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86-549: 61,860–73,961 498–550 tanks 385–450 armored cars 900 aircraft (participated) ~30,000 - 40,000 73 tanks 19 tankettes 400 aircraft (participated) The Battles of Khalkhin Gol ( Russian : Бои на Халхин-Голе ; Mongolian : Халхын голын байлдаан ) were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union , Mongolia , Japan and Manchukuo in 1939. The conflict

172-947: A Fordson truck in Egypt . By the start of the new war, the German army possessed some highly effective reconnaissance vehicles, such as the Schwerer Panzerspähwagen . The Soviet BA-64 was influenced by a captured Leichter Panzerspähwagen before it was first tested in January 1942. In the second half of the war, the American M8 Greyhound and the British Daimler Armoured Cars featured turrets mounting light guns (40 mm or less). As with other wartime armored cars, their reconnaissance roles emphasized greater speed and stealth than

258-531: A Mannesmann-MULAG  [ de ] armored car to break through the Germans' lines and force the Germans to retreat. The British Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Middle East was equipped with Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars and Morris tenders. Some of these vehicles were among the last of a consignment of ex- Royal Navy armored cars that had been serving in the Middle East since 1915. In September 1940

344-603: A few cars with heavier guns. As air power became a factor, armored cars offered a mobile platform for antiaircraft guns. The first effective use of an armored vehicle in combat was achieved by the Belgian Army in August–September 1914. They had placed Cockerill armour plating and a Hotchkiss machine gun on Minerva touring cars, creating the Minerva Armored Car . Their successes in the early days of

430-468: A fictionalized account of their use. The Motor Scout was designed and built by British inventor F.R. Simms in 1898. It was the first armed petrol engine-powered vehicle ever built. The vehicle was a De Dion-Bouton quadricycle with a mounted Maxim machine gun on the front bar. An iron shield in front of the car protected the driver. Another early armed car was invented by Royal Page Davidson at Northwestern Military and Naval Academy in 1898 with

516-547: A lack of similar motor transport. On 23 July, the Japanese launched another large-scale assault, sending the 64th and 72nd Infantry Regiments against Soviet forces defending the Kawatama Bridge. Over a period of two days, Japanese artillery supported the attack with a massive barrage that consumed more than half of their ammunition stores. The attack made some progress but failed to break through Soviet lines and reach

602-762: A less threatening vehicle such as an armored car is more likely to be attacked. Many modern forces now have their dedicated armored car designs, to exploit the advantages noted above. Examples would be the M1117 armored security vehicle of the USA or Alvis Saladin of the post-World War II era in the United Kingdom. Alternatively, civilian vehicles may be modified into improvised armored cars in ad hoc fashion. Many militias and irregular forces adapt civilian vehicles into AFVs (armored fighting vehicles) and troop carriers, and in some regional conflicts these "technicals" are

688-661: A major offensive on 20 August 1939 to clear the Japanese from the Khalkhin Gol region and to end the fighting. Zhukov, using a fleet of at least 4,000 trucks (IJA officers, with hindsight, disputed this, saying he instead used 10,000 to 20,000 motor vehicles) transporting supplies from the nearest base in Chita (600 km (370 mi) away) assembled a powerful armored force of three tank brigades (the 4th, 6th and 11th), and two mechanized brigades (the 7th and 8th, which were armored car units with attached infantry support). This force

774-689: A potential war against the USSR (particularly contingent on German advances towards Moscow), the Japanese never launched an offensive against the Soviet Union. In 1941, the two countries signed agreements respecting the borders of Mongolia and Manchukuo and pledging neutrality towards each other. In the closing months of World War II, the Soviet Union annulled the Neutrality Pact and invade the Japanese territories in Manchuria, northern Korea, and

860-915: A reconnaissance aircraft, with further 385 fighters and 51 bombers requiring repairs due to combat damage. VVS ( Soviet Air Forces ) personnel losses were 88 killed in aerial combat, 11 killed by anti-aircraft artillery, 65 missing, six killed in air-strikes and four died of wounds (174 total) and 113 wounded. The Japanese combat losses were 97 fighters, 25 bombers and 41 other (mostly reconnaissance), while 128 fighters, 54 bombers and 38 other required repairs due to combat damage. The Japanese Air Force suffered 152 dead and 66 severely wounded. USSR: Bomber sorties 2,015, fighter sorties 18,509; 7.62 mm machine gun rounds fired 1,065,323; 20 mm (0.80 in) cannon rounds expended 57,979; bombs dropped 78,360 (1,200 tons). Japan: Fighter/bomber sorties 10,000 (estimated); 7.7 mm (0.30 in) machine gun rounds fired 1.6 million; bombs dropped 970 tons. While this engagement

