Armed clash near Lake Khasan. Fighting near Lake Khasan (History of hostilities and photos)

In 1938 at Far East Hot clashes broke out 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 Posyet 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. About it fearless man the whole country knew, and his name remained forever in the history of the border troops. His comrades I.M. Drobanich and E. Serov also became famous, having 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 it was appointed new boss NKVD, Security Commissioner 3rd Rank G. S. Lyushkov. 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, having crossed the border, he surrendered to the Japanese authorities and asked 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 few people had previously been shown on the map. famous name- Hassan. 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 heroism 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 High Command armed forces The USSR concluded that most of them were caused wrong actions 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.

And the Red Army due to Japan’s contesting the ownership of the territory near Lake Khasan and the Tumannaya River. In Japan, these events are called the “Zhangufeng Heights Incident.” (Japanese: 張鼓峰事件 Cho:koho: jiken) .

Previous Events

In February 1934, five Japanese soldiers crossed the border line; in a clash with border guards, one of the violators was killed, and four were wounded and detained.

On March 22, 1934, while trying to conduct reconnaissance at the Emelyantsev outpost site, an officer and a soldier of the Japanese army were shot dead.

In April 1934, Japanese soldiers attempted to capture the Lysaya heights in the Grodekovsky border detachment sector; at the same time, the Poltavka outpost was attacked, but the border guards, with the support of an artillery company, repelled the attack and drove the enemy beyond the border line.

In July 1934, the Japanese committed six provocations on the border line, in August 1934 - 20 provocations, in September 1934 - 47 provocations.

During the first seven months of 1935, there were 24 cases of Japanese aircraft invading USSR airspace on the border line, 33 cases of shelling of USSR territory from adjacent territory, and 44 cases of violation of the river border on the Amur River by Manchu ships.

In the fall of 1935, 15 km from the Petrovka outpost, a border guard noticed two Japanese who were trying to connect to the communication line, the soldier was killed and the non-commissioned officer was detained, a rifle and a light machine gun were seized from the violators.

On October 12, 1935, a detachment of Japanese attacked the Baglynka outpost, killing border guard V. Kotelnikov.

In November 1935, the political representative of the USSR in Tokyo, K. K. Yurenev, presented a note of protest to the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hirota, in connection with the violations of the Soviet border by Japanese forces that took place on October 6, October 8 and October 12, 1935.

On January 30, 1936, two Japanese-Manchu companies crossed the border at Meshcheryakovaya Pad and advanced 1.5 km into USSR territory before being pushed back by border guards. Losses amounted to 31 Manchu soldiers and Japanese officers killed and 23 wounded, as well as 4 killed and several wounded Soviet border guards.

On November 24, 1936, a cavalry and foot detachment of 60 Japanese crossed the border in the Grodekovo area, but came under machine gun fire and retreated, losing 18 soldiers killed and 7 wounded, 8 corpses remained on Soviet territory.

On November 26, 1936, three Japanese crossed the border and began a topographical survey of the area from the top of Pavlova Hill; when trying to detain them, machine guns and artillery opened fire from the adjacent territory, and three Soviet border guards were killed.

In 1936, at the Hansi outpost site, Japanese soldiers captured the Malaya Chertova heights and erected pillboxes on it.

In May 1937, 2 km from the border, the border guard again noticed the Japanese trying to connect to the communication line, a Japanese soldier was shot, and six coils of field telephone cable, wire cutters, and six pickaxes were captured.

On June 5, 1937, in the area of ​​​​responsibility of the 21st Rifle Division of the Red Army, Japanese soldiers invaded Soviet territory and occupied a hill near Lake Khanka, but when approaching the border of the 63rd Rifle Regiment, they retreated to adjacent territory. Regiment commander I.R. Dobysh, who was late with the advance of forces to the border line, was brought to disciplinary responsibility.

On October 28, 1937, at an altitude of 460.1, the border patrol of the Pakshekhori outpost discovered two open trenches surrounded by a wire fence. They opened fire from the trenches, and in the shootout the senior squadron, Lieutenant A. Makhalin, was wounded and two Japanese soldiers were killed.

On July 15, 1938, a border patrol noticed a group of five Japanese at the top of the Zaozernaya hill, conducting reconnaissance and photographing the area; while trying to detain them, the Japanese intelligence officer Matsushima was shot (they found weapons, binoculars, a camera and maps of Soviet territory on him), the rest fled.

In total, from 1936 until the outbreak of hostilities at Lake Khasan in July 1938, Japanese and Manchurian forces made 231 violations of the Soviet border, in 35 cases they resulted in major military clashes. Of this number, in the period from the beginning of 1938 to the start of the battles at Lake Khasan, there were 124 cases of border violations by land and 40 cases of aircraft intrusion into the airspace of the USSR.

