Good evening, everyone. A few weeks ago, I wrote a great article for the Russian forum about adding a campaign dedicated to the battles on Khalkhin Gol to the game. The article turned out to be very large and received many positive reviews. I don’t speak English very well, so the translation of the article with minor edits was done using automatic translation. Therefore, there will be grammatical and lexical errors here, but I hope that in general the meaning will be clear. In general, I am interested to know the reaction of the English-speaking audience, so please comment on the recording. Perhaps if the developers see that Khalkhin-Gol is interesting not only in Russia, it will appear in the game someday.
https://forum.enlisted.net/ru/t/halhin-gol-versiya-2-rabota-nad-oshibkami/137966
If someone does not know, the battles on Khalkhin Gol (sometimes they are also called the “Nomonkhan incident”) took place from May to September 1939 in the Mongolian border area. Despite the rather local nature of the battle, it turned out to be quite long and bloody, characterized by the active use of tanks and aircraft. If we take the number of soldiers and equipment involved, the battles on Khalkhin Gol are comparable to the operations in North Africa in 1940-1941. In August 1939, during a fierce offensive, Soviet-Mongolian troops led by Georgy Zhukov defeated the Japanese invaders. This was one of the factors that forced the Japanese junta to postpone plans to seize the Soviet Far East indefinitely.
So, let’s get started. The first tab has a lot of long text without pictures, so you can skip it right away. But then there will be more illustrative material.
The conceptual part
Khalkhin Goal is necessary in order to distribute online more correctly between different campaigns, add new missions to Japan and the USSR for the early stage of the game, please newcomers from Steam (we still hope that going online will bring Steam, right?), who are unlikely to be able to try Berlin in the near future, but they will get new maps for your Battle rating. In general, Mongolia is good for everyone. In addition, now the most beautiful maps of Tunisia are much less common than maps of the Pacific Ocean or, even more so, the battle for Moscow. If you add the Soviet-Japanese confrontation for early BR, the matchmaker will be able to correctly redistribute online between maps. Halkin-Goal is needed to have Tunisia.
The battles on Khalkhin Gol are inconvenient because BR3 definitely cannot be allowed there, since you do not want to spoil the whole entourage - KV-1 and T-34 could not participate in the battles in Mongolia, these tanks are completely inappropriate there, they hurt the eye. 2 BR, in my opinion, will look quite good in the battles on Khalkhin Gol: Sb-2, Japanese machine guns and rifles, trucks and other completely historical weapons. Of course, there will be “minor” anachronisms, like the T-28 in Stalingrad - this is an armament from the very beginning of the war, it will look quite good. But the frankly late-looking “Cougar” is an unacceptable thing for our consciousness. This armored car gets in the way, but due to the general predominance of quite historical weapons and beautiful costumes, the overall impression can be preserved. In other words, the spoon of the “cat” is lost in a whole barrel with everything else: the Red Army soldiers are running at the enemy, armed only with Mosin rifles and a long-drawn “hurrah”, the T-34 is rushing after them, and somewhere in the background the I-15 is firing missiles at the enemy position. And it doesn’t matter so much to you that this T-34 just destroyed the Pz3N, and not some other tank. In the same way, the T-50 with Ho-I will disappear into this epic picture. Well, if you let 3 BR into Mongolia, then the amount of non-historical weapons will exceed all permissible limits, and the campaign will turn into a circus for real (like Stalingrad on a high BR, with trained cats and other clowns).
By the way, the map for 1-2 BR is a great reason to bring back the 45 mm Soviet anti-tank gun to the game. As you probably know, it has now been replaced for the sake of balance by the German PaK-40. Despite the fact that the 53-k version was presented in the game, and the 19-k was used on Khalkhin Gol, the external difference between them is almost imperceptible. It is necessary, except to repaint it in green. The Japanese, let me remind you, have a 47-mm gun available now.
The map
What about the area? To begin with, it is necessary to clearly understand what to do historically exactly, as in Berlin/Stalingrad won’t work, geography just won’t allow it. The rather dreary landscape is generally the main problem of Khalkhin Gol, on the other hand, the same painstaking work is not needed as for the famous urban centers. You can build a map, as they say, based on the motives.
