BEVO Pacific and Chinese army lists

[tetsuo]

The Chinese army list is a great supplement to BEVO Pacific.

China is probably one of the major fronts in the war(The Chinese KMT and CCP have been fighting the Japanese since 1937).

What will the Chinese army list have?

Historically the Chinese KMT employed some AFVs in their arsenal. From 1937-1941, the USSR was the biggest supporter of the KMT and supplied them with lots of weapons and advisors.

At the start of the war with Japan in 1937, the KMT had PZ-1s and WW1 renault tanks but these were mostly destroyed in Shanghai in 1937. The KMT also used US and British 1920s biplanes.

From 1937-1941, the Chinese used some numbers of T-26, BA-10s, Polikarpov I-15 and I-16s and Tupolev bombers.

From 1942-1945, the KMT got more tanks and aircraft all US Stuarts, Shermans, Mustangs etc.

The Chinese communists(CCP) did not use any vehicles from 1937-1945 since they functioned in guerilla mode. However in the 1945-1949 civil war they used captured Japanese tanks as well as captured KMT ones vs. the KMT(interestingly they used either defecting KMT troops(or forced) and some Japanese troops to pilot and maintain these vehicles.

 

[Agis]

The Chinese army list is a great supplement to BEVO Pacific.
China is probably one of the major fronts in the war(The Chinese KMT and CCP have been fighting the Japanese since 1937).
What will the Chinese army list have?
Historically the Chinese KMT employed some AFVs in their arsenal. From 1937-1941, the USSR was the biggest supporter of the KMT and supplied them with lots of weapons and advisors.
At the start of the war with Japan in 1937, the KMT had PZ-1s and WW1 renault tanks but these were mostly destroyed in Shanghai in 1937. The KMT also used US and British 1920s biplanes.
From 1937-1941, the Chinese used some numbers of T-26, BA-10s, Polikarpov I-15 and I-16s and Tupolev bombers.
From 1942-1945, the KMT got more tanks and aircraft all US Stuarts, Shermans, Mustangs etc.
The Chinese communists(CCP) did not use any vehicles from 1937-1945 since they functioned in guerilla mode. However in the 1945-1949 civil war they used captured Japanese tanks as well as captured KMT ones vs. the KMT(interestingly they used either defecting KMT troops(or forced) and some Japanese troops to pilot and maintain these vehicles.

What a coincidence!
:shock: 8)
I just submitted my response to your GK question.
All the above are covered in A.D.Publishing's upcoming "Chinese Army Compendium"!
For your convenience quoted again here:
The forces of the Second Sino Japanese war 1937-1945 will be fully covered in A.D.Publishings Chinese Army Compendium, scheduled for May or June 2009. The book will cover all the Chinese forces involved:
1937 – 1938 Nanking National Revolutionary Army
1937 – 1941 National Revolutionary Army
1942 – 1943 National Revolutionary Army
1944 – 1945 Late War Chinese US equipped X and Y-Forces
1937 – 1945 Chinese Red Army Guerrilla Forces

 

[tetsuo]

Hello,

This is very great stuff!!!!!

Also, besides the KMT/NRA, CCP. 1-3 million Chinese fought for the Japanese are Chinese Collaborationist troops.

There is a dizzying array of them, you can find more info on them in this excellent book:

Rays of the Rising Sun 1: by Philip Jowett

http://www.amazon.com/Rays-Rising-Sun-1931-45-Manchukuo/dp/1874622213/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237596370&sr=1-1

These Chinese collaborationist troops ranged from poor to average in quality. With most of them being of poor quality, the "elite" units were average at best.

These Chinese collaborationist units ranged from:

Manchukuoan Army: who were probably the best quality and best equiped of the Chinese collaborationist armies, they guarded Manchuria and some units fought at Nomonhan in 1939. Its troops were a little better than your average KMT troops(the Manchukouan army was staffed with Japanese officers) and a little better equiped. They had a few old Japanese tankettes and armored cars and used second hand Japanese small arms.These guys were only good at hunting down Chinese communist guerillas and nothing else. They performed poorly vs. the Soviets at Nomonhan and were garbage(deserted en masse) duirng the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945. They performed OK in fighting vs. the KMT in North China(in a supporting role to the Japanese). The army also employed some White Russian emigres as scouts vs. the Soviets(Asano X) and Mongolian cavalry units as well.

The Nanking army: In 1938 the Japanese formed Provisional Government army(run from Peking, overseeing North China) and the Reformed Government army(run from Nanking, overseeing Central China) mostly from KMT defectors and local recruits to garrison their conquests. In 1940, the Japanese combined these two armies into the Nanking army under the KMT defector Wang Jing Wei. This army is probably comprised most of the Chinese collaborationist units. Its quality was quite poor, poorly equiped, they were equiped and had the same uniforms and equipment as the KMT/NRA. The reasons for defecting are myriad from fallout from KMT internal political struggles to simply just wanting to feed themselves and their families or forced recruitment. KMT/NRA was not a united force during the war, in fact, its warlord allies while paying lip service to Chang Kai Shek regularly flip flopped between the KMT and the Japanese(depending on their self interests) and a few times even to the CCP.

It is quite hilarious that their quality is so poor that they actually "lent" their weapons to local guerillas who were attacking their Japanese masters(along with relaying info on Japanese troop movements). The Japanese also did not trust the Nanking army units and relegated them to garrison and anti partisan duty and many were armed with melee weapons and a few bullets(just in case they defected back to the KMT or the CCP). These guys sometimes participated in campaigns vs. the KMT as support units(and they did not perform well in this role either). They performed a little better vs. the CCP guerillas.

After the war, these collaborationist units were absorbed into the KMT/NRA. Its leaders were all executed(Wang Jing Wei's tomb was blown up). Until now, research of them in China is hard to come by since it is considered an embarassing chapter in their history.

 

[tetsuo]

Forgot to add:

The CCP did not have a monopoly in guerilla forces in China from 1937-1945. In fact, the KMT/NRA also maintained large numbers of guerilla forces and at times manufactured their own weapons and uniforms(along with captured or supplied equipment). Also helped by the OSS. Mostly operated in Central, Eastern and Southern China.

However the KMT/NRA guerillas were not as effective as the CCP guerillas since both the CCP and the Japanese hunted them down.