May 28, 2020
Command Ops 2 Core Game - feathergrass
Soviet riflemen, Far Eastern region, 1938
Ok guys, here's the second part.
I've deliberately made it completely disconnected from the previous one trying not to break the immersion effect. There's no peeking into Japanese side here, the entire post is written from Soviet perspective.
Sorry if you find there some stylistic mistakes and typos, I don't have much time to proofread it this evening.
Small hint: Komdiv (division commander) is a Major General equivalent; Komkor (corps commander) is a Lieutenant General equivalent; Komandarm 1st rank (army commander 1st rank) is an equivalent to Colonel General, General of the Army, or Field Marshal in other nations.
Also, you may find some details about Soviet armored cars here, if you haven't already.
Red Army perspective
May 15-16th, Alarm
57th Special Corps was Soviet Union's expeditionary force in Mongolia, created and deployed in March 1936 as a part of the broad military co-operation program agreed that year.By mid-May, 1939, its commander, Komdiv Feklenko, was worried about the increasing activity of Manchukuoan and Japanese forces, who continued violating the border of Mongolia. The growing anxiousness and irritation in Moscow was not particularly encouraging, too.
Situation at the border was gradually deteriorating for last few months, but it started getting even worse over past few weeks.
May 11th, a group of 40 Manchukuoan horsemen, supported with a mortar and several LMGs, have attacked Mongolian border guards at the eastern bank of Khalkhyn-Gol. Mongolian border guards were forced behind the river, but then the arrived reinforcements from 7th Border Guards Outpost helped to repulse the attack and secure the border again.
May 14th, about 300 Japanese-Manchukuoan soldiers where spotted near the border and also Mongolian border guards were strafed by two low-flying Japanese planes.
May 15th, five Japanese light bombers have bombed 7th Border Guards Outpost, killing 2 and wounding 19 people.
These events looked more like the undeclared war, rather than a mere border incident. After May 15th there were no new reports coming from the border anymore, so it was unclear who's in control of the border now and what are those 300 enemy soldiers are doing.
Komdiv Feklenko, CO 57th Special Corps
However, for four days May 11-15th HQ 57th Corps did not know anything about these events at all. The phone line from Tamtsag-Bulak (very small town 120 km from the border, actually the only town in the area and also the only Soviet-Mongolian garrison) was out of order quite often.
Only four days later, May 15th, Battlegroup Bykov - the only Soviet unit garrisoned in Tamtsag-Bulak, basically a reinforced motorized rifle battalion - got back online and reported Feklenko about the situation.
The problem was, that very same day Moscow has learned about the incident - not from Feklenko, but from Western newspapers!
So they have started calling Corps HQ and demanding answers. But Feklenko was not at his HQ that day, inspecting one of his units; that definitely didn't help to soothe Moscow's irritation.
Marshal of the Soviet Union Voroshilov, People's Commissar for Defense
Komandarm 1st Rank Shaposhnikov, Chief of General Staff
Next day morning Feklenko has arrived at his HQ and reported to Moscow that he has put 57th Corps on alert and ordered to reinforce border guards with two Mongolian cavalry squadrons and 4 MMGs.
He has also dispatched a Soviet recon detachment (armored car platoon, motor rifle platoon and 3 AT guns) from Battlegroup Bykov to scout the area east of the river and support Mongolian troops in case of hostilities.
Also, he have ordered some ground units redeployment: 9th Armored Car Brigade and 149th Motorized Rifle Regiment were ordered to move closer to the Khalkhyn-Gol sector (due to huge distances in Mongolia this would take few days).
Finally, he has asked Moscow then for the permission to conduct a limited counterattack and destroy the Japanese-Manchukuoan battelgroup, who has supposedly crossed the border, using the full strength of Mongolian 6th Cavalry Division.
Moscow refused this request and ordered Feklenko to perform thorough reconnaissance first, using his air assets and ground troops in order to understand what's going on there in general, who's in control of the border, and what is the size and intentions of enemy forces.
May 17-20th, Intrusion Confirmed
The situation became clearer during May 17-19th. It was found out that, actually, May 15th Mongolian border guards were forced to retreat behind the river by Japanese-Mongolian battlegroup.Afterwards, scouts of Mongolian 6th Cavalry Division has tried to cross the river, but their attempts had to be cancelled due to enemy fire.
So, now the 20-25km piece of Mongolian soil was occupied by Japanese-Manchukuoan troops. Also, Japanese planes have violated the Mongolian space many times, bombing and strafing border guards and cavalrymen of 6th Cavalry Division, causing some casualties.
Mongolian cavalrymen, note the tiny stature of Mongolian horses
Feklenko understood border guards and several cavalry squadrons won't be able to take that territory back. So he again, like few days ago, has asked Moscow's to permit a limited attack with the full strength of Mongolian 6th Cavalry Division and Battlegroup Bykov and destroy the intruders.
