Sunday 9 June 1940

General Erwin Rommel with his staff in a French field, Panzer 38(t)s in the distance, June 1940 (Ang, Federal Archive).

Western Front: General Rommel's 7th "Ghost" Panzer Division and the accompanying 5th Panzer Division of 4th Army consolidate their hold on the Seine at Rouen on 9 June 1940. Rommel turns west and pushes the British 51st "Highland" Division back, along with what remains of the French 10th Army in the vicinity. The British make a stand at St-Valery-en-Caux, with the panzers taking nearby Dieppe. Basically, it is a repeat of Dunkirk on a smaller scale. However, there are no plans for a sea rescue this time.

At Rheims, the Panzer Group Kleist and Panzer Group Guderian team up and take Compiegne. The French are still holding the remnants of the Weygand Line between Amiens and Peronne, but the Weygand Line has become porous and the panzers are able to sidestep pockets of resistance.

The offensive broadens as German 2nd Army, 12th Army, and 16th Army of General von Rundstedt's Army Group A attacks toward Reims, supported by Panzer Group Guderian.

The Luftwaffe provides essential air coverage to the advancing panzer spearheads, which are without infantry support and vulnerable to air attack. Some units of the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) begin withdrawing to North Africa. The French have flown 1,815 sorties since the beginning of Operation Fall Rot, with 518 of them bomber missions. This rate begins to fall off drastically beginning on 9 June.

RAF air support units are retreating before the Wehrmacht advance, some moving to Brittany and other places to the south.

Hurricane Mk I YB-S. This shows damage from cannon fire that blew apart a section of the flap before P/O David C Leary force-landed near Bolbec on the afternoon of 9 June 1940. The day before, he had moved with No 17 Squadron RAF to Brittany. The 19-year-old pilot returned by train to Le Mans, arriving 2 days later and claiming a Bf-109 destroyed on 12 June and another the next day. Retiring from Dinard to Jersey and Guernsey on 17 June, he withdrew to RAF Debden 2 days later.

Norway: The Norwegian government-in-exile led by King Haakon has Commander-in-chief Ruge issue a cease-fire order effective as of midnight. The only troops still fighting are in the Norwegian 6th Division near Narvik.

The Norwegian campaign has been a complete German victory. Losses during the campaign:

Germans:

5296 dead/missing
160 fighters/bombers
80 transport planes (Ju 52s)
3 Cruisers
10 Destroyers
6 U-boats
4 cruisers and 6 destroyers damaged

Allies:
2119 British
1335 Norwegian
530 French

Most importantly, Germany has protected its source of iron ore, and also obtained advanced bases for the Kriegsmarine and useful air bases for the Luftwaffe.

General Dietl inspects Narvik and finds that the departing British have destroyed all rail and port facilities.

The 2nd Mountain Division continues marching up to Narvik from Sorfold, though its mission at Narvik to rescue General Dietl now appears to be moot.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-46 (Oberleutnant zur See Engelbert Endrass) torpedoes and sinks 2,155-ton Finnish freighter Margareta about 350 miles off of Cape Finisterre, Spain. There are 19 survivors and 5 crew perish. The survivors spend four days drifting in a lifeboat before being rescued.

British freighter Empire Commerce hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea.

Kriegsmarine patrol boat V-801 sinks from undetermined causes.

German raider Pinguin completes its trials. It will operate in the Indian Ocean.

Royal Navy ships detain Italian ship Rodi off Cape Matapan.

Convoy OB 164 departs from Liverpool, Convoy OG 33F forms off Gibraltar, Convoy HX 49 departs from Halifax.

Soviet/Japanese Relations: The two governments finalize a treaty ending the dispute in Manchukuo which led to the Battle of Khalkhin Gol. The Soviets claim territorial gains.

US Military: Destroyer USS Dickerson (DD-157) departs from Casablanca for Lisbon. It carries US nationals who wish to take the State Department's advice and return to the US aboard the passenger liner Washington. Washington itself departs from Bordeaux carrying 813 Americans leaving France. Washington is scheduled to depart Lisbon for Ireland and then the States tomorrow, 10 June 1940.

