National Revolutionary Army

Immediately, following the Northern Expedition the National Revolutionary army was bloated and required downsizing and demobilisation Chiang himself stating that soldiers are like water capable of both carrying the state and sinking it. This was reflected in the enormous troop figures with 1,502,000 men under arms of which only 224,000 came under Chiang's direct control, these however were the official figures as Chiang stated later he possessed over 500,000 and Feng Yuxiang who officially possessed 269,000 in reality had 600,000 thus the true figure would likely reach 2,000,000.[1]

During the Northern expedition the KMT formed Branch political councils in theory subordinate political organs that were under the Central Political councils in Nanjing, in reality these branch councils were autonomous political bodies with their own military forces. Feng Yuxiang controlled the Kaifeng council, Yan Xishan the Taiyuan council, whilst the Guangxi clique controlled two the Wuhan and Beiping under Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi respectively, Li Jishen who was related to the Guangxi clique loosely controlled the Guangzhou council, a 6th council in Shenyang was under Zhang Xueliang.[2] Chiang was faced with two options one was to immediately centralise the other to gradually do so, in the spirit of the expedition itself which was to eradicate warlordism and regionalism Chiang chose to immediately centralise the branch councils under the guise of demobilisation systematically reducing the regional troop strength whilst centralising them and building up his own strength.[2] This was done in July 1928 with financial conferences calling for demobilisation and military commanders and political officials echoing the call for demobilisation. Chiang called for the reduction of the army to 65 divisions and gathered political support to begin actively reducing troops counts and centralising the army as well as abolishing the branch councils, this threatened the regional leaders and Li Zongren noted that it was intentionally designed to force the regional leaders into action so Chiang could eliminate them.[3]

The Guangxi clique rebelled in February 1929 when it fired Lu Diping the governor of Hunan who switched sides and joined Chiang, the Guangxi forces invaded Hunan, however Chiang bribed elements of the army in Wuhan to defect and within 2 months the Guangxi clique was routed, in March the party expelled Bai Chongxi, Li Jishen and Li Zongren and promoted their juniors who sided with Chiang in order to sow dissent within the clique, they later re-grouped and attempted to retake Hunan and Guangdong but were repelled in both provinces.[4][5][6]

Also in May Feng Yuxiang entered the war he was too expelled from the party, once again Chiang bribed his enemy's allies and subordinates Han Fuju and Shi Yousan. Feng's armies were defeated and he fled to Shanxi and announced his retirement from politics, by July Chiang's forces had occupied Luoyang. Having defeated two of his largest enemies Chiang pushed further for demobilisation and announced it would be done by March 1930.[7] This move spurred Feng, Yan and the Guangxi clique to ally to face Chiang as Chiang had taken revenue sources from Yan.[8]

The anti-Chiang coalition had forces totalling 700,000 against Chiang's 300,000. Their plan was to seize Shandong and contain Chiang south of the Long-hai railway and the Beijing-wuhan railway then they would advance along the railway lines seizing Xuzhou and Wuhan whilst southern forces did the same to force a link-up.

The war involved over 1,000,000 of which 300,000 became casualties. Chiang's forces proved themselves capable even when outnumbered routing the southern forces by July, however in the north Chiang's forces were defeated and he himself narrowly avoided capture in June only when the northern forces stopped due to the defeat of the southern forces did the north stabilise. Chiang began negotiations for peace with Zhang as an intermediary however Feng and Yan believing themselves to be on the verge of victory refused. Chiang had utilised the lull in action to gather strength and begin counteroffensives along the railways north aided by the closure of fighting in Bengbu by September Chiang was again closing in on Luoyang and this along with bribes spurred Zhang Xueliang to side with Chiang ending the war.[9]

When Adolf Hitler became Germany's chancellor in 1933 and disavowed the Treaty, the anti-communist Nazi Party 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 adviser to China.

