1945 R.R.D. Indian WWII Map of Northern China, Mongolia, and the U.S.S.R.

The Gobi - a formidable fronter between empires - published in India during World War II.

This is a c. 1945 'R.D.D.' Indian-imprint map of the Gobi Desert and Mongolia, including western Manchuria and the eastern U.S.S.R. The deceptively spare map was published in India by an agency known only as R.R.D during a period when the Gobi formed a key buffer between conflicting imperial forces: Russia, China, and Japan. The issue of this map likely reflects the August 1945 Soviet invasion of Manchuria.

A Closer Look

Coverage centers on the Gobi Desert, but embraces from Lake Baikal south to Kalgan (modern-day Zhangjiakou) and the Great Wall of China, and from Kirgis Nor (Khyargas Lake) in Mongolia east to Taonan, China. Cities and many smaller settlements are labeled throughout, including Ulaanbaatar (here identified as Ulan-Bator). Roads, rivers, railroads, and international boundaries are illustrated.

Historical Context: A Formidable Buffer

During World War II (1939 - 1945), the formidable Gobi Desert formed a vast natural frontier between Japanese-controlled Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, Soviet-aligned Mongolia, and Nationalist and Communist-held regions of northern China. Though remote from the main theaters of war, the Gobi was key to regional defensive strategies and an impediment to any expansion or invasion plan.

Northern China, including Manchuria, had been under Japanese control since the early 1930s. During the war, Manchuria was developed as a major base for Japanese industry, settlement, and military operations. Adjacent Outer Mongolia (Mongolian People's Republic) was effectively a Soviet satellite and played a strategic role as a buffer state against Japan, supplying the Red Army with horses, livestock, and material support. The region became a flashpoint in 1939 at the Battle of Khalkhin Gol (Nomonhan), where Soviet and Mongolian forces decisively defeated Japan, discouraging further Japanese attacks northward and influencing Tokyo's later decision to expand into Southeast Asia instead.

In August 1945, the Soviet Union launched Operation August Storm, a massive and decisive invasion of Japanese-held Manchuria. Beginning on August 9, just days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the invasion fulfilled Stalin's pledge to enter the war against Japan. Soviet troops, supported by Mongolian forces, armor, and overwhelming air power, struck simultaneously from Siberia, Mongolia, and the Far East, overrunning the Japanese Kwantung Army, which was long considered Japan's premier ground force but was by then weakened and under-supplied. In a stunning blitzkrieg campaign, the Soviets captured key cities and rail hubs, shattered Japanese defenses, and occupied Manchuria, northern Korea, southern Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands. The speed and scale of the Soviet offensive helped convince Japanese leadership that continued resistance was futile, contributing directly to Japan's decision to surrender on August 15, 1945.

Publication History and Census

This map was published in India c. 1945 by R.R.D. We cannot pin down his agency or draftsman, but it is part of a series - see our SouthChina-cpd-1945. This is the only known surviving example.

Condition

Very good.