Post by dodger on Sept 10, 2013 13:32:34 GMT
Fine study of an important conflict, 9 Sep 2013
This William Podmore review is from:, Nomonhan 1939 (Hardcover)
Stuart Goldman is a scholar in residence at the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research in Washington, D.C. This is a fascinating study of the Soviet-Japanese conflict in 1938-39 along the border of Manchuria and Mongolia.
He notes that Stalin's policies had "such long-range consequences as the creation of an industrial base that made possible the defeat of Nazi armies in World War II."
Sir John Brenan of the Foreign Office noted, "The truth of the matter is that we acquired our dominant position in China as the result of our wars with that country in the nineteenth century and we can now only keep it by the same or similar methods."
The US military attaché in Moscow wrote after the 1938 Japanese-Soviet battle at Changkufeng, "any adverse effects on Red Army efficiency which may have been occasioned by the purges have now been overcome. ... The recent events around Lake Hassan have shown that the personnel of the Red Army is not only dependable, but that it can be called upon for extraordinary exploits of valor, that the material with which the Red Army is equipped is adequate and serviceable, if, indeed, it is not entitled to higher rating." The US military attaché in China, Colonel (later General) Joseph Stilwell, agreed: "the Russian troops appeared to advantage, and those who believe the Red Army is rotten would do well to reconsider their views."
Goldman writes, "By the time the Anglo-French military mission arrived [11 August], it was probably too late. Hitler had already set August 26 as the deadline for war with Poland." This refutes his earlier claim that "the conclusion of the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (August 23, 1939) ... gave Hitler the green light to invade Poland, triggering the Second World War one week later."
Japanese Colonel Inada observed, "Kwantung Army's declared policy, `not to invade, not to be invaded', actually was followed more consistently by the Soviet Union. One might have to say that despite being our enemies and under the control of a dictatorship, their moderation in command was praiseworthy."
Goldman concludes, "Stalin won the diplomatic war in 1939. But in September diplomats gave way to generals and the brilliance of Stalin's achievement was eclipsed ... Of the big five, only the Soviet Union under Josef Stalin avoided the trap of a two-front war, which in 1941-42 would probably have been disastrous for the Soviet Union. For all Stalin's faults as a wartime leader, this stands as one of his greatest accomplishments."