When the 1939 Russo-Japanese conflict over Nomonhan started, Japan wanted-

When the 1939 Russo-Japanese conflict over Nomonhan started, Japan wanted-

  • A) Only to enforce its version of the border

    Votes: 2 13.3%
  • B) to seize large chunks of Mongolian or Soviet territory

    Votes: 4 26.7%
  • C) Something else besides A or B

    Votes: 9 60.0%

  • Total voters
    15

raharris1973

Gone Fishin'
Donor
Monthly Donor
A) Only to enforce its version of the border
B) to seize large chunks of Mongolian or Soviet territory
C) Something else, which I will explain
 
I voted C, because I think it is highly misleading to speak of Japan as a whole wanting anything from Nomonhan. Part of the reason for Japan's suicidal descent into WWII is that the Japanese didn't have an especially unified foreign policy; junior officers could do what they wanted, and the government had to respond. This tendency was most obvious in China (see the Mukden Incident, for example), but appeared elsewhere as well, and also acted to more subtly constrain Japanese policy making. Even though China was widely acknowledged to have turned into a quagmire by this point, any plan that seemed to admit defeat risked the policy-maker behind it suffering an assassination.

Nomonhan, for instance, was the result of escalations by the Kwangtung Army, without central direction. Tokyo wasn't initially calling the shots, and once it started they had internal disputes over where to go. The officers in the Kwangtung Army would probably have been happy enforcing the Japanese-supported border at first, but would not have objected to winning more land if possible (compare to the Japanese escalation/expansion in China, which also saw goals constantly changing).
 
I don't think they really wanted anything specific so much as they just wanted to prod the Soviets a bit, see if there was anything to be gained from pushing harder. Then they got mauled and decided it was a bad idea to mess with them.
 
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