During the same period, Western powers (including Great Britain and the USA) were interested in escalating the armed conflict between the USSR and Japan in the Far East and escalating tensions into the Soviet-Japanese War. One of the forms of encouraging Japan to war against the USSR was the supply of strategic raw materials to the Japanese military industry, the supply of goods and fuel for the Japanese army (an example is the supply of fuel from the USA), which did not stop either after the start of the Japanese offensive in China in the summer of 1937, or after the start of fighting near Lake Khasan [ ] .

Lyushkov's escape

After the outbreak of Japanese aggression in China in 1937, the Soviet state security agencies in the Far East were tasked with intensifying intelligence and counterintelligence activities. However, in the fall of 1937, the head of the NKVD Directorate for the Far Eastern Territory, Commissar state security 3rd rank G.S. Lyushkov ordered the liquidation of all six operational points on the border, and the transfer of work with agents to border detachments.

On June 14, 1938, in Manchukuo near the city of Hunchun, G.S. Lyushkov crossed the border and surrendered to Japanese border guards. He asked for political asylum and subsequently actively collaborated with Japanese intelligence.

Beginning of the conflict

As a pretext for the use of military force, the Japanese put forward a territorial claim to the USSR, however the real reason was the active assistance of the USSR to China in the period after the signing of the Soviet-Chinese non-aggression treaty on August 21, 1937 (which caused an aggravation of Soviet-Japanese contradictions and a deterioration in Soviet-Japanese relations). In an effort to prevent China from capitulating, the USSR provided it with diplomatic and political support, logistical and military assistance.

On July 1, 1938, due to the increasing military danger, the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army of the Red Army was transformed into the Far Eastern Front of the Red Army.

Due to the complicated situation on the section of the state border near Lake Khasan, as well as the important position of the Zaozernaya hills ( 42°26.79′ N. w.  130°35.67′ E. d.HGI O 42°27.77′ N. w.  130°35.67′ E. d.HGI 130°35.42′ E. d.

), from the slopes and peaks of which it was possible to view and, if necessary, shoot a significant space into the depths of the territory of the USSR, as well as completely block the lakeside defile for access by Soviet border guards. On July 8, 1938, it was decided to establish a permanent border guard post on the Zaozernaya hill.

The Soviet border guards who arrived at the hill dug trenches and installed an inconspicuous wire fence in front of them, which infuriated the Japanese - a unit of infantrymen of the Japanese army, led by an officer, imitated an attack on the hill, turning into a battle formation, but stopped at the border line.

On July 12, 1938, Soviet border guards again occupied the Zaozernaya hill, which was claimed by the puppet government of Manchukuo, which on July 14, 1938 protested about the violation of its border.

On July 15, 1938, in Moscow, the Japanese Ambassador to the USSR Mamoru Shigemitsu demanded in a note of protest to the Soviet government the withdrawal of all USSR troops from the disputed territory. He was presented with documents from the Hunchun Agreement of 1886 and a map attached to them, indicating that the Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya heights are located on Soviet territory. However, on July 20, the Japanese ambassador presented another note from the Japanese government. The note contained an ultimatum demand for the evacuation of Soviet troops “from illegally occupied territory.”

On July 21, 1938, Japanese Minister of War Itagaki and the Chief of the Japanese General Staff requested permission from the Japanese Emperor to use Japanese troops in combat against Soviet forces at Lake Khasan. On the same day, July 22, 1938, japanese emperor

Hirohito approved the plan to attack the Lake Hassan section of the border.

On July 24, 1938, Marshal V.K. Blucher, without informing the government and the higher command in the person of the People's Commissariat of Defense about his actions, went to the Zaozernaya hill with a commission to check reports about the situation on the border. He ordered to fill up one of the trenches dug by the border guards and move the wire fence from the no-man's land four meters to the border guards' trenches. Blucher's actions constituted an abuse of authority (the border guard was not subordinate to the army command) and direct interference in the work of the border district headquarters (whose orders were carried out by the border guard). In addition, as further developments showed, Blucher’s actions were wrong.

The balance of forces between the parties

USSR

15 thousand Soviet military personnel and border guards took part in the fighting at Lake Khasan, armed with 237 artillery pieces (179 field artillery pieces and 58 45-mm anti-tank guns), 285 tanks, 250 aircraft and 1014 machine guns (341 heavy machine guns and 673 light machine guns). 200 took part in supporting the troops' actions trucks GAZ-AA, GAZ-AAA and ZIS-5, 39 fuel tankers and 60 tractors, as well as horse-drawn vehicles.

According to updated data, two border boats also took part in the fighting in the area of ​​Lake Khasan ( PK-7 And PK-8) USSR border troops.

Radio intelligence specialists from the Pacific Fleet took an indirect part in the operation - they did not participate in hostilities, but were engaged in radio interception and decryption of Japanese radio transmissions.