You can draw yourself a terrible picture: a steppe flat as a table with a couple of hills on which there are tanks shooting all living things with high-explosive shells. I declare responsibly: no one will want to play on such a card, including me. But I will still express my opinion about the general features of the map: large (with the size of a Cave village, Oasis or Guadalcanal); open enough, but so that the infantry has a place to move (as an example, Fortified area, New Georgia); with moderate differences in terrain and vegetation affecting the view and movement; giving the technique the opportunity to maneuver around the entire map (and not as on Guadalcanal), but outside the gray zone (in the Cave Village it turned out with the help of a competent arrangement of insurmountable objects and, if I’m not mistaken, in the Oasis this was achieved by landscaping entire sections of the map). The points for which the battle is taking place should be located away from the place where the fighters appear; the key to their successful assault / effective defense is the collection points in different directions. By the way, it should be possible to destroy them with the help of a skillful maneuver in the rear, for example, with the help of all the same tanks. In general, not the battle for the Moscow barns, but something else. Although, given the absence of most automatic weapons, there is no need to be afraid of open spaces.
Then everything depends on the map designer. Maybe the map will be created completely differently, I won’t complain. It just seems to me that this option is the most historically accurate, atmospheric and curious. As for the number of cards, since the game also requires at least Manchuria, Okinawa and Belarus (1944) as soon as possible, I believe that one large map of the battles for Khalkhin Gol for different missions will be enough.
What does the theater of operations look like? That’s how it is:
To begin with, a very steep panorama depicting the battle for the height of Bain-Tsagan:
Since the terrain is even flatter in other places, we will need just such a riverine area. Do they still like to cross rivers? Maybe Japanese floating tanks will come in handy)) The river, by the way, is not that big and deep:
A pontoon bridge. There were several of them, so an attack from two bridges is possible at once:
The carcasses of burnt-out machinery. They are actively placed on existing maps. Considering that a lot of tanks were used, and they burned well…:
In addition, vegetation and terrain irregularities. The theater of operations east of the river can be conditionally divided into northern, southern and central directions. So, in the center, the landscape is somewhat more complex and, therefore, the only one acceptable for Enlisted. There are no normal panoramas of the places we are interested in, but satellite images can give us an approximate idea of how to diversify the landscape on the left bank:
By the way, summer is the wettest period in this area of Mongolia. There is the same amount of precipitation there as at the same time in the Leningrad region, so the vegetation is green, not dry. Here is a panorama of the most interesting area for us. Note that the camera is still standing to the side, in a bare field:
And here’s some more vegetation. The last photo clearly shows autumn landscapes, or late summer:
Just a beautiful photo:
Let’s move on. What about the buildings? There are no settlements in our area, but this is no reason to despair. The Japanese spent the whole summer, right up to the beginning of the general offensive of the Red Army, digging trenches and building bunkers. Unfortunately, there are no normal photos, maybe these are:
Although there is a possibility that this is a Soviet camp, I still do not think that the technology of trench construction varied greatly from country to country. Such fortifications can fill the landscapes of the left bank (this is where there are irregularities with trees). Here’s Comrade Zhukov inspects the captured Japanese positions (most likely somewhere in the north or south):
In addition, there is such a photo of Japanese artillery positions. Place them not in a bare field, but in the undergrowth…:
What has not been preserved thanks to photographs can be completed with the help of imagination. Now about the right bank. There, next to the height, bridges and a mountain of broken equipment, you can place a Mongolian military camp, the photo of which was found by Gold_King_:
He didn’t really exist in these places. But who cares?
In general, something like that. Here is a photo of a rock and Red Army soldiers with a mortar, and we can go on.
The appearance of the soldiers
The Red Army has more or less everything: overcoats, tunics, helmets, boots, tank helmets, and caps. That’s what will be completely inappropriate, so these are quilted jackets, balbeski hats, white masks, and what else they painted for the winter-autumn of 1941-1942. Perhaps the only new piece of clothing that is really needed at Khalkhin Gol is a panama hat. Moreover, it could be worn not only in infantry, but also in armored forces. Here are some photos of the Red Army soldiers:
A guy with a captured katana and sports slippers in the last picture from the intelligence unit. This kind of disguise can be given to snipers. Or you can not give it out, or add it only for customization points.
