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Stuart Goldman convincingly argues that a little-known, but intense Soviet-Japanese conflict along the Manchurian-Mongolian frontier at Nomonhan influenced the outbreak of World War II and shaped the course of the war. The author draws on Japanese, Soviet, and western sources to put the seemingly obscure conflict—actually a small undeclared war— into its proper global geo-strategic perspective.

The book describes how the Soviets, in response to a border conflict provoked by Japan, launched an offensive in August 1939 that wiped out the Japanese forces at Nomonhan. At the same time, Stalin signed the German- Soviet Nonaggression Pact, allowing Hitler to invade Poland. The timing of these military and diplomatic strikes was not coincidental, according to the author. In forming an alliance with Hitler that left Tokyo diplomatically isolated, Stalin succeeded in avoiding a two-front war. He saw the pact with the Nazis as a way to pit Germany against Britain and France, leaving the Soviet Union on the sidelines to eventually pick up the spoils from the European conflict, while at the same time giving him a free hand to smash the Japanese at Nomonhan.

Goldman not only demonstrates the linkage between the Nomonhan conflict, the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, and the outbreak of World War II , but also shows how Nomonhan influenced Japan’s decision to go to war with the United States and thus change the course of history. The book details Gen. Georgy Zhukov’s brilliant victory at Nomonhan that led to his command of the Red Army in 1941 and his success in stopping the Germans at Moscow with reinforcements from the Soviet Far East. Such a strategy was possible, the author contends, only because of Japan’s decision not to attack the Soviet Far East but to seize the oil-rich Dutch East Indies and attack Pearl Harbor instead. Goldman credits Tsuji Masanobu, an influential Japanese officer who instigated the Nomonhan conflict and survived the debacle, with urging his superiors not to take on the Soviets again in 1941, but instead to go to war with the United States.

Stuart D. Goldman is a scholar in residence at the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research in Washington, D.C. From 1979–2009, he was the senior specialist in Russian and Eurasian political and military affairs at the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress. A resident of Rockville, MD, he holds a PhD from Georgetown University.

PRAISE FOR NOMONHAN, 1939

“Knowing what the “little war” triggered — and Dr. Goldman justifies his claims — makes reading the detail of his beautifully-crafted book even more compelling. And he gives context which is important to us today in understanding Asia. Great book!”

— Defense & Foreign Affairs Special Analysis, February 24, 2012

“This is a splendid book. Deeply researched and incisively argued, it chronicles the little-known military clash between the Soviet Union and Imperial Japan in the remote borderlands of Mongolia on the eve of World War II. Goldman argues convincingly that the decisive Soviet victory at Nomonhan was a major factor shaping the global geopolitical alignments which crystallized just before Nazi Germany launched the war in Europe, and that it may even have had a critical impact on the outcome of the world war that followed. Anyone seriously interested in the diplomacy and strategy of the combatants in World War II should read this book.”

—BRUCE PARROTT, professor and director of Russian and Eurasian studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and author of Politics and Technology in the Soviet Union

“There are momentous events in history which often get shunted aside by what follows. If the Spanish Civil War was a ‘dress rehearsal’ for the larger World War to follow, no less so was the battle of Nomonhan. Exploding across the Mongolian frontier far removed from the eyes and ears of Europeans, everyone involved in the harrowing battle had a reason not to spread the word. Yet it was here, along the Halha River dividing Manchuria and Mongolia, that leading players on the world stage to follow perfected how they would fight. Stuart Goldman tells a complicated story with verve and insight, weaving in the background necessary for understanding the grand narrative while keeping that tale moving forward at every turn. This is a masterful work.”

—BLAIR A. RUBLE, Director of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

“With Nomonhan, 1939, Stuart Goldman has crafted the best kind of history. He illuminates an overlooked arena of world events that had far-reaching consequences. Goldman's eye, while intellectual, is keen for context: each event is measured for importance, every character leaves his mark. The result is a flowing narrative that will leave you amazed at how one out-of-the-way battle changed World War II and the world.”

—DAVID L. ROBBINS, author of nine novels, including Broken Jewel and War of the Rats

“Nomonhan, 1939 is a must-read for military leaders and military historians alike to appreciate fully the global implications of this little known, undeclared war between the Soviet Union and Japan in 1939. Fascinating!”

—REAR ADM. JAY A. DELOACH, USN (RET.), director, Naval History & Heritage Command