, remained unknown.

So what was the reason for the massacre of such a well-known and respected figure among the people and in the army?

As it turns out, if the Civil War (1918-1922) and the events on the CER (October-November 1929) were the rise and triumph of Vasily Blucher, then his real tragedy and starting point of the fall was the first armed conflict on the territory of the USSR - the battles near lake Khasan (July-August 1938).

KHASAN CONFLICT

Lake Khasan is located in the mountainous part of the Primorsky Territory and has a size of about 800 m in width and a length of 4 km from southeast to northwest. West of it are the Zaozernaya (Zhanggu) and Bezymyannaya (Shacao) hills. Their heights are relatively small (up to 150 m), but from their peaks a view of the Posyetskaya valley opens, and in clear weather, the surroundings of Vladivostok are visible. Just over 20 kilometers west of Zaozernaya, the border river Tumen-Ula (Tumenjiang, or Tumannaya) flows. In its lower reaches there was a junction of the Manchu-Korean-Soviet border. In pre-war Soviet times, the state border with these countries was not marked. Everything was decided on the basis of the Hunchun Protocol, signed with China by the tsarist government in 1886. The border was fixed on the maps, but only license plates stood on the ground. Many heights in this border zone were not controlled by anyone.

Moscow believed that the border with Manchuria "passes through the mountains located to the west of Lake Khasan", considering the Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya hills, which had strategic importance in this region, to be Soviet. The Japanese, who controlled the government of Manchukuo and disputed these heights, had a different opinion.

The reasons for the beginning of the Khasan conflict, in our opinion, were at least three circumstances.

First, June 13 at 5:00 p.m. 30 minutes. in the morning it was in this area (east of Hunchun), controlled by the border guards of the 59th Posietsky border detachment (head Grebennik), that he defected to the adjacent territory with secret documents, "in order to transfer himself under the protection of the authorities of Manchukuo", head of the NKVD Directorate for the Far Eastern Territory, Commissar of State Security 3rd rank Genrikh Lyushkov (formerly head of the UNKVD for the Azov-Chernomorsky Territory).

As the defector (subsequently until August 1945, adviser to the command of the Kwantung Army and the General Staff of Japan) told the Japanese authorities and newspapers, the real reasons for his flight were that he allegedly "came to the conclusion that Leninism is no longer the fundamental law of the Communist Party in the USSR" that "The Soviets are under the personal dictatorship of Stalin", leading the "Soviet Union to self-destruction and war with Japan, in order to use it to "distract the attention of the people from the internal political situation" in the country. Knowing about the mass arrests and executions in the USSR, in which he himself took a direct part (according to the estimates of this "prominent Chekist", 1 million people were arrested, including 10 thousand people in the government and the army. - Auth.), Lyushkov realized in time that the danger of reprisals hung over him ' and then he made his escape.

Having surrendered to the Manchu border patrol troops, Lyushkov, according to the testimony of Japanese intelligence officers Koitoro and Onuki, gave them "valuable information about the Soviet Far Eastern Army." The 5th Division of the General Staff of Japan was immediately confused, as it clearly underestimated the true number of Soviet troops in the Far East, which had "overwhelming superiority" over their own troops stationed in Korea and Manchuria. The Japanese came to the conclusion that "this made it virtually impossible to carry out the previously drawn up plan of military operations against the USSR." The only way to verify the defector's information was in practice - through local clashes.

Secondly, given the obvious "puncture" with the border crossing in the strip of the 59th detachment, its command three times - on July 1.5 and July 7 asked the headquarters of the Far Eastern border circle to give permission to occupy the Zaozernaya height in order to equip their observation positions on it. On July 8, such permission was finally received from Khabarovsk. By radio interception, this became known to the Japanese side. On July 11, a Soviet border detachment arrived at the Zaozernaya hill, which at night equipped a trench with barbed wire on it, pushing it to the adjacent side beyond the 4-meter border strip.

The Japanese immediately discovered the "border violation". As a result, Japan's charge d'affaires in Moscow, Nishi, handed over to Deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Stomonyakov a note from his government demanding "to leave the captured Manchurian land" and to restore "the border that existed there before the appearance of trenches" on Zaozernaya. In response, the Soviet representative stated that "not a single Soviet border guard stepped an inch into the adjacent land." The Japanese were outraged.

And, thirdly, on July 15 in the evening, on the crest of the Zaozernaya height, three meters from the border line, the head of the engineering service of the Posyet border detachment, Vinevitin, shot the "violator" - the Japanese gendarme Matsushima - with a shot from a rifle. On the same day, the Japanese ambassador to the USSR, Shigemitsu, visited the Soviet People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs and again categorically demanded that the Soviet troops be withdrawn from the heights. Referring to the Hunchun Agreement, Moscow rejected Tokyo's demands for the second time.

Five days later the Japanese repeated their claim to the heights. At the same time, Ambassador Shigemitsu told the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Litvinov that "his country has rights and obligations to Manchukuo" and otherwise "Japan will have to come to the conclusion that it is necessary to use force." In response, the Japanese diplomat heard that "he will not find a successful use of this means in Moscow" and that "a Japanese gendarme was killed on Soviet territory, where he should not have come."

The knot of contradictions dragged on.

NOT A SPIT OF EARTH

In connection with the preparation of the Japanese for armed provocations, as early as April 23, 1938, combat readiness was increased in the border and internal troops of the Far Eastern Territory. Taking into account the difficult military and political situation in the Far East, on May 28-31, 1938, a meeting of the Main Military Council of the Red Army was held. It heard a report by the commander of OKDVA, Marshal Vasily Blyukher, on the state of combat readiness of the army troops. The results of the Council was the transformation from July 1 OKDVA into the Far Eastern Front (DKF). By decision of the Defense Committee in June-July, the number of Far Eastern troops was increased by almost 102 thousand people.

On July 16, the command of the 59th Posyetsky border detachment turned to the headquarters of the 1st Red Banner Army with a request to reinforce the garrison of the Zaozernaya height with one rifle platoon from the support company of the 119th rifle regiment, which arrived in the area of ​​Lake. Hassan on May 11th on the orders of Blucher. The platoon was detached, but on July 20 the commander of the DKF ordered to take it to the place of permanent deployment. As you can see, even then the far-sighted and experienced marshal clearly did not want the conflict to escalate.

In view of the aggravation of the situation on July 6, Stalin sent his emissaries to Khabarovsk: the first deputy people's commissar of internal affairs (on July 8, 1938, Beria became another "combat" deputy of people's commissar Yezhov. - Auth.) - the head of the GUGB Frinovsky (in the recent past, the head of the Main Directorate of Border and internal security) and Deputy People's Commissar of Defense - Head of the Political Directorate of the Red Army (since January 6, 1938 - Auth.) Mekhlis with the task of establishing "revolutionary order in the troops of the DKF, increasing their combat readiness and" within seven days to carry out mass operational measures to remove opponents of the Soviet authorities", as well as churchmen, sectarians suspected of espionage, Germans, Poles, Koreans, Finns, Estonians, etc. living in the region.

Waves of "fight against the enemies of the people" and "spies" swept over the whole country. Such emissaries also had to be found at the headquarters of the Far Eastern Front and the Pacific Fleet (only among the leadership of the Pacific Fleet during the 20 days of July, 66 people were included in their lists of "enemy agents and accomplices"). It is no coincidence that Vasily Blucher, after Frinovsky, Mekhlis and the head of the political department of the DKF Mazepov visited his house on July 29, confessed to his wife in their hearts: "... sharks arrived who want to devour me, they will devour me or I don't know them. The second is unlikely". As we now know, the marshal was 100% right.

On July 22, his order was sent to the troops to bring the formations and units of the front into full combat readiness. The Japanese attack on Zaozernaya was expected at dawn on the 23rd. There were sufficient reasons for such a decision.

To carry out this operation, the Japanese command tried to covertly concentrate the 19th Infantry Division, numbering up to 20 thousand people, a brigade of the 20th Infantry Division, a cavalry brigade, 3 separate machine-gun battalions and tank units. Heavy artillery and anti-aircraft guns were brought up to the border - up to 100 units in total. At the nearest airfields, up to 70 combat aircraft were concentrated in readiness. In the area of ​​sandy islands on the river. Tumen-Ula they were equipped with artillery firing positions. Light artillery and machine guns were placed at the height of Bogomolnaya, 1 km from Zaozernaya. In the Gulf of Peter the Great, near the territorial waters of the USSR, a detachment of destroyers of the Japanese Navy was concentrated.

On July 25, in the area of ​​the border sign # 7, the Japanese fired on the Soviet border detachment, and the next day a reinforced Japanese company captured the border height of Chertova Gora. The situation escalated day by day. To understand it and the reasons for its aggravation, on July 24, Marshal Blucher sent a commission of the front headquarters to Khasan to investigate. Moreover, only a narrow circle of people knew about its existence. The report of the commission to the commander in Khabarovsk was stunning: "... our border guards violated the Manchurian border in the area of ​​the Zaozernaya hill by 3 meters, which led to a conflict on Lake Khasan".

