32年 3月 14日
Attacking Lida was one of the many steps on the road to Konigsberg. The Chinese commanders in the north had an unofficial rivalry with the ones in the south over who would reach the Baltic or Mediterranean coast first. (The fact that Long Yun had already reached the Baltic coast with the capture of Leningrad was ignored.) The South had the head start but had met with unexpectedly strong German resistance. In the North, the resistance was crumbling and the advantage in men and material was allowing them to push forward. Even two full strength panzer divisions were unable to stop the Chinese advance.
32年 3月 17日
In the South, the recapture of Romania by German forces was still an embarrassment to Chinese commanders. Enough troops had finally arrived in theater to make the final drive to Bucharest. The plan was for Chinese Pabing divisions to secure the roads and allow mobile divisions over the Carpathians to make a lightning assault on Bucharest, through Ploesti.
In the North, the Germans effectively handed a victory to the Chinese by refusing to evacuate Novorzhev. The Chinese had originally taken the area in order to close the German pocket around Moscow. A rescue army had failed to save the pocket, but had succeeded in retaking the town against light opposition. Even after the pocket's destruction, Hitler refused to retreat from one of the only successful advances in 1943. The First Pabing Corps, ceremonially commanded by Dai Li, (though in actuality commanded by a succession of generals as a test of their political loyalty) was able to advance unopposed behind the Germans.
32年 3月 19日
Chinese generals had started to lose a lot of respect for the Germans. Initially, the German focus on a war of maneuver had been admired. More and more, the Germans were giving it up in the form of death stands and pointless attacks. In the warlord era, losing a division, or the troops therein would have been an enormous political loss. The foundation of warlord political power had been fighting without fighting, moves and counter moves, and political maneuvering. The Chinese army, as noted by western military observers, was still working hard to instill initiative and risk taking in it's senior officers who had gained command through caution and discretion. The German surrender of Novorzhev was entirely unexpected. To lose that many troops, to so pointless a cause would be unthinkable in the Republic of China Army.
As it was, another 100,000 Germans were sent down the Transsiberian to Mongolia to await the end of the war.
32年 3月 20日
The senior Chinese officers had a few gaps in their training. The initial Whampoa and Baoding training of the 1920's and early 30's had focused on performance at the frontline and battlefield maneuvers. The importance of logistics, supply and administration had been largely ignored. Under Bai Chongxi, the academy had started retraining senior staff under British, American, and captured Russian commanders, in these areas.
According to The Eagle and the Dragon: World War II and the American Experience in China by historian Nathon Fenby "One of the largest areas of material assistance from the Allies that would be largely ignored in post war histories. When Stillwell was sent by Roosevelt to China in 1941, he was able to form a good working relationship with Jiang Bai Li. When asked what America could do for China by way of Lend Lease, Jiang Bai Li immediately gave him a list of supplies. Trucks, uniforms, weapons, artillery, were on that list but the massive corruption and waste still present in the government and army gave pause to Americans. The solution was obvious to the Kong Xiangxi and Dail Li. The Chinese asked for quartermasters, supply officers, and administrators. What was surprising was that the Chinese wanted Americans to take over the domestic supply effort as well. Stillwell was asked to join the Chinese general Staff. His experience organizing large forces abroad at the foot of General Pershing not to mention his service in China during the 20's and 30's put him in good stead with most of the generals.
The dominant political theme of the newly democratic government had always been to bring the army under civilian control. The Americans, as a neutral third party, were a useful tool. Unlike the British, America had no reputation of colonial exploitation in China. The goal was for the Americans to train a new generation of Chinese officers in large scale logistics that would be free of any warlord ties.
Another issue was speculation and theft. Very early on, Allied aid had a tendency to never reach its final destination and instead be sold to the highest bidder long before. China's Prime Minister, Kong Xiangxi, was one of the many getting rich off of this trade but he agreed to the American administration as a way to cut off the vast majority of his competitors. He allowed the Americans to clamp down on security and organization while still controlling a few loopholes himself. In 1941, it was estmated that almost 40% of supplies were stolen between their point of origin and the front. Over the next year, innovations, such as sealed train cars, highly paid armed guards, coded markings for containers were all adopted to make sure that supplies would go only towards the military. Army reports that efficiency had risen. Due to the increased security, more supplies were actually reaching the soldiers in 1943 than had in 1941, even though supply distance had increased by 700%.
