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The Asian Front: 1941
The Asian Front: 1941
Overall overview:
In comparison to the more fluid European Theater, the Asian Front remained a mostly static one. The war was very similar to that of the First Great War, lines of opposing trenches with the monotony of trench warfare being broken up by the occasional trench raid, artillery duel and naval bombardment. In fact, the only thing that would've looked out of place in a First Great War scene would've been the drone of low-flying aircraft on occasional air-to-ground sorties.
At the end of 1941, China had officially 12 million under arms. However, it is important to note that this figure was only inclusive of the National Revolutionary Air Force, National Revolutionary Army and remnants of the National Revolutionary Navy. This 12 million figure did not include the various militia, anti-aircraft and division level formations under the Civil Protection Office, nor did it include the security formations, secret police units and the transition camp infrastructure under the Bureau of Information and Statistics. If those figures are included, then a more accurate count of 20 million comes into place.
The Northern Army Group/Northern Expedition Army
The bulk of the National Revolutionary Army was deployed in the Northern Army Group. Before Chiang took command in May and re-organized the Northern Army Group into the Northern Expedition Army, this Army Group had 4 million troops. After Chiang took control and hollowed out other Army groups for men and material, it had swelled to 8 million in preparation for the Third Northern Expedition.
Why did Chiang 'hollow out' the other fronts? Foremost in his mind was the lack of progress being made on what was seen as a key front. Second was that the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression pact was due to expire in August 28, 1943. BIS intelligence indicated that while the bulk of Soviet troop concentrations were across Eastern Europe, there was still a substantial concentration across the Manchurian-Soviet border. The concern was that the Soviet Union would attack Manchuria and claim the rich provinces for herself easily while China had expended countless lives and resources for nothing. Chiang intended to build up troops throughout 1941 and launch a massive general offensive in January 1942.
Entente intelligence was not blind to these developments. Increasingly shill reports to Tokyo by the North China Command were being ignored however as the Tojo regime had firmly decided on the "Southern Option" which was being developed with British forces. Although North China army command had 2 million men, the increasing concentration of National Revolutionary Army forces caused growing alarm, but the North China Army's commanding officer General Hisaichi Terauchi was not informed of the "Southern Strategy" which was intended to be kept as confidential as possible.
Du Yuming (one of the first graduates of the Whampoa Military Academy), was the Field Marshall of the Central Army Group. Although a capable comannder, he was appointed on the basis of his complete loyalty to Chiang. (1)
The Central Army Group:
The Central Army Group had two million men under arms by the start of 1941 and was reduced to one million by the end of 1 million. The Field Commander of the Central Army Group was Du Yuming, a Chiang loyalist and was appointed on the basis of his loyalty. This trait was important because the Central Army Group included the capital Nanking in it's area of command and so would have an important role in quashing any insurrection. The Central Army Group was tasked with preventing any naval invasions as well, but this was judged unlikely due to the strong defenses and the fact urban terrain of much of the province.
The Southern Army Group:
The Southern Army Group bore the brunt of troop reductions for Chiang's Northern Expedition. At the beginning of the year, the Southern Army Group had 4 million troops. But after three years of stalemate across Indochinese and Burmese border, it was clear that the anticipated Entente offensives would not occur and so 2 million men were transferred from the Southern Army Group. The death of Field Marshall Li Zongren in an allied bombing raid in April 1941 was used as a pretext to transfer Field Marshall Sun Li-Jen from his command at the Northern Army Group so that Chiang could assume direct control.
Part of the reason was political. Sun had been preparing for an offensive across the Northern Army Group and some say that Chiang felt threatened of what the young, ambitious Field Marshall could have accomplished. So, in order to nip the potential threat in the bud, Chiang had him transferred to a more quiet command and stripped of two million troops.
Field Marshall Sun Li-Jen was a resourceful and crafty commander. Popular with his troops and the wider public, he was viewed with distrust by President Chiang. (2)
Sun had a daunting task ahead of him. He two million troops with which to defend the coasts of Guanxi, Guandong and Fujian from a naval invasion and had to defend the Burmese and Indochinese border. However, Sun was not content to stay 'quiet' despite his limited resources. He ordered probing attacks conducted across the Indochinese and Burmese border to tease out the defences of the provinces.
What he found was promising. Although the rough Burmese terrain precluded serious offensive operations, French-held Indochina was quite weakly defended with just 200,000 troops holding a broad front An offensive operation against the thinly held French position could shorten the front that had to be defended. The ambitious general who could not sit still had a goal in mind. He would capture Hanoi by May 1942, which would allow him to consolidate the position and hold a stable line.
Field Marshall Ma Bufang commanded the Western Army Group. Besides being the Field Marshall of the Western Army Group, he commanded the world's largest cavalry army and had a pretty bitching beard. (3)
The Western Army Group:
Geographically the Western Army Group was probably the largest area command. Field Marshall Ma Bufang commanded a force of two million troops to defend a vast border. There was a substantial portion of his "Muslim Cavalry" which was siphoned off for the Third Northern Expedition. This left a force of 1 million to defend a wide border. However, this mostly cavalry force was well suited to conduct patrols and a fluid defense across a broad front and the poor logistics of the area was it's own protection. The Western Army Group also had about 100,000 Bureau troops stationed in border posts and across 'transition camps' which could be called on at a pinch.
The Strategic Reserve:
The remaining 4 million men consisted of a broad strategic reserve. Although officially 'uncommitted' and based around Nanking, a large portion of it would be earmarked to take advantage of any breakthrough in the Third Northern Expedition.
