Battles near Lake Khasan or Khasan battles- this is the name given to a series of clashes between Japan and the USSR that occurred in the summer of 1938 (from July 29 to August 11). The battles took place over a disputed territory near Lake Khasan, which is why this name of the conflict stuck.
Reason for conflict
Japan has put forward a territorial claim to the government of the USSR - this is official. However, in fact, this was a response to the USSR’s assistance to China, which was hostile to Japan. The USSR feared China's capitulation and therefore provided it with support.
In July, the Soviet army began to concentrate on the border. Japan demanded that the USSR withdraw its troops. However, on July 22, Japan received a decisive refusal. It was on this day that the Japanese leadership approved the plan to attack the Red Army forces.
Strengths of the parties
USSR
At the time of the outbreak of hostilities, the USSR had 15 thousand soldiers, about 240 guns, three hundred tanks, 250 aircraft, and more than 1 thousand machine guns.
Japan
Japan had at its disposal about 20 thousand soldiers, 200 guns, about 70 aircraft and three more armored trains, and naval forces also participated - 15 warships and 15 boats. Japanese snipers were also spotted in the battle.
Conflict
On July 29, 150 Japanese soldiers attacked the Bezymyannaya hill and took it in battle, losing 40 people, but they were forced to retreat before a counterattack by the USSR.
On July 30, Japanese artillery fired at Soviet positions on the Bezymyannaya and Zaozernaya hills, then an attack followed, but the Soviet army successfully repelled the attack.
The Japanese established a serious defense on the Machine Gun hill, and the Soviet army carried out two attacks on this position, but this did not bring success.
On August 2, the Soviet army went on the offensive, which was successful, but it was not possible to occupy the hills; it was decided to retreat and prepare for defense.
On August 4, all the forces of the Red Army on this section of the front were gathered into a fist, and a decisive attack was launched in order to restore state borders from Japanese soldiers. On August 6, a massive bombardment of Japanese positions was carried out.
All day on August 7, the Soviet army waged an active attack, but the Japanese carried out 12 counterattacks that day, which were unsuccessful. On August 9, the USSR occupied the Bezymyannaya hill. Thus, the Japanese army was driven abroad.
On August 10, peace negotiations began, the USSR agreed on the condition that the Union retain those territories where Red Army soldiers are now located. On this day, Japan was still bombing Soviet positions. However, by the end of the day it was suppressed by a retaliatory strike by Soviet artillery.
Soviet aviation was active in this conflict, using chemical bombs. Japanese aircraft were not used.
Result
The USSR army achieved its main task, the essence of which was the restoration of state borders, by defeating parts of the Japanese army.
Losses
USSR
960 people were killed or missing, and about 2,800 were wounded. 4 aircraft were destroyed and beyond repair.
Japan
They counted 650 people killed and 2,500 wounded. The equipment's weapons were significantly damaged. Japanese estimates were somewhat different, they spoke of less than a thousand wounded soldiers.
The Soviet army managed to capture many captured weapons, which were put on display in the Vladivostok museum. 26 Red Army soldiers received the title “Hero of the Soviet Union.”
This conflict also provoked the development of transport communications in this area.
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS OF THE HASSAN ARMED CONFLICT
- June 13. Genrikh Lyushkov, 3rd rank state security commissioner, head of the Far Eastern Regional NKVD, fled to Manchukuo, fearing arrest.
- 3 July. The Japanese company launched a demonstration attack on the village. Zaozernaya.
- July 8. By order of the head of the border detachment V. Zaozernaya is occupied by a permanent detachment of 10 people and a reserve outpost of 30 people. Digging of trenches and installation of barriers has begun.
- July 11. VC. Blucher ordered a company of the 119th infantry regiment to be moved to the area of Khasan Island to support the border guards.
- July 15 (according to other sources, July 17). Sergeant Major Vinevitin shot and killed the Japanese Matsushima Sakuni, who, together with a group of Japanese, had penetrated into Soviet territory. A camera with photographs of the area was found on him. Zaozernaya. To help Lieutenant P. Tereshkin, a reserve outpost was allocated under the command of Lieutenant Khristolubov.
- July 15. The Japanese side lodged a protest against the presence of forty Soviet military personnel on Japanese territory in the Zhang-Chu-Fung area (the Chinese name for the Zaozernaya hill).
- July 17th. The Japanese begin transferring the 19th Division to the conflict zone.
- July 18 at 7 p.m. At the Quarantine outpost site, in groups of two or three, twenty-three people violated our line with a package from the Japanese border command demanding to leave Japanese territory.
- July 20. Up to 50 Japanese were swimming in the lake, two were conducting surveillance. Up to 70 people arrived at Homuyton station on a freight train. The Japanese ambassador Shigemitsu presented territorial claims in the form of an ultimatum and demanded the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the heights of Zaozernaya. Minister of War Itagaki and Chief of the General Staff Prince Kanin presented to the Emperor an operational plan for ousting Soviet troops from the top of the Zaozernaya hill with the forces of two infantry regiments of the 19th Division of the Korean Army of Japan without the use of aviation.
- July 22. The Soviet government sent a note to the Japanese government in which it decisively rejected all Japanese claims.
- July 23. The transfer of the violators to the Japanese side took place. The Japanese once again protested against the border violation.
- July 24. The KDF Military Council issued a directive on the concentration of reinforced battalions of the 119th and 118th infantry regiments and the 121st cavalry squadron. regiment in the Zarechye area and bringing the front troops to increased combat readiness. Marshal Blucher sent to V. The Trans-Lake Commission, which discovered a violation of the border line by 3 meters by the border guards' trench.
- July 27. Ten Japanese officers went to the border line in the area of Bezymyannaya Height, apparently for the purpose of reconnaissance.
- July 28th. Units of the 75th Regiment of the 19th Infantry Division of the Japanese took positions in the area of Khasan Island.
- July 29, 3 p.m. Before the company of the Japanese attacked the outpost of Lieutenant Makhalin at the height of Bezymyannaya, with the help of the squads of Chernopyatko and Batarshin who arrived in time and the cavalrymen of Bykhovets, the enemy was repulsed. The 2nd company of the 119th joint venture of Lieutenant Levchenko, two platoons of T-26 tanks (4 vehicles), a platoon of small-caliber guns and 20 border guards under the command of Lieutenant Ratnikov come to the rescue.
- July 29. The third reinforced battalion of the 118th rifle regiment was given the order to move to the Pakshekori-Novoselki area.
- July 29 24 hours. The 40th Infantry Division receives an order to move to the area of Khasan Island from Slavyanka.
- July 30. 32nd Infantry Division advances to Khasan from the Razdolnoye area.
- July 30, 11 p.m. The Japanese are transporting reinforcements across the Tumangan River.
