China Land OB: Both RED and ROC
Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2011 8:09 am
The land order of battle in China is gigantic, complex and not always easy to research. I write on the modern PLA, and collect
materials on its unit histories, as one means to build an understanding of it in the present age. Any AE representation of
Chinese military forces must be a compromise - in part due to slot limitations - and in part because of limited time to do research.
Even if one has a lot of time, and a lot of material, it will not due to spend decades on this one item. Finally, game code has some
special features in re China - for which reason it isn't entirely necessary to have every reinforcement in the OB. Units will tend
to come back - becoming in effect the reinforcements. All comments below are made in this context: the AE OB is almost a matter
of art - chosing what to include - and what characteristics to give it? Even so, purists may find some of my comments useful to
a better order of battle than is in stock. Note also that some units (and locations) are borrowed from Reluctant Admiral and from
other mods.
The Red Army is substantially misrepresented. It more or less includes two corps - the New 4th Army (smaller of the two) and the 18th
Group Army (which is a renamed 8th Route Army - as from 1938). For this reason, the 4th Corps (and/or Field Army) should be redesignated as Red - and assigned to the communist command. The 8th Route Army should be renamed - and the 18th corps (and/or field Army) should not be used. More on the corps - Field Army thing in the next post - on the ROC system. But there is also one more element: much of the Red Army was independent of division structures - and for that reason - the guerilla formations should be included. Extensive testing indicates that the RHS guerilla formations - with some daily supply in the UNIT - work fine in AE - and permit these small units to contest lines of communications even when deep in enemy territory. The Red ones are carefully crafted so daily supply = non-battle requirements if the unit is at full strength. Thus the unit will tend to grow to full size if inactive - faster if outside supply is available - and not to stockpile supplies greatly (which might feed other units in the hex). We do not include enough of these units - see the material below for an idea of numbes serving. But we have enough to be a problem - and add one more every year as a crude way to have the problem grow. The Red ones should have good leaders, but even without them the "staff officer" does remarkably well. The units tend to retreat under pressure - rather than to surrender - although when odds exceed 100:1 in land combat - they will surrender. Note that one division of the Red Army is not assigned its leader - as defined in the material below. The 129th should have Liu bocheng as CO. The 18th "army group" (group army) should have Yen Hsi-shan as leader. If assigned to the Red command the de facto Red control is preserved.
Eighth Route Army
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Eighth Route Army (simplified Chinese: °Ë·¾ü; traditional Chinese: °Ë·܊; pinyin: b¨¡l¨´-j¨±n) was the larger of the two major Chinese communist forces that formed a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China which fought the Japanese from 1937 to 1945. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Communist Party of China and not the ruling Kuomintang. The Eighth Route Army was one of the main military forces of the Communist Party of China, active during the Chinese Civil War and the Second Sino-Japanese War. The political leader of the Communist Party of China was Mao Zedong, and their military leader was communist general Zhu De.
Eight Route Army in Shanxi, under Blue Sky with White Sun army flag.
The communists' Red Army (later the People's Liberation Army) had first been "formed" in 1927 when the Nationalist 27th Division mutinied. After ten years of fighting, though, in 1937, Japan invaded China proper. To counter this threat, the Communists and Nationalists formed the United Front (the anti-Japanese alliance between the Chinese Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Communists). Most Communist forces wore either Nationalist uniforms or civilian clothes.
The two main Communist forces were the New Fourth Army and the Eighth Route Army (the larger of the two), called such after their nominal designations in the Chinese national army. Consisting of three divisions (the 115th, the 120th, and the 129th, commanded by Lin Biao, He Long, and Liu Bocheng respectively, the 8th Route Army's main advantage during World War II was its ability to blend in with Japanese forces when behind enemy lines. Also, the Communist forces could easily attack Japanese supply lines and small garrisons. The 8th Route Army had also engaged in political and propaganda work, helping to increase communist support among the populace.
Formed in 1937 at the time of the second United Front, the 8th Route Army was headed by Mao Zedong's old comrade in arms Zhu De but was placed under the overall direction of the Nationalist government. In 1938 the 8th Route Army was reorganized as the 18th Army Group under the 3rd Military Region commanded by Nationalist Yen Hsi-shan. In practice, however, the army remained under Zhu De's control and operated independently of the Nationalists, especially after 1941, when relations between the Communists and Nationalists had deteriorated.
At the start of World War II, the 8th Route Army infiltrated itself behind Japanese lines in Northern China, where it established many bases of operations. It recruited Chinese semi-trained militia. The army grew from 30,000 troops in July 1937 to 156,000 in 1938 and 400,000 in 1940. Reduced to about 300,000 by the fierce fighting between 1941 and 1944, its size almost doubled to a total of 600,000 men in 1945.
