Lecture 33: 1939 Khalkhin Gol—Sowing the Seeds of WWII
Japanese assaults, but the momentum had decisively shifted in
favor of the Russians.x :LWKWKH-DSDQHVHRIIHQVLYHVWKZDUWHG=KXNRYVHWDERXWJDWKHULQJ
strength to launch his own major attack. He devised a plan in
which his center would hold the Japanese in place while his tank-
heavy right and left wings would sweep around and encircle the
enemy. On August 20, he launched his attack, and by August 29, the
Japanese were trapped in three pockets and largely wiped out.Outcomes
x This undeclared border war had important and far-reaching effects
on both Japan and Russia, as well as on the course and outcome of
World War II. For the Japanese, the shocking failure of their army at
Khalkhin Gol resulted in a dramatic reorientation of strategic plans.
o Before the battle, the army had been dominant and favored a
policy of northern expansion. Now the Japanese navy gained
the upper hand. Rather than advocating attacking on the Asian
mainland, the navy urged a policy of southern expansion, in
which the targets for Japanese imperialism would include
the resource-rich regions of the Dutch East Indies, French
Indochina, and the Philippines.o The only force that could constitute a threat to this southern-
directed imperialism was the U.S. Navy. Therefore, Japanese
war planning concentrated on eliminating the U.S. Navy to
enable the Japanese to carry out their planned conquests. The
solution was an attack on Pearl Harbor.x On the Russian side, the battle also produced momentous
consequences. During the summer of 1939, both Britain and
Germany were actively seeking alliances with Russia. On the one
hand, the British and the French desired Russian aid in curbing
Hitler’s ambitions; on the other, Hitler felt that he could not launch
his planned invasion of Western Europe until he had ensured that
the Russians would not attack him.