946-844: A section of the No. 2 Squadron RAF Regiment Company was detached to General Wavell's ground forces during the first offensive against the Italians in Egypt. During the actions in the October of that year the company was employed on convoy escort tasks, airfield defense, fighting reconnaissance patrols and screening operations. During the 1941 Anglo-Iraqi War , some of the units located in the British Mandate of Palestine were sent to Iraq and drove Fordson armored cars. "Fordson" armored cars were Rolls-Royce armored cars which received new chassis from

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1032-492: A slightly different figure of 8,629 killed and 9,087 injured. The former Japanese Minister of Agriculture and Forestry estimated a total of 35,000 to 36,000 casualties The Soviets initially claimed to have inflicted 29,085 casualties on the Japanese, but later increased this to 61,000 for the official histories. In recent years, with the opening of the Soviet archives, a more accurate assessment of Soviet casualties has emerged from

1118-500: A tracked vehicle could provide, so their limited armor, armament and off-road capabilities were seen as acceptable compromises. A military armored car is a type of armored fighting vehicle having wheels (from four to ten large, off-road wheels) instead of tracks , and usually light armor . Armored cars are typically less expensive and on roads have better speed and range than tracked military vehicles. They do however have less mobility as they have less off-road capabilities because of

1204-460: A very large advantage in technology, numbers and firepower, yet still suffered huge losses, which Grigorenko blamed on poor leadership. The battle was the first victory for the soon-to-be-famous Soviet general Zhukov, earning him the first of his four Hero of the Soviet Union awards. The two other generals, Grigori Shtern and Yakov Smushkevich , had important roles and were also awarded the Hero of

1290-774: Is little known in the West, it played an important part in subsequent Japanese conduct in World War II. The battle earned the Kwantung Army the displeasure of officials in Tokyo, not so much due to its defeat, but because battles were initiated and escalated without direct authorization from the Japanese government. This defeat combined with the Chinese resistance in the Second Sino-Japanese War , together with

1376-453: Is said to be more compatible with tight urban spaces designed for wheeled vehicles. However, they do have a larger turning radius compared to tracked vehicles which can turn on the spot and their tires are vulnerable and are less capable in climbing and crushing obstacles. Further, when there is true combat they are easily outgunned and lightly armored. The threatening appearance of a tank is often enough to keep an opponent from attacking, whereas

1462-742: The 12th Air Army . In the Soviet invasion of Manchuria it led the attack into Japanese-occupied Manchuria . Although the Kwantung Army of the Imperial Japanese Army had more than 1 million soldiers, the Japanese defenders were overwhelmed by the offensive. Allied forces of Mongolia and Chiang Kai-shek 's Nationalist China aided the Soviet operation. On August 19, the Far East Front continued its routing of

1548-567: The Battle of Lake Khasan . On the eve of the invasion of the Soviet Union by Germany, the Front comprised: On August 5, 1945, the Front was divided and reorganized as the 1st Far Eastern Front and 2nd Far Eastern Front: 2nd Far Eastern Front , under General M. A. Purkayev (aimed at eastern Manchukuo ), including: 1st Far Eastern Front , under Marshal K. A. Meretskov (aimed at northern Manchukuo), including: Transbaikal Front included

1634-534: The Battle of Stalingrad , using a technique very similar to Khalkhin Gol, in which the Soviet forces held the enemy fixed in the center, built up an undetected mass force in the immediate rear area, and launched a pincer attack on the wings to trap the German army. Although their victory and the subsequent negotiation of the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact secured the Far East for the duration of

1720-465: The Davidson-Duryea gun carriage and the later Davidson Automobile Battery armored car . However, these were not "armored cars" as the term is understood today, as they provided little protection for their crews from enemy fire. At the beginning of the 20th century, the first military armored vehicles were manufactured by adding armor and weapons to existing vehicles. The first armored car

1806-553: The Great Purge . He took with him a large number of secret documents that allegedly revealed the dire situation of the Soviet army in the Far East. The first major Soviet-Japanese border incident, the Battle of Lake Khasan , occurred in 1938 in Primorye . Clashes between Japanese and Soviet forces occurred frequently along the border of Manchuria. In 1939, Manchuria was a puppet state of Japan known as Manchukuo , and Mongolia

