Special: Battles of Khalkin-Gol

Pilots,

From May until September 1939, even before Hitler and Stalin invaded Poland to signal the “official” beginning of WWII, Soviet Russia and the Empire of Japan collided in a series of battles along the Mongolian border. The crushing defeat that the Soviets were able exact upon battered Japan changed the course of the upcoming war, forcing the Japanese to abandon expansion in the West and concentrate on the Pacific instead. Today we want to explore this somewhat forgotten conflict and celebrate the participating aircraft with a dedicated special in-game. Enjoy a fresh round of helpful bonuses and learn the interesting backstory to the Battles of Khalkin-Gol below!

In-Game Offers

Double Crew XP

If you didn’t earn enough Crew XP two weeks ago during our first September special, here’s another chance to spin that XP-counter!

50% discount on equipment

Get that edge that you were looking for by picking up a helpful equipment piece that will surely come in handy in combat!

50% discount on the following planes:

				Polikarpov I-16 (early mod.)
				Mitsubishi A5M

Soviet Russia and the Empire of Japan mainly relied on these two warbirds during their encounters along the Khalkin-Gol. Buy both of them for less this weekend!

40% discount on the following planes:

				Polikarpov I-16 (late mod.)
				Mitsubishi A6M1 Zero
				Polikarpov I-17
				Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero
				Lavochkin LaGG-3
				Yakovlev Yak-7
				Yakovlev Yak-1

To make a proper special of the occasion, we decided to also discount a couple more Japanese and Soviet aircraft – even if they technically didn’t participate in the event back in the day. 

Special Missions

Relive the conflict at Khalkin-Gol in-game this weekend and you’ll be rewarded with free goodies that will help you to further your conquest of the skies!

History Flashback

In the early part of the 20^th century the Empire of Japan and Royalist (later Soviet) Russia were both major powers in the East with only one thing on their mind: expansion. Therefore it doesn’t come as a surprise that the two competitors collided often in sometimes extended encounters in the Sea of Japan or along the far edge of the Asian continent throughout the 1920s and 30s.

The Battles of Khalkin-Gol, named after the river separating Soviet-supported Mongolia from Japan-backed Manchuria, were sparked when a small Mongolian cavalry entered the disputed no-man’s-land on 11 May 1939. The Manchurians, claiming to have been invaded on their land by the foreign party, attacked the small Mongolian unit and forced them to retreat behind the river. Naturally, such provocation could not go unanswered, which is why, a couple of days later, the Mongolians came back again, this time in greater numbers, to avenge the expulsion of their countrymen.

Continuing in this ‘an eye for an eye’ fashion, the conflict soon escalated completely out of proportion to the point that both Soviet Russia and the Empire of Japan dispatched massive armies of thousands of troops into the region to settle the on-going incident. During June it looked like the Japanese forces had the upper hand as they succeeded to create chaos amidst the scattered Soviet forces through successful artillery strikes and air raids.

However, two wearisome ground attacks later, the Soviets, led by the then still unknown Geogry Zhukov, finally rallied through excellent use of their superior tank divisions and brought Japanese advances to a halt in the beginning of August. The momentary peace was only short-lived though, as the Soviets merely took the time to collect themselves and strike back at the under-matched Japanese forces with 50,000 men, 498 tanks and 250 aircraft. Encircling the enemy from all sides, by August 31^st, the Soviets had completely ploughed through the Japanese positions and forced the few surviving enemies into a shameful retreat.

The victory couldn’t have come any sooner for Soviet Russia, who proceeded to commit forces to the invasion of Poland on 17 September. Having defeated the Japanese at Khalkin-Gol, the Soviets didn’t need to worry about their Eastern borders being in danger anymore and thus, in turn, were able to defend themselves better against the invasion of their own country by the Axis forces in 1941. The Japanese on the other hand, realized that they had bitten off more than they could chew in the conflict with Soviet Russia, and decided to concentrate on the South Pacific instead, where they deemed the U.S. and Great Britain to be a weaker opponent.

Now you see why the Battles of Khalkin-Gol were of such historical importance, pilots!