Excerpts from "1941: The Year Everything Changed",
P. Schettino, Penguin Books, New York, 1996.
THE Siege of Nanking (now Nanjing, Union of China) was the Allied action which began in late September, 1941, in order to cut the city off from supplies and force its surrender.
However, the Nationalist Chinese defences were quite strong. While Nanking was not absolutely essential to the survival of the Republic of China- for some time prior to the siege, Chongqing was being set up as a "shadow capital", and preparations began for the KMT to flee westward- it was nonetheless and important transport hub, and a bastion of KMT support. Chiang entrusted General Xue Yue with coordinating the defence of the city. Known to his men as "The God of War", Xue would prove to be one of, if not the most capable of the National Army commanders of the war.
Xue's expertise in armoured* combat and other modern disciplines of warfare were not to be underestimated by either side. As soon as he was charged with defending the city, the first thing he did was begin stockpiling fuel and ammunition. He knew full well that the Allies had air superiority, as well as superior artillery pieces. However, Xue also knew that he had more artillery, more tanks (and many of them better than those of the Allies), and more men. The Allies, at this time, still had to ship everything in through Shanghai or the Japanese ports to the North, whereas Xue could depend on supplies brought from Guangzhou by train or truck. However, oil was always in short supply now that Nationalist China was isolated by sea from the rest of the world, and depended on the output of the Yumen oil wells. While at this stage Xue's operations would not be effected, there were nonetheless periodic shortages of high-octane aviation fuel and certain lubricants. By contrast, his supply of ammunition was never an issue, and with the National Army's struggles of the early 1930s behind them, calibres and equipment were at last standardized.
Morale on the Nationalist Chinese side remained high. The National Army's troops were confident they could repel an assault on the city. They enjoyed popular support, and even the local Triads agreed to harass the enemy, and aid in gathering intelligence.
The Allies, by contrast, had much more work ahead of them to coordinate a unified attack. The British and Americans agreed that MacArthur would be appointed the commander of the operation, which met with no opposition from Auchinleck, who conceded that he needed to focus on ensuring that the British and Imperial troops would perform to their fullest capability in the battles to come. MacArthur relied heavily on Generals Krueger, Stilwell and Patton for the battle, leveraging on their proven excellent performance at Shanghai, and his long-established working relationships with both. While now-Major General Claire Chennault coordinated the fighters, the responsibility for bombers was delegated to now-Brigadier General Curtis E. LeMay, who was extremely eager to prove just what the USAAF's bomber arm could do. However, sustained area bombing of the city was not to take place, owing to the objections of Wu Peifu, and his warnings that it would only strengthen the opposition against them.
In addition to American soldiers and Marines, MacArthur also called upon America's allies:
A division worth of Filipino volunteer troops. Having undertaken training for years, and with the Philippines under no immediate threat, the Filipinos were eager to see action. They were also equipped with the same equipment as that of the American forces, which would prove to be helpful in simplifying logistics.
The Siege of Nanking would also prove to be the first major action which the Union of China would take place in since its recognition. The soldiers of the Union Army, in new green uniforms bearing the Beiyang Star, and shouldering American M1903 Springfields and M1 Garands, were each determined to be the one who would raise the UOC flag on top of the KMT Headquarters.
Morale and the supply situation was also good among the British and Imperial forces. Ammunition and food arrived in Shanghai in convoys, and crated Spitfires ordered from Canada began to trickle over, sailing with the Japan-bound convoys from the Canadian west coast. The biggest challenge for Auchinleck was building cohesion among his subordinate commanders. Auchinleck got along well with Symonds, who often clashed with his Canadian superiors whom Symonds believed were too enthusiastic for the political aspects of generalship; but clashed with South African Brigadier Dan Pienaar, who proved stubborn and held the belief, despite numerous assurances to the contrary, that the South African troops would be used as cannon fodder. Auchinleck's patience with Pienaar's "whinging" was wearing through quite quickly, and he was, allegedly, heard to have muttered "He (Pienaar) is nearly as insufferable as
Monty."
In October, Air-Vice Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory was posted to China to take command of RAF forces stationed there.
In the Imperial Japanese Army, Tojo chafed at Terauchi's 1st China Expeditionary Army receiving priority over the Kwantung Army, and the General Staff grew increasingly concerned about Tojo's aptitude for command, as he had not won any major engagements for over a year by now.
The IJA, while it had plenty of aircraft at its disposal, struggled to scrounge up tanks and other equipment. Pieces such as the Type 96 15cm Cannon (the basis for the much lighter and easier to transport Type 98), with a barrel 52.7 calibers long and weighing in at over 24 tonnes, were brought from Japan, the first time equipment earmarked exclusively for the defence of the Home Islands was called upon.
Type 96 15cm Cannon:
The Allies attempted to surround the city, which by November, formed a salient in the Chinese Nationalist lines, with a smaller salient around Huchow to the north. Meanwhile, Xue's objective was to push the Allied forces eastwards into the sea, although this was a task much easier said than done.
Allied efforts in this phase of the battle consisted primarily of probing the defences with armour and artillery strikes, and deploying tactical airpower. Light bombers or fighter-bombers carried out train and convoy busting missions, as well as targeting Xue's troop concentrations, fuel and ammunition dumps, and striking the city's electrical power stations.
Xue was also able to use his Stukas and Panzers to great effect, blunting many an Allied advance with combined arms tactics, although his ability to deploy Stukas was reduced as Allied radar installations were extended south from Tsingtao. By late October, the Allies were able to not only spot the National Army's planes as they approached, but were able to coordinate defences over a broad front.
Nonetheless, by mid-December 1941, neither side had gained a decisive advantage. The Allies were too well equipped, the Pact of Steel too well entrenched for either to collapse.
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* OTL, he was known on the Allied side as "The Patton of Asia"