On July 26, on the orders of Blucher, a support platoon was removed from the Bezymyannaya hill and only a border detachment consisting of 11 people led by Lieutenant Alexei Makhalin was placed. On Zaozernaya, a company of Red Army soldiers was stationed. A telegram from the commander of the DKF "about violating the Manchurian border" was sent to Moscow in the name of People's Commissar of Defense Voroshilov with a proposal "to immediately arrest the head of the border station and other culprits in provoking a conflict with the Japanese." The answer of the "red horseman" to Blucher was brief and categorical: "Stop fussing with all sorts of commissions and accurately carry out the decisions of the Soviet Government and the orders of the People's Commissar." At that time, it seems that an open conflict could still have been avoided by political means, but its mechanism had already been launched on both sides.

On July 29, at 4:40 p.m., Japanese troops attacked Bezymyannaya Hill with two detachments up to a company. 11 Soviet border guards took an unequal battle. Five of them were killed, and Lieutenant Makhalin was also mortally wounded. The reserve of border guards arrived in time and the rifle company of Lieutenant Levchenko by 18 o'clock knocked out the Japanese from a height and dug in. The next day, between the Bezymyannaya and Zaozernaya hills, a battalion of the 118th Infantry Regiment of the 40th Infantry Division took up defense on the heights. The Japanese, with the support of artillery, launched a series of unsuccessful attacks on Bezymyannaya. Soviet soldiers fought to the death. Already the first battles on July 29-30 showed that an unusual incident had begun.

At 3 am on July 31, following heavy artillery preparation, two battalions of Japanese infantry attacked Zaozernaya Hill and one battalion attacked Bezymyannaya Hill. After a fierce, unequal four-hour battle, the enemy managed to take the indicated heights. Suffering losses, rifle units and border guards withdrew deep into Soviet territory, to Lake Khasan.

The Japanese on the hill Zaozernaya

From July 31, for more than a week, Japanese troops held these hills. The attacks of the Red Army units and border guards were unsuccessful. On the 31st, Chief of Staff Stern (before that, under the pseudonym "Grigorovich" fought for a year as Chief Military Adviser in Spain) and Mehlis arrived at Hasan from the command of the front. On the same day, the latter reported to Stalin the following: A real dictator is needed in the area of ​​battles, to whom everything would be subordinated". The consequence of this on August 1 was a telephone conversation between the leader and Marshal Blucher, in which he categorically "recommended" the commander "to go to the place immediately" in order to "really fight the Japanese."

Blucher carried out the order only the next day, flying to Vladivostok together with Mazepov. From there, on a destroyer, accompanied by the commander of the Pacific Fleet Kuznetsov, they were delivered to Posyet. But the marshal himself was practically not very eager to participate in the operation. Perhaps his behavior was also influenced by the well-known TASS report of August 2, where false information was given that the Japanese had captured Soviet territory up to 4 kilometers away. Anti-Japanese propaganda did its job. And now the whole country, misled by the official statement, began to furiously demand to curb the presumptuous aggressors.

Soviet aircraft bomb Zaozernaya

On August 1, an order was received from the People's Commissar of Defense, who demanded: "Within our border, sweep away and destroy the interventionists who occupied the heights of Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya, using combat aircraft and artillery." This task was entrusted to solve the 39th Rifle Corps as part of the 40th and 32nd Rifle Divisions and the 2nd Mechanized Brigade under the command of Brigade Commander Sergeyev. Under the current commander of the DKF, Kliment Voroshilov entrusted the overall leadership of the operation to his chief of staff commander Grigory Stern.

On the same day, the Japanese used their aircraft in the area of ​​​​Lake Khasan. 3 Soviet aircraft were shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire. At the same time, having mastered the heights of Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya, the samurai did not at all strive to continue to seize "whole pieces of Soviet territory," as Moscow claimed. Sorge reported from Tokyo that "the Japanese have discovered a desire to resolve all unclear border issues through diplomatic means", although from August 1 they began to strengthen all defensive positions in Manchuria, including concentrating "in the event of countermeasures from the Soviet side around the collision area, front-line units and reserves, united by the command of the Korean garrison."

In this situation, the offensive of the Soviet troops, due to enemy opposition, deficiencies in the organization of interaction between artillery and infantry, without air support due to non-flying weather conditions, as well as poor training of personnel and poor logistical security, failed each time. In addition, the success of the military operations of the Red Army was significantly affected by the ban on the suppression of enemy fire weapons operating from the Manchurian and Korean territories, and on any crossing of the state border by our troops. Moscow still feared that the border conflict would escalate into a full-scale war with Tokyo. And, finally, on the spot, Mehlis began to interfere all the time in the leadership of formations and units, introducing confusion and confusion. Once, when he tried to send the 40th Infantry Division to attack, in spite of everything, in front of the Japanese, along the hollow between two hills, so that the enemy would not "scalp" this formation, Marshal Blucher was forced to intervene and cancel the order of the "party emissary" . All this was counted as a comfort in the near future.

On August 3, the 39th Corps was reinforced by another one - the 39th Rifle Division. Stern was appointed commander of the corps. The next day, Voroshilov, in a new operational order # 71ss "to be ready to repel provocative attacks by the Japanese-Manchus" and "at any moment to deliver a powerful blow to the burrowing impudent Japanese aggressors along the entire front," ordered all the troops of the Far Eastern Red Banner Front and the Trans-Baikal military district. The order also emphasized: "We do not want a single inch of foreign land, including Manchurian and Korean, but we will never give our Soviet land to anyone, including the Japanese invaders!" The real war was closer than ever to the threshold of the Soviet Far East.

VICTORIOUS REPORT

By August 4, the 39th Rifle Corps in the Khasan area had about 23 thousand personnel, was armed with 237 guns, 285 tanks, 6 armored vehicles and 1 thousand 14 machine guns. The corps was supposed to be covered by the aviation of the 1st Red Banner Army, consisting of 70 fighters and 180 bombers.

A new offensive by Soviet troops on the heights began in the afternoon of August 6. Suffering heavy losses, by the evening they managed to capture only the southeastern slopes of the Zaozernaya height. The crest of its northern part and the northwestern command points of the height remained in the hands of the enemy until August 13, until the completion of the peace negotiations between the parties. The neighboring heights of Chernaya and Bezymyannaya were also occupied by Soviet troops only after the armistice was reached, during August 11 and 12. Nevertheless, on August 6, a victorious report left the battlefield in Moscow that "our territory has been cleared of the remains of Japanese troops and all border points are firmly occupied by units of the Red Army." On August 8, another "disinformation" for the Soviet people hit the pages of the central press. And at this time, only on Zaozernaya, from August 8 to 10, the Red Army repulsed up to 20 counterattacks of the stubbornly non-surrendering Japanese infantry.

At 10 am on August 11, the Soviet troops received an order to cease fire from 12.00. At 11 o'clock. 15 minutes. the guns were unloaded. But the Japanese until 12. hour. 30 minutes. still continued to shell the heights. Then the corps command ordered a powerful fire raid of 70 guns of various calibers on enemy positions within 5 minutes. Only after that, the samurai completely ceased fire.

The fact of misinformation about the capture of the Khasan heights by the Soviet troops became known in the Kremlin from the report of the NKVD only on August 14. During the following days, Soviet-Japanese negotiations between the military representatives of the two countries took place on the demarcation of the disputed section of the border. The open phase of the conflict began to wane.

The marshal's premonitions did not deceive him. On August 31, a meeting of the Main Military Council of the Red Army was held in Moscow. On the agenda was the main issue "About the events in the area of ​​Lake Khasan." After listening to the explanations of the commander of the DKF, Marshal Blucher, and the deputy member of the military council of the front, divisional commissar Mazepov, the Main Military Council came to the following main conclusions:

"1. Combat operations near Lake Khasan were a comprehensive test of the mobilization and combat readiness of not only the units that directly took part in them, but also all the troops of the DC Front without exception.

2. The events of these few days revealed huge shortcomings in the state of the DC Front ... It was found that the Far Eastern Theater was poorly prepared for war. As a result of such an unacceptable condition of the front troops, in this relatively small clash we suffered significant losses of 408 people killed and 2,807 people wounded (according to new, updated data, 960 people were killed and 3,279 people were wounded; the total ratio of losses of the USSR and Japan is 3: 1. - Auth.)..."

The main results of the discussion on the agenda were the dissolution of the Department of the DKF and the dismissal of the commander of the Marshal of the Soviet Union Blucher.
The main culprit of these "major shortcomings" in the first place was the commander of the DKF, Marshal Vasily Blyukher, who, according to the people's commissar of defense, surrounded himself with "enemies of the people." The illustrious hero was accused of "defeatism, duplicity, indiscipline and sabotage of the armed rebuff to the Japanese troops." Leaving Vasily Konstantinovich at the disposal of the Main Military Council of the Red Army, he and his family were sent on vacation to the Voroshilov dacha "Bocharov Ruchey" in Sochi. There he was arrested with his wife and brother. Three weeks after his arrest, Vasily Blucher died.
(from here)

Results:
The forces of the USSR at Lake Khasan were:
22,950 people
1014 machine guns
237 guns
285 tanks
250 aircraft

Japanese forces:
7,000–7,300 people
200 guns
3 armored trains
70 aircraft

Losses on the Soviet side
960 dead
2,752 wounded
4 T-26 tanks
4 aircraft

Losses on the Japanese side (according to Soviet data):
650 killed
2500 wounded
1 armored train
2 echelons

As you can see, the Soviet side had a clear advantage in manpower and equipment. In this case, the losses exceed the Japanese. Blucher and a number of other persons were repressed. Until 1941, there were still 3 years left ... In the battles for Khalkhin Gol, the Red Army managed to defeat the Japanese. It was possible to defeat little Finland, leaning on it with monstrously superior power, but failing to achieve its complete occupation ... But on June 22, 1941, the Red Army, "cleared" from "enemies of the people", despite a significant advantage in aviation, tanks, artillery and manpower, fled in disgrace to Moscow. Hasan's lessons did not go to the future.

