Colonel Konstantin Vladimirovich Yakovlev and I flew from Moscow to Mongolia, and to the sound of the Tu-153 turbines, he recalled Bain-Tsagan, the crossing that made it possible to bring our units to this shore.
The wooden bridge, he said, had to be built in one night on May 28. We reached the river after a long march. They quickly organized the delivery of logs and telegraph poles from the warehouse in Tamtsak-Bulak and began preparing the bridge. Assembly began already at dusk. Many had to go deep into the water, and from the strong cooling they shivered, the current knocked them off their feet...
The colonel would fall silent, wait for us to write down what he was saying, then continue.
By dawn the bridge was ready. And suddenly the rumble of planes was heard. Enemy bombers were flying from the east. The first group turned towards our bridge, and the growing whistle of bombs and explosions were heard. At the same time, machine gun fire was heard from the dunes.
We rushed to cross. It was more difficult to do this along the bridge - it was taken at gunpoint by the enemy. Most had to swim or wade across. On the shore they quickly turned to battle. And they immediately met with enemy infantry. Hand-to-hand fighting began. We defended our bridge with difficulty. I must say that we were unexpectedly lucky - a group of Mongolian soldiers with a machine gun joined us. They turned out to be among the border guards retreating in battle.
A fierce battle raged all night - bullets whistled, grenades exploded, flares flashed.
Yes, yes,” the Mongolian veteran of the battles at Bain-Tsagan S. Tugszhargal confirmed a few days later, “those machine gunners helped us a lot then... The day before, the Japanese set the steppe on fire. The soldiers fought the fire all night. The heat and unbearable stuffiness, bombings and continuous attacks by the Japanese completely exhausted us. The sand dunes on both sides of the river were covered with the corpses of the dead. This is where the machine guns supported us. Their fire, like a scythe, felled the first ranks of the enemy marching at full speed into the last, as he assumed - it really turned out to be the last for many Japanese - attack of the enemy. Taking advantage of his confusion, we stood up and rushed forward. As a result, we took more comfortable positions behind the crest of the hills.
After that,” he continues, “the enemy was no longer able to knock us out, although he launched several desperate attacks. Having let the Japanese get closer, we threw grenades at them, and machine gunners from the flanks mowed down the advancing chains with fire. Who were they, these machine gunners? From which part? So it remained unknown. Are they alive? Did they die? I don’t know... We wouldn’t have survived without them then...
The battle at Bayin-Tsagan continued. And the commander of the group, corps commander Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, made an unheard-of decision for that time - to transfer motorized mechanized and tank units hundreds of kilometers into the battle area and send them to attack without infantry.
And then something incredible, unprecedented happened. The tank brigade under the command of Mikhail Pavlovich Yakovlev and the motorized rifle regiment of Ivan Ivanovich Fedyuninsky, after a multi-day march, immediately rush to the attack. A fierce battle broke out in the Bayin Tsagan area. Tanks went against tanks. There were up to four hundred of them on both sides. Up to three hundred guns and several hundred aircraft took part in the battle. Cannonade could be heard hundreds of kilometers away. At night there was a huge glow over the steppe...
Unable to withstand the onslaught of the Soviet-Mongolian troops, the enemy retreated in disarray. Enemy soldiers and officers threw themselves straight into the Khalkhin Gol River. Many drowned immediately. “There was terrible confusion,” one Japanese officer later wrote in his diary. “The horses ran away, dragging the limbs of the guns behind them, the vehicles rushed in different directions. The entire personnel lost heart.”
Thus, the Japanese strike force, pressed against the river, was completely defeated on July 3-5. The enemy lost almost all the tanks, a significant part of the artillery, 45 aircraft and about 10 thousand people. On July 8, the Japanese, having regrouped their forces, repeated the attack, but this time, after a four-day bloody battle, having lost more than 5 thousand killed and wounded, they were forced to retreat.
The defeat of the Japanese troops made a depressing impression in the empire. Here is a short entry from the diary of a Japanese politician of that time, an adviser to Emperor Kido: “The army is in confusion, everything is lost.”
It's quiet at the heights of Bayin Tsagan today. The last time we were there with Galina Mikhailovna Alyunina, the daughter of brigade commander Yakovlev, Hero of the Soviet Union, who died a heroic death.
We remember our father as kind and brave,” she said at the monument to the Yakovlev heroes. “He was a career military man, but he always seemed so peaceful and calm to us...
Brigade commander Mikhail Pavlovich Yakovlev was 36 years old during the battles on Bain-Tsagan. Yakovlev joined the party in 1924, and joined the Soviet Army at the age of seventeen. The 11th Tank Brigade was named after M.P. Yakovlev. He is forever included in the list of honorary Red Army soldiers of the brigade.
The commanders and cyrics of the Mongol army acted skillfully. The artillerymen helped Soviet soldiers destroy the enemy with well-aimed fire. The fame of the Heroes of the MPR, cavalryman Londongiin Dandara, political instructor Luvsandorzhiin Gelegbator, regiment commander Choin Dugarzhava, armored car driver Darzhagiin Hayankhyarve and many others spread far and wide.
I can’t help but say about the legendary hero of Khalkhin Gol, Tsendiyna Olzvoy, known throughout the republic. Today you will definitely see his portrait in every room of Sukhbaatar - this is what the red corner is called in Mongolian military units. One of the first Olzvoy was awarded the title of Hero of the MPR.
There is a concrete hedgehog standing near Bain-Tsagan - it was erected by Mongolian Revolutionary Youth League members. The enemy has reached this point. They didn't let him through any further. There is also a tank from those times. Perhaps Konstantin Simonov, who worked for the front-line publication “Heroic Red Army,” wrote about him in those years:
If they told me to erect a monument to all those who died here in the desert, I would put a tank with empty eye sockets on a granite hewn wall.
The Yakovlev tank crews showed miracles of heroism. Here are some reports from the battlefield. The crew of Lieutenant A. A. Martynov destroyed five enemy guns. Major G.M. Mikhailov, at the head of a tank battalion, broke deep into the rear of the Japanese and, even wounded, led the unit until the task was completed. The tank crew of political instructor D.P. Viktorov performed an immortal feat; the brave tank crews knocked out ten enemy guns; even when the Japanese who came close set the tank on fire, the Soviet soldiers continued to fight until their last breath.
Mongolia does not forget the height of Bayin-Tsagan and its heroes. People from all aimags of the republic come here to the monuments. Revolutionary Youth League members and pioneers are walking through places of military glory. The poplar trees planted by their hands rustle with the young leaves of the poplar trees near the monument. The steppe wind is humming near the Stele of Glory.
The last time in the fall I wandered for a long time along a steppe river. There are fewer mosquitoes. Khalkhin Gol became shallow, it was possible to freely wade from one bank to the other. In its bright waters flashed like lightning large fish. Here, I knew, there were taimen.
While wading to the eastern bank of the river, I clearly imagined how Olzvoy and his fearless friends did in 1939, when he was tasked with bringing the “tongue”.
Where, crawling, where, bending down in the darkness, brave souls crossed the front line. We reached the enemy battery, which was spotted during the day. There was a sentry with a rifle near the guns, and the silhouettes of tents were gray in the distance. Confident armed men walked around.
We decided to start with the sentry. And the area, like everywhere else beyond Khalkhin Gol, is completely open, only in complete darkness can you get close to something or someone unnoticed.
But the Japanese seemed to want to be captured, approached the Mongolian scouts and for some reason lowered his rifle to the ground. He was immediately twisted on his arms and legs. There is a “language”, but it would be nice to get some binoculars. And Olzvoy makes a desperate decision - he puts on a Japanese helmet, takes his rifle and becomes a “sentinel” to the enemy guns... Tirelessly watching the tents, he takes a cigarette from his pocket and lights it. Having finished smoking, he silently approaches the first tent. Everybody sleeps. I went to the next one. There were no binoculars. From the third one could be heard talking - they were not sleeping there, but through the door one could clearly see an officer's tablet hanging and a leather case in which, of course, there should be binoculars.
Olzvoy again “took up his post” at the battery. And when everything became quiet around him, he entered the tent, took the tablet, took the binoculars out of the case, and poured dung into it.
Silently and unnoticed, the group of scouts returned to their location.
In the morning, the regiment commander expressed gratitude to them.
How come the Japanese will now shoot at us without binoculars, but they won’t see whether they hit or missed the target? Eh, Olzvoy?
“Nothing, comrade commander,” the scout answered to thunderous laughter, “I left a replacement for them, they’ll get by...
Real legends are told about Olzvoy. I heard that, returning from reconnaissance, together with his faithful friend, he encountered the Japanese driving in two cars. And so the two of them, having accepted an unequal battle, destroyed many enemy soldiers and took the rest prisoner. The next time Olzvoy held the height, which was stormed by an entire company of enemy soldiers.
Perhaps some things were exaggerated, but there is no doubt that Olzvoy was an outstanding intelligence officer. A monument to him was erected in the homeland of Tsendiin Olzvoy in the Kobdo aimag.
Soviet and Mongolian pilots showed high skill and dedication during the Baintsagan battles. In battles with the Japanese invaders, Witt Fedorovich Skobarikhin and Alexander Fedorovich Moshin successfully used an air ram. And Mikhail Anisimovich Yuyukin directed the burning plane towards enemy ground targets. Yuyukin's navigator was Nikolai Frantsevich Gastello. By order of the commander, he then jumped out of the burning plane with a parachute, as if in order to accomplish his immortal feat in 1941.
Already after the Great Patriotic War, talking with the famous marshal and four times Hero of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov, K.M. Simonov noted that he had not seen air battles like the Khalkhingol one. Georgy Konstantinovich replied: “Do you think I saw it?”
It was at Khalkhin Gol that Sergei Gritsevets, Yakov Smushkevich and Grigory Kravchenko became twice Heroes of the Soviet Union. Sergei Ivanovich Gritsevets, while pursuing enemy planes, saw that the plane of his commander, pilot V. M. Zabaluev, was shot down and the commander was descending by parachute. Gritsevets landed on enemy territory, took Zabaluev into his single-seat fighter and flew to his airfield. Sergei Ivanovich fought in Spain. In total, they shot down 40 enemy aircraft. Kravchenko personally shot down five planes. Under his leadership, 18 enemy aircraft were destroyed. In one of the battles, Kravchenko was forced to land far from the airfield and only three days later he reached his own people.
For successful battles against the Japanese invaders in China, he was first awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He died in 1943, being the commander of the air forces of the 3rd Army. He was buried near the Kremlin wall. Yakov Vladimirovich Smushkevich also fought in Spain. The air forces of the Khalkingol group under his command ensured air supremacy during the offensive.
The first major air battle occurred on June 22. Almost a hundred Soviet fighters fought with 120 Japanese planes. The second major battle began on June 24, and again the Soviet pilots won. Then the battles in the sky continued constantly. From June 22 to June 26 alone, the Japanese lost 64 aircraft.
There wasn’t a day, said Khalkhin Gol veteran, now General Ivan Alekseevich Lakeev, without Japanese planes hovering over our positions. The commander kept saying: “Lead the battle.” How to lead? Radio was just coming into existence at that time. “Think, think,” the commander repeated. We came up with it. They drew a large circle on the ground, and on it a turning arrow. An arrow points where the enemy plane will appear from. The weather in Mongolia is most often clear, and pilots could clearly see our sign from the sky. Georgy Konstantinovich praised: “Well done.”
Generals Kravchenko Grigory Panteleevich and Lakeev Ivan Alekseevich, recalled in a conversation with me the cosmonaut pilot, head of the Cosmonaut Training Center, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, who flew 185 combat missions, Lieutenant General Georgy Timofeevich Beregovoi, taught us, young pilots, to beat the Germans aces, using the lessons of Khalkhin Gol. I’ll say that science was very substantive. She helped us a lot. And I am still grateful to them for it...
“During July and August,” recalls Hero of the Soviet Union E.N. Stepanov, “major air battles continued. Soviet pilots firmly held the airspace above our ground forces, preventing Japanese bomber aircraft from bombing the positions of the Soviet-Mongolian troops. In turn, Japanese fighters tried unsuccessfully to keep their bombers operating. This led to heated air battles involving large air forces. For example, on September 15, 1939, on the last day of the war, there was an air battle in which 392 aircraft of both sides took part. The enemy showed exceptional resistance and perseverance, but Soviet aviation confidently marched towards victory in the skies of Mongolia.
From May 22 to August 19, Soviet pilots destroyed 355 enemy aircraft, of which 320 were shot down in air battles. In subsequent battles before the end of hostilities, the enemy lost another 290 aircraft, of which 270 were in air battles.
Japanese aviation, during its adventuristic invasion of the Mongolian People's Republic, suffered a severe defeat, losing 660 combat aircraft from the actions of Soviet aviation. During the difficult trials of 1939, Soviet pilots showed their boundless devotion to the cause of socialism and the ideas of proletarian internationalism, and showed inexhaustible courage in the fight against the enemy."
I first met Anton Dmitrievich Yakimenko, Lieutenant General of Aviation, Hero of the Soviet Union, at the celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the Battle of Khalkhin Gol in Ulaanbaatar. He told reporters about his participation in the Khalkhingol battles.
On May 11, 1939, our fighter aviation regiment, which was located on the territory of the Soviet Union in Transbaikalia, was alerted. The event, generally speaking, is not new; our commander announced training alarms often, day and night. This time the alarm sounded at dawn. We instantly gathered, brought the planes to combat readiness, checked the weapon. We sit and wait for further orders. Will there be a shutdown or not? And then two green rockets soared into the air. This is the order to take off!
I see well - we are flying south. We cross the Onon River and approach the Mongolian border. Border is a special concept for each of us, because we were brought up with respect for the inviolability of borders. Do I really think the commander made a mistake and is leading us to foreign territory? And he shook his wing - this is a conditional signal: “pull yourself up.” We pulled ourselves up, and he, as if saying goodbye to Soviet land and welcoming Mongolian land, made a beautiful aerial figure. We repeated... Soon we landed near the city of Choibalsan, then it was called Bayan-Tumen. We gathered in the dugout.
This is how the fighting began for us. The next day we moved to the Khalkhin Gol area, and our unit flew out for reconnaissance.
Of course, each of us wanted to see the enemy. Previously, we only took part in training battles. And so the three of us return from reconnaissance, walk over the lake, and I see: seventeen Japanese fighters are flying towards us. It’s as if I’ve photographed them with my eyes and I’m thinking, are we really going to miss them? And we were warned: when you return from reconnaissance, do not engage in battle. We need to bring aerial photography data. It is very important. But the enemy is before us. I jumped forward, the guys followed me, and we attacked this group. Our appearance was so unexpected for the Japanese that even after one of the enemy planes fell into the water, none of them noticed our attack in time. We realized it, but it was too late; we had already turned around and were leaving for our airfield.
