Army History - 1930s
The Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army of Sukhe Bator and Choybalsan provided a convenient patriotic symbol to inspire Mongolians and established a new military tradition. This army also formed the nucleus of the eventual Mongolian People's Army, which was to expand to a strength of 10 percent of the population by the late 1930s in response to the Japanese threat. It also acted as a modernizing force and gave the nation a generation of political leaders. Choybalsan led the nation militarily in the 1920s and the 1930s as commander in chief of the army, and he was premier and top party leader from 1939 until his death in 1952.
In the 1930s, Mongolian forces once again joined with Soviet forces to suppress internal rebellion and to guard their borders against Japanese incursions. In July and August 1939, Mongolian armed forces with their Soviet allies accomplished their proudest feat: defeating Japanese forces and ending Japanese provocations along the border. Mongolia takes pride in its economic support of Soviet military forces during World War II and its part in the August 1945 defeat of Japanese forces in Manchuria.
In the late 1920s and the early 1930s, the army frequently was called on to put down widespread popular revolts led by nobles and monks. The revolts erupted from a basic feeling of nationalism (particularly in western Mongolia), from opposition to the pro- Soviet line, and from the government's extreme measures in forcing collectivization of stock raising and harsh actions against the monks. The revolts culminated in an uprising by 13 detachments of more than 3,000 troops in April 1932; it was put down by the Mongolian army, assisted by a large Soviet Red Army force. By the mid-1930s, the communist government had suppressed the insurgency. It then decided that a more reliable army was necessary, both for internal security and for actions as a forward screen for Soviet troop deployment in the event of a Japanese invasion.
As the army recovered from the revolt, it began rebuilding. The number of young Mongolians on active duty increased annually. During this period, the army acted as an important unifier of the population, in effect supplanting the liquidated monasteries in this role. In striving for national reinvigoration, the army's military role was less important than its social and political roles. A Soviet observer wrote that the army taught the soldier to read and write the national language and converted him into a politically aware soldier-citizen.
Soviet arms and military equipment were provided to the expanding army, and Soviet officers acted not only as instructors, but also as unit advisers and commanders. These arrangements were formalized first in November 1934, when a Mongolian-Soviet "gentlemen's agreement" was reached in Moscow to provide for mutual assistance in the event of attack. This accord was unpublished, because Moscow still nominally recognized the Chinese government.
Monasticism directly inhibited military buildup. Therefore, it was imperative that the monasteries be dealt with. During the period of the "leftist deviation" in the early 1930s, almost half the monasteries had been closed. This policy was relaxed during the insurrectionary period between 1933 and 1936, however, and the monasteries were reopened. By 1936 the monastic population had increased by 10,000 to more than 100,000--11 percent of the total population and 35 percent of men of military age. This drain adversely affected the government's ability to meet the increasing personnel requirements both for defense and for economic production.
Monastic influence also perpetuated a general lack of interest among the general population in establishing an effective national army. The government, therefore, undertook drastic measures against the monks. Monasteries were taxed severely for each monk of military age who did not respond to the military call-up. A law was passed requiring the first son of every family to enter the army when of age; the second son was to remain with the family to work; only the third son was permitted to enter the monastery.
Because few Mongol families had more than two sons, this measure was effective in diminishing the monastic population. Monastic power was reduced, senior monks were liquidated, and monks of middle- rank were imprisoned. Finally, ordinary monks were forced out of the monasteries, which then were destroyed, and all monastic livestock (10 to 15 percent of the national total) was confiscated. By 1939 these repressive measures had ended monasticism and had released a substantial reservoir of manpower for military service and for the civilian economy.
The April 13, 1941 Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact, which included a Soviet pledge to recognize the territorial integrity of Manchukuo and a similar Japanese pledge with respect to Mongolia. Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 and the entry of the United States into World War II in December fully committed the Soviet Union and Japan to other flanks of their respective domains; thus, their Mongolian flanks remained relatively quiet until the final weeks of World War II.
Mongolia stayed mobilized, however, at the 80,000-troop level to guard its frontiers and to discourage any further Japanese incursion. Mongolia also devoted extensive resources to its part of the 1936 mutual-assistance pact, providing the Soviet armed forces with winter clothing, wool, hides, leather goods, meat, and almost half a million ponies and horses for draft and remount use from 1941 to 1945. The Mongolian people raised the money for a brigade of tanks, named the Revolutionary Mongolian Tank Brigade, and for a squadron of aircraft, named Mongolian Herdsmen, presented to the Red Army. In August 1945, Mongolian and Soviet forces joined in the invasion of Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, destroyed the greatly weakened Japanese army, and achieved Soviet political and military goals in northeastern Asia.
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