French Government: Prime Minister Paul Reynaud ponders evacuating his government from Paris with his cabinet. They ultimately decide to leave. General Weygand tells Reynaud that the Weygand Line on the Somme has collapsed and it is time to start negotiations.

The US heavy cruiser Vincennes (CA 44), accompanied by destroyers USS Truxton (DD-229) and Simpson (DD-221), arrive at Casablanca. Their mission is to transport the French gold reserves to New York.

General de Gaulle is in London for discussions with Prime Minister Churchill.

British Government: Hospital ship Atlantis, which had been spared by the Admiral Hipper, rendezvouses with battleship HMS Valiant and informs the Admiralty of the loss of the Orama. The Admiralty remains in the dark about the fate of HMS Glorious.

Italian Government: Mussolini prepares to invade French positions in the Alps. The slated start date is tomorrow, 10 June 1940.

The government orders all Italian ships to proceed at once to neutral ports.

China: At the continuing Battle of Tsaoyang-Ichang, the Japanese 11th Army makes gains around Tungshih, Tangyang, and Yuanan.

Wehrmacht troops during the Battle of France.

June 1940

June 1, 1940: Devastation at Dunkirk
June 2, 1940: Hitler Visits France
June 3, 1940: Operation Paula
June 4, 1940: We Shall Fight
June 5, 1940: Fall Rot
June 6, 1940: Weygand Line Crumbling
June 7, 1940: British Evacuating Narvik
June 8, 1940: Operation Juno
June 9, 1940: Norway Capitulates
June 10, 1940: Mussolini Throws Down
June 11, 1940: Paris an Open City
June 12, 1940: Rommel at St. Valery
June 13, 1940: France Goes Alone
June 14, 1940: Paris Falls
June 15, 1940: Soviets Scoop Up Lithuania
June 16, 1940: Enter Pétain
June 17, 1940: The Lancastria Sinks
June 18, 1940: A Day of Leaders
June 19, 1940: U-boats Run Wild
June 20, 1940: Pétain Wilts
June 21, 1940: Hitler's Happiest Day
June 22, 1940: France Is Done
June 23, 1940: Hitler in Paris
June 24, 1940: Six Million Jews
June 25, 1940: German Celebrations
June 26, 1940: USSR Being Belligerent
June 27, 1940: Malta in Peril
June 28, 1940: Channel Islands Bombed
June 29, 1940: Gandhi Insists on Independence
June 30, 1940: Channel Islands Occupied

2020

Sunday 1 October 1939

Britain's King George VI, right, and Queen Elizabeth leave St.Paul's Cathedral, London, on Oct. 1, 1939, following a service for the Nation's Day of Prayer.

Battle of Poland: Warsaw having surrendered, Wehrmacht troops on 1 October 1939 enter and begin disarming the estimated 120,000 Polish soldiers and transporting them to POW camps.

The Polish garrison on the Hela Peninsula (Admiral Józef Unrug) decides to surrender.

Following the Battle of Szack, the Polish Defence Corps (Gen. Wilhelm Orlik-Rückemann) is on the run and has crossed the Bug River. The Poles have walked hundreds of kilometers in the past fortnight, are marching through the night and are short of supplies, but they remain a disciplined fighting force. Near the village of Wytyczno near Włodawa, tank elements of the Soviet 45th Rifle Division attack at 1 a.m. The Poles fight them off and destroy four Soviet tanks. Another assault in daylight by the majority of the Soviet division again is beaten off, but the Poles are running out of ammunition. The exhausted Polish units then form small groups and melt away through the forests to join other units. The Battle of Wytyczno is considered a Soviet tactical victory, but also a Polish moral victory by only a few thousand poorly armed men against overwhelming odds.

British Military Intelligence: Poles fleeing from their country to England bring with them two Enigma machines.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Admiralty learns of the pocket battleships Graf Spee and Deutschland operating as lone commerce raiders.