In 1938, heated clashes broke out in the Far East between the forces of the Red Army and Imperial Japan. The cause of the conflict was Tokyo's claims to the possession of certain territories belonging to the Soviet Union in the border area. These events entered the history of our country as the battles at Lake Khasan, and in the archives of the Japanese side they are referred to as the "incident at the height of Zhanggufeng."

Aggressive Neighborhood

In 1932, a new state appeared on the map of the Far East, called Manchukuo. It was the result of Japan's occupation of northeastern China, the establishment of a puppet government there, and the restoration of the Qing Dynasty that once ruled there. These events caused a sharp complication of the situation along the state border. Systematic provocations by the Japanese command followed.

Intelligence of the Red Army repeatedly reported on the large-scale preparation of the enemy Kwantung Army for an invasion of the territory of the USSR. In this regard, the Soviet government presented notes of protest to the Japanese ambassador in Moscow, Mamoru Shigemitsu, in which they pointed out the inadmissibility of such actions and their dangerous consequences. But diplomatic measures did not bring the desired result, especially since the governments of England and America, interested in escalating the conflict, fueled it in every possible way.

Provocations at the border

Since 1934, systematic shelling of border units and nearby settlements was carried out from the Manchurian territory. In addition, both single terrorists and spies were sent, as well as numerous armed detachments. Taking advantage of the current situation, smugglers also stepped up their activities.

Archival data indicate that over the period from 1929 to 1935, only in one area controlled by the Posyetsky border detachment, more than 18,520 attempts to violate the border were suppressed, contraband goods were seized in the amount of about 2.5 million rubles, 123,200 rubles of gold currency and 75 kilograms of gold. The general statistics for the period from 1927 to 1936 show very impressive figures: 130,000 violators were detained, of which 1,200 were spies who were exposed and admitted their guilt.

During these years, the famous border guard, tracker N.F. Karatsupa became famous. He personally managed to detain 275 violators of the state border and prevent the transfer of contraband goods worth more than 610 thousand rubles. The whole country knew about this fearless man, and his name will forever remain in the history of the border troops. Also famous were his comrades I. M. Drobanich and E. Serov, who detained more than a dozen border violators.

Border areas under military threat

For the entire period preceding the events, as a result of which Lake Khasan became the center of attention of the Soviet and world public, not a single shot was fired on our side at the Manchurian territory. This is important to take into account, since this fact refutes any attempts to ascribe actions of a provocative nature to the Soviet troops.

Since the military threat from Japan was taking on more and more tangible forms, the command of the Red Army took steps to strengthen the border detachments. To this end, units of the Far Eastern Army were sent to the area of ​​a possible conflict, and a scheme for interaction between border guards and units of fortified areas was developed and agreed with the High Command. Work was also carried out with residents of border settlements. Thanks to their help, in the period from 1933 to 1937, it was possible to stop 250 attempts by spies and saboteurs to penetrate the territory of our country.

traitor defector

The beginning of hostilities was preceded by an unpleasant incident that occurred in 1937. In connection with the activation of a possible adversary, the state security agencies of the Far East were tasked with raising the level of intelligence and counterintelligence activities. For this purpose, a new head of the NKVD, 3rd rank security commissioner G.S. Lyushkov, was appointed. However, having taken over from his predecessor, he took action to weaken the services loyal to him, and on June 14, 1938, crossing the border, he surrendered to the Japanese authorities and asked for political asylum. Later, cooperating with the command of the Kwantung Army, he caused significant harm to the Soviet troops.

Imaginary and true causes of the conflict

Japan's official pretext for attack was claims to the territories surrounding Lake Khasan and adjacent to the Tumannaya River. But in reality, the reason was the assistance provided by the Soviet Union to China in its struggle against the interventionists. To repel an attack and protect the state border, on July 1, 1938, the army stationed in the Far East was transformed into the Red Banner Far Eastern Front under the command of Marshal V.K. Blucher.

By July 1938, events had become irreversible. The whole country followed what was happening thousands of kilometers from the capital, where the previously little-known name, Hassan, was marked on the map. The lake, the conflict around which threatened to escalate into a full-scale war, was the center of everyone's attention. And soon events began to develop rapidly.

Year 1938. Lake Khasan

Active hostilities began on July 29, when, having previously evicted the inhabitants of the border villages and placed artillery firing positions along the border, the Japanese began shelling our territory. For their invasion, the enemies chose the Posyet region, replete with lowlands and reservoirs, one of which was Lake Khasan. Located on a hill located 10 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean and 130 kilometers from Vladivostok, this territory was an important strategic site.

Four days after the start of the conflict, especially fierce battles unfolded on the Bezymyannaya Hill. Here, eleven border guard heroes managed to resist the enemy infantry company and hold their positions until reinforcements arrived. Another place where the Japanese attack was directed was the height of Zaozernaya. By order of the commander of the troops, Marshal Blucher, the units of the Red Army entrusted to him were sent here to repel the enemy. An important role in holding this strategically important area was played by the fighters of the rifle company, supported by a platoon of T-26 tanks.

End of hostilities

Both of these heights, as well as the area surrounding Lake Khasan, came under heavy Japanese artillery fire. Despite the heroism of the Soviet soldiers and the losses they suffered, by the evening of July 30, the enemy managed to capture both hills and gain a foothold on them. Further, the events that history keeps (Lake Khasan and the battles on its shores) are a continuous chain of military failures that entailed unjustified human casualties.

Analyzing the course of hostilities, the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces of the USSR came to the conclusion that most of them were caused by the wrong actions of Marshal Blucher. He was removed from command, and subsequently arrested on charges of aiding the enemy and espionage.

Weaknesses revealed during the battles

Through the efforts of units of the Far Eastern Front and the border troops, the enemy was driven back outside the country. Hostilities ended on August 11, 1938. They completed the main task assigned to the troops - the territory adjacent to the state border was completely cleared of the invaders. But the victory came at an unreasonably high price. Among the personnel of the Red Army, there were 970 dead, 2725 wounded and 96 missing. In general, this conflict showed the unpreparedness of the Soviet army to conduct large-scale military operations. Lake Khasan (1938) became a sad page in the history of the country's armed forces.

Monument "Eternal glory to the heroes of the battles near Lake Khasan". Pos. Razdolnoye, Nadezhdinsky District, Primorsky Territory

After the capture of Manchuria by Japan in 1931-1932. the situation in the Far East escalated. On March 9, 1932, the Japanese invaders proclaimed the puppet state of Manchukuo on the territory of Northeast China, bordering the USSR, in order to use its territory for subsequent expansion against the USSR and China.

Japan's hostility to the USSR increased noticeably after the conclusion in November 1936 of an allied treaty with Germany and the conclusion of the "anti-Comintern pact" with it. On November 25, speaking at this event, Japanese Foreign Minister H. Arita said: "Soviet Russia must understand that it has to face Japan and Germany." And these words were not an empty threat. The allies conducted secret negotiations on joint actions against the USSR, hatched plans to seize its territory. Japan, in order to demonstrate loyalty to Germany, its powerful Western ally, deployed the main forces of the Kwantung Army in Manchuria and defiantly built up "its muscles." By the beginning of 1932, there were 64 thousand people in it, by the end of 1937 - 200 thousand, by the spring of 1938 - already 350 thousand people. In March 1938, this army was armed with 1052 artillery pieces, 585 tanks and 355 aircraft. In addition, more than 60 thousand people, 264 artillery pieces, 34 tanks and 90 aircraft were in the Korean Japanese Army. In the immediate vicinity of the borders of the USSR, 70 military airfields and about 100 landing sites were built, 11 powerful fortified areas were built, including 7 in Manchuria. Their purpose is the accumulation of manpower and the implementation of fire support for troops at the initial stage of the invasion of the USSR. Strong garrisons were stationed along the entire border, new highways and railways were laid towards the USSR.

The combat training of the Japanese troops was carried out in an environment close to the natural conditions of the Soviet Far East: the soldiers developed the ability to fight in the mountains and on the plains, wooded and swampy areas, in hot and arid regions with a sharply continental climate.

On July 7, 1937, with the connivance of the great powers, Japan launched a new large-scale aggression against China. At this difficult time for China, only the Soviet Union extended a helping hand to it, concluded a non-aggression pact with China, which in essence was an agreement on mutual struggle with the Japanese imperialists. The USSR provided China with large loans, assisted it with modern weapons, and sent well-trained specialists and instructors to the country.