This was our first fight. And I want to talk about a particularly memorable day - June 22, 1939. Such a coincidence with the first day of the Great Patriotic War... At dawn we were sitting on planes. At the signal from the rocket, our flight takes off, and I see an enemy reconnaissance plane over the airfield. Having gained altitude, we followed him. The plane was shot down, and almost immediately we saw a large group of enemy combat vehicles to the side.
The battle lasted a long time, 3 hours 30 minutes. As a result, 43 aircraft fell to the ground, 31 of them Japanese. As I see this battle now: bombers are coming, accompanied by a large group of fighters. Covered from above, below, from the sides - there is no way to break through. But the main target for fighters is a bomber with a combat payload. I'm trying to approach from the side, but it's impossible from above. I shoot down one fighter, then another. My fuel runs out, I land at the airfield and refuel. He got up and went on the attack again. By the end of the battle, the Japanese could not stand it and took to their heels.
From this air battle we drew a very important conclusion: the enemy is trying to take us by surprise at the airfields, when the planes are still on the ground, and launch an air strike to destroy the aircraft and flight personnel. However, the vigilance of the flight personnel and our observation posts thwarted this Japanese plan. And the air battles continued. They ended, as is known, with the defeat of enemy aircraft.
Shortly after this air battle, Marshal Khorlogin Choibalsan came to us. He talked with the pilots and was interested in Japanese tactics. The conversation was friendly and sincere.
When leaving, the marshal said that we were protecting the skies of Mongolia, and advised us to take care of the planes and, most importantly, take care of people, remember that we were dealing with a very cunning, treacherous enemy.
Our squadron emerged from the tests with honor. Five pilots - Chistyakov, Skobarikhin, Trubachenko, Grinev and me - were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. We fought well. They knew how to help each other, they knew their capabilities and the capabilities of the enemy.
At this meeting, I read poems by Mongolian poets about Khalkhin Gol. They have some special charm.
Above the sphinxes and pyramids, Obelisks rose into the sky, Clouds float silently, The forest quietly rustles with leaves, And the river absorbs Obelisks and clouds And shakes their reflections... In the boundless expanse of the steppe The border strip lies across the rivers and forests - Obelisks stand on guard! People, remember those soldiers!
This is what the famous Mongolian poet Sharavyn Surenzhav wrote about Khalkhin Gol.
So, at Bain-Tsagan, the Japanese adventure was defeated. Widely advertised in advance to our own and Nazi correspondents, who, by the way, also arrived in Hailar, where the headquarters of the strike force of the Kwantung Army was located, the offensive completely floundered. Soon it became known that a new enemy offensive was being prepared. G.K. Zhukov the day before gave the order to withdraw from the first line of trenches. And at dawn the Japanese launched artillery bombardment into an empty area. And when we went on the attack, we met such resistance that we immediately rolled back with heavy losses. Zhukov’s former adjutant Mikhail Fedorovich Vorotnikov spoke about this in detail.
At the same time, a plan was actually developed to encircle and completely defeat the Japanese group.
“The commander attached great importance to the enemy’s misinformation,” recalled M.F. Vorotnikov. The Japanese were under the impression that our troops were preparing to spend the winter at Khalkhin Gol. Every day there were requests by telegraph for wire and stakes for winter fortifications; the airwaves were filled with negotiations about the preparation of sleigh trains and winter uniforms. These negotiations were conducted to create the illusion of reality, in a code that the Japanese knew for sure. They started putting up wire fences. Meanwhile, huge quantities of ammunition, equipment, fuel, and food were delivered to the front line.
The commanders of Soviet units showed up at the front line only in the uniform of ordinary Red Army soldiers, tank crews - in combined arms uniform. Intensified reconnaissance of enemy positions was carried out. Only a narrow circle of people knew about the upcoming offensive...
And again I remember the meeting, the participants of which we were in the large hall of the Government Palace in Ulaanbaatar, where, on behalf of the veterans of Khalkhin Gol, a participant in the battles, the former commander of the cavalry division D. Nantaysuren, addressed the youth with instructions. He also talked about his life.
“I am a participant in two wars with Japanese militarists,” said Nyantaysuren. “In 1939, I, a young commander of a cavalry division, I had just graduated from the Tambov Cavalry School, had to fight with the Japanese aggressors who had invaded the territory of the MPR in the Khalkhin-Gol region, and a few years later to smash them on Chinese territory during the liberation campaign of the Soviet-Mongolian troops in 1945.
To this day, every episode of our joint military operations with our Soviet friends is stored in my memory; I am excited by the joy of the victory.
At the end of July, the cavalry division was transferred to the operational subordination of the first army group, commanded by corps commander G.K. Zhukov. At the headquarters of the Soviet-Mongolian troops, an operation was being prepared to encircle and destroy the Japanese troops that had invaded the Mongolia.
According to G.K. Zhukov’s plan, it was envisaged, having pinned down the enemy with actions from the front, to deliver powerful attacks on both flanks of the enemy group, encircle it and destroy it between Khalkhin Gol and the state border of the Mongolian People’s Republic. In accordance with this plan, three groups were created - southern, central and northern. The core of the central one was infantry and artillery, the flanks were tanks, armored vehicles, motorized infantry and Mongolian cavalry. Our cavalry division was part of the southern group.
On the morning of August 20, after powerful air and artillery preparation, the Soviet-Mongolian troops went on the offensive. Having broken through the enemy’s defensive positions, our division, together with other Soviet and Mongolian formations, Soviet tank units and artillery units, inflicting decisive powerful blows to the enemy, repeatedly repulsing his counter attacks and rapidly developing the offensive, reached the state border. This happened on the night of August 26th.
At the same time, the southern group of Soviet-Mongolian troops, breaking the furious resistance of the enemy and compressing the encirclement, completely blocked the Japanese. Enemy soldiers, finding themselves under heavy fire, tried to counterattack, and when they realized the hopelessness of the situation, they began to surrender. But they were taught not to give up under any circumstances. So, it's done.
The Khalkhin-Gol conflict is specific in many ways. Firstly, this is one of the few clashes when the fighting took place in almost deserted areas - the nearest populated areas of Mongolia were about 500 km. Secondly, the fight was carried out in difficult climatic conditions with daily temperature fluctuations from minus 15 to plus 30 degrees Celsius and many other unfavorable natural factors. It is no coincidence that Soviet soldiers joked: “Even mosquitoes in Mongolia, like crocodiles, bite through boards.”
Thirdly, Khalkhin Gol became a testing ground for new types of weapons: for the first time, rockets were used in air combat, the Red Army used Simonov automatic rifles, as well as 82-mm mortars. A significant breakthrough was also made in military medicine.
The topic of this article will be two controversial aspects of the undeclared war on Khalkhin Gol, which from 1939 to the present day have been the subject of numerous disputes.
Bain-Tsagan massacre
Perhaps none of the events at Khalkhin Gol in May-September 1939 causes as much controversy as the battle for Mount Bain-Tsagan on July 3-5. Then the 8,000-strong Japanese group managed to secretly cross Khalkhin Gol and begin moving towards the Soviet crossing, threatening to cut off the Soviet troops on the eastern bank of the river from the main forces.
The enemy was accidentally discovered and forced to take a defensive position on Mount Bayin-Tsagan. Having learned about what had happened, the commander of the 1st Army Group, Georgy Zhukov, ordered the 11th brigade of brigade commander Yakovlev and a number of other armored units immediately and without infantry support (Fedyuninsky’s motorized rifles got lost in the steppe and reached the battlefield later) to attack the Japanese positions.
Monument to Yakovlev tank crews on Mount Bain-Tsagan. Source: wikimapia.org
Soviet tanks and armored vehicles launched several attacks, but were forced to retreat due to significant losses. If the actions of the Japanese infantry with pole mines and petrol bottles were not particularly effective, the 37-mm anti-tank guns easily penetrated the armor of any Soviet tanks and armored vehicles at Khalkhin Gol. The second day of the battle came down to constant shelling of Japanese positions by Soviet armored vehicles, and the failure of the Japanese offensive on the east bank forced the Japanese command to begin a retreat.
Historians still argue how justified the introduction of Yakovlev’s brigade into battle from the march was. Zhukov himself wrote that he deliberately did this. On the other hand, did the Soviet military leader have a different path? Then the Japanese could continue moving towards the crossing, and a disaster would occur.
The Japanese retreat is still a controversial point in Bain-Tsagan. Was it a general flight or a planned and organized retreat? The Soviet version depicted the defeat and death of Japanese troops who did not have time to complete the crossing. The Japanese side creates a picture of an organized retreat, pointing out that the bridge was blown up even when Soviet tanks burst onto it. Apparently, neither one nor the other description fully reflects reality.
By some miracle, under artillery fire and air strikes, the Japanese managed to cross to the opposite bank. But the 26th Regiment that remained in cover was almost completely destroyed. After the conflict in Japan, the commander of the Japanese troops, General Kamatsubara, was more than once reproached for leaving a regiment that was not nominally part of his 23rd division to cover the retreat, sacrificing “someone else’s part.”
The Japanese estimated the total losses in the Bain-Tsagan massacre at 800 people. killed, i.e. 10% of personnel; the number of wounded was not specified.
Brigade commander Mikhail Pavlovich Yakovlev. Commander of the 11th Tank Brigade of the Red Army. Participating in hostilities for only 10 days, Yakovlev conducted a series of operations that largely predetermined the turning point in the entire conflict in favor of the Soviet troops. Died on July 12, 1939 during the destruction of a group of Japanese infantry. Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously). Source: ribalych.ru
Bayin-Tsagan can hardly be called a decisive tactical victory for one of the sides. But in strategic terms, this is, of course, a victory for the Soviet-Mongolian troops. Firstly, the Japanese were forced to begin a retreat, suffering losses and failing to complete their main task - the destruction of the Soviet crossing. Moreover, not once during the conflict did the enemy again try to force Khalkhin Gol, and this was no longer physically possible. The only set of bridge equipment in the entire Kwantung Army was destroyed by the Japanese themselves during the withdrawal of troops from Bain Tsagan.
Secondly, the simultaneous attack on the Soviet bridgehead on the eastern bank of Khalkhin Gol was unsuccessful. Of the 80 Japanese tanks that took part in the unsuccessful attack, 10 were destroyed and one was captured by Red Army soldiers. Next, Japanese troops could only conduct operations against Soviet troops on the eastern bank of Khalkhin Gol or wait for a political solution to the conflict. True, as you know, the enemy expected something completely different.
Enemy losses
Another of the mysteries of the events at Khalkhin Gol is the number of victims. To this day, there is no exact data on Japanese losses. As a rule, the figures given in the literature are fragmentary or are assumptions. On August 20, 1939, Soviet troops launched a powerful offensive, fighting to encircle the Japanese group. The main attack was planned to be delivered from the north, but due to lack of coordination of actions, the first attacks were not successful.
Having mistakenly decided that the main blow was being delivered in the southern sector, the Japanese command sent the main reserves there. Meanwhile, the Soviet troops concentrated on the northern front delivered a new powerful blow, which turned out to be fatal for the enemy. The ring closed around the Japanese group, and battles for destruction began.
How many Japanese soldiers were in the ring? How many managed to break through? These questions are still open. The number of people surrounded and destroyed inside the ring was often estimated from 25-30 thousand to 50 thousand people. G. M. Stern’s report on the results of the operation indicated Japanese losses in July-August 1939 in the amount of 18,868 people. killed and 25,900 wounded. The Japanese themselves were very evasive about their losses. When they were allowed to take away the bodies of the dead, they did not specify how many bodies they needed to find.
Soldiers of the Mongolian People's Republic army at Khalkhin Gol. An option for a staged photo is the flame arrester of a DP-27 machine gun in the stowed position.
The Japanese command decided to repeat the invasion of the border region of Mongolia. Strike military groups were created under the command of Generals Yasuoki and Kobayashi. The general leadership of the Japanese group was carried out by the former military attache of Japan in Moscow in 1927, Lieutenant General Kamatsubara. He was considered a great expert on the enemy Red Army.
On July 2, the Japanese group went on the offensive. On the night of July 2-3, General Kobayashi's troops crossed the Khalkhin Gol River. One of the regiments of the Mongolian 6th Cavalry Division, which was standing here as a barrier, was shot down after a short and fierce battle. The Japanese immediately began to strengthen it with fortifications and concentrate their main forces here. Sappers built dugouts, and infantrymen dug single round trenches. Anti-tank and divisional guns were dragged up the steep slopes to the top of the mountain. Within a day, the border peak turned into a Japanese stronghold. Mount Bain-Tsagan was destined to become the scene of fierce and bloody battles from July 3 to July 5.
The situation for the defenders was critical, but the mobile reserve created by G.K. Zhukov rushed to the rescue. Without giving the enemy time to organize further offensive actions, Zhukov, with all his determination, without waiting for the approach of the accompanying rifle regiment (motorized infantry), threw into battle directly from the march the 11th tank brigade of brigade commander M.P., which was in reserve. Yakovlev, who was supported by the Mongolian armored division. Soon the tankers were supported by the approaching battalions of the 24th motorized rifle regiment and the 7th motorized armored brigade, which had 154 armored vehicles.
The fierceness of the battles for the Bayin-Tsagan height is evidenced by this fact. On July 4, Fedyuninsky’s rifle regiment repulsed about a dozen enemy attacks, which more than once turned into bayonet and hand-to-hand combat. The initiative completely passed to the Soviet-Mongolian troops, and the Japanese had to go on the defensive, but they could not hold the mountain. By the evening of July 4, Japanese troops held only the top of Bain Tsagan - a narrow strip of terrain five kilometers long and two kilometers wide. Units of the Japanese 26th Infantry Regiment, which covered the withdrawal of units of the strike force from the western bank of Khalkhin Gol, concentrated in this area. The fighting on Bayin Tsagan continued all evening and all night.
On the morning of July 5, the Japanese troops wavered and began to retreat from the mountain peak along steep slopes to the river bank. Soon the retreat turned into flight.
Zhukov G.K. "Memories and Reflections"
Volume 1, Chapter 7" Undeclared war at Khalkhin Gol"
Combat operations of the 26th Infantry Regiment near Bayin-Tsagan July 3–5, 1939
Combat operations of the 26th Infantry Regiment near the city of Bayin-Tsagan July 3 - 5, 1939 (From the diary of Colonel SUMI Shinichiro, commander of the 26th Infantry Regiment).
The 26th Infantry Regiment of the 7th Division, stationed in Qiqihar, was ordered to reinforce the Komatsubara troops. My unit, consisting of 1,500 officers and soldiers, was ordered to attack the enemy from the rear, at his crossing.