Japan

By the beginning of hostilities, the border group of Japanese troops consisted of: three infantry divisions (15th, 19th, 20th infantry divisions), one cavalry regiment, three machine gun battalions, separate armored units (up to a battalion in size), anti-aircraft artillery units, three armored trains and 70 aircraft, 15 warships (1 cruiser and 14 destroyers) and 15 boats were concentrated at the mouth of the Tumen-Ula River. The 19th Infantry Division, reinforced with machine guns and artillery, took a direct part in the hostilities. Also, the Japanese military command considered the possibility of using White emigrants in combat operations - Major of the Japanese General Staff Yamooko was sent to Ataman G.M. Semyonov to coordinate the joint actions of White emigrants and Japanese troops during preparations for hostilities at Lake Khasan.

More than 20 thousand military personnel of the Japanese army took part in the fighting at Lake Khasan, armed with 200 guns and 3 armored trains.

According to the American researcher Alvin D. Cooks, at least 10,000 Japanese troops took part in the fighting at Lake Khasan, of which 7,000 - 7,300 were in the combat units of the 19th Division. This figure, however, does not include the personnel of the artillery units assigned to the division in last days conflict.

In addition, during the fighting near Lake Khasan, the use of 20-mm Type 97 anti-tank rifles by Japanese troops was recorded.

Fighting

On July 24, 1938, the Military Council of the Far Eastern Front gave the order to put the 118th, 119th Infantry Regiments and the 121st Cavalry Regiment of the 40th Infantry Division of the Red Army on alert. It was believed that defense in the rugged swampy terrain was impossible, as this would prevent the Soviet units from reaching the conflict site.

On July 24, the 3rd battalion of the 118th regiment of the 40th Infantry Division and the reserve border post of Lieutenant S. Ya. Khristolubov were transferred to Lake Khasan. Thus, by the beginning of the Japanese offensive, the following forces were available in the combat area:

Before dawn on July 29, Japanese troops numbering up to 150 soldiers (a reinforced company of the border gendarmerie with 4 Hotchkiss machine guns), taking advantage of the foggy weather, secretly concentrated on the slopes of the Bezymyannaya hill and in the morning attacked the hill, on which there were 11 Soviet border guards. Having lost up to 40 soldiers, they occupied the heights, but after reinforcements arrived for the border guards, they were driven back by the evening.

On the evening of July 30, 1938, Japanese artillery shelled the hills, after which the Japanese infantry again attempted to capture Bezymyannaya and Zaozernaya, but the border guards, with the help of the arriving 3rd battalion of the 118th joint venture of the 40th SD, repelled the attack.

On the same day, after a short artillery barrage, Japanese troops launched a new attack with up to two regiments of the 19th Infantry Division and occupied the hills. Immediately after the capture, the Japanese began to fortify the heights, trenches were dug here full profile, wire fences of 3-4 stakes were installed. At height 62.1 (“Machine Gun”), the Japanese installed up to 40 machine guns.

An attempt at a Soviet counterattack by two battalions was unsuccessful, although fire from a platoon of 45-mm anti-tank guns under the command of Lieutenant I.R. Lazarev destroyed two Japanese anti-tank guns and three Japanese machine guns.

The battalion of the 119th Infantry Regiment retreated to height 194.0, and the battalion of the 118th Regiment was forced to retreat to Zarechye. On the same day, the Chief of Staff of the Front, G. M. Stern, and the Deputy People's Commissar of Defense, Army Commissar L. Z. Mehlis arrived at the headquarters; G. M. Stern assumed overall command of the Soviet troops.

On the morning of August 1, the entire 118th infantry regiment arrived in the area of ​​Lake Khasan, and before noon - the 119th infantry regiment and the 120th command post of the 40th infantry division. The general attack was delayed as units advanced into the fighting area along a single impassable road. On August 1, a direct conversation took place between V.K. Blucher and the Main Military Council, where J.V. Stalin sharply criticized Blucher for commanding the operation.

In border battles with the Japanese on July 29 - August 5, 1938, Soviet troops captured 5 artillery pieces, 14 machine guns and 157 rifles.

On August 4, the concentration of troops was completed, the commander of the Far Eastern Front, G. M. Stern, gave the order for an offensive with the goal of attacking and destroying the enemy between the Zaozernaya hill and Lake Khasan and restoring the state border.

On August 6, 1938, at 16:00, after the fog cleared over the lakes, 216 Soviet aircraft began bombing Japanese positions; at 17:00, after a 45-minute artillery barrage and two massive bombings of the Japanese troops, the Soviet offensive began.

• The 32nd Rifle Division and the tank battalion of the 2nd Mechanized Brigade advanced from the north onto the Bezymyannaya Hill;
• The 40th Rifle Division, reinforced by a reconnaissance battalion and tanks, advanced from the southeast onto the Zaozernaya hill.