U-35 sinks 2,239-ton Belgian merchant ship Suzon 42 miles off Ushant at 18:45 after stopping it, inspecting it, and disembarking the crew. The kill is legal because the ship, even though neutral, is transporting war goods from Bordeaux to Cardiff.

Western Front: The French claim a small advance near the district town of Saarlouis in the Saar.

British Homefront: Winston Churchill makes his first wartime broadcast to the British people. He summarizes the events of the first month of the war. He suggests that the Soviet invasion of Poland "was clearly necessary for the safety of Russia against the [German] menace." He coins the famous phrase "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma" to describe Soviet machinations, "a cold policy of self-interest."

Churchill lists "three important things" that happened in that month:

• Poland has been overrun;
• The assertion of the power of Russia;
• "The U-boat attack has not so far proved successful"

He  anticipates a war of "at least three years."

A Royal Proclamation is issued calling up the classes of 1918 and 1919.

China: The Japanese 11th Corps. withdraws from Changsha and the nearby Tungting Lakes. Chiang Kai-shek has a rare victory in this "Battle of Changsha."

Soviet/Japanese Relations: As a show of good faith to the Soviets, the Japanese dismiss senior officers of the Kwantung army who had led the battle of Khalkin Gol. The dismissed Generals had been contemptuous of Tokyo authority.

German/Italian Relations: Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano is in Germany for discussions with Hitler and Ribbentrop.

Soviet/Turkish Relations: The Turkish Foreign Minister (M. Sarajoglu) meets with Molotov in Moscow.

German Homefront: On an undetermined day in October, Hitler has typed on his personal stationery (and backdated to 1 September 1939) a Fuhrer Decree that authorizes mercy killings of persons who "are incurable."

September 1939

September 1, 1939: Invasion of Poland
September 2, 1939: Danzig Annexed
September 3, 1939: France, Great Britain Declare War
September 4, 1939: First RAF Raid
September 5, 1939: The US Stays Out
September 6, 1939: Battle of Barking Creek
September 7, 1939: Polish HQ Bugs Out
September 8, 1939: War Crimes in Poland
September 9, 1939: The Empire Strikes Back
September 10, 1939: The Germans Break Out
September 11, 1939: Battle of Kałuszyn
September 12, 1939: The French Chicken Out
September 13, 1939: The Battle of Modlin
September 14, 1939: Germany Captures Gdynia
September 15, 1939: Warsaw Surrounded
September 16, 1939: Battle of Jaworów
September 17, 1939: Soviets Invade Poland
September 18, 1939: Lublin Falls
September 19, 1939: Germans, Soviets Hook Up
September 20, 1939: the Kraków Army Surrenders
September 21, 1939: Romania Convulses
September 22, 1939: Joint Soviet-German Military Parade
September 23, 1939: The Panama Conference
September 24, 1939: The Luftwaffe Bombs Warsaw
September 25, 1939: Black Monday for Warsaw
September 26, 1939: Warsaw on the Ropes
September 27, 1939: Hitler Decides to Invade France
September 28, 1939: Warsaw Capitulates
September 29, 1939: Modlin Fortress Falls
September 30, 1939: Graf Spee on the Loose

