Nomonhan/Khalkin Gol in 1/72 or 20mm

[thequestingvole]

Gents,

Just wondering if anyone could give me a steer on a potential Khalkin Gol project. It's very much at the embryonic stage at this point - I'm more wondering if it would be possible to do. 

Does anyone make Japanese cavalry in 20mm?
Does anyone make Second World War Mongolian cavalry in 20mm?
I can find references to the Japanese making extensive use of armoured cars during the battle, but I can't find any reference confirming what type of armoured cars.

I see the Osprey have a campaign book planned for 2025, but I was hoping to move a little quicker than that.

Regards,

Conrad

[elliesdad]

Checkout:

https://www.stonewallfigures.co.uk/product-category/combat-miniatures-20th-century-20mm/

As well as Japanese they also do Russians (what they call Russian Manchuria Army). Unfortunately there aren’t too many pics n their website.

Good luck,

Geoff

[cuprum]

A SERIOUS ENEMY.
WEAPONS AND STRUCTURE OF THE JAPANESE KWANTUNG ARMY.

PART 1.

In May 1939, on the Mongolian-Chinese border near the unknown Khalkhin Gol River, clashes began between border guards of the Mongolian People's Republic and the state of Manchukuo. Subsequently, the conflict escalated into large-scale military actions between units of the Red Army and the Japanese Kwantung Army, which continued until September and ended with the defeat of the Japanese. In our country, these events are known as the battles at the Khalkhin Gol River, and in the West - as the "events at Nomonhan" (after the name of the nearby settlement of Nomonhan-Burd-Obo). The article tells about the Kwantung Army - our main enemy in these battles. Japanese materials, as well as captured documents, were used in its preparation.

After Russia's defeat in the war of 1904-1905, Japan received the Liaodong (Kwantung) Peninsula with the naval bases of Dairane and Port Arthur, the South Manchurian Railway, and half of Sakhalin Island under the terms of the Treaty of Portsmouth. In 1919, the Kwantung Army was formed to ensure Japanese interests in the region. It was supposed to protect the Kwantung Peninsula and the South Manchurian Railway. By the beginning of 1931, the army consisted of the 2nd Infantry Division and six railway guard battalions, a total of about 15 thousand people.

By this time, a rather complicated political situation had developed in China. After the revolution of 1925-1927, supporters of the nationalist party (Kuomintang), led by Chiang Kai-shek, seized power in the country. However, the Kuomintang government, located in Nanjing, had no real power. It waged a stubborn struggle against both the ruler of Manchuria, Zhang Xue-liang, and the so-called "Soviet" regions controlled by units of the Chinese Red Army in southern and central China. Taking advantage of the country's disunity, the Japanese General Staff developed an operation to seize Manchuria. All forces of the Kwantung Army were involved in the operation. In addition, the 19th and 20th infantry divisions located in Korea were put on combat alert, and one division and an infantry brigade were prepared in the metropolis for dispatch to China.

The fighting began on the morning of September 19, 1931, and by the end of October almost all of southern Manchuria had been captured by Japanese troops. On February 4, 1932, the Kwantung Army entered Harbin. The poorly armed and poorly trained troops of Zhang Xue-liang, despite their enormous numerical superiority, were unable to put up worthy resistance to the enemy.

The new state of Manchukuo included all the provinces of Manchuria – Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning. It was headed by the former Chinese Emperor Pu Yi, who was overthrown during the revolution of 1911. In fact, Manchukuo was completely under Japanese control, and units of the Kwantung Army were stationed on its territory. And on May 31, 1933, in the town of Tanggu, the Chinese government signed an armistice agreement with the Japanese command. The Chinese government recognized Japanese control over Manchuria and part of Northern China.

The resumption of hostilities against China in July 1937 required an increase in the size of the Japanese army. By the beginning of 1939, the number of infantry divisions increased from 30 to 41. Of these, 25 were in China, the rest – in the metropolis and Korea.