On August 7, fighting for the heights continued, with Japanese infantry launching 12 counterattacks throughout the day.

On August 8, units of the 39th Corps and the 118th Infantry Regiment of the 40th Division captured the Zaozernaya hill and also launched battles to capture the Bogomolnaya height. In an effort to weaken the pressure on its troops in the Khasan area, the Japanese command launched counterattacks on other sections of the border: on August 9, 1938, at the site of the 59th border detachment, Japanese troops occupied Mount Malaya Tigrovaya to monitor the movement of Soviet troops. On the same day, in the sector of the 69th Khanka border detachment, Japanese cavalrymen violated the border line, and in the sector of the 58th Grodekovsky border detachment, Japanese infantry attacked height 588.3 three times.

On August 10, 1938, the Japanese Ambassador to the USSR M. Shigemitsu visited the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR M. M. Litvinov in Moscow and proposed to begin peace negotiations. The Soviet side agreed to a cessation of hostilities from 12:00 on August 11, 1938, while maintaining troops in the positions that the troops occupied as of 24:00 on August 10, 1938.

During August 10, Japanese troops launched several counterattacks and conducted artillery bombardment of the heights from adjacent territory.

On August 11, 1938, at 13:30 local time, hostilities ceased. In the evening of the same day, south of the Zaozernaya height, the first meeting of representatives of the parties took place to fix the position of the troops. On the same day, August 11, 1938, a truce was concluded between Japan and the USSR.

On August 12-13, 1938, new meetings between Soviet and Japanese representatives took place, at which the parties clarified the location of troops and exchanged the bodies of the dead. It was decided that the boundary should be established based on the 1860 agreement, since there was no later boundary agreement.

Aviation Application

On the eve of the conflict in the Far East, the command of the Red Army Air Force concentrated a significant amount of aviation. Without taking into account the Pacific Fleet aviation, by August 1938 the Soviet air group consisted of 1,298 aircraft, including 256 SB bombers (17 out of order). Direct command of aviation in the conflict zone was exercised by P. V. Rychagov.

In the period from August 1 to 8 against Japanese fortifications, Soviet aviation carried out 1028 sorties: SB - 346, I-15 - 534, SSS - 53 (from the airfield in Voznesenskoye), TB-3 - 41, R-zet - 29, I-16 - 25. The following were involved in the operation:

In a number of cases, Soviet aviation mistakenly used chemical bombs. However, evidence from eyewitnesses and participants suggests the opposite. In particular, it is said that the delivered chemical bombs were loaded into the bomber only once, and upon takeoff this was discovered in the air. The pilots did not land, but dropped bombs into the silted lake to avoid exploding the ammunition.

During combat operations, 4 Soviet aircraft were lost and 29 were damaged.

Japanese aviation did not participate in the conflict.

results

As a result of the battles, Soviet troops completed their assigned task of protecting the state border of the USSR and defeating enemy units.

Losses of the parties

The losses of the Soviet troops amounted to 960 people killed and missing (of which, 759 died on the battlefield; 100 died in hospitals from wounds and illnesses; 6 died in non-combat incidents and 95 were missing), 2752 wounded and 527 sick. The bulk of the sick were those who suffered from gastrointestinal diseases as a result of drinking bad water. Since all Red Army soldiers who took part in hostilities were vaccinated with toxoid, during the entire period of hostilities there was not a single case of tetanus in military personnel.

Japanese losses were about 650 killed and 2,500 wounded according to Soviet estimates, or 526 killed and 914 wounded according to Japanese figures. In addition, during the fighting near Lake Khasan, Japanese troops suffered losses in weapons and military property. In addition, the domestic sinologist V. Usov (FES RAS) noted that, in addition to the official Japanese communiqués, there was also a secret memorandum addressed to Emperor Hirohito, in in which the number of losses of Japanese troops significantly (no less than one and a half times) exceeds the officially published data.

Subsequent events

On November 16, 1938, an exhibition of captured weapons captured from Japanese troops during the fighting at Lake Khasan opened in the Vladivostok City Museum.

Rewarding combatants

The 40th Rifle Division was awarded the Order of Lenin, the 32nd Rifle Division and the Posyet Border Detachment were awarded the Order of the Red Banner, 6,532 participants in the battle were awarded government awards: 26 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (including nine posthumously), 95 were awarded the Order of Lenin, 1985 - the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of the Red Star - 1935 people, the medal "For Courage" - 1336 people, the medal "For Military Merit" - 1154 people. Among the recipients were 47 wives and sisters of border guards.

By order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR dated November 4, 1938, 646 of the most distinguished participants in the battles at Lake Khasan were promoted to rank.

