761.9315 Manchuria/131: Telegram
The Chargé in Japan (Dooman) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 26—2:30 p.m.]
364. 1. I have obtained from confidential Japanese sources the following information with regard to the hostilities on the border between Manchuria and Outer Mongolia.54
- (a)
- The genesis of the hostilities is the restrictive action taken by the Japanese military against nomad Mongolian traders who have long been accustomed to bring their products for sale in certain markets in now disputed territory. The Japanese military authorities forced down the prices of these products, prevented the transfer of funds out of Inner Mongolia and finally closed down several of the markets. On May 8 a large body of Mongolian nomads with several thousand head of sheep and cattle crossed the Halha River in order to proceed to one of the closed markets in territory claimed by the Japanese to be “Manchukuo” and by the Mongolians to be a part of Outer Mongolia. The nomads were protected by a substantial force of Soviet Russian troops and when intercepted by Japanese troops fighting broke out between the Japanese and Soviet forces. Reenforcements were brought up on both sides, the Japanese engaged constituting the greater part of two divisions. I was shown photographs of sixty captured Soviet tanks and a heap of airplane debris. The Japanese admitted on their side to have suffered casualties amounting to 35% of their total effectives since the fighting began and a loss of 30 airplanes during the last 3 weeks.
- (b)
- I was told that the Japanese have obtained conclusive evidence of instructions from Moscow forbidding advance beyond the limited strip of land claimed to be Mongolian territory on east bank of the Halha River. The Japanese assert also that they have given definite instructions to the Kwantung army not to proceed across the above-mentioned river.
If the information is correct that both the Japanese and Soviet Governments are prepared to restrain their forces it does not seem [Page 47] likely that the situation along the border will become more serious than it is. However, the military in Tokyo are showing signs of restlessness over the deadlock along the Mongolian border and refer to the Soviet-Japanese difficulties regarding concessions in North Saghalien in increasingly heated terms. I have no justification whatever for predicting that difficulties may be expected in the latter area but the increasing acerbity of the Soviet-Japanese negotiations in that regard is worthy of notice.
3. [2.] Military Attaché55 requests that copy be furnished the War Department.
Repeated to Moscow and to Peiping for Chungking.