By this time, the Kwantung Army consisted of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Armies (they were actually corps in composition), eight infantry divisions (1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th, 11th, 12th, 23rd), the 3rd Cavalry Brigade, eight separate garrisons, an artillery corps and the 1st Mechanized Brigade (3rd and 4th tank regiments). In total, it numbered 270 thousand people, about 200 tanks and 1052 guns. The army was commanded by General Ueda Kenkichi.

Until 1937, Japanese infantry divisions were formed according to two organizations: type "A-1" (29,400 people) and reinforced type "A" (24,600 people). In Western literature, such divisions are sometimes called "old regular". As a rule, they were staffed with the best trained personnel and had modern weapons. The divisions consisted of two infantry brigades (four regiments in total), and the A-1 division also had a tank detachment. The Kwantung Army had six such divisions, which were intended primarily for combat operations against the USSR.

From the beginning of 1938, the so-called "second wave" divisions began to be formed, which had only three infantry regiments, a total of 13,000-16,000 people. Due to the lack of forces and resources, these units were often staffed with reservists and older soldiers and were equipped with outdated weapons.

Units of two Japanese divisions, the 7th and 23rd, participated in the battles at Khalkhin Gol. In August 1939, the 1st, 2nd and 4th infantry divisions were brought up to the Khalkhin Gol area, but they almost never participated in the battles.

The main weapons of the Japanese infantry were 6.5 mm rifles and carbines "Type 38", better known in our literature as "Arisaka". Officers and soldiers of technical units had 7 mm pistols "Nambu" and revolvers "model 26" (1893) of Japanese manufacture, as well as "Mausers" and "Brownings". In addition, the army sword "Type 94", "Type 95", "Type 98" or the saber "model 32" (1899) were mandatory accessories for a Japanese officer.

The automatic weapons used were 6.5 mm light (hand-held) machine guns "model 11 year" (1922) and "Type 96". A regular infantry squad of 14 people had two such machine guns. Machine gun companies of infantry battalions were armed with heavy (mounted) 6.5 mm machine guns "model 03 year" (1929) and 7.7 mm "Type 92".

The heavy weapons of infantry units consisted of 50 mm grenade launchers "model 10 year" (1921) and "Type 89", 70 mm mortars "model 11 year" (1922) and 81 mm mortars "Type 97" and "Type 99". The battalion artillery was represented by a platoon of 70-mm infantry guns "Type 92" (could fire at elevation angles up to 70°, i.e. was effectively a gun-howitzer), the regimental artillery included one battery of 37-mm anti-tank guns "Type 94" and 75-mm mountain guns "model 41" (1909). In total, the infantry regiment had 8 70-mm guns "Type 92", 6 37-mm "Type 94" and 4 75-mm "model 41". In addition, the units of the 7th and 23rd divisions had 37-mm infantry guns "model 11" (1922), which could be used as anti-tank guns.

The main anti-tank weapon of the Japanese army was the 37-mm anti-tank gun "Type 94", which penetrated armor up to 40 mm at a distance of 500 m. In addition, units of the 7th and 23rd divisions had a small number of 20-mm automatic guns "Type 97". During the battles, the 20-mm anti-aircraft guns "Type 98" and 13.2-mm machine guns Hotchkiss proved to be quite effective anti-tank weapons. The latter, judging by the photographs, were mounted in ball mounts on improvised field machines.

As hand-held anti-tank weapons, Japanese infantrymen used anti-tank mines, bundles of hand grenades and bottles of gasoline.

Grenades and mines were usually tied together in groups of 4-8 and secured to the ground with pegs in front of the trenches at a distance of up to 100 m. The explosion was carried out using wire laid to the trench. This method gave good results. For example, after the battle on July 3 in the area of ​​Mount Bain-Tsagan, out of twenty inspected destroyed BT-5 tanks from the 11th Tank Brigade, four had damage from mines. In addition, mines were sometimes placed under tanks from a single trench using a 4-5 m long bamboo pole. However, the effectiveness of this method was quite low, and the power of the mine charge was often insufficient to break the track. According to Japanese data, their Type 93 anti-tank mines "... loaded with a small amount of explosive, were ineffective when used in sand. Tanks either bypassed them or simply pressed them into the ash-like soil. Often the mines did not explode at all."