Once again, Moscow refused and ordered Feklenko to perform more thorough reconnaissance to clarify what enemy forces may be located in the depth, if enemy artillery is present in the area, where are enemy flanks, and if there are other hostile troops along the border.
Moscow believed the incident could be a part of a larger Japanese scheme, so they were very unwilling to be lured into the escalation unless there was no other choice.
In the meantime, Feklenko has ordered Col Ivenkov, 57th Corps' Operations Officer, to dispatch for Tamtsag-Bulak by plane. This was an attempt to imrpove the co-ordination between Battlegroup Bykove, Mongolian troops and HQ 57th Coprs.
Also, some additional artillery and engineer elements of 11th Tank Brigade and 36th Motorized Rifle Division were dispatched for Tamtsag-Bulak to reinforce Battlegroup Bykov, still the only Soviet unit in the immediate vicinity of the incident.
May 20-22nd, Moscow is Angered
But what was even worse, there have reported also the first Soviet casualties.May 20th, Bykov's reconnaissance platoon, supporting Mongolian cavalrymen, has attempted to cross the river but had encountered a Manchukuoan cavalry.
After a four hours of a firefight, the platoon had to retreat back to the western bank. Unfortunately, the platoon's medic, MSG Drob, has disappeared during the retreat and got captured by Japanese. Nine days later he was mentioned in Reuters' newsreel, although for some reason they have promoted Master Sergeant Drob to "Major Dropu".
May 21st, Japanese planes again have been strafing Mongolian border guards and 6th Cavalry Division, killing one and wounding six people.
Also, that day Japanese fighters have attacked Soviet R-5Sh of a 150th Mixed Air Regiment conducting a liaison flight to 6th Cavalry Division. Its pilot was killed, but heavily wounded navigator was able to land their damaged plane.
R-5Sh similar to the one downed on May 21st
Next day five Japanese Ki-27 fighters attacked a group of 3 I-16 and 2 I-15 Soviet fighters (70th Fighter Air Regiment) conducting an air patrol over the river. One I-16 was shot down without any damages caused to Japanese.
An artistic rendering of an air fight between I-16 and Ki-27
Unfortunately, squadrons of the Corps' 100th Air Brigade were equipped with some really bad pilots then. Before the conflict the theater was considered to be an "Asshole of the World", for where young pilots, who've just finished flight schools, or some remarkably bad pilots from more prestigious military districts were transferred.
Additionally, many pilots in the Brigade were found unfit for flying by medical commission just before the incident and were transferred away, so squadrons also were lacking flying personnel.
Not only Soviet pilots in the area were often poor flyers, but they have been also lacking other vital skills. December 1938, merely a half-year before the incident, seven pilots of 3rd Squadron of 70th Fighter Air Regiment were assessed for navigational skill: not a single pilot was able pass the exam with "excellent" or "good" mark; three pilots were assessed for "satisfactory" and four for "bad" mark.
Untrained, often untalented, having little or no flight practice, many Soviet pilots would be just an easy prey for well-trained and experienced Japanese army pilots in the opening weeks of the conflict.
Needless to say, bad news from the air have angered Moscow quite a lot.
May 22nd, Voroshilov and Shaposhnikov together called Feklenko directly. They were asking him to explain why ten days after the escalation there is still no detailed reconnaissance about Japanese-Manchukuoan ground forces available, why Japanese are shooting down Soviet planes unopposed, why such a slow planes as R-5 are permitted to fly near the border unescorted, why Feklenko's Air Brigade is so low on flying personnel and so on.
Amidst of the call, irritated Voroshilov made a scornful remark, saying that: "Comrade Feklenko, had I not met you in person before, [from what you're telling me now] I would assume that you're a poshekhonets" (literally - a dweller of Poshehonye region in North-Western Russia, figurative - very stupid, unfit and ill-fated person).
Two days later, Komkor Zhukov was dispatched from Moscow for Mongolia with the mission of inspecting and assessing the combat readiness of 57th Special Corps HQ and its units. In particular, one of Zhukov's task was to investigate the reasons for unsatisfactory performance of Corps' command and staff.
May 21-27th, Back to the Border
May 21st, several squadrons of Mongolian 6th Cavalry Division, supported by the reconnaissance detachment of Battlegroup Bykov, have finally managed to cross the river and reach the border, driving back Manchukuoan scouts and border guards. Strong Japanese-Manchukuoan battlegroup reported earlier was not there anymore, thus the occasional resistance was quickly suppressed and Manchukuoan border guards were forced back behind the border.Moscow must have been happy now, as the problem was just resolved on its own, without any escalation. On the other hand, they didn't want it to reoccur again.