- July 31, 3-20. With up to two regiments, the Japanese begin attacks on all heights. With artillery support, the Japanese launch four attacks. Under pressure from a superior enemy, by order, Soviet troops leave the border line and retreat beyond the island. Khasan at 7-00 from the village of Zaozernaya, at 19-25 from the village of Bezymyannaya, the Japanese pursue them, but then return behind the island of Khasan and consolidate on the western coast of the lake and on the lines conditionally connecting the peaks of the lake and the existing border line.
- July 31 (day). 3rd SB 118th Regiment, with the support of border guards, ousted the enemy from the eastern and southern coasts of the lake.
- August 1. The Japanese are hastily strengthening the captured territory, setting up artillery positions and firing points. There is a concentration of 40 sd. Due to muddy roads, units are late.
- 1 August 13-35. Stalin, via direct wire, ordered Blucher to immediately drive the Japanese out of our territory. The first air raid on Japanese positions. At the beginning of 36 I-15s and 8 R-Zets attacked Zaozernaya with fragmentation bombs (AO-8 and AO-10) and machine-gun fire. At 15-10 24 SB bombed the area of Zaozernaya and the road to Digasheli with high-explosive bombs of 50 and 100 kg. (FAB-100 and FAB-50). At 16:40 fighters and attack aircraft bombed and shelled height 68.8. At the end of the day, SB bombers dropped a large number of small fragmentation bombs on Zaozernaya.
- August 2. Unsuccessful attempt to knock out the enemy with 40 rifle divisions. Troops are prohibited from crossing the state border line. Heavy offensive battles. The 118th rifle battalion and the tank battalion stopped in the south at the height of Machine Gun Hill. 119 and 120 joint ventures stopped on the approaches to V. Bezymyannaya. Soviet units suffered heavy losses. The first air raid at 7:00 had to be postponed due to fog. At 8-00 24 SB attacked the western slopes of Zaozernaya. Then six R-Zet worked on the Japanese positions on the Bogomolnaya hill.
- August 3rd. Under heavy enemy fire, the 40th Infantry Division retreats to its original positions. People's Commissar Voroshilov decides to entrust the leadership of the military operations near Khasan Island to the chief of staff of the KDF G.M. Stern, appointing him commander of the 39th Rifle Corps, effectively removing Blucher from command.
- August 4th. The Japanese ambassador declared his readiness to begin negotiations to resolve the border conflict. The Soviet side presented a condition for restoring the position of the parties on July 29, the Japanese rejected this demand.
- 5th of August. Approach 32nd. The order for a general offensive was given on August 6 at 16-00. The Soviet command is making a final reconnaissance of the area.
- 6 August 15-15. In groups of several dozen aircraft, 89 SB bombers began bombing the Bezymyannaya, Zaozernaya and Bogomolnaya hills, as well as Japanese artillery positions on the adjacent side. An hour later, 41 TB-3RNs continued the bombing. Finally, FAB-1000 bombs were used, which had a strong psychological effect on the enemy. Throughout the entire operation of the bombers, the fighters effectively suppressed enemy anti-aircraft batteries. After the bombing and artillery barrage, the assault on Japanese positions began. The 40th Infantry Division and the 2nd Motorized Rifle Brigade advanced from the south, the 32nd Infantry Division and the tank battalion of the 2nd Motorized Rifle Brigade from the north. The offensive was carried out under continuous enemy artillery fire. The marshy terrain did not allow the tanks to deploy into a battle line. The tanks moved in a column at a speed of no more than 3 km/h. By 21-00 units of the 95th joint venture reached the wire fences in. They were repulsed by black but strong fire. The Zaozernaya height was partially liberated.
- August 7. Numerous Japanese counterattacks, attempts to regain lost positions. The Japanese are bringing new units to Khasan. The Soviet command is strengthening the grouping of the 78 Kazan Red Banner and 176 joint ventures of the 26 Zlatoust Red Banner Rifle Division. After reconnaissance of the Japanese positions, in the morning fighters worked as attack aircraft on the border strip; in the afternoon, 115 SB bombed artillery positions and infantry concentrations in the near rear of the Japanese.
- 8 August. 96 joint venture reached the northern slopes of the. Zaozernaya. Aviation continuously storms enemy positions. Even individual soldiers are being hunted; the Japanese do not risk showing themselves in open areas. Fighters are also used to reconnoiter Japanese positions. By the end of the day, Voroshilov’s telegram prohibited the massive use of aviation.
- August 9. The Soviet troops were ordered to go on the defensive at the achieved lines.
- 10th of August. Fighters were used to suppress Japanese artillery. Effective interaction between aviation and heavy artillery. The Japanese artillery practically stopped firing.
- 11 August 12 noon. Ceasefire. Aviation is prohibited from crossing the border line.
- Invasion of Japanese troops into Mongolia. Khalkin-Gol
Crossing of Soviet troops through flooded areas to the bridgehead at Lake Khasan.
Cavalrymen on patrol.
View of camouflaged Soviet tanks.
The Red Army soldiers go on the attack.
Red Army soldiers at rest.
Artillerymen during a break between battles.
Soldiers plant a victory banner on the Zaozernaya hill.
A Soviet tank crosses the Khalkhin Gol River.
Conflict on Lake Khasan
“In July 1938, the Japanese command concentrated 3 infantry divisions, a mechanized brigade, a cavalry regiment, 3 machine-gun battalions and about 70 aircraft on the Soviet border... On July 29, Japanese troops suddenly invaded the territory of the USSR at the Bezymyannaya Height, but were driven back. On July 31, the Japanese, using their numerical advantage, captured the tactically important Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya heights. To defeat the Japanese troops that invaded the territory of the USSR, the reinforced 39th Corps was allocated... At Lake Khasan, the Soviet Army for the first time since the Civil War entered into battle with the experienced personnel army of the imperialists. Soviet troops gained well-known experience in the use of aviation and tanks and in organizing artillery support for the offensive. For heroism and courage, the 40th Infantry Division was awarded the Order of Lenin, the 32nd Infantry Division and the Posyetsky border detachment were awarded the Order of the Red Banner. 26 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 6.5 thousand people were awarded orders and medals,” this is how the international conflict on the Soviet-Japanese border is presented in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
When reading the above TSB article, one gets the impression that for the Red Army the battle on Lake Khasan was something like an exercise that was as close as possible to combat conditions, and the experience it gained was extremely positive. Of course, this is a misconception. In reality, things were not so simple.
Throughout the 30s of the 20th century, the situation in the Far East gradually became tense. Having captured Manchuria and invaded Central China, Japan turned out to be a neighbor of the USSR and “set its sights” on Soviet Primorye. A large group of troops was concentrated here; samurai from time to time staged provocations on the border, repeatedly violating it. Even 5 months before the start of the conflict, intelligence officer Richard Sorge warned Moscow about the impending Japanese attack. And he was not wrong.