On July 3, only Major Adachi's battalion was able to be transferred. The remaining units of the regiment reached the opposite bank before dawn the next day (July 4). We deployed as a second line behind Adachi's battalion.
After some time we came under furious attacks from a group of about 300 enemy tanks. The distance was about 800 meters and our infantry guns could achieve an effective hit with only every third shot. Enemy armor was able to approach before we could fire more than a few shots; We had no time to continue firing and 300 enemy medium tanks rushed into our positions... My soldiers frantically threw Molotov cocktails at the tanks with deadly accuracy. The tanks burst into flames like matchboxes. I counted 84 disabled enemy tanks.
This was our first and last success in the Nomonhan Incident.
In large areas of Outer Mongolia, temperatures rose to 42°C. From time to time we were fired upon by enemy heavy artillery; we could barely hide, tearing off cells in the sand.
On July 5, enemy tanks, having suffered such heavy losses from our Molotov cocktail, stopped approaching. Instead, they fired from long range from time to time; The tank hulls were buried in the sand, with only the turrets sticking out. We suffered heavy losses from this shelling, since we did not have the appropriate weapons to respond to this fire. Soon about a third of my men were killed or wounded. On July 5 we began to retreat to Manchurian territory. Meanwhile, on the right bank of the Khalkha, the 64th Infantry Regiment suffered the same fate as us - it was under heavy fire from heavy guns and tanks.
The enemy demonstrated his material superiority.
From the diary of Colonel SUMI Shinichiro,
commander of the 26th Infantry Regiment
From the combat log of the 11th Tank Brigade named after. M. P. Yakovleva
Log of combat operations of the 11th Tank Brigade named after. M. P. Yakovleva (RGVA, fund 37977, op. 1, case 115)
During the battle on July 3, 1939, the Brigade lost: out of 152 BT-5 tanks, 45 tanks were destroyed by the enemy, 37 were knocked out, a total of 82 tanks or 53.9% were out of action, out of 11 BKhM brought into battle - 4 were destroyed, 2 were knocked out, in total 6 or 55.5% dropped out.
Killed - senior military personnel 2 (head of the 1st unit, Captain Lyakhovsky, commander of the 3rd TB, Captain Podolny), middle command personnel - 18 people, water personnel - 10 people, junior personnel - 67, privates - 38 people, and total killed -135 people.
Wounded - senior personnel - 3 people, middle personnel - 8 people, political personnel - 1 person, junior personnel - 28 people, privates - 17 people, a total of 57 people.
Missing: junior personnel - 7 people, privates - 4 people, 11 people in total.
In total, 203 people were out of action in 3.7.39.
Losses for 4.7.39. Killed - 1 Red Army soldier, 1 junior commander and 6 Red Army soldiers were wounded, there were no losses of combat vehicles.
Losses on July 5, 1939. 2 junior commanders and 10 Red Army soldiers were wounded. There are no losses of combat vehicles.
From the combat log
11th Tank Brigade named after. M. P. Yakovleva
(RGVA, fund 37977, op. 1, case 115)
No matter how deep the pre-dawn sleep was, the excited voice of the duty officer, heard in the yurt, awakened him instantly:
Get up!.. Everyone has been ordered to be at the airfield immediately. The Japanese have gone on the offensive!
What offensive? Where?.. - Trubachenko jumped out of bed.
After our successful air battles, we somehow didn’t want to believe that the enemy was advancing. I asked the duty officer who gave him the message. The answer left no room for any doubt.
How is the weather?
It has rained. It's cleared up now, but it's still damp.
When we were getting into the back of the semi, someone said, looking at the full moon, barely hanging above the horizon:
He leaves... He doesn’t want to show the samurai the way to Mongolia.
The luminary was created for lovers,” another noted philosophically. - Solyankyana and Galya loomed, and now to rest...
There were chuckles.
Warm up, warm up your tongue, it cooled down overnight,” Solyankin joked, shivering chillily.
From the command post, Trubachenko called the regiment. From there they reported that the Japanese were trying to break through to Khalkhin Gol. The fighting continued all night. Ours have been pushed back from the border, but further advance of the enemy is being held back. They were ordered to be on duty on airplanes from dawn.
Everyone left. While waiting for the next instructions from headquarters, the commander and I lay down on our earthen trestle beds, covering ourselves with raglans.
Vasily Petrovich, why do you think we weren’t informed about the attack last night?
“The devil knows,” Trubachenko replied. - We were poorly informed in May. - Getting irritated, he began to be ironic, finding many things to be unnecessary and unjustified.
Maybe the authorities wanted us to sleep peacefully...
But, perhaps, that’s true, Vasily Petrovich. If the attack had been announced to us in the evening, we would not have slept so peacefully...
Look at the subtleties... The roar of guns does not reach the airfield, but the pilots’ nerves are strong. We'd be asleep without hind legs, but they would know the situation on the ground.
Well, now we know,” I said as nonchalantly as possible. - Let's get some sleep, we have time...
Trubachenko lay with his hands behind his head, his face concentrated.
“I can’t,” he suddenly smiled and stood up, taking off his raglan. - Think.
What is Chapai thinking?
What does the coming day have in store for us... It’s not for nothing that the samurai took a break for themselves. We prepared, of course. Ours must not have yawned either. Yesterday I saw tanks massing near the airfield...
Dawn passed in anxious anticipation and conversations about front-line affairs. As the sun rose, a telephone call came from the regimental headquarters:
The Japanese cross Khalkhin Gol and occupy Mount Bayin-Tsagan. Urgently fly out for an attack.
Trubachenko pulled out a flight map from behind his boot and, finding the inscription “Mr. Bain-Tsagan,” began to make notes. Mount Bain-Tsagan was located about fifteen kilometers from the Manchurian border and dominated the area. The Mongolian plain was visible from it for many tens of kilometers.
Oh, damn it, where did they go! - Trubachenko was surprised.
In my opinion, there were no our troops in that area,” I said.
“And I didn’t see anything,” the commander confirmed, giving the order for the immediate gathering of flight commanders and immediately attacking the senior squadron technician Tabelov, who stuck his head into the tent:
When will you finally make me a table? Otherwise, there’s nothing to even plot a course on a map with!
Judging by how accusatory and menacing this question sounded, one might think that there was no point in it now. But the commander, not listening to the excuses and assurances of the senior technician, was already intently working on the map with a pencil, ruler and protractor, and it was clear that in fact he was absorbed in completely different concerns.
Tabelov's head prudently disappeared. The voices of the arriving flight commanders were heard.
We had no experience in combat against ground forces. Therefore, all our thoughts about the upcoming strike turned out to be less concrete. The pilots received only the most general instructions from Trubachenko.
When everyone had left and there was very little time left before departure, Trubachenko said:
Listen, commissar, you and I were thinking about the departure, but did not foresee what we would do if enemy fighters met us on the way.
Fight.
But we were ordered to strike at the crossing at all costs and delay the advance of the Japanese?!
Yes, exactly: a strike on the bridge built across Khalkhin Gol. Objective: Detain enemy infantry at any cost. But it is very possible that Japanese fighters will attack us. How to arrange forces to complete the task with the greatest success? We adopted the same battle formation as when the squadron flew into an air battle. It probably should have been changed somehow, but we did not do this - not only because of lack of time, but also for the simple reason that we did not really know what formation of the squadron would be best in this case.
2We flew at an altitude of two thousand meters.
When approaching the front line, it involuntarily caught my eye how sharply the river divided the steppe into two dissimilar sections: the western, which was a greenish-gray open plain, and the eastern, covered with golden sandy mounds... The eastern bank, dotted with pits and pits, created in itself natural camouflage, which made it difficult to detect troops from the air.
No matter how closely I looked, I could not notice a crossing anywhere: everything merged with the swampy banks of the river - both enemy troops and equipment. He looked around the sky - nothing dangerous, glanced along the river and stopped at a barely noticeable dark stripe, cutting through the wavy highlights in the distance. Crossing?
Yes, it was a crossing. From Manchuria, troops fanned out towards it. Never before had I seen so many troops and equipment from the air, and I was surprised: where did the Japanese come from so suddenly? As if they grew out of the ground.
On the eastern bank of Khalkhin Gol, having absolute numerical superiority, the enemy pushed back our defending troops. The vast area was clearly visible from the air. The remains of burnt Japanese tanks and fresh enemy trenches indicated that the enemy’s offensive in the center had been suspended. The main mass of enemy forces, concentrated on the right flank, successfully crossed to the west bank, undertaking a roundabout maneuver to the south. Infantry and artillery gathered at the bridge, waiting for the crossing. More and more columns were approaching from Manchuria, and one could see how they supported the stopped troops, pouring in a thin trickle onto the western bank... On our side, Mongolian cavalry hurried to the left and right flanks, tanks and armored cars were moving.
Suddenly a fire flashed in the air, and a curtain of black smoke caps instantly appeared in front of us. It was anti-aircraft artillery hitting the crossing.
Trubachenko, avoiding artillery fire, abruptly put the plane into a dive, went below the gaps and opened fire. We followed him too. The black caps stayed behind and above, harming no one. A shower of bullets and shells from the squadron covered the enemy, who was hastening to cross the pontoon bridge in order to encircle the few defending Soviet units - a motorized armored brigade and about an infantry regiment.
Dense machine-gun and cannon fire from the I-16 pierced the crossing along its entire length, from bank to bank. People and cars went under water. The dead and wounded, falling, created traffic jams. Having lost control under fighter fire, the Japanese rushed away from the crossing. The Bargut cavalry (Barga is a province of North-East China. During the occupation, the Japanese forcibly formed military units from the local population) crushed the infantry in panic, artillery horses harnessed to the harness rushed along both banks, crushing the foot soldiers and increasing the disorder.
I managed to notice several loaded camels. An incendiary bullet hit one of his packs, which contained something flammable. Fireworks went off. The camel, making desperate leaps, threw itself into the river...
Trubachenko aimed at a large column of infantry moving towards the crossing; pouring fire on it, we descended to low level flight... The anti-aircraft gun fire became especially fierce when we began to climb to make the next approach. Now the black caps appeared in front of our formation, and, without having time to turn away, we immediately crashed into them. There was nothing dangerous about this, since the fragments had already scattered and the force of the blast wave had faded. A new salvo followed. Trubachenko hesitated with the turn, and his plane was thrown to the right, towards me, turned over like a piece of wood, and he, uncontrollable, fell down. To avoid colliding with him, I darted to the side. The third pilot of our flight, fortunately, fell behind. I looked in a daze at the falling Trubachenko. It seemed to me that he was shot down, and with bated breath I expected to hit the ground... But suddenly the commander turned around and soared steeply up...
The squadron, having closed a circle over the crossing, began its third approach. There were no enemy fighters. Before departure, we did not think that it would be necessary to allocate separate units to suppress anti-aircraft fire. Now Trubachenko, realizing this, directed his plane to the nearest battery. I followed his example and went to another one. Anti-aircraft fire weakened. Now the planes calmly approached a concentration of troops near the river and acted almost as if they were at a training ground.
Taking the plane out of the dive, I wanted to join Trubachenko, but then Japanese fighters appeared. There were about three dozen of them. In a hurry, they had not yet had time to gather and flew not in a compact formation, but in small flocks, scattered. Hiding behind the blinding morning sun, the enemy hoped to strike quickly. Our leading link turned out to be closest to the Japanese - and the first three enemy fighters fell on Trubachenko from behind. But he, carried away by diving into anti-aircraft guns, did not notice the danger.
Being at the same height as the enemy, I was about to cross the enemy’s path, when suddenly I noticed another three Japanese below me, clinging to the ground. She clearly intended to waylay the Trubachenko couple as they pulled out of a dive - at the moment when our planes would be most vulnerable. There was no time to think. Trubachenko needs to be protected. The only remedy is to immediately attack the three sneaking below, strike them from a dive... But the other group will remain above me...
In an air battle, thought works in impulses, flashes, because the rapid change of events leaves no time for reasoning, but requires lightning-fast actions. One such flash captures the whole picture of the battle, another flash forces you to act with such haste that sometimes you don’t even have time to figure out all the consequences of the decision... Your hands in such cases are ahead of your thinking...
And I went down.
The whirlwind that burst into the cockpit took away the flight glasses somewhere, but I didn’t notice it: all my attention, all my strength was focused on not allowing the enemy to open fire on the squadron commander’s pair. For a moment, it even seemed to me as if my plane was going down incredibly slowly. In fact, this was not the case: it failed so quickly that, no matter how absorbed I was in the desire to attack the Japanese fighters, I suddenly noticed the terrible proximity of the ground - and barely managed to pull the control stick towards myself. The plane trembled from the violence committed upon it, began to thrash as if in a convulsion, and although it was already flying horizontally, it was still settling due to inertia... I was powerless to prevent this and with horror I felt the propeller cutting down the bushes... “That’s it!..” From The eyes closed in fear, the body prepared for the inevitable blow. But, to my happiness, the plane continued to rush without encountering an obstacle: it ended up over a deep floodplain of the river, which allowed it to lose the inertia of its descent.
As a result of this maneuver, I found myself at the tail and below the Japanese link, at a very close distance from them. He pressed the trigger and could only notice how the Japanese fighter that had been hit turned over. My plane rushed forward at high speed, and together with Trubachenko I hurried to the squadron.
The pilots had already noticed the enemy and, having stopped their attack on the crossing, turned around to meet the attackers. We were running out of fuel and we couldn’t get involved in a protracted battle. Fighting off the attacking Japanese, the squadron hurried home at low level. The commander and I found ourselves on the right flank.
For a split second I hesitated, considering how the situation had changed, and when I looked back, I saw that I-97 was overtaking me. The enemy, having a great advantage in height, accelerated at high speed, and in a straight line I could not break away from him, and the maneuver would not help: the I-97 is more resourceful than the I-16, there is nowhere to go down - the ground. Trubachenko could have repelled the Japanese, but, as luck would have it, he does not see the danger. A kind of apathy took possession of me for a moment. I flew as if paralyzed, afraid to even move. Another moment - and leaden rain will pour over me. To the left, our fighters are snapping furiously, and here only Trubachenko can help me. I look at him with hope. Will he really not look back?
This is my life or death!.. Without doing anything, I flew in a straight line at full throttle. Fortunately, Trubachenko looked back... A jerk - and the Japanese was knocked out. Immediately everything in front of me expanded, the shackles of fear burst. What could I do in such a situation to oppose an aircraft more maneuverable than the I-16? I didn't know what the solution might be.
The forces were unequal, and the enemy would certainly have been able to inflict damage on our group if our fighters, led by Major Kravchenko, had not rushed to help.