One of the largest issues for supply, was problem with vehicle maintenance. Chinese trucks were a mixture of domestic, foreign, captured and re purposed vehicles. Frequently, trucks would be abandoned due to poor maintenance and lack of parts. For example, the Fifty Third Infantry division reported the loss of over 50 trucks in one month with no enemy contact. A plan to reorganize the armies with new trucks and a dedicated motor pool was started in early 1943. Along with that, trucks of different makes and national origins would be gradually switched between divisions. The goal was for any division to be using only one kind of vehicle and barring that only vehicles from the same country. German models were ..."
32年 3月 21日
Chinese spies were always hard at work to discover what Germany was up to. The plans for the nonexistent "Seebattalion" were uninteresting, but the state of the army was not. In early 1942, before contact with the Chinese army,, the Wermacht had consisted of 319 infantry, mountain, and motorized divisions along with 23 armored ones. Chinese operations had successfully reduced that to 181 infantry, mountain, and motorized and 18 armored divisions. This represented the capture of over 2 million troops since the war with China began.
32年 3月 22日
German defenses along the Baltic were strong. As the line moved closer to the German frontier, Chinese troops were running into stiffer resistance. Superior numbers were more frequently being used to smash through German soldiers. The icy forests of Eastern Europe were turning into a brutal slugging match as the Chinese juggernaut picked up steam.
32年 3月 23日
The fighting in Romania was on a much smaller scale. Xia Wei's newly trained Pabing troops were able to punch through the Carpathians and move on Ploesti, threatening to encircle the German forces in the Eastern half of the country.
32年 3月 24日
Axis troops under Von Kuchler were easily smashed by Bai Chongxi's advancing armies.
32年 3月 26日
The German troops were trapped and easily liquidated. Xia Wei was ordered to advance into unprotected Bucharest while forces moved in to shore up his rear.
32年 3月 28日
Two days later, Chinese troops sent to secure the passes through the Carpathians were viciously counterattacked by the Germans. They would be forced to retreat from the passes with heavy fighting, leaving the Pabing divisions cut off. There were few worries as reinforcements were still advancing down the east side of mountains
32年 4月 2日
In other news, Tsinghua University was opening the first theoretical physics college in China under Hoff Lu.
32年 4月 4日
A southern hook through Bulgaria was ordered to link up with the troops holding Bucharest. Chinese and Nepali troops clashed with an equal number of German and Bulgarian soldiers. Unfortunately the Germans would slam the door shut on the eastern route to Bucharest.
32年 4月 6日
The Finland front had been gradually reinforced by both the Germans and the Chinese. The Chinese for their part had much more troops to reinforce with. This push across Lake Saimaa was nearly 3 times as large as any previous attempt.
Clearing weather and air support allowed the Chinese to cross the lake. Once across, the German position had to be abandoned.
32年 4月 7日
The weather was getting warmer. The front was turning into a redolent muddy mess as ice melted and refroze. The Chinese advance would not be slowed and the mud would prove no hindrance in the battle of Sweciany.
32年 4月 8日
Disaster struck in the south. A German diversion had fooled Chinese commanders that the vast majority of German armies were heading into the Carpathians to take up defensive positions. In actuality, they were rushing east to cut off the Chinese soldiers stationed in Bucharest, leaving only a token force to defend the mountains. The failure of the offensive in Constanta had hurt the troops in Bucharest as well as failed to open an alternate supply route. The seizure of Ploesti left the newly raised Pabing divisions completely cut off.
32年 4月 9日
The Pabing soldiers were generally the children of herders and farmers. Defending a city against combined arms assault was far beyond their training or abilities and the defensive line collapsed within a day. Sporadic resistance would continue for a few days but the Germans had captured over 40,000 Chinese soldiers making this the largest Chinese defeat of the war. Later investigations would place blame squarely on Xia Wei, for "tactical negligence." Actual blame extended far up the command chain as Chinese officers had ordered the assault on Bucharest, but not the pullout after the necessary attempts to secure a supply line failed.