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1892-536: The Hussite rebels in Bohemia. These were deployed in formations where the horses and oxen were at the centre, and the surrounding wagons were chained together as protection from enemy cavalry. With the invention of the steam engine , Victorian inventors designed prototype self-propelled armored vehicles for use in sieges, although none were deployed in combat. H. G. Wells ' short story " The Land Ironclads " provides

1978-630: The Royal Naval Armoured Car Division reaching a strength of 20 squadrons before disbanded in 1915. and the armoured cars passing to the army as part of the Machine Gun Corps. Only NO.1 Squadron was retained; it was sent to Russia. As the Western Front turned to trench warfare unsuitable to wheeled vehicles, the armoured cars were moved to other areas. The 2nd Duke of Westminster took No. 2 Squadron of

2064-460: The Soviet Union declared war on Japan and invaded Manchukuo and other territories after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima . Combat losses include aircraft shot down during aerial combat, written off due to combat damage or destroyed on the ground. Non-combat losses include aircraft that were lost due to accidents, as well as write-offs of warplanes due to the end of their service life. Thus Soviet combat losses amount to 163 fighters, 44 bombers, and

2150-597: The Soviet-German War , the Red Army always remained cautious about the possibility of another, larger Japanese incursion as late as early 1944. In December 1943, when the American military mission proposed a logistics base be set up east of Lake Baikal, the Red Army authorities, were according to Coox, "shocked by the idea and literally turned white". The Red Army kept a large force in the Far East even during

2236-881: The armoured personnel carrier , resulting in such multipurpose designs as the BTR-40 or the Cadillac Gage Commando . Postwar advances in recoil control technology have also made it possible for a few armoured cars, including the B1 Centauro , the Panhard AML , the AMX-10 RC and EE-9 Cascavel , to carry a large cannon capable of threatening many tanks. During the Middle Ages, war wagons covered with steel plate, and crewed by men armed with primitive hand cannon , flails and muskets , were used by

2322-471: The 7th Infantry, 24th Engineer Regiment, and a battalion from the 13th Field-Artillery Regiment, all under the overall command of Lieutenant General Yasuoka Masaomi . This force would attack Soviet troops on the east bank of the Khalkhin Gol and north of the Holsten River . The two Japanese thrusts were to join on the wings. The order of battle was thus: The northern task force succeeded in crossing

2408-531: The British Ferret are armed with just a machine gun. Heavier vehicles are armed with autocannon or a large caliber gun. The heaviest armored cars, such as the German, World War II era Sd.Kfz. 234 or the modern, US M1128 mobile gun system , mount the same guns that arm medium tanks. Armored cars are popular for peacekeeping or internal security duties. Their appearance is less confrontational and threatening than tanks, and their size and maneuverability

2494-404: The Japanese enter the war on Hitler's side ... our cause is hopeless." The Japanese similarly considered the result not a failing of tactics, but one that simply highlighted a need to address the material disparity between themselves and their neighbours. They made several reforms as a result of this battle: Tank production was increased from 500 annually to 1,200 in 1939. A mechanized headquarters

2580-527: The Japanese war effort, but the European colonial powers were weakening and suffering early defeats in the war with Germany; only the US Pacific Fleet stood in the way of seizing the oil-rich Dutch East Indies. Because of this, Japan's focus was ultimately directed to the south, leading to its decision to launch the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December of that year. Despite plans being made for

2666-555: The Khalkhin Gol, driving the Soviets from Baintsagan Hill, and advancing south along the west bank. However, Zhukov, perceiving the threat, launched a counterattack with 450 tanks and armored cars. The tanks consisted of primarily BT tanks with a handful of T-26s , while the armored cars were BA-10s and BA-3/6s , which were similar in armor (6–15 mm (0.24–0.59 in)) and armament (main: 45 mm (2 in) gun 20K mod, secondary: two 7.62 mm (0.30 in) machine guns) to

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2752-514: The Khalkin Gol, destroy Soviet forces on Baintsagan Hill on the west bank, then make a left turn and advance south to the Kawatama Bridge. The second prong of the attack would be the task of the IJA 1st Tank Corps (1st TC) ( Yasuoka Detachment ), consisting of the 3rd and 4th Tank Regiments , plus a part of the 64th Infantry Regiment , a battalion from the 28th Infantry Regiment , detached from