The NRA during World War II

In 1934, Gen. Hans von Seeckt, acting as adviser to Chiang, proposed an "80 Division Plan" for reforming the entire Chinese army into 80 divisions of highly trained, well-equipped troops organised along German lines. The plan was never fully realised, as the eternally bickering warlords could not agree upon which divisions were to be merged and disbanded. Furthermore, since embezzlement and fraud were commonplace, especially in understrength divisions (the state of most of the divisions), reforming the military structure would threaten divisional commanders' "take". Therefore, by July 1937 only eight infantry divisions had completed reorganization and training. These were the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 14th, 36th, 87th, 88th, and the Training Division.

Another German general, Alexander von Falkenhausen, came to China in 1934 to help reform the army.[10] However, because of Nazi Germany's later cooperation with the Empire of Japan, he was later recalled in 1937.

A Chinese propaganda poster depicting the National Revolutionary Army.

For a time, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Communist forces fought as a nominal part of the National Revolutionary Army, forming the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army units, but this co-operation later fell apart. Women were also part of the army's corps during the war. In 1937 Soong Mei-ling encouraged women to support the Sino-Japanese War effort, by forming battalions, such as the Guangxi Women's Battalion.[11][12]

Troops in India and Burma during World War II included the Chinese Expeditionary Force (Burma), the Chinese Army in India called X Force, and Chinese Expeditionary Force in Yunnan, called Y Force.[13]

The US government repeatedly threatened to cut off aid to China during World War 2 unless they handed over total command of all Chinese military forces to the US. After considerable stalling, the arrangement only fell through due to a particularly insulting letter from the Americans to Chiang.[14] By the end of the war, US influence over the political, economic, and military affairs of China were greater than any foreign power in the last century, with American personnel appointed in every field, such as the Chief of Staff of the Chinese military, management of the Chinese War Production Board and Board of Transport, trainers of the secret police, and Chiang's personal advisor. Sir George Sansom, British envoy to the US, reported that many US military officers saw US monopoly on Far Eastern trade as a rightful reward for fighting the Pacific war.[15]

After the drafting and implementation of the Constitution of the Republic of China in 1947, the National Revolutionary Army was transformed into the ground service branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces – the Republic of China Army (ROCA).[16]

A Chinese Nationalist soldier, age 10, member of a Chinese division from the X Force, boarding planes in Burma bound for China, May 1944.

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.) The commander-in-chief of the NRA from 1925 to 1947 was Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.

Military Affairs Commission

• Military Region ×12 (戰區)
  • Army Corps ×4(兵團) – the Army Corps, 兵團, was one of the largest military formations in the NRA during the Second Sino-Japanese War.[24] These Army Corps were composed of a number of Group Armies, Army, Corps, Divisions, Brigades and Regiments. In numbers of divisions, they were larger than Western Army groups. Only four were ever formed to command the large forces defending the Chinese capital during the Battle of Wuhan in 1938. (See Order of battle of Battle of Wuhan).
    • Army Group ×40 (集團軍 )
      • Route Army (路軍)
      • Field army ×30 (軍)
        • Corps ×133 (軍團 ) – usually exercised command over two to three NRA Divisions and often a number of Independent Brigades or Regiments and supporting units.[24] The Chinese Republic had 133 Corps during the Second Sino-Japanese War. After losses in the early part of the war, under the 1938 reforms, the remaining scarce artillery and the other support formations were withdrawn from the Division and was held at Corps, or Army level or higher. The Corps became the basic tactical unit of the NRA having strength nearly equivalent to an allied Division.
          • Division (師)
            • Brigade (旅)
              • Regiment (團)
                • Battalion (營)
                  • Company (連)
                    • Platoon (排)
                      • Squad (班)

The NRA used multiple divisional organisations as different threats emerged as well as other factors necessitated a new organisation. The Years below relate to the Minguo calendar which starts in 1911. Therefore, the 22nd year division is the 1933 division.