32年 4月 14日
A breakthrough in Finland had allowed Chinese forces to encircle the Germans guarding the approaches from Leningrad. German commanders had hoped to keep the Finland front from devolving into a war of maneuver that Hitler would not let his generals fight.
The surrender of 60,000 more German soldiers was a good pill for a nation shocked by the "disaster at Bucharest."
32年 4月 15日
The advance in the far north had also succeeded in trapping some German divisions against the Swedish border. The collapse of all German resistance in Finland was looking more and more certain.
32年 4月 17日
The German counterattack into Oulu caught the Chinese by surprise. Liu Wei had been given field command of the Fourteenth Pabing Corps in the expectation that resistance and therefore, division level coordination, would be light. The German counterattack led to an ignominious Chinese rout.
32年 4月 20日
Chinese escort fighters were gradually receiving upgrades. The Chinese were intent on moving more of the production to domestic factories as well as some small improvements on the design itself. Engine improvements led to the installation of more machine guns. Changing the canopy for more visibility was also a concern. The new Chinese planes were meant to be minor improvements on the existing ones rather than a completely new design.
32年 4月 22日
German resistance was slowly rolled back. Konigsberg, the Baltic Sea, and Germany proper were now only 200 km away.
32年 4月 23日
Finland was going down fast. Once Chinese troops had arrived in open country, they were able to advance almost at will. The Germans in the south were completely surrounded and Hitler had not ordered a large scale evacuation. Even the attack from Germans further north was not enough to break the cordon and save their comrades on the coast.
Accompanying the drive on Konigsberg, was a push for Riga. The goal was to keep the Germans engaged all along the Baltic to prevent the Germans from pulling out troops. Germany was incapable of evacuating large numbers of soldiers as the Chinese had been mining the harbors from the air.
Chinese Quiz: Besides lack of supply, recruits, and desertion, why were Nationalist units uniformally below their paper strength?
Attacking Lida was one of the many steps on the road to Konigsberg. The Chinese commanders in the north had an unofficial rivalry with the ones in the south over who would reach the Baltic or Mediterranean coast first. (The fact that Long Yun had already reached the Baltic coast with the capture of Leningrad was ignored.) The South had the head start but had met with unexpectedly strong German resistance. In the North, the resistance was crumbling and the advantage in men and material was allowing them to push forward. Even two full strength panzer divisions were unable to stop the Chinese advance.
32年 3月 17日
In the South, the recapture of Romania by German forces was still an embarrassment to Chinese commanders. Enough troops had finally arrived in theater to make the final drive to Bucharest. The plan was for Chinese Pabing divisions to secure the roads and allow mobile divisions over the Carpathians to make a lightning assault on Bucharest, through Ploesti.
In the North, the Germans effectively handed a victory to the Chinese by refusing to evacuate Novorzhev. The Chinese had originally taken the area in order to close the German pocket around Moscow. A rescue army had failed to save the pocket, but had succeeded in retaking the town against light opposition. Even after the pocket's destruction, Hitler refused to retreat from one of the only successful advances in 1943. The First Pabing Corps, ceremonially commanded by Dai Li, (though in actuality commanded by a succession of generals as a test of their political loyalty) was able to advance unopposed behind the Germans.
32年 3月 19日
Chinese generals had started to lose a lot of respect for the Germans. Initially, the German focus on a war of maneuver had been admired. More and more, the Germans were giving it up in the form of death stands and pointless attacks. In the warlord era, losing a division, or the troops therein would have been an enormous political loss. The foundation of warlord political power had been fighting without fighting, moves and counter moves, and political maneuvering. The Chinese army, as noted by western military observers, was still working hard to instill initiative and risk taking in it's senior officers who had gained command through caution and discretion. The German surrender of Novorzhev was entirely unexpected. To lose that many troops, to so pointless a cause would be unthinkable in the Republic of China Army.
As it was, another 100,000 Germans were sent down the Transsiberian to Mongolia to await the end of the war.