The first armed incident between the border guards of the Soviet Union and Japanese soldiers occurred on July 15, 1938, when a group of the latter crossed the border and began photographing military fortifications. Fire was opened on the intruders, and in response, the Japanese captured Mount Shirumi. The situation was becoming critical, but the reaction of the Soviet command was inadequate. The border troops received the order: “Do not open fire.” While carrying out this task, they did not respond to the Japanese shelling of the detachment in the area of border checkpoint No. 7. Meanwhile, the samurai continued to build up their forces, which by July 28 amounted to 13 infantry battalions with artillery. The Soviet side could only oppose this force with 3 battalions. In such a situation, the command of the border outpost began to ask for reinforcements, which was refused. Marshal Blucher commented on this: “The border guards themselves got involved. Let them get out of it themselves.”
We really had to “get out” ourselves. On July 29, a battle broke out at the height of Bezymyannaya, in which the border guards had to retreat. For an hour, 11 Soviet soldiers held the line and retreated only after the death of 5 comrades. Reinforcements from two border groups arrived in time and “saved” the situation: the advancing Japanese were thrown back beyond the border line. Only then was the order given: “Immediately destroy the Japanese advancing on the Zaozernaya heights without crossing the border.” This significantly constrained the actions of the border guards. On the night of July 31, as a result of the attack, the Japanese captured the Zaozernaya heights, as well as the Bezymyannaya, Chernaya, and Bogomolnaya heights. The losses of the Soviet troops amounted to 93 people killed and 90 wounded.
The conflict ceased to be a border incident. Only towards the end of the day on August 1, reinforcements arrived, but the conditions in which the troops were placed seriously made it difficult to complete the combat mission. The advancing Soviet units were caught between the border line and Lake Khasan, which put them under Japanese flanking fire. Following the order, the border guards could not use either aviation or artillery. It is not surprising that in such a disadvantageous position the attack of the Soviet troops faltered.
They immediately began to prepare a new offensive, and this time the command allowed them to also operate on enemy territory. The assault on Zaozernaya Heights was carried out by the 39th Rifle Corps and lasted 5 days - from August 6 to 11. The task was completed, the Japanese were thrown back abroad. Immediately after the end of the assault, the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR gave the order to end hostilities. Victory was won, provocations on the border stopped. The conflict ended, the Japanese were repulsed, but the miscalculations made should have been analyzed more carefully.
For example, the arriving reinforcements were not fully equipped: some battalions had only 50% of their regular strength. The artillery did not have enough ammunition. Logistics support was poorly organized. The field hospital arrived at the site of hostilities seven days late, and only three of the doctors required by the staff arrived. In addition to all this, Soviet military leaders made decisions only after their approval in Moscow. Of course, in the latter case, it is not so much the individual commanders who are to blame, but the excessive centralization and fear of taking initiative and responsibility that dominated the country and army.
The fighting on Lake Khasan cost the Red Army 472 killed, 2,981 wounded and 93 missing. But in fact, the consequences of mistakes made and then not corrected were much more severe. As the head of the Far Eastern Directorate of the NKVD later noted, the victory was achieved “only due to the heroism and enthusiasm of the personnel of the units, whose fighting impulse was not ensured by the high organization of the battle and the skillful use of numerous military equipment.” The experience of 1938 was not sufficiently taken into account both from the point of view of the organization of the army and from the point of view of the tactics of modern combat. It is no coincidence that the Red Army would make similar mistakes in the summer of 1941. If all the mistakes of the fighting on Lake Khasan had been taken into account, the consequences of the first months of the Great Patriotic War might not have been so tragic for the Soviet people.
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Monument to the heroes of the battles near Lake Khasan who died in the struggle for the freedom and independence of our Motherland. © Yuri Somov/RIA Novosti
An attempt to calculate how old the guys who fought then should be now (from September 1925 to September 1939 they were drafted into the army at the age of 21) is disheartening - 98 years old; In our country, men very rarely live to such years. Apparently, the concept of veteran is being used more and more widely - and memorial events now involve soldiers who have taken up the baton from other conflicts in which Russia participated.
Several years ago, one of the authors of this material had the opportunity to communicate at another such event with an alleged participant in the Soviet-Japanese battles for Khasan - and, it seems, the only one. It was difficult to communicate with him due to the veteran’s age, but we still managed to find out that he did fight with the Japanese, although not here in Primorye, but a little later in Mongolia, on Khalkhin Gol. The difference, in principle, is small - there the old man’s peers fought with the Japanese in the steppes and sands, here in Primorye they broke through under heavy Japanese artillery fire and drowned in swamp slurry near Lake Khasan more than half a century ago.
The following is an attempt at a new analysis of past events and a discussion of the border situation decades later, in 1998. However, even in 2013, domestic historiography ignores the events of those days: publicly available sources talk about the battles on Khasan in a rather vague and general way; the exact number of Russians killed then is still unknown; There were and still are no decent studies and monuments. Therefore, the authors are making an attempt by re-publication to attract public attention to this page of national history.
Historical reference. “If there’s war tomorrow…”
Panorama of Lake Khasan.
Having occupied Korea in 1905, and in 1931 the three northeastern provinces of China and created the friendly state of Manchukuo in Manchuria on March 9, the Japanese Empire reached the borders of the USSR. According to the Otsu plan, developed by the Japanese General Staff, war with the USSR was planned in 1934, but protracted fighting in China forced the Japanese government to postpone the attack. Discord and disputes between countries with varying degrees of intensity lasted for years, but gradually reached a climax.
Marshal Blucher in 1938. © RIA Novosti
On July 1, 1938, the Separate Red Banner Far Eastern Army was deployed to the Red Banner Far Eastern Front (KDVF) under the command of Marshal Blucher. The armies of the front, by order of the Soviet government, were put on combat readiness.
On July 15, 1938, the Japanese government demanded the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Soviet territory west of Khasan Island, as well as a revision of the former Russian-Chinese border. The Soviet government refused.
Having intelligence about the concentration of Japanese regular troops near Lake Khasan, the Military Council of the KDVF issued a directive to the 1st (Primorsk) Army to concentrate reinforced battalions from the 40th Infantry Division in the Zarechye area. The air defense system was brought to full combat readiness, units of the Posyet border detachment took up defense on the border heights of Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya.
Business trip in 1998. Razdolnoye, Primorsky Krai.
The commander of the Red Army watches the battle near Lake Khasan. © RIA Novosti
Irony, or maybe a sign of the times - we got to the site of the Soviet-Japanese massacre in a used Japanese Toyota Carina. Well raised, with 14-inch wheels, the car still quite often caught the ground with its bottom as soon as we passed Razdolnoye. Well, the quality of the roads in these parts has hardly changed since then: we reached the village of Khasan and the border swamps only thanks to the skill of the driver. He also owns the aphorism, expressed under a cannonade of rubble on the body of the car.
- Wild people - cars here drive right on the ground! - said Zhenya.
The driver Zhenya was from civilized Vladivostok and looked at its surroundings condescendingly. It was 8 o'clock in the morning and the rising sun over Razdolny showed us a wild picture: through the fog and fumes of a swamp manured near a cow farm, the skeleton of... a trolleybus appeared! A little to the side we found a couple more!
Lake Khasan, junction with the swamp.
