I'm not covering infantry weapons here, since those would be extremely complicated due to how improvised and hand-crafted weaponry can work in terms of small firearms, and that PzC2 does not differentiate those that much like tanks or artillery pieces.
Hopefully this would help when the developing team building the Chinese campaign requests stuffs from the model and art team. With the expected date of start in 1937 from Marco Polo Bridge Incident at July 7th, this campaign could have the potential to introduce another large bunch of old and outdated equipment like we have seen in SCW.
Alright, now here comes the list of how the artillery looks like in 1937:
There were no more than 500 artillery pieces with a caliber above 75mm across the whole Central Army, with 4 Artillery Brigades, each of them including 2 Artillery Regiments, 6 Independent Artillery Regiments, 3 Independent Mountain Gun Battalion, 3 Independent Field Gun Battalion, 1 Independent Infantry Artillery Regiment.
1st Artillery Brigade: 1st Artillery Regiment and 5th Artillery Regiment, each armed with 24 Bofors 75mm Mountain Gun
2nd Artillery Brigade: 2nd Artillery Regiment and 3rd Artillery Regiment, each armed with 24 Bofors 75mm Mountain Gun
6th Artillery Brigade: 7th Artillery Regiment and 12th Artillery Regiment, each armed with 24 Krupp 7.5cm M1903 Field Gun. The 7th Regiment was replaced by the 17th Regiment in April, which was armed with 24 Liao Type 14 15cm Howitzer, a copy of the Japanese Type 38 15cm Howizter, manufactured in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, in the lost Manchuria
8th Artillery Brigade: 15th Artillery Regiment and 16th Artillery Regiment, each armed with 24 Liao Type 14 77mm Field Gun, a copy of Austro-Hungarian 8cm FK M18 by Bohler
4th Artillery Regiment and 6th Artillery Regiment were armed with 36 Japanese Type 38 75mm Field Gun.
8th Artillery Regiment were armed with 16 Liao Type 14 15cm Howitzer.
9th Artillery Regiment were armed with 28 Schneider 75mm Mountain Gun. The source I found stated it as "1 Heavy Mountain Gun Battalion and 2 Light Mountain Gun Battalion", so it is possible that the M1897 in the link is not the correct one actually used.
10th Artillery Regiment was armed with 24 of the most powerful gun by that time in Chinese arsenal, the Solothurn 15cm/32 Howitzer, a special order-made variant of the Rheinmetal 15cm sFH 18. Henschel Type 33 G1 was imported together to serve as the gun tractor.
For the Chinese forces at that time, the precious artillery units had to be used concentrated under Corps or Army level, not under divisional command like western armed forces. Division artillery were usually filled up by light to medium mortars, the best being one mountain gun battalion or heavy mortar battalion.
Reinforcement of the independent artillery units could only be accounted for very heavy duty and "direct-lined" (commander of the unit was in very close relationship with Chiang Kai-shek himself) units. Former warlord units or the communist 18th Army units did not have the priviledge to request those guns for support or expect them to be backing their soldiers up when they got smashed by enemy shells on the frontline.
After the start of the war, one final supply of German artillery arrived before it was totally cut.
11th and 13th Artillery Regiment were armed with the 10.5cm leFH 18 field howitzer, with 16 pieces for the 11th and 24 for the 13th.
14th Artillery Regiment was armed with the last order of the 15cm sFH 18, number varies from 20 to 24, and it was no longer the order-made L32 variant, but the standard one.
These four German heavy gun regiments all have mechanised tractors instead of the normal horse travel, due the weight of the gun.
As for anti-tank guns, at this time the German 3.7cm PaK 35/36 was the only available option, with a few anti-tank companies and battalions concentrated to the 4th and 88th Division and the Armour Regiment.
For anti-air, there was also a large variaty of gears:
Swiss 2cm Solothurn ST-5 (Rheinmetal 2cm FlaK 30)
Dennish Madsen 20mm cannon
Italian Breda 20/65 mod.35
Oelikon 20mm,
3.7cm FlaK 18
Light AA guns were usually deployed in company or battalion level, and pushed into anti-tank duty in emergency. They did well in that role against the Type 89 and Type 97 Medium Tanks.