On November 7, 1938, in the order of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR No. 236 of November 7, 1938, gratitude was declared to all participants in the battles at Lake Khasan

One of the points of accusation against Blucher was the creation of a commission that conducted an investigation at the Zaozernaya height on July 24 and came to the conclusion that Soviet border guards had violated the border line, after which Blucher demanded the partial liquidation of defensive positions at the height and the arrest of the head of the border section.

On October 22, 1938, Blucher was arrested. He pleaded guilty to participating in a military conspiracy and died during the investigation. After his death, he was accused of spying for Japan.

Generalization of combat experience and organizational improvement of the Red Army

The Red Army gained experience in conducting combat operations with Japanese troops, which became the subject of study in special commissions, departments of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR, the General Staff of the USSR and military educational institutions and was practiced during exercises and maneuvers. The result was an improvement in the preparation of units and units of the Red Army for combat operations in difficult conditions, improving the interaction of units in battle, improving the operational and tactical training of commanders and staffs. The experience gained was successfully applied on the Khalkhin Gol River in 1939 and in Manchuria in 1945.

The fighting at Lake Khasan confirmed the increased importance of artillery and contributed to the further development of Soviet artillery: if during the Russian-Japanese War, the losses of Japanese troops from Russian artillery fire amounted to 23% of the total losses, then during the conflict at Lake Khasan in 1938, the losses of Japanese troops from artillery fire of the Red Army accounted for 37% of the total losses, and during the fighting near the Khalkhin Gol River in 1939 - 53% of the total losses of Japanese troops.

To eliminate the shortage of platoon-level command personnel, already in 1938, courses for junior lieutenants and junior military technicians were formed in the troops.

The organization of the evacuation of the wounded and the provision of medical care during the fighting near Lake Khasan was based on the provisions of the “Charter of the Military Sanitary Service of the Red Army” of 1933 (UVSS-33), however, at the same time, some requirements of sanitary tactics were violated: the conditions in where military operations took place (seaside swamps); the wounded were carried out during the battle, without waiting for periods of calm in the fighting (which led to an increase in the number of losses); battalion doctors were too close to the battle formations of the troops and, moreover, were involved in organizing the work of company areas for the collection and evacuation of the wounded (which caused large losses among doctors). Based on the experience gained, after the end of hostilities, changes were made to the work of the military medical service:

• already by the beginning of hostilities on Khalkhin Gol, battalion doctors were transferred to the regiments, and paramedics were left in the battalions (this decision led to a reduction in losses among doctors during the fighting and increased the efficiency of the regimental medical centers);
• The training of civilian surgeons to care for the wounded in the field was improved.

Practical experience in the evacuation and treatment of the wounded, gained during the battles near Lake Khasan, was summarized by a specialist in the field of military field surgery, Professor M. N. Akhutin (who participated in the battles near Lake Khasan as an army surgeon) and Dr. medical sciences, Professor A. M. Dykhno.

In addition, during the fighting, the vulnerability of the T-26 light tanks (which had bulletproof armor) when the enemy used large-caliber anti-tank rifles and anti-tank artillery was revealed. During the battles, concentrated fire disabled command tanks equipped with radio stations with a handrail antenna, so it was decided to install handrail antennas not only on command tanks, but also on line tanks.

Development of transport infrastructure

The fighting at Lake Khasan initiated the development of transport communications in the south of the Far East. After the end of hostilities at Lake Khasan, the People's Commissariat of Defense petitioned the government to build railway line No. 206 (Baranovsky - Posyet junction), the construction of which was included in the construction plan for 1939.

International Military Tribunal for the Far East

After the end of World War II, in 1946, by the decision of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, 13 high-ranking officials of the Japanese Empire were convicted of starting the conflict at Lake Khasan in 1938.

Memory

His native village in the Penza region was named in honor of the assistant head of the border outpost, Alexei Makhalin.

In honor of the political instructor Ivan Pozharsky, one of the districts of the Primorsky Territory, the village of Tikhonovka (Pozharskoye) and the Pozharsky railway crossing, founded in 1942, were named.

In the USSR, streets were named and monuments erected in honor of Hassan's heroes.

Reflection in culture and art

• “Tractor Drivers” is a film directed by Ivan Pyryev, filmed in 1939. The events in the film take place in 1938. At the beginning of the film, Red Army soldier Klim Yarko (played by Nikolai Kryuchkov) returns from the Far East after demobilization. In another fragment, Marina Ladynina’s heroine Maryana Bazhan reads the book “Tankmen” about the events at Lake Khasan. The songs “Three Tankmen” and “March of the Soviet Tankmen” were strongly associated in the minds of the generation of the 30s with events in the Far East.
• “Khasan Waltz” is a film shot in 2008 by director Mikhail Gotenko at the Vostochnoe Kino studio. The film is dedicated to Alexei Makhalin.