2838-512: The Kwantung Army by capturing Harbin and Mukden . By August 21, the Red Army had captured almost all of Manchuria , and the final surrender of the Kwantung Army took place. On August 11 to 12, 1945, the 87th Rifle Corps was brought out from the reserve of the 1st Far Eastern Front, and received new orders to prepare for landing operations on the island of Hokkaido (Japan); however, the planned operation never took place, although elements of

2924-471: The Kwantung Army without obtaining permission from Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) headquarters in Tokyo. In an effort to prevent the incident from escalating, Tokyo promptly ordered the JAAF not to conduct any more air-strikes against Soviet airbases. Throughout June there were reports of Soviet and Mongolian activity on both sides of the river near Nomonhan and small-scale attacks on isolated Manchukoan units. At

3010-604: The Mongolian side of the border were destroyed, leaving remnants of the 23rd Division on the Manchurian side. The Soviets had achieved their objective. The Soviet Union and Japan agreed to a cease-fire on 15 September; it took effect the following day at 1:10 pm. Japanese records report 8,440 killed, 8,766 wounded, 162 aircraft lost in combat, and 42 tanks lost (of which 29 were later repaired and redeployed). Roughly 500 to 600 Japanese and Manchus were taken prisoner during

3096-573: The Mongolians and drove them back across the river Khalkhin Gol. On 13 May, the Mongolian force returned in greater numbers and the Manchukoans failed to dislodge them. On 14 May, Lt. Col. Yaozo Azuma led the reconnaissance regiment of the 23rd Infantry Division, supported by the 64th Infantry Regiment of the same division, under Colonel Takemitsu Yamagata , into the territory and the Mongolians withdrew. Soviet and Mongolian troops returned to

3182-1275: The RNAS to France in March 1915 in time to make a noted contribution to the Second Battle of Ypres , and thereafter the cars with their master were sent to the Middle East to play a part in the British campaign in Palestine and elsewhere The Duke led a motorised convoy including nine armoured cars across the Western Desert in North Africa to rescue the survivors of the sinking of the SS Tara which had been kidnapped and taken to Bir Hakiem. In Africa, Rolls Royce armoured cars were active in German South West Africa and Lanchester Armoured Cars in British East Africa against German forces to

3268-649: The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of Mongolia signed an Mutual Assistance Pact in March 1936, allowing the former to send troops to Mongolia. In the same year, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact in response. Following Japan's full invasion of China in July 1937, the Soviet Union sent the 57th Special Corps led by Ivan Konev to Mongolia. On June 13, Genrikh Lyushkov , a Soviet NKVD major general who knew Stalin personally, defected to Japan for fear of

3354-520: The Soviet Union. Additionally, the Kwantung Army, which had long been stationed in Manchuria far from the Japanese Home Islands, had become largely autonomous and tended to act without approval from, or even against the direction of, the Japanese government. The battles began on 11 May 1939. A Mongolian cavalry unit of some 70 to 90 men had entered the disputed area in search of grazing for their horses. On that day, Manchu cavalry attacked

3440-613: The Soviet Union. They would, however, both be executed in the 1941 Purges . Zhukov himself was promoted and transferred west to the Kiev district. The battle experience gained by Zhukov was put to good use in December 1941 at the Battle of Moscow . Zhukov used his experience to launch the first successful Soviet counteroffensive against the German invasion. Many units of the Siberian and other trans-Ural armies were part of this attack, and

3526-482: The Soviet light tanks. The Soviet armored force, despite being unsupported by infantry, attacked the Japanese on three sides and nearly encircled them. The Japanese force, further handicapped by having only one pontoon bridge across the river for supplies, was forced to withdraw, recrossing the river on 5 July. Meanwhile, the 1st Tank Corps of the Yasuoka Detachment (the southern task force) attacked on

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3612-406: The Soviets launched three aggressive probing assaults, one on 3 August and the others on 7/8 August. All three were disastrously thrown back, with around 1,000 combined dead and several tanks knocked out on the Soviet side compared to just 85 Japanese casualties. The Japanese counterattacked and routed elements of the Mongolian 8th Cavalry Division, seizing a hilly sector of the battlefront. Despite

3698-401: The Soviets lost a large amount of material including 253 tanks, 250 aircraft (including 208 in combat), 96 artillery pieces, and 133 armored cars. Of the Soviet tank losses, 75–80% were destroyed by anti-tank guns, 15–20% by field artillery, 5–10% by infantry-thrown incendiary bombs, 2–3% by aircraft, and 2–3% by hand grenades and mines. The large number of Soviet armor casualties are reflected in