We returned safely to our airfield.
The task was completed: the enemy was missing hundreds of its soldiers and three aircraft. The crossing was delayed for some time. In the current situation this was of considerable importance.
After the May battles, the Japanese military became convinced that the Soviet government intended to seriously defend the Mongolian People's Republic. The enemy decided to prepare for a major offensive, hoping to destroy during it all the Soviet-Mongolian troops located in the Khalkhin Gol area, capture the eastern part of Mongolia and reach Soviet Transbaikalia.
To ensure success for the ground forces, the Japanese began an air battle on June 22, intending to defeat the air units located in the conflict area. Having failed to achieve success in air battles, on June 27 the Japanese attacked the airfield of the 70th Regiment with sixty fighters and tried to pin down our 22nd Regiment with approximately thirty aircraft. At the same time, a large bombing raid was carried out on Bayin Tumen, located three hundred kilometers from the combat area. On June 28, enemy aircraft again violated the borders of Mongolia, but suffered losses from our fighters. This ended the Japanese air operation of sorts to gain air supremacy. The enemy command decided to replenish its aircraft fleet and better prepare for a new offensive. (The Japanese losses were about a hundred aircraft, our damage was three times less.)
During a week of continuous air battles, we not only gained combat experience and became stronger organizationally, but also destroyed many experienced Japanese aces.
Despite major losses, the activity of Japanese pilots continued to remain very high. Maintaining the morale of its soldiers and officers, the command of the Kwantung Army trumpeted throughout the Japanese press that Soviet aviation in the conflict area had been destroyed. According to the Japanese, in just one day, June 27, 134 Soviet aircraft were shot down and destroyed on the ground (This, by the way, corresponded to the number of all our fighters concentrated on the border at Khalkhin Gol).
And so on the evening of July 2, having secretly grouped a 38,000-strong army forty kilometers from the border and brought up 250 aircraft, the Japanese went on the offensive.
They attacked the Soviet-Mongolian troops from the front, falsely demonstrating their main attack, and the main forces began to cross the river on the right flank in order to bypass our defending units from the rear, encircle them and destroy them.
Our reconnaissance did not detect the concentration of Japanese troops, but due to increased aviation flights, which intensified especially from June 22, the Soviet-Mongolian command determined that a new offensive was possible. Therefore, our tanks and armored cars were brought to the front line, which were entrusted with the task of quickly launching a counterattack in the event of an enemy attack. By the morning of July 3, it was unexpectedly discovered that the main Japanese group had begun crossing Khalkhin Gol. Then our armored units, intended for a counterattack from the front, were redirected to the flank.
In the battle, which began at night, the Japanese had more than three times more infantry and cavalry, but we had absolute superiority in tanks and armored cars. The tank crews and the pilots interacting with them had a particularly important task.
While our troops were approaching and turning around, aviation, being essentially the only force capable of delaying the Japanese crossing Khalkhin Gol, was supposed to carry out assault strikes. Our fighter squadron, the only one at that time equipped with cannon weapons, simultaneously became an assault squadron.
3Having made five sorties in a day to attack troops and two to intercept enemy aircraft, everyone felt extremely tired. The heat and combat stress completely killed my appetite. At lunch, almost none of the pilots touched food; only the compote was in demand. The tanned faces of the fighters were noticeably drawn, the reddened eyes of many were inflamed, but the determination to fight did not weaken.
When Trubachenko, who still didn’t know the pilots well, turned to Mikhail Kostyuchenko, the frailest looking one, with the question: “Will you be strong enough to fly again?” - the pilot said, looking at the sun: “It is tired, not us. See, he’s sitting down.”
The eighth combat mission did not take place. The new regiment commander, Grigory Panteleevich Kravchenko, who flew to us, gave the order to prepare to relocate the squadron to another airfield, closer to the front line. The technicians immediately got to work.
Major Kravchenko, having examined the plane riddled with Japanese bullets, gathered all the pilots near the car. His tired face was unhappy, his narrowed eyes glittered sternly.
Subordinates sometimes show amazing instincts, guessing the mood of the senior commander, but here absolutely no one knew what could have caused the displeasure of the combat commander.
Squat, tightly built Kravchenko stood leaning against the plane, deep in thought, and seemed not to notice anyone. Trubachenko, looking at the broad chest of the new commander with three orders, somewhat timidly, as if there was some kind of guilt behind him, reported on the gathering of pilots. Kravchenko suddenly smiled.
Are you depressed? - he turned to us. - Has anyone been shot down?
Well, it's over your head! I have come to you with good news. I ask everyone to sit closer.
And he was the first to land on the fragrant grass. He began calmly:
The Japanese advance along the entire front was stopped. The samurai who crossed Khalkhin Gol under the pressure of our tankers were forced to go on the defensive on Mount Bain-Tsagan. The tanks of brigade commander Yakovlev were the first to attack the Japanese after a 700-kilometer march, without waiting for the infantry to approach. Now the enemy is surrounded by a semi-ring, pressed against the river and will soon be defeated. Your squadron provided great assistance to the ground troops with its assault operations, and they thank you from the bottom of their hearts...
How nice to hear this!
Please convey our gratitude to them!.. We are always ready to help...
Kravchenko, waiting for everyone to be silent, stood up and looked at the riddled plane. His face became gloomy again, and dry lights flashed in his narrowed eyes.
Now admire it! - His voice rose menacingly. - 62 holes! And some are still proud of this. They consider holes to be proof of their bravery. This is a shame, not heroism! You'll look at the entry and exit holes made by bullets. What are they talking about? Here the Japanese fired two long bursts, both almost directly behind. This means that the pilot was gape and overlooked the enemy... And to die through stupidity, through one’s carelessness is not a great honor... 62 holes - 31 bullets. Yes, this is more than enough for the pilot to lie somewhere in the steppe under the wreckage of his plane!.. And for what, one wonders? Let's say you fly a lot, you get tired, this dulls your vigilance. But the owner of this aircraft only made three flights today, I specifically inquired. And in general, note: the analysis says that in most cases fighter pilots are killed by blunders... Pray to Polikarpov that he made such an airplane that, in fact, if you fight skillfully, Japanese bullets will not take! Look, two bullets hit the head of the armored back, but it didn’t matter to her! It didn't even crack. The planes and the fuselage are like a sieve, but as soon as all these holes are sealed, the airframe is ready for battle again. Is that what I'm saying? - Kravchenko turned to the technician who was sealing the holes.
That's right, comrade commander! “In a few minutes the machine can be launched into flight,” the technician reported, standing at attention on the wing.
“Don’t fall,” Kravchenko remarked to him, without changing his facial expression, but cooling down. - Continue your work.
After a pause, he addressed us again in a calm, persuasive tone:
Don't think that we suffer fewer losses than the Japanese just because of our courage or because of better organization. The Japanese cannot be denied this either. Our advantage is that domestic aircraft are faster than Japanese aircraft, and they are many times better in survivability and armament. If 31 bullets had hit the I-97, it would have left a wet spot!
Kravchenko was precisely the person whose advice we now especially needed. His remark about the non-survivability of the I-97 was immediately responded to by several approving voices:
Right! It would have shattered into pieces!..
“Don’t shout out here,” Kravchenko stopped the expression of our feelings. - This is not a rally, but an analysis of mistakes. I’m not asking your opinion yet, but I want to remind you and advise you of something.
In his voice, a little muffled, the strength of rightness and clarity that is characteristic of experienced and brave commanders sounded firmly. Kravchenko accompanied his speech with movements of his hands, one consonant wave of which sometimes said a hundred times more than the most detailed interpretation of some unexpected, sudden maneuver.
Some pilots do not have a very clear idea of what the features of air combat against maneuverable Japanese fighters at low altitudes, close to the ground, are, Kravchenko continued.
I had the feeling that he was addressing me directly and only for reasons of tact did not mention my last name. However, everyone else listened to him with the same keen interest as me. The conversation was really about painful issues.
With the powerful weapons that the I-16s have, your squadron will often have to fly out on attack missions, operate near the ground, and there is a lot to take into account. You know that the I-97, with better maneuverability, is inferior to the I-16 in speed by 10 - 20 kilometers. However, this advantage of our fighter does not make it possible at low altitude to quickly break away from the I-97 that has entered the tail, moving in a straight line. Why? The solution is simple. To get away from the enemy to a safe distance, i.e. 400 - 500 meters, it takes one and a half to two minutes. And this time is quite enough for the Japanese fighter to fire all its ammunition at the I-16 leaving without maneuver. The mistake of some pilots lies precisely in the fact that, having discovered the enemy behind them, they leave the Japanese only in a straight line, trying to break away as quickly as possible due to speed. This is wrong and very dangerous. What's the best way to proceed? The main condition for success in air combat is to try higher speed and resolutely attack the enemy from a height, regardless of his numerical superiority. Then, using acceleration speed, break away from the enemy and again take up the starting position for a second attack. When a repeated attack is for some reason unprofitable, you need to wait, keeping enemy fighters at a distance that would provide you with a turn for the purpose of a frontal attack.
The constant desire to attack is a sure condition for victory. We must carry out offensive tactics in such a way that our aircraft, having an advantage in speed and firepower, always looks like a pike among roaches!..
Kravchenko, narrowing his eyes, flared up with that impetuous energy that occurs in people going on the attack; Apparently, for a moment he imagined himself in battle.
That's why we are called fighters, to destroy the enemy!
He paused again, finding inner peace.
But how should one act when, due to some circumstances, the enemy managed to get behind him and found himself at a distance of certain defeat?
This question interested us most. We looked for the answer to it in battles; everyone was inclined to draw their own conclusions, but no one was firmly convinced of them, because the form of the solution was varied and gave different results. Some believed that it was necessary to carefully monitor the enemy (always necessary!) and not allow him to be close to the tail. Others stated that it was all a matter of piloting technique: with excellent piloting technique, nothing is dangerous. Still others were of the opinion that since the speed of the I-16 does not allow for a quick exit from the battle, and maneuverability relative to the I-97 is worse, then if a comrade does not help out, the outcome of the battle is predetermined in favor of the enemy...
Generally speaking, the theoretical principles with which we were armed boiled down to the fact that at approximately equal speeds, victory in an air battle should belong to the one whose aircraft has the best maneuverability, because the main thing for victory, we were taught, is to take a convenient position for attack...
But in practice, everything often turned out the other way around: at low altitudes, our pilots not only found ways to effectively defend themselves, but also went on to attack Japanese fighters and achieved victory. Experience has shown that between the moment when an advantageous position for an attack is taken and the subsequent destruction of the aircraft lies a whole series of the most subtle jewelry movements of the control rudders and the use of mathematical calculations by the pilot in his mind. Shooting down a maneuvering fighter is as difficult as hitting a flying swallow with a pistol. Therefore, in air combat, the most difficult thing is not taking the starting position for attack, but the process of aiming and opening fire.
As often happens, the inconsistency or lack of clear theoretical provisions deprived people of confidence in practical actions. From here, in particular, came the opinion that if the enemy was behind at a distance of a valid shot, then victory was certainly guaranteed to him. In addition, the Japanese raids in May, which were predatory in their method of action, gave birth to a legend about the supposedly exceptionally high flight-tactical qualities of enemy fighters.
The June air battles, which served as a serious test for the warring parties, dispelled this artificially created, deceptive opinion about Japanese fighters and showed what advantages the Soviet I-16 aircraft had over them. But the question of methods of defense at low altitudes, if the enemy managed to take an advantageous position for an attack from the rear hemisphere, remained not entirely clear.
And so Kravchenko, relying on his own experience and the experience of other pilots, answered this question:
If you see a samurai, know him and use the qualities of your aircraft correctly, then an I-97 one on one should never shoot down an I-16. Generally speaking, it is very difficult to shoot down a fighter with a fighter when they both see each other. Here, look! - Taking a box of cigarettes out of his pocket, he remarked dissatisfied and sternly: “It’s bad that there isn’t a single aircraft mock-up at the entire airfield - this is the result of underestimating studies in wartime... Squadron commander!” We need to make a dozen models, both ours and Japanese...
I obey! - Trubachenko rapped.
Well at least you listen! - the regiment commander joked, and his face lit up with a smile. - In the meantime, there are no models, we will have to use the materials at hand.
Let’s say that this cigarette box is our fighter,” Kravchenko held the box in front of him at chest level, “and my right palm,” he made several light movements with his palm, imitating a plane shaking its wings, “is a Japanese I-97. The Japanese came behind our I-16. Now he starts to take aim... And our guy notices this and jerks aside. The Japanese, naturally, will be late to immediately repeat such an unexpected maneuver, therefore, the I-16 will be out of sight at this time. Then I-97 will hurry to turn around again. He can immediately open fire. But this will be fire not to kill, but to frighten. There is nothing to be afraid of such shooting. Let him shoot, the I-97 has little ammunition. Anyone who falters at this moment and starts running will doom himself to death. When you make several such twists - namely twists, with large overloads, which our plane tolerates perfectly, but the Japanese one is not designed for them - you will gradually increase the distance due to speed separation from I-97. And then decide what is best to do: either move away from him in a straight line from a safe distance, or turn one hundred and eighty degrees and attack the enemy head-on. The plane in the hands of the pilot must live in his thoughts, merge with him and be as obedient as your own hands are obedient to you...
Saying this, Kravchenko looked at us like a teacher explaining a lesson to his students.
Just look - you need to think! One rash movement - and maybe you will never leave the earth again...
How can this be reconciled with the maneuverability of Japanese fighters? - Solyankin asked. - After all, they have better horizontal maneuverability, and, therefore, they can turn around faster than we start the next maneuver.
“Don’t forget that air combat is fought by people, not machine guns,” Kravchenko addressed everyone. - With sudden, unexpected movements, you can jump some distance away from any aircraft, even if it is at least three times maneuverable; the shooter needs to aim, but you don’t, and due to this you gain time for maneuver. And finally, the last thing - any air battle consists of three components: caution, maneuver and fire. You need to master them perfectly. This will make it easier to assess the situation, allow you to plan the battle correctly, provide you not only with freedom of action, but also give you the opportunity to impose your will on the enemy, without which no victory is possible at all.
What if one is pinned down by two Japanese fighters? How then should we proceed? - the pilot quietly asked, near whose car the analysis was taking place.
Just not like you, but vice versa. And all will be well! - Kravchenko answered, causing smiles on the faces of the listeners. - Keep in mind that dogfights are as varied as the people involved. Therefore, tactical techniques in each individual case will not be similar to one another... Is this point clear to everyone? - Kravchenko looked around the parking lot, where the work of the technical staff to prepare the aircraft for the flight was in full swing, and looked at his watch. - There is still time... Then let's talk about anti-aircraft artillery. Now you have all seen how hard she hits, you cannot underestimate her.
