There are many little battles that led up to the Second World War. Some you know about most of them, but many, such as the battle over Khalkhin Gol, you know nothing about. Some of it has to do with the location, the China/Russian border in Mongolia. This is a unique look at this early air battle between the Russians and the Japanese.

Fought over barren hills and plains, the story of the Khalkhin Gol battle is marred by inconsistent data from the Soviet and Japanese sides. The Soviets call the battle the Nomonhan Incident. Both sides say the other attacked first and, despite the best research, we will probably never know who did what first. What is known is that early Soviet and Japanese Army fighters and bombers met up and had some fierce battles.

These battles were fought by biplanes and monoplanes. Not only were Soviet and Japanese aircraft involved, but also Italian bombers. If you like the I-16 and the Ki-27, these two types featured prominently in the battles.

The book is printed as an A4 sized softbound book on 116 high quality pages that contains over 100 high quality images, obviously many that have never before been seen in the western world. The photos in the book are all large and very clear. The majority of the photos are black and white, with a few color ones, mostly modern, interspersed. The Ki-27 is a particularly good looking aircraft in the air and there are few photos showing it in its element.

There are 50 color profiles of some aircraft that normally aren’t seen. I liked seeing some of the complicated paint schemes on the I-15s and I-16s, including one in Japanese markings. The Japanese aircraft display some unique unit markings. The Ki-27 is also seen with a red star.

The book is broken down into history, the four phases of the battle and finally the cessation of hostilities. This is followed up with the profiles and then the appendices show off the various aircraft used by both sides.

The unique subject matter, accompanied with the new photos and the first rate color profiles, makes this a very nice addition to your library. If you are looking for some inspiration for your I-15, I-16 or Ki-27, this is a good book in which you may find it. I enjoyed the book a lot.

Highly Recommended

Thanks to Stevens International for the review copy.