As for the gasoline bottles, their appearance had its own prehistory. As early as July 1937, Major Nishiura Susumi reported from Spain to the Japanese General Staff about the successful use of gasoline bottles against tanks. However, the experiments conducted in Japan gave a negative result. The fact is that tanks with cold, non-working engines, and diesel ones at that, were used as targets. But some Japanese officers liked the new means of fighting tanks. For example, the commander of the 1st Infantry Division, Lieutenant General Kawamura Kyosuke, ordered the distribution of recommendations on the technical use of gasoline bottles, which were called "kenbin" in the Japanese army, to his units.

The Japanese first used the new anti-tank weapon en masse on July 3-4 during the battles in the Bain-Tsigan area. The bottles were especially widely used by soldiers of the 26th Infantry Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division. Its commander, Colonel Sumi Shinichiro, had given the order to collect empty cider bottles before the fighting began, filling them 1/3 with sand (for ballast) and gasoline. The neck was plugged with a piece of cotton cloth, which also served as a fuse that had to be lit before throwing the bottle at the target. However, in the Khalkhin Gol region, in the steppe, where the wind always blows, it was not easy to light a fuse (or even just light a cigarette). Japanese documents about the actions of soldiers with bottles, called "nikuhaku" (human projectiles), say with great pathos: "They were like stinging flies and there was no escape from them." The report of the commander of the 26th Infantry Regiment says that in the first hour of the battle on July 3, more than 10 enemy tanks were destroyed with bottles. However, Soviet estimates of "nikuhaku" are not so high. Only two tanks of the 11th Tank Brigade out of twenty damaged were set on fire before they were knocked out by artillery fire.

The main armament of the Japanese divisional artillery was the 75 mm Type 90 and Type 94 guns, as well as the 75 mm Type 94 howitzers, 105 mm Type 91, 122 mm Model 38 (1905) and 150 mm Model 4 (1914). The second wave divisions were often equipped with obsolete 75 mm field guns Model 38 (1905). Thus, the artillery regiment of the 23rd Infantry Division had 24 75 mm Model 38 guns and 12 122 mm Model 38 howitzers.

The most advanced of the artillery systems was the Type 90 gun (firing range of 14,000 m, while the others had a range of 8,300 to 10,700 m). Moreover, unlike the others, the modernized version of the Type 90 gun was adapted for towing by a tractor (tractors), which significantly increased its mobility on the battlefield. In particular, during the battles at Khalkhin Gol in August 1939, a battery of Type 90 guns managed to knock out five Soviet tanks in a short time, continuously maneuvering. Of the divisional artillery units operating in the Khalkhin Gol area, the 7th Field Artillery Regiment from the 7th Infantry Division and the 23rd Field Artillery Regiment of the 23rd Infantry Division were in action.

The artillery corps units directly subordinated to the headquarters of the Kwantung Army were armed with 75-mm Type 90 and Type 94 guns, 105-mm Model 14 (1935) and Type 92 guns, 150-mm Type 89 guns (often referred to as "Port Arthur guns" in Soviet documents of the time), and 150-mm Type 96 howitzers. The latter, according to Japanese officers, turned out to be the most successful large-caliber guns. Soviet military experts highly valued the 105-mm Type 92 guns, which "had a greater firing range than the domestic 107-mm Model 1910/30 guns (18,200 m and 16,000 m, respectively).

The Kwantung Army Artillery Corps units at Khalkhin Gol were represented by the 3rd Heavy Artillery Brigade, the 1st Heavy Field Artillery Regiment, the 7th Heavy Field Artillery Regiment, the 13th Field Artillery Regiment, the 1st Separate Field Artillery Regiment, the Mountain Mule Artillery Regiment, the 1st Artillery Regiment, a Separate Balloon Detachment, the 10th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment, and the 2nd Mortar Regiment. In early July, a hastily formed Separate Motorized Regiment of Heavy Artillery under Colonel arrived in the combat zone.

