The Chinese Army 1937-49 World War II and Civil War
CONTENTS
PHILIP JOWETT was tlorll in Leeds In nit and flu tlnn inrernted In military history for as IOn'il as he un remember. His lirst Osprey boo_ wu Ihe 'iI,Ound·bru_lng Men-at-Arms 305: Clllrll!'n Civil War Armit's 1P1l-4'; III hu sinn putl.ished a tllreepan nquenn on the /la#an Anny f~$ IMen·at-Arms ¥"olumn 3.0. 3.' " 3$31. A rugby 'ugue enUluslasl and amaleur 'ilenu'oglsl. lie is mnried and "Yn in Lin~olnshi,..
STEPHEN WALSH studi.d art at Ille Nortll Ent Wain Institute. Sln~e tll.n, II. hu worhd mainly lor th. Ameri~~n hlstorleal tlO"rd· 'iI~me market, fulfilling ~ Iifelon'il Internt In hlsto/le,,1 sUbjeets. His Am.rle"n works inelude the bnt-niling Sertlen of Calan. H. h"s "Iso produ~ed m"ny pl.~n 01 artwork Insplr'd tly J R R Tolkien. He Is married with lWO ~lIl1dren and llyn in M~~~leslleld.
INTRODUCTION • Historical background: the Kuominlang· the Comunuusts -Japanese ambitions in Manchuria
3
CHRONOLOGY
6
THE NATIONALIST ARMY 1937-45 • Strength. organization and character • Weapons • Nationalist guerrillas
13
THE NATIONALIST ARMY 1945-49 • Strength. organization and character • Weapons
16
UNIFORMS 1937-45 • SlUIillIer lmifonns: hillieS - trousers - puttees· footwear • Headgear: lmifonn headgear- steel helmetsother headgear • Officers' clothing • Winter tmifOlms • InsigJua: collar patches - identification patches· ann badges - lillit badges - annbands • Field equipment • ArlIloured crews • Militia & guerrillas
20
UNIFORMS 1946-49 • Summer lUIifonns • Headgear • "Model 1946" wimer clolhing • Insignia • Officers' unifonns • Parallulitaty U1ufonns
39
THE PLATES
42
INDEX
48
Men-at-Arms· 424
The Chinese Army 1937-49 World War II and Civil War
Philip Jowett· Illustrated by Stephen Walsh Serles eCltor Mlrtl1 Windrow
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THE
CHINESE ARMY
1937-49
INTRODUCTION A soldier of th, .~r1y 1UOs, rern.Jl1llably will klll,d 0\1' fOr tIM Chinen Army. wllh ~ kIgps.x:lI ,n wtll ~s l; U .... ruek .1IId c.
to his t;;Ip. His ,.. nk. equlval,nt to l:ane.-eorpor:;oJ Of pt......" tlrsl clus.. Is indle.1ttd by the lh,.. trWlgIes on
lin. eolour.d metsl
or plntic: eoll.1r p.1tehn; lilt small
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identific.;nion P.11dl ,1boy, hi, Itft
breUI ,ums 10
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in blue, whkh IS now Ihoughl to 11
ChinIw uniforms uri..:! 'ilfUtly: !his m.Jn~ two-button 'skl'·type
Ileld c:.1p ,md lunie sum to bt of one of 1h, d,1rker 'ilrunlsh or brownish ,h.:ldn.
~ WORLD
D
WAR II. China was an imporlant partner in the figlll against the Japanese Empire. Allhough often o\"erlooked today as an ally of the Uniled Siales and the British Empire. China had already been fighting Japanese annies on her OUll soil for four and a half years when the attack on Pearl Harbor opened hostilities between Japan and the Western Allies in December 1941. and thereafter this so-called Sino-Japanese \Var became absorbed into the wider conflicl. II has been estimated that in the period 1937-45 some 14 million Chinese sernd ill the anned forces. losin~ aboul 1.400.000 dead and 1.800.000 wounded. (Total Chinese ci\-ilian casuahies are. of course. incalculable. but a figure of around 800.000 dead has been suggested.) While the United Slates proyided the gO\'enlment of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-sllek with generous financial and material aid. air support. staffassistallce. and training for a proportion of his forces. only a small minorily of China's troops sen-ed in direct co-ordination wilh the British Empire forces in South-East Asia. Ne\·ertheless. the smbbonl resistance against the Japanese in China itself tied down more 'han a million Japanese troops throughout the war - troops who would othenvise haye been free for massiye reinforcement of the sou,henl armies facing the British on the BurmalIndia border and the US forces in the Pacific. with \'ery damaging results. An undeclared state of hostilities had already existed between China and Japan since the latter's im'asioll of Manchuria in September 1931. and frill-scale war had broken out in July 1937. During the years that followed Chinese annies were to suffer catastrophic losses in both men and material. and huge tracts of territory and most of the major citiesroughly. the entire northern and eastel'l1 half of the cOllntry - were to fall under Japanese occupation. By the outbreak of the Pacific war in 1941 the Chinese Anny was exhausted, and its ability and will to resist had been worn down: however, encouraged and funded by the \Vestern Allies. the nation and anuy continued 10 fight until the final Allied \·ictory in Au~ust 1945. The Chinese Anny was to emerge from the war seemingly stronger than e\'er in both numbers and equipment. Howe\·er. the fragility of this outward stren~th was soon to be exposed by their COlllmunist ad\'ersaries in the resumed Chil War of 1946----49. Seyere weaknesses in strategy. morale and leadership were to lead to Ihe final defeat ofthe Nationalist forces in lale 1949. and their flight to the island of Formosa (Taiwan). The huge size and diwrsity of Chinese forces in mis period. the weakness of central control. the essentially regional
3
nature of their command and operations. and the lack 01' loss of records. all contribUTe TO prevent any bllT tlte briefest accounts of organizalion and campaign history in this text. Howe\'er, enough information and images are a\'ailable to allow a concise study of their uniforms, insignia. equipment and weapons the core concerns of dIe Men-at-AIms series.
•
•
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From Ihe Wuchang nsUlg of 1911 which toppled the last emperor. until Ihe mid
Chln%e lfoops movlng up to the Ironl north 01 Pektng In 1937 to facQ the Invading Impllflat Japane$Q Army, All wear Ihe '1135 German hQlmeiand light khaki COlton uniforms Wllh woolilln PUttIlllS. some appear to bIl armlld wlillthil ChlrKtSIl version of tllil MaUler Gewehr 88 rille, and lhll man III 11gll1 foreground carrlllS a ZB26 light machine gun In lis canvas covet'.
4
1930$. Ihe Chinese Republic was ri\"en by revolutions. re\'olts and ci\i1 wars. For a decade after 1917 the country was fragmented between regional warlords. but from the mid 1920$ Ihe annies of the Kuomilltallg (Chinese Nationalist Pany. K1I.IT) emerged as rhe strongest contenders for power. l The Kr'>IT. led in the early 1920s by Sun Yat-sen. was originally based ill Canton. KwallguUlg pro\·ince. 011 Ihe SOlidi-east coast. but ils influence spread rapidly. It promised unification. modernization. and an end 10 foreign illlerference. Although suspicious of the then weak Chinese Communist Parry (CCP). for pragmatic reasons the KMf accepted So\"iet Russian advisers to help in its task: and the USSR. for its part. sought to infiltrate Communists into tlte K.1\1T. After Sun's death in 1925 the Communists stepped up tlteir effOt1S to lake control of the KMT. but were frustrated by Sun's military chief Chiang Kai-shek. who took o\"er both political and militaty leadership in 1926. General Chiang soon established KMT dominllnce south of the Yangtze river, and purged the Commuuists: in 1927 a KMT govel1llllent was set up in Nanking, and the Russian advisers were expelled, soon to be replaced by a German militaty mission. The Communist Chinese People's Liberation Anny (PLA - a tille adopted only in 1946) dates its birth to the mutiny of Gen Chu Te's 241h Division of the K.MT anuy in August 1927. Subsequent Communist risings agllinst lite KMT in several llreas were crushed. and in October 1934 the Communists were driven out of tile sOUlhem provinces and began fheir 6.000-mile 'Long March' west and north across deserfs aud mountains 10 Yenllll in ShensS pro\·illce. in the nonh-wesf. Reduced from about 100.000 fig.hte~ 10 a hard core of 20.000. this 8th Rome Anuy - now led by MllO Tse-tmIg. a rural Communist fmlll Hunan pro\'ince - de\'oted itself to building a strong base of loyally and praclical support aillong the peasantlY of northern China. Upon this foundalion they would den lop, codify and praclise a sophisticated strategy of rural guerrilla warfare - al fitsl: I See WA 306,
e:m....e CM w.... .ol.trntN fgll49
ag:ainst the KMT. and subsequently against the Japanese ill\"aders. In future years this guerrilla doctrine was to ha\'e enormous influence on conflicts elsewhere in the world. and the ultimate failure of the KMT armies to defeat it taught parallellessolls.
An MtiIJery oHinr Ll$f$ , peris.copie rng.flnd.r dLlring 1tM urtyfighting of U31. H. i$ wuring , Ilghl Ilhdl eOllon W'IifOfm wnh , Fr.neh Adrian $lHIl1flm.l, whleh 'ppurs to II.1w , glon finl$h In this 'nd xc:om~)TIg phologr,phs. LXfr in th. Slno.J~p,nes. Vhlih. Ad,i,n wu mostly ;l$soei.1lld wilh troop$ from the tlr soLl!h.m provlnees bord.ring FnneIllndoehlu. (Imp.rl'l Wn MIISILlm. CHN 11)
•
,
Japan and Manchuria While the Kuomilllang campaigned successfully ag:ainst its remallllllg warlord riyals and the Communists in the early 1930s. elements in the Japanese ruling class were planning: the seizure ofManchuria - Ihe huge and underpopulated region in the north of China. Since Japan's \'ictOlY there O\'er Russia in 1905 she had exercised influence in Manchuria. planting: settlers in the southern part of the reg:ion and garrisoning: it with her KwannUlg AIUlY. Rich in the natural resources which Japan needed for her industrializalion and exploding population. Manchuria was essentially a no-man's-land nominally ruled by the last great Chinese regional warlord, Marshal Chang Tso-lin. whom the Japanese at firsl supported. Howewl". extremist right-wing factions in the Imperial Japanese Anny were conspiring: 10 dominale the To1..1'0 goyernment and to secure for Japan the resources of Manchuria. In June 1928 Ihey assassinated Marshal Chang by blowing: up his train: in September 1931 they created an incident at Mukden which g:.n-e the Kwanhmg Anny a prelexi for mO\'ing in to 'restore order'. in defiance of orders from Tol-yo: and inJannary 1932 Ihey renamed Manchuria as Ihe new state of Manclmkuo. ostensibly OIled by the puppet Chinese emperor Pu-Yi. but acmally by the KWalltlLUg Army. Japan was in ffiIlnoil during the early 19305: there were a series of assassinations and coup attempts. during which the amlY steadily increased its influence and support . .. I When the League of Nations belatedly protested against her aggression in Manchuria. Japan simply left the League in March 1933. Furtheryiolations of t Chinese telTitolY S01W fighting in and around the city of Shanghai in 1932, the Japanese ill\'asioll of J ehol .. province ill 1933. and (l c1l1ndestine campaign in Suiyuan in 1936. In NO\'ember 1936 Japan and Germany signed the Anti-Comintenl Pact: and the following lIlonth President Chiang Kai-shek was reluctantly forced to agree to a 'united front' with the COllllllunists to concentrate on fighting the invaders. The clllllpaigns of 1932-36, 1Iithough bitterly fought. had been reillti\'ely small sCllle affairs. and were to be o\'ershadowed by the oUlbreak of all-out war in July 1937, That war would destroy the SII"UCIUl'e ofsociely throughout much of the COIlllllY, weakening the political authority and militluy control of the Kuomintang go\'emment. It would also empty the regime's coffers. and reduce milch of the population of all already chronically backward country to beggary and stalyation: between 1937 and 1945 hyperinflation would see prices rise by 2.500 per cellI.
5
• •
CHRONOLOGY Sino-Japanese War 1937·41
.,'..
In th. crisis 01 1137 wom.n W.f. r.cruiltd Into volunt..r units; this young girt soldl.r of th. Clliun Tr~lnlng COfPS gU~'ds ~ If.nch In l~t. S.pt.mb.r 1937. Sh. w.~rs th. b~ggy pnk.d c~p ollh. CTC. ~ light kh~kl shirt ~nd br..chts with punlts. ~nd c~nvn ~nd rubb.r ·b~sk.tb~U'· typ. boots. C~nvn ~mmunltton b~ndoll.rs worn ~round th. w~lst ~nd ov., th. I.tt should., sltm to b. h., only .qutpm.nt. (Ad.q Hlstorlc~1 RlSourclS Incl
•
1937: 7 JIII~' A proyocatioll at Lukuochiao Oil the outskirts of Peking - the 'Marco Polo Bridge incident' • is used as a pretexi by Japan to innde China. July Japanese occupy Peking. 13 August Fighting breaks OUI in Shanghai. where a Chinese anllY of 500.000 lIIen in 71 di'isions face 200.000 Japanese troops. Chiang Kai-shek's Nalionalist China and the USSR sigll a nOIl-aggresslOll pact. 3 Sl'ptl'mbl'f Fall ofKalgan. Inner Mongolia. 12 l'\onmbl"f Fall of Shanghai. \\;th estimated Chinese losses of 300.000 men. 13 Dl"ct>mbl'f Fall ofNalionaJist capilal. Nanking. to Japanese troops. followed by seyeral weeks of pillage. massacre and atrocity: scores of thousands of Chinese ci,;lians are killed. and eye\\;mess repons arollse anti-Japanese indignalion in the We;;L
1938: Mal'Cb-Aplil Chinese \'lctory at Taierhchnang by forces led by General Li Tswlg-jen: al about 16.000. Ihe losses suffered by the Japanese 10th Diy and Ihe Chinese forces are ronghly equal. i\Ia~' Fall of coastal cities of.'\Jnoy and Foochow. 6 JUDl' Fall of Kaifeng. Octobl'l' Fall of Canton; and ofWuhan • defended 'on paper' by lO7 Chinese diyisions lotalling 800.000 men. Nationalist go\-emmelll withdraws to somh-westem city of Chungking. Dl'cl'mbl'l' President Roose\'e1t's US gO\'ernment makes loan of $25 million to Chiang Kai-shek. 1939: 10 Fl'brmll)' Hainan Island occupied by Japanese. 27 March Fall ofNanchang. 22 Junl' Port of Swato\\'. south China. taken by Japanese. 14 Sl'ptl'mbl'l' First battle ofChallgsha ·Jllp:lllese £,il to tllke the city. Nonmbl'l'-Dl'cl'mbl'1' Chinese winter offensive ends ill defeat. 1940: 30 ~'1:ll'ch Japanese install Wang Ching-wei at head of puppet 'Reorganized Government' in Nanking. to govel'll occupied China. 10 JIIIIl' Japanese lake Ichang 011 Yangtze rh·er. July Refused US support. Britain is forced 10 agree to Japanese demand to dose Ihe 'Bunna Road'. NalionaliSI Chinll's only stlpply route finn Bunna. India and the West (12th). ModeraleJapanese go\'ernmelll of Adml Yonai replaced by that of Prince Konoye (16th). US gOYelllmelll announces limited iron. steel and hie! embargoes Oil Japan in gesture of support for Chiang Kai-sllek (26th). August Vichy French regime forced to agree to Japan installing garrisons in Ilonhern French Indochina. Ihreatening Nationaiisl positions in Kwangsi proyillce.