In this regard, Japan feared that the USSR might strike at the rear of the troops advancing in China, and in order to find out the combat effectiveness and intentions of the Soviet Far Eastern armies, it conducted enhanced reconnaissance and constantly expanded the number of military provocations. Only in 1936-1938. 231 violations were recorded on the border between Manchukuo and the USSR, including 35 major clashes. In 1937, 3,826 violators were detained at this site, of which 114 were subsequently exposed as agents of Japanese intelligence.

The top political and military leadership of the Soviet Union had information about the aggressive plans of Japan and took measures to strengthen the Far Eastern borders. By July 1937, Soviet troops in the Far East numbered 83,750 men, 946 guns, 890 tanks, and 766 aircraft. The Pacific Fleet was replenished with two destroyers. In 1938, it was decided to strengthen the Far Eastern grouping by 105,800 people. True, all these considerable forces turned out to be dispersed over the vast expanses of Primorye and the Amur region.

On July 1, 1938, by decision of the Main Military Council of the Red Army, on the basis of the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army, the Red Banner Far Eastern Front was deployed under the command of Marshal of the Soviet Union. The corps commander became the chief of staff. The front included the 1st Primorskaya, 2nd separate Red Banner armies and the Khabarovsk group of troops. The armies were respectively commanded by a brigade commander and commander (future Marshal of the Soviet Union). The 2nd Air Army was created from the Far Eastern Aviation. The aviation group was commanded by a brigade commander, Hero of the Soviet Union.

The situation on the border was heating up. In July, it became obvious that Japan was preparing to attack the USSR and was only looking for an opportune moment and an appropriate excuse for this. At that time, it became completely clear that in order to unleash a major military provocation, the Japanese chose the Posyetsky region - due to a number of features of the natural and geographical conditions, the most remote, sparsely populated and poorly developed part of the Soviet Far East. From the east it is washed by the Sea of ​​Japan, from the west it borders on Korea and Manchuria. The strategic importance of this region, and especially its southern part, consisted in the fact that, on the one hand, it provided approaches to our coast and Vladivostok, and on the other hand, it occupied a flank position in relation to the Hunchun fortified region built by the Japanese on the approaches to the Soviet border.

The southern part of the Posyetsky district was a swampy lowland with many rivers, streams and lakes, making it almost impossible for large military formations to operate. However, in the west, where the state border runs, the lowland turned into a mountain range. The most significant heights of this ridge were the Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya hills, reaching 150 m in height. The state border passed along their peaks, and the high-rises themselves were 12-15 km from the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan. If these heights were captured, the enemy would be able to monitor the section of Soviet territory south and west of the Posyet Bay and beyond the Posyet Bay, and his artillery would be able to keep the entire area under fire.

Directly from the east, from the Soviet side, the lake adjoins the hills. Khasan (about 5 km long, 1 km wide). The distance between the lake and the border is quite small - only 50-300 m. The terrain here is swampy and difficult to pass for troops and equipment. From the Soviet side, access to the hills could only be carried out along small corridors, bypassing the lake. Hasan from north or south.

At the same time, the Manchurian and Korean territories adjacent to the Soviet border were quite inhabited with a large number of settlements, highways, dirt roads and railways. One of them ran along the border at a distance of only 4-5 km. This allowed the Japanese, if necessary, to maneuver along the front with forces and means, and even use the artillery fire of armored trains. The enemy also had the opportunity to transport cargo by water.

As for the Soviet territory to the east and northeast of the lake. Hasan, then it was absolutely flat, deserted, there was not a single tree, not a single bush on it. The only railway Razdolnoe - Kraskino passed 160 km from the border. The area immediately adjacent to the lake. Hassan, had no roads at all. Planning an armed action in the area of ​​Lake. Khasan, the Japanese command apparently took into account the unfavorable terrain conditions for the deployment of military operations of the Soviet troops and their advantages in this regard.

Soviet intelligence established that the Japanese had brought significant forces into the area of ​​the Posyet section of the Soviet border: 3 infantry divisions (19th, 15th and 20th), a cavalry regiment, a mechanized brigade, heavy and anti-aircraft artillery, 3 machine-gun battalions and several armored trains, and also 70 aircraft. Their actions were ready to be supported by a detachment of warships approaching the mouth of the Tumen-Ula River, consisting of a cruiser, 14 destroyers and 15 military boats. The Japanese assumed that if the USSR decided to defend the entire coastal region, then they would first be able to pin down the forces of the Red Army in this area, and then, with a blow in the direction of the Kraskino-Razdolnoe road, encircle and destroy them.

In July 1938, the confrontation on the border began to develop into the stage of a real military threat. In this regard, the border guard of the Far Eastern Territory has stepped up measures to organize the defense of the state border and the heights in its immediate vicinity. On July 9, 1938, on the Soviet part of the Zaozernaya height, which until then was controlled only by border patrols, a horse patrol appeared, which began "trench work." On July 11, 40 Red Army soldiers were already working here, and on July 13 another 10 people. Colonel, head of the Posyetsky border detachment, ordered to lay landmines at this height, equip stone throwers, make suspended rolling slingshots from stakes, bring in oil, gasoline, tow, i.e. prepare the high ground for defense.

On July 15, a group of Japanese gendarmes violated the border in the Zaozernaya area. One of them was killed on our land, 3 meters from the border line. On the same day, the Japanese attorney in Moscow protested and groundlessly demanded in an ultimatum form that the Soviet border guards be withdrawn from the heights west of the lake. Hassan, considering them to belong to Manchukuo. The diplomat was shown the protocols of the Hunchun agreement between Russia and China in 1886 with a map attached to them, which clearly showed that the region of the Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya hills indisputably belonged to the Soviet Union.

On July 20, the claims to the Khasan district were repeated in Moscow by People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs M.M. Litvinov, Japanese Ambassador to the USSR M. Shigemitsu. He stated: "Japan has rights and obligations to Manchukuo, according to which it can resort to force and force the Soviet troops to evacuate from the territory of Manchukuo they illegally occupied." This statement did not frighten Litvinov, and he remained adamant. The negotiations stalled.

At the same time, the Japanese government understood that its armed forces in the current situation were not yet ready to wage a major war with the USSR. According to their intelligence, the Soviet Union could deploy from 31 to 58 rifle divisions in the Far East, and Japan only 9 divisions (23 fought on the Chinese front - 2 were in the Metropolis). Therefore, Tokyo decided to conduct only a private, limited-scale operation.

The plan developed by the General Staff of Japan to oust the Soviet border guards from the height of Zaozernaya provided: “To conduct battles, but at the same time not to expand the scale of hostilities beyond necessity. Exclude the use of aviation. Allocate one division from the Korean Japanese Army for the operation. Capturing the heights further action do not undertake." At the same time, the Japanese side expected that the Soviet Union, due to the insignificance of the border dispute, would not agree to a large-scale war on Japan, since, according to them, the Soviet Union was clearly not ready for such a war.

On July 21, the general staff reported the provocation plan and its justification to Emperor Hirohito. The next day, the operational plan of the General Staff was approved by the Council of Five Ministers.

By such an action, the Japanese military wanted to test the combat capability of the Soviet troops in Primorye, find out how Moscow would react to this provocation, and at the same time clarify the data on the state of defense of the Far Eastern Territory received from the head of the NKVD department for the Far Eastern Territory who defected to them on June 13, 1938.

On July 19, the Military Council of the Far Eastern Front decided to send a military support unit from the 1st Army to reinforce the border guards entrenched on the Zaozernaya height, but the front commander V.K. On July 20, Blucher, apparently afraid of responsibility and new diplomatic complications from Japan, ordered the return of this unit back, believing that "the border guards should fight first."

At the same time, the situation on the border became critical and required an immediate solution. In accordance with the directive of the Far Eastern Front, two reinforced battalions of the 118th and 119th rifle regiments began to advance to the Zarechye-Sandokandze region, and a separate tank battalion of the 40th rifle division to the Slavyanka region. At the same time, all other units of the 39th Rifle Corps of the 1st Army were put on alert. The Pacific Fleet was ordered in the event of the outbreak of hostilities by means of aviation and air defense (air defense), together with the aircraft of the 2nd Air Army, to cover ground troops, as well as the Vladivostok, America Bay and Posyet areas, to be ready to launch air strikes on Korean ports and airfields. At the same time, it should be noted that all our hills to the west of the lake. Hasan was still defended by some border guards. The army support battalions of the 1st Army, due to impassability, were still at a considerable distance from the heights of Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya by this time.

The fighting began on 29 July. At 16:00, the Japanese, having pulled up field troops and artillery to the border, in two columns of 70 people each, invaded Soviet territory. At that time, at the height of Bezymyannaya, on which the main blow was inflicted by the enemy, only 11 border guards with one heavy machine gun were defending. The border guards were commanded by the assistant chief of the outpost lieutenant. Engineering work was carried out under the direction of a lieutenant. At the top of the hill, the fighters managed to build trenches, cells for shooters from soil and stones, and equip a position for a machine gun. They erected barbed wire fences, laid land mines in the most dangerous areas, and prepared stone blockages for action. The engineering fortifications they created and personal courage allowed the border guards to hold out for more than three hours. Assessing their actions, the Main Military Council of the Red Army in its resolution noted that the border guards "fought very bravely and courageously."

