HCB Chapter 112 The Japanese Are Not Gentlemen
Chapter 112 The Japanese Are Not Gentlemen
"Captain Zhang, don't worry, I will collect the artillery you want as soon as possible, and I will collect more for you." Rick also assured Zhang Wenwu of what he had said in a timely manner.
After hearing what Rick said, Zhang Wenwu immediately thanked Rick and said that Rick could help him collect as many artillery as possible.
While the two were chatting, Smith came to the restaurant from the yard after explaining his affairs. He simply packed some food, then came to the dining table with a plate and a glass of liquor and sat down. He ate dinner while listening to the two chatting.
"Captain Zhang, you are so anxious to buy artillery. Is something big going to happen?" Smith asked curiously after taking a few bites of food and wiping his mouth.
When Zhang Wenwu heard Smith's question, he thought silently for a while and said, "Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Rick, Major Smith, as the British military attachés in China, you must be able to obtain some intelligence. As an emerging power in Asia, Japan has been seeking external expansion over the years. They successfully annexed Korea in 1910 and included Korea in their territory. Then they used Korea as a springboard to continuously infiltrate into our Chinese territory. In 1931, they directly launched an armed incident and occupied our Northeast region of China by force. In 1933, they found an excuse to armedly invade our Rehe Province. In the past one or two years, they have gradually expanded the army's vanguard to the vicinity of Peking City, and have been eyeing our North China region. In Shanghai, the Japanese government used the excuse of the December 12 Incident some time ago to send thousands of marines to Shanghai. These situations make me worry and anxious."
After hearing what Zhang Wenwu said, Rick and Smith looked at each other. How could they not know these things? As military attachés of the British Empire stationed abroad, one of their duties was to collect and evaluate intelligence on the military and combat capabilities of the countries they were in.
Rick thought for a moment, took a few puffs of his cigar and said, "Captain Zhang, we understand your concerns. It is true that the Japanese have expanded very rapidly in recent years, but you also know that the politicians of the British government are now pursuing a policy of "appeasement." They have always wanted to use the Japanese in the Far East to hold back the Soviet Union. They think the Soviets are much more dangerous than the Japanese. Therefore, in the Far East, countries have given the Japanese a lot of freedom. But you said that the Japanese want to continue to invade China's North China region. I think it's too early. After all, they still need to digest the Chinese land they occupied before. From the information I have received so far, what you are worried about should take another three to four years to happen. Smith, you have been to the British Embassy in Japan before. What do you think about this?" After Rick finished speaking, he asked Smith. He really wanted to know what Smith thought about this matter.
Smith took a sip of the liquor in the glass, then stared at the glass in his hand and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Rick, I don't know much about what happened in China a few years ago, but I think Captain Zhang's worries may really happen. During my time in Japan, I also came into contact with some intelligence about Japan's targeting China. I can only say that you may have evaluated the Japanese too rationally. According to my contact and understanding with Japanese soldiers, they are a group of very crazy guys, so crazy that they dared to violate some plans made by the headquarters and act on their own. Japanese politicians, on the other hand, are all thinking about expanding their territory, and it is rare to see rational people."
After hearing what Smith said, Zhang Wenwu took it to heart. It seemed that Smith had not stayed in Japan for so long in vain, and he had some understanding of the Japanese.
After Smith took another sip of wine, he said to Zhang Wenwu, "However, Captain Zhang, please allow me to make a more pessimistic view of the outcome of the war between your country and Japan. When I was in Japan, I visited Japan's military training and exercises, and I also have a certain understanding of the organization and construction of the Japanese army. To be honest, I am not optimistic about your country's performance in a possible war. I have been in China for almost half a year, and Lieutenant Colonel Rick has provided me with a lot of information about your Chinese army. To put it bluntly, I still haven't figured out what the regular organization of your Chinese army is like. It's too complicated." After Smith finished speaking, he spread his hands in front of Rick and Zhang Wenwu, indicating that he really did not understand and comprehend this matter.