Yes, I treated you strongly! - Trubachenko picked up. “I was so shaken this morning that I almost kissed the ground.”
This means that it needs to be suppressed by allocating special units for this. In your last flights, you did the right thing, I approve... Anti-aircraft guns are clearly visible from the air by the exhaust of fire at the moment of firing. As soon as a burst of flame is detected, immediately dive towards it, otherwise you will miss it, and then you will have to wait for a salvo again... Well, what other questions do you have for me?
Why are there almost always more Japanese in air battles than us?
Because they still have more fighters here than we do. But that will soon change.
Questions began to pour in about tactics, about aerial shooting, about battle management, battle formations... Kravchenko answered them slowly, confidently, willingly, like a person who is being asked about a matter that completely absorbed him. Reasonably and with noticeable enthusiasm, he explained the reason for the discrepancies between theory and practice. The trouble with theorists is that they compare aircraft only based on flight tactical data, without taking into account the subtlest features of piloting techniques in air combat, especially when shooting. The I-16 is superior to Japanese fighters not only in speed, but also in terms of safety margins, which makes it possible to create large overloads in battle and, thus, increase its maneuverability... The main thing, Kravchenko repeated, is to attack, not to defend, to engage not in “choices” comfortable position for attack,” but strive for a deep combination of caution, maneuver and fire.
At other moments of this analysis, when the subject of the presentation became extremely clear, it began to seem that from now on I would act in the air in exactly the same way as this strong, stocky man with his quick, tenacious gaze. Impatience rose within me: let I-97 pin me down on the ground, now I won’t behave the same way as I did this morning.
Yes, Kravchenko’s advice fell on fertile ground. And when the analysis was over, the regiment commander, with ease, unexpected for his heavy body, took his place in the cockpit of the I-16 and went into the sky in a beautiful, swift handwriting, I very keenly felt how great the distance was between the experience he had and that what I managed to learn.
4A new airfield always looks uninhabited, like an apartment you just moved into. You compare it with an abandoned field - everything here is wrong: the distant approaches, the nearby buildings, the appearance of the parking lot, and workplace technique.
The airfield to which the squadron flew, although no different from the previous one, was still the same - bare steppe, endless sky, but we felt somehow constrained and unusual in the new place...
Trubachenko, standing near his car and worrying about every landing, did not take his eyes off the fighters flying over the ground. The pilots, who had already taxied their planes, approached him.
Well, now we can make not three attacks during an attack, but five,” Arsenin noted, “the front line is very close.”
So the Japanese will let you hang over them! Yesterday they sat down almost to the very front line,” Krasnoyurchenko objected.
You don’t have to think about fuel in battle - that’s enough! - Solyankin inserted. - If only they didn’t spot us here...
Where are you going?! - the squadron commander shouted at the top of his voice, as if the pilot, who had leveled the plane high, could hear him. - Hold it! Hold it!!! - Apparently, in the approaching twilight the ground was poorly visible, the pilot continued to pull the handle “towards himself.” The plane found itself in a landing position high from the ground - it was about to fall onto its wing...
Everyone froze in alarm. It would be a shame, without losing a single aircraft in battles during the day, to lose a combat vehicle at your airfield. The danger was so great that the thought of a catastrophe flashed...
The pilot, fortunately, noticed his mistake and sharply stepped on the gas. The engine roared. A thousand horsepower picked up the plane, and it, swaying from wing to wing, as if reluctantly increasing speed, climbed up... went into the second circle.
There was a general sigh of relief.
Someone said:
We should get here earlier.
Risky! - Trubachenko snapped. - The Japanese could detect the landing and navigate in the morning.
We kept our eyes on the culprit of the incident. How will he sit down? After all, the twilight has become even thicker, darkness descends on the earth. Conversations stopped. Even the gas station drivers jumped out of their cars...
Yes, he decided to just joke! - Krasnoyurchenko exclaimed when the plane landed perfectly.
Right! - others supported.
Well, now for dinner. And sleep,” Trubachenko said.
The lorry started moving.
On the way, we captured a pilot who had just landed. Nobody said a word of reproach to him. Tired, he was discouraged by his mistake and remained silent. Eight missions a day is almost three times the workload a pilot is thought to be able to withstand. But none of us wanted to show that he was less resilient than his comrade.
The car took us straight to the water tank, which occupied the most prominent place among the yurts.
Brothers Slavs, attack! - Krasnoyurchenko thundered.
The body of the semi was empty all at once.
Commissioner! Come on with the hose! - said Trubachenko, throwing off his tunic.
I grabbed the hose.
Uh, good! - he grunted, slapping his untouched body with his palms.
Zhora, brothers, needs to be washed more thoroughly,” someone joked about Solyankin, who was doused with oil from head to toe in flight today because the engine was damaged.
The oily one will approach Gala even more freely. But will he be able to kiss without a stand?..
A little mouse is always friends with a big mop!
And the mop with the mouse?
And there has never been a case in my life where it was crushed! - Krasnoyurchenko finished to approving laughter.
…Having been splashed with fresh water, it was as if we had washed away all the day’s fatigue and immediately felt a surge of fresh strength. The nerves calmed down, and everyone was glad to hear any cheerful word.
The morning depression was gone. We were not afraid of the difficulties of the upcoming struggle, and, satisfied with today's success, we now believed even more that we had enough strength to defeat the Japanese.
Diligently wiping his powerful chest with a towel, Arseny said:
Now I’d like to have a glass before dinner... I’m tired...
Yes, everyone began to eat poorly,” Krasnoyurchenko responded. - The heat and flights take their toll. And now all I want is some tea... If only I could drink and eat.
Poor Ivan Ivanovich, he is emaciated! I see that in the morning a new hole is punched in the belt - the old one no longer fits...
You, Solyankin, would be silent. No one is whetting our appetite.
5The earth, which had been calcined during the day, still breathed warmth, and there was complete calm. Without putting on our tunics, naked to the waist, we entered the yurt, illuminated by a small lamp powered by a battery. The prepared beds were neatly folded and lay against the wall. Dinner is laid out on white tablecloths stretched out in the middle of the nightmare, plates of appetizers are carefully placed, each person has a fork, knife and spoon covered with napkins.
Come eat! - a mustache cook in a starched, ironed white jacket, a friend from the previous airfield, invited.
Oh, yes, everything is prepared here, as if for a feast!
“We try our best,” the cook answered with dignity.
The view is good, let's see how the food is!
While they were choosing beds and packing their uniforms, two pots appeared on the tablecloths.
Here you are, fried lamb and rice as needed,” the cook announced. - The richer you are, the happier you are.
The ever-present Mongolian lamb! - Trubachenko stated with feigned enthusiasm, trying to maintain the mood. - Not a bad meal, for those who are used to it.
But his diplomacy failed.
The sheep have pinned us down and we can’t break away.
Rice all the way...
Oh, I'm tired of it, brothers...
Then I discovered the main surprise. Knowing that the senior technician of the squadron had pure alcohol for technical needs, the commander and I decided to give each pilot fifty grams for dinner (the front-line hundred grams had not yet been introduced, but life dictated their necessity).
At first, everyone doubted the seriousness of my words and took them for a joke.
Ivan Ivanovich, please be a toastmaster,” I said, turning to Krasnoyurchenko.
It made an impression.
Fourteen mugs lined up in a row. And the toastmaster, pouring out the contents of the flask, announced in a businesslike tone:
Everyone has forty-nine grams, and you,” he turned to the pilot who almost crashed on landing, “eighty, so that your nerves can calm down better.”
You didn’t bypass yourself either! - Solyankin looked into Krasnoyurchenko’s mug.
Zhora, shut up! - the toastmaster interrupted him. - It’s time for you, in the twenty-second year of Soviet power, to know that we don’t work for our uncle for free. And I measured out three and a half grams more for myself per bottle. In stores they charge more for this.
Then he turned to the cook:
Please explain to some youths how to properly, like a hunter, use this odorous liquid.
“What are you talking about,” the mustache guy was surprised. - Just born? Don't know how to use alcohol?..
“Daddy, we never drank it,” flight commander Misha Kostyuchenko answered for everyone with his usual seriousness. - For example, this is the first time I’ve seen him.
The cook twirled his black mustache in bewilderment and began to explain.
Trubachenko raised his mug and suggested:
Let's drink to the glory of Russian weapons!
Everyone liked the toast. Clink glasses.
Oh, how hot! “It even took my breath away,” Arsenin said, swallowing the sausage and pulling out a large piece of lamb from the pan.
Medicine never tastes good! - the toastmaster noted.
Medicine?.. - Solyankin was surprised.
Ivan Ivanovich, don’t invent! - Trubachenko interrupted him and explained in detail how the alcohol appeared.
Just a little more - and everything would be fine... - the pilot, who was leaving for the second circle, perked up.
Well, he has risen! - Arsenin was delighted.
It all turned out so stupid... - he continued, still under the impression of his mistake.
In aviation, anything happens. Such miracles happen that you can’t even imagine,” Solyankin responded sympathetically.
Ve-ve-es is a wonderland! - Krasnoyurchenko supported him. - I know a case when one plane, without a pilot, landed on its own. Moreover, he landed in such a way that the pilot could not always do it in such a place...
Pilots, like hunters, barely drink and immediately remember all sorts of unusual things! - Solyankin could not resist.
If you don’t want to listen and don’t believe, then don’t bother others,” Krasnoyurchenko snapped.
But Zhora didn’t say that he didn’t believe you. For some reason you began to admit...
Right! - Trubachenko picked up. “No one but you, Ivan Ivanovich, thought that you could tell tall tales.”
Everyone laughed. But Krasnoyurchenko, accusing us of disrespect for the toastmaster and unbridled ridicule, still told how the I-5 plane, abandoned by the pilot during a spin, landed on its own.
“Frankly speaking,” Trubachenko began in his patter, “today I thought about one I-97, that he, too, without a pilot, came out of a tailspin and sat down. And it was like this: in one junkyard there were probably fifty cars intertwined - both ours and the Japanese. I gave one I-97 from all points. He went up the hill, I followed him, I wanted to add, but the Japanese fell into a tailspin... A parachutist appeared. Well, I think he jumped out! Here I myself was attacked. I made a noise, and at the exit I glanced briefly at the parachutist - he was already running along the ground, and the I-97 was landing next to him. This, I think, is a miracle! The plane came out of the spin and landed on its own.
This may be,” Krasnoyurchenko confirmed. - Once the pilot jumped out, the alignment changed...
“I thought so too and reported to the regiment commander,” Trubachenko continued. - But Kravchenko called somewhere and it turns out that this is the story that came out: the pilot of the plane I shot down did not jump out with a parachute. Our infantrymen captured him when he was landing his car.
What about the parachutist?
He's from another plane, but from what plane, who the hell knows. There was a fight.
It turns out that the samurai spun on purpose so that you wouldn’t finish him off? - asked Krasnoyurchenko.
It turns out like this... They are being cunning.
In general, in such a dump it is impossible to monitor the results of your attack,” Solyankin said.
“That’s true,” I confirmed, remembering how rarely it was possible to find out what happened to the enemy after an attack. Sometimes moments arise that you simply cannot understand whether you need to pursue the enemy or defend yourself.
In battle, it is impossible to hold your attention on anything for a second. The jackals will immediately eat it up,” Solyankin continued. - Even in the formation of a unit it is difficult to hold on.
Well, that’s because none of you have yet learned how to work together as a group,” Trubachenko pointed out weightily. - You will fight more, you will stay in the group properly.
There was an awkward pause...
There was, of course, some truth in the words of the new commander. Pilot training is very important for maintaining order in battle, for maintaining formation... But the truth was also that everyone got away: both those who had little, only training experience in group flights, and those who participated in battles. The paradox was that young pilots were more likely to stay in the ranks. True, after landing they said that, apart from their leader, they saw nothing in the air... This means that the point here is not the pilots, but the very principle of the battle formation, which does not allow sudden evolutions, allows you to monitor only the leader’s wing, while how to conduct all-round visibility and group combat. All this suggested the thought: is it even possible in such large air battles, with dense formations, to maintain the battle order of a flight and a squadron? Many were inclined to think that a group could only hold out until the first attack; others came to the conclusion that battle formations needed to be built open.
But Trubachenko very categorically states that in battle it is necessary to maintain a strict, inviolable battle order. This cannot but cause surprise. And his remark about the fact that we don’t know how to stay in line because we haven’t fought much, sharply hurt everyone’s pride.
Trubachenko obviously noticed this and was the first to break the silence that reigned.
Don't you agree?
There are, of course, shortcomings in group cohesion,” Krasnoyurchenko answered, restraining himself, “but it’s not that bad... In the commotion of battle, the formation cannot be maintained: this is not a parade, you have to watch the air...
The presenter is responsible for the air! - Trubachenko cut off.
He's busy attacking! And if the wingmen do not see the enemy, they will be shot down immediately! - Arsenin objected. - And then they will finish off the leader himself. It is impossible to keep an eye on the air and the commander in a dense formation!
That’s what the presenter is for, to see everything,” Trubachenko stubbornly stood his ground. - Wingmen should only monitor the commander and cover him... Right, commissar?
I didn't agree with him either. In addition, I knew better the people who objected to him and the reasons why they did it. But it would be inappropriate to stir up this controversy here. I turned the conversation to another topic:
In terms of shooting, it’s really not very good for us. We didn't shoot much at the cone.
But this, as Major Gerasimov says, is fixable,” Krasnoyurchenko picked up, “just get closer to the enemy and hit him point-blank...
I remembered one attack by Ivan Ivanovich.
Today, during the catch-up, you almost stuck your guns into the I-97, and it, like a clay pot, crumbled. Clever! Gerasimov's advice was beneficial. But such a case may not always arise. We need to master shooting not only in a straight line, but also during any other maneuver.
Undoubtedly! - Krasnoyurchenko agreed. - We didn’t learn in peacetime, we’ll finish learning in battle.
Ivan Ivanovich’s broad, courageous face was illuminated with a proud, satisfied smile. He pushed the dishes away and, clearing his throat, said:
We've refueled well, now let's sing, brothers! And he started first:
... The attack thundered and the bullets rang,
And the machine gun was firing smoothly...
Everyone picked it up. The song sounded in full force, easily.
...Then Her blue eyes smiled at both of us through the smoke.
Arsenin glanced sideways at Solyankin.
Here they only smile at one.
Without interrupting the song, we also looked at George - without envy, without condemnation, but with that hidden, but always sincere kindness that is so dear in our military comradeship.
This reminded me of a recent incident that forced me to abandon the conversation with Galya.