• Divisional HQ 79 officers 147 enlisted
• Signal company 6 officers 168 enlisted (subdivided into 3 platoons with 3 squads per platoon)
• Reconnaissance Company 5 officers 144 enlisted
• 3 infantry regiments each containing:
  • Regimental HQ 22 officers 68 enlisted
  • Signal Platoon 1 officer 48 enlisted
  • 3 infantry battalions each containing:
    • Battalion HQ 4 officers 13 enlisted
    • 3 rifle companies 6 officers 145 enlisted (divided into 3 platoons with each platoon having 3 14 man squads)
    • Machine gun company 5 officers 121 enlisted (divided into 3 platoons each with 2 16 man squads with Maxim MGs)
  • Mortar Company 6 officers 138 enlisted (divided into 3 platoons each with 2 19 man squads with 82mm mortars)
  • Special Service Company 6 officers 145 enlisted (indendtical to rifle company)
  • Transport platoon 1 officer 42 enlisted (3 14 man squads)
  • Stretcher-bearer Platoon 1 officer 43 enlisted (3 13 man squads)
• Artillery Battalion
  • Battalion HQ 12 officers 98 enlisted
  • Three batteries each containing 5 officers 203 enlisted (2 platoons each with 2 75mm guns)
• Engineer Battalion
  • Battalion HQ 11 officers 41 enlisted
  • Three engineer companies each 6 officers 179 enlisted (3 platoons each with 3 17 man squads)
• Special service Battalion 27 officers 569 enlisted (identical to infantry battalion)
• Transport Battalion
  • Battalion HQ 13 officers 31 enlisted
  • Two Transport Companies each 6 officers 148 enlisted (3 platoons each with 3 14 man squads)

The above template was only applied to divisions serving in Guangxi during the 5th encirclement campaign.[26]

A new Plan was devised in 1935 to raise 60 new divisions in 6 month batches with divisions to be raised from divisional districts tied to them, in an aim to enhance cohesion and communication as well as simplifying recruitment, officers however were to be recruited nationally and placed into these divisions to disrupt regional affiliations. The 24th Year New Type division was almost the equivalent of western style divisions with the notable difference being the absence of radios in the Chinese division. Planning began in December 1934 and in January 1935 a classified meeting of over 80 of the highest NRA officers was called with a timetable published:

• 6-10 divisions were to be organised in 1935
• 16-20 divisions in 1936
• 20-30 divisions in 1937
• The remainder in 1938.

This new army being significantly better armed and trained than the warlord armies would give Chiang a large advantage over his domestic opponents as well as being personally answerable to the Generalissimo.

However, Chinese industry was incapable of producing the artillery or infantry guns in large quantities needed for the 60 division plan and German imports were not forthcoming. Mortars were introduced as substitutes for the infantry guns and later as a substitute for artillery. Horses were also lacking as the new division required many of them and Chinese divisions often used mules oxen or even buffalos as substitutes for the many horses.

10 divisions were organised in 1935 on the new model but equipment was lacking. A further 20 were reorganised by the Marco Polo Bridge Incident but equipment was again lacking meaning these divisions were not to be the modern equivalent of Western style or Japanese divisions.[27]