For heavy guns, there were a few Bofors 75mm M1929, 75mm Vickers M1931 and the not-so-famous 8.8cm SK C/30, the last one being the model of Japanese Type 99 8cm AA gun when they captured a few examples in 1938. Do note that the SK C/30 was used as fortress battery, not for field duty, and the same applies to the Type 99 which is already in game.
Heavy AA guns were mostly deployed as air defense for critical targets like Nanjing and Chongqing, partially due to the availability and partially due to the lack of tractors for fast deployment.
By 1938, Soviet supplies started to arrive, with 37mm M1930 anti-tank gun, 45mm M1932 anti-tank gun, 37mm M1939 anti-aircraft gun, 76mm M1931 anti-aircraft gun, 76.2mm M1909 Mountain Gun, 76.2mm M1902/30 field gun and the 115mm howitzer to fill in the loss of guns of similar caliber. This support stopped when the USSR came under attack itself in Operation Barbarossa, June 1941.
In Burma, the Chinese Expeditionary Force in India (X Force) received standard American equipment from 1943 with 37mm and 57mm anti-tank guns, 75mm mountain guns and 105mm howitzers, however, the battle in Burma lasted into early 1945, so these equipment didn't see much, if any, actions in the mainland before the war ended.
How mixed were the KMT forces equipped in terms of heavy weapons
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VirgilInTheSKY
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VirgilInTheSKY
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Re: How mixed were the KMT forces equipped in terms of heavy weapons
As for armoured vehicles, there was barely a bone of an armoued unit when the war started.
Aside from some makeshift armoured cars, the best armoued vehicle the Central Army possessed were 12 Sd.Kfz.221 and 6 Sd.Kfz.222, which was called "Horch 4.5-ton armoured car", and 16 Panzer I, referred to as "Krupp Tank". The 221 and 222s were equipped by the 3rd company of the Army Armoured Group Scout Battalion, and the Panzer Is by the 3rd company of the Armoured Group.
The rest of the equipment is messed up, filled up with the obselete Carden Loyd tankette, Renault UE, 20 L3/33, 112 L3/35, 29 Vickers amphibious tank and the Renault AMR 33/35. The 20 Vickers 6-ton tank was the best you can expect with an actual cannon instead of machineguns.
An unknown number of the soviet BA series armoured car, BT-5 and T-26 M1933 were accepted from 1938. At least 4 BT-5 was recorded to be still in action when the CEF was preparing to enter Burma in 1942.
And then it came to the X Force, which accepted a number of M3A3 Stuart and M4A4 Shermans in Burma theatre, but only got to kept their Stuarts when returning to China.
For recons and personnel carriers, there were some Zündapp K800 tricycle and Type 320 WK from Germany, Gaz-AA from the USSR, and then the US Willys Jeep, M3A1 scout car and M3 halftracks.
Aside from some makeshift armoured cars, the best armoued vehicle the Central Army possessed were 12 Sd.Kfz.221 and 6 Sd.Kfz.222, which was called "Horch 4.5-ton armoured car", and 16 Panzer I, referred to as "Krupp Tank". The 221 and 222s were equipped by the 3rd company of the Army Armoured Group Scout Battalion, and the Panzer Is by the 3rd company of the Armoured Group.
The rest of the equipment is messed up, filled up with the obselete Carden Loyd tankette, Renault UE, 20 L3/33, 112 L3/35, 29 Vickers amphibious tank and the Renault AMR 33/35. The 20 Vickers 6-ton tank was the best you can expect with an actual cannon instead of machineguns.
An unknown number of the soviet BA series armoured car, BT-5 and T-26 M1933 were accepted from 1938. At least 4 BT-5 was recorded to be still in action when the CEF was preparing to enter Burma in 1942.
And then it came to the X Force, which accepted a number of M3A3 Stuart and M4A4 Shermans in Burma theatre, but only got to kept their Stuarts when returning to China.
For recons and personnel carriers, there were some Zündapp K800 tricycle and Type 320 WK from Germany, Gaz-AA from the USSR, and then the US Willys Jeep, M3A1 scout car and M3 halftracks.
