761.93 Manchuria/137: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Kirk) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 2—7:39 a.m.]
217. Referring to my telegram No. 216, August 1, 8 p.m.,18 following statement issued during the night. According to information received by Tass from authoritative sources, the account of the clash between the Soviet and Japanese detachments in the region of Lake Khasan has been as follows: on July 29 after the Japanese detachment was ejected on the hill Bezimiannya occupied by them the Japanese concentrated their troops consisting of one division against Zaozernoi (Changkufeng) hill which is situated in Soviet territory.
On July 31 at 3 a.m., Japanese troops under cover of artillery fire suddenly attacked Soviet frontier posts and compelled them to retreat from Zaozernoi hill. Simultaneously the Japanese artillery began to bombard the adjacent heights and the road behind them in order to prevent Soviet reinforcements from approaching. Aided by artillery Japanese infantry succeeded in penetrating 4 kilometres into Soviet territory. In a few hours Soviet regular troops which had come up ejected the Japanese from Soviet territory. On both sides there are wounded and killed. Japanese lost 400 killed and wounded. The Japanese abandoned on Soviet territory 5 cannon, 14 machine gun, 157 rifles with ammunition. On the Soviet side there [Page 462] were 55 wounded, 13 killed. In addition one Soviet tank and cannon also were disabled. It is assumed that a Soviet pilot who parachuted from a scouting plane fell into the hands of the Japanese. Both before the Japanese invasion and during the battle, Soviet troops never violated the Manchurian border which deprived them of the chance of encircling the invaders or taking them on the flank.
The Soviet Chargé d’Affaires in Tokyo was instructed to present an energetic protest to the Japanese Government and to call its attention to the possible threatening consequence of the actions of the Japanese militarists unwilling to respect the inviolability of Soviet territory the boundaries of which have been established by Russo-Chinese agreements and clearly delineated in the maps bearing the signatures of representatives of China annexed thereto.
- Not printed.↩