Rick felt that Smith was too straightforward, so he smiled and explained to Zhang Wenwu: "Captain Zhang, Smith did not mean to belittle your army. He was just curious. When I first read the information, I also felt it was a bit incredible." After taking a sip of coffee, Rick continued to explain: "Captain Zhang, do you know how many armies your country has nominally belonged to the government so far? There are a total of 191 infantry and cavalry divisions, 56 independent infantry, cavalry, and artillery brigades. According to the organization, you have more than 200 million troops. This scale has greatly exceeded the current number of Soviet army. You must know that the Soviet Union now has only more than one million army. However, for your country's large-scale army For the army, the corresponding combat effectiveness is really unacceptable. As for what Smith couldn't understand, it was that the armies of different systems in your government had officers from different backgrounds, a variety of military supply systems and equipment systems, and even different organizations. Just taking the organization of the infantry divisions of the army as an example, there are 3 regiments, 2 brigades and 4 regiments, 3 brigades and 6 regiments, 3 brigades and 9 regiments, etc. It is really a headache to figure out the combat sequence of your Chinese troops. What's more interesting is that even the unit numbers may be repeated. The same number of armies and divisions are not a rare thing for your Chinese army, but for us, it is an extremely surprising and incredible thing. "
After listening to Rick's explanation, Zhang Wenwu couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart. He knew that Rick was talking about the actual situation, and Rick knew the details better than he did, but he had no other choice. He could only try his best to do what he could.
As we all know, there are historical reasons for this situation. The Chinese National Revolutionary Army originated from the Whampoa Military Academy established in Guangzhou in 1924. This is why the direct troops of the highest authorities are called the Whampoa system. However, the Whampoa system army is not the entire Chinese National Revolutionary Army. As early as the beginning of the Northern Expedition, the Northern Expedition Army included local system troops such as Hunan, Guangdong, and Guangxi. Later, with the development of the Northern Expedition, a large number of troops from the original Beiyang Army system were incorporated and reorganized into the Chinese National Revolutionary Army. The National Revolutionary Army, which was not pure enough, became a hodgepodge.
After the Northern Expedition, there were wars between the supreme authorities and the Guangxi clique, the war between the supreme authorities and Tang Mengxiao, and the subsequent Central Plains War. The supreme authorities fought several major battles with their former comrades-in-arms and incorporated countless armed forces from various factions. The Chinese government's army hodgepodge became more and more lively.
Rick saw that Zhang Wenwu was not in a good mood. After thinking for a while, he whispered to Zhang Wenwu: "Captain Zhang, I have some news that should make you happy."
When Zhang Wenwu heard that Rick had good news to tell him, he asked curiously, "Lieutenant Colonel Rick, what's the news?" Smith also moved closer with a curious look on his face, ready to listen.
“是这样的，我得到的最新消息，贵国政府正在准备全军大整编，整编主要是裁撤很多名不副实的师、旅单位，同时加强各部队技术兵种，目标计划是参照各国陆军师的编制,用上三四年的时间将华夏陆军统一编成60个步兵师，每个步兵师下辖2个旅4个步兵团、1个炮兵团、1个补充团再加上工兵营、通信兵营、辎重兵营、骑兵连各1个。这样的话齐装满员的一个步兵师的编制人员约一万七千人，同时计划一个师共装备有马步枪大约9400支、驳壳枪2940支、手枪108支、重机枪92挺、轻机枪294挺、步兵炮30门、小炮20门、山野炮36门，甚至某些重要部队还可能配备150毫米榴弹炮4门。”瑞克小声的给张文武透露出了一个他新得到的消息。
After hearing Rick's news, Zhang Wenwu was indeed happy, so he hurriedly asked: "Lieutenant Colonel Rick, what else do you know? How long will this plan take to complete?" He had no doubt about the accuracy of the information Rick got. With the power of the British in the National Government, they would definitely obtain a lot of important information.
"Captain Zhang, this matter has actually been pushed forward and implemented. It is being managed by the German advisers in your government. I know that you now have several infantry divisions that have completed the basic re-equipment and organizational improvements. You call them adjustment divisions internally. I also know that your highest authorities have reached a very large agreement with the German government to purchase a full set of equipment for 40 divisions from Germany. According to the plan, it should be fully completed by 1938. But I also know that the Japanese seem to be protesting to the German government. So, Captain Zhang, this is why I began to judge that if your country wants to go to war with Japan, it will take three to four years, because your government is not ready for this war." Rick told all the information he knew.
Zhang Wenwu understood what Rick meant. Rick felt that based on the arrangement of the Chinese government, the Chinese government was not ready for a full-scale war with Japan. If even the government was not ready, then what was the point of fighting? Facing the pressure from the Japanese, they could only keep giving in. In Rick's view, fighting a war that was not prepared was completely unbelievable.
But Zhang Wenwu knew that the Japanese would not give the Chinese government so much time to prepare, nor would the Japanese be as gentlemanly as Rick thought, where everyone would prepare themselves before getting ready for a fight.