27 SeptemlH'r AnIlouncement of Tripartite Pact by Japan. Germany and Italy. Orlobel" Chinese recapture Nanning in Kwangsi. British re-open Burma Road supply route. 1941: Jllll1HU~'
'New 4th Anny' incidelll - Nalionalist attacks on Communist units under their command lead to de facto end of united front against Japan. Thereafter. throughout \Vorld War II. the Allies would be concerned that Chiang Kai-shek de,·oting more resources and allention to the threat from the COllllllullists than 10 operations against the Japanese. Since 1937 about 250.000 Nationalist troops had been allocated to conlain the COllllllunists around Yenall" The CCP. for its parI. would continue to infiltrate pre,·iously Nationalist regions in north-east and central China. creating 'liberated' base areas for the ftllure stmggle against the Kl\ff. ApliI US Lend-Lease Act (8 March) allows export of 100 P-40B fighters to China. to be flO\m by Air Volullleer Group set up by retired USAAF Col Claire Chennault. Chiang Kai-sbek's air ad,iser. By executi'''e order. US pilots and ground crew are penllitted to enlisl in AVG. 26 JIII~· US gowrnmell1 freezes all Japanese assets. followed by Britain and Netherlands: these embargoes cut off 90 per cent of Japanese oil nupons. 8 Sl'pll'wbn Second battle of Changsha: Japanese again fuil to take city. 11 Orfob('l" Chinese briefly retake Ichang. 1 ~o\"l'wbl'r Chinese retake Cbengchow"
,,-as
This young sold1., 01 th. SllangIl3i gJrrlson In 1931 II.1s two cloth·Jnd·IJp. pock.1S
tor cJnying stick gr.nJdU In 3llditiorl to his
b~slc b~ndoU.rs.
llr.nadu w.r. ImporUd and also copld 10c~lly by nUlIMrous sm~1I ~run~ls, TM sold,-r's sm~lt sutur. IS .mpl'lOlsind by Ih. lacllhJI his M~uur Uk rill. Is nurly JS lall as h. Is. ~
World War II 1941-45 Dl'{"ewber Japanese air allack on Pearl Harbor US Na'y base. Hawaii (7th). leads to American declaration of war on Japan: China formally declares war on Tripartite Pact (9th); Japanese capltlre Hong Kong (18th). In China. third bailie ofChangsha opens. 1942: JllIIIUlI~'
Chiang Kai-shek named Supreme Allied Commander. China (4th). Third battle ofChangsha ends in yet another defeat forJapanese 11th A.nlly. with heavy losses. Japanese advance illto Burma begins (15th). J:mu:1I)'-Mll)' Far-reaching Japanese victories over Allied forces in Philippines. Borneo. Malaya. Dutch East Indies. etc, 19 i\illrrh US LtGen Joseph \V.Stilwell appointed senior US militmy representalive to the Nationalisl Chinese ~w'·ernment. Chillng Klli-shek appoints Stilwell as his chief-of-slllff. with comllllllld of Chinese 5th & 6th Armies figilling around Mand1l11lY and Toungoo in northern Burma. l\illl'l:h Stilwell ani,·es in time to lead his Chinese Iroops in a long retreat into India. while others reure into China. Chinese withdrawal from Toungoo (30th) without destroying Salween ri"er bridge aids Japanese ad,·ance. 29 April Japanese capture Lashio. Bnnna. thus cutting the Burma Road to China. :\I:ly Japanese capture important communications hub of Myltb.)'ina. Burma (8Ih). Gen Stilwell crosses into Assam stale. 1I0nh-wesl India.
7
after 140-mile retreal Oil foot (15th): his 22nd & 38th Di\'S v..;llllller form lhe core of 'X-Force'. Lasl British Empire troops lea\'e Bunna (20th). July Stilwell appointed to command new US China-Bunna-India Theater.
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1944:
Since Chiang Kai-shek insists upon Allied offensi,'es III Burma to re-open his supply lines before his armies can make any real contribution 10 Allied strategy, British Adml Mountbanen (Supreme Allied COllllllnnder Soulh-East Asia Command. SEAC) plans with Gen Stilwell the joill1 Operalion 'Thursday'. Stilwell's Chinese X-Force are to ad"ance against the Japanese 18th Diy to seize Shaduzup. Mogaung and Myitkyina in north central Burma. before swinging north-east illlo China: and the Ledo Road will be pushed forward. SOUlh of the Chinese. se"eral Brilish/Indian 'Chindil' bri~ades "ill be inserled by air 10 cut the rear lines of Ihe Japanese facing Stil,,-ell. Meanwhile. in nOflh·east Bunna, Gen Wei Li-Huang's Chinese V-Force from Yunnan is to adnnce
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MANCHURIA
1943:
l\1aI'rlt Gen Chennault is appointed to cOlllmand new US 14th Air Force in China. Throughout year. Gen Stilwell supen'ises reor~anizatioll. re-training and re-equipmenl programme around Ramgarb. in Bihar stale. India. for Chinese Iroops from Burma. From Orlobn reillforcemenls are floun back from China 011 Iransport aircraft retllrnin~ emply to Ledo. Assam. from supply flighls 'O\'er the HUlllp' to Kmuning. Since Ihese are now the only Allied means of supplying Chiang Kaishek. il is easier 10 bring Chinese troops to Ihe supplies than to take Ihe supplies to China: and by the end of Ihe year four effe<:liye Chinese di\'isiOtlS ha\'e been built in India. Meanwhile. working fonvard from Ledo. en~ineers under US Gen Lewis Pick construct a road to link up eyemually with the Burma Road. In October Stilwell's forces slowly advance south-eastwards into the Hukawng Valley in north cenlral Burma. 2 ~o\'('mbH-25 O"e"mbH Iu China. baule of Changteh in Hunan province: an offensive by lOO.OOOJnpanese troops is pushed bnck 10 its Slal't line ill a costly Chinese ,'ictOly. whose henvy casualties include three divisional commnnders.
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SEA
Provinces of Eastern and Central China
ABO'v'E LtG.n Jouph W.
Stilw.. 11U3.IU'I. 'Vln'in Joe' W
against the Japanese 56th Di\' on the Salween ri\'er frail!. to open the Bunua Road bel\veen Lashio and Kunming. 5-6 :\f:U'ch Stilwell's Chinese (and 'Merrill's Marauders'. 5307th Composite brigade. the only US AnllY combat unit in SE Asia) defeat Japanese at Maingkwall and Walawbaum. 5-12 March Chindit brigades are flO\\11 into Kaukkwe Valley: they set up strongholds. beat offJapanese reaction. and cut Mandalay-Myitkyilla railway. 7/8 :\t:u,<,h Unsuspected by the Allies. Japanese Gen Mutaguchi's 151llAnny (33rd. 15th & 31st Din;) laullches UGo Offensiw against British Gen Slim's 141h Anuy on Chindwin ri\'er frolll ill nOl1h·wesl Burma· a major Ihmst illlo Assam to seize fhe \'ital base at Imphal before pushing on imo India. i\'IlIrch-Junr In fierce figilling around Tiddim. Tamu. Imphal and Kohima. Slim's forces defeal Japanese with hea\")' losses. April Chindits pass under Stilwell's cOlllmand. His X-Force makes slow progress against Japanese north of Mogaung and MyitL.")'ina. In China. the Japanese lchigo OffellSin (with objecliws including seizure of US bomber bases) captures large areas oflerritory in Hunan and Kwangsi provinces. 11-12 i\f::I~' Y-Force opens Chinese offellSin on Salween fronl. but fails 10 re-open Bunua Road. 17 i\b~' Merrill's Marauders cap lUre Myitkyinll airfield. but the Japanese reinforce the town. and the fighting bogs down into a siege. JlIlll' In China. fIrSt USA.AF 8-29 raid on Japan from airfields around Chengtu near Chungking (15th). First major Japanese offensive since 1938. by 11th & 23rd Armies. captures Changsha (18th). In Bunna. Slilwell sacrifices the exhausted Chilldits to capture Mogaullg (26th). 11 July Defeated and slan·ing. Japanese 15 th Anny is ordered to retreat from Assam. 3 August Stilwell's X-Force fmally captures Myitkyinll. 8 August In China. Hengyang falls toJapanese. 19 Octobl'l' Gen Stilwell is recalled to the USA. through political machinations by Chiang Kai-shek. 31 OcfolH'r Chinese coumer-offensive begins in China. In Burma. the chain of command is re-organized. US Gen Albert Wedenueyer takes over liaison with Chiang Kai-shek. Gen Drmiel Sultan takes command of Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) Chinese New 6th Anuy (Gen Liao Yao-hsiang: 14th. 221ld & 50th Divs). New 1st Anny (Gen Sun Li-jen: 30th & 38th Din). plus British 36th Di,' and US Mars Force (fonner Menill's Marauders). Gen Raymond Wheeler becomes Deputy Supreme Allied Commander. SEA.c. The next phase of operations is planned to trap and desTroy Japanese 33rd Anuy (Gen Honda) in north central Burma. by Gen Slim and Gen Sultan making simultaneous ad\'ances from the nonh-west and north: meanwhile Y-Force will again attack from the north-east. these Chinese ad"ances finally allowing the linking of the Ledo and Bunua roads. 1 Sonmbl'l' Y-Force relakes Lunglillg. 15 Dl'crwbE'T Chinese I.<.t Army enters Bhamo.
9
1945:
In the north-west. British 14th Anny makes rapid progress into centm] Bnnna. reaching IlTawaddy riyer and threatening Mand"lay. In the lIo11h-east. Chinese lsI Anny and Y-FOlt:e meet. and Ledo and Burma roads are joined at MOlIgyu (2ith). 21 F('bnl:u~' British 361h 01", operating as NCAC's right flank. captures Myitson. Mar~h V-Force. ad\'ancing down Burma Road. captures Lashio (7th). Didsioll from Chinese 6th Anny links \\llh V-Force at Hsipaw 011 Burma Road (24Ih). This essentially marks the close of actiw Chinese operalions in Bnmla. Augusl USAAF drop atomic bombs 011 Hiroshima (6th) and Nagasaki (9th). USSR fmally declares war 011 Japan. and iU\'ades Manchuria (9th). Sino-Russian treaty signed (l4Ih). recognizing Chiang Kai-shek's ~W\'emmelll and agreeing to withdraw So\-iet troops from :\1:anclmria after Japanese defeat. Emperor Hirohito broadcasts surrender announcement (15th). Almost immediately. US forces begin to transport by sea and air nearly 500,000 Nationalist troops to strategic ports and cities in Manchuria and nordlern China. This allows the Nationalists to mO\"e into areas that had been lost to the ConUllunists during the Japanese occupation. J:lllUflry
us LIGen 01nlel Ul,IlUn (figlll) look our Irom sTIIWen In O~tober nu n eomm1ndlng genel11 of us tOI~n In ttle CBI ttluue of W~I 1nd of ttle ~ombU comm1nd NCAC, Hete tie ~w1rds med~ls to members ot ttle Chine" npeditJon1ry tOlce in Bl,lrmi, Wl'lO wur "I helme", British KO Sl'Ilrts 1nd shorts. 1nd BritiSh 31 p1ltern webbing with 01 11rg. pnks,
Augnst 1945-Janulu")' 1946 America. fearful of fumre So\-iet im'olnment in a Chinese ci\il war. anempts 10 broker a peace between Chiang Kai-sllek's Nationalists and Mao Tse-nmg's Communists. 80th sides pay lip sen'ice to the plan willie actually preparing 10 resume outright WlIr, Meanwhile, the USSR delays withdrawal from Manchuria. transferring captured Japanese weapons to the Communists and allowing them to consolidate their hold in lllany areas. There is constant low le\'el fighting between Nationalists and Communists in Manchuria. In NO\'ember 1945, against US ad\·ice. Chiang decides to commit his best Allied-lrllined llnd equipped troops to Manchuria as soon as the So"iets withdraw,
The Civil War 1946-49
10
1946: 13 Ja11ual"}' Ceasefire in Manchuria brokered by US peace III1SS1011 headed by Gen George C.Marshall. 15 Jalluary Despite ceasefire. KMT forces capture Mukden. April Communists capture Changchun and Harbin. l\'by KMT defeat Communists south ofSungari ri\"er, retake Changchun and capture Szepillg. Comlllunists adopt tide of People's Liberation Allny (PLA). JUliE' Marshall mission negotiates another brief truce. July General ciyil war breaks out between KMT and PLA. The broad strategies of the two sides are opposed, In simplified tenns. Chiang's KMT annies - with an initial nUlllerical ad\'antage of abom 3 million 10 I million - ....ill seek to controlnorth·south COilullunicalions.
confident of dividing the PLA and pushing it westv.'llIds into the wildemess fOI" final destmction. In 1946-47 the KMT will invest far too hea\'ily in occupying and holding cities in Manchuria and nOl1hem China. tying down men and resources in position.11 defences which the Communists can affccd to ignore. at the end of a precarious 1.000mile supply line through the strongest areas of ConIDlluUst support. Outside Manchuria. the PL'\ intend to thmst eastwards frOI1l Shensi pro\'ince to reach the coast and separate the KJ.\fT forces in north and south fi:c destruction in detail. They will increasingly dominate the coullIryside. isohuing and strangling Kc\1f centres. Meanwhile a cmmbling away of SUppOl"t and losses in men and equipment will reduce Chiang's numerical advantage and lift the RA 10 equality in maleriel by mid-1948: and by early 19.;J9 the PLA \\ill achien superiority in both mell and weaponry. 1947: Jallnal~'-::\hl"lCh
PLA forces uuder Gen Lin Piao nlOlUlt series of allacks on Nationalists along SUI~ ri\"er south of Harbin. Manchuria. Best Kl\1f Iroops. wilh motorized equipmelll. are tied
• Maretl 1U5: M~A~ Sherman ot the Chlnne ProYisional Tank Group tronlng the Ham You riyer during Y·Forte's adnnte on Lnhio. The trew wear ski· typelleld t~pS with KD tlothing. Hote the tolourful 'tiger I~te' p~inted on lhe mantlet ~nd turret front, ~nd lhe 'tlaws' on the ~rmour pl~te In front of the drlyer'S position. (US Slgn~1 Corps)
1948:
MmdJ. Nationalisl commander in Manchuria, Gell Liao Yao-hsiang. OIooS K.MT garrisons wilhdntwn from Kirin and Szeping to Mukden. 111<11 city. held by Gen Wei Li·HIl:lllg with 200.000 men. and Changdllln. widl 40.000 nnder Gell Cheng TUllg-kao. are now only KM:T holdings in Mrulcluuia norlh of Chinchow uilhead and supply base. St'ptl'mlwr After feinling towards Mukden. Lin Piao threatens Chinchow. Further soul1l. PLA attack key city of Tsinall on the Yellow river in Shantung pro\·ince. held by 80.000 Ki\1T troops (14th). 200.000 ~ !fOOPS encircle Mukden (17th). Tsinan garrison surrenders (24th). 1lUl}' joining Ihe PLA. Mukden ganison ordered 10 relie\'e Chinchow with 15 di\'isions (25th). bUI Gen Wei hesitates. OctolX't· Gen Wei sends 11 di\'isions in sOl1ie fmm Mukden lowards duncllO\\' (9th). ordering Gen Cheng to break out ofChangchun and wldxlrnwon Chinchow: laner order ne\'er acknowledged. At Chincho\\". KMf 93rd Diy defect: city falls (15tb). Gen Liao Yao-hsiang killed ill
11
,
A column 01 soldi.rs Singing patriolic songs match along a dirt road during a wlnlfr off.nsiYf. Th.y WUt wlnlfr· w.igM skl·typ. ups wilh Ih. Ut flaps li.d on top. Th.lr wadd.d conon jachlS and ttounrs ;It. In ditf.r.nt shadn 01 blu'lIr.y. MOSI olth.n m.n ;It. ;ltm.d wilh Ih. Hanyang II but IWO m.n al th. ftOnl /l;IY. lalft Maunt mod.rs.
