Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, interwar and Second World War

Battles of Khalkhin Gol

Battles of Khalkhin Gol was a battle fought on 11 May 1939 at Khalkhyn River, in what is now Mongolia; it lasted 4 months. It was part of Soviet–Japanese border conflicts, which ran from 1932 to 1939. The recorded result: Soviet–Mongolian victory.

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Mongolian People's Army soldiers fight against Imperial Japanese soldiers. Khalkhin Gol, 1939.
Mongolian People's Army soldiers fight against Imperial Japanese soldiers. Khalkhin Gol, 1939.. Viktor Antonovich Temin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought11 May 1939lasted 4 months
WhereKhalkhyn River, Mongolia47.730N, 118.590E
OutcomeSoviet–Mongolian victory
BelligerentsSoviet Union; MongoliaagainstEmpire of Japan; Manchukuo
Part ofSoviet–Japanese border conflicts1932 to 1939

Where it sits in Soviet–Japanese border conflicts

Battle of Khalkhyn Temple, 1935Orahodoga Incident, 1935Jinchanggou Incident, 1936Kanchazu Island incident, 1937Battle of Lake Khasan, 1938Battle of Zaozernaya Hill, 1938Dong'an Town Incident, 1939Battles of Khalkhin Gol, 1939Battle of Nomonhan, 193919351939Battles of Khalkhin Gol, 1939
9 placed engagements of Soviet–Japanese border conflicts in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date11 May 1939
to 16 September 1939
PlaceKhalkhyn River, Mongolia
47.730N, 118.590E
KindBattle, interwar and Second World War
Territorial changeStatus quo ante bellum; enforcement of border claims in accordance with the Soviet and Mongolian interpretation.
Strength57,000 (late August); 498 to 550 tanks; 385–450 armored cars; 900 aircraft (total), peak strength 623; 546 artillery pieces (156 100mm+); 4,000 trucks; 1,921 horses and camels (Mongol only)25,000 (late August); 73 tanks; 19 tankettes; Tanks withdrawn after July action; 400 aircraft (total), peak strength 255; 277 artillery pieces (50 100mm+); 2,000 trucks (20 August); 2,708 horses
Casualties and lossesManpower total: 26,211–28,169 casualties9,703 dead and missing,; 15,251 wounded,; 701 to 2,225 hospitalized due to disease.; Boris Sokolov writes that according to E. I. Smirnov's "Война и военная медицина. 1939–1945 годы" ("War and military medicine. 1939–1945") the figure of 701 only accounts for sick patients who were treated in hospitals of the Transbaikal Military District and that the total number of ill during the campaign was 2,225.; 24,903 combat; 752–2,276 noncombat; 556–990; Equipment: 250 aircraft lost; 253 tanks destroyed or crippled; 133 armored cars destroyed; 96 mortars and artillery; 49 tractors and prime movers; 652 trucks and other motor vehicles; significant animal casualtiesManpower total: ~20,000 casualties'Japanese military record: 8,440 killed,; 8,766 wounded; Soviet claim: 60,000 killed and wounded,; 3,000 captured; See #Casualties.; 17,364–17,716 combat; 2,350 noncombat; 2,895 (Soviet claim); Equipment: 162 aircraft lost; 29 tanks destroyed or crippled; 7 tankettes destroyed; 72 artillery pieces (field guns only); 2,330 horses killed, injured, or sick; significant motor vehicle losses
Commanders
  • Grigory Shtern
  • Georgy Zhukov
  • Yakov Smushkevich
  • Khorloogiin Choibalsan
  • Michitarō Komatsubara
  • Masaomi Yasuoka
  • Kōtoku Satō
  • Urzhin Garmaev
Battles of Khalkhin GolBattles of Khalkhin GolBattle of NomonhanBattle of Buyur LakeBattle of NomonhanBattle of Buyur LakeArxan100 km47.730N, 118.590E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battles of Khalkhin Gol
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battles of Khalkhin Gol today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-06-21. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 668 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 657 to 749 m, 91 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 93% grassland, 3% wetland.

grassland: 93%wetland: 3%grassland 93%wetland 3%
west to east, 10.0 km664 to 745 mnorth to south, 10.0 km665 to 686 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1939

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: SOV 1ST ARMY GROUPDefender: JAP 6TH ARMY(-)
Strength57,00030,000
Casualties10,000 (17.5%)11,500 (38.3%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1074
Outcomeattacker won
Duration2 days
Front width50 km60 km
Attacker advanced21.6 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 260), public domain, in the CC0 tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold. Figures are the database's estimates, compiled in 1990 from published histories, and may differ from the Wikipedia infobox above.

Battles of Khalkhin Gol is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 10 in present-day Mongolia.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q188925, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battles of Khalkhin Gol, revision 1383080589, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.