________________________________________________________
Sources:
(1)http://ww2db.com/image.php?image_id=16228
(2) http://ww2db.com/image.php?image_id=19919
(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Bufang#mediaviewer/File:Ma_Bufang.jpg
Overall overview:
In comparison to the more fluid European Theater, the Asian Front remained a mostly static one. The war was very similar to that of the First Great War, lines of opposing trenches with the monotony of trench warfare being broken up by the occasional trench raid, artillery duel and naval bombardment. In fact, the only thing that would've looked out of place in a First Great War scene would've been the drone of low-flying aircraft on occasional air-to-ground sorties.
At the end of 1941, China had officially 12 million under arms. However, it is important to note that this figure was only inclusive of the National Revolutionary Air Force, National Revolutionary Army and remnants of the National Revolutionary Navy. This 12 million figure did not include the various militia, anti-aircraft and division level formations under the Civil Protection Office, nor did it include the security formations, secret police units and the transition camp infrastructure under the Bureau of Information and Statistics. If those figures are included, then a more accurate count of 20 million comes into place.
The Northern Army Group/Northern Expedition Army
The bulk of the National Revolutionary Army was deployed in the Northern Army Group. Before Chiang took command in May and re-organized the Northern Army Group into the Northern Expedition Army, this Army Group had 4 million troops. After Chiang took control and hollowed out other Army groups for men and material, it had swelled to 8 million in preparation for the Third Northern Expedition.
Why did Chiang 'hollow out' the other fronts? Foremost in his mind was the lack of progress being made on what was seen as a key front. Second was that the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression pact was due to expire in August 28, 1943. BIS intelligence indicated that while the bulk of Soviet troop concentrations were across Eastern Europe, there was still a substantial concentration across the Manchurian-Soviet border. The concern was that the Soviet Union would attack Manchuria and claim the rich provinces for herself easily while China had expended countless lives and resources for nothing. Chiang intended to build up troops throughout 1941 and launch a massive general offensive in January 1942.
Entente intelligence was not blind to these developments. Increasingly shill reports to Tokyo by the North China Command were being ignored however as the Tojo regime had firmly decided on the "Southern Option" which was being developed with British forces. Although North China army command had 2 million men, the increasing concentration of National Revolutionary Army forces caused growing alarm, but the North China Army's commanding officer General Hisaichi Terauchi was not informed of the "Southern Strategy" which was intended to be kept as confidential as possible.
Du Yuming (one of the first graduates of the Whampoa Military Academy), was the Field Marshall of the Central Army Group. Although a capable comannder, he was appointed on the basis of his complete loyalty to Chiang. (1)
The Central Army Group:
The Central Army Group had two million men under arms by the start of 1941 and was reduced to one million by the end of 1 million. The Field Commander of the Central Army Group was Du Yuming, a Chiang loyalist and was appointed on the basis of his loyalty. This trait was important because the Central Army Group included the capital Nanking in it's area of command and so would have an important role in quashing any insurrection. The Central Army Group was tasked with preventing any naval invasions as well, but this was judged unlikely due to the strong defenses and the fact urban terrain of much of the province.
The Southern Army Group:
The Southern Army Group bore the brunt of troop reductions for Chiang's Northern Expedition. At the beginning of the year, the Southern Army Group had 4 million troops. But after three years of stalemate across Indochinese and Burmese border, it was clear that the anticipated Entente offensives would not occur and so 2 million men were transferred from the Southern Army Group. The death of Field Marshall Li Zongren in an allied bombing raid in April 1941 was used as a pretext to transfer Field Marshall Sun Li-Jen from his command at the Northern Army Group so that Chiang could assume direct control.
Part of the reason was political. Sun had been preparing for an offensive across the Northern Army Group and some say that Chiang felt threatened of what the young, ambitious Field Marshall could have accomplished. So, in order to nip the potential threat in the bud, Chiang had him transferred to a more quiet command and stripped of two million troops.
Field Marshall Sun Li-Jen was a resourceful and crafty commander. Popular with his troops and the wider public, he was viewed with distrust by President Chiang. (2)
Sun had a daunting task ahead of him. He two million troops with which to defend the coasts of Guanxi, Guandong and Fujian from a naval invasion and had to defend the Burmese and Indochinese border. However, Sun was not content to stay 'quiet' despite his limited resources. He ordered probing attacks conducted across the Indochinese and Burmese border to tease out the defences of the provinces.
What he found was promising. Although the rough Burmese terrain precluded serious offensive operations, French-held Indochina was quite weakly defended with just 200,000 troops holding a broad front An offensive operation against the thinly held French position could shorten the front that had to be defended. The ambitious general who could not sit still had a goal in mind. He would capture Hanoi by May 1942, which would allow him to consolidate the position and hold a stable line.
Field Marshall Ma Bufang commanded the Western Army Group. Besides being the Field Marshall of the Western Army Group, he commanded the world's largest cavalry army and had a pretty bitching beard. (3)
The Western Army Group:
Geographically the Western Army Group was probably the largest area command. Field Marshall Ma Bufang commanded a force of two million troops to defend a vast border. There was a substantial portion of his "Muslim Cavalry" which was siphoned off for the Third Northern Expedition. This left a force of 1 million to defend a wide border. However, this mostly cavalry force was well suited to conduct patrols and a fluid defense across a broad front and the poor logistics of the area was it's own protection. The Western Army Group also had about 100,000 Bureau troops stationed in border posts and across 'transition camps' which could be called on at a pinch.
The Strategic Reserve:
The remaining 4 million men consisted of a broad strategic reserve. Although officially 'uncommitted' and based around Nanking, a large portion of it would be earmarked to take advantage of any breakthrough in the Third Northern Expedition.
________________________________________________________
Sources:
(1)http://ww2db.com/image.php?image_id=16228
(2) http://ww2db.com/image.php?image_id=19919
(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Bufang#mediaviewer/File:Ma_Bufang.jpg
- CCA
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