It is more difficult with the Japanese, since their appearance is now focused on the war in the Pacific theater of operations. However, some of the equipment elements are already there (for example, the same caps, tank helmets). You will still have to add new costumes, at least for the sake of the Manchurian operation (the Kwantung Army fought there and there).
And so on. If suddenly the Japanese uniform is not enough for some individual classes, it’s okay if you add the elements of uniforms used in northern China.
Infantry
Actually, it’s just a little bit here. There is no evidence that any special hand-held weapons were used in Mongolia. Therefore, I just suggest adding 2 premium detachments of engineers capable of building light regimental guns in addition to anti-tank artillery and anti-aircraft guns. Such guns are capable of hitting infantry with powerful high-explosive fragmentation ammunition, and, if necessary, destroy not too armored tanks. Once upon a time, this function was assumed by the guns already available in the game, but then the anti-aircraft guns were limited by the aiming angle, and anti-tank guns became ineffective against unarmored targets. This change was good for balance, but now you can’t play through the construction of such guns. Why not return this opportunity for money in the form of paid units of 1 BR?
I believe that at least one premium detachment of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Army is needed. So, the Mongols who are able to build a regimental cannon mod. 1927 is cool. In other companies, they can easily be dressed in the Red Army uniform, and such regimental artillery will be appropriate on almost all maps, because it was used almost until the end of the war.
It is difficult with weapons, since it is almost impossible to find some kind of rifle unused in the game, and for me they all “look the same.” If there are specialists here who are able to distinguish between 9 Mosin rifles from the thematic museum and choose among them a model that has not yet been presented in the game, then it will be great. Such a rifle can be made to have an increased reloading speed, after which it can be given to the gunners.
I also propose to give the artillery engineers a cavalry saber (all Mongolian units that participated in the battles were part of the cavalry divisions).
As for the Japanese squad, they can be given such an elegant 70 mm Type 92 field gun:
These are Soviet soldiers, not Japanese. In general, such guns were used in ordinary infantry regiments throughout the war. For example, here it was put in an open field:
As for the unique weapon, we currently do not have a Type 44 carbine. It was created for cavalry units and has a very extravagant appearance:
Another option is the Type 38 carbine. We have a rifle, but no carbine!
With melee weapons, there are two options: either a type 30 bayonet knife (who needs it?), or some other model of the well-known Shin Gunto. There are many of them, in a variety of variations, you can choose any one. For example, here is such a short one, with a protective bow (from below):
Or you can choose another model of the sword from this photo:
If suddenly, for some reason, it does not work to give the soldiers unique rifles, there is another solution: leave them cold steel, a cannon, and instead of rifles arm them with top-end, maximally improved pistols: “Mauser“ and ”Nambu”, respectively.
Aviation
For the USSR.
- I-16 Type 17 is a well–known “donkey”, armed among other things with 20 mm ShVAK guns. In general, the absence of this iconic aircraft in the research tree is puzzling. He does not have missiles, so those who bought the later Type 24 model will not be offended. There is a WT in the Chinese research tree, so it will need to be repainted.
- TB-3. The famous bomber was used in the Khalkhin Goal battle. His survivability and handling are not good, but he has a frenzied load capacity: in the WT he can carry up to 12,100 kg of bombs. Of course, we don’t need that much, but the payload can be changed to suit the balance. There are two options: either give him more bombs and sell them for gold (the USSR does not have paid planes for 1-2 BR), or give one 500 kg bomb and something else to boot (the USSR does not have planes for 2 BR with 500 kg bomb either).
For Japan. I note that the Japanese 1-2 BR fleet is now extremely poor compared to any of the countries and needs to be replenished with samples not presented below, but this has nothing to do with Khalkhin Gol.
- Ki-10. A very maneuverable biplane with machine guns similar to the A5M4. Of course, he fought on Khalkhin Gol. There is a WT.
- The Ki-27 is the main fighter of the Japanese Air Force on Khalkhin Gol, which created many problems for Soviet pilots. Not the most serious course armament is compensated by speed and maneuverability.