12
_
PLA attack Oil his HQ. Chiang Kaj-shek flies from Nanking to Peking to take personal command. but his direct orders to individual diyisiollal commanders add 10 confusion. Changchull falls. after defections from garrison (19th). Gen Wei's sOl1ie defeated west of Mukden (27th). Disintegration ofIO.1T anllies in Manchuria. 2 ~o""lIIb('r Mukden falls: huge numbers ofmell and Ja..IT weapons and supplies captured. 5 NO\"f,mbn POrl of Yingkow falls. after only about 20.000 KMT troops manage to reach it and lake ship somh. The ~1anchurian campaign has cost the Nationalists about 300.000 men and ,"ut resources. ~oH'·mbE'r-Dt'c('mbl"l· De<:isi,-e battle for Hsucho\\'. ,-ital hub of Ilorthsouthfeast-west railways. commanding mo\"emenl from Peking to Nanking and somh 10 the Yangtze. Helped by treachery ofKMT general staff officer Gen Liu Fei. PL4. 2nd & 3rd Field Anuies (Gen Chen Yi). aboUl 500.000 strong. manoeU\Te to en\'elop KMT Oen Tu Yu-ming's 150.000-strong garrison from west. south and easl. QnraLi KMT field operatiolls around Hsuchow. by four amlY groups tOlaLiing 300.000 men. are commanded by incompetent political appointee Gell lin Ch'ih. Early DE'cE'mbE'l", Hsuchow ilself abandoned. and to sOUlh of it 140.000 K...VlT troops surrounded al Suhsiell. where attempt at relief defeated with great loss (6th). 1949: JllUUlll~' Nationalist forces surrender south of Hsuchow (10th): PIA claim 327.000 prisoners. and tOlal KMT casualties in campaign are about 500.000. Many prisoners w:illjoin PLA after 're-education'. PIA take Tientsin (15th). and Peking POth). on which date Chiang Rai-shek resigns presidency to Li Tsung-jell. Ff'bI"UllI1'-i\brch General advance by PLA sOllthwards to Yangtze river. KM:T government under Sun Fo llIove to Calltoll. and attempt negotiations with Mao Tse-tung. Still director general of KMT pmt)'. Chiang transfers gold reserves to Fotlllosa. and prepllres Nlltionalist redoubt 011 thllt islllnd. AIJlil Negotiations brellk down (19Th). PLA cross Yangtze lit severnl points. Fall ofTlliyuan: lind of Nanking (23rd), 27 i\b~' Fall of Shanghai. JUlIE'-Dl'Cl'lIlbl'l' The rest of mainland Chinll and Inlier Mongolia moe o\'errun by the PLA against only lighT resistance. 1 Octobn In Peking. Mao Tse-Illllg proclaims the People's Republic of China. 150ctobf'f Fall of Callion. K..~ gO\'emmenl flees 10 Chungking. then Chengtu. 8 DE'CfoWbn Chiang Kai-shek and K..~fT leadership wilhdraw fl:om mainland 10 Taipei. Forulosa.
THE NATIONALIST ARMY
1937-45 Strength, organization and qualities At the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War inJllly 1937 the Nationalist Anny expanded 10 aboul 1.7 million men: its official order of ban Ie included 182 infantry diyisiollS. 46 independent brigades. 9 canlry di,isiOlls. 6 independent ca"ally bri~ades. 4 artillery brigades and 20 independent anillery regimenls. A di,'isioll had (again. officially) 2 infantry bri~ades. each of 2 regimellls: an anilJelY banalion or regiment: an engineer and a quartennaster banalioll. and small signals. medical and transport units. In practice. the pro"ision of support and sen-ice • e1emellls ,-aried greatly from di,ision to di,-ision. as did their field streng"l. The nerage stren~th of a di\ision as described aboye was around 9.000·10.000 mell: but this only applied to the ten Gennall-trained • di\isions re-organized in 1937. The ~realmajority. as \\-ell as newly raised or temporary di,-isiollS. would a\-erage only about 5.000 men. Independent brigades might ha\'e about 4.500 men. while Iheir temporary equi\'alellls were perhaps 3.000-stroll~. China in 1937 was still a deeply di,ided COlUltry. and the KMT gO\'emmelll could not rely 011 all its nominal forces equally. Rebellions and other disloyalties by yarious regional military commanders throughout Ihe 1930s had made Chiang Kai-sllek '-ery suspicious of a large part of his A NatiONlist unity $Iand$ ~ again$! Communi$! forces. The most loyal and therefore best-trained and equipped troops attJd(s dUling thl Civil War. HI were approximately 380.000 mell of Chiang Kai-sllek's 0\\11 pre-1934 -.:n Ihlt lI$ual $ummlr·wltlghl anny. most ofwhom had been trained by German instnlctors. They were umorm. wilh bltlly pouehn tor commanded by graduates ohhe Whampoa Military Academy ill Canton. Iolr nugazinn for hl$ which Chiang had himself commanded in 1924. creatill~ an educated ~ M1A1 (hltrl $1111 wllh !Ill muzzllt eomplnUlor, rarlly and politically reliable officer corps for the KMT lUlUy. $ItItfl by Ihi$ dati). Thl$ $ub· Another 520.000-odd men belonged to formatiolls that ,,,ere maehinIt gun Wa5 onl of thl traditionally loyal to Chiang. (hough not of his OWII creation. Together rrasI popular of all Importld US with his hard core, these ga\'e him a strength of900.000 lllell that the WIt.1pOfl$ and Wa5 eoplltd In loeal anns faclorln. (Popplrfoto) government could rely upon. Beyond these llrmies there existed another c111SS of so-called 'semi-autonomous provincial troops' that could sometimes be mobilized in the KMT gO\'el'tllllent's Interest. totalling perhaps another 300,000 men divided between the pro\'inces ofSuiymm. Shallsi and Shllnltlllg in the north. lind Kwangtung ill the south-ellst. The rest of the NatioIllllist llnny was mil de up of troops led by commanders who. while having 110 real loyalty to Chiang Kai-shek. were willing to fight alon~side him Nationalist Army Field Organization against the common enemy. Japan. The fi~hting kmf~. CtW Tl.<.lrl = 2 CJ: mxe arrries quality of these troops of questionable loyalty nried kmf. CJIun T(.l,)II = 2 CJ: mxe corps from \'ery good to extremely pOOl'. For inSlance. the COp$. C/I(n = 2 CJ: mxe dolSions 80.000 soldiers and 90.000 mililia of the fllr southern l:M'Ul, SNIt '" 2 CJ: rrae lr'Iar*Y ~ pro\'ince of Kwan~si were well-led. equipped and
-
13
di\ciplincd: while fbe 250.000 soldicn of Szechuan in fhe sQuth-west were described u the ,,"orSI-trained and equipped. most undisciplined and disloyal of all Chinese: Naliouaiisl troops. During World War llthe five: divisions urGen Stilwell's X-Forl:c (Iatcr. fhe: NCAC). and some: of tbe: Yuunan-based V-Force:. wen: raised to a quality largely unknown among the: rest of fhe: Chinese: armies. Eroded by l:a.'>ualties • particularly among the: trained prc:-1937 offi"'c:r corps· and by povcrty of resources. and denied the Illodern equipment provided by the Allies for the: Burma campaigm. IllOSI of these: formations were: under strength. badly fed. badly cared [OT. badly clothed and equipped. and badly led. wilh a combal value: comparable: to thaI of fhe: maraudinii! peasant le\'ies of an earlier century. Historically. China's brutal military cullllre had ii!iven Ihe peasalH soldier no reward for victory beyond Ihe opportunity fO pillap:e. and no real emotional stake ill any calise beyond his own inllllediate unit. CalHion and cunninii! were admired: self-respect did nOI depend upon initiative and dash in the allack or endurance in defence. Unles~ success came quickly they tended 10 fall back: on lhe other hand. even after a headlonp: retreal in the face of the enemy the long.sufferinii! peasant ~oldiers could sometimes be brouii!ht back fO their dUfy affer a short respile.
Weapons 1937·45
14
With an army which quickly rose 10 over 2 million men. and only a number of small local anenals and arms faclories, the Nationalist army faced a constant problem ill arming ifs troops. By the early 1930s a bewilderillg array of rifles and machine guns from all o\-er the industrial world had been imporled alone lime or olher by the Chinese. With no central policy on arms purchasing. Ihe various military regions and lhe virtual warlords who commanded them imported at whim for their own troops. This chronic lack ofSlandardizafion was only partly addressed by the outbreak of tbe Sino-Japanese War.
G.n.rallulmo Chiang Kai-sh.k and hl$ d.puly ehi.l·ol-st~" G.n.,~1 P.i Hsung.ftsl (1.f1). r.vl.wlng hlghofanking IUt1on~IlSI offie.rs in Chungking, ltU. All wnr sf~ndard Chin.n Army offinrs' uniform wllh S~m Brown. b.lts and, In mosl enn, bruehn with high Inlh.r bOOIS. Chiang Is wntlng his version 01 the ntvle. dr.u with the addition ot an offle.r's m~ntl. or elo~k.
OPPOSITE A Hom. gu~rdsm~n on unlry duty ~t Pihu, Fuki.n provine., in 19-44. H. wnrs a basie wlnlfr.w.lglll unilorm with a US M1917A1 stu I h.lm,,; this and the v.ry slmil~r British Mk I w.r. nOI mueh worn by lirsl~in. troops by this d~t •. This shows good d'I~1t ollh. lypie~1 w~iSI and·shouldlr bandoliers: ~nd nOIf thaI hi h~s bun issued a knapsack of Ihl Iyp. und only' by the b.lllr Iquippld unils in thl U~Os. (IWIll IB 4045C)
IYW
l'·yur~ld ~ons~rlplS,
photogrolpMd in NOvtmtl.r 1,.2 firing ~ ZB25 1i9111 m~~lIln. gun. C*d up in July. 11115. !l<)ys
WOI*l lin•• njoy.d only brill .n;l sk"~lIy Ir~ining
tl.lore IliMlg "nll0 III. Ironl; til. hign .mrrtion r~1e in 111. ellln." AlTrrt d.m~nd.d I tonSlln! ~ 01 n.w fill"le". Tn. colou" olin. soldl.rs' winter' !J3Cl'I uniforms ~ppurs to be ~ dn sll~d. 01 kll~kl rliller Ih;m til. more ~ommon Ild.d
By 1937 the predomlullilt rifle of the Chinese armies was the 7.92llll1l Germlln Mauser 98k which had been recolllmended by their German advisers in the ellrly 1930s. The MllUser. imported in large numbers lind S001l under produclion in Chinese arsenllis. was commonly knowll as the 'Chiang Kai-shek' rifle. Other rifles based 011 the Mauser design were also imported from Belgium and Czechoslovakia. as 'he FN24 and VZ24 in their nfle and carbine fonns. The older Mauser Ge\\-ehr 88 was also widely used by China. and was produced as the Hanyang 88 in Chinese faclones. Many different types ofmachille gun were also imported during the 19305 - indeed. China was in se\'eral instances Ihe only export cus'omer for some of the more obscure European weapons. If an arms dealer could not sell his wares to the KMT gO\"efIUllenl. he could ah\1ryS try his luck widl one of the prO\'incial aouy commanders. The predominant Chinese lig.ht machine gun was Ihe excellent CzechoslO\-akiall ZB26. imported and copied ill large numbers. Other models imported included the Swiss ZE70. the Finnish Lahti. and the SO\iet DP26. Machine guns were always in short supply and e\'en the best Chinese forces only had aboUl one·lhird the allocation per di\ision enjoyed by the Japanese 'roops. The Chinese had historically been poor in modern artillery. and most field guns were of the light and mountain classes. This shortage is illustrated by the fact that in 1941 there were only 800 artillery pieces in the elllire Chinese AnllY. During his early campaigns Chiang Kai·shek had acquired the habit of keeping as much of the artillery as possible under his own comro!' to \\-eakeu any po,el1tially mutinous subordinates. Traditionally the shortfall in cOIl\"entional artillel)' had been partly offset by the use ofmol'lars of all calibres. The American 75mlll pack howitzers and 105mm howitzers provided after 1942 were only allocated to the di\'isions trained in India. and to a fe\...· other hand-picked foouations. The Nationalists used a number of armomed trains in their internal campaigns. but only a handful of lighl tllnks and other armomed vehicles had been imported from Britain. Gemlllny. Italy and the USSR ill the 1920s-30s. mainly Renault FTi7 tanks and Carden Loyd carriers. Japan's own light and outdated armour in China was IIsed entirely for dispersed infantry support: the motley Chinese inventory had little impact on the fighting. and 1II0St soon broke down or were destroyed, The performance of the crews ofUS-s\lpplied SWarls and Shermans in Burma from 1944 proved that when properly trained. Chinese armour crews were at least a match for their Japanese adversaries.
Nationalist guerrillas 1937-45 Contrary to popular belief. China's numerous anti-Japanese gueo'illas were nOI drawn solely from the Communist forces: a large Nationalist guelTilla movement existed for much of the war. In Japanese-occupied regions such groups were often organized by local KMT officials. or by Nationalist officers sent from Chungking. These guerrilla groups often had to operate in areas which were also stalked by hosfile Communist bands as well as Japanese and Chinese puppet 'roops.
15
The Chinese Army in gener31 W3S pitiruny short of modern he3vy we3pons, 3nd 3ny modem equipment W3S inv3ri3bly given to the unils most IOy31 10 Chiolng K3i·shek. This 3.7cm Germ3n P3k 36 3nli·t3nk gun W3S photogr3phed in 1937, when it could still oller 3 userul defence 3g3inst J3p3n's obsolescenl t~nks, (Joseph T.C.Liu)
Some of the Nationalist guerrillas became well organized, setting up small-scale local production of anns. uniforms and equipment: but in most cases. if cut off from government sources of supply they struggled 10 survive. Consequently they were often obliged to throw in their lot with local Communist forces. either being absorbed by force or persuaded by propaganda. While KMT cadres would be executed by the Communists in such cases. the rank and file were welcomed into the fold.