• Division HQ 138 men 33 horses
• Cavalry Squadron 237 men 239 horses
• Signal Battalion (372 men and 129 horses)
  • Battalion HQ 36 horses 129 horses
  • Two Signal companies each with 131 men
  • Trains 74 men
• Two Infantry Brigades Each (6,114 men and 1,216 horses)
  • Brigade HQ 29 men 10 horses
  • Two Infantry Regiments each with
    • Regiment HQ 51 men 10 horses
    • Signal company 91 men 17 horses
    • Three Infantry Battalions each with
      • Battalion HQ 47 men 3 horses
      • Three rifle companies each with 177 men
      • Machine Gun company 126 men 43 horses
      • Gun platoon 71 men 26 horses
    • Infantry Gun/Mortar Company 118 men 56 horses
    • Special Duty Platoon 53 men
  • Special Duty Platoon 53 men
• Field Artillery Regiment (2,045 men and 1,181 horses)
  • Regiment HQ 72 men 31 horses
  • Signal Battery 237 men 106 horses
  • Three Field Artillery Battalions each with
    • Battalion HQ 66 men 348 horses
    • Three Batteries each with 165 men
  • Special Duty Platoon 53 men
• OR Mountain Artillery Regiment (in substitute of a Field Artillery Regiment) (2,565 men and 1,163)
  • Regiment HQ 72 men 31 horses
  • Singal Battery 237 men 106 horses
  • Three Mountain Artillery Battalions each with
    • Battalion HQ 66 men 342 horses
    • Three Batteries each with 211 men
  • Special Duty Platoon 53 men
• Engineer Battalion (622 men and 89 horses)
  • Battalion HQ 33 men 89 horses
  • Signal Platoon 37 men
  • Three Engineer Companies each with 184 men
• Transport Battalion (332 men and 332 horses)
  • Battalion HQ 37 men 6 horses
  • 1st Transport Company 188 men 221 horses
  • 2nd Transport Company 107 men 105 horses
• Special Duty Company 234 men
• Other 155 men

For a total of 10,012 men and 3,219 horses with the field artillery regiment. With the Mountain artillery regiment the total is 10,632 men and 3,237 horses

However, as the war progressed and masses of equipment was lost the 60 division plan was abandoned as were larger divisions in general as the Military Affairs Commission switched to a smaller more mobile division suited to the reality of the situation. This was after an initial reorganisation in 1937 which incorporated the type 89 grenade launcher which impressed the Chinese. It must be noted, however, that even though this 1937 reorganisation maintained division strength at slightly under 11,000 men, less than 4,000 (the frontline personnel) were issued small arms such as rifles.[29] In 1938 a further reform was brought about by He Yingqin at the behest of Chiang Kai-shek. He's report called for an integrated numbering and designation of units from the regimental level up and a standardised financial and supply system and the appointment of loyal commanders. A new division table was also organised: the 27th Year (1938) division, which created the field army as a fixed unit, abolished divisional artillery (often a paper force due to the chronic shortage of field artillery) and coordinated artillery support at the army level; although the division remained at roughly 11,000 men strong this template was not followed with few divisions being re-organised on this pattern due to the constant campaigning of the Central Army and the refusal of the warlords to adopt the new organisation. Nonetheless, the division still proved too large and they were reformed into triangular divisions (a division with a divisional HQ and 3 infantry regiments rather than the previous square division with 2 brigades each with 2 regiments); this 1938 organisation remained the most common formation until the end of the war although it was modified with 16 divisions receiving Anti-tank companies and 20 receiving anti-aircraft companies. Artillery remained in a chronic shortage only partially remedied by the production of 82mm mortars, but these mortars were far from universal even by the end of the war.[30] Further changes were made in the 1942 re-organisation with the 1938 division losing all of its non-combat formations. These formations were moved to the field army level, and with the universal adoption of the triangular division formation the 1942 division had a strength of 6,794 officers and enlisted 60% of the strength of the 1938 division.[31]

• Divisional HQ 71 men
• Signal Company 223 men
• Reconnaissance Company 189 men
• Engineer Company 172 men
• Special Service Company 235 men
• 3 Infantry Regiments (Each 2,532 men):
  • Regimental HQ 44 men
  • Signal Platoon 76 men
  • 3 Infantry Battalions (Each 804 men)
    • Battalion HQ 20 men
    • 3 Rifle Companies Total of 465 men
    • Machine Gun Company 87 men
    • Mortar Company 132 men

This gave a total of 8,251 men per division it is important to note the complete absence of any Anti-air, Anti-tank or artillery at a divisional level a sign of the dire state of equipment shortage in China.[31]

