In 2009, Russia selected 50 World War II national heroes, and a Chinese name on this list is impressively juxtaposed with Soviet generals like Zhukov. He was a Chinese, and his story was not known until many years later. What did he do to become a hero of the Soviet Union, but to trigger the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor?
As early as Before World War II, the Japanese base camp had formulated a strategy of moving north into the Soviet Union and going south to the South China Sea, but it had always been entangled between the two. But after Japan's alliance with German fascism, a very excited Japan thought that with the help of Nazi Germany, it could finally do a big job in the Far East. At this time, the Soviet Union launched a great purge campaign, resulting in heavy losses suffered by all the departments of the Party, government, and army in the Soviet Union. Still struggling with whether to enter the Soviet Union in the north or Japan in the south, this is the best time to attack the Soviet Union. As a result, the Japanese army continued to stir up disputes on the Mongolian border where soviet troops were stationed.
Erdenbilig
In 1938, a Daur named Erdenbilig was stopped from the execution ground of the Soviet Revolt. At this time, it was less than a year before Japan launched a large-scale war against the Soviet Union. Born in Inner Mongolia, Erdenbilig was trained in military reconnaissance in the Soviet Union and became the best candidate the Soviet Union could send to Mongolia. Under the cover of his Mongol compatriots, Erdenbilig quickly established his own intelligence network. In order to better gather Japanese intelligence, he even installed his 12-year-old daughter inside the Japanese army.
In 1939, the Japanese army launched an offensive against the Soviet army in the Nomonkan area on the Sino-Mongolian border. The only tank division known as Japan's national treasure at the time attempted to quickly crush the Soviets with a first-mover advantage. Little did they know that this information had long been acquired by Erdenbilig. The Soviets, under the command of Marshal Zhukov, dispatched tank troops, and the two sides fought the first tank battle in Asian history. The Japanese were completely defeated by the well-prepared Soviets, and the Japanese tank forces in the north were paralyzed.
Unwilling to be defeated, the Japanese army, in order to save the war situation, transferred the infamous Unit 731 to try to throw plague, cholera and other bacteria in the river water to carry out germ warfare. With the help of his daughter, Erdenbilig obtained this important information from the Japanese army, and the Soviets escaped the disaster. On the contrary, due to the deployment mistakes of the Japanese army, many Japanese soldiers drank the river by mistake, but became victims of germ warfare.
In the Battle of Nomonkan, the Soviet army won a complete victory, smashed the strategic plan of the Japanese army to advance northward, avoided the passive situation of the Soviet Union being attacked by Japan and Germany, led Tonkin to adopt the strategic goal of going south, and finally led to the Japanese army's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor two years later, and Japan declared war on the United States. In a telegram to the Supreme Command of the USSR, Marshal Zhukov paid special tribute to Erdenbilig, who had made outstanding contributions to intelligence work, and Erdenbilig became one of the most distinguished informants in the entire Second World War. The Soviet Union should thank him, and I guess the United States may hate him more!