One evening, when the pilots were getting into the car to go for the night, Solyankin came up to me and bluntly asked me to allow him to stay for an hour in the dining room.
“You see, in war you can’t even meet the girl you love without permission from your superiors,” I joked, noting with pleasure that in a combat situation people are not so embarrassed by their most tender, subtle, innermost feelings. - How will you get to the yurt later?
No! It won't work out that way...
Comrade commissar!.. - Solyankin begged.
Listen,” I interrupted softly. “It’s dangerous to walk alone at night in the steppe; you might run into Japanese saboteurs.”
Yes, I have a gun! - He patted the pistol holster.
I warned him that I would try to send the car.
Yes, war quickly brings people together, but even faster it can separate them forever...
Would you like me to read my creation? - Krasnoyurchenko suddenly bravely volunteered. He sold out more than others.
Let's! - they answered him in unison.
Ivan Ivanovich threw back his blond, thick hair with both hands and cleared his throat.
I love the Volga like my own mother,
The expanse of its wide banks
And on a calm day, and in a storm...
How they can excite the soul!
Sometimes you go out early in the morning
From the hut to the steep slope, into the open space.
Take a deep breath and straighten your shoulders -
And both strength and enthusiasm will boil in you.
You will catch the most delicious fish in a day,
You get tired and sit down by the fire.
The entire poem was written in this spirit, approaching the size of a small poem. We were attentive listeners and supportive critics.
Well done, Ivan Ivanovich, great! - we encouraged our poet.
“Perhaps it’s time to end this,” said the squadron commander; all that was left of the lamb were memories.
A few minutes later everyone was fast asleep.
6On July 3, attempts by Soviet-Mongolian troops to clear the western bank of Khalkhin Gol from the Japanese were unsuccessful. The next day, the enemy, with the support of large groups of bombers, tried to launch a counterattack, but this attempt was repulsed by our artillery fire and air strikes. Since dawn, aircraft from both sides hovered continuously over the battlefield. Up to 300 bombers and fighters simultaneously took part in fierce air battles.
By the evening, when the Soviet-Mongolian troops were preparing for a general attack along the entire front, bomber aviation was given the task of delivering a powerful blow to the enemy dug in on Mount Bain-Tsagan. Our squadron was entrusted with direct escort to cover the actions of the bombers.
While waiting for departure, I did not notice the soft afternoon sun, the endless expanses of the steppe, or the breeze lazily playing with the grass. I was suddenly overwhelmed by memories of home.
At first I simply counted the days that had passed since my departure. The period, it turned out, is not very long: it’s only the second month since I separated from my wife. But the abrupt change in the entire way of life and the thousands of kilometers that separated us created the impression that I had been in Mongolia since an infinitely long time ago. “I miss you,” I said to myself, surprised not by the feeling itself, but by that acute longing for my family, which I had never experienced before.
I wanted to know: what is the wife doing now? Right now, at that moment when I am standing near the wing of my plane, looking first at the command post, then in the direction from which the bombers should appear, but not really distinguishing either the command post or what is happening in the clear sky... And in general, where she? She probably didn’t stay in the military camp - she had nothing to do there. Most likely she went to see her mother, and then she will visit mine. Or maybe he’ll get a job as an agronomist again, and start living with my mother in the village... This option seemed to me the best, but I doubted it, firstly, because the position of an agronomist was probably already taken, and secondly, not knew whether Valya would want to work. After all, according to my certificate, she has enough money... Before leaving, we didn’t even have time to say a word about her work, about where and how she should live. And since the day the hostilities began, I have not written her a single letter. The last news left me was the day we arrived in Mongolia...
“How did this happen?” - I asked myself, extremely discouraged by this circumstance... The first flights, days of complete tension of all spiritual and physical strength... The severity of extraordinary impressions that captured me completely, the hard, dangerous work in which I lost myself. Then?.. Then I waited for the moment when not the words and feelings that were bubbling inside me would appear on paper, but others that could inspire calm, and I put everything off. Then once, and twice, and a third time I looked death in the face, heard its vile breath... and with renewed vigor, a hundred times more deeply, I realized how beautiful life is and how dear my closest, beloved person, Valya, is to me. I remember her eyes in the moments of departure, her words: “Go, dear. Duty is greater than anything else." The longer our separation, the stronger and stronger we will love each other - that’s what I’ll write to her today, as soon as I return from the battle. I will repeat this many times.
But the letter will not arrive earlier than in a month!
What are you thinking about? - Trubachenko asks, standing behind me.
I’m surprised, Vasily Petrovich, how poorly our mail works! We live in the age of aviation, and we carry letters on oxen. And when you think that you will write today, and you will receive an answer in two or three months, the desire to write disappears...
If the authorities had cared better, they could have allocated a plane... But the central newspapers arrive in three weeks, there is no radio... In general, we don’t know very well what is happening in the Union...
I reported to the regimental commissar Chernyshev. He promised to take action... What have you heard about the departure?
They postponed it for twenty minutes.
Okay, because not everyone has their guns loaded yet.
On our last flight we repelled a Japanese bomber raid. They met us with organized and strong defensive fire. I already knew from technician Vasiliev that one bullet hit the cockpit and passed right next to the commander’s head. We examined Trubachenko's plane with curiosity. A transparent plaster was glued to the front of the visor, exactly opposite the pilot’s face. I told the commander:
Although there are no miracles in the world, you miraculously survived this time!
Trubachenko muttered in a deep voice:
God knows, I didn’t control the bullet...
Even earlier, I noticed that he did not like to share his impressions of the fight. After that air battle, in which for the first time he had the opportunity to meet the pilots of the squadron and, so to speak, to show himself to his new subordinates, conducting an analysis, he gave only a general assessment of our actions and made several comments about the enemy’s tactics. Everyone was interested to hear, what did the commander himself experience in battle? What did you learn, what did you remember?.. It wasn’t like that! The liveliness, talkativeness, and meticulousness of Trubachenko that struck me when I first met was apparently caused by the significance of the moment itself: the lieutenant was taking command of the squadron. In general, he kept himself somewhat reserved. Conducting that first debriefing in a businesslike, dynamic style, he listened rather warily to the remarks exchanged between the pilots. “Do you want to know what they say about you?” - I asked when we were alone. He nodded his head. “Nothing bad so far,” I smiled. - “And that’s okay.”
Now, examining the trajectory of the bullet, I climbed onto the plane of his plane.
But you didn’t hide your head in your pocket, Vasily Petrovich? A very mysterious case.
What's so mysterious about this? It flew by and that's it.
Vasily Petrovich! I seriously ask you: explain how this could happen... You don’t have a steel skull, so that lead would bounce off it? - I insisted, seeing that the bullet should not have missed his head. - Or does this not concern you? It turns out like that person who was walking and heard that someone was being beaten from behind, turned around and saw that he himself was being beaten.
Just wait and pick! - and reluctantly throwing his body over the side of the cockpit, he sat down as if he were flying and, having approximately determined the direction of entry of the bullet, pointing with his hands, explained: “It entered slightly from above, shuffled against the headrest of the armored back and flew inside the fuselage. If I had been sitting upright, my forehead would have She didn’t miss mine.
It turns out that your head didn’t want to meet her and turned away on its own. She's cunning!
The head turned out to be more dexterous. I wouldn't have been able to do this myself.
They say that a smart head will never expose himself to a bullet in vain. What do you think? Where is the best place to attack Japanese bombers to avoid the kind of fire we ran into?
You need to take the regimental intelligence officer by the bootstraps, that’s his business.
While he is swinging, someone’s head will probably not have time to turn away from the bullet. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to think about it yourself.
In my opinion, there is nothing to be afraid of bombers,” Trubachenko said, “attack quickly from any direction, they won’t hit you.” And what they hit me with was the only hole in the entire squadron. It’s my own fault: I took too long to aim. At this time they drove in. Accidental hit!
Why random? They fired at you from every plane, and from no less than one or two machine guns! It is not easy to approach such a large, dense formation of bombers: there is fire all around.
But no one was shot down?!
What about other squadrons? After all, our squadron was the last to attack; the enemy’s formation was already broken. It was more convenient for us than the first! Maybe there are losses in other squadrons.
But you must admit that it is much safer to fight with bombers than with fighters.
Of course, you're right... But not entirely. Bombers do not fly without cover. You have to fight both them and the covering fighters at the same time.
That's the whole difficulty! - Trubachenko picked up. - If they flew without cover, we would beat them like partridges! But the fighters don't allow it. We need to somehow divert cover from the bombers.
But as? Tricky business! If during the last flight we had been distracted by enemy fighters even for a couple of seconds, we would not have been able to prevent the bombers from bombing. You see how it turns out... I, however, noticed the I-97 when they were already going after the bombers...
“I missed them too,” Trubachenko admitted and looked at his watch: “Ten minutes left... Listen, you did a bad thing yesterday by not supporting me.” We won't achieve order in the squadron like that.
It happens that newly appointed commanders, especially when their predecessors are dismissed as having failed, try to portray the order in the accepted units or units as much worse than it actually is. This is usually done in order to later highlight one’s work more clearly, and in case of any troubles or failures, to shift the blame onto the predecessor: the order, they say, was bad here, I have not yet had time to rectify the situation.
Trubachenko had just such habits.
Things in the squadron are not as bad as you imagine...
I am not an artist and I have no idea! - he seethed. - And as a commander, I make a remark!.. The pilots show indiscipline, break away from their leaders, and you protect them!
Well, you know, you do it like the good soldier Schweik: the whole company is out of step, one warrant officer is out of step.
But I am a commander, and you are obliged to support me,” he continued more calmly.
In everything reasonable... And yesterday at dinner you not only offended the pilots, Vasily Petrovich. As a commander, you incorrectly assessed the squadron’s preparation and made an erroneous conclusion about why our formations crumble in battle.
Why is it wrong?
But because Kravchenko says, and we ourselves began to understand that fighters cannot fight in such dense formations as we adhere to. The larger and denser the formation, the more finely it fragments at the first attack. Is it possible for a squadron, when attacked from behind by the Japanese, to simultaneously turn 180 degrees while maintaining formation? Of course not! And then you say: “wingmen should only monitor the commander and cover him.” And again I’m wrong: to cover means to see everything that is happening around, and not just the commander...
In five minutes? - Trubachenko cried. - What are they there?! Everything in the world has been mixed up again!.. I rushed to my plane.
7Our bombers appeared from the southwest, staying in a column of nines. The heat of the day had already subsided, the air was clear and calm. The planes flew without experiencing the jolts and shakes that were common on a hot afternoon. Waiting for us, the twin-engine vehicles made a circle over the airfield and, when we, eleven fighters, took our places at the back of the column, we headed for Khalkhin Gol. Along the route, the nines, closed inwardly, lined up in a line, as if in a parade, and floated smoothly, their wings glistening. We also closed in close, forming, as it were, the closing group of the entire column. None of us then thought that such a battle formation was very unfortunate for cover.
This was the first time I saw my bombers so close. In peacetime, we never had to fly with them and practice interaction training tasks. I carefully examined their light fuselages, the riflemen, ready at any moment to open fire on the enemy. With surprise and concern, I suddenly noticed that they could not defend themselves from below with their machine guns - from here the enemy had the opportunity to attack them without hindrance and hit them for sure. The Japanese from below must also be defenseless - the silhouettes of the enemy bombers, which we attacked “blindly” today, not knowing the layout of their on-board weapons, resembled the outlines of our SB...
My attention, as in previous flights, was not directed to closely monitoring the air and being the first to notice everything, but mainly to maintaining my place in the ranks. True, the experience of the battles was not in vain: busy with the formation, I still managed to glance around, looking at the upper and lower hemispheres. The composure and beauty of the formation was naturally disrupted, but is battle formation an end in itself? To get a better look at the bombers, I slightly increased the interval, moved away from Trubachenko to the side along the front - and how much easier and freer it became for me to observe the air! But maintaining my place in the ranks is a statutory requirement, and I again clung to the commander. Trubachenko suddenly turned his head sharply. I followed his movement and realized what was happening: a large group of Japanese fighters was looming on the side of the sun. The squadron's formation immediately opened wide, apparently everyone noticed the enemy. Before I could even turn my head completely, the group of Japanese began to grow in size. Descending, the enemy fighters walked straight towards the middle of our column. The squadron commander, protecting the bombers, turned to meet the I-97 attackers, dragging all the other pilots with him.
No matter how difficult it was to distinguish the enemy planes, covered by the sun, it was still possible to notice that not all Japanese fighters went over to attack our bombers - at least a dozen of them continued to remain at altitude. Meanwhile, the entire squadron, following the commander, had already clashed with a group of attacking Japanese.
I clearly saw how enemy fighters, lingering at altitude, rushed towards the column of our bombers, which were now left without cover.
Bound by battle, we fell into a trap skillfully placed by an experienced enemy. A few seconds - and the bombers will suffer a crushing blow. I tried to escape from the tangle of battle, but I couldn’t: there was a Japanese in my tail. Suddenly one of our “hawks,” like a fish, slipped out of the net and rushed to the defense of the bombers. One against ten? The Japanese, who had settled in the tail, burst into flames from someone’s saving burst, and I rushed after the lone man. It was Krasnoyurchenko. Three flights of Japanese fighters hung above us from behind. The two of us had to block their path...
This is how the second group appeared - a group of direct cover for the bombers, while the commander and the rest of the squadron pilots formed the strike group. This was the embryo of a new combat formation for fighters in joint operations with bomber aircraft.
The three units left by the Japanese for a decisive blow did not hesitate to attack.
“They’ll take us down, then the reprisal against the SB will begin,” this sharp, merciless thought pierced me as soon as I saw with what agility and inflexibility the I-97s, having superiority in altitude, rushed towards us. Should we turn around and expose the foreheads of our planes? It won't do anything. They will still break through. “What to do, what?” To continue flying in the tail of the bombers, snarling whenever possible, meant exposing yourself to being shot and achieving absolutely nothing: the enemy would hit the bombers before they were able to hit targets on Mount Bain-Tsagan, and the support so necessary for our ground troops would not will be provided...
No one has ever tried to explain to me what the intuition of an air fighter is; yes, I probably wouldn’t have listened very much to reasoning on such a vaguely specific topic. And in battle, an instant reaction, ahead of thought, entails an unexpected, sharp evolution of the machine. In the next moment, consciousness seems to be illuminated by a decision that perfectly corresponds to the entire logic of the development of the battle. Only after this I was able to appreciate the role of intuition in an air battle. This is exactly what happened in those seconds. Both of us, Krasnoyurchenko and I, had been fighting for the thirteenth day, which, of course, served as the decisive reason and explanation for our sudden and simultaneous rush in one direction - up into the sun. Abruptly, quickly falling away, we created the impression that we could not withstand the enemy’s onslaught and were fleeing. I had not yet completed the maneuver and was holding the car in a turn with a climb, when the clear thought of our next action, sudden and precise, inspired me, giving all movements some kind of cold calculation.
