Battles of Central Asia (Britain Thrives)

The Battles of Central Asia, known to the Soviets as the Central Asia Defensive Operation (Russian: Центральноазиатская оборонительная операция) and to the Chinese as Operation Turkestan (Chinese: 土耳其斯坦行動) was fought over the Central Asian republics between the Soviet Union and China, as well as the countries in their spheres of influence.

Mao Zedong saw Central Asia as essential to establishing Chinese power and hegemony over the Soviet Union. In addition, Zedong used propaganda to portray the peoples of Central Asia as being opposed to the Soviet regime.

The Central Asian battles included three fronts: the Kazakh Front, Kyrgyz Front and the Tajik Front. The Chinese forces were beaten by the Soviets in all three fronts. Afterwards, Mao Zedong sued for peace.The Kyrgyz Front would host of the biggest armored battles between China and the Soviet Union.