May 24, 1939, Changchun, Kwantung Army Headquarters. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

"Komatsubara-kun, now the Soviet army has sent troops to Mongolia and is stationed near the Halaha River region. You are one of the few Soviet experts in the Imperial Army, what do you think the Soviet Army will do? The commander of the Kwantung Army, Kenkichi Ueda, said to Michitaro Komatsubara, the commander of the 23rd Division, who had just entered.

"Ueda-kun, I don't think the Soviet army will make any moves. So far, our troops have not crossed the border into the territory of Mongolia and have not declared war on the Soviet side.

As I understand it, after the Great Purge, the positions of high-ranking officers in the USSR were taken by a group of incompetent people. They lacked experience in warfare and had little vigilance. I guess they won't make any moves, just stay where they are and wait for us. ”

Ueda Kenkichi nodded and said, "Yo Xi, I agree with your plan to go north. If we succeed, the territory of the Japanese Empire will be able to expand to Siberia, and then we will be able to use the rich resources of Siberia to conquer other parts of East Asia and realize the common prosperity of Greater East Asia!

However, before we could do it, we had to occupy the Haraha region, and to occupy the Haraha region, we would have to defeat the Soviet forces. The Soviet Union is also a European power, and it has a certain military strength, are you really sure that you will defeat them? ”

Komatsubara stood up straight, his head held high, and he looked confident, "Sure." It seems to me that the combat effectiveness of the Soviet army was about the same as that of Russia during the Russo-Japanese War. And our Imperial Japan, under the wise rule of His Majesty the Emperor, has greatly improved its military strength, and will definitely be able to defeat the Soviet army and realize our plan to advance northward! ”

Komatsubara continued to analyze: "After Stalin's purge, the Soviet army has lost all its elites, and their commanders are incompetent and inexperienced in combat.

In particular, the commander of the 57th Special Army, Fikalenko, this lieutenant general went up in a helicopter after the Great Purge, and he didn't know how to fight at all, no matter how advanced their weapons were, under the command of these fools, they would all be wiped out by our Imperial Japanese Army! ”

Before serving as the commander of the 23rd Division of the Kwantung Army, Komatsubara served as a military attache at the Japanese Embassy in the Soviet Union, was proficient in Russian, and also had a relatively in-depth study of the situation in the Soviet Union.

But he was a foreigner after all, and he had not penetrated into the internal system of the Soviet Union, so he did not know the situation comprehensively. In any case, in the army of Japanese imperialism, he was already the person who knew the Soviet Union best, and he was one of the authorities in this regard.

After listening to the explanation of the "Soviet Union", the commander of the Kwantung Army, Kenkichi Ueda, gained a lot of confidence. Prior to this, he had already let his troops cause trouble on the Manchurian-Mongolian border, directly leading the Soviet army out, showing the ambition of the northward expansion plan.

But these incidents were only carried out on the east bank of the Haraha River, in the territory of the puppet Manchukuo that they had demarcated, and they did not cross the border at all, and the Soviet Union did not take the initiative to attack the devils.

Next, if the Japanese really wanted to advance north, then they would have to take the initiative to cross the Haraha River and enter the territory of Outer Mongolia without declaring war. At that time, the Japanese Kwantung Army will fight with the Soviet Red Army. And the Soviet Red Army also had a certain strength, stronger than any enemy that the Japanese army had ever faced, and the equipment was better than that of our anti-Japanese troops, which was not easy to deal with. There is a bit of a headache in the decision of whether to send troops or not.

If Japan sends troops, it will have to fight with the Soviet Union, which is a big country that straddles Europe and Asia, and its equipment is advanced enough and its troops are sufficient, and Japan is not sure of victory.

If no troops are dispatched, it means that the plan to advance north will be in vain, and the opportunity for the "incompetence" of Soviet officers after the Great Purge will be lost. When the Soviet army is strong and the commanders are experienced, it will be difficult for Japan to start.

"Ueda-kun, please allow me to lead my troops to attack and realize the plan to advance north!" When Ueda Kenkichi was considering whether to send troops in full, Michitaro Komatsubara urged.