3784-707: The United States was Tsuji Masanobu". Tsuji later wrote that his experience of Soviet fire-power at Nomonhan convinced him not to attack the Soviet Union in 1941. On 24 June 1941, two days after the war on the Eastern Front broke out, the Japanese army and navy leaders adopted a resolution "not intervening in German Soviet war for the time being". In August 1941, Japan and the Soviet Union reaffirmed their neutrality pact. The United States and Britain had imposed an oil embargo on Japan, threatening to stop

3870-486: The battle (estimated at 28,000–40,000 troops, despite Soviet claims that they were facing 75,000) and other sources put Japanese casualties at 25,000 dead. According to the records of the Bureau 6A hospital, the Japanese casualties amounted to 7,696 killed, 8,647 wounded, 1,021 missing, and 2,350 sick, for a total of 19,714 personnel losses, including 2,895 Manchu casualties. The Kwantung Army headquarters and their records give

3956-414: The battles. Due to a military doctrine that prohibited surrender, the Japanese listed most of these men as killed in action, for the benefit of their families. Some sources put the Japanese casualties at 45,000 or more killed, with Soviet casualties of at least 17,000. However, these estimates for Japanese casualties are considered inaccurate as they exceed the total strength of the Japanese forces involved in

4042-574: The bleakest days of the war in Europe. For example, on July 1, 1942, Soviet forces in the Far East consisted of 1,446,012 troops, 11,759 artillery pieces, 2,589 tanks and self-propelled guns, and 3,178 combat aircraft. Despite this, the Soviet operations chief of the Far Eastern Front, General A. K. Kazakovtsev, was not confident in his army group's ability to stop an invasion if the Japanese committed to it (at least in 1941–1942), commenting: "If

4128-444: The border between Siberia and Manchuria. The Mongolian troops mainly consisted of cavalry brigades and light artillery units, and proved to be effective and agile, but lacked armor and manpower in sufficient numbers. From May 1938, the commander of the Soviet forces and of the Far East Front was Komandarm Grigori Shtern . On 2 June 1939, Comcor Georgy Zhukov was told by Commissar of Defence Kliment Voroshilov that Stalin

4214-400: The bridge. The Japanese disengaged from the attack on 25 July due to mounting casualties and depleted artillery stores. By this point they had suffered over 5,000 casualties between late May and 25 July, with Soviet losses being much higher but more easily replaced. The battle drifted into a stalemate. With war apparently imminent in Europe, and to avoid fighting a two front war, Zhukov planned

4300-400: The combat zone. Accompanying Zhukov was Comcor Yakov Smushkevich with his aviation unit. Zhamyangiyn Lhagvasuren , Corps Commissar of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army , was appointed Zhukov's deputy. On 27 June the Japanese Army Air Force 's 2nd Air Brigade struck the Soviet airbase at Tamsak-Bulak in Mongolia. The Japanese won this engagement, but the strike had been ordered by

4386-427: The crushingly one-sided Battle of France and the signing of the Tripartite Pact . He returned with a report where he stressed the need for mechanization and more medium tanks. Accordingly, plans were put underway for the formation of 10 new armoured divisions in the near future. Armored car (military) Since World War II the traditional functions of the armored car have been occasionally combined with that of

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4472-406: The decision to move these divisions from Siberia was aided by the Soviet spy Richard Sorge in Tokyo, who alerted the Soviet government that the Japanese were looking south and were unlikely to launch another attack against Siberia in the immediate future. A year after defending Moscow against the advancing Germans, Zhukov planned and executed the Red Army 's offensive, i.e. Operation Uranus , at

4558-485: The disputed region, however, and Azuma's force again moved to evict them, but the Soviet-Mongolian forces surrounded Azuma's force on 28 May and destroyed it. The Azuma force suffered eight officers and 97 men killed and one officer and 33 men wounded, for 63% total casualties. Both sides increased their forces in the area. Soon Japan had 30,000 men in the theater. Zhukov, the new corps commander, arrived on 5 June, bringing more motorized and armored forces (I Army Group) to

4644-494: The end of the month, the commander of the 23rd Japanese Infantry Division, Lt. Gen. Michitarō Komatsubara, received permission to "expel the invaders". The Japanese planned a two-pronged assault. The first attack would be made by three regiments plus part of a fourth: the 71st and the 72nd Infantry Regiment (23rd Division), a battalion of the 64th Infantry Regiment and the 26th Infantry Regiment under Colonel Shinichiro Sumi (7th Infantry Division). This force would advance across

