On 20 Oct 2003 12:19:08 -0700, (The Black
Monk) wrote:

wrote in message ...
In article , "Bill
Silvey" wrote:

Then there was the fact that the Reds did nothing while Japan massacred
hundreds of thousands of Chinese in the '30s. Stalin only declared war on
Japan *after* Japan had lost, just to gain Kamchatka. 100% fact.

russia fought japan until the german invasion of russia. you don't have
to look in obscure sources to find out about it.

readers of rec.aviation.military are undoubtably familiar with the
accounts of the flying tigers in china. these books describe the
russian conflict with china in this period, both as mercenaries for
china and direct conflict on the soviet border.


Indeed.

At Khalkyn Gol between May and September 1939 the Japanese were
crushed by Zhukov, sustaining over 80,000 casualties to the Russians'
11,130. Within a single week the Japanses lost 25,000 men. The
entire Japanese 6th army was completely destroyed.

The Battle of Khalkin Gol was Zhukov's illustration of Deep
Penetration tactics. The use of deception tactics, extremely fast
tanks and mechanized forces to outflank an opponent's defenses, and
the combination of aerial, airborne, and ground troops lead to the
complete destruction of the Japanese 6th Army and to Japan's loss of a
sphere of influence in the Mongolian and Far Eastern regions.

This battle also featured the first successful use of air-to-air
missiles. Five Polikarpov I-16 Type 10 fighters under the command of
Capt. Zvonarev claimed destruction two Mitsubishi A5M by RS-82
unguided rockets.

Historians describe a conflict within the Japanese military about
whether to attack the USSR or the USA. The complete defeat att he
hands of the Soviets made that decision: Pearl Harbor happened because
the Japanese chose to attack the weaker foe.

BM

Although it is quite true that in 1938 and again in 1939 Japanese and
Soviet troops fought fairly severe battles on the Manchurian and
Mongolian borders, these hostilities were terminated as abruptly as
they began, without there being a declaration of war between the two
countries.

Then, in 1941 , when the Japanese Foreign Minister, Yosuke Matsuoka,
visited Moscow shortly before the German attack on the Soviet Union,
the two governments reached an agreement, called "a Neutrality Pact",
providing that either side would remain neutral if the other were
attacked by third parties. The Japanese kept their word and despite
joining Germany in the Second World War, they never attacked the
Soviet Union during the course of the war. Had the Japanese attacked
USSR from the East when Germany was attacking from the West, the
result of the war might have been very different.

On the other hand, Stalin broke the agreement with the Japanese as
soon as this was convenient to him, i.e. immediately after the
capitulation of Germany. In the final analysis Stalin didn't get much
out of it, namely he got the possession of southern Sakhalin and the
Kuriles. That's about all. The Americans prevented him from grabbing
part of Manchuria which was his initial intent. There was the
traditional sentimentality of the Americans about China which put them
squarely on the side of China (not knowing that it would soon become
Communist).

Yuri