The chains of the invaders could not withstand the dense fire of the defenders of the hill, repeatedly lay low, but urged on by the officers, again and again rushed to the attack. In various places, the fight escalated into hand-to-hand combat. Both sides used grenades, bayonets, small sapper shovels and knives. There were dead and wounded among the border guards. Leading the battle, Lieutenant A.E. Makhalin, and with him 4 more people. The 6 border guards remaining in the ranks were all wounded, but continued to resist. The support company of a lieutenant from the 119th rifle regiment of the 40th rifle division was the first to help the brave men, and with it two reserve groups of border guards of the 59th border detachment under the command of lieutenants G. Bykhovtsev and I.V. Ratnikov. The friendly attack of the Soviet soldiers was crowned with success. By 18:00, the Japanese were driven out from the Bezymyannaya height and pushed back 400 m deep into the Manchurian territory.

The participation of border guards in the fighting near Lake Khasan in July 1938

The border guards Alexei Makhalin, David Yemtsov, Ivan Shmelev, Alexander Savinykh and Vasily Pozdeev, who fell in battle, were posthumously awarded the Orders of Lenin, and their commander, Lieutenant A.E. Makhalin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The hero's wife, Maria Makhalina, distinguished herself in these battles. She, having heard the sounds of a flaring battle, left a young child at the outpost and came to the aid of the border guards: she brought cartridges, made dressings for the wounded. And when the machine-gun crew went out of order, she took a place at the machine gun and opened fire on the enemy. The brave woman was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

The Japanese repeatedly tried to take the hill by storm, but, suffering heavy losses, rolled back. In these battles, only the company D.T. Levchenko repulsed the attack of two enemy battalions. Three times the lieutenant himself led the fighters into counterattacks, even when wounded. The company did not cede to the Japanese an inch of Soviet land. Its commander was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

However, intelligence reported that the Japanese were preparing for new attacks on the Bezymyanny and Zaozernaya heights. Their forces numbered two infantry regiments and a howitzer artillery regiment. The concentration of enemy troops ended on the night of July 31, and at 3 o'clock on August 1 the offensive began.

By this time, the area of ​​the Khasan sector was defended by the 1st battalion of the 118th and 3rd battalions of the 119th rifle regiments of the 40th rifle division of the 1st army with reinforcements and border guards of the 59th Posyetsky border detachment. Enemy artillery continuously fired on Soviet troops, while our artillerymen were forbidden to fire at targets on enemy territory. The counterattacks of the battalions of the 40th Infantry Division, unfortunately, were undertaken in an insufficiently organized manner, sometimes scattered, without well-established interaction with artillery and tanks, and therefore most often did not bring the desired result.

But the Soviet soldiers fought fiercely, throwing the enemy three times from the slope of the Zaozernaya height. In these battles, incomparable courage was shown by the tank crew of the 118th Infantry Regiment of the 40th Infantry Division consisting of (tank commander), and. The tank, with well-aimed fire, destroyed several enemy firing points and broke deep into its location, but was hit. The enemies offered the crew to surrender, but the tankers refused and fired back to the last shell and cartridge. Then the Japanese surrounded the combat vehicle, doused it with fuel and set it on fire. The crew died in the fire.

The commander of the fire platoon of the 53rd separate anti-tank fighter battalion of the 40th rifle division, the lieutenant, under enemy machine-gun fire, advanced the gun to an open firing position in the infantry battle formations and supported its counterattacks. Lazarev was wounded, but continued to skillfully lead the platoon until the end of the battle.

Skillfully suppressed the enemy's firing points, the commander of the department of the 59th Posyet border detachment, junior commander. When the Japanese tried to surround his unit, he drew fire on himself, ensured the withdrawal of the wounded soldiers, and then himself, being seriously wounded, managed to pull the wounded commander from the battlefield.

By 06:00 on August 1, after a stubborn battle, the enemy still managed to push our units back and take the Zaozernaya height. At the same time, the advancing 1st battalion of the 75th infantry regiment of the enemy lost 24 killed and 100 wounded; the losses of the 2nd battalion were even greater. The Japanese conducted heavy artillery fire throughout the entire area from Nagornaya to Novoselka, Zarechye and further to the north. By 22:00, they managed to expand their success and capture tactically important Bezymyanny, Machine-gun, 64.8, 86.8 and 68.8 heights. The enemy advanced 4 km deep into the Soviet land. This was already real aggression on their part, because. all these heights were on the side of a sovereign state.

The main forces of the 40th Infantry Division were unable to provide assistance to their advanced battalions, because. were at that time on the move in difficult terrain 30-40 km from the battle area.

The Japanese, having mastered the heights north of Lake. Hassan, immediately began their engineering reinforcement. Building materials, including liquid concrete, armored caps, arrived hourly by rail directly to the battle area. With the help of the mobilized Manchu population, new roads were laid, trenches were torn off, shelters were erected for infantry and artillery. Each hill was turned by them into a heavily fortified area capable of waging a long battle.

Japanese officers at Lake Khasan. August 1938

When the Japanese emperor was informed of the results of these actions, he "expressed pleasure." As for the Soviet military-political leadership, the news of the capture by the Japanese of the heights of Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya caused him great irritation. On August 1, a conversation took place over a direct wire, V.M. Molotov and with the front commander V.K. Blucher. The marshal was accused of defeatism, disorganization of command and control, non-use of aviation, setting unclear tasks for the troops, etc.

On the same day, People's Commissar of Defense Marshal K.E. Voroshilov issued a directive to immediately put all the troops of the front and the Pacific Fleet on full combat readiness, disperse aviation to airfields, and deploy air defense systems in wartime states. Orders were given on the material and technical support of the troops, especially in the Posyet direction. Voroshilov demanded that the troops of the Far Eastern Front "within our borders, sweep away and destroy the interventionists who occupied the heights of Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya, using combat aircraft and artillery." At the same time, the commander of the 40th Infantry Division received from the commander of the 1st Primorsky Army K.P. Podlas ordered to restore the situation at the height of Zaozernaya.

On August 1, at 13:30 - 17:30, front aviation in the amount of 117 aircraft carried out waves of raids on the Zaozernaya and 68.8 heights, which, however, did not give the desired results, because. most of the bombs fell into the lake and onto the slopes of the heights without harming the enemy. The attack of the 40th Infantry Division, scheduled for 16:00, did not take place, because. its units, which made a difficult 200-kilometer march, arrived in the area of ​​​​concentration for an attack only at night. Therefore, by order of the chief of staff of the front, brigade commander G.M. Stern, the division's offensive was postponed to 2 August.

At 8:00 in the morning, units of the 40th division, without prior reconnaissance and reconnaissance of the area, were immediately thrown into battle. The main blows were delivered by the 119th and 120th rifle regiments, a tank battalion and two artillery battalions along Bezymyannaya height from the north, an auxiliary one by the 118th rifle regiment from the south. The infantrymen, in fact, advanced blindly. The tanks got stuck in swamps and ditches, were hit by enemy anti-tank guns and could not effectively support the advance of the infantry, which suffered heavy losses. Due to the dense fog that enveloped the hill, aviation did not take part in the battle, the interaction between the branches of the military and management was unsatisfactory. For example, the commander of the 40th Rifle Division received orders and tasks simultaneously from the front commander, the military council of the 1st Primorsky Army, and from the commander of the 39th Rifle Corps.

Unsuccessful attempts to overturn the enemy from the hills continued until late at night. The front command, seeing the futility of the offensive actions of the troops, ordered to stop the attacks on the heights and return parts of the division to their previously occupied positions. The withdrawal from the battle of the units of the 40th division was carried out under the influence of heavy enemy fire and was completed only by the morning of August 5. The division, despite its tenacity in battle, was unable to fulfill the assigned task. For this, she simply did not have the strength.

In connection with the expansion of the conflict, at the direction of People's Commissar K.E. Voroshilov, the front commander V.K. arrived in Posyet. Blucher. On his orders, units of the 32nd Infantry Division (commander - Colonel), units and subunits of the 40th Infantry Division (commander - Colonel) and units of the 2nd Mechanized Brigade (commander - Colonel) began to pull up to the battle area . All of them became part of the 39th Rifle Corps, commanded by Commander G.M. Stern. He was given the task of defeating the invading enemy in the area of ​​Lake. Hasan.

By this time, the troops of the corps were on the move to the area of ​​concentration. Due to impassability, formations and units moved extremely slowly, their supply of fuel, fodder, food and drinking water was unsatisfactory. G.M. Stern, having understood the situation, believed that under such conditions it would be possible to start an operation to defeat the enemy no earlier than August 5 after the regrouping of units of the 40th Infantry Division to the left flank of the front, replenishing it with people, ammunition, tanks, since in previous battles the division suffered heavy losses (up to 50% of shooters and machine gunners).

On August 4, the Japanese ambassador to the USSR, Shigemitsu, informed Litvinov, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, of the Japanese government's readiness to resolve the military conflict in the area of ​​Lake Khasan by diplomatic means. Obviously, by doing so, it tried to buy time to concentrate and consolidate new forces on the conquered heights. The Soviet government unraveled the enemy's plan and confirmed its earlier demand for the immediate liberation by the Japanese of the territory of the USSR they had captured.

