Empire of Japan

===== Clashes with the Soviet Union =====
{{Main|Battle of Lake Khasan|Battles of Khalkhin Gol|Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact}}

In 1938, the Japanese 19th Division entered territory claimed by the Soviet Union, leading to the [[Battle of Lake Khasan]]. This incursion was founded in the Japanese belief that the Soviet Union misinterpreted the demarcation of the boundary, as stipulated in the [[Treaty of Peking]], between Imperial Russia and Manchu China (and subsequent supplementary agreements on demarcation), and furthermore, that the demarcation markers were tampered with.

On May 11, 1939, in the Nomonhan Incident ''([[Battle of Khalkhin Gol]])'', a Mongolian cavalry unit of some 70 to 90 men entered the disputed area in search of grazing for their horses, and encountered Manchukuoan cavalry, who drove them out. Two days later the Mongolian force returned and the Manchukoans were unable to evict them.

The [[IJA 23rd Division]] and other units of the [[Kwantung Army]] then became involved. [[Joseph Stalin]] ordered [[Stavka]], the Red Army's high command, to develop a plan for a counterstrike against the Japanese. In late August, [[Georgy Zhukov]] employed encircling tactics that made skillful use of superior artillery, armor, and air forces; this offensive nearly annihilated the 23rd Division and decimated the [[IJA 7th Division]]. On September 15 an armistice was arranged. Nearly two years later, on April 13, 1941, the parties signed a [[Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact|Neutrality Pact]], in which the Soviet Union pledged to respect the territorial integrity and inviolability of Manchukuo, while Japan agreed similarly for the [[Mongolian People's Republic]].