“This is their cemetery,” the driver said thoughtfully. - They come here to die!..
Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny - future marshal and people's commissar of defense of the USSR. © RIA Novosti
Since tsarist times, Razdolnoye has been a fairly powerful base of Russian troops in these parts. During the Empire, a rifle brigade, an artillery division and a coastal dragoon regiment were located here - the only regular cavalry unit east of the Urals at that time; the rest of the cavalrymen here were Cossacks. By the way, Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny, the future marshal and People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, once served in this very regiment. Nikolai Nikolaevich Kravtsov, the grandfather of our guide-local historian Dmitry Ancha, also served here as a fireworksman for a battery of a cavalry regiment. However, now we are interested in the year 38...
“At about the same hours, only in 1938, the 40th Infantry Division of the Soviet troops moved from Razdolnoye towards the border at the end of June,” Ancha said.
Historical reference. “On this day the samurai decided...
Lieutenant Mahalin is the hero of these battles.
At about 14:00 on July 29, 1938, a company of the border gendarmerie attacked the height, which was defended by 10 border guards led by Lieutenant Makhalin. After a 6-hour battle, the height was abandoned, the lieutenant and five border guards were killed, the rest were wounded.
On the night of June 30-31, 1938, units of the Japanese 19th Infantry Division with forces of more than a regiment attacked the Zaozernaya height, which was defended by border guards of the Posyetsky border detachment and a company of the 119th regiment of the 40th Infantry Division. After a fierce battle on the morning of July 31, the Zaozernaya height was abandoned. The Japanese division began an offensive deep into Soviet territory.
Business trip 1998. Primorsky Territory: “Oh, roads!..”
The broken road with signs of sporadic repairs brought to mind the lyrics of the pop song “our asphalt is laid in places and not much, so that every invader gets stuck on the approaches.” Signs with local names flashed along it. After a collision with the Chinese on Damansky Island in 1968, all of them (names) immediately became Russian-speaking and native. Suifun was turned into the Razdolnaya River, we came across all of Ivanovka, Vinogradovka...
The road went under the railway bridge with the inscription on it: “Greetings to the participants of the Khasan battles!” Both this inscription and the bridge were created from concrete by the Japanese. Not in ’38, when they drowned these very heroes of Hassan in the swamps, but after ’45, when we won.
Historical reference. “We were waiting for a fight...”
The defeat of the Japanese militarists at Lake Khasan on July 29-August 11, 1938.
On August 2, 1938, the 118th, 119th and 120th regiments of the 40th Infantry Division went on the offensive. As a result of the fighting on August 2–3, most of the territory captured by the Japanese was liberated, but the border heights controlling the entire territory around Hassan remained with the Japanese.
Having suffered heavy losses, units of the 40th Infantry Division began to dig in. By the evening of August 3, the Soviet offensive had run out of steam. The impossibility of carrying out an offensive operation with the forces of one division became obvious to the command of the KDVF.
Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov. © Petrusov/RIA Novosti
On August 3, 1938, People's Commissar of Defense Voroshilov sent a directive to the front command on the concentration of the reinforced 39th Rifle Corps in the conflict area, consisting of the 32nd, 39th, 40th Rifle Divisions and the 2nd Separate Mechanized Brigade with a total strength of 32,860 people , 345 tanks, 609 guns. Command of the corps was entrusted to Corps Commander Stern. The ground forces were to be supported by 180 bombers and 70 fighters.
Business trip 1998. Slavyanka of the Primorsky Territory: “With a watering can and a notepad, or even with a machine gun...”
While waiting for reinforcements from another local historian - this time from the district administration - we examined and photographed a couple of monuments in Slavyanka. Near the local archive building stood a restored and freshly painted green MS-1, pulled out of the Khasan swamps about 30 years ago.
Tank MS-1.
- Is this a tank?! — our driver was shocked. – Then my “Karina” is an armored train!
We were amazed – and not for the last time! – the hopeless dedication of our ancestors. Small, like a humpbacked “Cossack”, with thin bulletproof armor, a small cannon and a machine gun, MS-1 tanks here stormed the Japanese defense, which was saturated with artillery, in 1938.
Historical reference. “Who can predict in advance the difficult path of rifle companies ...”
Patrol of Soviet border guards in the area of Lake Khasan. 1938 © Viktor Temin, Soviet photojournalist
The enemy hastily created a stable defense, resting his flanks on the Tumen-Ula River (Tumannaya today). The basis of the defense was the border heights, from which there was an excellent view of the entire depth of the location of the Soviet troops and their front-line communications. The southern section of the defense was reliably covered by Lake Khasan, making a frontal attack impossible. In front of the northern section of the defense there was a large plain consisting of a continuous chain of lakes, river channels, quicksand swamps with depths from 0.5 to 2.5 meters (the ancient bed of the Tumen-Ula River) - impassable for tanks and difficult to pass for infantry.
The Japanese command concentrated the 19th Infantry Division, a cavalry brigade, three machine-gun battalions, artillery, anti-aircraft and other special units with a total number of over 20 thousand soldiers and officers on the bridgehead. For every kilometer of defense there were over 80 guns and mortars, and on the flanks of the defense there were over 100 machine guns per kilometer of front. One kilometer = 1,000 meters. Divide a thousand meters of front by 100 machine guns = 10 meters of the firing sector for each machine gun: no need to aim!
Ambassador of Japan to the USSR Shigemitsu.
On August 4, 1938, the Japanese Ambassador to the USSR Shigemitsu visited the USSR People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs with a proposal to resolve the conflict diplomatically. The Soviet government refused.
Business trip 1998. Kraskino, Primorsky Krai.
Let's move on. Our local historians, now together, are inspecting the surrounding monuments. There are several of them in Kraskino, but the two most noticeable are the private multi-storey palace of the head of the local administration who stole back in the 90s and the huge bronze soldier “Vanechka” at a height dominating the area. The locals call him “Vanechka”. They wrote “Lucy” on its pedestal and left behind broken bottles and banana peels. And about ten meters down the slope there is an excellent pillbox, from the embrasure of which a wonderful view of the official’s palace opens up. The palace, by the way, is nice, red brick. The large-scale complex of local customs buildings is also made of the same material...
While looking for a gas station, we got lost. We see a local sitting by the road.
The guy—either drunk or stoned—answered thoughtfully:
Historical reference. “The armor is strong and our tanks are fast...”, and also “When Comrade Stalin gives us the order...”
On August 3–5, 1938, units of the 39th Rifle Corps arrived at the site of the fighting. However, the redeployment of units proceeded slowly and by the beginning of the offensive on August 6, 15,600 people, 1,014 machine guns, 237 guns, and 285 tanks were concentrated directly in the combat area.
Having suffered losses in the battles of August 2–3, the 40th Infantry Division, the 40th Separate Tank Battalion, the 2nd Tank and Reconnaissance Battalions of the 2nd Separate Mechanized Brigade took up positions south of Lake Khasan. The 32nd Rifle Division, 32nd Separate Tank Battalion, 3rd Tank Battalion of the 2nd Separate Mechanized Brigade took up positions north of Lake Khasan.