32年 3月 20日
The senior Chinese officers had a few gaps in their training. The initial Whampoa and Baoding training of the 1920's and early 30's had focused on performance at the frontline and battlefield maneuvers. The importance of logistics, supply and administration had been largely ignored. Under Bai Chongxi, the academy had started retraining senior staff under British, American, and captured Russian commanders, in these areas.
According to The Eagle and the Dragon: World War II and the American Experience in China by historian Nathon Fenby "One of the largest areas of material assistance from the Allies that would be largely ignored in post war histories. When Stillwell was sent by Roosevelt to China in 1941, he was able to form a good working relationship with Jiang Bai Li. When asked what America could do for China by way of Lend Lease, Jiang Bai Li immediately gave him a list of supplies. Trucks, uniforms, weapons, artillery, were on that list but the massive corruption and waste still present in the government and army gave pause to Americans. The solution was obvious to the Kong Xiangxi and Dail Li. The Chinese asked for quartermasters, supply officers, and administrators. What was surprising was that the Chinese wanted Americans to take over the domestic supply effort as well. Stillwell was asked to join the Chinese general Staff. His experience organizing large forces abroad at the foot of General Pershing not to mention his service in China during the 20's and 30's put him in good stead with most of the generals.
The dominant political theme of the newly democratic government had always been to bring the army under civilian control. The Americans, as a neutral third party, were a useful tool. Unlike the British, America had no reputation of colonial exploitation in China. The goal was for the Americans to train a new generation of Chinese officers in large scale logistics that would be free of any warlord ties.
Another issue was speculation and theft. Very early on, Allied aid had a tendency to never reach its final destination and instead be sold to the highest bidder long before. China's Prime Minister, Kong Xiangxi, was one of the many getting rich off of this trade but he agreed to the American administration as a way to cut off the vast majority of his competitors. He allowed the Americans to clamp down on security and organization while still controlling a few loopholes himself. In 1941, it was estmated that almost 40% of supplies were stolen between their point of origin and the front. Over the next year, innovations, such as sealed train cars, highly paid armed guards, coded markings for containers were all adopted to make sure that supplies would go only towards the military. Army reports that efficiency had risen. Due to the increased security, more supplies were actually reaching the soldiers in 1943 than had in 1941, even though supply distance had increased by 700%.
One of the largest issues for supply, was problem with vehicle maintenance. Chinese trucks were a mixture of domestic, foreign, captured and re purposed vehicles. Frequently, trucks would be abandoned due to poor maintenance and lack of parts. For example, the Fifty Third Infantry division reported the loss of over 50 trucks in one month with no enemy contact. A plan to reorganize the armies with new trucks and a dedicated motor pool was started in early 1943. Along with that, trucks of different makes and national origins would be gradually switched between divisions. The goal was for any division to be using only one kind of vehicle and barring that only vehicles from the same country. German models were ..."
32年 3月 21日
Chinese spies were always hard at work to discover what Germany was up to. The plans for the nonexistent "Seebattalion" were uninteresting, but the state of the army was not. In early 1942, before contact with the Chinese army,, the Wermacht had consisted of 319 infantry, mountain, and motorized divisions along with 23 armored ones. Chinese operations had successfully reduced that to 181 infantry, mountain, and motorized and 18 armored divisions. This represented the capture of over 2 million troops since the war with China began.
32年 3月 22日
German defenses along the Baltic were strong. As the line moved closer to the German frontier, Chinese troops were running into stiffer resistance. Superior numbers were more frequently being used to smash through German soldiers. The icy forests of Eastern Europe were turning into a brutal slugging match as the Chinese juggernaut picked up steam.
32年 3月 23日
The fighting in Romania was on a much smaller scale. Xia Wei's newly trained Pabing troops were able to punch through the Carpathians and move on Ploesti, threatening to encircle the German forces in the Eastern half of the country.
32年 3月 24日
Axis troops under Von Kuchler were easily smashed by Bai Chongxi's advancing armies.
32年 3月 26日
The German troops were trapped and easily liquidated. Xia Wei was ordered to advance into unprotected Bucharest while forces moved in to shore up his rear.
