One day in April 1941, the Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Army, General Zhukov, suddenly received a phone call from Stalin himself.
"Japanese Foreign Minister Yoyo is passing through here on his way back from his visit to Germany, and you should receive him cordially." Stalin put the word "cordial" very seriously.
A few days later, Senior General Zhukov held a meeting with the Japanese Foreign Minister. After the meeting, the Japanese government agreed to sign a neutrality treaty.
Why did the Japanese Foreign Minister have to meet with Zhukov before signing the Neutrality Pact?
This is not due to the fact that Zhukov is the new chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Army, but mainly because he is the supreme commander of the Soviet Army in the battle of Nomenkhan. It was this battle that caused a serious setback to the Japanese army's "plan to advance north."
At the end of May 1939, General Zhukov, who at that time was the deputy commander of the Belarusian Military District, organized military exercises in Minsk. Immediately after the exercise, Zhukov suddenly received an order from the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR (Ministry of Defense) to immediately leave for Moscow to report for duty. Zhukov immediately took the train to Moscow.
Early in the morning of June 2, he walked into the office of the People's Commissar of Defense Marshal Voroshilov. Marshal Voroshilov, who was already waiting, briefed General Zhukov on the situation and said: "We believe that a serious military crisis is being bred here...... Can you fly there immediately and, if necessary, take over the command of the troops?"
"I can take off right away, Comrade Marshal. ”
On June 5, Zhukov suddenly appeared in Tamchagbulak, on the border with Mongolia, where the headquarters of the 57th Soviet Special Army in Mongolia was stationed. The next day, he was appointed commander of the 57th Army and was given full command of the Soviet-Mongolian coalition against Japan.
Prior to this, from May 11, 1939, the Japanese army and the puppet Manchurian army stationed in northeast China repeatedly violated the Mongolian border, causing the famous "Nomenhan Incident". According to the Soviet-Mongolian treaty, the Soviet Union stationed troops in Mongolia and "assumed the responsibility of defending Mongolia from any foreign invasion."
For this reason, the Soviet-Japanese border battle broke out on the Sino-Mongolian border, which is the little-known Battle of Nomenhan.
After General Zhukov arrived, he did not have time to rest, but accompanied by political commissar Nikishev, rushed to the front line to inspect. Returning to the command, General Zhukov immediately sent a report to the People's Commissar of Defense with a brief plan of action for the Soviet-Mongolian army: to hold the landing ground on the eastern bank of the Khalkha River, and at the same time prepare for a counter-assault from the depths.
Taking into account the complexity of the battlefield and the growing strength of the Japanese army, Zhukov demanded to strengthen the strength of the Soviet troops stationed in Mongolia, in particular, to significantly increase the tank, artillery and aviation forces. The General Staff of the Soviet Army agreed to his request.
Throughout the month of June, both the Soviet Union and Japan further massed their forces to prepare for another battle.
On June 22, 95 Soviet fighters and 120 Japanese planes launched an unusually fierce air battle over Mongolia, and the Japanese army was attacked head-on. After several days of fierce fighting with hundreds of planes on both sides, the Japanese army suffered heavy losses, and the Soviet-Mongolian air force won air supremacy.
Before dawn on July 3, when Colonel A Funing, the Soviet general adviser of the Mongolian army, went to Bayingchagang Mountain on the west bank of the Khalkha River to inspect the defense of the 6th Cavalry Division of the Mongolian Army, the main force of the 23rd Infantry Division and the 1st Tank Division (about 68 tanks and 17 armored vehicles) of the Japanese army smuggled across the Khalkha River in the darkness of the night in an attempt to encircle and annihilate the Soviet-Mongolian coalition forces on the east bank of the Khalha River.
Zhukov immediately mobilized the 11th Tank Brigade (about 150 tanks), the 7th Motorized Armored Brigade (about 154 armored vehicles), one regiment of the 36th Motorized Rifle Division, and one armored battalion of the Mongolian Army to carry out a counter-assault on the Japanese army.
In the early morning of July 3, Zhukov led the command post to Bayingchagang Mountain. At 7 o'clock in the morning, the first batch of Soviet bombers flew over the theater of operations and began to bomb the Japanese army and the Hareha River crossing, pinning down the Japanese troops on the west bank and preventing the Japanese troops on the east bank from continuing to cross the river.
At this time, the Japanese army concentrated more than 10,000 people in the area of Bayingchagang Mountain, with nearly 100 artillery pieces and 60 anti-tank guns, while the Soviet army had only more than 1,000 men and more than 50 artillery pieces, including support artillery on the east bank of the Khalkha River. In the comparison of total forces, the Japanese army has an absolute advantage.
However, almost all of the Soviet troops invested were armored tank units, which were small in number but had a strong assault force.
At 10:45 a.m., with the support of powerful aviation and artillery fire, the main force of the 11th Tank Brigade of the Soviet Army launched an intermittent attack on the Japanese army.
The commander of the 11th Tank Brigade, Yakovlev, rode in a command tank and personally led the troops to storm. More than 150 T-26 light tanks of the Soviet army formed a formation, giving full play to the advantages of fast speed and fierce firepower, and pounced on the Japanese army.
The Japanese immediately concentrated their few light tanks to counterattack the Soviets. However, due to its poor mobility and weak protective ability, it was "named" by the Soviet tank guns one by one before it could be deployed.
Although the Japanese infantry was outnumbered, it suffered heavy casualties under the powerful assault of the opponent's armored tank forces and was quickly routed.
After two days of fierce fighting, the resistance of the Japanese army was finally crushed, and the Japanese army on the west bank of the Halkha River was completely wiped out.
After this battle, the Japanese army never dared to venture across the Halekha River again.
In this battle, the Soviet armored tank corps played a significant role. In summing up, Zhukov said: "The combat experience of Bayingchagangshan shows that an armored and mechanized unit that is good at coordinating operations with the air force and mobile artillery is a decisive weapon for carrying out rapid combat operations. ”