During the Xinhai Revolution and the Warlord Era of the Republic of China, "Dare to Die Corps" (traditional Chinese: 敢死隊; simplified Chinese: 敢死队; pinyin: gǎnsǐduì) were frequently used by Chinese armies. China deployed these suicide units against the Japanese during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

"Dare to Die" troops were used by warlords in their armies to conduct suicide attacks.[32] "Dare to Die" corps continued to be used in the Chinese military. The Kuomintang used one to put down an insurrection in Canton.[33] Many women joined them in addition to men to achieve martyrdom against China's opponents.[34][35]

A "dare to die corps" was effectively used against Japanese units at the Battle of Taierzhuang.[36][37][38][39][40][41] They used swords.[42][43]

Chinese suicide bomber putting on an explosive vest made out of Model 24 hand grenades to use in an attack on Japanese tanks at the Battle of Taierzhuang.

Suicide bombing was also used against the Japanese. A Chinese soldier detonated a grenade vest and killed 20 Japanese soldiers at Sihang Warehouse. Chinese troops strapped explosives like grenade packs or dynamite to their bodies and threw themselves under Japanese tanks to blow them up.[44] This tactic was used during the Battle of Shanghai, where a Chinese suicide bomber stopped a Japanese tank column by exploding himself beneath the lead tank,[45] and at the Battle of Taierzhuang where dynamite and grenades were strapped on by Chinese troops who rushed at Japanese tanks and blew themselves up.[46][47][48] In one incident at Taierzhuang, Chinese suicide bombers obliterated four Japanese tanks with grenade bundles.[49][50]

During the Chinese Civil War the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) was known to have used penal battalions from 1945 to 1949. A unit made up of deserters and those accused of cowardice, the penal battalion was giving such tasks as scouting ahead of the main forces to check for ambushes, crossing rivers and torrents to see whether they were fordable, and walking across unmapped minefields.[51]

The military was formed through bloody and inhumane conscription campaigns. These are described by Rudolph Rummel as:

This was a deadly affair in which men were kidnapped for the army, rounded up indiscriminately by press-gangs or army units among those on the roads or in the towns and villages, or otherwise gathered together. Many men, some the very young and old, were killed resisting or trying to escape. Once collected, they would be roped or chained together and marched, with little food or water, long distances to camp. They often died or were killed along the way, sometimes less than 50 percent reaching camp alive. Then recruit camp was no better, with hospitals resembling Nazi concentration camps like Buchenwald.[52]

T.V. Soong at the behest of Chiang negotiated US sponsorship of 30 Chinese divisions which were to be designated assault divisions due to the fall of Burma this plan was adopted concurrently with Y-Force which was the Chinese army in Burma.[56] The divisions of Y-Force were similar to the 1942 division organisationally with the addition of extra staff especially in communications as well as an anti-tank rifle squad with 2 anti-tank rifles, radios were issued as were bren guns with the number of mortars raised form 36 to 54 to accommodate the lack of heavy artillery. The demands of the Chinese Military Affairs Commission to add additional support staff and divisional artillery were all rejected by the Americans and the idea of a centralised Y-force with the 30 divisions being grouped together was never realised. General Chen Cheng commanded the largest contingent of 15 divisions, Long Yun commanded 5 and 9 under Chiang himself.[56] Prior to the Salween offensive each division was allotted 36 bazookas though actual numbers ran below requirements and rockets were in short supply.[57]

Long Yun the Warlord and Governor of Yunnan inspects the members of the Chinese expeditionary Force.

