NationStates Jolt Archive


WW2 China D/N Thread

The Appalacians
01-06-2006, 01:02
Head of State: Chiang Kai-shek
Population in 1939:(There was no census in China in 1939, but I found a little information on it) about 400 million (from http://www.yidff.jp/97/cat111/97c120-e.html)

Army: National Revolutionary Army

The NRA throughout its lifespan recruited approximately 4,300,000 regulars, in 370 Standard Divisions, 46 New Divisions, 12 Cavalry Divisions, 8 New Cavalry Divisions, 66 Temporary Divisions, and 13 Reserve Divisions, for a grand total of 515 divisions. However, many divisions were formed from 2 or more other divisions, and not were active at the same time. Also, New Divisions were created to replace Standard Divisions lost early in the war. Therefore the number of divisions in active service at any given time is much smaller than this. The average NRA division had 5,000-6,000 troops; an average army had 8,000-9,000 troops, the equivalent of a Japanese division. German-trained divisions were on par in terms of manpower with a western or Japanese division, having 10,000 troops. There was a large number of armoured and mechanised troops, but these were usually doled out to different armies rather than incorporated into a single unit, the exception being the 200th Division.

The unit organisation of the NRA is as follows: (Note that a unit is not necessarily subordinate to one immediately above it; several army regiments can be found under an army group, for example. )
Military Region x12
Group Army x36
Army Company
Route Army Mobile force
Army Regional force
Division
Brigade
Regiment
Battalion
Company
Platoon
Squad

Army Equipment:
Chinese weapons were mainly produced in the Hanyang, Guangdong and Taiyuan Arsenals. However, for most of the German-trained divisions, the standard firearms were German-made 7.92 mm Gewehr 98 and Karabiner 98k. The standard light machine gun was a local copy of the Czech 7.92 mm Brno ZB26. There were also Belgian and French LMGs. Surprisingly, the NRA did not purchase any of the infamous Maschinengewehr 34s from Germany, but did produce their own copies of them. On average in these divisions, there was 1 machine gun set for each platoon. Heavy machine guns were mainly locally-made 1924 water-cooled Maxim guns, from German blueprints. On average every battalion would get one heavy machine gun (about a third to half of what actual German divisions got during WW2). The standard sidearm was the 7.63 mm Mauser M1932 semi-automatic pistol, also known as C96.

Some divisions were equipped with 37 mm PaK 35/36 anti-tank guns, and/or mortars from Oerlikon, Madsen, and Solothurn. Each infantry division had 6 French Brandt 81 mm mortars and 6 Solothurn 20 mm autocannons. Some independent brigades and artillery regiments were equipped with Bofors 72 mm L/14, or Krupp 72 mm L/29 mountain guns. They were 24 Rheinmetall 150 mm L/32 sFH 18 howitzers (bought in 1934) and 24 Rheinmetall 150 mm L/30 sFH 18 howitzers (bought in 1936).

Infantry uniforms were basically redesigned Zhongshan suits. Puttees are standard for soldiers and officers alike since the primary mode of movement for NRA troops was by foot. The helmets were the most distinguishing characteristic of these divisions. From the moment German M35 helmets (standard issue for the Wehrmacht until late in the European theatre) rolled off the production lines in 1935, and until 1936, the NRA imported 315,000 of these helmets, each with the 12-star emblem of the ROC on the sides. Other equipment included cloth shoes for soldiers, leather shoes for officers and leather boots for high-ranking officers. Every soldier was issued ammunition, ammunition pouch or harness, a water flask, combat knives, food bag, and a gas mask.

OOC: I got all of this from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Revolutionary_Army
The Appalacians
01-06-2006, 19:00
German Trained Infantry Divisions:

The German trained divisions were divisions in the National Revolutionary Army trained under Sino-German cooperation. These divisions were active in the Chinese Civil War and Second Sino-Japanese War.

In 1927, after the dissolution of the First United Front between the Nationalists and the Communists, the ruling Kuomintang purged its leftist members and completely eliminated Soviet influence from its ranks. Chiang Kai-shek then turned to Germany, historically a great military power, for the reorganisation and modernisation of the National Revolutionary Army.

The Weimar Republic sent advisors to China, but because of the restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, they could not serve in military capacities. Chiang initially requested famous generals such as Ludendorff and von Mackensen as advisors - the Weimar Republic turned him down, fearing that they are too famous and would invite the ire of the Allies. When Adolf Hitler became Chancellor in 1933 and disregarded the Treaty, the anti-communist NSDAP and the anti-communist KMT were soon engaged in close cooperation with Germany training Chinese troops and expanding Chinese infrastructure, while China opened its markets and natural resources to Germany. Max Bauer was the first advisor to China.

In 1934 General Hans von Seeckt, acting as advisor to Chiang, proposed a "60 Division Plan" for reforming the entire Chinese army into 60 divisions of highly trained, well-equipped troops organised along German lines. The plan was never fully realised, as the different warlords vying for power simply could not agree on who would get the new troops and whose would be disbanded. By July 1937 only 8 divisions had completed reorganisation. These are the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 14th, 36th, 87th, 88th, and the Training Division. Another 20 had received German equipment and some training.

OOC: Got this from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German-trained_divisions
The Appalacians
01-06-2006, 22:43
China's Navy and Tanks...So Far:

Chinese armored is probably older Light tanks, I don't believe they had many during the war.

As for navy, you have 2 destroyers, 1 sloop (actually as well armed as the destroyers), 7 gunboats, and 9 river gunboats.
Some of them may have been sunk by the Japanese
The Appalacians
03-06-2006, 23:47
According to this picture on wikipedia, I have armoured cars. Sdkfz 222s to be precise. I'm not sure how many, but I'm going to use them anyway.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Revolutionary_Army

(The pic is the second from the bottom)