Suiyuan Offensive

The Tauran Incident, was fought between forces of Mongolia and Japan, during the Soviet-Japanese border conflicts, for control of the Mongolian border village of Tauran.

Timeline

On 11 March, an army of less than 100 Mongolian soldiers with six Soviet advisors invaded the disputed village of Tauran, where they defeated the occupying Manchurian defenders. Later that same day the Japanese army with some Manchurian volunteers launched a massive attack to retake the village. The Japanese forces consisted of ten armored vehicles and dozens of warplanes, which bombed the village overnight. The next morning the Japanese launched their ground assault with a force of more than 400 soldiers and a few tanks. The Mongolians were slaughtered and barely did any damage to the attackers as they were forced to retreat. A quarter of their initial force was killed along with two officers and their commander. Three Soviet advisors were also killed, creating tensions between both nations. The bodies were rounded up and dumped in a mass grave by Japanese troops. In 2008 the grave was dug up revealing the bones of 58 people believed to be associated with the battle.

References

• John Erickson: The Soviet High Command: A Military-political History, 1918-1941, London 1962, p. 415.
• Alvin D. Coox: Nomonhan: Japan Against Russia 1939, Stanford 1985, p. 156/157.