Japanese soldiers dug in at the height of Zaozernaya.
Sapper units hastily laid roads for tanks through the swamps. Heavy rains on August 4–5 raised the water level in the swamps and Lake Khasan by a meter, which was an additional difficulty for the Soviet troops.
On August 5, 1938, the commander of the 38th Rifle Corps, Stern, gave the units a combat order: on August 6, go on a general offensive and, with simultaneous attacks from the north and south, squeeze and destroy enemy troops in the zone between the Tumen-Ula River and Lake Khasan.
Soviet military leader Stern. © RIA Novosti
The 32nd Rifle Division (Colonel Berzarin, who in 7 years will be the commandant of captured Berlin) with the 32nd separate tank battalion and the 3rd tank battalion of the 2nd separate mechanized brigade must deliver the main blow from the north and capture the Bezymyannaya height, and subsequently together with units of the 40th Infantry Division, throw the enemy off the Zaozernaya hill.
Nikolai Berzarin during his vacation on the shores of the Amur Bay in 1937. © RIA Novosti
The 40th Rifle Division (Colonel Bazarov) with the 40th separate tank battalion, 2nd tank and reconnaissance battalions of the 2nd separate mechanized brigade should launch an auxiliary strike from the southeast in the direction of the Machine Gun Hill, and then to Zaozernaya, so that together with the 32nd Infantry Division to throw the Japanese off it. The 39th Rifle Division with the 121st Cavalry Regiment, motorized rifle and tank battalions of the 2nd Separate Mechanized Brigade moved forward to secure the right flank of the corps at the Novokievka line, height 106.9.
Infantry and mounted platoons from the 40th Infantry Division practice offensive combat techniques before launching an attack on Japanese positions. Lake Khasan area, August 1938.
According to the battle plan, before the start of the attack, three massive air raids were envisaged (commanded by brigade commander Rychagov) and a 45-minute artillery preparation. The battle plan was approved by the Front Military Council, and then by the People's Commissar of Defense.
Aviation commander, brigade commander Rychagov.
Marshal Blucher and Corporal Stern were clearly aware of the depravity of this plan. The Japanese defense had to be stormed head-on through terrain unsuitable for an offensive, without having the necessary superiority in manpower - three to one.
However, by personal order of Stalin, it was strictly forbidden to cross the state border and expand the territory of the conflict. To monitor the implementation of this order, the head of the Main Directorate of the Red Army, Mehlis, was sent to Blucher’s headquarters.
Head of the Main Directorate of the Red Army Mehlis.
As a result, the territory of active hostilities did not exceed 15 square kilometers, of which almost two-thirds were occupied by Lake Khasan and the adjacent swamps. The terrible overcrowding of the Soviet troops is evidenced by the fact that the headquarters of the army commander were 4 kilometers from the Japanese trenches, the division headquarters were 500–700 meters away, and the regimental headquarters were even closer.
Having an overwhelming superiority in armored vehicles, the Soviet command could not use it effectively. Only along two narrow field roads at the southern and northern ends of Lake Khasan could tanks really reach the Japanese defense. The width of these passages nowhere exceeded 10 meters.
Business trip 1998. Demarcation: “We don’t want even an inch of someone else’s land, but we won’t give up even an inch of our own...”
After checking the documents at the Posyet border detachment, the same procedure was performed at outpost -13.
- Demarcation? So they gave away the land! – said her boss, commenting on recent events. (Immediately after the first publication of this material in 1998, he was removed from his post for being too frank with journalists. The authors did not have the opportunity to apologize to the officer for such an involuntary “set-up”, we are doing it now - better late than never: everyone does their work, and the evolution of management is unpredictable).
- How did you give it away?!
- Yes so! They made some noise, became indignant, and then slowly gave in. True, we gave less than the Chinese wanted to take.
And so it turned out. After many hours of walking excursions, checking maps of different scales, measuring them lengthwise and crosswise with a ruler, we discovered that we can talk about a piece of swamp with an area of 1 square meter. km. Although at first there was talk of a concession of 7 square meters. km. It would seem - what is 1 kilometer? However, 1 kilometer here, ceded to Damansky, several Amur islands near Khabarovsk. The Japanese need a few more islands of the Kuril chain...
Either Mikhail Lomonosov was wrong, or times have changed, but now it is not Russia that is growing into Siberia, but its Asian neighbors. “A sixth of the land with the short name Rus” suddenly became one eighth and everything continues to dry out. Of course, a piece of swamp is not God knows what. Especially if you don’t count the Russians who died at this place.
But it is the number of those killed in the 1938 war that needs correction.
Historical reference. "Pilots, bombs, planes..."
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party, member of the Politburo Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin and leader of the Red Army, People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov. © Ivan Shagin/RIA Novosti
To carry out a successful offensive operation, it was necessary to strike through tank-accessible areas: in the south - at the junction of three borders (Korea, China, Russia), in the north - bypassing the Khasan swamps, crossing the state border, going to the rear of the Japanese defense and throwing the enemy into the river. However, bound by Stalin’s decision, the Soviet command was forced to act on the principle “we don’t want five of someone else’s land, but we won’t give up even an inch of our own”: they were not ordered to cross the state border.
On the morning of August 6, 1938, the artillery divisions carried out shooting at benchmarks and proceeded to engage targets. Low and thick clouds made adjustments to the plan for the assault, scheduled for 12:00 - the aircraft were unable to take off from the airfields. The artillery preparation dragged on and developed into a duel with Japanese batteries.
Soviet commanders on the shore of Lake Khasan during the invasion of Japanese troops. © RIA Novosti
At 15:10 the clouds cleared and Soviet aircraft took off from the airfields in three groups. At 16:00 the first group of light bombers bombed the Japanese positions. Following it, a fighter air brigade attacked ground targets. The last to bomb the rear of the Japanese were heavy bombers. Immediately after the air raid, the artillery barrage was repeated. Exactly at 17:00, with the support of tanks, the infantry went on the attack.
SSS plane.
The air raid did not live up to the hopes placed on it. As soon as possible, control of the Japanese troops was restored, and enemy artillery and machine guns opened brutal fire. The 32nd Division, advancing in the north, suffered the most from it. The infantry, having difficulty crossing the swamp, suffered heavy losses and was forced to lie down several times.
I-15 fighter.
Tanks that did not have the ability to maneuver and moved along the roads were shot at by Japanese artillery. Until they reached the solid soil of the oxbow spits located in the center of the swamp, dozens of cars were hit or drowned.
However, the oxbow spits turned out to be a trap - behind them lay another one and a half kilometers of swamps and small lakes, making further movement of the tanks completely impossible.
The tanks were shot at by Japanese artillery, just like at a training ground, and many of the crews were burned along with the vehicles. The infantry, having lost the support of tanks, continued to move through the swamps towards the Japanese defenses, but lay down under targeted machine-gun and artillery fire.