THE NATIONALIST ARMY 1945-49
16
Strength and organization The Nationalist army had been reduced in size from 3 million men in August 1945 to 2.6 million in 1946 as an economy measure, 0ut of this total about 870,000 were service and logistical troops of little combat value, leaving a paper fighting strength of about 1.73 million. By late 1946 the field armies were built around a core of30-plus divisions that had been trained and equipped largely by the US in India and westem China since 1942. with a divisional establishment of just under 11.000 men. By late July 1945 the US training programme had given 13 weeks' instruction 10 11 Chinese divisions and had begun training another 22. and Lend-Lease supplies of weapons. uniforms. equipment and vehicles were flooding in. The fiw divisions of the New 1st and New 6th Armies. trained at Ramgarh under the inspiration of Gen Stilwell and more or less fresh from fighting in Burma. were the best Nationalist formations. In fact. so different were they from the normal nlll of troops that they were often mistaken for foreigners by The civi1i:m oon1l1f1tioll. fllln
A unit in full b3tl1e gear in e3rly 1945. Armed with IOC311y m3nuf3ctured 'Chi~ng K~i·shek' M~user rifles 3nd 3 few Thompson SMGs. these soldiers 3re re3son3bly well equipped. NOle the bl3nkets rolled up from e~ch end 3nd 13shed together to form b3Ckp~cks, no doubl wilh person31 gear inside: ~nd the shovels c3rried by men in the righl foreground. Their c~ps 3re 3 more 'rel3xed' version of the ski·lype C3P, ~s supplied to troops on the Burmese front. The usu~1 KMT white sun b3dge is displ3yed, unusu3l1y. on 3 squ~red blue cloth p31Ch. (US N~tion~1 Archives)
.. '
~
T1'le cre. 01 a
Genn;lll 20mm
c~moull~i,(1
nll·~lrer"f1l1un,
.e;aring the 11'35 helm", MoS! moclHn equipment like tllb \Iun ~ supplit'd (0 the I.n Glnun. niMd dirisions thill form'" the b,lckbont 01111, "rmy in lU7. "nd .trt d'stroye" In the I.lrly lighting. BElOW A Chin.n sOldl,r on the Burm,l Iront in U" poses proudly with his US 7Smm "1A1
pxt howitzer on ,In old M1 C,Irri,lge. Thin Ingeniously dui9ned mount,lin \Iuns, which could bt broktn down Into sll Io;lds lor ,Inlm,lllr,lnSporl and wlr. nslly "Ir·trilnsport,ltllt, Wlrt ont 01 tilt
m"lnstays 01
tht Chln,n utlUtry right
thfough to lht end 01 tht CIVIl W~.
Weighing 3.1111, thty Ilrtd " 14lb HE shtU OUI to ',610 yards,
their elite status was reflected in their nickname 'The Best Alluy under Hea"en', Howe\"er. their deployment to Manchuria in 1945-46 wasted their potential in static defence. These and some other good unils began the Ci,il War with high morale. bUI this was soon diluted by bad leadership. neglect. and the dispiriting effects of haying to sel'\'e alongside less competent and mOliyaled trOOps. Other good fonnations and units did exist. their quality being dependent on the stewardship of outs landing indi"idual commanders. Unfortunately for the Nationalists such able leaders were few in number. and e"en they were ofteu sidelined for some perceiHd lack of personal loyalty to Chiang. The bener forces inclnded the Kwangsi Annies under Gen Li Tsung-jen. the Northern Annies under Gens Fu Tso-yi and Sun Lien-chung. and the North-Western Annies nnder Gen Ma Hung-ku'ei. The latter included a large number of elite Muslim ca,-alry who were said to be a match for any Communist unit. The organization of fonnations during the Cnil War was extremely loose. and both nominal brigades and di"isions might haH strengths of approximately 10.000 men. Often the only support element within these fOOllations was a battalion ofartillery. When compared with its US AmlY equi,-alenl. a Nationalist diyision had about tw~thirds of the personnel and about one-third of the aJ1illery. A Nationalist anuy comprised three di"isions: it was numerically roughly equiYalent to a US corps. but had only the same artillery strength as a single US di,·ision.
Weaknesses By September 1948 the Nationalist anny had been reduced to about 1.500.000 men. of whom only about 500.000 could be considered first line troops. In a period offour and a halfillonths of 1948 the NationaliSTS lost 45 per cell! of their strength through death or desenion. Just as in World War II. the yast majority of their divisiolls were of poor quality and were usuany under-strength: less than half had o"er 50 per cent of their establishment. The Nationalists had begun the war with a three-to-one numerical advantage over the Communists in both men and equipment. which ifproperly marshalled should haH seen them achieve final victOlY. However. lllany weaknesses penlleafed the Nationalist annies frolll lOp to boltom. By the outbreak of the real fighting in 1946 these annies had been f.,tally weakened by eight years of deyastating war against Japan. Although the war inside Chilla had senled down into something of a stalemate in 1942. this had been broken by a number ofs.,,·agely fought campaigns. notably in summer 1944. The Nationalists had already suffered catastrophic losses in 1937-4\: by 1945 some 100.000 of their Irained officer corps
17
had been lost. with panicularly damaging effects 011 the efficiency of the anny. A high proportion of the remaining commanders were KMT appointees who owed their ranks and postings to supposed political loyall)' rather than to professional competence. Such men had no culture of disinterested national service, care for their troops' welfare. or collecti\-e mutual solidarity: memally, they were soldiers from a preyious age of the world. Chiang Kai-shek was not blind to the weaknesses of his anllY. His frank analysis of his officers recognized their lack of professional ilills. tbeir neglect or ill-treallnem of their men, and their endemic personal corruption. His intentions were fmstraled by senior commanders failing to co-operate with one another. each protecting his own anuy's assets like some jealous warlord. unwilling to risk his 0\\11 men (or more importantly. his equipment) to help a neighbouring commander who was under anack. Chiang had a gmdging respect for the mJified command. discipline. and solidarity of purpose displayed by the COlllmunists. bnt was unable to instil these qual.ities into his O\\n commanders and their men. Despite his occasionally clear-sighted \iew of Nationalist weaknesses. Chiang Kai-sllek began the Ci\-il War blinded by an onr-confidence that was shared by most of his subordinates. Like a 19th-century Chinese a11llY seduced by their 0\\11 flags and gongs but neglectful of weapons training and logistics. they were o\'er-impressed by their riches of Ir\\' American weapons and \·ehicles. lmpatient to crush the apparently much weaker PLA... they failed to take the time to train the troops thoroughly in their use. Much of the modern equipment was neyer employed to its full potemial through simple ignorance. As already melllioned. strategically the Nationalists wasted their besl di\-isions. which had a potential for mobile operations. by nailing them down to defend lowns. railways and roads while the Communists outmanoeuYfed them in the coulltryside, Many cities held by the Nationalists became. effecti\·e1y. prison camps for their garrisons. Chiang Kai-shek insisted on maintaining the prestige of his regime by trying to impose his power oYer the whole of China simultaneously. TIlls was against the ad\'ice of his best Chinese officers and his US adYisers. who urged that the Nationalists should first cOllsolidate their control of sOUlhern and central China. The static campaign in Manchuria and nOl'lhel'll China also had disastrous effects on morale and popular support, Although welcomed at first as liberators from the Japanese. most of the troops sell! to that front were from southern and cenrral prodnces. and when sUlTollilded by e1usi\'e guerrilla enemies they began to mistreat the northem peasantry badly. The steady growth of popular support for the PLA led to increasingly damaging rates of desertion from Nationalist units.
18
Paramilitary organizations In addition to the regular anny there were three para-military sel."\ices responsible for protecting lines ofcOlllmunication and small towns. These were the Railway Police. Traffic Police, and Peace Presel'\'ation Corps - dIe latter being by far the llIost numerous. Railway and Tmffic Police wa:e described colleCliyely by the Conunullists as the 'Communication Police Corps'. All three of these lightly armed organizalions were easy prey fiJI'
Communist guerrillas and became a ready source of weaponry for them. A Nationalist dUage llIilitia also existed. but was militarily negligible except as a source of booty for local guelTillas. The Peace Preser..alioll Corps \,..·as raised on a local basis to support dle regular Nationalist anny. While the Railway & Traffic Police were lunited 10 protecting Nationalist lines of communicalion. the PPC had a more general mililia role. lis units were assembled into brigade·size fOimations; though only lightly armed and poorly equipped. these were regarded by Ihe Conullunists as a \'aluable source of caplUres. When employed in battle alongside regular units the PPC were regarded by Nationalist generals as being there simply to make up the lll11nbers. A...Il agreement regarding the strength of the PPC was reached between Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Tse-nmg in late August 1945. during dle period of ostensible peace negotiations. This called for the size of dle local PPC to be gO\'emed by the populalion of the pro\'ince; no prO\'lnce's PPC should exceed 15.000 men. and their annamenls should be limited to pistols. rifles and automatic rifles. This agreement was of course ignored once the Ci\i1 War broke out. At the stan oflhe conflicl dIe PPC and other local forces allloUilled to about 1.5 million men.
Weapons 1946·49 Small anus used by Ihe Nationalists included all pre\'iously acquired Mauser 7.921lUll rifle types. both imported and locally made. Additional rifles came from among the large number of Japanese 6.5mm and 7. 7nUll Arisakas captured in 1945. The .3Ocal Springfield M1903 and Enfield 1\11917 rifles had been supplied in large numbers by the USA pre-1945; brn while significant numbers of Ml carbines were proyided. as far as is known no Garand MI rifles were supplied. Sub-machine glUIS were usually either ,45cal Thompsons (imported. or \'arious copies). Canadian-made 9mm Stem. or the Chinese Type 36 copy ofthe US .45cal M3 'grease gun'. Lighlmachine guns used during the Ci\'iJ. War were the Czech-designed 7.92mlll ZB26 and a Canadian-made 7.92nun Brell gun. TIle mOSI common hea\")' machine gUll throughout the war was the archaic-looking Type 24. a copy of the 7.92nun Gennau MG08 Maxim. TItis mix of so lllallY types of weapon taking at least si.x types of ammunition mllst have made the lives of ordnance officers aud quartermasters a hell 011 earth. Roughly speaking. about 30 per ceut of Nationalist small arms were of US origin. 30 per ceut captured Japan· ese. and the remainder from various Chinese sources. Huge numbers of Japanese weapons had been captured in August 1945. including 629.544 rifles and 27.745 light and hea\}' machine guns. III their turn. the Nationalists were to lose equally staggering numbers of weapons • captured from them by the •
N~Uon~llsllroops mu~h
through Ihtlr I)ur~~ks. ~lU'. .... t1l elOlhtd tor wlnlfr in .... ~ddtd eotton J~~hts. trounrs. hts ~nd doutllt·l)ruslfd gruteo~ts. Tht two ottietrs (rlghl) h"yt ilddtd shouldtr bo~rds to Ihtlr w~ddtd j~~ktts. Thty ~rt ....urln'il Iht US·Slylt puhd nrylet e~p Wilh Iht l~rgtr e~p b~d'ilt . Iht KMT sun bordtrtd In rtd. In ~ 'il0ld wrulh (nt PI~1t H1). Tht Orl'iljn~l e~pllon el"lms th~llhut mtn ~rt lormtr CommunislS. (US N~lion~1 Arehiyul
19
PLA. Qne US miliHuy source states IbM between September and Noyember 1948 the NationalislS lost 230.000 rifles to the Communists: by the start of 1949 the lotal figure had reached over 400.000. ofwhich at 1easl 100.000 were US types. The Nationalist artillety was equipped mainly with Japanese pieces. of which some 10.300 had been captured: among. the more modern US ,gUllS the 75mlll pack howitzer was the most common type. E\'en though large numbers ofDS I05mm and some 155m howitzers had been sel.ll to China the anillery in the field still relied heaYily on mountain and light field gUllS. Armour was poorly utilized. The Nationalists had only one annoured brigade. equipped with Stuart M3A3 liglll tanks and cOlllmanded by Chiang Kai-shek's son. Other armour included more thlln 300 outdated Japanese captures. and eyen some older lefto\'ers such as the Soyiet T26. Any armour not on Ihe strength of the single armonred brigade Wit> distributed piecemeal among the nrious Nationalist commanders. Annoured trains were still in use by the Nationalists. in usually furile attempts to defend their nJinerable snpply lines. In Flbrury 1Ut.
~$
til,
N~lioullSI uuu I~ll.r$,
a unit 01 inl~ntty m~r(1l tllroUllh Ill. SUUIS of Sh~nllll~l. Th • ., u. drnud In p~dd.d wlnln uniforms wilh gt• ., totton Ski· caps. Th. Ironl un.
with Thompsons, ud lilt Slcond r
Ill. column ar, min ",mld with M
20
UNIFORMS
1937-45
The ullifonn oflhe Chinese Anny in 1937 was practical. reflecting the dO\Hl-to-eanh nature of the ordinary fighting man. Parade-ground smanness was rarely insisted upon ours ide the occasional elite or bodyguard units. Si.x years of experience in small scale campaigns against the Japanese on the Manchurian borders had taught die Chinese how 10 kit out their troops from the limited resources ofa poor nation, in l.lIility uniforms for both summer and winter conditions, The high turnoyer of manpower meant that many millions of Chinese soldiers had to be dressed and equipped during the course of the ml', These huge demllnds are exemplified by production figures from 1945, Dtuing thllt year Chinese gowmment factories supplied 5 million S\lits of sUlllmer clothing and up to 4 million winter uniforms. plus 10 million sets of underwear. In addition. I million mililaly blankets were produced (which gi\'es pause for thought was only I soldier in 4 issued with a new blanket?). Much of the cotton aOO other material needed iar the uniforms had to be imported from India.