October 1939

October 1, 1939: Occupation of Warsaw
October 2, 1939: Hel Peninsula Falls
October 3, 1939: The Diamantis Incident
October 4, 1939: Otto Kretschmer Gets Rolling
October 5, 1939: Polish Resistance Ends
October 6, 1939: Hitler Peace Effort
October 7, 1939: The British Have Arrived
October 8, 1939: First RAF Kill from UK
October 9, 1939: "City of Flint" Incident
October 10, 1939: Lithuania Under Pressure
October 11, 1939: The Atomic Age Begins
October 12, 1939: England Rejects Hitler's Peace Offer
October 13, 1939: Charles Lindbergh Speaks Out
October 14 1939: Royal Oak Sunk
October 15, 1939: Cuban Rockets
October 16, 1939: First Aircraft Shot Down Over UK
October 17, 1939: Marshall Mannerheim Returns
October 18, 1939: Prien Receives His Award
October 19, 1939: Preliminary Plan for Fall Gelb
October 20, 1939: Hitler Grapples with the Jews
October 21, 1939: Hurricanes to the Rescue!
October 22, 1939: Goebbels Lies Through His Teeth
October 23, 1939: Norway the Center of Attention
October 24, 1939: German "Justice" Gets Rolling
October 25, 1939: Handley Page Halifax Bomber First Flies
October 26, 1939: Jozef Tiso Takes Slovakia
October 27, 1939: King Leopold Stands Firm
October 28, 1939 - First Luftwaffe Raid on Great Britain
October 29, 1939: Tinkering with Fall Gelb
October 30, 1939: Defective Torpedoes
October 31, 1939: Molotov Issues an Ultimatum

2019

Saturday 16 September 1939

Steel-helmeted, uniformed Polish women march through the streets of Warsaw to aid in defense of their capital on September 16, 1939. They are not, however, armed. (AP Photo).

Battle of Poland: Polish forces break through German lines on 16 September 1939 in the forests north and west of the town of Janów. Six battalions get through to Janów despite determined defense by the German "Pemsel" combat group formed from the 1st Mountain Division. The Poles repel a counter-attack at Dobrostany. This concludes the Battle of Jaworów, which has been a tactical Polish victory.

The Luftwaffe bombs the Jewish quarter of Warsaw. The Poles in Warsaw are successfully repelling determined German ground attacks but are largely defenseless to air attack. General List's army is both investing Warsaw and heading north to link up with the rapidly approaching XIX of General Guderian.

European Air Operations: The Polish Air Force launches its final bombing raid.

Soviet Government: Moscow broadcasts that it will invade Poland the next day "to protect the Ukrainian and Belorussian minorities."

Western Front: French forces make some tentative movements in the Saar and are 12 miles east of Saarbrücken.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-27 (Kapitänleutnant Johannes Franz) torpedoes and sinks the trawler Rudyard Kipling. He stops to pick up the crew and keeps them for eight hours, giving them food and clothing, before releasing them in their lifeboats for the long row (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) to Ireland. U-27 so far has eluded destroyers HMS Fortune and HMS Faulknor, which know there is a U-boat in the vicinity and have been hunting it.

U-31 (Kptlt. Johannes Habekost) sinks an independent, the Aviemore, which is near convoy OB-4. Of the crew, 23 are lost and 11 are picked up by HMS Warwick. This marks the first successful attack on a ship within the convoy's sphere of protection, though technically the Aviemore is not a member of the convoy.

Belgian steamer Alex van Opstal is sunk by Luftwaffe mine or torpedo off Weymouth.

Other Allied losses for the day are Fanad Head, Davara, and Cheyenne. Some vessels are accounted for on other days for various reasons.

A large escorted convoy leaves Halifax, the first of three over the next week.

British Government: The Duke of Windsor, newly returned from France, is appointed a liaison to the French government.

Japanese/Soviet Relations: Pursuant to the agreement of the previous day, the battle of Khalkhin Gol formally ends.

War Crimes: Mass executions commence in Przemysl on the eve of the Jewish New Year. The liquidations occur at several places in the city outskirts: Lipowica, Pralkowce, Pikulice, at Przekopana, near the Wiar river and near the Jewish cemetery at Slowackiego Street. According to some estimates as many as 600 Jews in total are killed over the next few days.

American Homefront: The NY Yankees clinch their fourth straight American League Pennant, beating the Detroit Tigers 8-5. Their opponent in the World Series is yet to be determined.

On September 16, 1939, residents of London carrying gas mask containers (white boxes) walk along curbs widened and marked with stripes for civil defense purposes (AP Photo).

