Where the War was Won

[sjashford]

Nomonhan/Khalkin Gol 1939

I am not wholly impartial when regarding this book. The author reached out to me and we have discussed weaponry issues and topography relevant to this border war – he has even infiltrated a photo of me, a phenomenon which should fatally flaw the work. I think it does not.
A work of 5 parts, the first covers the development of Imperial Japan, 1854 – 1937, with its emergence into the world at large and its inevitable issues with its nearest neighbours, China & Russia. The second unit focuses on how this led to increasing confrontation with the now Soviet Union, 1930 -1939. The third unit is an account of the hostilities of May through to mid September, 1939. Then there is an account of the actual aftermath to the end of World War Two. Finally the author launches into a What If hypothesis, which I must admit surprised me a little.
Having been drawn into this regrettably little known area of study by Alvin Coox’s magnificent work, I found the first 2 parts a much easier read, as I feel that the author had a clear focus on where he was going and kept it there; he also had the benefit of some wider and more recent sources. His account of the various phases of the fighting is equally uncluttered and is clear and straight forward. His account of the aftermath is equally straightforward and clear.
I suspect that the final part, his flight of fancy, is the author’s true objective. It posits a circumstance that I simply had not considered. In my opinion it makes for interesting reading: it could have been taken a little further, but perhaps he felt that that was going a little too far into fiction.
The earlier parts of the work are, in my opinion, the best English language account of this little known, but extremely significant episode, and I recommend it on that basis. The quality of the historical account then justifies and adds weight to the hypotheticals proposed.
I recommend this book both for its historical value, and the intrigue of the hypothesis.