Summer uniforms At the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War the Chinese Alluy wore both a lightweight summer and a heavier winter uniform. Generally speaking_ the summer unifolln was made up ofa light cotton jacket and trousers WOI"II with pultees. and either a peaked (yisored) sen'ice cap_ a peaked 'ski-type' field cap_ or Yanous models ofhelmel. The standard summer IUnic during the Sino-Japanese War was a light khaki cotlon jacket with a slalld-and-faIJ collar. four pockets and fiye fronl buttons: both the breast and waist pockets had bultol1ed flaps. The buttons were made of anything from wood to plaslic and e\'ery other malerial in between. Allhough usually described as lighl khaki_ the tunic varied widely in both colour and quality. wilh many shades of khaki. brown and green seen in use. Because Ihe Chinese AmlY relied far more than 11I0st a1lllies upon dispersed local manufaclure. the I}-pe and quality of cloth used were as \-aned as the colour. Howe\·er. the basic design of Ihe jackel does seem 10 ha\-e been adhered to in Illost cases_ Rank patches ,,-ere displayed on Ihe collar. and Ihe soldier's identificalion patch ab<)\-e the left breast pockel (see 'Insignia'_ below). Most soldiers wore conon trousers. CUI baggier in Ihe thigh than Ihe caJ( which were confined by pUllees of woollen or other c10lh tied wilh tapes al the top_ Generally the trousers would be issued in Ihe same c10lh as the jacket. and seem 10 han faded unifonuly. Long_ ba!Lll)' shorls were also worn: Ihese came tojusl abO\-e the knee_ and were also usuaUy worn with puttees. lea\-ing the knees exposed. Bools were not usually WOOl by Chinese soldiers during the 1937-45 period_ the most common fonn of footwear being brown or black leather shoes. Other Ihan for parade and guard units these were usually left unpolished_ The traditional Chinese black can\-as plilllsoll-lype shoes were also yery widely wom. as they had been by soldiers for many generations: these were wonl in summer witholll socks and in winter with white stockings. Soldiers are often seen with a spare pair of cam-as shoes strapped to their packs. so Ihey must han been cheap and easily obtainable_ In summertime homemade straw sandals were also WOOl by yelY many soldiers. either for comfort. to sa\-e wear and tear on shoes, or because nothing else ,,,as a\-ailable. The X- and V-Force units which were trained in India and Western China by the Allies received a mixlUre of British Mid US uniform clothing. British khaki drill (KD) was the most common_ and could be made lip of a KD shirt with eifher long trousers or shorts. More often than not the soldiers continued the practice of wearing puttees with both trousers and shorts. Many types ofIndian·made uniforlll items worn by the British in Asia found their way into use by the Chinese. including woollen pullovers. The Chinese were at the back of the queue for the new British purpose-made jungle green (JG) uniforms. bUI lIlay ha\-e recei\'ed the green-dyed K.D c10fhing which preceded these as a stop-gap. Uniform headgear The Chinese AllUY of the early to mid 1930s wore two types of cap. a peaked sep,ice cap being mosl popular in Ihe north and a ski-type field cap being worn in the sOUlh_ Howeyer. in the Chinese context there are no hard and fast mles: one unil was photographed near the Bunllese border in the far somh of China wearing the sen-ice cap in July 1937_
21
1338:
sOlcll,rs ~rm,d with th, famous Maunr 'broomh~ndl,' pistol· In this ~~n. to JUd'i!' Irom th' numerous ~mmunltlon pou~hu. th, Sp~nish Astra or G,rman R713 S~hnlel~u" mocl,1 ~~p~bl' 01 fully ~utomatl~ fir" 01 whi~h Itns of thouuncls wert impon'd b,'o" 1337. Th' ~lip-on holSltrlSto~k m~ku thl Maunr a ~omloft~bl' wupon, without notl~ubl' r,~oU. HOWlVtr, fully automatl~ 'ire a! 15 rounds ptr n~oncl Is absurdly In~~~uralt ' i'l Is almost imposslbl' to maintain th, aim on a m,n·slucltar'i!" ~I Inn 2S yuds' r'n'i!'. Th,n soldi,rs take aim on parade, without ma'i!nlnu 'in,d, Th'y ~" mort smartly lurn'cl out and b'"lr ,qulpp'd than thl anra'i!' NationaUsl soldl", and u, almoSi unalnly a boclY'i!utd unil. Th'I' 'polo'4yp' pilh hllmlls would pruumably han bun "pluld by stul hllmlts lor ~ombat. It avallabl" $u~h non-r''i!ul,tion Iltms as then hudgur wert pur~Uncl by 10~,1 ~omm,ndlrs to impron thl appu"n~, olth,lr 'lilt units. $u PI,t, 81, (Rob,n Hunt Libr,ryl N~t1on~lIst
At the oUlbreak of the fighting in the 110l'lh Ihat month. Illany of the lroops facing the Japanese still wore the service cap. This came in Slumner CO!fon and winter wool versions. and had a black or brown leather peak and chin strap. w-ith an enamelled KNIT sunburst badge on the front. Mer Ihe \"inual destlUction of the northe1'll Chinese annies in 1937 the sel\'ice cap went OUi of common use. By far the most common type of headgear wom by the Chinese Army throughout the period cO\"ered by this book was Ihe ski.type field cap. based on caps worn by alpine troops of Ihe German and AustroHungarian annies. The cap had a cloth peak and a fold-down side curtain. which was usually worn faslened up and held in place at die front by one or two buttons. A one·button \'ersion was more common in the early 19305. and the two-bullon \'anety was seen most cOllunollly from the late 19305 onwards. Field caps were made from a \'anery of materials. bUl nonnally from light conon for snmmer wear and hea\-ief" cotton or wool for wimer. The standard KMT enamelled badge of a white sunburst on a circular blue background was WOOl at the from of the crown alxwe the buttons. This cap was in continuous service finn 1930 umil the [mal defeat of the Nationalists in 1949. but became 1ess common after 1942. Another type ofstiff field cap. based on the German Nazi SA kepi. \\3; used by some Nationalist troops in the early 19305. This had a leather peak and a single small metal bullon at the front. again with the ~u sun badge. This type ofcap was mainly seen worn by soldiers during the 1933 Jehol campaign. and seems to ha\'e been more or less phased au by the mid 19305. A softer cloth·peaked \"ersion of this cap was WUJ.I during the 19405. but not \\idely. Hea\'ier duty \"ersions of the ski·type field cap were wom with die wimer lUlifofln. and were made of quilted or wadded conon. nlis \\3; basically a bulkier\"ersiotl of the summer cap but with a substantial fold-down side curtain to protect the ~. cheeks and neck. The sidepieces were nOflllally wom fastened on top of die crown with a butlon or tapes. The standard winter version of the cap. 1Il woollen cloth. had the smile IWO bUllons at the front as Ihe smnmer Illodel. Various \'ersions were in service wid} different units: one pattem with (l quilted lining and no front buttons was wom by froops of the 29th A.l.111Y.
Steel helmets 22
The hislory ofsteel hehnets worn by Ihe Chinese Anny in the 1930s-40s is
complicaled by the wide rnnge of types in ser...ice. especially before 1937. The mnin types used before 1937 were the British Mk I or Its Americnn MI917Al counterpart. Ahhough other models are seen. these two almost identical types were by fur the most commonly WOI'l1 during the fighting of 1931-37. Three other types were WOIll by Nationalist troops. The firsl was the 'plum blossom' model. which was based on the Japanese helmet of ...ery similar design (see Plate my' A second model had a pot-shalX'd s,},:ull with a brim that ",-as slightly wider at the front. gi\'ing it the appearance of haxing a peak: this type seems laI",!Zely 10 ha\-e gone out of use by 1937. but probably sun.-i,-ed in some umts. Finally. a third model of distincti'-e Chinese design (see Plate A3). similar in shape 10 a flanened Gennan 'coalscunle' helmet. ",-as seen in use from 1932 until 1937. TIlis model was unique in shape. but may han been based on the US eXlX'rimental Model 2A design which ",-as later denloped into the MI of World War II fame. The steel helmet that WliS really representati...e of the Chinese AI'I11Y of 1937-45 was the Gennan M35. This model was introduced after the arri\'al in China in 1933 of the Gennan training mission under Colonel-General Hans "on Seeckt. Gennan advisers were quick to recommend their own country's armament industries to supply much of the modern weaponry and equipmelll bought by the Chinese during the 1930s. These included approximately 250.000 M35 helmets imported before 1936. when all exports of the helmet ceased. They were used to equip the tell German-trained di...isions which fonned the backbone of the Nationalist AI111Y, Although the \'ast majority of Chinese soldiers did not recei...e steel helmets. those that did during the period 1937-45 were normally issued the M35. The M35 in Chinese use retained its field-grey factory paint finish. with a white-sun-on-blue·sky Ki\ff decal on the lefl hand side: it was identical to the German model apart from having II different liner.
AI1hough In th. fl.ld. this mOljor Is ImmOleulOlt.ly turn.d out in th. smOlrtut urvlu drus uniform with brnehu Olnd riding boOIS. Olnd whit. p..,Old. glovu • ovt of pIOle•.•nn it this Is Ol pue.tim. uueiu. HOlnglng trom nls SOlm Brown. b.U on his I.tt hlp Is th. oftleus' drus dOl'il'il.r,
Another model in fnil'1y widespread use by Nationalist troops was the French Adrian. which was seen on a few fronts in 1937. After the initial fighTing. howen!'. most Adrlall helmets were worn by troops in The south-west of the coulltry. away frolll the main war fronts. In Yunnan pro\'ince in the far south-west, adjacelll 10 the border with French Indochina. the local warlord YUlIg Lun imported large numbers of them. Nationalist Illsignia on the Adrians nried from a standard KMT enamel badge to a white stencilled sun surrounded by a rice-plant wreath. The Allied-supplied soldiers of x- and Y-Forces wore a mixture of British Mk II and US MI helmets. The fonner was usually wom with Indian-made camouflage netting. while the latter bore a KMT decal on the left side. 2 9le aI50 1.9.1 362. 71le Japanese Afmy 193 1-45(1)
23
Other headgear Some Nationalist soldiers wore a distinctive cork pith helmet of polo style. which appears to lla\-e been nrnished. The polo helmet was smaller than the standard pith helmets in use widl European colonial anllies, and its brim was dIe same width all around instead of being drawn out at the back to protect the neck. An enamel Nationalist sun badge was anached to the fronl. A pith helmet of more cOI1\'entional shape is seen in newsreels of the rime, and this was sometimes paillled for camouflage and covered with netting. The British supplied their 'India pallern' pith helmet to X-Force during its training at Ramgarh: it bore the usual K.\fT badge on the front and had a brown leather chin strap. Reportedly. US pith helmets were also issued to X-Force officers after being declared to be 'limited standard' or obsolete by the US AmlY in 1941, Broad straw sun or 'coolie' hats were \\"idely WOnt. usually carried in addition to the steel helmet or cap and slung on the soldier's back when not in use. The exact design of the straw hat depended on the region of China that the soldier (or the hal) came from. Sometimes these were painted in camouflage patterns or festooned with foliage: cOIl\"ersely. other troops decorated them with patriotic slogans in Chinese script. or had the KMT Slill badge stencilled on fhem. Some helmet-shaped headgear made of basketwork were also used (see photographs 011 pages 33 and 45). A cad.t
Mltlury Ac~d.my Is plctur.d on pH~d. with ~ Cnch lB21 on his should.r. His uniform Is mad. from hnvy wooll.n cloth, and hn th. ~c~d.my's disc Inslgnl~ on th. coll~r Inst.~d 01 ran~ p~tchfS. Abov. his 1.lt br.nt pock.t Is th. Id.nllty p~tch displ~yln'i1 nrvlc. and unIt Inlorm~tlon; th. 1.11 p~n.1 appnrs to display th. slngl' tri~ngl. 01 .Ith.r ~ corpor~1 or ~ ncond lI.ut.n~nt. This cad.t prfSum~bly comu Irom a rnsoubly ~lllu.nt t~mlly • nott th. P~r~.r 10unUIn p.n protruding from his poc~.t. (tWill, CHN ~1I)
24
~t ~ C.ntr~1
Officers' uniforms 1937 -45 The materials and tailoring of Chinese officers' IIniforms were of a much higher standard than those of the lower ranks. Officers were normally responsible for pro\'iding their own IIniforms. and since most clime from wealthier families this was reflected in the quality of their dress. Officers \vore a selTice dress of khaki wool comprising a ski-type cap. a tunic, and either riding breeches with topboots or leggings, or straight slacks worn with brown leather shoes. Theil' brown leather belts were of 'Sam Browne' style. and supponed a pistol holster and an officel>s dress dagger. Caps were of the same basic paltern as those worn by enlisted men but ofbeller qualities. depending on the rank of the individual. During the war a few higher ranking Anny officers were seen wearing the US officel>s peaked service cap. but these were normally worn only by Air Force personnel. The tunic had a stand-and-fall collar. four pockets. and fi\"e brass front bUllons. Ahhough there were \'ariations of colour. the normal shade was. in British ternIS. a brownish khaki. or in American usage a brownish olive drab. Rank insignia were displayed 011 plastic or metal (ronrin,,
CHINA 1937 1: f'rhrll1e, 72nd DI¥, 71h Army a .....p; north Ch""', "U1I1937 2: C~, 8&1h Dlv: Sh-.g".l, 1037
3: Priv"'to, 561h DIv; Shan"""'l, 1037 4: Sergeant. 37th DiY. 29th Army; Peking. Ju~ 1137
A
CHINA 1938-39 1: Corporal, 1SUh ON, 12t1't Army, C.,ton, May 1938 2: Privale 1.t CI...; Wuh." Oct 1938 3; Prlva\lll 2nd Cia••, 7th DIY; winter 1939
--
•
CHINA 1939-41 1: Captain, 14th ArtIllery Regt; Honan, Jan HMO 2; Major, 1!13rd Div, 60th Corp.; Changlha, Sept 1939 3: Regrnenlalalandard·beaAlf, 12th Dlv, 3rd Corps; st.....1 provl~, May ltil41
,
3
c
rthernValley, Byrma, 944 Arm~;y~:wng March 11944 May
BURMA 38th New l' Private,1943-45 112th Regt'oo Div,Div, New 6th1st Army;
~ lance-Corporal, ~amgarh, India, Aug 1944
3; Privata 1st ClasS;
,
,
D
L
CHINA & BURMA 1943-45 1: Tank commander, (1111 PTovl,lonal Tank Group; Burma, 1944-45 2; Major-General Sun U-jen, 38th DIY; Burma, late 1943 3: Colonel, US TAG; KU
E
-.
-",",""-
,
-.
2
3
~A~
,
'"
CHINA 1944-45 1: OSS-trained soldier, ISOUthern China. Aug 1945 2: Guerrilla, ~ Regl, 15th Mabie Column; Shantung. 1944
3: uncI-corporal; P1hu tnlnlng centre, 11144
•
•
4: Privet. hI QaM. New 10th DIY. 46th Co.,.a:
•
Kw"'lin.luicl'looo". Apr 1945
CIVIL WAR 1946-49 1: Lieutenant, 123
z: PrtvalB 2nd Class, 4th COtPs; Carlton, oa 1949 3: 2JM:llt, Eng;.........., 7th DIv; ShIt>chiKlw.>ana, Oc11948
2
.: Vt>lunt_. P.....,. Pnu""vlltion Corps: kllifenD. June 1948
•
1
3
,
Q
3
,
CIVIL WAR 1946-49 1: Lieutenant, 60th D1v; Fe lIM1 2: Private 111I. ClaSs, 207th Youth Div;
Mukchn, Ocll948 3: NCO, 12th Army Group; StJ,fwallQClli.oenl, NO\I 1948 4: Corporal, 73n1 Almy; Menchun., Nov 19ot1
H
•
collar p
Winter clothing A double-breasted khAki wool greatcoat was seen in limited use. especially in Ihe mid to late 19305: but for the most part the winter clothing of the Nationalist Anny was based on the e\-eryday clothing \\-om by most peasants in China during cold weather. This consisted ora loose-filling padded ('wadded') jacket of heal")' COtlOIl. Most jackets were originally dyed a blue colour (roughly the shade of unwashed blue denim in Ihe West). In mosl cases Ihe poor quality ohhe dye meanllhal after being exposed 10 snow. rain and sun the blue colour quickly faded 10 a lighter blue-grey shade - this is sometimes described in the Wesl as 'bright' blue_ Matching Trousers made ofhea\")' duty COttOIl. again lined aud padded. ga\'e the wearer an ungainly appearance. They were wom with Thick woollen pUllees. and eXIra insulaTing materials could also be wrapped around the legs and feel. Locally acquired fur-lined boots were wom by troops ill Ihe coldesl areas. Specilll cold weaTher clothing was issued To the norThern Chinese Troops III 1937-38: fur-lined coats 11ud snrCOlllS of vAriouS types were issued To 11 fortull
Silt Tung Ch._yu~n. cl~lm.d in th. original caption to have _1111(1 100 J~p~nISl (luring th. lighting on the upp.r Yangtze rl.... r In May_Junl 1943. Arm.d with ~ Chlnln M~unr, h. wun ~ $Impll cotton $hiM ~nd $hOM$ with $tr~w und~l$. ~nd the u$ual canvas bandoller$. Notl that hi hn a baskltwork $Un hllml. with thl KMT badgl on (hi Iront,
33
Regional nlrillliol1s did persist, however. including black Inmbswool lining in hats worn by the 29th Army stationed near Peking in 1937. Another model was WOI1l lhat September by soldiers of the 'Suiyuall People's Anny'. which despite its title was a regular Nationalist force defending SlIiyuan pro\'ince, This hat was made of wadded cOllon with a peak and padded cOllon ear flaps. and a black fur section visible on (he from below the cap badge.
INSIGNIA Collar patches The Chinese Anny had ne"er had a complicated system of insignia. and official ullil or regimental badges did not exist. Official insignia were limited 10 rank and idelltificalion patches, widl in some cases a di"isional sign on the ann. Ranks were USlJ..111y shown by a system of ranK bars wilh 1·3 lriangles. mounted on coloured collar palches (see the accompanying chart). Below general officers' rank the bars and lriallgles were displayed on patches of lhe wearer's branch colour. RanK symbols were usually made of either metal or plastic and were worn on both sides of the collar. Gen Sir
Cl~lId.
Auchllll,e.,
Insp.ets I Chin,n mortar er.w In training. Allied C-in-C
In(lI~.
