Chapter 11 - The Sturmtruppen and the Yangtze Project
As the repatriation of the Japanese steadily progressed, KMT efforts spearheaded by Yan Xishan continued to recruit large numbers of Japanese civil and military experts. Two-thirds of China's army and nine-tenth of China's society still needed modernizing, and Chiang needed all the help he could get.
However, the influx of Japanese officers into China's training brigades also posed a problem: Japan's tactical doctrine weren't quite compatible with that of the Wehrmacht. As a result, Chiang summoned his top military leaders for a conference.
(
Chiang and his Military Council: Alexander von Falkenhausen, He Yingqin, Bai Chongxi, Li Zongren, Yan Xishan, Ma Hongkui)
"...Yes, it is true that concept of
Schwerpunkt (focal point) has served China well in this war. But that is because we fought a war with a half-modernized army," Falkenhausen warned when both Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren spoke admiringly of the German-trained divisions' performance. "Will the National Revolutionary Army always remain in such a manner?"
"Of course not," He Yingqin was swift to reply. With the defeat of Japan, the military modernization program that he oversaw had been dropped to a much lower priority. But it wasn't going to stay ignored forever.
"Germany's situation is fundamentally different from that of China," Falkenhausen explained. "Germany is an industrialized nation, while China remains a primarily agricultural society. Germany sits at the center of the European plains -- admist its vast road and rail network -- whereas China is dominated by highlands, canyons, and raw, inaccessible frontiers. The average German has years of schooling, while the average Chinese cannot yet read...
"Despite the Ministry of Industry's best attempts, these facts are unlikely to change soon. China simply does not have the personnel quality or industrial edge that Germany has."
Chiang had to nod along with most of the room. It wasn't pleasant to hear, but it was true.
The Wehrmacht's land doctrine is a decentralized one that emphasize the importance of low-level, tactical decision making. It requires squad, platoon, and company level commanders to take initiative and determine the best means to attack and defend. But this is only valid with a highly educated officer corps. In the Republic of China, where most sergeants can't even read a tactical manual, asking such low ranking officers to decide the flow of battle would be a fatal miscalculation.
"However, what China does have is a limitless pool of motivated recruits, ready to restore the pride of the Middle Kingdom. It has borders that run for thousands of kilometers, difficult to defend but also difficult to cross. To wage war under such conditions, China not only requires, but
benefits from a large army -- an
infantry-focused army."
(
German-designed KMT infantrymen equipment: to be standardized throughout the entire army.)
The chief reasons that followed in the discussion could be summed up as:
- Cheap to supply, manageable even without proper roads.
- Cheap to equip and replenish, maintainable by China's limited industries in large numbers.
- All Terrain Maneuverability™ on two legs.
Together, this would allow the Chinese army to... "break through enemy lines at not just one location, but at many contact points at once, all through the exploitation of complex, rough terrain."
"--Which is precisely what our cavalry already does," Ma Hongkui, the Inspect General of
Cavalry, interjected at the end.
Growing up in the complex geography of the northwest, the KMT Muslim Cavalry were considered elites not because they had better equipment. But because they were disciplined, motivated, and knew from childhood how to use every dune, ridge, and valley to their advantage.
(
When your home looks like this, you don't need a tactical manual to tell you how to use terrain.)
"They'll be models for the rest of the NRA," Falkenhausen reassured. "Once an infantry breakthrough occurs, the cavalry will surge through and exploit the breach using their mobility -- which unlike truck tires are unaffected by a lack of roads."
"But how would this go over with our German military trainers?"
"It's not the Wehrmacht's premier doctrine, but the German Infantry does have plenty of experience in this form of warfare," Falkenhausen noted. "When all of the Western Front had been turned into a hellscape of craters, quagmires, and mazes of trenches. It wasn't the war that Germany prefers to fight. But it was the war that Germany had fought. And it certainly offers China insight and experience into how infantry attacks should best be mounted."
Bai Chongxi blinked. Having read plenty into Germany's WWI experiences, he was the first to make a connection:
"You speak of the Storm Troops."
Falkenhausen nodded.
"You take a pickaxe and chisel away at one point. You do this all along the line -- every unit, every mile. Weaken their front before launching an assault, and the flood that follows will burst through the dike like a tidal wave."
"It didn't work for Germany though?" Chiang voiced.
"It did, for a short time. But Germany was exhausted at that point. We had limited manpower remaining who still qualified for Sturmtruppen training, and our lack of mobility meant we could not capitalize enough from victories before running out of steam. Horses were incompatible with trenches and barbed wire; nor was there much cavalry left at that stage in the Great War."
"But how does the Japanese play into all this?" Yan Xishan asked.
"The Japanese have plenty of experience training disciplined, diehard assault squads from uneducated, backwater peasants," Bai added, having seen its results firsthand on the front lines. "And while they do have powerful, mechanized formations, most of their infantry prefers to travel light -- which is perfect for cutting through enemy lines."