The Chinese army due to sustained combat was grossly under-strength and whilst Chiang promised over 110,000 additional reinforcements further reinforcements after this were not forthcoming due to ongoing combat. Nonetheless, Y-Force grew to over 300,000 men with rifles, mortars and machine guns in abundance.[57]

A Y-force division contained 10,790 officers and men with 4,174 rifles, 270 submachine guns, 270 light machine guns, 54 medium machine guns. 27 AT rifles, 36 bazookas, 81 60mm mortars and 30 82mm mortars this was a large improvement over the 1942 division especially in terms of equipment with some divisions additionally receiving Anti-tank companies with guns ranging from 20-47mm. The army troops of a Y-force army contained over 3,000 horses and mules and 16 trucks with 8,404 officers and men with 21 additional machine guns and an artillery battalion with 12 guns and an anti-tank battalion with 4 guns though due to supply limitations over The Hump artillery and anti-tank weaponry did not arrive in large quantities until late 1943 and early 1944.[58]

Chinese troops operating Stuart tanks in Burma a feat only possible due to the commitment of troops and material to the Burma theatre by the Western Allies and China.

General Stilwell envisioned a 90 division strong regular army the first 30 divisions being the aforementioned Y-Force which would re-open the Burma road which would allow for the formation of the next 30 divisions via direct supply delivery. The remaining 30 divisions would be garrison divisions with a reduced force the remainder of the Chinese army would be gradually demobilised or used to fill out the new forces and act as replacements to save resources and supplies. In July 1943 the US War Department agreed to equip the first 30 divisions and 10% of the second batch to facilitate its training which was to be named Z-Force. Stilwell wished to consolidate the existing forces in east China into 30 divisions per the plan but was rebuffed by the Chinese who wanted the lend lease to be used by existing forces. Stilwell persisted and proposed again his 90 division plan with an additional 1-2 armoured divisions with all forces to be ready assuming the opening of the Burma road by January 1945. However, after the Cairo conference the British and Americans did not agree to an amphibious landing in Burma to support an offensive by Y-Force so the plan was dropped as the Burma road would not be opened anytime soon as long as the Japanese remained there.[59]

Established in 1915 in Henan. The Central Government took over the arsenal in 1930 and full production resumed in 1931. Employing 2,400 workers it was producing 1,800 rifles, 12 Maxim guns and 20,000 grenades each month. In 1934 production of rifles had risen to 3,200 per month.

Established in 1865 in Shanghai. The arsenal was captured by the Central Government in 1927. Its production in 1931 was 8 75mm mountain guns, 31 Type Triple-Ten machine guns, three million cartridges and 600lbs of smokeless powder each month. However, following the demilitarization of Shanghai following the 1932 battle, the arsenal became dormant with its light machinery moved to other arsenals whilst the heavy machinery remained until 1937.

First began production in 1895 in Hubei, it was captured by the Central government in 1926. Between 1895 and 1938 the arsenal produced 876,316 Type 88 rifles. In 1934 the arsenal also produced 240 Type Triple-Ten machine guns and 4 75mm field guns.

Established in 1898 in Shanxi, the arsenal was expanded by Yan Xishan. Production in 1930 was 500 pistols, 1,500 rifles, 50 machine guns, 300 mortars a month as well as a theoretical 30 mountain guns a month though none were in actual production. The arsenal however deteriorated and by 1937, the Central Government took the machinery and used it for other arsenals.

Established in 1865 in Nanjing, the Central Government captured the arsenal in 1927. In 1936 after investment from the government, the arsenal was producing 610 machine guns, 3,600,000 cartridges, 480 mortars, 204,000 mortar shells and 34,000 gas masks annually.

Established in 1874, in 1917 production was 600 rifles, 500,000 cartridges and 6 machine guns. However the production quality of the arsenal deteriorated and following a 1935 inspection only 10% of the cartridges were found to have passed inspection. The arsenal came under the control of the Central Government following the defection of Yu Hanmou to Nanjing during the Liangguang incident.

Established in 1878, the arsenals production in 1913 was 15,000 rifles, 7,500,000 cartridges, 45,000lbs of smokeless powder annually. However, due to warfare in Sichuan the arsenal was closed, then finally moved to Chongqing in 1932. In 1933 it produced 6,000 KE7 machine guns.

Located in Shandong. By the mid-1930s this arsenal was producing 3,000,000 cartridges and 60,000 grenades every month.