What if Japan invaded Russia?

What would've happened? I've always wondered? I have my own theories but I'm more interested in hearing everyone elses.

 

Earlier discussions on the subject:

http://www.ww2forums.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=000078;p=1

 

Kai is right this topic has already been discussed........but if you dont feel like reading all of the topics........Marshal Zhukov in 1939 destroyed a japanese so bad that they never thought of invading again.

 

The Soviets did win but not through superior ability as is often credited to them. Zhukov's reputation far exceeds what actually was accomplished against the Japanese.
The Japanese initially put just a single infantry division (the 28th) into the Nomohan area. As the battle progressed a second infantry division was injected (the 7th). The Soviets countered the Japanese with over a corps of primarily mechanized troops (several tank brigades, a mechanized division, several armored car brigades and several cavalry brigades) amounting to something between 5 and 7 times the manpower the Japanese had.
In the air the Japanese had about 100 aircraft committed against what eventually was between 500 and 700 Soviet machines.
The Japanese 28th division was largely destroyed and they suffered several thousand dead. The Soviets lost about 300 AFV and as much as 10,000 dead in return. In the air the Japanese were defeated purely through attrition shooting down at least 5 to 1. Polikarpov, the premier Soviet fighter designer of the period was personally sacked by Stalin due to the pathetic performance of his designs (admittedly in the hands of barely competent pilots up against pros with thousands of flying hours).
On the whole though, the Japanese simply lacked the necessary manpower and material to successfully invade or even fight a major war against the Soviets.

 

yes, at that time, i dont think it was possible for them to invade russia...

 

Actually T.A. it was a huge victory especially for the morale of Russian troops and the huge disappointment for the Japs...... On the ground the Japs got crushed, in the air it was another story.....however by the end of the war the ratio of soviet pilots downed vs japs went from 4-1 to 1-10!!!

here see for yourself...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khalkin_Gol

 

Clumsy as it was, it was enough after all to dissuade the Japanese from further adventures northwards. In any case terrain and logistics were dreadful, and there was not much to gain in the short run, so why bother with that frozen desert when there was oil in Java?

 

To put it the other way round: Why would the USSR guarantee Mongolia´s safety? Must be something there!??

 

Soviet Union and Mongolia had close relations. ( friends )

Here maybe this will help.

http://countrystudies.us/mongolia/64.htm

 

Okay, but what about the 30s and 40s?

 

The following quote is taken from the first sentence!!!"In the late 1980s, the close relationship between Mongolia and the Soviet Union was much the same as it had been since the 1920s".

Is that a little better??


http://www.geocities.com/mongolsec/stalin.html

here's another site just in case

 

I mainly mean if they invaded during Russia's weakest point. When Russia was in a desperate struggle with Germany and had not get gained the offensive. Would it ahve been logical for Japan to invade the USSR during this time?

 

The Soviet forces were quite strong all through the WW2 in the Asian part so any attack by Japan would not really change much ( like I used to think it would ).

The quality of troops did fall when the Siberian ski troops were sent to protect Moscow but otherwise the number of troops did not change much.

 

I have to agree on this one, he's responsible for some heavy blunders (like many other commanders -> this doesn't mean he was a dunce and he was overall one of the best generals/marshals of WWII in my opinion), and so many military errors were blamed on Stalin after he died, just like so many German generals hid behind Hitler's mistakes after the war.

Anyway, I won't go back to the Uranus subject (you know, the failed Soviet OFFENSIVE lol), but when you look at the Soviet total inability to organise any protracted large scale combined arms operation until late 42 begining 43, you can understand the Khalkin Gol victory owes more to numbers and Japan inconsistencies, than genius.