In addition, during the fighting at Khalkhin Gol, Japanese units received several batteries of Type 94 37mm anti-tank guns from the 1st Infantry Division.

[cuprum]

TANK UNITS

Work on creating tank forces began in Japan at the turn of the 1920s. At first, tanks were purchased in England and France, but already in the early 1930s, domestically produced vehicles began to enter service. The first Japanese tank was the medium Type 89, produced since 1931. In essence, it was a redesigned and slightly improved version of the British Vickers Mk C. A total of 230 Type 89 vehicles of two main series were manufactured by 1937: Type 89 Ko (A) and Type 89 Otsu (B). They differed in the shape of the turret, the frontal hull plate, the power plant (the Ko had a carburetor engine, the Otsu had a diesel engine), suspension elements, etc.

In terms of their characteristics, both variants were practically identical - weight 14-15 tons, armor 11-17 mm, armament 57-mm gun "Type 90" (later 57-mm gun "Type 97") and two 6.5-mm machine guns "Type 91", speed 27-30 km/h, crew 4 people, cruising range 160-230 km. By the end of the 1930s, these tanks were already obsolete, moreover, at that time 57-mm Japanese tank guns did not have armor-piercing shells. If the "Type 89" could be successfully used against Chinese units poorly equipped with modern anti-tank artillery, then against units of the Red Army they were practically powerless. In 1934, the light tank "Type 94 TK" of the original Japanese design was launched into production. It was a small vehicle weighing 3.4 tons with a crew of 2 and 8-12 mm armor, armed with a 6.5 mm Type 91 machine gun (since 1937, some vehicles were equipped with a 7.7 mm Type 97 machine gun). A 32 hp carburetor engine provided the tank with a speed of up to 45 km/h. Large quantities of Type 94 were supplied to infantry divisions formed according to the A-1 and A staffs, where they were used for reconnaissance and communications. In terms of combat performance, the Type 94 was equivalent to the Soviet T-37A and T-38. Three years later, the Type 97 Te-Ke light tank, created on the basis of the Type 94, went into production. Compared to its predecessor, it had a greater mass (4.8 tons), thicker armor (up to 16 mm) and a more powerful engine (65 hp). The vehicle was armed with a 37-mm Type 94 cannon or a 7.7-mm Type 97 machine gun. In terms of its characteristics, the Te-Ke was a good reconnaissance tank.

In 1936, the most common tank of the Japanese army, the Type 95 Ha-Go, began to enter service with tank units. Weighing 7.4 tons, the vehicle had 6-12 mm armor and was armed with a 37 mm Type 94 cannon (later Type 97) and two 6.5 mm Type 91 machine guns. A 120 hp diesel engine provided the tank with a speed of up to 50 km/h. The crew consisted of three people. A special version of the Type 95 with a reinforced suspension (additional rollers were installed between the road wheels) was produced for combat in Manchuria. This version of the Ha-Go was called the Manchurian. The tank was easy to operate and performed well during the battles in China. In 1937, Mitsubishi began production of a new medium tank, the Type 97 Chi-Ha. Weighing 14 tons, the vehicle had 20-25 mm of armor, a crew of 4, and was armed with a 57 mm Type 97 cannon and two machine guns. Unlike other Japanese tanks of the time, the Chi-Ha was equipped with a radio station with a handrail antenna on the turret. By 1939, it was the most powerful Japanese tank.

Most Japanese tanks had the same (the Chi-Ha even had more powerful) armor as the Soviet BT-5, but were inferior to the BT-5s in terms of armament, observation and aiming devices, crew convenience, and maneuverability. In addition, the Soviet 45 mm tank gun mod. 1934 allowed the BA-6 and BA-10 armored vehicles to successfully combat Japanese tanks.