Local historian Dmitry Ancha says:
A damaged Soviet T-26 tank on a slope in the combat area.
— What this tank “breakthrough” looked like as a whole cannot be understood with a rational mind; all that remains is to “believe” and judge by the only episode described in the book “Years in Armor” by Colonel General D.A. Dragunsky, who served in the 32nd separate tank battalion in August 1938: “On August 6, the general assault on enemy positions began. The 3rd company, which I commanded, was advancing on the Bezymyannaya height, a hundred tanks were marching with us... There was incredible heat in the tank, it was impossible to breathe, shell casings burned our hands. Through the scope I saw only the bright blue sky. And suddenly something exploded in the car. Smoke and dirt obscured my eyes. The tank turned to the left, began to fall down and, burying itself up to its turret in the swamp, froze in a deathly spasm. Only after jumping out of the tank did I understand what had happened. Bloodied crew members stood in front of me. Driver Andrei Surov was not among them. The tank was hit by two Japanese shells: the first one tore off the driver’s leg, the second one pierced his head. There were two ragged round holes on the right side of our T-26.”
Judging by the description of the area and the location of the holes, Dragunsky’s tank collapsed from the road embankment, the same embankment protected him from Japanese fire, otherwise it is unknown whether he would have been able to leave the car at all. What happened to the “hundreds of tanks” that went along with Dragunsky’s tank will perhaps someday become known.
In the “Generalized and Systematized Material on the Combat Losses of the Red Army during the Border Conflict at Lake Khasan,” 87 more tankers are listed along with Surov—almost thirty full crews of the T-26. However, as can be seen from the example of Dragunsky, not all crews in full strength perished with their vehicles, and there were undoubtedly more than thirty destroyed Soviet tanks.
“We’ll meet in hand-to-hand combat for the last time tomorrow...”
The Red Army soldiers go on the attack. The vicinity of Lake Khasan. © Victor Temin
Over the next three days, in the swamps, under continuous fire from the Japanese from the front and from the right flank, 5 battalions of the 94th and 96th rifle regiments of the 32nd rifle division were in a semi-circle. Without movement or the ability to carry out the wounded, they were simply destroyed. Only towards the end of August 9, having suffered very heavy losses, were they able to get to the Japanese front line and gain a foothold in front of them on the eastern slope of the border watershed.
The losses were further aggravated by the fact that units of the division arrived at the battle site on the evening of August 5, their commanders did not have the opportunity to conduct a thorough reconnaissance of the area, and the border guards who walked in the front ranks and indicated the direction of movement were, for the most part, already killed.
The 40th Rifle Division and the tank units attached to it operated more successfully. By the end of August 6, they captured Machine Gun Hill and reached the Zaozernaya hill. A red flag was raised over her.
Bombing of the Zaozernaya hill.
During the subsequent hours of the night, both sides did not take active action. The intensity of the shooting decreased somewhat; it was carried out blindly. From time to time, short hand-to-hand fights broke out when individual units of the warring parties clashed in the dark. Soviet tanks retreated to their original positions.
The result of the battles on August 6 was disappointing. In the northern sector, Soviet troops did not even come close to the Japanese defenses. In the south they wedged into it, captured the Zaozernaya hill, but there was practically no way to firmly hold it.
Being an excellent point for adjusting artillery fire, the conical hill with a narrow top was poorly suited for defense. Whoever occupies it controls the entire territory on both sides of the border. To protect Zaozernaya, the Japanese created a multi-tiered system of trenches and trenches on Soviet soil - from the western shore of Lake Khasan to the top.
There was no doubt that with the onset of morning counterattacks would begin in order to regain lost positions, that it was urgently necessary to dig in on the western slope of the watershed, creating a similar defense on enemy territory, but there was an order: do not cross the border.
The above applied not only to Zaozernaya. In order to maintain the border watershed, it was necessary to take the same measures in other areas, which, under the supervision of Mehlis, seemed completely impossible. Moreover, in strict accordance with the plan of the offensive operation, a suicidal decision was made to repeat the attack of tanks and infantry through the swamps on the morning of August 7 in the sector of the 32nd Infantry Division.
“Well, well, well,” says the machine gunner, “knock, knock, knock,” says the machine gun...
Panorama of Lake Khasan.
And this attack ended badly. The tanks burned and sank, the infantry that advanced forward was laid in the swamp and methodically shot. Subsequently, seeing the hopelessness of attacks through the swamp, the Soviet command threw the remaining units into a narrow corridor between the swamps and the northern shore of Lake Khasan in the direction of the Bezymyannaya Hill, occasionally launching attacks on the left flank of the Japanese defense along the edge of the swamps in order to weaken the Japanese fire on the battalions sandwiched in a quagmire, and, if possible, unblock them.
However, this became possible only towards the end of August 9, when the Japanese command transferred a significant part of manpower and equipment from the left flank of the defense to the right in order to compensate for the increasing losses. In the sector of the 40th Infantry Division, at dawn on August 7, fierce attacks by Japanese infantry began with the goal of regaining the Zaozernaya hill and other lost positions on the border watershed.
After a fierce battle that escalated into hand-to-hand combat, they managed to do it for a while. A Japanese fire adjustment point was again deployed on Zaozernaya, and the “blind” heavy guns and armored train located across the river on the Korean side could shoot accurately.
Border conflict in the area of Lake Khasan in August 1938. A Soviet officer interrogates a captured Japanese soldier. © From the funds of the Museum of the Soviet Army/RIA Novosti
Imperial Air Force combat aircraft appeared in the air, but the overwhelming advantage of Soviet aviation nullified all the efforts of the Japanese pilots. However, they shot down several Soviet vehicles.
The Soviet troops had to start all over again. Again, under the cover of tanks, the infantry went on the attack. The strength of Japanese fire is evidenced by the fact that the height on the southern section of the border, which had not previously had a name, around which one of the three Japanese machine gun battalions (44 heavy machine guns) and machine gun platoons of an infantry regiment (about 60 light machine guns) dug in, has since and is called Machine Gun Hill. These almost 100 machine guns held at gunpoint a section of the front only a kilometer long and wide from 70 to 250 meters.
Again, at the cost of heavy losses, the Japanese were partially driven out of the border watershed, Zaozernaya was returned, but after some time a new Japanese attack followed, and Zaozernaya was lost again. And so several times a day.
Soviet soldiers plant a red battle flag at the height of Zaozernaya during the events on Lake Khasan. © RIA Novosti
The next three days were marked by successive attacks and counterattacks, which developed into an endless hand-to-hand fight. With the onset of dusk, Soviet tanks retreated to their original lines, the fire almost subsided. Units of the warring parties tried to gain a foothold on the lines where night found them. At dawn, those who had lost their positions tried to regain them, the aviation carried out bombing strikes, and artillery fired continuously. Ammunition was delivered to Soviet troops mainly along the shortest route - through Lake Khasan - and almost always under fire.
Monument on the Zaozernaya hill.
