Imperial Japanese general defeated at Khalkhin Gol
Michitarō Komatsubara was an Imperial Japanese Army officer whose Russian expertise shaped a career in intelligence, staff work, and command. At Khalkhin Gol in 1939 he led the 23rd Division as Japan’s border conflict became a major campaign, but Zhukov’s encircling offensive left the division effectively destroyed. The defeat ended his active career, and he died later in 1940 after retiring from the army.
Career Timeline
- 1905Graduated from Army Academy
- 1909–1910Assistant military attaché in Russia
- 1919–1929Soviet intelligence officer, then military attaché in Moscow
- 1932–1934Chief of the Harbin Special Agency in Manchukuo
- 1934–1937Commander of the 8th Infantry Brigade and 1st Imperial Guards Brigade
- 1937–1939Lieutenant general and commander of the Kwantung Army’s 23rd Division
- 1939–1940Kwantung Army staff officer, then retired after Khalkhin Gol