- Ki-32. The English Wikipedia reports that several of them managed to take part in the “Nomonkhan incident”. A light bomber with a small armament of 4 100 kg of bombs. If desired, the load can be changed, but it seems to me that it is not bad as it is.
- Ki-21. A high-speed bomber, the WT carries 4,250 kg of bombs. Perhaps he should carry something else, for example, one 500kg bomb and a couple of 100kg. This is at the discretion of the person responsible for the balance. He actively (and, unfortunately, extremely effectively) fought in Mongolia.
Tanks
For Japan.
I-Go Ko (Type 89). In short, the tank is so-so, but the 57 mm. howitzer cannon is the only weapon in Japan for 1 BR, which has powerful anti–personnel shells. Her ability to destroy equipment is in the area of statistical error, although you can’t envy the enemy infantry.
Ro-Go (Type 95). The experimental tank, which was developed in the early 1930s, was made in metal (it even seemed to be tested in China, although I would not believe it). It looks old-fashioned, so I don’t see a big problem in adding it to the game. Armed with a howitzer cannon with high-explosive fragmentation ammunition, there is some kind of armor; there is a small gun, but no machine gun (or rather, there is, but it is located in the back of the tower). A howitzer with a caliber of 70 mm. It can hit infantry, and the mediocre 37 mm cannon from Ha-Go can hit tanks. The control of the towers is separate, like a machine gun and a cannon on a Ha-Go.
I refused self–propelled artillery at its base, since a large number of prototypes are evil, and in this case also useless and completely anti-historical evil.
For the USSR.
I have been thinking for a long time about which tank can be given to the Red Army. But here the developers released the KV-1 with the ZiS-5 cannon, putting it in front of the T-34-85, but after the usual KV. And this is a precedent. It turns out that it is possible to increase the number of mandatory research points in the branch of technology by as much as 160 thousand. Now, no considerations in the spirit of “do not extend the pumping” can stop us from entering the BT-5. It differs from the BT-7 in a slightly different tower and worse armor, but otherwise it is very similar to it. There is nothing shameful in adding the main Soviet tank on Khalkhin Gol to the game, and even actively used near Moscow. In general, in conditions when the T-28, KV-1, T-34, almost all German tanks, M3 and many others are presented in the game not in one, but in 2-3 modifications, the addition of an earlier version of the BT is only a plus.
Premium machine for the USSR.
There are two options here: a more historical one and a more fun one. The first one is a GAZ-AAA anti-aircraft gun with four Maxim machine guns. It is present in the WT, and was actively used not only at Khalkhin Gol, but also during the Great Patriotic War.
Strictly speaking, this is a working one, but not particularly interesting and, judging by the experience of using its analogue, the promotional GAZ-M (72k), not a very effective squad. That’s why I have a better offer.
Meet the Su-12. Self-propelled artillery based on the same GAZ-AA. The main gun is a regimental cannon mod. 1927, but somewhat modernized for use on a mobile platform. The crew consisted of 4 people. As well as an ordinary regimental cannon, you can issue both high-explosive and armor-piercing shells.
It looks epic, doesn’t it? And if you didn’t know that such a device did not take part in the battle for Moscow (they were written off shortly before the start of the war, which, by the way, is strange – the car proved itself well on Khalkhin Gol), would you have questions about its appearance? I can assume not. That’s why I like this option. For 1 BR per piece of money, of course.
Armored cars/tankettes and motorcycles
Armored vehicles and small tanks with machine guns fought both in Mongolia and elsewhere. Their addition has been discussed many times, but it is the extensive map of Khalkhin Gol that fits them perfectly. Even if the armored cars will not be super-efficient, in any case, they will give the game 1-2 more atmosphere.
Armored cars: 1) they are in the branch of additional equipment, and not in the tank branch; 2) they do not occupy a slot of equipment (a person can explore aviation using an armored car in parallel with it); 3) they quickly open in the research tree; 4) they use a squad of motorcyclists, requiring little experience to gain a level, with the possibility of transferring to a motorcycle and the construction of a collection point; 5) the crew can instantly leave the car (so that they can escape when an oncoming tank comes out to meet them); 6) the machine gun should not (or almost should not) overheat, so that the meaning of infantry support is not lost; 7) it should be possible not to leave with a detachment in an armored car, but simply to appear on foot at one of the collection points (depending on the combat situation; as has already been done on amphibious detachments). These 7 points will give armored vehicles at least some meaning.