Tnt wupon IS I
us 4.21n
monu. In. uniforms and w.b .quipmtnt u. British, though worn Wllh wooll.n pUllIn. In III. ri';)111 baekifounCl stands I Chin,n InstrUCtor wurlhg I
Britlsn solaf fopl or pith 1I,lml' 01 Indian plll,rn. (IWIIl INO 3775)
34
Branch CO/Ollrs: General Staff Infantry Ca\'alry Altille1Y
Engineers Commissariat Medical Supply Train Military Police
gold cod
yellow blue white dark red green black pink
Identification patches The most important fonn of insignia worn by the Chinese Anny in 1937-49 was the unique system ofidelltification patches. A white cloth patch was worn above the left brellst pocket. displilying various information aboUl the wearer and his IInit. A stllndilrd patch was divided into six panels - a verticlll p1ll1el at ellch side fbnking four equal horizontal panels. In these horizontal spaces blilck Chinese chilracters described different aspects of the individulll's sen'ice. The top panel gan the divisional number and the illdividulll's rank: the second ga"e the soldier's regiment and batlalion: the third bore lhe name of the soldier's battalion commander: and the bottom panel ga"e the date of the soldier's enlistment. The right hand nrtical panel. as viewed. displayed the soldier's name: the left hand panel bore black rank symbols. if any were appropriate. A smaller and simplified version of this patch was divided horizontally in half with the man's brigade number in Chinese
Rank insignia, Nationalist Army 1937-46
1511..,
ann
ICo'PJI" 1 Gl*l o:JIar paIdl edgea gokl, 3 gokI triangIe$. 2·3 Gl*l patch. 3 gokIlriangIes (r.Ir*s rdI ~shilble by dtlelenl gokIlnsignIa 00 CU'I 01 don !*Ie ceeiluD tIDe). 4-5 GI:*l patch. 2-1 gold lI!.lngIes. I-I Branl:I'I
characters in the top half. and in the bottom panet his diyisional number and rank. Around the edges ofsol11e but not all of these patches were borders in "arious colollrs. which were either ill the branch colour or related 10 the man's rank. Westem sources haye always maintained that these showed branch colollrs. but recent Chinese sources now state that a different system applied. with the borders being blue for all ranks below field officers. yellow for field officers and red for general officers. Black and white photographic evidence confuses this issue by seeming to show officers ",,·ith dllrker borders. Perhaps the trmh is that the tv.-o systems operated at the Slllue time in different units. Certainly. the design of the plllch vllried greatly from region to region and allny to allny. so there seems no plll"ticular reason why the border colour sequence should hll'-e been cOlllmon to all.
Arm badges Another fOlln of insignia wom by some of the bener organized annies was a cloth patch WOI'tl on the left upper slee,·e. which usually denoted the wearer's di,·ision. These came ill differelll designs but the standard pattem bore black Arabic numerals for the division and a capital 'D'. e.g. '128D' for 128,h Diyisioll. These ,,-ere marked on a white oya1. set on a blue or black background with a while border. In Chinese characters at the bottom of the patch was wrillen Ihe wearer's dale of
35
Cllines. Infantry from Yunnan watcll sll.lIlng on til. c.ntral Salwlln rivet ftontln Jun. 1943. All at. dr.ss.d in IIglll· colour.d colton uniforms and lI~ve ImprovIsed backpukS. willi doubl.d blank.t roilS surround.d by a wat.rproof shill.
enlistment. Earlier patches of the same design bore black Chinese characters rather than Arabic numerals to denote the di,-ision. and these probably continued in use concurrently with the new design. A simpler and smaller fonn of the di"isional patch wom by some units was a white field with a black border. bearing in the celUre the Arabic di,-isiolllllnumber and '0'. Some patches of the same design as the first di"isional type bore instead Roman numerals which indicated the war zone in which the wearer was ser'\"ing. e.g. 'V indicated the 5th War ZOlle. Sources suggest that these patches may haH been WOOl only by headquarters staff A camouflag.d Chinn. infantryman. willi bayon.t fb.d and Ills Mauser tifl. tucked und.r his arm, runs Ihrough the Burmn. Jungl. nur Pyu. south of Toungoo, In 1942. H. wears shorts and pUIl.n, and has a r.gul~llon knapuck ~nd bl~nk.t roll.
36
Unit badges SOllie units also had their own unofficial badges. usually worn as enamel pins on the breast pocket flap. Although few examples of these sUf\·i,·e. and none seem to have been documented at the time. they were usually round or oval in shape and incorporated the colours of the national flag - red. blue and white· with e.g. '120' for 12th Division superimposed. Other units had unofficial doth patches which would han been issued 011 the whim of their commanders. Armbands The armband had tl'llditiolllllly been used in China to indicate the llllegiance of soldiers. especially during civil conflicts, III the Nationalist AnllY they seem only to have been wom to denote that the wearer belonged to a special unit. MilitalY police were recognisable by the crimsollpink background to their collar patches. but also wore a distincth'e armband. This was made of white doth and '\'om on the upper left arm. bearing in red the Chinese characters for 'MP'. Chemical troops had no branch colour of their own. so were distinguished by a white armband with red characters Slating their special role.
Field equipment As for so Illany other llspects of Chinese Anny practice. the officilll should be distinguished from the actual. Reguilltions clllled for the Chinese soldier to be equipped with a leather or cam'as knapsack. with a blanket fastened around the sides and top by means of leather straps. A waterproofed tent quarter which doubled as a rain poncho was also fastened on top of the pack. A brown leather waist belt supported three ammunition pouches on each side. holding charger clips for the Chinese Yersion of the Manser 98k rifle. These pouches were similar 10 the Gennan MI933 model. and at least initially were manufactured in Germany. Other equipment included a can\'as 'bread bag' or hayersack. a water boule (which came in two models). and a gas mask in a long metal canister with horizontal ribbing. The bayonet scabbard hung from the belt by means of a leather frog. This field equipment was worn by a limited number of Chinese troops. mainly from the Gennan-trained di\'isions that were \-irmally destroyed in the fighting of 1937-38. For the \-a5t majority of Chinese soldiers the typical equipment included a pair of cam'as anullunition bandoliers. one worn O\'er the left shoulder and the other around the waist O\'er a simple leather belt. A simple cam-as haHrsack might carry the soldier's entire personal gear. Cam'as chest pouches. to cany one Gennan-type stick grenade on each side. were also widely worn. An impro\'ised backpack was often made by stowing the soldiel~s personal kit in a blanket. rolled from both ends until it met in the middle. then lashing the two rolls together. In 1lL.1lly cases a rolled shelter quarter or groundsheet was attached round the sides and top of this improvised pack. and pairs of sandals 01' shoes and/or a plate or mess tin are often seen fastened to the back. A simpler 'horseshoe' blanket roll WOIll around the torso was also comlllonly used. The haversack. chest pouches and homemade backpack were easily produced at a local level. but the average Chinese soldier would IH1\'e considered himself lucky to be issued with them. Various types ofwllter bottle were also issued. the two main models being based on those used by the German Anny. Widespread use was also made of any captured water bottles. and some had been imported from Japan before the outbreak of war. The forces trained by the Allies in India for the BUlma frolll mostly recei\'ed standard British 37 pattern webbing equipmelll. much of it locally manufactured and generally of rather flimsier materials and construction than rhe lJK-nL.1de originals.
A lont Chlnnt stntry st~nds Ilu~rd ovtr a stction 01 tht Burma Road In 1U4. drtsstd in a waddtd cotton winttr j~cktt with normal lI<;1httr wti<;lht ttounrs and puttns. ~nd ~n Adtlan patttrn htlmtt. His kit Includn a sUbst~nti~t b~ckp~ck. bandolitrs ~nd twO stiCk <;Ittnadt pouchn.
37
Th' eaw of ~ Slu~rl M3A3 liglll tank of III' Provlslon~1 T~nk Group In Burm~: nOlt lilt l~visll applleaUon of wlrt mull 10 auaeh camouflagt. Tilt driver and lIuli gunner wnr US Ovtralls willi fibft erull 1I,lmtts ~nd goggln. Tlltir tank eommandtr lIu ~ Britisll 1(0 Shirt and lIis light _lIa_i eonon Chlnnt Army litld e~p.
Armoured crew uniforms The Chinese Anny had only a smaU llUmber of armoured n~hicles in 1937. and these were not grouped in large units as they were in oilIer anllies. but dispersed in support of infamry. Armoured crewmen were ne\"ertbeless issued with their own unifonns and equipment. and these - like Iheir \"ehicles - came from "arious foreign sources. Before largescale Allied assistance from 1943. armoured crewmen wore a mixture of Gennan and hal ian clothing. All wore simple one-piece linen overalls, which were probably supplied from Ilaly. T\\-o types of crash helmet WOnt pre-1943 were Ihe German 1937 and the Italian fibre model covered with black learher. A number of Soviet T-26 light tanks were supplied to the Chinese in the 1930s. and these probably arri\"ed with supplies of Russian black overalls and brown leather crash helmers. After 1943 all new Chinese armour was supplied by rhe US and the crews were issued wirh US herringbone twill overalls and fibre crash he Imels,
38
Militia & guerrilla uniforms During rhe Japanese invasion various local auxiliaries fought alongside the regular aOllY as village guards. coast guards and town militias, dressed in quasi-milirary 01' civiliml clothes. Where unifoI1ns were nor available the militiamen wore patrioric armbands and badges on their own clorhing. Helldgellr was more often than not the straw coolie hat. Qne coastal plltrol force in Kwangtung province. were issued with coolie hats made in the sallie shape as the British steel helmet. Nationalist guerrillas gained no benefit of concealment by wearing civiliall clothes -Japanese anri-guerTillll oper1ltions routinely im'olved rhe killing of any ci\'ilians found in the target area. Unifonns were often manufactured in guerrilla-held territory. howe\'er, and one foreign obsen'er noted a unit which produced its 0\\11 summer and winler uniforms as well as heavy overcoats and shoes. Better unifoolls would ha"e been resen'ed for the 'regular' guerrillas of the more aCli\'e and Illobile bands. rather than being made for second line Village SelfProlection Corps fighters. Any a\'ailable fireanns were employed, with the Mauser C96 'broomhandle' range ofsemi-automatic
A Chlntn eomm~ndo is piellHld /U$I ~ntr c:ompltling ~ pn~ehult jump n p~n of his Itaj"'ing by lilt Amtric:n OSS In Jun, IUS. Wlltn proptrly tulnld and ,,~rtd for lilt n,ragt Chlntn rteruil madt an Uetlltnt solditr. Howtver, lh' Vail m~Jority 01 Halion~lisl eonserlpn .,rt nOl .tlllr~intd . • tll elolh'd. w'"ltd ••tll eaftd for or well ltd. and thtir ptrtorman"t during World W~r II and Iht Civil Wu n~lurally r'fl,eltd lllis ntgltel by Illtir olfletrs. (US Hnional Arehivesl
pistols being fin"oured by unit leaders - as much for the cachet imparted by a pistol as for its useful firepower. Others had to make do with hunting guns. da-dao swords and enn bamboo spears.
UNIFORMS
A ulhn portly major 01 Ihe US-Ied TrainIng Advl$oty Gro",p based al K",nming, wearing a superior qualily COllon tunic ~nd ski-type cap. We has Ihe ",sual collar rank patchu. an ~bbrt'ljaltd chUI 10 palCh, and Ihe 1.f1 shoulder palCh of Ihe TAG· Ihe KMT sun superimposed on red ~nd While dia!lon~l sltipu Is" Plait Ul. His revolver ~ppears 10 be Ihe shon-lind US nOI .•SUI Coli Army Sputal. (US N~lional Archlvu)
1946-49
The unifolllls \vOIll by the Nationalists during the Ci,il War were a chaotic mixture of old and new. Althongh new uniforms had been introduced after 1945 a large number of Nationalist troops still looked identical to those who had f1l"St fought in 1937. In the aftermath oflhe Japanese surrender the Chinese and US go'·efllments concluded an agreement whereby large US surplus uniform and equipment stocks in the Pacific thealre could be purchased at knockdown prices. Huge stockpiles of equipment of all kinds had been built up on the Pacific islands in amicipation ofOperation 'Olympic'. the projected im'asion of the Japanese home islands ill 1946. Needless to add. many of these items ne"er reached Ihe ordinary Chinese soldier. since they were diwned and sold Oll by corrupt officelOS and K.\IT officials. Howe'·er. any pre1945 US Anny or Marines unifonn item could and probably did find its way into Nationalist sen·ice. Indi\"idual unils would still ha"e relied upon the influence or openhandedness of their cOlllmanders ill the mailer of clothing issue. and some officers had the means to clodle and equip their units better than others. While Ihere was a marked lack ofstandardizatioll. units did tend to wear the same types. As wilh the pre·1945 amlY. there were distillci sumlller and willler unifonns. The summer unifoml was again in ligln cotton in Yarious shades of khaki and was worn with either the old skicap. 1946 model peaked cap. or steel helmet. Winter uniforms were usually of grey wadded cotton WOIll with either a peaked cap or new model winter hal (see below). Very few mentions of Nationalist uniforms are found in eyewitness reports of Ihe lime. However. John F.Melby in his book Mandate From Heal"€11 nOled during a visit to the headquarters ofGen WangYao-wu's 96th Anny that the discipline and general condition of the men he saw on parade indicated a very well led unit - although about half the llIeu were ulltlrmed tlud velY few htld steel helmets.
Headgear The ski-type field cap continued in used throughout the Ci,il War but was gradually replaced by other types. Prominent during 1946-48 was the US sUlluner/tropictll peaked service cap in light khaki. either stiffened or with its stiffening removed to make it 'crushable'. This cap was worn in summer and wimer alike. but was often adapted for cold weather. These impro,·ised willieI' hats were produced by sewing woollen ear flaps (0 the band. wom tied up aboH the crown in wanner weadler. Although described as being of US origin. lUany of these peaked caps may Ita"e been copies manufactured ill Chinese factoties. Other types of US surplus caps were also worn. including the soft fatigue cap and seHral types of baseball caps.
39
The US 1\11 st('('1 h('lmH was imported in IMge Ilumbers and was one of the most common models in lise. During the Civil War the K..~IT insignia was usually placed at the from rather lhan the left hand side. The German M35 was still seen ill sen·ice ulllil Ihe end of the war in some regions. e.g. Shanghai in 1949. but it seems 10 haH been more commonly issued to the "anous paramilitary units. The old 'plum blossom' helmet was still in limited sen·ice al the start of the Waf. GiHIl the parlous state ofsome Nationalist units. any anilable type would ha,-e been pressed imo sen·ice. Large numbers of Japanese M32 helmets were certainly worn by Nationalisl troops. although not 011 the same scale as by the Communists. Some Japanese helmets had a KJ.IT sunburst badge attached 10 Ihe front. and if these were not a"ailable then the Japanese Anny five-point slar emblem would lun'e been removed or defaced. Second model Japanese cork sun helmets were also widely worn. especially by support troops. wilh the brass star emblem remon~d.
During th Civil WU. ~ N~tion~list cr.w pr.pu. th.lr Chinn. Typ. 24 w~t.r-COOltd h.~vy m~chln. gun. Iht 10UI copy of th. old. ht~vy. bUI rtli~bl. MGO. Mulm. whiCh was uud right up 10 U". Th.y 3rt 311 drnud in Iht n.w gr.y winl.r clolhing. 3nd Iht h31 with nr CUI,OUI$ In Ih. fl~p$ (s.. Pl31t H21; th. No.2 hu woolltn glovu.