By 1939, the Japanese tank units had 4 tank regiments and about 30 separate detachments operating as part of infantry divisions. By this time, the industry had manufactured about 2,000 tanks, while the troops had just over 600 vehicles.

In fact, all of the Kwantung Army's tanks were concentrated in the 1st Mechanized Brigade (sometimes called the Kungchuling Tank Brigade after its location in the city of Kungchuling), which consisted of the 3rd and 4th tank regiments, about 100 tanks in total. In addition to the tank regiments, the brigade included a reconnaissance company, a communications company, a repair company, and a transport unit. Lieutenant General Masaomi Yasuoka was appointed brigade commander.

Each tank regiment consisted of three line tank companies and a tank reserve company, a total of 50 combat vehicles. The commander of the 3rd tank regiment was Colonel Kiyotaki Yoshimaru, the commander of the 4th was Colonel Yoshio Tamada.

However, by the summer of 1939, the units of the 1st Mechanized Brigade were still in the formation stage, they lacked equipment and trained personnel. In total, 87 tanks from the 3rd and 4th Tank Regiments were used in the battles at Khalkhin Gol - 10 Type 94 TK, 34 Type 89, 4 Type 97 Te-Ke, 35 Type 95 Ha-Go (with a Manchurian suspension) and 4 Type 97 Chi-Ha. This was the first combat use of the Chi-Ha tanks.

In addition to the combat vehicles of the 1st Mechanized Brigade, several Type 94 TK tanks from the reconnaissance detachment of the 23rd Infantry Division were used at the beginning of the battles at Khalkhin Gol.

TRANSPORT

The main army truck of the Japanese army was the three-axle "Type 94" and its two-axle version "Type 93", which were produced at the factories of several companies under the brand name "Isuzu". A large number of various special vehicles were produced on their basis - repair

vans, refuellers, workshops, etc. But due to the vast area of ​​military operations in China, these vehicles were sorely lacking. Therefore, ordinary commercial trucks were widely used - Japanese "Toyota", "Nissan", American "Ford" and others.

The standard passenger cars were "Type 95" (4x4) of the company "Kurogane" and "Type 96" (6x4) of the company "Isuzu". The "Type 95" car is interesting because in terms of its purpose, layout and characteristics it was the world's first army jeep. Both cars were very popular due to their high cross-country ability and mobility. In addition, the army also used a large number of civilian cars, mainly American Fords.

Tractor equipment was represented by various tracked tractors: Type 94 and Type 98 Sike (4-ton), Type 92 (5-ton), Type 98 (6-ton), Type 92 (8-ton) and Type 95 Hofu (13-ton). Tractors were mainly used in artillery units of central subordination, and also in small quantities in tank units (mainly 8-ton Type 92).

Motorcycle equipment was represented by four types of motorcycles with a sidecar - a licensed version of the Harley-Davidson (produced in Japan since 1928), as well as Japanese models developed on its basis Type 93, Type 95 and Type 97. It is interesting that the Type 93 motorcycles had an additional drive on the sidecar wheel, which could be switched off. Thanks to this, the motorcycle had very good cross-country ability. For example, in the report on the tests of the captured Type 93 in the Soviet Union it is said that the motorcycle with the drive engaged "overcomes in first gear dirty sections of the road, on which ZIS-5 and GAZ-AA vehicles could not go."

However, despite the good examples of motor and tractor equipment available in the troops, the equipment of the Japanese army with transport was quite low. For example, when transferring units of the 23rd Infantry Division to the Khalkhin Gol region in May 1939, the Japanese command had to mobilize most of the civilian cars in Hailar.

