Opening new pages of history: Reports of German military attachés from Japan in 1937–1941

Abstract

The article is devoted to military and political events in the Far East on the eve and at the beginning of World War II, namely, German-Japanese relations. The rapprochement of Germany and Japan during this period had a serious geopolitical reason, which consisted in the attitude of both countries towards the Soviet Union. It was a common military and political goal for both Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. The presence of such an external enemy led to the creation of a German-Japanese military-political alliance, which, however, could not overcome the geographical remoteness of both countries, as well as the partners’ wary attitude towards mutual ambitions in the Asia Pacific region. A huge role in the development of military-political relations between Germany and Japan was played by their military diplomats operating in Tokyo and Berlin. Military-political cooperation between the two countries did not stop until April 1945 and was represented not only by the conclusion of bilateral agreements, contacts with the top leadership of Germany and Japan, and the exchange of intelligence information, but also by the organization of delivery of military supplies, which, however, did not have any real significance. Central to the article is the analysis of reports of German military attachés accredited to the German embassy in Tokyo. These documents are deposited in the captured archival funds, which are stored in the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Most of these documents are reviews of military operations during the Sino-Japanese War, as well as data on the armed forces of Japan and the army of the central government of China (Kuomintang). Some of the materials contain intelligence information about the Red Army and the Soviet military forces in the Far East. The Authors did not set themselves the goal of recreating the full picture of military-political cooperation between Germany and Japan in the pre-war period and during the Second World War, but rather limited themselves to analyzing the reflection of this topic in the reports of German military attachés from Tokyo.