And everything was confirmed.
Of course, the Japanese fighters did not pursue us. And why? They understood perfectly well that if we, having a headroom, wanted to leave the battle, then they would not be able to catch up with us. But the main thing was something else: the most important goal was revealed to the Japanese - a column of Soviet bombers was marching ahead without any cover, on the tail of which, having broken up into links, they went without delay.
“They do it right!” - I thought, not without admiration, involuntarily appreciating the maturity of their tactical approach, which also indicates, among other things, that the armament scheme of our SB bombers is much better known to enemy fighters than we are to the location of firing points on Japanese aircraft. Now one link of enemy fighters, attacking from above, intended to attract fire from our shooters and thereby give the other two links the opportunity to approach the SB formation and shoot them from below, from the rear lower hemisphere, where the bombers are least protected. Finding ourselves to the side and above the enemy fighters, we understood that the Japanese, carried away by the pursuit of what they probably thought were defenseless bombers, did not see us and, true to their rule, would shoot for sure, only from a short distance. We must, we also had to strike for sure in order to get ahead of the insidious blow. And, hiding behind the sun, we went to the two lower links of the enemy.
Having dived sharply, we found ourselves behind the Japanese at firing range, as if at a shooting range, we took careful aim... And almost simultaneously, two Japanese fighters, not having time to open fire at close range, fell down, leaving behind a dirty trail of soot; the other four, stunned by the sudden death of their comrades, turned around abruptly...
At the same time, three I-97s above us continued to fire at the bombers, despite the powerful return fire from the turret machine guns. The enemy was so close above my head that for a split second I did not know what to do; Driven by the desire to quickly repel the attack, he rashly grabbed the control stick “towards himself” so much that he slipped into the interval between two enemy aircraft, forcing them to rush in different directions. This involuntary risky maneuver, which threatened a collision, finally repulsed the attack of Japanese fighters. “Here’s a stray ram for you, and no one would know how it happened,” I assessed my impulsive decision with cold sobriety.
Flakes of black anti-aircraft artillery explosions that grew in front forced me to pull to the right, to where the commander and the rest of the squadron pilots were fighting. It was not possible to complete this maneuver: an enemy flight fell on Krasnoyurchenko, and a couple fell on me. It seemed impossible to escape the attack by turning to the side - the enemy was so close to us; he will definitely take aim. There was only one thing left to do - fall down, abandon, leave the bombers without cover. We couldn't do this. At the risk of being shot down, they turned away, dragging the enemy fighters with them and hoping to delay their attack on the SB, which had already embarked on a combat course, at least for a few seconds.
The bombers were now surrounded by anti-aircraft artillery explosions from all sides, but they advanced through the fire without veering off course; It seemed to me that the entire column, disregarding the danger, out of spite to the enemy, seemed to slow down its movement, froze, so that the fearlessness and unyielding will of the Soviet fighters to victory became more evident.
It was impossible not to admire the amazing calm and confidence of the crews of our security forces in the midst of this seething hell. The fire on the planes was so strong that the sun seemed to darken... “Will this end soon? How slow they move!
And the bombers still walked smoothly and calmly: they were on a combat course, and in those moments the success of the entire flight was decided. How nice it would be if fighters not only escorted bombers, but also suppressed enemy anti-aircraft guns during bombing!
The Japanese fighters, fearing the fire of their own anti-aircraft guns, weakened the pressure and moved aside to take a convenient position for attacks. As soon as the tops of the explosions moved to the head of the column, they fiercely attacked both me and Krasnoyurchenko at the same time. Maneuvering sharply, creating inhuman overloads, we evaded Japanese fire for a few more seconds, delayed them... When I saw that our SB were throwing bombs, it seemed that my plane had become lighter and more mannered - as if it, too, had been freed from bombs...
The goals are covered, the task is completed. Now - home.
The Japanese fighters, unable to prevent the bomb attack, continued the battle with some kind of fury; Ivan Ivanovich Krasnoyurchenko and I were separated, and I lost sight of him.
Either hit by anti-aircraft guns, or damaged by fire from enemy fighters, one SB, which had just dropped bombs, suddenly fell out of formation and, smoking from the right engine, began to descend, unsteadily turning back. A flight of Japanese instantly rushed after him. I was fighting off two fighters when several of our I-16s arrived. It was Trubachenko who rushed to protect the bombers. Now they are safe! I rushed to rescue the stricken SB crew. A flight of Japanese were already catching up with him. He swooped down on them and sharply “broke” the car. My vision darkened. I let go of the handle a little and, seeing nothing, flew in a straight line for several seconds.
Then the silhouette of the enemy appeared again. Kissing...
There was no need to start shooting: fire flashed before my eyes, sparks flew, fragments rang... It seemed to me that the plane was falling apart from the fractional strikes. “Shot down! I didn’t look back…” I thought with bitter disappointment and without any energy. Instead of falling down like a stone, for some reason I looked back... And again the Japanese, sitting almost at the back of my head, doused me with lead... Smoke and gasoline filled the cabin, the engine stalled, and something burned my shoulder. I didn’t feel any fear: mechanically, obeying the instinct of self-preservation, I gave the control stick away from me. The flames hit my face.
“I’m burning. We need to jump!” While bringing the plane out of the dive, I simultaneously created a slide with my foot to disrupt the fire. Hastily unfastening his seat belts, he prepared to leave the plane by parachute.
What about the height? A look at the device - there is no height. You can't jump. Something changed before my eyes, it became quiet. Look: the fire in the cabin is gone. Obviously, he broke the flame by sliding. Engine, help out!.. The gas sector goes forward - the engine is silent... We must sit down... I lowered the landing gear.
My broad-browed handsome man, who had just been obedient and menacing, became helpless. A thousand horsepower died in it. The earth was inexorably approaching...
The steppe ahead was smooth and green, nothing interfered with the normal landing. Busy fighting the flames and preparing to jump, I forgot about the enemy. Now, in the ensuing silence, I remembered him again and looked around. Three Japanese fighters were hanging over the back of my head. Oh, how sinister they seemed!
The plane was descending quickly, and the low altitude did not allow me the slightest maneuver or parachute jump. In order to somehow interfere with the enemy, to bring down aimed fire, I was landing, carefully “slipping.” I no longer reacted to the small, dry crack of the machine gun, to the acrid smoke clouding the cabin. all attention was turned to the ground, to the landing. The only thing I can do is to land the plane; getting rid of the enemy is no longer in my power.
Relying on the armored back as a fortress, I pressed myself against it. He narrowed his shoulders, lowered his head and waited for the speed to die down. As soon as the plane touches the ground, you need to jump out of the cockpit, otherwise they will shoot you on the run...
But the shooting stopped, and the enemy fighter, almost touching my head with its wheels, rushed forward. “Yeah, we couldn’t resist! You’re slipping through!” - I rejoiced, noticing that the second Japanese plane was overtaking me, and the third would not be able to stay in the rear. I decided that now it’s not worth risking my bones and throwing myself out of the cabin during the run. It will be possible to wait for the plane to stop: the enemy will not have time to make another approach, turn around and fire at me... Suddenly the Japanese, who appeared on the left in such close proximity that I saw dark patches on the light fuselage, roared with his engine, blowing his jet under the wing of my plane. I didn’t have time to think whether it was an accident or a deliberate trick. I was thrown to the right, the earth and sky flashed, everything rumbled with a crash, began to squeeze, turn over all my insides, break bones... At that moment of emergency acrobatics, I could not figure out anything, as if all this was not happening in reality, but in a dream.
After the defeat on Mount Bayin-Tsagan, the Japanese command no longer
tried to cross Khalkhin Gol. It put before its troops
more limited goals - the destruction of Soviet-Mongolian troops in
east bank of the river.
After a long respite, having regrouped and pulled up fresh
the enemy launched a surprise attack on the position of the 149th Infantry Regiment
and the battalion of the 5th rifle and machine gun brigade, only a few days ago
back to the combat area. The blow was unexpected, and two
battalions of the 149th Infantry Regiment began to retreat. Only at dawn
Soviet troops managed to gain a foothold in the area of the regiment command post,
about three to four kilometers from the river. Died heroically in a night battle
commander of the 149th Infantry Regiment, Major I.M. Remizov. He was posthumously
awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and the height at which he was
command post was named "Remizovskaya".
In the morning, the 24th motorized rifle regiment and two battalions approached the battle site
5th rifle and machine gun brigade. After a short artillery preparation
Soviet troops launched a counterattack and pushed the enemy back.
Enemy attacks continued for a number of nights.
the Japanese managed to oust one of the battalions of the 5th rifle and machine gun
brigades and capture the heights. Their further progress was stopped
artillery fire and infantry counterattacks supported by tanks.
Only one Japanese company managed to penetrate the gap between our
troops and penetrate deeply into the Soviet defenses. The enemy tried
break through to the crossing. This idea failed, the company gained a foothold on one of
dunes. The rapid attack of Soviet tanks and infantry was completely
destroyed. In this battle, the commander of the 11th Tank Brigade died a heroic death.
brigade commander M.P. Yakovlev. He personally led a group of tanks of the 1st battalion. When
the infantry following the tanks lay down under enemy fire, he climbed out
cars and with grenades in their hands raised the soldiers to attack. Wounded, he continued
lead the battle until he was hit by an enemy bullet.
Back in early July, to the combat area from the Ural military
units of the 82nd Infantry Division began to arrive in the district, replenished
transferred to the eastern bank of Khalkhin Gol and took up the positions assigned to it.
In the morning, the Japanese opened heavy artillery fire on him. Young, not yet
The fired Red Army soldiers were confused. Selfless
Through the efforts of commanders and political workers, the resulting confusion was quickly
liquidated. Enemy attacks were repulsed with the active assistance of artillery.
After the battle, the regiment was transferred to reserve. We spent with the Red Army soldiers
training close to combat conditions. Subsequently, the 603rd Regiment bravely
fought and performed well during the August operation.
suspended, and the Japanese were forced to go on the defensive. Relative
the lull lasted only ten days.
fire along the entire front. At the same time, large forces appeared in the air
enemy aircraft to strike the battle formations and rear of the Soviet-Mongolian
troops. They were met by Soviet fighters. Fierce battles ensued in the sky
air battles.
The Soviet artillery was silent, not giving away its location. Hour
Japanese guns roared. Then the infantry rose up in the southern sector. AND
only then did Soviet guns enter the battle. Artillery and machine gun fire
the enemy was scattered and his attack was thwarted.
In the northern sector, the Japanese began their attack an hour and a half later. This
gave the Soviet artillery the opportunity to first, concentrating all fire on
southern sector, repulse the attack there, then transfer fire to another
direction. All enemy attempts to advance were repulsed.
offensive... All their attacks were repelled by the fire of the Soviet-Mongolian troops
with significant losses for the Japanese.
In a number of areas, taking advantage of the enemy’s confusion,
caused by well-aimed artillery fire, Soviet troops went into successful
counterattacks. Convinced of the futility of the attacks, the Japanese command was
forced to go on the defensive.
The defeat of the Japanese group in the area of Mount Bain-Tsagan
demonstrated the superiority of the Soviet-Mongolian troops over the Japanese,
boasting of their invincibility.
The July battles showed that the Soviet-Mongolian troops in the area
the conflict is not enough, they are significantly inferior in number to the Japanese,
although they are superior in number of tanks and armored vehicles. Small number
Soviet infantry often led to the fact that in our defense system
there were vulnerabilities. The enemy took advantage of this by sending his troops here.
blows, especially during night attacks.
Soviet and Mongolian soldiers and commanders in difficult July battles
thwarted the plans of the Japanese command, which sought to seize a bridgehead on
eastern shore of Khalkhin Gol. Only lack of strength did not allow them
completely defeat the enemy and throw him back to Manchuria. However
the retained bridgehead provided the Soviet-Mongolian troops with advantageous positions
for further transition to the offensive.
Japanese troops took up defensive positions on a line of sand dunes in five -
eight kilometers east of the Khalkhin Gol River. Digging trenches in loose sand
and building shelters, they began to prepare for a new offensive.
6th Army under the command of General Ogisu Rippo. She was given the task
encircle and destroy the Soviet-Mongolian troops located on
eastern shore of Khalkhin Gol. It consisted of the 23rd and 7th Infantry
divisions, fully staffed according to wartime staff, separate
infantry regiment and four separate infantry battalions, three Bargut regiments
cavalry, seven artillery regiments (of which four are heavy), two tank
regiment, mixed Manchukuo brigade, two engineer regiments, a number of separate
anti-aircraft and anti-tank batteries, numerous auxiliary troops.
A total of 55 thousand people, more than 300 guns and mortars, 1283 machine guns, 135
tanks and armored vehicles, about 350 aircraft.
Such a concentration of large military forces forced the Soviet
The government will provide significant assistance to the fraternal people of the Mongolian People's Republic.
From the deep regions of the Soviet Union they are moving towards Khalkhin Gol
new connections and parts. By mid-August there were
three rifle divisions, a rifle and machine gun brigade, an airborne brigade, three
motorized armored, two tank brigades, six artillery regiments (including
including four as divisions), two separate artillery divisions and
one long-range battery, two communications battalions, a pontoon battalion, two
hydraulic companies. A total of 57 thousand people, 634 guns and mortars, 2255
machine guns, 498 tanks, 385 armored vehicles and 515 aircraft.
The Soviet-Mongolian troops had a slight superiority in manpower
strength, almost double in artillery and machine guns, six times in tanks and
armored vehicles, more than one and a half times in aviation.
concentrated in the Khalkhin Gol area, the 1st Army Group was formed
Council of Divisional Commissar M.S. Nikishev, Chief of Staff of the Brigade Commander
M.A. Bogdanova. To coordinate the actions of Soviet and Mongolian troops on
a front group was formed at the base of the Trans-Baikal Military District
led by Army Commander 2nd Rank G.M. Stern (member of the Military Council of the group -
divisional commissar N.I. Biryukov, chief of staff - divisional commander M.A. Kuznetsov).
The 1st Army Group was tasked with conducting an operation to
encirclement and complete destruction of the troops of the Japanese invaders, treacherously
invaded the land of the Mongolian People's Republic, and restore it
state border.
According to the plan of the commander of the 1st Army Group G.K. Zhukov, it was decided
pinning down the Japanese from the front, deliver powerful converging attacks on both flanks
enemy group to encircle and destroy Japanese troops between
the Khalkhin Gol River and the state border.