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VirgilInTheSKY
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Re: How mixed were the KMT forces equipped in terms of heavy weapons
For air force, there is enough to have an air show if you list them all:
Fighter aircraft:
9 Fiat CR. 32, last batch arrived in September 1937
50 Hawk-II, or the Curtiss F11C Goshawk, last batch arrived in 1940
102 Hawk-III, or the Curtiss BF2C Goshawk, last batch arrived in 1940
10 Boeing 281, or the P-26 Peashooter, last batch arrived in 1938
36 Gladiator I, arrived from August 1937 to 1940
347 I-15, arrived with the Soviet Volunteer Group in September and October 1937 until 1941
225 I-16, arrived with the Soviet Volunteer Group in September and October 1937 until 1941
30 Hawk-75, or the Curtiss P-36 Hawk, first batch arrived in January 1939
CW-21, the aircraft flown by test pilot Robert Fausel claimed one G4M "Betty" in April 4th 1939 during its demonstration flight in China when the contract was still negotiated, and all 4 finished airplane were handed tho the Flying Tigers later when the order of 27 more was placed in 1940. However, the delivery was never completed as the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company (CAMCO) had to evacuate its assemble factory in Loiwing, Yunnan due to the advance of Japanese forces.
P-40, the most famous ride of the Flying Tigers, which started to operate from 1940 until the very end, with different models one after another, from B to E, then K, and finally N. One interesting usage was the so-called "B-40" in fighter-bomber role with 1k pound bombs in Burma-India theatre.
12 P-66 Vanguard, arrived from late 1942 through India, combat ready from August 1943, but the model didn't have any noticable performance in combat, just as it was deemed as not suitable by the US and British military.
125 P-43A-1 Lancer, another ill-fated design that ended in the hand of the Chinese Air Force due to lack of protection, arrived from March 1942 until 1944, phased out by the P-51and P-40N. Still, the aircraft makes good recon until the P-38 came out, which never arrived in China.
P-51, the Mustangs didn't arrive at the best time in Pacific theatre, but they are still there, first batch in early 1945.
Bomber Aircraft:
20 Curtiss A-12 Shrike, the ground-attacker accidentially saw an air combat when the Japanese Aichi D1A1 diver bombers launched an attack on its home base, led to a dogfight between two non-fighter planes. Severe loss resulted in the aircraft redesignated for training purpose from 1938.
56 Vultee V-11, part of the assembly was done by CAMCO in Loiwing. The attacker aircraft survived a bit longer than the Shrike before turning to training and liason duty, until 1940.
9 Martin 139 WC, or B-10. The bomber was most famous for its leaflet bombing on Japan mainland. Long range bombers didn't fit in the requirement for the air force at that time, but still, it made itself a name to be remembered.
12 Hs 123. The old friend form SCW showed up her face again here. These dive bombers flew above China from June 1938 under the temporally-organised 15th Squadron, but were used as fighter against incoming air raids, which led to only 4 surviving example by the end of the year, and had to be grounded.
180 B-25. The C, D and J variants were deployed from August 1943 for all kinds of bombing and ground attacking duties.
10 Heinkel He 111 A-0. The very first bomber model produced of the He 111 series was purchased by the Cantonese Air Force in 1936, and taken over by the Central Air Force in the same year when they bribed the Cantonese airmen to convert to their side. The bomber was used during the battle in Shanghai, but suffered heavy losses and was turned to transporation usage later. The last surviving example crashed in Kunming after the war ended, when it was converted to an airliner and doing the test flight on the newly replaced engines.
222 Topolev SB-2. The soviet bomber arrived from September 1937 until March 1941 and was deployed extensively until the arrival of B-25.
30 Ilyushin DB-3. The long-range bomber was supplied in 1939 and flew a lot of sorties during the Battle for Wuhan, remained in service until it was replaced by the B-24 in 1943.