4730-401: The entire Kwantung Army. In addition to this, the 23rd Division was equipped with outdated equipment. Japanese army experts rated the combat capability of the 23rd Division as "below medium", comparable to a garrison division on occupation duty in China. The Soviet forces consisted of the 57th Special Corps , deployed from the Transbaikal Military District . They were responsible for defending

4816-408: The fact that no more major fighting would take place until 20 August, Japanese casualties continued to mount at a rate of 40 wounded per day. Kwantung Army staff officers were becoming increasingly worried over the disorganized state of the 6th Army headquarters and supply elements. The growing casualty count meant that the green 23rd Division would have to take, train and assimilate new replacements "on

4902-420: The first fighter-bomber offensive in Soviet Air Force history. Approximately 50,000 Soviet and Mongolian soldiers of the 57th Special Corps attacked the east bank of the Khalkhin Gol. Three infantry divisions and a tank brigade crossed the river, supported by massed artillery and by the Soviet Air Force. Once the Japanese were pinned down by the attack of Soviet center units, Soviet armored units swept around

4988-503: The flanks and attacked the Japanese in the rear, achieving a classic double envelopment . When the Soviet wings linked up at Nomonhan village on 25 August, they trapped the Japanese 23rd Infantry Division. On 26 August, a Japanese counterattack to relieve the 23rd Division failed. On 27 August the 23rd Division attempted to break out of the encirclement but failed. When the surrounded forces refused to surrender, they were again hit with artillery and air attacks. By 31 August, Japanese forces on

5074-575: The higher ground pressure. They also have less obstacle climbing capabilities than tracked vehicles. Wheels are more vulnerable to enemy fire than tracks, they have a higher signature and in most cases less armor than comparable tracked vehicles. As a result, they are not intended for heavy fighting; their normal use is for reconnaissance , command, control, and communications, or for use against lightly armed insurgents or rioters. Only some are intended to enter close combat, often accompanying convoys to protect soft-skinned vehicles. Light armored cars, such as

5160-444: The job". By contrast, Tokyo's oft-stated desire that it would not escalate the fighting at Khalkhin Gol proved immensely relieving to the Soviets, freed to hand-pick select units from across the military to be concentrated for a local offensive without fear of Japanese retaliation elsewhere. Zhukov decided it was time to break the stalemate. At 05:45 on 20 August 1939, Soviet artillery and 557 aircraft attacked Japanese positions,

5246-421: The manpower losses for Soviet tank crews. A total of 1,559 Soviet "Tank Troops" were killed or wounded during the battles. Mongolian casualties were 556–990, with at least 11 armored cars destroyed and 1,921 horses and camels lost. Nomonhan was the first use of airpower on a massive scale in a high-intensity battle to obtain a specific military objective. The combatants remained at peace until August 1945, when

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5332-422: The night of 2 July, moving in the darkness to avoid the Soviet artillery on the high ground of the river's west bank. A pitched battle ensued in which the Yasuoka Detachment lost over half its armor, but still could not break through the Soviet forces on the east bank and reach the Kawatama Bridge. After a Soviet counterattack on 9 July threw the battered, depleted Yasuoka Detachment back, it was dissolved and Yasuoka

5418-709: The only combat vehicles present. On occasion, even the soldiers of national militaries are forced to adapt their civilian-type vehicles for combat use, often using improvised armor and scrounged weapons. In the 1930s, a new sub-class of armored car emerged in the United States, known as the scout car . This was a compact light armored car which was either unarmed or armed only with machine guns for self-defense. Scout cars were designed as purpose-built reconnaissance vehicles for passive observation and intelligence gathering. Armored cars which carried large caliber, turreted weapons systems were not considered scout cars. The concept gained popularity worldwide during World War II and

5504-444: The period was the French Charron, Girardot et Voigt 1902 , presented at the Salon de l'Automobile et du cycle in Brussels , on 8 March 1902. The vehicle was equipped with a Hotchkiss machine gun , and with 7 mm (0.28 in) armour for the gunner. One of the first operational armored cars with four wheel (4x4) drive and partly enclosed rotating turret, was the Austro-Daimler Panzerwagen built by Austro-Daimler in 1904. It

5590-430: The resources of Southeast Asia, especially the petroleum and mineral-rich Dutch East Indies . Masanobu Tsuji , the Japanese colonel who had helped instigate the Nomonhan incident, was one of the strongest proponents of the attack on Pearl Harbor . General Ryūkichi Tanaka , Chief of the Army Ministry's Military Service Bureau in 1941, testified after the war that "the most determined single protagonist in favor of war with