September 1939

September 1, 1939: Invasion of Poland
September 2, 1939: Danzig Annexed
September 3, 1939: France, Great Britain Declare War
September 4, 1939: First RAF Raid
September 5, 1939: The US Stays Out
September 6, 1939: Battle of Barking Creek
September 7, 1939: Polish HQ Bugs Out
September 8, 1939: War Crimes in Poland
September 9, 1939: The Empire Strikes Back
September 10, 1939: The Germans Break Out
September 11, 1939: Battle of Kałuszyn
September 12, 1939: The French Chicken Out
September 13, 1939: The Battle of Modlin
September 14, 1939: Germany Captures Gdynia
September 15, 1939: Warsaw Surrounded
September 16, 1939: Battle of Jaworów
September 17, 1939: Soviets Invade Poland
September 18, 1939: Lublin Falls
September 19, 1939: Germans, Soviets Hook Up
September 20, 1939: the Kraków Army Surrenders
September 21, 1939: Romania Convulses
September 22, 1939: Joint Soviet-German Military Parade
September 23, 1939: The Panama Conference
September 24, 1939: The Luftwaffe Bombs Warsaw
September 25, 1939: Black Monday for Warsaw
September 26, 1939: Warsaw on the Ropes
September 27, 1939: Hitler Decides to Invade France
September 28, 1939: Warsaw Capitulates
September 29, 1939: Modlin Fortress Falls
September 30, 1939: Graf Spee on the Loose

2019

Friday 15 September 1939

Jews being humiliated by Wehrmacht troops in Przemysl by shaving off their beards.

Battle of Poland: German radio reports on September 15, 1939, that Wehrmacht troops have surrounded Warsaw. The Third Army from Army Group North attacks Praga. The German forces attack on both sides of the Vistula. Polish forces defeat the German 23rd Infantry at Grochów with heavy Wehrmacht casualties. Polish Major General Juliusz Rómmel, in charge of the Warsaw Army and the Modlin Fortress,  rejects a surrender demand.

German troops occupy oil fields in Galicia.

Wehrmacht troops cross the East Prussian border.

Radio Warsaw claims that forces at Lwow have repulsed a German attack.

General Guderian's XIX Corps surrounds Brest-Litovsk.

Polish submarine Orzeł, which has been at sea, reaches Tallinn in Estonia and is interned at German request.

Western Front: Operation Saar continues without making any progress.

War at Sea: The first convoys from Kingston, Jamaica sets out for England.

Regular convoys also are sailing between Glasgow and London.

European Air Operations: Germany radio broadcasts propaganda interviews of British and New Zealand airmen downed during the Wilhelmshaven raid on 4 September 1939.

Polish Propaganda: Radio Warsaw denounces the Luftwaffe attacks on open towns.

British Home Front: The Ministry of Information announces the seizure of goods destined for Germany, including 28,000 tons of petroleum.

Motorists form long queues at gas stations due to prospective petrol rationing.

Romania: Resisting foreign pressure, the government announces that it will grant asylum to Polish civilians and intern Polish military as required by international law.

Australia: The cabinet authorizes a volunteer force of 20,000.

Palestine: Tensions ease in Palestine due to a recognition of a common danger to world peace.

War Crimes:  Einsatzkommando of the Sipo (Sicher­heitspolizei), begin arresting some of the 20,000 Jews in Przemysl and taking them out to be shot and buried in mass graves.

Japanese/Soviet Relations: As the Soviets desired when signing the Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact, Germany has pressured Japan into signing an armistice agreement ending the conflict in Manchukuo and Mongolia. That has the immediate consequence of formally ending the Khalkhin Gol incident. The talks were initiated by the Japanese cabinet.

Jackie Cochran with her record-setting Seversky.

US Aviation: Jackie Cochran sets a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Speed Record flying a Seversky AP-7A, civil registration NX1384, over a 1,000-kilometer course, from Burbank to San Francisco and back to Burbank. Cochran averages 492.34 kilometers per hour (305.93 miles per hour). It is a specially built racer and is the same plane that won the 1938 Bendix Trophy.