I suggest adding two models for each side: one for the research tree, the other can be given as a reward for an event dedicated to Khalkhin Gol.
For the USSR.
The BA-20 is being upgraded, as the most massive and advanced armored vehicle of the Red Army on Khalkhin Gol and in the early years of the war. It was produced up to and including 1942. The crew consists of 2-3 people (a radio operator is optional). On the highway, it gives a speed of 90 km/h, but we don’t have roads, so it will have a lower maximum speed.
Do you remember when we had an airplane like the U-2? It was sold during the era of campaigns for Stalingrad as a “collector’s item”. It seems that the promotional squad of armored vehicles will be exactly like this. We are talking about the T-37a, a Soviet floating machine–gun tank that fought in certain sectors of the front until 1944. Several dozen T-37as also fought on Khalkhin Gol. Actually, its uniqueness lies in the ability to independently overcome water obstacles (remember, the river flows through our map). However, in the vast majority of cases it was used as a land-based infantry support vehicle. I would suggest adding a radio version, since in this case the crew increases to 3 people instead of two. Accelerates at a standard 40 km/h.
This tank is ordinary. Sources do not report whether the version with the radio station was used in Mongolia, but given that it accounted for 1/5 of the number of vehicles produced, it can be assumed that a couple of the tanks we needed still fought on Khalkhin Gol
And this is the one we need. The frame ensures the operation of the radio station.
For Japan.
Tankette (small tank) Type 94 TC. Small, nimble, authentic, with a machine gun. Yes, it is slightly slower than the BA-20, but it certainly has its advantages (for example, a low silhouette). She fought in Mongolia, and was more popular than the famous Ha-Go. It accelerates to the classic 40 km/h, but the crew is only 2 people.
As for the action squad, it will be a little more interesting. This is a Sumida Type 2593 car. Accelerates to 40 km/ h. It is armed with a machine gun. The beauty is that he carries with him 6 crew members, which is a lot even for a tank. That is, you can put anyone in there. Strictly speaking, this is the only large-scale armored vehicle used by the Japanese army in the WWII, although its use was not massive
I won’t say anything new about motorcycles. The Japanese can (instead of the popular Type 97 variant) be given such a Type 93. It was produced by Rikuo (it seems to be) Photo from 1938, the Kwantung Army:
Although any other model is possible, all of them were already produced and used in 1939, including in Mongolia.
The USSR did not have motorcycles with a sidecar in 1939, the closest in time (and even with the ability to accommodate a third person) was the TIZ AM-600. It will be a little more appropriate, since the production of its “competitor” M-72 was just beginning in 1941, and although it was used without a stroller, it was still used in Mongolia and later.
The main thing worth noting is that there is not a single reason why motorcycles should stand in the research tree after the second anti-tank gun, demand as many as 100 thousand points only on themselves, belong to 2 BR. Considering that motorcyclists live up to the first sniper, it’s not even funny! By the way, German/US motorcycle squads now assume a frenzied amount of experience to get one level (and levels are required to put a much-needed engineer in the squad). I hope that when introducing motorcycles for the USSR and Japan, there will be no such punctures in the balance sheet, and also that all the necessary manipulations will be carried out with Western railcars.
Spreadsheets
I decided to visualize the new research tree as a spreadsheets in Excel. I note that paid engineers with a cannon did not get there. And yes, this option is not ideal, in theory it can be done differently. It turned out 3 tanks, 4 armored cars and tankettes, 2 motorcycles, 3 fighters, 3 bombers and 1 artillery (or anti-aircraft) installation based on a truck.
P.S.
Thank you for reading to the end. It seems that the Khalkhin Goal performed by respected developers could be extremely interesting. In any case, it is no less interesting than the next squad with 5 BR submachine guns. If you liked it more or less, please do not forget to put a heart;)
