Nomonhan, 1939

May 7, 2012
An overlooked border conflict in Asia on the eve of WWII served as a turning point in 20th century history according to this unconventional analysis from military scholar Goldman. Western-centric textbooks, however, make little mention of "the most important World War II battle that most people have never heard of." Here Goldman chronicles the four-month long battle between Japanese and Soviet forces that took place near the village of Nomonhan (aka Khalkhin Gol, according to the Soviet Union) in the late summer of 1939. At issue was the borderlands of Mongolia and Manchuria, dubbed Manchukuo and used as a puppet state by the Japanese after their seizure of the area in 1931. Reduced to a historical footnote, Goldman argues that the Nomonhan battle was crucial in diverting Soviet forces away from Europe at the tail end of the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, leaving Poland vulnerable to invasion by Hitler's forces, and delaying Japan's alliance with Germany. The story of the conflict is gripping thanks to its surprisingly large scale (nearly 100,000 combatants) and its two dynamic leaders: the Soviet Union's Georgy Zhukov, and the leader of the Kwantung elite force, Tsuji Masanobu. Though Goldman wisely avoids overestimating the impact of what the Japanese diminutively call the "Nomonhan incident," he nevertheless makes a compelling case for its fortuitous timing and strategic implications. Maps & photos.