40
'Model 1946' winter clothing While mosl Nationalist soldiers continued to wear the old blue-grey wadded clothing. a new and more unifonnly manufactured suit of grey c10lh with a padded lining was also worn in large numbers and seems to ha"e been produced in stale workshops. Although no official date for Ihis item is known. it did appear after the stan of the Ci,i1 War and was probably introduced in 1946. In 1949 units of rather hastily enlisted Kc\1T troops are often pictured wearing this smarter padded jacket and trousers with a distinctin new model winter hat (see Plate H. and H2 for the hat). The matching trousers were often worn without pUllees. The faci that Ihese last-ditch conscripts were well uniformed suggests a considerable stockpile of these garments. Large units are seen wearing Ihem. suggesting mass production at least in the last year of the Waf. A padded grey cottOIl double-breasted grealcoat was also issued to some soldiers. either with or without fur collars. The Japanese sailcloth winter coat with detachable sleeHS and nIT collar was also worn: Chinese workshops may well haH copied it. ahhough substantial numbers of them must ha"e been capmred in 1945. Insignia In May 1946 the rank system in the Nationalist Army was changed, basically 10 conform with lhe US system. Although lhe new insignia were seen in lise by some officers during lhe Ci"il War. most officel'S and other ranks continued to wear the pre1946 sequence illustrated 011 pag.e 35. The following insig.nia were worn on the shoulder straps of Ihe \Unic:
Special Ranking General General of the Anny General Lieutenant-General Major-General Colonel Lieutenant·Colonel
5 gold stars forming a circle 4 gold stars forming a square ., 3 gold stars forming a triangle ., 2 gold stars ., I gold star ., 3 gold plum blossoms fonning a Iriangle ., 2 gold plum blossoms ~1ajor ., I gold plum blossom .. 3 siln:r bars Caplain .. 2 sih"er bars Lieutenant .. I silnr bar 2nd LieUiellant Warrant Officer .. I sih"er bar Under the post-1946 system the branch-of-service colours were replaced by a US~le syslem of gold metal badges: Staff .. crossed balons .. crossed rifles lnfalllry C3yalry .. crossed sabres .. cannon Anillery Annour .. lank Engineers .. castle Signals ., crossed flags Military Police ., crossed pislols Quartennaster ., wheel = =
Officers below general rank wore Ihe branch de\"ice 011 Ihe left side of the collar with a gold plum blossom 011 Ihe righl side. Generals wore a plum blossom on both sides of Ihe collar with no branch insignia. Piping on officers' unifonns was red for general officers. yellow for field officers and blue for company officers.
Officers' uniforms The mixture of pre- and post-1946 lInifonns was also evidelll in the dress of Nationalist officers. Officers had a beller chance to acquire US uniforms. :lIld photographs suggest that the decision (0 do so was often an individual choice, Photographs of officers of the same units show some wearing ski-caps and pre1946 field lInifonns while comrades wear post-1946 US-type uniform. The difference. perhaps smprisn~y. does not appear to ha\·e depended on the age of the indi\·idulli. and may ha\"e been a question ofwealth.
NUJonJlisl SOldl" Jlm,d with J Thompson SNO 'ilurdln'il J d,j,elld 'ilfOUp 01 CommuniS! prlson'rs: th, Civil WJr wn nOI J continuous urin 01 CommuniS! vletorln. ~nd th, NJllonJl1sl$ ~chinld unr~1 notJbl' sueensn. Th' sotdi,r wurs ~ IUI-lln'd CJp. w~dd,d winll, eIOlhln'il. Jnd wh~1 sum 10 b' llood IUlh,r boots. It would ott'n Un bun difficult to IIl1lh' "dv'rurln ~p;lr1. np,el"lIy U Ih' Communisls somllimn WOII c~ptulld NJtlonJIlSI unllolms. IUS 'hllon"l Archlvn)
41
Paramilitary uniforms The unifollllS of the various paramilitary and militia forces were usually indistinguishable from those of the regular anny. The PPC and the other militarized police and militia had a low priority for new uniforms and weapons. Photographs suggest that most PPC soldiers wore the UStype khaki peaked sen"ice cap along with nondescript winter ,grey or summer light khaki unifonns. Police units were usually seen in dark blue unifollns with either peaked caps or the German M35 steel helmet.
July 1141: w.1I turn.d-out $oldl.r$ 01 on. of Ill. 'btlon~H$t Youth Dlvi$lon$. pIlOtOllr~ph.d $Iloutlnll p~trlotie $IO'il~n$, Th. Youth Divi$lon$. form.d Irom $tud.nt voluntur$, w.r. ~mon'il th. but N~tiouli$l troop$ ~nd $IHI r.laln.d $om. olth. old f.rvour 10$1 by th. majority of Chiang Kal-$h.k'$ $01(11'[$, Alllh.u m.n han bun hu.d with eaptulfd J~p~nu. 11I32 $tlll h.lm.t$ Willi add.d KIIIT .mbl.m$, and hn. bun lucky .nough 10 r.ctlv. US doubl.-buckl. boot$, (Tim. & Lif. Plcturul Sh~n'ilh~l,
THE PLATES
42
A: CHINA 1937 A1: Private, 72nd Division, 7th Army Group; Peking-Suiyuan railway, China, August 1937 This pnvate of one of the formations which took the brunt of the eorty fighting against the Japanese IS wearing what is often described as the 'Northern Chinese' unifoon. His peaked service cap, of German shape, is made of light calion with a brown leather peak and chin strap His tunic and trouse~ are made from a slightly diff9fent shade of light khaki colton, and hIS puttees from strips of the same cloth His very light equipment is limited to an ecrty type of Chinese water bollle, and magazine pouches for hiS German MP 28-11 submachine gun; thiS was imported in large numbers by the KMT government. The leather pouches, with a pocket fOf a loading tool, are supported by both the belt and a neck strap. A2: Corporal, 88th Division; Shanghai, 1937 The best German-trained divisklns of the Nationalist Army were sacrificed in the brave but futile defence of Shanghai, and the 88th was one of these As a member of one of Chiang Kal-shak's most loyal divlslOfls this soldier is as well dressed and equipped as the limited resources of the KMT government allowed HtS German M35 steel helmet has the white-on-b1ue sunburst decal on the left side. Below his rn collar patch can just be seen the edge of his cloth idenliflC8tlOfl patch gMng details of his unit, enlistment date and commander His large canvas waist pooches carry magazines for his Czech-made ZB26 light machine gun.
A3: Priv.te, 56th Division; Sh.ngh.l, 1937 This steel helmet IS of a type pecull(ll" to the Chinese AIrrr'f and seen most. often on thtS front Roughly resembling a 'flattened 001' German helmet, It was crudely made and did not always conform to exactly the same shape Some but not all had the sunburst badge embossed on the front. The fest 0( the soldier's light summer Uniform is unremarKable. The apparent blanket rollover his left shoulder is in fact made from '¥6y cotton and contains his food supply. His canvas haversack accommodates hiS few personal items, and because of his lack of a canvas bandolier it also has to hold ammunition for his Hanyang 88 rine. A4: Sergeant, 37th Division, 29th Army; Marco Polo Bridge, July 1937 The 29th Army were statklne
A m~jor of Ihl 29th Army I2lspl~ys some 12151lnctlve inslgni~ on his light kh~ki COllon offlcer's unllorm. HI hn thl usu~1 r~nk p~tch on his letl collu, with one gold trl~ngle on 1'11I0 b~rs Sll on his br~nch-ol-Sfrvltf colour. Howlver. on the right p~tch hi displ~ys pin-on mel~l numlr~ls '29A' lor 29th Army. This lorm ollnsillni~ sums 10 be unilful in the photogr~phic record. ~nd m~y havi bun plcullar to thl staff of this army. The major alSO has an unusualtrianllular cloth patch ~bove thl conventional idlntlflcation patch on his Iitl brust. ~Iso burlng '29A' In black bllow what sums to bl ~ bird·sh~pld symbol. His 10 patch appufS to be borderld in Yillow, ud thl letl vIMlcal panel burs thl singll bl~ck tri~nllli 01 his r~nk. I Roben Hunt Library)
,- •
•
of unknown origm, worn complete With a rolled and strapped blanket The 7.63mm Mauser C96 senes of seflll-8utomatic pistols, with their distInCtive wooden ho!sterfdip-on shoulder stock, had been very popular III Chlna since the 91riy 20th cenIufy. They WEIfe WIdely cOpted by 1or9lQfl manufaet~8fS, notably in Spain and ChIll8, Ifl 9n'm and 45ca1 as well as 7.63mm. ThIs SChne1IfeuefselectrYe fire vet'SlOfl (i.e capable offully aulomallC fire, and Ifl fact ongmaled by Astra III Spain) look either 10- or 2O-rd detachable magaztneS; it is ooIoaded here, but the IUTlet"OUS Ie6Iher bell pooches Ml dearty for
2O--fddps 82: Priv.te 1st Clns; Wuh.n, October 1938 A merrber 01 the gamson oflhts strategic city, scene of a a throwback 10 the waJ10fd penod when S8'0Ellai 1II'lii...s had elite "dare to dl9' urwlS armed With ltws weapon The simple
persooal equlpmenl comprises a couple of canvas BrmJUnllJOn bandoliers worn at shoulder and waist. B: CHINA 1938·39 81: Corporal, 154th Division, 12th Army; Canton, May 1938 A membef of an eI,te bodyguard unit, this NCO is wearing a smart woollen unlfOflTl with regulation collar and chest patches, with a non-regulation 'polo'·type pith helmet. Unusually, this lXlit has also been provided With knapsacks,
decistYe aclion Ifl 1938 His steel heIrnEM doseIy resembles the 'plum blossom' model Ifl use by some Japanese troops in the eBl1y 19305. It has a KMT badge mounted on the front, and IS fastened by means of dw1 tapes Ifl the Japanese fashion_ HIS light khaki cotton tllfltC IS worn With shorts and puttees, and he has been lucky eooogh to recEllV6 a new par of brown Ieo!hef shoes BaeXpacks were virtually unkno\.vn in the Chinese AArrf, aoo he carnes t.s kit in a roughly made havefSBCk. The scabbarded bayonet fragged to tvs belt is for tvs German Karobmer 9& nile - one of the less popular types in service With the Chinese, but almost artI available rille in 7.92mm was imported dunng the 1930s in an attempt to supply the large army.
Tllis soldi,r pholo';lraphtd In 1937 carrln tht maslyt traditional d~·d~o t1roaClsworcl, which was widely und during Ih. lirs! ytHS 01 Iht Sino· JapantSf WH' nt Platt A•. Around his waist a broad brown Inth,r Ilttt supporttd by a
cron strap carrln ammunltloll pouches lor his Maunf pistOl,
whose distlnctln bun un Just bt sun protruding Irom Its wooden holsltrlStock In front 01 his righl hip • , .. Plait B 1. Tilt IUlll luthlr pouch slung untidily blhind his Iitl Shouldlf is unidlntilild. His helmel Is lithlr ~ BritiSh Mk I Of ~ US MU17A1.IJonph T.C.Llu)
43
B3: Private 2nd Class, 7th Division; winter 1939 Taking part in the Nationalist WInter offensive, he wears typical Chinese cold weather clothing. Of heavy collon, it is thickly padded and tined ('wadded') but does not show exterior stitching ('Quiltll'lQ'); originally blue, it has faded in use to a grey shade It is worn with puttees, and Chinese s1ip.on cloth shoes 0II9l" thld( stockll'lgs His BiitJsh Mk I Of US M1917A1 steel helmet has the KMT SlXl stenciled on the front. Apart from the rougI'lty made name patch above the breast pocket he has no insignia EQuipment is limited to a canvas bandolier, a slung water bollia Of ha\l8fS8Cl( hidden here on tis nght SIde, and a ChIlese ISSUe gas mask in its uoosually long metal canIster - thiS presumably accommodated e spare tlltElf? The ight machine gun is a FIIri;h lahb Saloren18 M26, one of many types i~ed in the 1930s. China was the onty expon customer for this lfiOOlllf1ulble but stlXdy weapon, wtMch was converted to Hl2nvn frOfll the FIYlIsh 762mm; it continued in use ~to
the lMOs.
C: CHINA 1939·41 C': Captain, 14th Artillery Reglmenl; soulhern Honan province, January 1940 TRs officer wears the same flf!!1 wadded collon winter lriform as the ()(her I'8Iits but of a bener quality - most officers could afford 10 hove their IieId unrfOfms made up by local lailors. His chest palch IS of the SImple twQ..paoel type and has no coloured boldel He wears nondescripI grf!!1brown woollen puttees and otfic&r's blad; shoes. His collar lid. insigrlO are on the blue backflound patch denoting the lIftillery branch His Mauser prstol hangs from a strapped COII9f around its hoIsler/stock BInoculars were purchased privately, and like many items aCQuired 1M the 1930s may well hove been made 1M Japan
C2: Major, 183rd Division, 60th Corps; First Battle of Changsha, Seplember 1939 Perhaps a battalion commander, this Infantry field officer wears standard officer's service uniform in a pala brownish khaki woollen material, with a stiffened ski-type cap in the same cloth. The colours and matenals of officers' uniforms varied greatly depending on local ConditionS. His 10 patch on the left chest is bordered 1M yellow, wtuch is row believed to show that he is a fl9ld officer The stralQht-eut slad(s could be replaced in the front Ina by breeches wom WIth puttees, lopboots Of leather IegglOQS. Fl'OOl his sam Browne belt hangs the office(s dress dagger Of dirx, whICh was for pt.WIy decorative purposes and shows the German influence on the Chnese AIfrr.t of the , 9305, these were QUite highly decorated on the scabbard, and had a KMT SlXl on the hilt C3: Regimental slandard-bearer, 121h Ol\llsion, 3rd Corps; southern Shans! province, May 1941 As a regmentaI standard-bearef on parade thIS corporal is wei tOOled out and 1m been lSSlIEld WIth the best available uniform. I-ts ski-eap, IIJ1lC and trousefS ere made from finely woven cotton in a brown-khakl oolour, and whIte parade gkwes and a sam Browne belt complele what IS a particuIar1y smlIf1 riorm IOf the Owlese AIfrr.t. The plastic lid. IlSqII8 on tis c:c*lr show a SIngle tnangle 0II8f a dar1I blue k1e on a red background As wei as the ldentilicallon patch on t"Is left breast he 1m a dMsIonel patch on the left sJoove: on a w1lite 0\/81, a black ArabIc "20' for 12th 0iIIIsi0n, set on a dark bkJe Of black baclong on a Iargef white patch, with t"Is date of eNislmenl 1M ctlI'lese characters along the oottom. Chilese fvrrr.t standards were 81 of the same basic design, differenced here by the unit details in black characters on the white ver1IC8I panel IkIIt standards usualy had a yellow fringe when possible Smaller guidons used as company and other sub-unll lIags were about hall the siZe of the reginental standards
0: BURMA 1943·45 01: Private, 112th Regiment, 38th Division, 'New 1st Army'; northern Burma, May 1944 This US.trained and Allied-eQUipped soldier 0( Gen Stilwell's X-FOfce has a US M1 steel helmet with the KMT sun deall on the left side. His British 'khaki drill' shirl is worn IJlder a button-neck pul~ these appeared in both drab khaki and grey shades. Much of X-Foree's - and the British Army's uniforms and eQuiprnent issued in the SE Asia theatre was made in India. The KO trousers are confined by khaki woollen puttees in the usual Chinese fashion Boots seem rarely to have been issued to the Chinese troops by the Allies, and most are seen wearing straw sandals or lightweight shoes, like this soldier. He has British 37 pattem webbing eQuipment with an 08 pattern water bottle carriecl in an open strap holder.