32年 3月 28日
Two days later, Chinese troops sent to secure the passes through the Carpathians were viciously counterattacked by the Germans. They would be forced to retreat from the passes with heavy fighting, leaving the Pabing divisions cut off. There were few worries as reinforcements were still advancing down the east side of mountains
32年 4月 2日
In other news, Tsinghua University was opening the first theoretical physics college in China under Hoff Lu.
32年 4月 4日
A southern hook through Bulgaria was ordered to link up with the troops holding Bucharest. Chinese and Nepali troops clashed with an equal number of German and Bulgarian soldiers. Unfortunately the Germans would slam the door shut on the eastern route to Bucharest.
32年 4月 6日
The Finland front had been gradually reinforced by both the Germans and the Chinese. The Chinese for their part had much more troops to reinforce with. This push across Lake Saimaa was nearly 3 times as large as any previous attempt.
Clearing weather and air support allowed the Chinese to cross the lake. Once across, the German position had to be abandoned.
32年 4月 7日
The weather was getting warmer. The front was turning into a redolent muddy mess as ice melted and refroze. The Chinese advance would not be slowed and the mud would prove no hindrance in the battle of Sweciany.
32年 4月 8日
Disaster struck in the south. A German diversion had fooled Chinese commanders that the vast majority of German armies were heading into the Carpathians to take up defensive positions. In actuality, they were rushing east to cut off the Chinese soldiers stationed in Bucharest, leaving only a token force to defend the mountains. The failure of the offensive in Constanta had hurt the troops in Bucharest as well as failed to open an alternate supply route. The seizure of Ploesti left the newly raised Pabing divisions completely cut off.
32年 4月 9日
The Pabing soldiers were generally the children of herders and farmers. Defending a city against combined arms assault was far beyond their training or abilities and the defensive line collapsed within a day. Sporadic resistance would continue for a few days but the Germans had captured over 40,000 Chinese soldiers making this the largest Chinese defeat of the war. Later investigations would place blame squarely on Xia Wei, for "tactical negligence." Actual blame extended far up the command chain as Chinese officers had ordered the assault on Bucharest, but not the pullout after the necessary attempts to secure a supply line failed.
32年 4月 14日
A breakthrough in Finland had allowed Chinese forces to encircle the Germans guarding the approaches from Leningrad. German commanders had hoped to keep the Finland front from devolving into a war of maneuver that Hitler would not let his generals fight.
The surrender of 60,000 more German soldiers was a good pill for a nation shocked by the "disaster at Bucharest."
32年 4月 15日
The advance in the far north had also succeeded in trapping some German divisions against the Swedish border. The collapse of all German resistance in Finland was looking more and more certain.
32年 4月 17日
The German counterattack into Oulu caught the Chinese by surprise. Liu Wei had been given field command of the Fourteenth Pabing Corps in the expectation that resistance and therefore, division level coordination, would be light. The German counterattack led to an ignominious Chinese rout.
32年 4月 20日
Chinese escort fighters were gradually receiving upgrades. The Chinese were intent on moving more of the production to domestic factories as well as some small improvements on the design itself. Engine improvements led to the installation of more machine guns. Changing the canopy for more visibility was also a concern. The new Chinese planes were meant to be minor improvements on the existing ones rather than a completely new design.
32年 4月 22日
German resistance was slowly rolled back. Konigsberg, the Baltic Sea, and Germany proper were now only 200 km away.
32年 4月 23日
Finland was going down fast. Once Chinese troops had arrived in open country, they were able to advance almost at will. The Germans in the south were completely surrounded and Hitler had not ordered a large scale evacuation. Even the attack from Germans further north was not enough to break the cordon and save their comrades on the coast.
Accompanying the drive on Konigsberg, was a push for Riga. The goal was to keep the Germans engaged all along the Baltic to prevent the Germans from pulling out troops. Germany was incapable of evacuating large numbers of soldiers as the Chinese had been mining the harbors from the air.
Chinese Quiz: Besides lack of supply, recruits, and desertion, why were Nationalist units uniformally below their paper strength?
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