On August 4, the order of the NCO of the USSR No. 71ss "On bringing the troops of the DC Front and the Trans-Baikal Military District to full combat readiness in connection with the provocation of the Japanese military" is issued. And on August 5, the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR sent a directive to the commander of the Far Eastern Front, in which, emphasizing the uniqueness of the area around Zaozernaya, he actually allowed, finally, to act in accordance with the situation, when attacking, use the enemy's flank bypass across the state border line. “After clearing the height of Zaozernaya,” the directive stated, “all troops should immediately withdraw beyond the border line. The height of Zaozernaya should be in our hands under all conditions.

Intelligence established that on the Japanese side of the hills Zaozernaya, Bezymyannaya and Machine-gun Gorka were held by: the 19th Infantry Division, an infantry brigade, two artillery regiments and separate reinforcement units, including three machine-gun battalions, with a total number of up to 20 thousand people. At any time, these troops could be reinforced by significant reserves. All the hills were reinforced with full profile trenches and wire fences in 3-4 rows. In some places, the Japanese dug anti-tank ditches, installed armored caps over machine-gun and artillery nests. Heavy artillery was stationed on the islands and beyond the Tumen-Ula River.

Soviet troops were also actively preparing. By August 5, the concentration of troops was completed, and a new strike force was created. It consisted of 32 thousand people, about 600 guns and 345 tanks. The actions of the ground troops were ready to support 180 bombers and 70 fighters. Directly in the combat area there were over 15 thousand people, 1014 machine guns, 237 guns, 285 tanks, which were part of the 40th and 32nd rifle divisions, the 2nd separate mechanized brigade, the rifle regiment of the 39th rifle division, 121 th cavalry and 39th corps artillery regiments. The general offensive was scheduled for 6 August.

Infantrymen of the 120th Infantry Regiment of the 40th Infantry Division named after S. Ordzhonikidze work out combat coherence, being in the reserve of the advancing group. Zaozernaya height area, August 1938. Photo by V.A. Temin. Russian State Archive of Film and Photo Documents (RGAKFD)

The plan of operation, developed on August 5 by brigade commander G.M. Stern, provided for simultaneous strikes from the north and south to pinch and destroy enemy troops in the zone between the Tumen-Ula River and Lake Khasan. In accordance with the order given for the offensive, the 95th rifle regiment of the 32nd rifle division with a tank battalion of the 2nd mechanized brigade were to deliver the main blow from the north across the border to the Chernaya height, and the Bezymyannaya height was to be captured by the 96th rifle regiment.

The calculation of the 76.2-mm gun reads the summary from the combat area. 32nd Infantry Division, Khasan, August 1938. Photo by V.A. Temin. RGAKFD

The 40th Rifle Division with the tank and reconnaissance battalions of the 2nd Mechanized Brigade launched an auxiliary strike from the southeast in the direction of the Oryol height (119th Rifle Regiment) and Machine-gun Gorka hills (120th and 118th Rifle Regiments), and then to Zaozernaya, where, together with the 32nd division, which was performing the main task, they were supposed to finish off the enemy. The 39th rifle division with a cavalry regiment, motorized rifle and tank battalions of the 2nd mechanized brigade formed a reserve. It was supposed to secure the right flank of the 39th Rifle Corps from a possible bypass of the enemy. Before the start of the infantry attack, it was planned to deliver two air strikes of 15 minutes each and artillery preparation lasting 45 minutes. This plan was reviewed and approved by the front commander, Marshal V.K. Blucher, and then People's Commissar of Defense Marshal K.E. Voroshilov.

Cavalry platoon of the 120th Infantry Regiment of the 40th Infantry Division named after S. Ordzhonikidze in an ambush. Zaozernaya height area, August 1938. Photo by V.A. Temin. RGAKFD

At 16:00 on August 6, the first air strike was delivered to enemy positions and areas where his reserves were located. Heavy bombers, loaded with six 1000-kilogram and ten 500-kilogram bombs, were especially effective. G.M. Stern later reported to I.V. at a meeting of the Main Military Council. Stalin that even on him, an experienced warrior, this bombing made a "terrible impression." The hill was covered with smoke and dust. The roar from bomb explosions was heard for tens of kilometers. In areas where the bombers dropped their deadly payload, the Japanese infantry was hit and 100% incapacitated. Then, after a short artillery preparation, at 16:55, infantry rushed to the attack, accompanied by tanks.

However, on the hills occupied by the Japanese, not all fire weapons were suppressed, and they came to life, opening destructive fire on the advancing infantry. Numerous snipers hit targets from carefully camouflaged positions. Our tanks had difficulty crossing swampy terrain, and the infantry often had to stop at the enemy's wire fences and manually make passages through them on their own. The infantry and artillery fire and mortars located across the river and on Machine Gun Hill prevented the advance of the infantry.

In the evening, Soviet aviation repeated its attack. Artillery positions on Manchurian territory were bombed, from where enemy artillery fired on Soviet troops. The enemy fire immediately weakened. By the end of the day, the 118th Infantry Regiment of the 40th Infantry Division stormed Zaozernaya Hill. The lieutenant was the first to break into the height and hoisted the Soviet banner on it.

The soldiers set the banner of victory on the hill Zaozernaya. 1938 Photo by V.A. Temin. RGAKFD

On this day, fighters, commanders and political workers showed exceptional heroism and skillful leadership of the battle. So, on August 7, the commissar of the 5th reconnaissance battalion, the senior political instructor, repeatedly raised the fighters to attack. Being wounded, he remained in the ranks and continued to inspire the fighters by personal example. The brave warrior died in this battle.

The platoon commander of the 303rd separate tank battalion of the 32nd rifle division, a lieutenant, replaced the company commander who was out of action at the critical moment of the battle. Being surrounded in a wrecked tank, he bravely withstood a 27-hour siege. Under cover of artillery fire, he got out of the tank and returned to his regiment.

Part of the forces of the 32nd Rifle Division advanced along the western shore of Lake Khasan towards the 40th Rifle Division. In this battle, the commander of one of the battalions of the 95th Infantry Regiment of the 32nd Infantry Division, Captain, especially distinguished himself. He led the fighters on the attack six times. Despite being wounded, he remained in service.

The commander of the 120th Infantry Regiment of the 40th Infantry Division in the area of ​​​​the Zaozernaya height successfully controlled the battle. He was wounded twice, but did not leave the unit, continued to carry out the task assigned to him.

The fighting continued with great tension in the following days.

The enemy constantly carried out powerful counterattacks, trying to recapture the lost terrain. To repel enemy counterattacks, on August 8, the 115th Infantry Regiment of the 39th Infantry Division with a tank company was transferred to the Zaozernaya height. The enemy offered strong resistance, often turning into hand-to-hand combat. But the Soviet soldiers fought to the death. On August 9, units of the 32nd Infantry Division dislodged the Japanese from the height of Bezymyannaya and threw them back abroad. The height of Machine-gun Hill was also liberated.

Schematic map. The defeat of the Japanese troops at Lake Khasan. July 29 - August 11, 1938

The evacuation of the wounded from the battlefield was carried out exclusively by horse-drawn vehicles under heavy enemy fire, and then by ambulances and trucks to the nearest seaports. After a medical examination, the wounded were reloaded onto fishing boats, which, under the cover of fighters, followed to Posyet Bay. Further evacuation of the wounded was carried out by steamships, warships and seaplanes, following to Vladivostok, where military hospitals were deployed. In total, 2848 wounded soldiers were delivered by sea from Posyet to Vladivostok. Warships of the Pacific Fleet also carried out numerous military transportations. They delivered 27,325 fighters and commanders, 6,041 horses, 154 guns, 65 tanks and tankettes, 154 heavy machine guns, 6 mortars, 9,960.7 tons of ammunition, 231 vehicles, 91 tractors, a lot of food and fodder to the Posyet Bay. This was a great help to the soldiers of the 1st Primorsky Army, who fought with the enemy.

On August 9, the entire territory previously captured by the Japanese was returned to the USSR, but the enemy's counterattacks did not weaken. Soviet troops firmly held the recaptured positions. The enemy suffered heavy losses and was forced to withdraw on August 10.
On the same day, the Japanese ambassador to the USSR, M. Shigemitsu, proposed to start negotiations on a truce. The Soviet government, always striving for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, agreed. At noon on August 11 at 12:00, hostilities near Lake Khasan were stopped. According to the armistice agreement, Soviet and Japanese troops were to remain at the lines that they occupied on August 10 by 24:00 local time.

But the truce process itself was difficult. On November 26, 1938, Stern reported at a meeting of the Military Council under the NPO of the USSR (quoted from the transcript): “The corps headquarters received an order at 10:30. with instructions to cease hostilities at 12 noon. This order of the people's commissar was brought to the bottom. 12 o'clock comes, fire is being fired from the side of the Japanese. 12 hours 10 minutes too, 12 hours 15 minutes. also - they report to me: in such and such a sector, heavy artillery fire is being conducted by the Japanese. One was killed, and 7-8 people. wounded. Then, in agreement with the Deputy People's Commissar of Defense, it was decided to launch an artillery raid. For 5 min. we fired 3010 shells at the targeted lines. As soon as this our fire raid ended, the fire from the Japanese ceased.