Fighter aircraft:
9 Fiat CR. 32, last batch arrived in September 1937
50 Hawk-II, or the Curtiss F11C Goshawk, last batch arrived in 1940
102 Hawk-III, or the Curtiss BF2C Goshawk, last batch arrived in 1940
10 Boeing 281, or the P-26 Peashooter, last batch arrived in 1938
36 Gladiator I, arrived from August 1937 to 1940
347 I-15, arrived with the Soviet Volunteer Group in September and October 1937 until 1941
225 I-16, arrived with the Soviet Volunteer Group in September and October 1937 until 1941
30 Hawk-75, or the Curtiss P-36 Hawk, first batch arrived in January 1939
CW-21, the aircraft flown by test pilot Robert Fausel claimed one G4M "Betty" in April 4th 1939 during its demonstration flight in China when the contract was still negotiated, and all 4 finished airplane were handed tho the Flying Tigers later when the order of 27 more was placed in 1940. However, the delivery was never completed as the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company (CAMCO) had to evacuate its assemble factory in Loiwing, Yunnan due to the advance of Japanese forces.
P-40, the most famous ride of the Flying Tigers, which started to operate from 1940 until the very end, with different models one after another, from B to E, then K, and finally N. One interesting usage was the so-called "B-40" in fighter-bomber role with 1k pound bombs in Burma-India theatre.
12 P-66 Vanguard, arrived from late 1942 through India, combat ready from August 1943, but the model didn't have any noticable performance in combat, just as it was deemed as not suitable by the US and British military.
125 P-43A-1 Lancer, another ill-fated design that ended in the hand of the Chinese Air Force due to lack of protection, arrived from March 1942 until 1944, phased out by the P-51and P-40N. Still, the aircraft makes good recon until the P-38 came out, which never arrived in China.
P-51, the Mustangs didn't arrive at the best time in Pacific theatre, but they are still there, first batch in early 1945.
Bomber Aircraft:
20 Curtiss A-12 Shrike, the ground-attacker accidentially saw an air combat when the Japanese Aichi D1A1 diver bombers launched an attack on its home base, led to a dogfight between two non-fighter planes. Severe loss resulted in the aircraft redesignated for training purpose from 1938.
56 Vultee V-11, part of the assembly was done by CAMCO in Loiwing. The attacker aircraft survived a bit longer than the Shrike before turning to training and liason duty, until 1940.
9 Martin 139 WC, or B-10. The bomber was most famous for its leaflet bombing on Japan mainland. Long range bombers didn't fit in the requirement for the air force at that time, but still, it made itself a name to be remembered.
12 Hs 123. The old friend form SCW showed up her face again here. These dive bombers flew above China from June 1938 under the temporally-organised 15th Squadron, but were used as fighter against incoming air raids, which led to only 4 surviving example by the end of the year, and had to be grounded.
180 B-25. The C, D and J variants were deployed from August 1943 for all kinds of bombing and ground attacking duties.
10 Heinkel He 111 A-0. The very first bomber model produced of the He 111 series was purchased by the Cantonese Air Force in 1936, and taken over by the Central Air Force in the same year when they bribed the Cantonese airmen to convert to their side. The bomber was used during the battle in Shanghai, but suffered heavy losses and was turned to transporation usage later. The last surviving example crashed in Kunming after the war ended, when it was converted to an airliner and doing the test flight on the newly replaced engines.
222 Topolev SB-2. The soviet bomber arrived from September 1937 until March 1941 and was deployed extensively until the arrival of B-25.
30 Ilyushin DB-3. The long-range bomber was supplied in 1939 and flew a lot of sorties during the Battle for Wuhan, remained in service until it was replaced by the B-24 in 1943.
Re: How mixed were the KMT forces equipped in terms of heavy weapons
Thank you for the immense input - highly appreciated. I knew that chinese equipment was a rag-tag mess - but this is simply a logistical nightmare. Reminds me of the Spanish Republic.
Re: How mixed were the KMT forces equipped in terms of heavy weapons
The more I read about this (given that my knowledge about that conflict was not hugely expansive), the more interested I am in the DLC compared to all the other ones. Sure, Allied Italy campaign will probably have some really cool maps given the geography and the team doing that addon. The Soviet CLD should have a large scale and multiple parts given the involvement of the USSR from the very beginning. However, in both cases in terms of equipment, the game has a lot of it covered already. We will probably see some new units in them as we always do, but the Chinese front has a lot more to offer. Just looking at the list above is impressive and it also add a lot of equipment for future use in other DLC given how eclectic the available pool was. If you add a Vickers E, you might as well add it to the Polish and Finnish equipment list as well, Curtiss P-36 goes to the Finns and French also and so on. Tons of unexplored unit types possible to add and to look forward to especially for this early period.