Heroes of the Soviet Union - participants in the fighting at Lake Khasan

File:Hasan6.png

Monument " Eternal Glory to the heroes of the battles near Lake Khasan." Pos. Razdolnoye, Nadezhdinsky district, Primorsky Krai

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to:

• Borovikov, Andrey Evstigneevich (posthumously)
• Vinevitin, Vasily Mikhailovich (posthumously)
• Gvozdev, Ivan Vladimirovich (posthumously)
• Kolesnikov, Grigory Yakovlevich (posthumously)
• Kornev, Grigory Semyonovich (posthumously)
• Makhalin, Alexey Efimovich (posthumously)
• Pozharsky, Ivan Alekseevich (posthumously)
• Pushkarev, Konstantin Ivanovich (posthumously)
• Rassokha, Semyon Nikolaevich (posthumously)

Orders of NGOs of the USSR

see also

Notes

1. Khasan conflict // Military History Journal, No. 7, 2013 ( last page covers)
2. “Tashkent” - Rifle cell / [under the general. ed. A. A. Grechko]. - M.: Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, 1976. - P. 366-367. - (Soviet military encyclopedia: [in 8 volumes]; 1976-1980, vol. 8).
3. Hassan // Great encyclopedia(in 62 vols.) / editorial coll., ch. ed. S. A. Kondratov. volume 56. M., “TERRA”, 2006. p.147-148
4. Major A. Ageev. Subject lessons for Japanese samurai. 1922-1937. // How we beat Japanese samurai. Collection of articles and documents. M., publishing house of the Central Committee of the Komsomol "Young Guard", 1938. pp. 122-161
5. Vitaly Moroz. Samurai reconnaissance in force. // “Red Star”, No. 141 (26601) from August 8 - 14, 2014. pp. 14-15
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Battles at 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 also participated naval forces– 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 shelled 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

Counted 650 people killed and 2500 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.

Japanese military operations in the area of ​​Lake Khasan and the Khalkhin Gol River in 1938-39.

In the summer of 1938, Japan invaded Soviet territory in the area of ​​Lake Khasan at the junction of the borders of the USSR, China (Manchukuo) and Korea with the aim of capturing a strategically important area (a ridge of hills west of the lake, including the Bezymyannaya and Zaozernaya hills) and creating an immediate threat Vladivostok and Primorye in general. This was preceded by a propaganda campaign launched by Japan on the issue of the so-called “disputed territories” on the Soviet-Manchurian border in Primorye (the line of which was clearly defined in the Hunchun Protocol of 1886 and was never questioned by the Chinese side - ed.), which ended with the presentation to the Soviet Union in July 1938 of a categorical demand for the withdrawal of Soviet troops and the transfer to Japan of all territories west of Khasan under the pretext of the need to fulfill “Japanese obligations” to Manchukuo.

The battles, in which the 19th and 20th divisions, an infantry brigade, three machine-gun battalions, a cavalry brigade, separate tank units and up to 70 aircraft were involved on the Japanese side, lasted from June 29 to August 11, 1938, and ended in defeat Japanese group.

In May 1939, also under the pretext of an “unresolved territorial dispute” between Mongolia and Manchuria, Japanese troops invaded Mongolian territory in the area of ​​the Khalkhin Gol (Nomongan) River. The purpose of the Japanese attack this time was an attempt to establish military control over the region bordering Transbaikalia, which would pose a direct threat to the Trans-Siberian Railway - the main transport artery connecting the European and Far Eastern parts of the country, which in this area runs almost parallel to the northern border of Mongolia and in immediate proximity to it. In accordance with the Mutual Assistance Agreement concluded in 1936 between the USSR and the Mongolian People's Republic, Soviet troops took part in repelling Japanese aggression together with Mongolian troops.

Military operations in the Khalkhin Gol region lasted from May to September 1939 and were significantly larger in scale than the events near Hassan. They also ended in the defeat of Japan, whose losses amounted to: about 61 thousand people killed, wounded and captured, 660 destroyed aircraft, 200 captured guns, about 400 machine guns and more than 100 vehicles (the losses of the Soviet-Mongolian side amounted to more than 9 thousand. Human).

In the Verdict of the Tokyo International Military Tribunal for the Far East of November 4-12, 1948, the actions of Japan in 1938-39. at Khasan and Khalkhin Gol were qualified as “an aggressive war carried out by the Japanese.”

Marian Vasilievich Novikov

Victory at Khalkhin Gol

Novikov M.V., Politizdat, 1971.

The brochure of military historian M. Novikov introduces the reader to the military operations of the Soviet-Mongolian troops on the Khalkhin Gol River against the Japanese aggressors, who violated the borders of the Mongolian People's Republic in the spring of 1939.

The courage and combat skill of the Red Army soldiers and Mongolian cyrics, the superiority of Soviet military equipment led to victory. The Battle of Khalkhin Gol will forever remain an example of the fraternal community of two socialist countries, a stern warning to aggressors.