American Homefront: Aviator Charles Lindbergh, who has visited Germany and reviewed the Luftwaffe, makes an America First speech that is broadcast across the country. He states (somewhat presciently) "We must either keep out of European wars entirely or stay in European affairs permanently." His ultimate desire is to keep the United States out of the developing European conflict.

Night view of the World's Fair, New York City, September 15, 1939. The international situation is detrimental to the fair's success (Library of Congress).

September 1939

September 1, 1939: Invasion of Poland
September 2, 1939: Danzig Annexed
September 3, 1939: France, Great Britain Declare War
September 4, 1939: First RAF Raid
September 5, 1939: The US Stays Out
September 6, 1939: Battle of Barking Creek
September 7, 1939: Polish HQ Bugs Out
September 8, 1939: War Crimes in Poland
September 9, 1939: The Empire Strikes Back
September 10, 1939: The Germans Break Out
September 11, 1939: Battle of Kałuszyn
September 12, 1939: The French Chicken Out
September 13, 1939: The Battle of Modlin
September 14, 1939: Germany Captures Gdynia
September 15, 1939: Warsaw Surrounded
September 16, 1939: Battle of Jaworów
September 17, 1939: Soviets Invade Poland
September 18, 1939: Lublin Falls
September 19, 1939: Germans, Soviets Hook Up
September 20, 1939: the Kraków Army Surrenders
September 21, 1939: Romania Convulses
September 22, 1939: Joint Soviet-German Military Parade
September 23, 1939: The Panama Conference
September 24, 1939: The Luftwaffe Bombs Warsaw
September 25, 1939: Black Monday for Warsaw
September 26, 1939: Warsaw on the Ropes
September 27, 1939: Hitler Decides to Invade France
September 28, 1939: Warsaw Capitulates
September 29, 1939: Modlin Fortress Falls
September 30, 1939: Graf Spee on the Loose

2020

Sunday 20 August 1939

Japanese forces marching against the Soviet Red Army at Khalkhin Gol.

Soviet-Japanese Military Action - Japan had been aggressive with its military throughout the 1930s. It confined that activity largely to the Chinese mainland, incurring little notice in the Western media. By and large, horrific as the human toll was, these military raids had little consequences extending into World War II. However, one did: the Battle of Khalkhin Gol.

Japan had occupied Manchuria (north of Korea) in 1931 and turned it into a puppet state named Manchukuo. This brought the Japanese into direct contact with the Soviets in Mongolia, removing the buffer between them. The result was a series of border incidents due to disagreement about the true border between the two adversaries. You might think that the Japanese, having absconded with such a huge territory, would just take a pass on pressing a meaningless border issue so as not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it was the 1930s and everyone was in everyone else's business.

Actually, somewhat surprisingly, headquarters in Japan did take that reasonable attitude. It was one of its last prudent military decisions. But this order was ignored.

The 1905 Battle of Tsushima off Korea was an epic Russian disaster that lingered in everyone's memory through the years. The Battle of Kalkin Gol turned the tables.

So, in a fit of common sense, Imperial Japanese Headquarters told the local army to stand down. However, the Japanese Kwantung Army was a loose cannon outfit that pretty much did what it wanted to do, led by leaders who fancied themselves crusading warlords. It ignored Tokyo and decided to settle the border issue by simply taking the disputed territory. The Kwantung Army began inconclusive skirmishing with the Soviets in May 1939, but this led nowhere. The Japanese then decided to settle matters once and for all in July. They sent in two roughly division-sized forces in a two-pronged assault designed to encircle Soviet forces on the river Khalkhin Gol. It was a classic double encirclement, then novel in modern warfare (though the tactic dated at least to the time of Hannibal) but much-practiced later in World War II.