It took some time to persuade everyone. But before within two weeks time, the Huangpu (Whampoa)/Central Military Academy was tasked to begin (re)training China's officer corps, again.
...
Army equipment took longer to discuss. The basics were obvious: standard German infantry equipment, artillery, and engineers... especially engineers to facilitate movement over rough terrain for specialist troops. But there was also a debate over the choice of combat vehicles to provide fire support to the cavalry corps.
In the end, the German SdKfz 221/222 model was chosen for its simple construction and better performance over rough terrain. The lightweight chassis was ideal for Chinese use with its ease of operation and reliability, and its limited armament of machine gun and autocannon was enough for China's purposes. The KMT plans to both order and produce them under license in large numbers.
(
Existing cavalry brigades will be used wherever possible as they slightly outperform armored car brigades. But new cavalry brigades are actually more costly than armored cars at 540 IC days.)
The air force and navy doctrines were much easier to decide. China didn't have much experience in either, so they went with the simple solution:
(
Priority in Red. Secondary Priority in Blue.)
In the air, the ROCAF will prioritize denying enemy air power and providing ground-support with level bombing. Their secondary role will be to augment the navy in defending China's coastal zones. Both of China's existing (and obsolete) multi-role fighter squadrons will refit as interceptor squadrons.
In the sea, the ROCN will follow the example set by German -- use submarines to attrition the enemy on the high seas, while building a lightweight fleet to operate close to the shores.
-----
Meanwhile...
March 22nd: China's ally Germany needs to work on its diplomacy. Italy, Hungry, and Austria banded together to sign the 'Three Power Pact' against growing German influence. Combined with the French-Polish alliance, it meant Germany was now fully surrounded by enemies.
March 25th: Japan's Shidehara administration signed the London Naval Treaty. No quantitative limitations were set this time as the Italians had abandoned negotiations. But Japanese diplomacy to the US, UK, and France noticeably improved (+15), while unrest within the IJN was fermenting at home (+1% dissent).
March 29th: Trouble brewed in the Holy Lands as Arabs demonstrations and riots against Jewish claims in Palestine had reached the critical threshold. The Palestinians established the Arab High Commission to organize their resistance and called for a general strike.
In China, General Bai Chongxi -- Chairman of the Chinese Islamic National Salvation Federation -- and several prominent KMT generals such as Ma Hongkui and Ma Bufang sends their vocal support, denouncing Jewish encroachment on Palestinian lands as merely the 'newest form of British Imperialism'.
-----
On April 1st, after six months of informal discussions with the Minister of Industry Weng Wenhao, Chiang decides to bring an idea back onto the official discussion table -- an ambitious project which also ranked among Sun Yat-Sen's greatest dreams.
Every (educated) Chinese knew that Yellow and Yangtze Rivers were the cradles of Chinese civilization. However, the two rivers were also tempermental dragons prone to catastrophic floods. Chinese attempts to control the waters dates back almost as long as the existence of China itself. Its effect on the Chinese culture is indisputable, as of all the possible ideal monarchs, the Confucian tradition chose to venerate one example above all as the role model for all Chinese rulers:
The (mythical) Yu the Great, also known as Yu
the Engineer
He did not conquer vast lands. He did advance high culture.
His accomplishment?
He tamed the waters.
Ever since, it has become the highest aspiration of any Chinese ruler -- to leave behind a legacy forever sung, about how they successfully pacified calamities, managed the empire, and brought prosperity to the people.
Sun and Chiang were no different.
Of course, it wasn't just vanity either. The great flood of 1931 was fresh in recent memory, when both the Yellow River and the Yangtze roared in the same year. The result was 28.5 million Chinese left homeless. Western scholars estimated the death toll to be between
3.7 and 4 million.
(
The Daily News [Perth, Australia] from August 21, 1931.)
Now that China faced neither the threat of the Japanese nor the burdens of civil wars, Chiang determined that it was time to revive the
Yangtze River Project. After all, the central Yangtze valley around Wuhan was the focus of his industrialization efforts. He would not tolerate the next great flood to just... wash it all away.
But first, he needed to find invite John L. Savage -- designer of the Hoover Dam, Parker Dam, Shasta Dam, Grand Coulee Dam -- to China (once more). Meanwhile, Chinese engineers would be sent into the United States for two years of training, to learn modern hydraulic engineering from the most industralized nation on earth.
(
Custom event! I hope this one dropped a few jaws.)
1. There are claims that General Yasuji Okamura historically offered Chiang control of all 1.5 million Japanese military and civilian support staff then present in China during the 1945 surrender. Though this is hard to validate.
2. From the 'Three Great Hydraulic Engineering Projects of Qin' (Zhengguo Canal, Lingqu Canal, Dujiangyan Irrigation System) to the Jing-Jin-Ji and other modern Chinese superprojects, China's obsession with mega-infrastructure-projects has never really changed since ancient times. I do what I can to reflect it in this AAR.