At the urging of Michitaro Komatsubara, Kenkichi Ueda finally made the decision to attack Sumon: "Komatsubara-kun, the plan to advance north will be handed over to you." What's next? ”

"First send Shan Shan Jun to lead the 64th Company plus the 1st, 2nd, and 8th Regiments of Manchukuo to besiege the Mongol army on the east bank of the Haraha River, and launch an attack on the Mongol-occupied 742 Heights on the east bank of the Haraha River.

According to the information we have, the Soviet army had only a thousand troops on the front line, and even fewer on the east bank, probably in three figures. And the strength of our 64th company is 1048 people, which should be enough to destroy the Soviet-Mongolian army on the 742 heights. ”

"Yo Xi, inform Wuguang Dazuo of Shan County, and order the 64th Company to prepare for battle."

"Yes!"

Soon, Takemitsu of Yamaguchi, who was in Hailar, received an order from the Kwantung Army Headquarters.

He convened a military council, gathered his troops, and planned to besiege the Mongolian People's Army on the east bank in three ways.

In addition to the 64th Company of Wuguang Dazuo in Yama County, the Japanese army also dispatched a search team commanded by the East 800 Tibetan Nakasa and the 1st, 2nd, and 8th Regiments of the Puppet Manchurian Xing'an Cavalry. On the east bank, the Soviet-Mongolian coalition forces had only a few hundred troops.

However, I think everyone knows the combat effectiveness of the puppet army, and this can be ignored. But aside from this, the devil still has more than a thousand troops. It was possible to inflict certain damage on the Soviet troops.

And the commander of the 57th Special Army of the Soviet Army, Fikalenko, was a general who came up in a helicopter after the purge, and he did not know how to fight at all, and it was difficult for him to make appropriate commands and decisive decisions. Even if the command ability is poor, the problem is that even the command system is not perfect.

At that time, under the supervision of Manturov, some decent command posts had been set up on the Nomenkhand front, but the communication lines connecting Tamchag Prague and the Nomenkhand front were still not paved, and Fekarenko, who was still 120 kilometers from the front line, could not give effective command at all.

By the time Fekalenko's order arrived, the situation on the battlefield might have changed, and the order might no longer apply.

With such a command, Manturov came up with two ways to deal with it. First, the command post was moved from Tamchag Prague, 125 kilometers from the front line, not far from the front line on the Haraka River.

Second, call Fekarenko to the front and direct the operation.

In addition to the problem of command, the Soviet army at that time also faced the problem of insufficient troops at the front. According to Manturov's later memories, the Japanese would attack on May 27.

However, the Soviet-Mongolian coalition army on the Nomenhan front line was only more than 1,000 people, and it was difficult to resist the attack of the devils, and the Japanese army would send tens of thousands of troops in the future. Therefore, it is necessary for the 57th Special Army to request reinforcements from Moscow and transfer all the mechanized units currently stationed in Prague in Tamchag to the front.

Manturov went to the command, found Fekalenko, asked these questions. However, Fekarenko did not think so, believing that the Japanese would attack only after the Soviet army's communication lines were laid, and that his two armored brigades were enough to deal with the Japanese army, and that there was no need to ask for reinforcements.

Manturov was disappointed with Lieutenant General Fekalenko's performance and asked: "Comrade Fikalenko, now the Japanese army has begun to gather troops, but our communication lines are still not laid, and the command system is not efficient. In this case, should we rush to the front to command? Or move the command post over? ”

"Comrade Manturov, the situation on the battlefield is complicated and dangerous. The command post of the special forces should be kept at a distance from the front line, otherwise our situation will become very dangerous. ”

"How dangerous is it? The distance of the Japanese artillery is only 18 kilometers, and it is better to move the command post to a place 30 to 40 kilometers from the front line than this ghost place that reaches 120 kilometers from the front line. Otherwise, if the communication lines are not laid, how can we command the troops at the front? ”

"Based on my military experience, I estimate that the Japanese army will not attack until our communication lines are laid."

Of course, Manturov did not believe Fekarenko's estimates, this Fekarenko came up by helicopter during the purge, in fact, he had no ability, no military experience, and no knowledge of combat at all.

"What if the Japanese attack tomorrow? So what to do? We'd better go to the front first. Well, since you don't think it's necessary, then you stay here and I'll personally go to the front line of the Haraha River to command. ”

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