The question of the number of victims of the Hassan battles of 1938 has been unclear since the conflict itself and remains so to this day. The approximate estimates of 300-500-700 human lives wandering through the pages of various publications do not stand up to the test of analysis of both archival and memoir data and battle sites .
Primorsky local historian Dmitry Ancha has been studying the Soviet-Japanese conflict for several years and has a personal, so to speak, interest:
— My grandfather, Nikolai Nikolaevich Kravtsov, fought there. He was wounded, lay in the swamp for two days - and still survived! Neither what he said nor the picture I recreated coincide in any way with the official version. The small area of the bridgehead and its extreme saturation with enormous military forces and equipment gave rise to an unprecedented intensity of battles.
“That’s true,” the border guard confirmed. – I’m not a historian, but as an officer I can say that the theater of military operations was oversaturated with manpower and equipment by a factor of 50! I don’t remember anything like this in the history of wars.
Let’s sketch a picture “generally, roughly, visibly.” Following the border guards, larger and better-equipped formations enter the battle, one after another. The Japanese had already occupied all the heights in the area, dug up the front with full-length trenches and filled the defense with weapons to the point of impossibility. Just think - 100 machine guns per 1 km, not counting other weapons! And across the hills - right from the border, which cannot be crossed - they land and plant their heavy cannons in a canopy. All heights are at the adversaries - and the fire is adjusted in the best possible way. What 300–700 dead can we talk about? It looks like so many could have died in just one day. Soviet troops were driven into the swamps, regiment after regiment. They not only died, but also recaptured some areas from the Japanese, and then were again forced out by them. And so not once, not twice.
Soviet tank attacks - through the swamps to the hills - are terrible! And all this - masses of people, hundreds of tanks, tens of thousands of guns of all calibers - in the line of sight of the naked human eye. No need to aim!
Business trip 1998. “Our dead will not leave us in trouble...”
In the response received by local historian from Slavyanka Andrei Karpov from the archives of the Soviet Army , The official loss data is given: “40th Division: wounded. – 2,073, ub. – 253; 32nd Division: wounded. – 642, ub. – 119; 2nd mechanized brigade: wounded. – 61, ub. – 45; dept. communications battalion: wounded. – no, kill - 5; 39th Corps Artillery Regiment: wounded. - no, ub. – 2“.
Summing up, we get the following figures: 2,776 wounded and 479 killed. Not only are not all units and units participating in the battles listed here, but can even these numbers be trusted? Note that the data on losses was submitted by the surviving commanders higher up the chain of command on August 11, that is, on the day the hostilities ceased.
People who had not yet come to their senses, deaf from the gunfire and stunned by the blood - what information could they provide about their comrades, whose bodies were still cooling in the bushes and swamps, at the bottom of the lake?!
In 1988, after a typhoon common in these places, water flows rushing from the Zaozernaya hill eroded a piece of land closer to the lake. In an area of approximately 50 by 50 meters, border guards collected and reburied the remains of 78 people. Without making any excavations - only what the rain washed away...
The trenches of the Japanese defense are still clearly visible. You can admire the cleverness of the location of the firing points, if you don’t think about the fact that they poured lead on our fellow citizens. My grandfather could have been here, but it turned out to be Dima’s grandfather...
Dmitry Ancha says:
- After being wounded, he came to his senses in... Khabarovsk! But field medical battalions and powerful hospitals in Razdolny, Ussuriysk, and Vladivostok were located much closer. Isn't this another indirect evidence that all the surrounding hospitals were simply filled with wounded in the battles of Hassan? Unfortunately, we only have indirect evidence that the number of deaths is enormous. For example, in the district there are now about 20 monuments dating back to that time. Almost all of them are mass graves, that is, mass graves. But even before 1988 there were more than 50 of them, although these are not all burials, but only the definitely known ones. Then, for the 50th anniversary, the military decided to gather together all the dead and pulled off several dozen pedestals with armored personnel carriers. But they had no idea of the scale of the work they were taking on. They didn't finish it. Where to look for these graves now? This is the wilds, a year or two - and everything is overgrown...
— In 1995, I walked through all the hollows here. And if they ask me where these darkness of the dead are, where the graves are, I will answer this: swamps, Lake Khasan - there are even more of them, drowned. And the trenches - how many of them are still here. And then... Imagine the end of the fighting, mountains of corpses decomposing in the 30-degree heat. An epidemic can break out at any moment - and what are the identifications, what are the statistics?! To the trenches! Pour in lime and cover with soil! By the way, there was a similar picture after 1945 in the Kuril Islands, I was there too...
Summary:
Family crypt of the Brynner family. © kiowa_mike.livejournal.com
- Solution? There can only be one solution: we cannot be Mankurts, Ivans-of-kinship-not-remembering. Have to search. Serious, systematic, multi-year and funded work in archives is needed. Excavations are needed. What's going on! – people destroy, trample on their past! In the village of Bezverkhovo, the family crypt of the Brynner family, the most authoritative founding fathers of Vladivostok, its spirit, was destroyed; their remains were thrown into the sea. Bronze letters torn off - non-ferrous metal! - from the monument to the great Ussuri citizen Mikhail Yankovsky. The same story in Vladivostok with the monument to Polytechnicians who died during the war - a bronze machine gun weighing 15 kilograms was cut off from it... Of course, we are late, 60 years have passed. But here, as in the song: “It’s not the dead who need this, the living need this…”
Historical reference. “One more, last effort...”
The Japanese on Zaozernaya.
The conflict has reached a positional deadlock. The losses were mounting. And not only from the Soviet side. The Japanese command was forced to transfer forces to the threatened right flank of defense from the left, which eased the position of the 32nd Soviet division; bring arriving units of the 20th Infantry Division into battle “on wheels.” The Soviet command gradually introduced units of the reserve 39th Rifle Division into battle.
In fact, both sides have exhausted their capabilities. New reserves were required, but intensifying the conflict was not part of the plans of the Soviet and Japanese governments.
On August 10, with a last incredible effort, Japanese units were driven almost everywhere beyond the state border. On this day, a meeting of the Japanese Military Council was held, which noted the impossibility of continuing hostilities against the USSR and decided to enter into negotiations to stop them. On the same day, a proposal from the Japanese government to end the conflict was transmitted through diplomatic channels.
On the night of August 10-11, Stalin had a telephone conversation with the commander of the KDVF, Blucher. That same night, leaving all power to commander Stern, in a chaise along a road broken by tanks under horse guard, Blucher arrived at Razdolnaya station, where a special train was waiting for him. On August 11, 1938, hostilities ceased and the state border was restored.
Business trip 1998. „Dedicated to the living…„
Panorama of the surroundings of Lake Khasan.
Returning to Vladivostok, the crew of the expeditionary Karina made room and took on board two teenage girls who were hitchhiking into the city in the middle of the night. “The tribe is young and unfamiliar” shared a cigarette and hinted that they also drink vodka.
— Girls, do you know anything about border demarcation?
