Frontline Dispatch #01: Khalkhin Gol

FRONTLINE DISPATCH #01

Khalkhin Gol: A Border Conflict to All-Out War

NOMONHAN FRONT, 1939

DISPATCH FROM THE FAR EAST:

Following last year's bloody clashes at Lake Khasan, tensions between Imperial Japan and the Soviet Union remain unresolved. Now, along the disputed frontier between Mongolia and Japanese-controlled Manchukuo, a new confrontation is taking shape. What began as a series of border incidents is rapidly drawing in larger and larger forces, with fighting set to escalate along the Khalkhin Gol (Khalkh River).

May 1939: Skirmishes Escalate

REPORT FROM NOMONHAN

Mongolian cavalry has clashed with Manchukuoan forces west of the disputed frontier, falling back toward the Khalkhin Gol after the initial fighting.

Now, the Mongolians are returning in force. The 6th Mongolian Cavalry Division has returned in larger numbers to drive the enemy back, as local border clashes threaten to draw both sides into a wider conflict.

The frontier grows increasingly volatile. The first shots may have been fired, but the struggle for Nomonhan is only just now beginning.

Late May 1939: Overextension

DEVELOPING SITUATION

Reports from the Khalkhin Gol indicate that Japanese reconnaissance troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Yaozo Azuma have pushed beyond the northern flank of the Soviet Bridgehead. Advancing deep into enemy territory, the Japanese regiment now finds itself dangerously exposed.

Soviet forces are mounting a counterattack, threatening to sever the regiment from its supporting units. What began as a bold advance for the Japanese may yet become a fight for survival.

Early July 1939: The Rising Storm

MAJOR OFFENSIVE UNDERWAY

After weeks of relative calm and substantial buildup of forces, the Japanese have launched a major offensive against Soviet positions.

Under heavy rain and against a backdrop of gathering darkness, Japanese infantry and armor advance towards the Soviet lines east of the Khalkhin Gol established after the skirmishes in May. The ground has become a sea of mud and twisted steel, and the opening clashes are already testing the ability of both sides to maneuver and maintain their positions.

There are reports that an additional Japanese assault has begun occurring around the northern bend of the Khalkhin Gol, not far from the Soviet strategic position of Bain-Tsagan hill.

The fighting at Khalkhin Gol has officially entered a new phase. The coming engagements will be fought at an even greater scale.

THE FRONTLINE AWAITS

The situation at Khalkhin Gol remains uncertain. Japanese and Soviet forces continue to contest the battlefield, while Mongolian cavalry and Manchukuoan infantry reinforce their respective alignments.

These are three missions from our upcoming Khalkhin Gol campaign, releasing for free this November. In total the campaign will feature 9 missions covering the bloody border conflict at Khalkhin Gol which would mark the largest armored and tank battle in history up to that point!

More from the frontline in our next week's dispatch...