Following the end of World War II, the 18th Army Group was incorporated into the new People's Liberation Army. Units from the former 8th Route Army were active in the 1948 capture of Manchuria (Northeast Provinces) from the Nationalists, which placed the communist forces in a position to take North China and turn the civil war in their favour.
materials on its unit histories, as one means to build an understanding of it in the present age. Any AE representation of
Chinese military forces must be a compromise - in part due to slot limitations - and in part because of limited time to do research.
Even if one has a lot of time, and a lot of material, it will not due to spend decades on this one item. Finally, game code has some
special features in re China - for which reason it isn't entirely necessary to have every reinforcement in the OB. Units will tend
to come back - becoming in effect the reinforcements. All comments below are made in this context: the AE OB is almost a matter
of art - chosing what to include - and what characteristics to give it? Even so, purists may find some of my comments useful to
a better order of battle than is in stock. Note also that some units (and locations) are borrowed from Reluctant Admiral and from
other mods.
The Red Army is substantially misrepresented. It more or less includes two corps - the New 4th Army (smaller of the two) and the 18th
Group Army (which is a renamed 8th Route Army - as from 1938). For this reason, the 4th Corps (and/or Field Army) should be redesignated as Red - and assigned to the communist command. The 8th Route Army should be renamed - and the 18th corps (and/or field Army) should not be used. More on the corps - Field Army thing in the next post - on the ROC system. But there is also one more element: much of the Red Army was independent of division structures - and for that reason - the guerilla formations should be included. Extensive testing indicates that the RHS guerilla formations - with some daily supply in the UNIT - work fine in AE - and permit these small units to contest lines of communications even when deep in enemy territory. The Red ones are carefully crafted so daily supply = non-battle requirements if the unit is at full strength. Thus the unit will tend to grow to full size if inactive - faster if outside supply is available - and not to stockpile supplies greatly (which might feed other units in the hex). We do not include enough of these units - see the material below for an idea of numbes serving. But we have enough to be a problem - and add one more every year as a crude way to have the problem grow. The Red ones should have good leaders, but even without them the "staff officer" does remarkably well. The units tend to retreat under pressure - rather than to surrender - although when odds exceed 100:1 in land combat - they will surrender. Note that one division of the Red Army is not assigned its leader - as defined in the material below. The 129th should have Liu bocheng as CO. The 18th "army group" (group army) should have Yen Hsi-shan as leader. If assigned to the Red command the de facto Red control is preserved.
Eighth Route Army
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Eighth Route Army (simplified Chinese: °Ë·¾ü; traditional Chinese: °Ë·܊; pinyin: b¨¡l¨´-j¨±n) was the larger of the two major Chinese communist forces that formed a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China which fought the Japanese from 1937 to 1945. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Communist Party of China and not the ruling Kuomintang. The Eighth Route Army was one of the main military forces of the Communist Party of China, active during the Chinese Civil War and the Second Sino-Japanese War. The political leader of the Communist Party of China was Mao Zedong, and their military leader was communist general Zhu De.
Eight Route Army in Shanxi, under Blue Sky with White Sun army flag.
The communists' Red Army (later the People's Liberation Army) had first been "formed" in 1927 when the Nationalist 27th Division mutinied. After ten years of fighting, though, in 1937, Japan invaded China proper. To counter this threat, the Communists and Nationalists formed the United Front (the anti-Japanese alliance between the Chinese Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Communists). Most Communist forces wore either Nationalist uniforms or civilian clothes.
The two main Communist forces were the New Fourth Army and the Eighth Route Army (the larger of the two), called such after their nominal designations in the Chinese national army. Consisting of three divisions (the 115th, the 120th, and the 129th, commanded by Lin Biao, He Long, and Liu Bocheng respectively, the 8th Route Army's main advantage during World War II was its ability to blend in with Japanese forces when behind enemy lines. Also, the Communist forces could easily attack Japanese supply lines and small garrisons. The 8th Route Army had also engaged in political and propaganda work, helping to increase communist support among the populace.
Formed in 1937 at the time of the second United Front, the 8th Route Army was headed by Mao Zedong's old comrade in arms Zhu De but was placed under the overall direction of the Nationalist government. In 1938 the 8th Route Army was reorganized as the 18th Army Group under the 3rd Military Region commanded by Nationalist Yen Hsi-shan. In practice, however, the army remained under Zhu De's control and operated independently of the Nationalists, especially after 1941, when relations between the Communists and Nationalists had deteriorated.
At the start of World War II, the 8th Route Army infiltrated itself behind Japanese lines in Northern China, where it established many bases of operations. It recruited Chinese semi-trained militia. The army grew from 30,000 troops in July 1937 to 156,000 in 1938 and 400,000 in 1940. Reduced to about 300,000 by the fierce fighting between 1941 and 1944, its size almost doubled to a total of 600,000 men in 1945.
Following the end of World War II, the 18th Army Group was incorporated into the new People's Liberation Army. Units from the former 8th Route Army were active in the 1948 capture of Manchuria (Northeast Provinces) from the Nationalists, which placed the communist forces in a position to take North China and turn the civil war in their favour.