R.Ya. Malinovsky,
Marshal of the Soviet Union

Tanker March Music: Dm. and Dan. Pokrass Words: B. Laskin 1939.
More than seventy years have passed since the Khasan events. They belong to history, which is always ready to teach useful lessons and enrich us with the necessary experience.
Soviet Union in the 30s, he constantly strived for peaceful relations with neighboring countries in the Far East, including Japan, which was in common interests. However, this policy did not find a response from the then ruling circles of Japan.

Japanese leaders and the press conducted anti-Soviet propaganda and openly declared the need to prepare for war against the Soviet Union. General S. Hayashi, who came to power in February 1937, at the very first meeting of the government he led, declared that “the policy of liberalism towards the communists will be ended.”

Openly anti-Soviet articles began to appear in Japanese newspapers calling for a “march to the Urals.”
In May-June 1938, a propaganda campaign was launched in Japan around supposedly “disputed territories” on the border of Manchukuo with Russian Primorye. At the beginning of July 1938, the Japanese border troops located west of Lake Khasan were reinforced with field units that concentrated on the eastern bank of the Tumen-Ula River. And immediately before the start of the conflict, the Japanese army command sent a division stationed in Korea (numbering about 10 thousand people), a heavy artillery division and about 2 thousand soldiers of the Kwantung Army to the Zaozernaya Heights area. This group was led by Colonel Isamu Nagai, a member of the nationalist Sakura Society, active participant Japan's capture of Northeast China in 1931

The Japanese side explained the preparation for hostilities and the gathering of their troops to the area of ​​Lake Khasan by the fact that the USSR border zone near this lake is supposedly Manchurian territory.
On July 15, 1938, the Charge d'Affaires of Japan in the USSR appeared at the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs and demanded the withdrawal of Soviet border guards from the heights in the area of ​​Lake Khasan. After the Japanese representative was presented with the Hunchun Agreement between Russia and China of 1886 and the map attached to it, irrefutably indicating that Lake Khasan and the heights adjacent to it from the west are on Soviet territory and that, therefore, there are no violations in this no area, he retreated. However, on July 20, the Japanese ambassador in Moscow, Shigemitsu, repeated his claims to the Khasan area. When it was pointed out to him that such claims were unfounded, the ambassador said: if Japan's demands are not met, it will use force.

Naturally, there was no question of fulfilling the unfounded territorial claims of the Japanese.

And then, in the early morning of July 29, 1938, a Japanese company, under the cover of fog, violated the state border of the USSR, shouting “banzai” and attacked Bezymyannaya Height. The night before, a detachment of 11 border guards, led by the assistant head of the outpost, Lieutenant Alexei Makhalin, arrived at this height.
...The Japanese chains surrounded the trench more and more tightly, and the border guards were running out of ammunition. Eleven soldiers heroically repelled the onslaught of superior enemy forces for several hours, and several border guards died. Then Alexey Makhalin decides to break through the encirclement with hand-to-hand combat. He rises to full height and with the words “Forward! For the Motherland!” rushes with the fighters into a counterattack.

They managed to break through the encirclement. But out of the eleven, six defenders of Nameless remained alive. Alexey Makhalin also died. At the cost of heavy losses, the Japanese managed to take control of the heights. But soon a group of border guards and a rifle company under the command of Lieutenant D. Levchenko arrived at the battlefield. With a bold bayonet attack and grenades, our soldiers knocked out the invaders from the heights.

At dawn on July 30, enemy artillery brought down dense, concentrated fire onto the heights. And then the Japanese attacked several times, but Lieutenant Levchenko’s company fought to the death. The company commander himself was wounded three times, but did not leave the battle. A battery of anti-tank guns under Lieutenant I. Lazarev came to the aid of Levchenko’s unit and shot the Japanese with direct fire. One of our gunners died. Lazarev, wounded in the shoulder, took his place. The artillerymen managed to suppress several enemy machine guns and destroy almost a company of the enemy. It was with difficulty that the battery commander was forced to leave for dressing. A day later he was back in action and fought until final success. . . And Lieutenant Alexei Makhalin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).

The Japanese invaders decided to strike a new and main blow in the area of ​​the Zaozernaya hill. Anticipating this, the command of the Posyet border detachment - Colonel K.E. Grebennik - organized the defense of Zaozernaya. The northern slope of the height was guarded by a detachment of border guards under the command of Lieutenant Tereshkin. In the center and on the southern slope of Zaozernaya there was a reserve outpost of Lieutenant Khristolubov and a squad of fighters of a maneuver group with two crews of heavy machine guns. On the southern bank of Khasan there was a branch of Gilfan Batarshin. Their task was to cover the command post of the detachment commander and prevent the Japanese from reaching the rear of the border guards. Senior Lieutenant Bykhovtsev’s group strengthened on Bezymyannaya. Near the height was the 2nd company of the 119th regiment of the 40th Infantry Division under the command of Lieutenant Levchenko. Each height was a small, independently operating stronghold. Approximately halfway between the heights there was a group of Lieutenant Ratnikov, covering the flanks with reinforced units. Ratnikov had 16 soldiers with a machine gun. In addition, he was given a platoon of small-caliber guns and four light T-26 tanks.