5676-780: The roof of the drive compartment as needed. The Spanish Schneider-Brillié was the first armored vehicle to be used in combat, being first used in the Kert Campaign . The vehicle was equipped with two machineguns and built from a bus chassis. An armored car known as the ''Death Special'' was built at the CFI plant in Pueblo and used by the Badlwin-Felts detective agency during the Colorado Coalfield War . A great variety of armored cars appeared on both sides during World War I and these were used in various ways. Generally, armored cars were used by more or less independent car commanders. However, sometimes they were used in larger units up to squadron size. The cars were primarily armed with light machine guns, but larger units usually employed

5762-411: The signing of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact (which deprived the Army of the basis of its war policy against the USSR), moved the Imperial General Staff in Tokyo away from the policy of the North Strike Group favored by the Army, which wanted to seize Siberia for its resources as far as Lake Baikal . Instead, support shifted to the South Strike Group , favored by the Navy, which wanted to seize

5848-430: The south. Armored cars also saw action on the Eastern Front. From 18 February - 26 March 1915, the German army under General Max von Gallwitz attempted to break through the Russian lines in and around the town of Przasnysz , Poland, (about 110 km / 68 miles north of Warsaw) during the Battle of Przasnysz (Polish: Bitwa przasnyska ). Near the end of the battle, the Russians used four Russo-Balt armored cars and

5934-418: The southern part of Sakhalin island. Following the battle, the Soviets generally found the results unsatisfactory, despite their victory. Though the Soviet forces in the Far East in 1939 were not plagued by fundamental issues to the same extent as those in Europe during the 1941 campaigns, their generals were still unimpressed by their army's performance. As noted by Pyotr Grigorenko , the Red Army went in with

6020-416: The vehicles provided by a local shipbuilder. In London Murray Sueter ordered "fighting cars" based on Rolls-Royce, Talbot and Wolseley chassis. By the time Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars arrived in December 1914, the mobile period on the Western Front was already over. More tactically important was the development of formed units of armored cars, such as the Canadian Automobile Machine Gun Brigade , which

6106-544: The war convinced the Belgian GHQ to create a Corps of Armoured Cars , who would be sent to fight on the Eastern front once the western front immobilized after the Battle of the Yser . The British Royal Naval Air Service dispatched aircraft to Dunkirk to defend the UK from Zeppelins. The officers' cars followed them and these began to be used to rescue downed reconnaissance pilots in the battle areas. They mounted machine guns on them and as these excursions became increasingly dangerous, they improvised boiler plate armoring on

6192-453: The work of Grigoriy Krivosheev , who in 1993 cited 7,974 killed and 15,251 wounded. In the newer, 2001 edition, the Soviet losses are given as 9,703 killed and missing (6,472 killed and died of wounds during evacuation, 1,152 died of wounds in hospitals, eight died of disease, 2,028 missing, 43 non-combat dead), 15,251 wounded, and a further 701 to 2,225 sick, totaling between 25,655 and 27,179 casualties. In addition to their personnel losses,

6278-586: Was a communist state allied with the Soviet Union , known as the Mongolian People's Republic . The Japanese maintained that the border between Manchukuo and Mongolia was the Khalkhin Gol (English "Khalkha River") which flows into Lake Buir . In contrast, the Mongolians and their Soviet allies maintained that the border ran some 16 kilometres (10 mi) east of the river, just east of Nomonhan village. The principal occupying army of Manchukuo

6364-709: Was a front — a level of military formation that is equivalent to army group — of the Red Army during the Second World War . Тhe Far Eastern Front was created on June 28, 1938 from the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army within the Far East Military District . It included the 1st Red Banner Army and the 2nd Red Banner Army . In 1938 Front forces — seemingly the Soviet 32nd Rifle Division of 39th Rifle Corps — engaged Japanese Manchukuo forces at

6450-448: Was allocated to the Soviet left and right wings. The entire Soviet force consisted of three rifle divisions, two tank divisions and two more tank brigades (in all, some 498 BT-5 and BT-7 tanks), two motorized infantry divisions, and over 550 fighters and bombers. The Mongolians committed two cavalry divisions. In comparison, at the point of contact, the Kwantung Army had only the 23rd Infantry Division, which with various attached forces