44
A jubilanl soldi.r of C.n Slltw.II'S 8rtllsh·<:loth.d X·For<:. <:.I.br31.s Ih. <:rossing 01 th. lanai rlnr In lh. Hukawng Vall.~, nOrlh.rn Burma, in Mar<:h 19U, H. Is w.aTlng Indian· m3d. KD ov.r3l1s ov.r 3n urtu Shirl: lh. onr311s hln a singl. brnsl pock.1 3nd a fly front, anCl w.r. dnlgn.C1lo b. worn for g.n.r31 dUlln as w.1l U by mOloriud and umour.d lroops. Chinn. troops In InClla w.r. gr31.lul for 3 b.ll.r 1.v.1 and sundud 01 fl.ld .qulpm.nI than lh.y had .v.r b.lor. r.c.iv.d; lor .urnpl., InCllan-mad. mosquilo hoods would han bun a w.lcorn. nov.,ty.
Chinese soldiers were usually issued with this US 'Enfield' M1917 rifle, and commonly carried the bayooet fixed D2: Lance-Corporal, 22nd Division, 'New 6th Army'; Hukawng Valley, northern Burma, March 1944 The designation 'new' was usually applied to divisions and Iargef foonallons which had lakElfl the nOOlbers of the rnalY Chinese fonnatlOtls cJestroyed in !he fIrSt years of the SinoJapanese WfJI. ApM from t'fs Chinese puttees and shoes this junKlf NCO (who displays no flSi!pa) is dressed exactly fike B British soldier III Bl.rma III 1942, in KD shirt and shorts, B British Mk II steel heWnet With netting and foliage camounage, and 37 panem webbing equipment His weapon is the Bren, outWardy the standard Bntish section Iighl m&ChIne gun, but here a vanaooo manufact~ed in Canada by Inglis in the standard Chnese HJ2rrrn calibre. These saw WIdespread seMee lI'\IlI 1949. 03: Printe 1st Class; Ramgarh training centre, Bihar, India, August 1944 This soldier undergoing trell'llng at the CtJnese centre n0rthwest 01 calcutta IS dressed III BntISh KD with the addition of ChInese ~ lis Ideolllkauon patch res a blue border and bears his Ul'llt and personal details in ChInese characte.s The India-pattern plIh hemet _ one of several
Thompson sub-machine !1JIS had been popular III ChInese seMee lor rmny years, but this new M1A I IS trom US stocks
brass fittings
E: CHINA & BURMA 1943·45 E1: Tank commander, (1st) Provisional Tank Group; Burma, 1944-45 The Chinese anooured IOfce in Burma was equipped with US Sherman M4M medium tanks, StlJBrt M3A3 light tanks, White seout cars, and Bnbst! UrVvetsal carriers. T
This rnolull-loo_inll soldier squints through th. sights
of his TV\M Z. Hille: Ih. r.urud swutlh on th. brus m~nufnlur.r's pl~1I w~s ~n ~nel.nt Qri.nUI good luc_ symbol. Th.
Euopean arms
PlSloIs from C8nadian and most
manufoct~ers
E3: Colonel, attached to US Training Advisory Group; Kunming, 1943 This colonel at the lr"BlIllng area lor Y-Force (Y for YIJ'"I"a'l) wealS standard Chnese Army officer's urufoon in one of the many differing shades of khaki cotlon used for tailoring officers' clothmg. Although not VISible here, the brass butlons bore the KMT sun deslQn Besides the usual rank and identification patches - the Ialler bordered in yellow for a field grade officer - he displays on tis left shoulder the sign of the US Training AdVisory Group, worn by US and Chinese personnel alike, lis breeches are worn with brown leather leggings and officers' shoes as an alternative to officer's riding boots F: CHINA 1944-45 F1: OSS-tralned soldIer; southern China, August 1945 The US Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner to the CIA, trained a limited number of Nationalist troops in China towards the end of the war Some aSS_trained troops were issued with US tropical uniforms, but the majority seem to have retained their Chinese clothing, like this simple khaki cotton uniform and slip-on fabric shoes His US·supplied kit is limited to an M1 helmet, web M1923 cartridge ben, and a .3Ocal Brownin9 M1919A6 machine gun. (This adaptation of the tripod_mounted M1919A4 medium MG, with a blPod, shoulder stock and pistol grip. was rather heavy in its Intended role as an infantry squad/section weapon) The Chinese troops who were trained by US and BnlJsh instructors during the war often went 00 to become the Nauonalist Army's best units during the CIVil WfJI, 1946-49
45
F2: Nationalist guerrilla, 43rd Regiment, 15th Mobile Column; northern Shantung province, 1944 This guemlla tighter belongs to lhe 2,000-slroog elite regiment of a 10,OOO-strong force . a reminder that 'guerrillas' were not alWays members of small, ragged bands dispersed around the countJYSIde. The 15th Mobile Column was a very well organized formation, and had 20 lactones produdng all typeS of sman arms. Uniforms waB also produced, and this lUcky fighter has B nev..ty issued blue wadded cottoo WlnlS( undorm that has not yet had time to fade His equipment is the same as thai worn by many regUar soldiers, and indudes a couple cI cmvas baodoIiefs and chesl pouches lor suck grenades. Such German-type grenades were made ., smaI arsen;js all over CNna, and can oIten be clistJng\ashed by the.. ~ carved wooden shafts. As a bodyguard to the ooiI's oorrrnander, Yu-min, this man IS well armed WIth one of the runerous Ctinese copies of the Thompson sub-moctwne gun F3: Lance-corporal; Plhu military training
centre, 1944 This yooog NCO receMng combat tralring al the PhJ cenlre i!;, wei kltted out. He has CO\/9fad tis Iiglt khaki cotton skitype field cap WIth foMage camoutIage. His rotJ!t1 cotton tunic and br89mes and puttees are all of the sane doth. Many soldlElfS found the famaliar homemade straw SMdaIs nue comfoftable than boots or shoes; !hey were cool in surmer, and octuaIy gall'El a better grip in mud l)lusuaIy, he has a r~1Ion rssue Iea1her knapsack and blanket roI, with the wooden shaft of a small pick Itvust oodef its straps. A canvas haversack and a watElf bottle llfe s100g to tr; len. hlp, wttere his belt supports lhe bllyooet frog; tr; brown
ammunition pouches are local copies of the German OIiginals The carbine is a Belgian FN24, one of many Mauser·type rines and carbines In 7,92mm that were imported during the 19305, F4: Private 1st Clus, New 19th Division, 46th Corps; Kweilin·L.ulchow, April 1945 This soklier opera~ng in sooth·west China is on example of the diverse sources of Uniforms and weaponry during the waf. He has II klcalIy made Uniform in a grass-green shade, with shoulder straps and scalloped pocket flaps. I-is insignia include a SImplified divlslooat patch on lhe left sleeve. The KMT badge is displayed on his helmet, of lhe Freod1 Adrian model worn by II oonber of Chinese units from lhe mid1930s - thiS, despite the fact that lhe 19th Div is described as being supplied by Itte US (note his M 1923 cartndge belt). FIJther of the cosmopolitan Mue of Chinese prOClSement is provided by his BeIglan FN fwIe 30 heavy automatic nne.
evneoce
G: CIVIL. WAR 1946·49 G1: Lieutenant, 123rd Corps; Shanghai, April 1949 This officer IS weanng 8 Y9fY faded example of an olive drab US Amrf SUfJ*lS M1943 combat JllCket and trousers, with a palf of US Am'rt double-buckle boots t--r.; field cap is lhe old fashlOOed ski type made of t9lt khaki colton, with the usual KMT badge. He has oc~ed a palf of war booty Japanese officer's binoculars, and a US M1g36 pistol belt and suspenders Desprte ItS lnmeciate resemblance to lhe old
Mauser C96, his prstoilS IIllaet a Conadl8fl-made 1r9is Type 1 YefSion of Itte Belguln M1935 FN Browning Hi-Power, caffied IIlSIde 8 Mauser-type wooden holster/stock fixed to the belt by II canvas hangef G2: Printe 2nd Clus, 4th Corps; Canton, October 1949 Even in the very Iasl days of lhe CIVil WPI this soldier, shipping out of Cantoo for FOfIT'lOSII, has a surprisingly oldfashioned appearal'lCe The trousers of his US Army surplus khaki colton 'Class C chino shirtsleeve uniform oce confined by puttees; and he wears II captured Japanese cork sun helmet, seen in quite widespread use dunng the waf. The brass five,polnt star badge of the IJA has been removed but not replaced with a KMT sun. Many soldiers wore these basketball·type boots in canvas and rubber, eithef imported or locally made, His only equipment is the American M1923 cartridge bell. This Johnson M1941 semi-automatic fine, though not laken up by the US Anny, was exported to several countries, It IS unclear if the light machine gun version was also acquired by the Nationalists, G3 2nd L.ieutenallt of Engineers, 7th Division, Shihchiachuang, October 1948 The 1946 uniform regulalions included a Il9W system of rank and branch inSignia which followed the US ATmy
46
MajG.n Sun LI-j.n lsn Pial. Ul, pholograph.d during a mnling with G.n Fran_ 0",,..,,111 olth. 5307th Composit. Unit - 'M.rrill's Maraud.rs', On this occasion th. command.r olth. Chinn. 'N.w' 38th Diy was wuring a US Army Ii.ld ju_.t, a 8rltlsh JG Shirl and swuur and KD slac_s. and a right _ha_l s.l.typ. up. G.n.ral Sun, on. olth. most aDI. Cfllnn. eommand.rs, w.nt on to I.ad tfl. N.w ht Army In tfl. 8urmn. adnnc. 01 UU·45. lM.rriWs Maraud.rs Anoei"tlonl
model. This officer wears the new US-type peaked service cap with a new woven officers' cap badge featuring an oval foliate wreath; the white-on-blue sun was sometimes outlined with a red ring, but this was not universal. On his service tunic the Engineers' fomess branch insignia is worn in brass on his left collar and a plum blossom on the nght; his silver US-style rarj( bar is pinned to the shoulder straps. He retains the tradJllonal identlficalJon patch above the left breast pocket. Slacks seem to have been the most common trousers worn WIth the 1946 uniform_ The Sam Browne bett supports the commonly seen US-supplied Colt M1911A1. G4: Volunteer, Peace Preservation Corps; Kaifeng, June 1948 TlVs is a merrtler of a SO,OOO-strong fOfce of PPC and oIher auxiIiaIy lI"VIs comrruned 10 the battle of Kaifeng, which lasted from the end of M9y 10 the beginning of.kJly 1948. PPC volunteers had no reaIy distinctive uniform; ttWs man is weamg a hoIy-green tll'll<: and trousers with bro.Yn woolleo puttees. I-ts cap IS the standard KMT type but made from war booty Japanese mdorm cloth Black canvas shoes here, a laced type _ were still worn by many Na1looalisl troops alongside Imported boots EQUIpment is mIflimal, with brown canvas bandoliers and 8 haversack 10 ClIfTY tis persooaI gear The second-line status of the PPC is demoostrated by his eIdefIy captured Japanese 6_5nm Type 30 carbine H: CIVIL WAR 1946·49 H1: Lieutenant, 69th Division; February 1947 Tris officer pICtured durwlg the W\fItar of 1946/47 IS wearing the new f¥9'f padded winter uniform which appeared eOl1y In the Civil War, for offIcers n had shoulder straps. Old-style 10Slg'lIa of rank and identity are still worn, and the chest patch has the blue border flCM' believed to indicate company officers, His peaked service cap IS a US surplus model, with the new officer's cap badge in metal He has acquired a pair of US Army Jungle boots - thoroughly inadaquate for winter, but at least allowing extra insulation to be worn inside, Like many Chinese soldiers he has equipped himself ffOm captured Japanese stocks, WIth a map case and on 801m Nambu Type 14 semi_automotic pistol.
A young N3tlon311$1 n3v31 inl3nlrym3n on unlry duty during lh. Civil W3t, w.3ring 3n old fnhion.d-Iooklng pUhd $Irviu c~p, Mor31. In Ih. N3VY wn low.r Ih3n In Ih. Army, 3nd corruption wn p3"icululy rit. 3mong UV11 offic.r$. (Rob." HUn! Libr3ryl
H2: Private 1st Class, 207th Youth Division; Mukden, October 1948 The Nationalists heKI suffered enormous losses during their campaign in Manchuna, This young volunteer soldier serves with one of two brigades of the 207th which were len to defend the city of Mukden by OCtober 1948. He is dressed in the new grey winter uniform, the new model winter hat has ear rut-outs in the naps, surrounded by extra padding_ US-suppHed basketball-type boots were popular, although most soldiers had to take whatlhey were gIVen or could buy for themselves on the bIacX market ThIs soldier's basic equipment includes a Ie6ther belt on to whICh he has fastened locally made canvas pouches WIth tape-and--toggle fastening, to hold spare magazrleS fOf his Chlnes&made T~ 36 copy of the US 45ca1 M3A1 'grease gun'. TlVs submactine goo was produced al the governmenl 8fSeOaI in Mukden. H3: NCO, 12th Army Group; Shwangchiaochi, November 1948 He wears the ~ wadded colton WW\ter ooform WIth puttees and traditional canvas shoes. HIs M 1 helmet has the KMT sun badge on the front, although the M1 was supplied in Rge numbers !here were 0lMlf enough 10 go round, and many captured Japanese and older CtwIese helmets were stiI used IflSIgf'II8 on his Jacket would be limited to the simplest bIack-on-whlte doth name and 00Il patch OYer tws left breast pocket. He carnes Ihree stick grenades In a doth carner from tws belt. I-ts oRy Olher equlPffi80t IS 8 canvas bandc*lr crude/y adapted 10 take spare maga2nes for tws US "'11 cartline. These weapons were SUppfiKllfl qUIte Rge numbers, and (as In most aUlilIas) were popular for their lightness and handiness HoNever, II'l the Korean W.. of B couple of later there were complaints (again, as In mosl BlIIlies) about the lack of stopping power of its short .3Oca1 round essentially, a pistol cartndge. Some Gis even claimed thai Its bullets sometimes failed to penetrate the heavy padded jackets 01 the Chinese Communist troops. H4: Corporal, 73rd Army; Manchuria, November 1947
vears
This member of a newty anived division sent to Manchuria as reinforcements wears uniform typical of the Nationalist rank anc! file during Civil Wei winters. His wadded cotton Jacket and trousers are dirty and worn A simple black-onwhite 10 patch on the left chest is the only inSignia. HIS US Army surplus peaked service cap displays a larger than usual metal KMT badge. Footwear IS a pair of soft black Chinese shoes worn over thick white stockings V8lY large quantities of Japanese arms and equipment were used by both sides dunng the Civil W<'r, this soldier has an unwieldy old 65mm Arisaka Type 38 nne, and Japanese brown leather ammunition pouches on his belt.
47
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The unirorms. equipment history and organization
The Chinese
of the world's military forces, past and present
Army 1937-49 World War II and
Civil War Although the Chinese contribution to Allied victory in World War 11 is often oVt'rlooked. China fought the japanese fmpin" for far longer than any other belligerent nation. By the time that the
Sino-japanese War became absorbed into the wider conflict at the end of 1941, Chinese armies had already suffered
huge casualties, and half the
Ful colour
p""",",
country had been lost. After japan's defeat in 1945, China was Immediately plunged back into civil war between Chiang Kai·shek's Nationalists and Mao Tse·tung's Communists; the latter's victory in 1949 was
to have historic consequences. This book covers the uniforms, equipment anti weaponry of Photographs
UrYivalied detail
these campaigns.
ISBN 1-84176-904-5
OSPREY PUBLISHING
www.ospreypubllshlng.com
9
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