However, when the battle began, it turned out that the forces of the border defenders were meager. The lesson at Bezymyannaya was useful for the Japanese, and they brought into action two reinforced divisions with a total number of up to 20 thousand people, about 200 guns and mortars, three armored trains, and a battalion of tanks. The Japanese pinned great hopes on their “suicide bombers” who also took part in the battle.
On the night of July 31, a Japanese regiment, with artillery support, attacked Zaozernaya. The defenders of the hill returned fire, and then counterattacked the enemy and drove him back. Four times the Japanese rushed to Zaozernaya and each time they were forced to retreat with losses. A powerful avalanche of Japanese troops, although at the cost of heavy losses, managed to push back our fighters and reach the lake.
Then, by decision of the government, units of the First Primorsky Army entered the battle. Its soldiers and commanders, heroically fighting together with the border guards, cleared our territory of Japanese invaders after fierce military clashes on August 9, 1938.

Aviators, tank crews, and artillerymen also made a significant contribution to the overall success of repelling the enemy. Accurate bomb strikes fell on the heads of the invaders, the enemy was thrown to the ground by dashing tank attacks, and destroyed by irresistible and powerful artillery salvoes.
The campaign of Japanese troops to Lake Khasan ended ingloriously. After August 9, the Japanese government had no choice but to enter into negotiations to end hostilities. On August 10, the USSR government proposed Japanese side truce. The Japanese government accepted our terms, also agreeing to create a commission to resolve controversial issue about the border.
For mass heroism shown in the battles near Lake Khasan, thousands of Soviet soldiers were awarded high state awards, many became Heroes of the Soviet Union.

The heroes were named after settlements, streets, schools, ships. The memory of the valiant warriors is still preserved in the hearts of Russians, in the hearts of the Far Easterners.

60 years separate us from the time of the conflict at Lake Khasan. But even today this event continues to attract the attention of political and military leaders, historians in our country and abroad.
In the conflict at Lake Khasan, domestic troops were not only for the first time since civil war entered into battle with an experienced enemy army. The provocative actions of the Japanese had a long-range aim: a local conflict for the Japanese General Staff could only become a prelude to larger-scale actions. Maybe - to war.

Hence the enduring significance of the victorious successes at Hasan, which is rightly celebrated today, sixty years later. And then, in the thirties, this victory also contributed to the intensification of the national liberation war of the Chinese people against the Japanese invaders: during the battles on Khasan, the Japanese army practically stopped the offensive on the Chinese front.
No less important was the military-political side of this conflict. Defeat imperial army became the first of a number of reasons that kept Japan from speaking out against the USSR during the Second World War. As noted in documents of that time: “Our firm position in these events forced the presumptuous adventurers both in Tokyo and Berlin to come to their senses. . . There is no doubt that by doing this the Soviet Union rendered the greatest service to the cause of peace.”

However, just as the sea is reflected in a drop of water, the Khasan events highlighted not only the positives, but also a number of negative aspects characteristic of the state of the country and the army in those years.

Yes, the Far Eastern fighters and commanders fought heroically and did not retreat, but their lack of preparation for battles and confusion during them should have made them think about it in anticipation of future formidable trials. “We now not only know the price of our enemy, but also saw those shortcomings in the combat training of the Red Army units and border troops, which were not noticed by many before the Khasan operation. We will make a huge mistake if, based on the experience of the Khasan operation, we fail to move to the highest class of ability to defeat the enemy,” this is how experts in hot pursuit assessed what happened. However, not all of Hassan’s lessons were learned: June 1941 turned out to be so tragically similar to the first days of the fighting at Hassan, so much of what preceded them coincided! In the light of Hassan, the catastrophic situation that had developed by 1939 in the command echelons of the Red Army is assessed in a new way; it is enough to analyze the actions of the command staff in the operation. And perhaps today, 60 years later, we understand this more clearly, more comprehensively.

And yet, the events on Khasan, with all their complexity and ambiguity, clearly demonstrated the military power of the USSR. The experience of fighting with the regular Japanese army seriously helped the training of our soldiers and commanders during the battles at Khalkin-Gol in 1939 and in the Manchurian War. strategic operation in August 1945

To understand everything, you need to know everything. The time has come to rediscover Khasan - for serious research by scientists, historians, local historians, writers, all Russian people. And not for the duration of the holiday campaign, but for many years.