Remembering the Soviet-Japan War, 1938-1939
It's 70 years since a major conflict was fought between Japan and USSR, yet many people, even WWII history buffs, don't even realize it occurred. Russian forces defeated the Japanese, turning Japan's attention to the south, in a move which would ultimately result in the Pearl Harbor attack. The failure of the Japanese airforce also sent the Japanese back to the drawing board to design new planes, resulting in the Zero which did so much damage in the Pacific War. The war also gave Marshall Zhukov, who played such an important role against the Nazis, a chance to gain combat experience, and above all prevented them from having to fight a two front war. Finally, it preserved Mongolian independence, something that endures today.
The following clip includes an interview with a veteran of the conflict.