This was the last point in the two-week war with Japan on Lake Khasan, in which the Soviet Union won a landslide victory.

Thus, the conflict ended with the complete victory of Soviet weapons. This was a serious blow to Japan's aggressive plans in the Far East. Soviet military art has been enriched by experience in the mass use of aviation and tanks in modern combat, artillery support for offensives, and combat operations under special conditions.

For the exemplary performance of combat missions, the courage and courage of the personnel, the 40th Infantry Division was awarded the Order of Lenin, and the 32nd Infantry Division and the 59th Posietsky Border Detachment were awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

Fighters and commanders who participated in the battles in the area of ​​Lake Khasan read the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR "On perpetuating the memory of the heroes of Khasan." Battle area, 1939

26 participants in the battles (22 commanders and 4 Red Army soldiers) were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and 6.5 thousand people were awarded orders and medals, including the Order of Lenin - 95 people, the Order of the Red Banner - 1985, the Red Star - 1935, medals " For Courage" and "For Military Merit" - 2485 people. All participants in the battles were marked with a special badge "Participant in the battles on Lake Khasan", and the Posietsky district of Primorsky Krai was renamed the Khasansky district.

Badge “Participant in the battles on Lake Khasan. 6 VIII-1938". Established 5 July 1939

The victory over the enemy was not easy. When repulsing Japanese aggression in the area of ​​Lake Khasan, the casualties during the period of hostilities alone amounted to: irretrievable - 989 people, sanitary - 3279 people. In addition, 759 people were killed and died from wounds at the stages of sanitary evacuation, 100 died from wounds and diseases in hospitals, 95 people went missing, 2752 people were wounded, shell-shocked and burned. There are other losses as well.

In August 1968 in the village. Kraskino on Krestovaya Sopka, a monument was opened to the soldiers and commanders who died in the battles near Lake Khasan in 1938. It is a monumental figure of a warrior hoisting the Red Banner on one of the heights after the enemy was driven out. On the pedestal there is an inscription: "To the Heroes of Hasan". The authors of the monument are the sculptor A.P. Faidysh-Krandievsky, architects - M.O. Barnes and A.A. Kolpin.

Memorial to those who died in the battles near Lake Khasan. Pos. Kraskino, Krestovaya Sopka

In 1954, in Vladivostok, at the Marine Cemetery, where the ashes of those who died in the naval hospital after severe injuries were transferred, as well as those previously buried at the Egersheld cemetery, a granite obelisk was erected. On the memorial plaque there is an inscription: "The memory of the heroes of Hassan - 1938."

The material was prepared by the Research Institute
(military history) Military Academy
General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

From 1936 to 1938, more than 300 incidents were noted on the Soviet-Japanese border, the most famous of which occurred at the junction of the borders of the USSR, Manchuria and Korea near Lake Khasan in July-August 1938.

At the origins of the conflict

The conflict in the area of ​​Lake Hasan was due to a number of both foreign policy factors and very difficult relations within the ruling elite of Japan. An important detail was the rivalry within the Japanese military-political machine itself, when funds were distributed to strengthen the army, and the presence of even an imaginary military threat could give the command of the Korean Army of Japan a good opportunity to remind themselves, given that the operations of the Japanese troops in China, and did not bring the desired result.

Another headache for Tokyo was military aid coming from the USSR to China. In this case, it was possible to exert military and political pressure by organizing a large-scale military provocation with a visible external effect. It remained to find a weak spot on the Soviet border where it would be possible to successfully carry out the invasion and test the combat capability of the Soviet troops. And such an area was found 35 km from Vladivostok.

And if from the Japanese side a railway and several highways approached the border, then from the Soviet side there was one dirt road. . It is noteworthy that until 1938 this area, where there really was no clear marking of the border, was of no interest to anyone, and suddenly, in July 1938, the Japanese Foreign Ministry actively dealt with this problem.

After the refusal of the Soviet side to withdraw troops and the incident with the death of a Japanese gendarme shot by a Soviet border guard in a disputed area, tension began to increase day by day.

On July 29, the Japanese launched an attack on the Soviet border post, but after a heated battle they were driven back. On the evening of July 31, the attack was repeated, and here the Japanese troops had already succeeded in penetrating 4 kilometers deep into Soviet territory. The first attempts to knock out the Japanese with the forces of the 40th Infantry Division were not successful. However, everything was not going well for the Japanese either - the conflict grew every day, threatening to escalate into a big war, for which Japan, which was stuck in China, was not ready.

Richard Sorge reported to Moscow: “The Japanese General Staff is interested in a war with the USSR not now, but later. Active actions on the border were taken by the Japanese to show the Soviet Union that Japan was still able to show its power.

Meanwhile, in difficult off-road conditions, the poor readiness of individual units, the concentration of forces of the 39th Rifle Corps continued. With great difficulty, 15 thousand people, 1014 machine guns, 237 guns, 285 tanks were assembled in the combat area. In total, the 39th Rifle Corps had up to 32 thousand people, 609 guns and 345 tanks. 250 aircraft were sent for air support.

Hostages of provocation

If in the first days of the conflict, due to poor visibility and, apparently, the hope that the conflict could still be settled through diplomacy, Soviet aviation was not used, then starting on August 5, Japanese positions were subjected to massive air strikes.

Aviation was brought in to destroy the Japanese fortifications, including TB-3 heavy bombers. The fighters, on the other hand, launched a series of assault strikes on Japanese troops. Moreover, the targets of Soviet aviation were not only on the captured hills, but also in the depths of Korean territory.

Later it was noted: “To defeat the Japanese infantry in the trenches and artillery of the enemy, high-explosive bombs were mainly used - 50, 82 and 100 kg in total 3651 bombs were dropped. 6 pieces of high-explosive bombs 1000 kg on the battlefield 08/06/38. were used solely for the purpose of morally influencing the enemy infantry, and these bombs were dropped into enemy infantry areas after these areas were thoroughly hit by groups of FAB-50 and 100 SB bombs. The enemy infantry rushed about in a defensive zone, not finding shelter, since almost the entire main zone of their defense was covered with heavy fire from bomb explosions of our aviation. 6 bombs of 1000 kg, dropped during this period in the area of ​​​​the Zaozernaya height, shook the air with strong explosions, the roar of explosion of these bombs in the valleys and mountains of Korea was heard for tens of kilometers. After the explosion of 1000 kg bombs, the height of Zaozernaya was covered with smoke and dust for several minutes. It must be assumed that in those areas where these bombs were dropped, the Japanese infantry was 100% disabled from shell shock and stones thrown out of the craters by explosions of bombs.

Having made 1003 sorties, Soviet aviation lost two aircraft - one SB and one I-15. The Japanese, having no more than 18-20 anti-aircraft guns in the conflict area, could not provide serious opposition. And throwing their own aircraft into battle meant starting a large-scale war, for which neither the command of the Korean Army nor Tokyo were ready. From that moment on, the Japanese side began frantically looking for a way out of the current situation, which required both saving face and stopping hostilities, which no longer promised anything good for the Japanese infantry.

denouement

The denouement came when, on August 8, Soviet troops launched a new offensive, with overwhelming military-technical superiority. The attack of tanks and infantry was already carried out on the basis of military expediency and without regard to the observance of the border. As a result, the Soviet troops managed to capture Bezymyannaya and a number of other heights, as well as gain a foothold near the top of Zaozernaya, where the Soviet flag was hoisted.

On August 10, the chief of staff of the 19th telegraphed to the chief of staff of the Korean Army: “The division's fighting capacity is declining every day. The enemy has been heavily damaged. He applies all new methods of warfare, intensifies artillery shelling. If this continues further, there is a danger that the fighting will escalate into even more fierce battles. Within one to three days, it is necessary to decide on the further actions of the division ... Until now, the Japanese troops have already demonstrated their power to the enemy, and therefore, while it is still possible, it is necessary to take measures to resolve the conflict through diplomatic means.

On the same day, armistice negotiations began in Moscow, and at noon on August 11, hostilities were stopped. In strategic and political terms, the Japanese test of strength, and by and large the military adventure ended in failure. Not being ready for a big war with the USSR, the Japanese units in the Khasan area became hostages of the current situation, when it was impossible to further expand the conflict, and it was also impossible to retreat, while maintaining the prestige of the army.

The Khasan conflict did not lead to a reduction in Soviet military assistance to China either. At the same time, the fighting on Khasan revealed a number of weak points of both the troops of the Far Eastern Military District and the Red Army as a whole. The Soviet troops apparently suffered even greater losses than the enemy, the interaction between the infantry, tank units and artillery turned out to be weak at the initial stage of the fighting. Not at a high level was intelligence, unable to reveal the positions of the enemy.

