761.93 Manchuria/193: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Kirk) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 15—10:10 a.m.]
255. My 254, August 14, 2 p.m. The following is translation of a Tass communiqué entitled “Concerning the Events in the Region of Lake Khasan” published today.
At the first meeting of the military representatives of the Soviet Union and Japan on August 11 of this year the military authorities of the Soviet Union declared that despite the cessation of military activities on August 11 at 1:30 p.m. local time a unit of Japanese forces had violated the agreement concerning the truce and taking advantage of the truce had advanced forward 100 meters and occupied a portion of the northern slope of the Height Zaozernaya (Changkufeng). Despite the protest of the military representatives of the Soviet Union and their demand for the immediate withdrawal of the Japanese forces to their previous position Japanese military representatives categorically refused to carry out this legal demand. In view of the fact that on the sector indicated the forces of both sides are perhaps within 4 or 5 meters of each other and that armed conflict might spontaneously be renewed at any moment, the military representatives of both sides on the spot decided mutually at this place to withdraw the forces of each side to a distance of 80 meters. On receiving information to this effect the Soviet command in the Far East in conformity with the agreement concluded concerning a truce issued orders for the immediate return of our units to their previous positions which they occupied at midnight on August 10 with instructions to demand from the Japanese authorities the withdrawal of the Japanese forces. This instruction was carried out by our command.
At the same time Litvinov brought this violation of the truce by the Japanese forces to the attention of the Japanese Ambassador and demanded that they withdraw in this sector not less than 100 meters and warned that unless this was carried out then the Government of the Soviet Union would consider the truce had been violated through the fault of Japan.
At the moment the Japanese forces have been withdrawn from the above mentioned point.
On August 12 and 13 meetings again took place between the military representatives of the Soviet Union and Japan who fixed the disposition of the forces of both sides. However, the proposal of the military representatives of the Soviet Union on August 13 to sign a protocol and map fixing the disposition of the forces of both sides was refused by the Japanese military representative who declared that they were [Page 482] awaiting instructions from their high authorities and that another more authoritative commission will probably arrive for that purpose.
Thereupon the military representatives of both sides separated. No new meetings took place on August 14. The region of the conflict is quiet at the present time. On August 13 at the request of the Japanese military representatives and with the agreement of the military representatives of the Soviet Union a mutual exchange of dead took place. According to the calculations of the command on the Soviet side, there were 236 dead and 611 wounded. According to the estimation of our command the losses of the Japanese forces amounted to 600 dead and 2500 wounded.