May 22nd, Voroshilov has ordered Soviet-Mongolian troops to secure the border and establish a defensive perimeter. Next day, all units of Mongolian 6th Cavalry Division have crossed the river and started taking defensive positions ca. 10 km from the crossing and several km from the border.
In the meantime, May 26th, 70th Sapper Coy from Battlegroup Bykov has finished building the pontoon bridge across the Khalkhyn-Gol.
Two motorized rifle companies and an ATG platoon from Bykov's Group were now able to cross the river and started preparing defensive positions at the flanks of 6th Cavalry Division's. The rest of the Group was standing in Group's reserve at the western bank.
149th Motorized Rifle Regiment (minus one battalion), one artillery battalion and 9th Armored Car Brigade were in Tamtsag-Bulak in Feklenko's reserve.
Now, Soviet-Mongolian battlegroup was ready to meet Japanese and their Manchukuoan allies, if they would dare to invade again.
Red Army Setup and OoB
Col Ivenkov, 57th Special Corps Operations Officer
The overall command is assumed by Col Ivenkov, but he has arrived by plane alone, without any aides, or staff or signal units. So he has to rely upon tiny Battlegroup Bykov C3I assets.
On paper, the biggest combat unit in the sector is Mongolian 6th Cavalry Division. However, in practice it is actually a rather small formation, equivalent to the reinforced Cavalry Regiment in other armies, as it only has two cavalry regiments (only two sabre squadrons and one MG squadron each) plus one reserve squadron.
Col Dandar, CO 17th Cav Rgt, assumed command of 6th Cav Div on May 28th
However, for its size it has some decent division-level support, consisting of two 76mm horse artillery batteries and an armored car battalion (one medium company with 9 BA-6 and one light company with 9 FAI).
The primary Soviet unit in the field is 175th Motorized Rifle-MG Battalion (three motorized mixed rilfe/machinegun companies and an 45mm AT battery) of 11th Tank Brigade.
Cpt Bykov, CO 175th Motorized Rifle-MG Bn, 11th Tank Brigade
It is reinforced with various units from 11th Tank Brigade and 36th Motorized Rifle Division:
- 3/241st Armored Car Bn (16 BA-6 armored cars)
- 70th Sapper Coy (with an integral pontoon platoon)
- 6/175th Art Rgt (4 122mm obr.1910/30 howitzers)
- 2/354th Motorized Art Bn (4 SU-12 SPG)
- flamethrower tank platoon of 39th Combat Spt Coy (5 BKhM-3 vehicles).
SU-12 SPG (Moreland truck chassis)
1Lt Vakhtin, CO 2/354th Motorized Art Bn (SU-12)
BKhM-3 (OT-26) flamethrower tank
Bykov has decided to place his 2nd Coy and 3rd Coy at the flanks, while 6th Cav Division's goal was to defend the center of the position.
1st Coy, ATG Btry and other attached units comprised Group's reserve with the support from 122mm battery. 70th Sapper Coy was guarding the crossing itself.
The Corps reserve in Tamtsag-Bulak consisted of 149th Motorized Rifle Rgt (2nd and 3rd Battalions), reinforced with 2nd/175th Art Rgt (minus 6th Btry already at Bykov's disposal).
Also, some elements of 9th Armored Car Brigade may be engaged, if needed.
Maj Remizov, CO 149th Motorized Rifle Rgt
Cpt Ermakov, CO 2nd/149th Motorized Rifle Rgt
Cpt Zaijuliev, CO 3rd/149th Motorized Rifle Rgt
Maj Rybkin, CO 2nd/175th Artillery Rgt
Overall Soviet troops in the area possessed 16 BA-6, 5 FAI armored cars and 5 BKhM-3 tanks. 149th Rgt in Tamtsag-Bulak had another 8 FAI and 3 BA-3 armored cars. Even more armored cars of the whole 9th Armored Car Brigade, also in Tamtsag-Bulak, could be engaged, if needed.
Soviet artillery units had 4 122mm howitzers and 4 76mm SU-12 SPGs in the area, and another 6 76mm obr.1927 and 8 76mm obr.1902/30 guns in Tamtsag-Bulak.
Mongolian troops also had 9 BA-6 and 9 FAI armored cars, 4 76mm obr.1902 and 4 76mm obr.1927 guns.
With such a good mix of armor, motorized infantry, cavalry, engineers and artillery, as well as strong Corps reserves available in Tamtsag-Bulak, Soviet-Mongolian battlegroup should have felt confident in their ability to repulse the enemy.
1SG Kirin, 36th Mot Rifle Div, KIA 30.08.1939. Note the sturdy simplicity of Soviet uniform.
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