The Japanese plan might have succeeded, but they were facing one Georgy Zhukov. Zhukov was to become famous during World War II as quite possibly the best General of the conflict, but at that time he was just a corps commander. He took over on 5 June 1939, bringing along reinforcements (part of being a favored General in those days was that you got stronger forces allocated to you than would otherwise be the case). Zhukov had literally hundreds of tanks, which he was not chary about using, making the operation a full-scale battle on a par with many of the famous engagements of the war. It was basically war games with live ammunition because everyone knew it would not evolve into a wider conflict. While the Japanese claimed to have destroyed more Soviet tanks than they lost (also a common claim by the Germans in subsequent years), ultimately they were repelled. The encirclement failed, the points of the attack failed to join, and the Japanese commander Yasuoka Masaomi was relieved.

While the Japanese attack had failed, they had occupied some territory and remained in their advanced positions. They may not have achieved their objective, but they also technically had not lost. Zhukov decided to settle matters. On 20 August, he attacked with three rifle divisions, two tank divisions and additional tank forces organized into two brigades. While Soviet divisions in those days were smaller than those in other armies, it was still a substantial force of about 500 tanks (while composed of weak BT-5 and BT-7 models, these were more than capable against the Japanese forces which were very light in armor). The Soviets also had some 557 aircraft and 50,000 men. The Soviets faced only one Japanese division - the disadvantage of having a failed encirclement was that the Japanese forces remained separate and could be defeated in detail. By the end of the month, the Japanese forces had been wiped out. A cease-fire was arranged in Moscow shortly afterward, made easier because now (temporarily) they essentially were on the same side against the Allies.


While there is doubt about the losses on both sides, there is no doubt that the Japanese lost, and lost badly. This was probably due to their deficiencies in armor and aircraft. The battle had several important consequences:

• The Soviet military successes in the Far East encouraged Stalin to sign the 23 August Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact with Germany, which had many militarily adventurous aspects;
• To some extent, the victory avenged the Soviet disaster at the 1905 Battle of Tsushima and restored Soviet prestige in the theater;
• Zhukov burnished his credentials and returned to Moscow a hero, thereby accelerating his career rise;
• Moscow got to practice an early form of Blitzkrieg (coordinated offensive attack by motorized forces and aircraft) and demonstrate it for the world;
• Japan saw that the Soviets would not be an easy opponent and looked in other directions for future conquests.

While it is dangerous to read too much into an isolated, basically inconclusive (in a strategic sense) engagement, the Battle of Khalkhin Gol had drastic consequences for world history. Due to this battle, Stalin felt free, especially given the intelligence received from Soviet spies such as Richard Sorge, to reduce his defensive strength facing Japan to the bare minimum during the darkest early days of World War II in 1941. This contributed to the successful defense of Moscow in December 1941 and the subsequent successful Soviet counterattacks. The battle also dissuaded the Japanese from attacking north in 1941 against the weakened Soviet Union, which would have made much better sense from a strategic perspective than what they chose to do. Ultimately, Japan attacked south for "easy" conquests, and this had catastrophic - actually fatal - consequences for the Axis.

Zhukov at the Khalkhin Gol battle.

Pre-War

8-9 November 1923: Beer Hall Putsch

December 20, 1924: Hitler Leaves Prison

September 18, 1931: Geli Raubal Commits Suicide

November 8, 1932: Roosevelt is Elected

30 January 1933: Hitler Takes Office
February 27, 1933: Reichstag Fire
March 23, 1933: The Enabling Act

June 20, 1934: Hitler Plans the Night of the Long Knives
June 30, 1934: Night of the Long Knives

August 1, 1936: Opening of the Berlin Olympics

September 30, 1938: The Munich Agreement
November 9, 1938: Kristallnacht

August 1, 1939: Flight Tests of B-17 Flying Fortress
August 2, 1939: Einstein and the Atom Bomb
August 7, 1939: Goering Tries to Broker Peace
August 14, 1939: Hitler Decides To Attack Poland
August 15, 1939: U-Boats Put To Sea
August 16, 1939: Incident at Danzig
August 20, 1939: Battle of Khalkhin Gol
August 22, 1939: Hitler Tips His Hand
August 23, 1939: Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact
August 25, 1939: Hitler Postpones Invasion of Poland
August 27, 1939: First Jet Flight
August 31, 1939: The Gleiwitz Operation

2019