THE MANCHOU-GUO ARMY

The Japanese ally in the battles with the Red Army was the army of the state of Manchukuo. The author does not have detailed information about the combat composition of this army. It is known that by 1935 it had 26 infantry and 7 cavalry brigades with a total strength of about 70 thousand people. Captured Chinese weapons or outdated Japanese weapons were used to arm its units. There were a large number of Japanese military advisers at the army headquarters. Regiments of Manchu cavalry, called "Bargud" in Soviet documents (Barga is a region in northwestern China inhabited by the Barguds, related to the Buryats), participated in the battles on Khalkhin Gol. The combat strength of the regiments was small - from 400 to 500 people, each of them had one artillery battery (4 guns). However, the combat effectiveness of the Manchu regiments was very low, many Chinese soldiers voluntarily surrendered to the Red Army units.



Improvised anti-tank installation of a 13 mm machine gun.

[cuprum]

This is a machine translation of this article from a Russian source:
https://otvaga2004.ru/voyny/wars-between/sereznyj-protivnik/
I recommend looking at the photos from it.

Japanese cavalry was not used in battles - the cavalry of the Mandzho-Go state was used. Their uniform was similar to the Japanese, but had Chinese insignia.





I don't know if anyone makes Japanese cavalry, but HaT makes plastic Japanese cyclists. If you have the necessary skills, you can try to adapt these figures to horses.

https://plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=1906

Are you interested in the Mongolian cavalry, allied with the USSR? There are no problems here - you can safely use the Soviet cavalry of the early WWII period (without machine guns). The uniform was very close (but it seems the Mongols did not use helmets).





I'm not sure that Japanese armored cars were used in battle. There are no photos, no mention of units where they are in service. Perhaps we are talking about tracked tankettes?

[Schogun]

Years ago, I planned a (true) 1/72 (no 20mm) to game Nomonhan. It never happened and I sold everything but here's what I had along with manufacturers (which may or may not be available today):

1/72 NOMONHAN COLLECTION

Soviets

6x   BT-7      Pegasus
4x   BA-6/10   Pegasus
4x   T-26      Minairons
1x   XT-26   T-26 Flamethrower   UM
1x   SU-1-12   SP 75mm on truck   UM
2x   BA-20   Fabbri (Russia) diecast
2x   FAI      Fabbri (Russia) diecast
2x   ZiS-5 Truck   Frontline
2x   GAZ AA Truck   Frontline

1x   Cavalry (2)   Zvezda
1x   Tchanka   B&B
1x   (Seated crew for SU-1-12)   SHQ
3x   Maxim MG w/ Crew      Zvezda
1x   45mm AT Gun w/ crew   Zvezda
4x   45mm AT Gun w/ Crew   PSC
3x   76mm Infantry Gun w/ Crew   Zvezda
1x   122mm Howitzer (2)   Tumbling Dice

1x   I-16 Type A Fighter   ICM
1x   SB-2M-100A Bomber   ICM


Japanese

3x   Type 97 Chi-Ha      Dragon – 1x kit; 2x diecast
3x   Type 95 Ha-Go      Dragon
3x   Type 89 Chi-Ro      Frontline
3x   Type 97 TeKe Tankette   Skytrex
3x   Type 94 Tankette   ModelKrak (Poland)
1x   Type 93 Sumida A/C   Armo (Poland)
1x   Type 2592 Sumida A/C   Skytrex
2x   Isuzu TX40 G5 Truck   Frontline
2x   Isuzu Type 94 Personnel Truck   Frontline

6x   Type 92 MMG Team   FAA
4x   Type 89 50mm Grenade Launcher EWM
3x   Type 94 37mm AT Gun w/ Crew   EWM
3x   Type 92 70mm Battalion Gun w/ Crew   EWM
2x   Type 38 75mm Infantry Gun w/ Crew   EWM
1x   Ambush Party (4)   FAA
2x   Close Assault AT Group (4)   FAA

1x   Ki-27b Fighter      ICM
(never got around to buying Revell or MPM Ki-21 “Sally” Bomber)

Soviet and Japanese Infantry: My gaming friends already had these for me to use.

[thequestingvole]

Gents thank you so much.  What a treasure trove of info.  Thank you!