- Wha-oh?! We are decent girls, by the way! And you promised not to pester!
- No! I mean... Ugh!.. Well, do you know about the Khasan battles? Are you from these places?
- Ahh! – the girls calmed down. – When was it with the Germans, in the last century?
- Ooh! – the driver shook his head.
- Guys, don’t you know how to get gas out of a Sprite?...
P.S. – Andrey Karpov called from Slavyanka. After we left, he measured the river connecting the swamp with the lake with a pole, and discovered differences in depth in an area suggesting the presence of 2-3 tanks under water. This is exactly the direction of their attack in the 38th. There is nothing more to assume there.
P.P.S. – Discussing the affairs of the past days, Primorye local historian Dmitry Ancha clarified that there was no normal road to those places then, and there is still no one today, in the summer of 2013: “people drive straight on the ground”...
In 1938, heated clashes broke out in the Far East between the forces of the Red Army and Imperial Japan. The cause of the conflict was Tokyo's claims to ownership of certain territories belonging to the Soviet Union in the border region. These events went down in the history of our country as the battles at Lake Khasan, and in the archives of the Japanese side they are referred to as the “incident at Zhanggufeng Heights.”
Aggressive neighborhood
In 1932, a new state appeared on the map of the Far East, called Manchukuo. It was the result of Japan's occupation of the northeastern territory of China, the creation of a puppet government there and the restoration of the Qing dynasty that had once ruled there. These events caused a sharp deterioration in the situation along the state border. Systematic provocations by the Japanese command followed.
Red Army intelligence repeatedly reported on the large-scale preparation of the enemy Kwantung Army for an invasion of the territory of the USSR. In this regard, the Soviet government presented notes of protest to the Japanese ambassador in Moscow, Mamoru Shigemitsu, in which they pointed out the inadmissibility of such actions and their dangerous consequences. But diplomatic measures did not bring the desired result, especially since the governments of England and America, interested in escalating the conflict, did their best to fuel it.
Provocations at the border
Since 1934, systematic shelling of border units and nearby settlements has been carried out from Manchurian territory. In addition, both individual terrorists and spies and numerous armed detachments were sent. Taking advantage of the current situation, smugglers also intensified their activities.
Archival data indicate that during the period from 1929 to 1935, in just one area controlled by the Posyetsky border detachment, more than 18,520 attempts to violate the border were stopped, smuggled goods worth about 2.5 million rubles, 123,200 rubles in gold currency were seized and 75 kilograms of gold. General statistics for the period from 1927 to 1936 show very impressive figures: 130,000 violators were detained, of which 1,200 were spies who were exposed and admitted their guilt.
During these years, the famous border guard, tracker N.F. Karatsupa, became famous. He personally managed to detain 275 state border violators and prevent the transfer of contraband goods worth more than 610 thousand rubles. The whole country knew about this fearless man, and his name remained forever in the history of the border troops. Also famous were his comrades I.M. Drobanich and E. Serov, who detained more than a dozen border violators.
Border areas under military threat
For the entire period preceding the events, as a result of which Lake Khasan became the center of attention of the Soviet and world community, not a single shot was fired from our side into Manchurian territory. This is important to take into account, since this fact refutes any attempts to attribute actions of a provocative nature to Soviet troops.
As the military threat from Japan took on more and more tangible forms, the command of the Red Army took actions to strengthen the border detachments. For this purpose, units of the Far Eastern Army were sent to the area of possible conflict, and a scheme for interaction between border guards and fortified units was developed and agreed upon with the High Command. Work was also carried out with residents of border villages. Thanks to their help, in the period from 1933 to 1937, it was possible to stop 250 attempts by spies and saboteurs to enter the territory of our country.
Traitor-defector
The outbreak of hostilities was preceded by an unpleasant incident that occurred in 1937. In connection with the activation of a possible enemy, the state security agencies of the Far East were tasked with increasing the level of intelligence and counterintelligence activities. For this purpose, a new head of the NKVD, Security Commissioner 3rd Rank G.S. Lyushkov, was appointed. However, having taken over the affairs of his predecessor, he took actions aimed at weakening the services loyal to him, and on June 14, 1938, after crossing the border, he surrendered to the Japanese authorities and asked for political asylum. Subsequently, collaborating with the command of the Kwantung Army, he caused significant harm to the Soviet troops.
Imaginary and true causes of the conflict
The official pretext for the attack by Japan was claims regarding the territories surrounding Lake Khasan and adjacent to the Tumannaya River. But in reality, the reason was the assistance provided by the Soviet Union to China in its fight against the invaders. To repel the attack and protect the state border, on July 1, 1938, the army stationed in the Far East was transformed into the Red Banner Far Eastern Front under the command of Marshal V.K. Blucher.
By July 1938, events had become irreversible. The whole country was watching what was happening thousands of kilometers from the capital, where a previously little-known name - Khasan - was indicated on the map. The lake, the conflict around which threatened to escalate into a full-scale war, was the center of everyone's attention. And soon events began to develop rapidly.
Year 1938. Lake Khasan
Active hostilities began on July 29, when, having previously evicted the residents of border villages and placed artillery firing positions along the border, the Japanese began shelling our territory. For their invasion, the enemies chose the Posyetsky region, replete with lowlands and reservoirs, one of which was Lake Khasan. Located on a hill located 10 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean and 130 kilometers from Vladivostok, this territory was an important strategic site.
Four days after the start of the conflict, particularly fierce battles broke out on the Bezymyannaya hill. Here, eleven border guard heroes managed to resist an enemy infantry company and hold their positions until reinforcements arrived. Another place where the Japanese attack was directed was the Zaozernaya height. By order of the commander of the troops, Marshal Blucher, the Red Army units entrusted to him were sent here to repel the enemy. An important role in holding this strategically important area was played by the soldiers of the rifle company, supported by a platoon of T-26 tanks.
End of hostilities
Both of these heights, as well as the area surrounding Lake Khasan, came under heavy Japanese artillery fire. Despite the heroism of the Soviet soldiers and the losses they suffered, by the evening of July 30, the enemy managed to capture both hills and gain a foothold on them. Further, the events that history preserves (Lake Khasan and the battles on its shores) represent a continuous chain of military failures that resulted in unjustified human casualties.
Analyzing the course of hostilities, the Supreme Command of the USSR Armed Forces came to the conclusion that most of them were caused by the incorrect actions of Marshal Blucher. He was removed from command and subsequently arrested on charges of aiding the enemy and espionage.
Disadvantages identified during the battles
Through the efforts of units of the Far Eastern Front and border troops, the enemy was driven out of the country. Hostilities ended on August 11, 1938. They completed the main task assigned to the troops - the territory adjacent to the state border was completely cleared of invaders. But the victory came at an unreasonably high price. Among the Red Army personnel, there were 970 dead, 2,725 wounded and 96 missing. In general, this conflict showed the unpreparedness of the Soviet army to conduct large-scale military operations. Lake Khasan (1938) became a sad page in the history of the country’s armed forces.