A silent film detailing a major battle between the Japanese intruding troops and troops of the former Soviet Union in northeast China during the early phase of the World War II has been discovered by a Chinese movie director.

The black-and-white silent film is un-edited and approximately 20 minutes long. Experts confirmed after a careful examination that it was a record of the fierce battle between the troops of the former Soviet Union and Japan at Zhanggufeng, near the Sino- Russian border in northeast China's Jilin province, in late July and early August in 1939.

Japan attempted to attack and intruded into the former Soviet Union by way of northeast China in 1938. In July of that year, both sides deployed divisions on the battlefield at Zhanggufeng.

The battle that lasted some 20 days took a total of 2,277 lives. The troops of the former Soviet Union finally won the battle, thanks to its twice greater supply of combat troops and deployment of its dozen airplanes to carry out intense bombing.

The film records the stages of the battle with a focus placed on the victory of the Soviet troops. The battlefield, Japanese trenches, blockades and aircraft of Russian troops, as well as the fleeing of Japanese soldiers after defeat are all included in the footage.

Experts said that judging from the content, the film was shot by a cameraman of the former Soviet troops and portion of it was done from an aircraft.

The film was discovered by a movie director at a movie studio in the city of Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin province. The local Bureau of Radio and Television plans to produce the film.