Preparations for the operation took place under very difficult conditions. First of all
due to the remoteness of the theater of military operations from the railway. Troops,
military equipment, ammunition, food had to be transferred to
cars on dirt roads. Moreover, from the nearest final unloading point
The station was more than 700 kilometers away from the combat area. Volume
the upcoming transportation was colossal. To carry out the operation it was necessary
deliver only 24.5 thousand tons of artillery and aviation ammunition,
food 4 thousand tons, fuel 7.5 thousand tons, other cargo 3
thousand tons. Timber, firewood, and even
In the most difficult off-road conditions and sweltering heat, Soviet drivers
showed miracles of endurance, endurance and heroism. A flight of
1300 - 1400 kilometers lasted five days.
Movement of vehicles and military equipment, as a rule,
were carried out only at night with the strictest observance of blackout. At
combined marches were widely used in the transfer of new units - part
The soldiers traveled the route in cars, and covered the rest on foot.
The troops carefully prepared for the offensive operation. In the near future
in the rear, warriors were trained in close combat techniques. Introduced to the features of tactics
and enemy defense. Particular attention in the classes was paid to
interaction in combat between infantry and tanks, artillery and aircraft.
The Military Council of the 1st Army Group developed a detailed plan
preparation of the operation. Deception activities occupied an important place in it
enemy.
Every effort was made to give the enemy the impression that
preparing our troops for long-term defense. For this purpose it was printed and
"Memo to a soldier in defense" was sent to the troops. It was done so that
Several of them seemed to have accidentally fallen into the hands of the enemy. Powerful sound broadcasting
the station imitated the production of fortification works. On the radio open
reports on constructed firing points were transmitted in text or simple code
and shelters. Applications were made for timber, cement and other property,
necessary for defensive structures. Requirements were sent for the winter
uniforms and stoves...
Meanwhile, all orders related to the preparation of the upcoming
offensive, were given only orally. Troops moved to their original areas,
usually at night.
The movement of tanks was masked by flights of night bombers,
reinforced machine gun and rifle fire. To accustom the enemy to
noise, 10 - 12 days before the start of the offensive several tanks with removed
silencers constantly cruised along the front.
In units concentrated on the flanks, work was completely prohibited
radio stations. Communication here was carried out only by messengers. On the contrary, on
in the central sector of the front, not only did they operate already known to the enemy
radio stations, but also new ones appeared. All this was supposed to create
the enemy's impression of strengthening the center of defense of the Soviet-Mongolian
Much attention was paid to organizing a reliable system
management. An officer service was created at the headquarters of the 1st Army Group
communications. A clear system of codes and call signs has been developed for radio stations.
The group command post was connected to the commanders of divisions and brigades
line of telephone wires.
By mid-August, Japanese troops on the eastern bank of Khalkhin Gol
occupied a fortified line that ran along sand dunes at a distance
from two to ten kilometers west of the Mongolian state border
People's Republic.
Enemy positions consisted of resistance nodes and strongholds with
a dense network of trenches, located, as a rule, on dunes and connected
between themselves by means of communication. Many dugouts and shelters were built for
manpower and military equipment. The trenches were torn off in full profile, and the dugouts
withstood a direct hit from a 152 mm projectile.
Ahead of the resistance nodes at a distance of 150 - 200 meters were
single trenches for snipers, flammable liquid bottle throwers and
suicide bombers armed with anti-tank mines
two to three meter bamboo poles. The paired trenches housed
soldiers pulling an anti-tank mine on a belt under the tracks of combat vehicles
Enemy defenses were well adapted to
terrain and camouflaged. The fire system was carefully thought out and
organized. All this presented a strong obstacle to the attackers.
Simultaneously with the construction of fortified positions, the Japanese
the command was preparing for a general offensive. It was supposed to lure
Soviet-Mongolian troops into the valley of the Khaylastyn-Gol river and a strong blow to
By mid-August, Soviet-Mongolian troops occupied positions on
the bank of Khalkhin Gol two to six kilometers east of the river. On the right
the flank of the Soviet-Mongolian troops was defended by the 8th Cavalry
MNRA division. To the northeast were two regiments of the 82nd Infantry
divisions. North of the mouth of Khaylastyn-Gol, the 5th Rifle and Machine Gun was defending
The 6th Cavalry Division of the MPRA was located. The rest of the 1st Army troops
the groups were located on the western bank of Khalkhin Gol.
According to the plan of Corps Commander G.K. Zhukov, three groups of troops were created. South, under
under the command of Colonel M.I. Potapov, consisted of the 57th Infantry Division,
8th motorized armored brigade, 6th tank brigade (less one battalion),
tank and rifle-machine gun battalions of the 11th tank brigade,
division of the 185th artillery regiment, anti-tank battalion and
a separate company of flamethrower tanks. The group was supposed to advance
direction Nomon-Khan-Burd-Obo with the immediate task of destroying the group
enemy, located south of the Khaylastyn-Gol River, and later in
interaction with the troops of the Central and Northern groups to encircle and
destroy Japanese troops north of Khaylastyn-Gol. In case of
enemy reserves from Manchuria, the troops of the Southern Group were supposed to
repulse their attacks. The right flank of the group was secured by the 8th Cavalry
MNRA division. She had to push back parts of the Khingan cavalry
enemy divisions, occupy and firmly hold the heights of Eris-Ulyn-Obo.
The artillery of the Southern Group, consisting of 72 guns, was supposed to suppress and
destroy enemy personnel and their firing points at Peschanaya heights and at
area of Big Sands, accompany tanks and infantry with fire. 185th Division
The regiment, in addition, was entrusted with shelling the enemy's rear.
Northern group, commanded by Colonel I.V. Shevnikov, consisting of
601st Regiment, 82nd Infantry Division, 7th Motorized Armored Brigade, two
tank battalions of the 11th tank brigade, 87th anti-tank division
and the 6th Cavalry Division of the MPRA was to lead an offensive in
in the direction of nameless lakes, which are several kilometers northeast
Nomon-Khan-Burd-Obo, with the immediate task of mastering the sand dunes in
four kilometers west of this height. Subsequently, in collaboration with
3rd Motorized Rifle Division of the Central Group and troops of the Southern Group
encircle and destroy enemy troops north of the Khaylastyn-Gol River.
Artillery group consisting of 24 guns (not counting regimental and
battalion) occupied firing positions north of Mount Bayin-Tsagan and should
was to suppress manpower, machine guns and enemy guns at the height of the Finger
Troops of the Central Group (tasks were assigned directly to the corps commander
G.K. Zhukov) consisted of the 602nd and 603rd regiments of the 82nd Infantry Division,
24th and 149th regiments of the 36th motorized rifle division and the 5th
rifle and machine gun brigade. Advancing in the center, the group had to attack
pin down the main enemy forces from the front and prevent the transfer
reinforcements on the flanks. The immediate task is to master the heights of Peschanaya and
Remizovskaya. Subsequently, in cooperation with the troops of the Southern and Northern
groups to take part in the encirclement and destruction of Japanese troops in the southern and
northern banks of the Khaylastyn-Gol River.
The central group had the most artillery: 112 barrels. This
artillery was supposed to destroy manpower and firepower at the heights
Peschanaya and Remizovskaya, support the attack of tanks and infantry, suppress the Japanese
artillery, hinder the approach of reserves, actively take part in
repelling enemy counterattacks.
The reserve of the commander of the 1st Army Group was six kilometers away
southwest of Mount Khamar-Daba and consisted of the 9th motorized armored brigade, 4th
battalion of the 6th Tank Brigade and the 212th Airborne Brigade. Greatest
the density of troops and artillery was created in the center and on the right flank.
The left flank group was significantly weaker.
For artillery support of the offensive, all divisional artillery
constituted the PP (infantry support) groups. They had to destroy and
suppress Japanese fire weapons at the front line and in the depths of defense in
the division's offensive zone, accompanying the advance of tanks and infantry with fire.
Special batteries were allocated in advance for promotion immediately after
advancing infantry to support it with direct fire. Groups
infantry support was created in each rifle regiment. Besides,
long-range artillery groups were created.
In total, the 1st Army Group had 286 guns of caliber 75 mm and above.
In addition, there were 180 anti-tank guns.
Soviet-Mongolian troops covered themselves from enemy aircraft
anti-aircraft artillery regiment and three separate divisions - 16 in total
batteries - 96 guns. The main part of them stood to cover the crossings across
Khalkhin Gol and the command post on Mount Khamar-Daba.
Engineering troops of the 1st Army Group by the beginning of the August
offensive had three divisional sapper battalions, two separate
sapper companies of tank and motorized armored brigades, pontoon battalion, two
separate hydraulic engineering companies. To build pontoon bridges there were two
a heavy ferry park and two inflatable boat parks.
During the fighting at Khalkhin Gol in May - July, engineering troops
played a significant role. First of all, they ensured the transfer of troops to
eastern bank of the river. Sappers not only directed crossings under fire, but also
repeatedly defended them, repelling the fierce attacks of the enemy. In the middle
July there were only two crossings across Khalkhin Gol, including a track bridge,
built by sappers of the 11th Tank Brigade back in May.
part of it was flooded as a result of Japanese artillery shelling. Then
made an original decision: to flood it all. The pontoons sank to the bottom, and
the water passed 30 - 40 centimeters above the flooring. Crossings along it
was initially carried out only at night, and the Japanese for a long time considered this bridge
inoperative and out of order. The resourcefulness of Soviet sappers gave
the ability to uninterruptedly transfer troops, military equipment, ammunition and
food to the east coast.
Sappers did a lot of work to provide the troops with water. Behind
In a short time, under difficult conditions, about 60 wells were installed.
The sappers were also preparing command and observation posts for
headquarters of the 1st Army Group and division commanders. We worked especially hard
engineering troops in the first half of August. Several were found in advance
fords and a number of pontoon crossing points are planned. Equipped with more than 20
kilometers of access roads, and a clear commandant service has been organized on
crossings By the beginning of the offensive, 12 bridges had been built across Khalkhin Gol.
The offensive operation of the Soviet-Mongolian troops was being prepared in
deep secret. All reconnaissance was carried out by commanders disguised as
in Red Army uniform. Moreover, the tankers wore infantry tunics.
A strictly limited number of people developed the offensive plan: the commander
group, member of the Military Council, chief of staff, chief of operations
department. Commanders and chiefs of military branches were only acquainted with the questions
plan affecting them. As the deadline approaches, a circle of people
privy to the various details of the plan expanded. Red Army soldiers and juniors
The commanders learned about their tasks three hours before the start of the offensive.
An extremely difficult task faced the intelligence officers: to determine
the enemy's defense system, the location of his fire weapons. Relatively
the high density of Japanese defense made it almost impossible for small forces to operate
reconnaissance groups, their penetration into the depths of the defense.
Bargut prisoners and defectors usually told everything during interrogations
willingly, but little did they know. The scouts took the Japanese as a “language”
rarely, and even those intoxicated by chauvinistic propaganda, as a rule,
didn't say anything.
It gave good results in pinpointing the enemy’s front line
reconnaissance in force. Soviet intelligence also provided considerable assistance here.
aviation that took hundreds of aerial photographs.
During the period of preparation for the offensive, commanders and political workers among
personnel widely organized the exchange of combat experience, promoted
military feats of Soviet and Mongolian soldiers. A significant contribution has been made here
Soviet military seal of the 1st Army Group. This is primarily an army
newspaper of the "Heroic Red Army" group, divisional and brigade newspapers
“For the Motherland”, “Voroshilovets”, “Attack”.
In short intervals between battles in the trenches, among the sand dunes,
At field airfields, small sheets of military newspapers were eagerly read. Their
always looked forward to it. Newspapers promptly reported on the latest
events at the front, talked about exploits...
The newspaper "Heroic Red Army" devoted entire pages to
propaganda of combat experience. So, under the general heading "The enemy is afraid of the bayonet
attacks, hit harder with the Russian bayonet!” notes from the junior political instructor are included
A. Ivanov “And the bullet is not stupid and the bayonet is a fine fellow,” Red Army soldier F. Ivanov “Faithful
the Russian bayonet has never failed and will never fail." With great interest
Everyone read the selection “Stronger than the combat bond of infantry and tank crews.”
On the pages of the "Heroic Red Army" soldiers shared their
experience. Thus, pilot P. Solntsev wrote: “In an air battle, I noticed one
a Japanese who was attacking my comrade. The samurai made a loop and went
for cunning. He turned upside down and fired from this position.
I was above and behind the Japanese and immediately guessed his maneuver. By adding
gas, I went on the attack. Fifty meters from the enemy, he pressed the general trigger and
fired a long line at the samurai's "belly". The enemy plane immediately began to smoke
and flew to the ground. The new technique of the Japanese pilots did not bring them success..."
The writer V. Stavsky not only talked about the exploits of Soviet
pilots, but also tried in his correspondence to give instructive
examples of mutual assistance: “Pilot Murmylov rushed to the rescue
a Soviet fighter that strayed from the general formation and was attacked
Japanese. Then Akimov saw that for Murmylov’s comradely dedication
risks paying with his own life... A samurai is tailing him.
Akimov immediately makes a decision: to attack the Japanese. The moment when
the Japanese made a U-turn to open fire on Murmylov, Akimov gave two
short queues. Having caught fire, the Japanese went to the ground... Murmylov, before
the last moment, unaware of the presence of a samurai behind him, in
in turn, he saved the pilot, and rushed to his rescue.
In this battle, Akimov finally believed in the principle of mutual gain. A
the next battle convinced him that he could not break away from his own people, that
We must fight wing to wing with our comrades!”
In "Heroic Red Army", which was edited by the regimental
Commissioner D. Ortenberg, in addition to V. Stavsky, writers actively collaborated
B. Lapin, L. Slavin, K. Simonov, 3. Khatsrevin. They could often be seen in
trenches of the front line on the right bank of Khalkhin Gol.
At the same time as the Soviet soldiers, the Cyrics were also preparing for decisive battles.
Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army. By mid-August in the area
During the conflict there were the 5th, 6th, and 8th cavalry divisions and the armored brigade of the MPRA.
At the same time, the 5th Division covered the borders of the Tamtsag-Bulak bulge of the MPR in
area of Lake Buir-Nur. Their actions in the conflict area were led by the commander in chief
MNRA Marshal of the Mongolian People's Republic X. Choibalsan with the help
operational group consisting of division commander J. Tseren, colonels B. Tsog and
G.Erendo.
The troops of the flanking groups began to secretly occupy the initial areas
The concentration of troops of flank strike groups was completed on the night of
decisive offensive. The artillerymen finished shooting. At the guns
Stacks of shells towered. Fueled at airfields
bombers with bombs attached to them. Fighters are ready to take off...