The losses of the Red Army amounted to 759 people killed, 100 people died in hospitals, 95 people went missing and 6 people died as a result of accidents. 2752 people was injured or ill (dysentery and colds). The Japanese acknowledged the loss of 650 killed and 2,500 wounded. At the same time, the battles on Khasan were far from the last military clash between the USSR and Japan in the Far East. Less than a year later, an undeclared war began in Mongolia at Khalkhin Gol, where, however, the forces of not the Korean, but the Kwantung Army of Japan, would be involved.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE EVENTS OF THE KHASAN ARMED CONFLICT

• • June 13th. In Manchukuo, fearing arrest, the Commissar of State Security of the 3rd rank, the head of the Far Eastern Regional NKVD Genrikh Lyushkov, defected.
  • 3 July. The Japanese company launched a demonstration attack on c. Zaozernaya.
  • July 8. By order of the head of the border detachment in. Zaozernaya is occupied by a permanent outfit of 10 people and a reserve outpost of 30 people. The digging of trenches and the installation of barriers began.
  • July 11th. VC. Blucher ordered to advance a company of 119 joint ventures to the area of ​​Hasan Island to support the border guards.
  • July 15 (according to other sources, July 17). Foreman Vinevitin shot the Japanese Matsushima Sakuni, who, together with a group of Japanese, penetrated into Soviet territory. A camera with pictures of the area was found with him. Zaozernaya. To help Lieutenant P. Tereshkin, a reserve outpost was assigned under the command of Lieutenant Khristolyubov.
  • July 15. The Japanese side protested against the presence of forty Soviet military personnel on Japanese territory in the Zhang-Chu-Fun area (Chinese name for the Zaozernaya hill).
  • July 17th. The Japanese begin the transfer of the 19th division to the conflict zone.
  • July 18 at 19:00. At the Quarantine outpost section, in groups of two or three, twenty-three people violated our line with a package from the Japanese border command demanding to leave Japanese territory.
  • July 20. Up to 50 Japanese people swam in the lake, two were observing. Up to 70 people arrived on a freight train to Homuiton station. The Japanese ambassador Shigemitsu, in an ultimatum form, presented territorial claims and demanded the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the height of Zaozernaya. Minister of War Itagaki and Chief of the General Staff Prince Kan'in presented to the emperor an operational plan for ousting Soviet troops from the top of the Zaozernaya hill with the help of two infantry regiments of the 19th division of the Korean Army of Japan without the use of aviation.
  • 22 July. The Soviet government sent a note to the Japanese government in which it resolutely rejected all the claims of the Japanese.
  • 23 July. The transfer of violators to the Japanese side took place. The Japanese once again protested the violation of the border.
  • July 24th. The Military Council of the KDF issued a directive on the concentration of reinforced battalions of 119 joint ventures, 118 joint ventures and a squadron of 121 cavalry. regiment in the Zarechye region and bringing the troops of the front on high alert. Marshal Blucher sent to c. The Zaozerny commission, which discovered a violation of the border line by 3 meters by a trench of border guards.
  • July 27th. Ten Japanese officers went to the border line in the area of ​​Bezymyannaya height, apparently for the purpose of reconnaissance.
  • July 28th. Units of the 75th Regiment of the 19th Infantry Division of the Japanese took up positions in the area of ​​Hasan Island.
  • July 29 at 15:00. Up to a company of the Japanese, they attacked the outpost of Lieutenant Makhalin at the height of Bezymyannaya, with the help of the Chernopyatko and Batarshin squads that came to the rescue and Bykhovets cavalrymen, the enemy was repulsed. 2 companies of the 119th joint venture of Lieutenant Levchenko, two platoons of T-26 tanks (4 vehicles), a platoon of small-caliber guns and 20 border guards under the command of Lieutenant Ratnikov are coming to the rescue.
  • July 29. The third reinforced battalion of the 118th Rifle Regiment was ordered to advance to the Pakshekori-Novoselki area.
  • July 29, 24 hours. 40th Rifle Division receives an order to advance to the region of Hasan Island from Slavyanka.
  • July 30th. The 32nd Rifle Division advances towards Khasan from the Razdolny area.
  • July 30, 23:00. The Japanese are sending reinforcements across the Tumangan River.
  • July 31 3-20. With forces of up to two regiments, the Japanese begin offensives to all heights. With artillery support, the Japanese make four attacks. Under pressure from a superior enemy, by order of the Soviet troops, they leave the border line and retreat beyond about. Khasan at 7-00 from Zaozernaya, at 19-25 from Bezymyannaya, the Japanese pursue them, but then return behind Hasan Island and consolidate on the western coast of the lake and on the lines conditionally connecting the tops of the lake and the existing border line.
  • July 31 (day). On 3rd Sat, 118th Rifle Regiment, with the support of border guards, ousted the enemy from the eastern and southern shores of the lake.
  • August 1. The Japanese hastily fortify the occupied territory, equipping artillery positions, firing points. There is a concentration of 40 sd. Parts are late because of the mudslide.
  • August 1 13-35. Stalin, by direct wire, ordered Blucher to immediately drive the Japanese out of our territory. The first air raid on the positions of the Japanese. At the beginning, 36 I-15s and 8 R-Zets attacked Zaozernaya with fragmentation bombs (AO-8 and AO-10) and machine-gun fire. At 15-10 24 SB bombed in the area of ​​​​Zaozernaya and the road to Digasheli with high-explosive bombs of 50 and 100 kg. (FAB-100 and FAB-50). At 16-40 fighters and attack aircraft bombed and fired at the height of 68.8. At the end of the day, SB bombers dropped a large number of small fragmentation bombs on Zaozernaya.
  • August 2. Unsuccessful attempt to dislodge the enemy with the forces of 40th Rifle Division. Troops are forbidden to cross the line of the state border. Heavy offensive battles. 118 joint ventures and a tank battalion stopped in the south near the height of Machine-gun Hill. 119 and 120 joint ventures stopped at the approaches to Bezymyannaya. The Soviet units suffered heavy losses. The first air raid at 07:00 had to be postponed due to fog. At 8-00 24 SB struck at the western slopes of Zaozernaya. Then the six P-Z worked on the positions of the Japanese on the Bogomolnaya hill.
  • August 3rd. Under heavy enemy fire, 40th Rifle Division retreats to its original positions. People's Commissar Voroshilov decides to entrust the leadership of military operations near Hasan Island to the chief of staff of the KDF G.M. Stern, appointing him commander of the 39th Rifle Corps, effectively removing Blucher from command.
  • August 4th. The Japanese ambassador declared his readiness to start negotiations on the settlement of the border conflict. The Soviet side presented a condition for the restoration of the position of the parties on July 29, the Japanese rejected this requirement.
  • 5th of August. Approach 32 sd. The order was given for a general offensive on August 6 at 16-00. The Soviet command is making a final reconnaissance of the area.
  • August 6 15-15. In groups of several dozen aircraft, 89 SB bombers began bombarding the hills of Bezymyannaya, Zaozernaya and Bogomolnaya, as well as the positions of Japanese artillery on the adjacent side. An hour later, 41 TB-3RNs continued their bombardment. In conclusion, FAB-1000 bombs were used, which made a strong psychological impact on the enemy. Fighters during the entire time of the bombers' operation effectively suppressed enemy anti-aircraft batteries. After the bombardment and artillery preparation, the assault on Japanese positions began. The 40th Rifle Division and the 2nd Motorized Rifle Brigade advanced from the south, the 32nd Rifle Division and the tank battalion of the 2nd Motorized Rifle Brigade advanced from the north. The offensive was carried out under continuous enemy artillery fire. The swampy terrain did not allow the tanks to turn into a battle line. Tanks moved in a column at a speed of no more than 3 km / h. Parts of the 95th joint venture by 21-00 reached the wire barriers in. Black, but strong fire were repulsed. Zaozernaya height was partially liberated.
  • August 7. Numerous Japanese counterattacks, attempts to regain lost positions. The Japanese are pulling up new units to Hassan. The Soviet command reinforces the grouping of the 78th Kazan Red Banner and 176 joint ventures of the 26th Zlatoust Red Banner Rifle Division. After reconnaissance of the positions of the Japanese in the morning, the fighters worked as attack aircraft on the border strip, in the afternoon 115 SB bombed the positions of artillery and the accumulation of infantry in the near rear of the Japanese.
  • 8 August. 96 joint venture went to the northern slopes in. Zaozernaya. Aviation continuously storms enemy positions. The hunt goes on even for individual soldiers, the Japanese do not risk showing up in open areas. Fighters are also used to reconnoiter Japanese positions. By the end of the day, Voroshilov's telegram forbade the massive use of aviation.
  • August 9th. The order was given to the Soviet troops to go on the defensive at the achieved lines.
  • August 10. Fighters were used to suppress the artillery of the Japanese. Effective interaction between aviation and heavy artillery. The Japanese artillery practically stopped firing.
  • August 11 at 12 noon. Ceasefire. Aviation is prohibited from crossing the border line.
  • Japanese invasion of Mongolia. Halkin Gol

The crossing of the Soviet troops through the flooded areas to the bridgehead at Lake Khasan.

Cavalry on patrol.

Type of disguised Soviet tanks.

The Red Army go on the attack.

Red Army soldiers on a halt.

Artillerymen during a break between battles.

The soldiers set the banner of victory on the hill Zaozernaya.

A Soviet tank is forcing the Khalkhin-Gol river.