6536-440: Was armored with 3–3.5 mm (0.12–0.14 in) thick curved plates over the body (drive space and engine) and had a 4 mm (0.16 in) thick dome-shaped rotating turret that housed one or two machine-guns. It had a four-cylinder 35 hp (26 kW) 4.4 L (270 cu in) engine giving it average cross country performance. Both the driver and co-driver had adjustable seats enabling them to raise them to see out of

6622-646: Was dissatisfied with the local commander and he was to go to Mongolia, take command of the 57th Special Corps and eliminate Japanese provocations by inflicting a decisive reverse on the Imperial Japanese Army. (When summoned to Moscow on 1 June, Zhukov had feared he was to be arrested and interrogated by the NKVD .) In 1939, the Japanese Cabinet sent instructions to the Kwantung Army to strengthen and fortify Manchukuo's borders with Mongolia and

6708-456: Was equivalent to two light infantry divisions. Its headquarters had been at Hailar, over 150 km (93 mi) from the fighting. Japanese intelligence, despite demonstrating an ability to track the build-up of Zhukov's force, failed to precipitate an appropriate response from below. Thus, when the Soviets finally did launch their offensive, Komatsubara was caught off-guard. To test the Japanese defences prior to their main assault on 20 August,

6794-714: Was especially favored in nations where reconnaissance theory emphasized passive observation over combat. Examples of armored cars also classified as scout cars include the Soviet BRDM series , the British Ferret , the Brazilian EE-3 Jararaca , the Hungarian D-442 FÚG , and the American Cadillac Gage Commando Scout . Far East Front The Far Eastern Front ( Russian : Дальневосточный фронт)

6880-465: Was established in early 1941, and the new Type 1 47 mm anti-tank gun was introduced as a response to the Soviet 45 mm. These cannons were mounted on Type 97 Chi-Ha tanks, resulting in the Type 97 ShinHoTo Chi-Ha ("New Turret") variant, which became the IJA's standard medium tank by 1942. IGHQ also dispatched General Tomoyuki Yamashita to Germany in order to learn more about tank tactics, following

6966-634: Was named after the river Khalkhin Gol , which passes through the battlefield. In Japan, the decisive battle of the conflict is known as the Nomonhan Incident ( ノモンハン事件 , Nomonhan jiken ) after Nomonhan , a nearby village on the border between Mongolia and Manchuria . The battles resulted in the defeat of the Japanese Sixth Army. After the Japanese occupation of Manchuria in 1931, Japan turned its military interests to Soviet territories that bordered those areas. Meanwhile,

7052-528: Was powered by a four-cylinder 3.3 L (200 cu in) 16 hp (12 kW) Cannstatt Daimler engine, giving it a maximum speed of around 9 mph (14 km/h). The armament, consisting of two Maxim guns , was carried in two turrets with 360° traverse. It had a crew of four. Simms' Motor War Car was presented at the Crystal Palace , London , in April 1902. Another early armored car of

7138-475: Was relieved. The two armies continued to spar with each other over the next two weeks along a four-kilometre (2.5 mi) front running along the east bank of the Khalkhin Gol to its junction with the Holsten River. Zhukov, whose army was 748 km (465 mi) away from its base of supply, assembled a fleet of 2,600 trucks to supply his troops, while the Japanese suffered severe supply problems due to

7224-472: Was the Kwantung Army of Japan, consisting of some of the best Japanese units in 1939. However, the western region of Manchukuo was garrisoned by the relatively newly formed 23rd Infantry Division at Hailar under General Michitarō Komatsubara and included several Manchu army and border guard units all under the direct command of the Sixth Army . The 23rd was the newest and least experienced division in

7310-509: Was the Simms' Motor War Car , designed by F.R. Simms and built by Vickers, Sons & Maxim of Barrow on a special Coventry -built Daimler chassis with a German-built Daimler motor in 1899. and a single prototype was ordered in April 1899 The prototype was finished in 1902, too late to be used during the Boer War . The vehicle had Vickers armor, 6 mm (0.24 in) thick, and

7396-593: Was the first fully mechanized unit in the history. The brigade was established on September 2, 1914, in Ottawa , as Automobile Machine Gun Brigade No. 1 by Brigadier-General Raymond Brutinel . The brigade was originally equipped with eight Armoured Autocars mounting two machine guns. By 1918 Brutinel's force consisted of two motor machine gun brigades (each of five gun batteries containing eight weapons apiece). The brigade, and its armored cars, provided yeoman service in many battles, notably at Amiens. The RNAS section became

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