Chapter 2 Summary of infantry weapons of World War II

During World War II, the national army had a wide variety of weapons. This is because at the beginning of the founding of the Republic of China, there were many political parties and warlords were divided into separate regimes. Warlords in various places had their own sources of weapons procurement. There was no standard standard for self-made weapons, and industrial processing capabilities were also different. Even for the same type of firearms, the quality of the firearms produced in various places is also uneven. In addition, the warlords in various places have modified the firearms produced according to their own conditions. The common situation, if subdivided, the national army has hundreds of varieties of rifles alone, and one type of rifle may have more than 10 variants that cannot be used universally. As a result, the national government itself cannot accurately According to statistics, how many kinds of firearms and artillery were equipped in various parts of China at that time. Finally, in the 1930s, the national army began to reorganize its armaments, advocating the use of unified standard weapons to replace all kinds of messy weapons, but it was impossible in practice. After the reorganization of armaments, the national army still The equipment is messy, and there are 4 different calibers for the light rifle, and even if the rifles have the same caliber, the ammunition may not be universal. This has become a nightmare in terms of logistics support, and the overall coordinated combat effectiveness of the army is extremely low.

Nowadays, there are many people who use statistics to say that during the Anti-Japanese War, the national army possessed famous brand weapons from various countries and was powerful. During the Anti-Japanese War, more defeats and fewer victories were the factors that caused the troops to be incompetent and unintentional. , 300mm, 225mm, 215mm, and 203mm heavy artillery, but the Japanese army did not use battleships and cutting-edge heavy cruisers to participate in the battle. The largest caliber of naval guns invested by the Japanese Navy was only 200mm. As for the largest caliber of artillery invested by the Japanese Army, it was only 240mm. The army also has the advantage of heavy artillery caliber and so on.In addition, there are theories about the superiority of light weapons, the theory of the superiority of heavy artillery calibers, the theory of the invincibility of Czech machine guns, and so on.It seems that the Japanese army invaded China with inferior armaments and military strength.

In fact, those heavy artillery with a caliber advantage are just relics of the Qing Dynasty. They are mainly Armstrong front/breech steel guns and some Krupp steel guns that were eliminated from abroad when the Shanghai Wusong Fort was established during the Westernization Movement of the Qing Dynasty. The farthest 310mm Armstrong muzzle-loading steel gun has a maximum range of only 7 kilometers. It is impossible to hit the shells from the Wusong Fort to the Japanese positions. Moreover, the shells are loaded from the muzzle, and only 2 shells can be fired per hour. For those with new artillery The Japanese army did not pose a threat at all, and they were all destroyed by Japanese artillery fire without firing a single shot. The Armstrong steel guns and Krupp steel guns on these forts were basically outdated earth guns. It was outdated during the war, and it was just some fort guns from the era of steam sailboats. It is unrealistic to use such extremely outdated local guns to boast about the superiority of heavy guns in caliber.

The weapons of the national army during the Anti-Japanese War generally have uneven performance and poor equipment. Here are some standard weapons and weapons of the national army: 1. Carbine This type of carbine is the iconic weapon of the German Armed Forces of the National Army. Carbines were sold to China in large quantities in the 1920s, and China also purchased blueprints for self-production, known as the official rifle. The main opponent of this gun in the Chinese battlefield is the Japanese 38-type rifle. Compared with the carbine, the carbine has advantages in the initial velocity of the projectile and the killing power, but the Japanese 38-type rifle has an absolute advantage in shooting accuracy. Skilled shooters on both sides use the 38-type Type rifles can easily hit individual targets at a distance of 300 meters, but the carbine can only accurately hit the target at a distance of 200 meters. As for the domestic short-barrel carbine, the accuracy is lower. Because the national army is absolutely inferior in terms of artillery fire, it cannot rely on artillery fire to suppress the Japanese army at a long distance, so the accurate shooting distance of the rifle is too close to lead to serious consequences. On the battlefield, there are often national army troops that have not entered the effective shooting distance Most of them were killed and wounded by the Japanese army, especially after the middle of the war, the national army could no longer guarantee enough supply of standard × 57mm heavy-tip bullets and × 57mm light-tip bullets. However, a large number of miscellaneous brands were used for carbines. At that time, the accuracy of carbines was lower, especially for short-barreled carbines. The accurate shooting distance on the battlefield was usually only about 100 meters, which was difficult to pose a threat to the Japanese army. In the photos, there are often scenes of Japanese soldiers in groups, talking and laughing, not looking for cover, sitting or standing, aiming and shooting at the national army positions. The reason is that the accurate shooting distance of the national army rifles is not enough. At that distance, the Japanese army Rifles can still hit the target accurately, but the rifles of the national army have a short accurate shooting distance. It is a waste of bullets to fire back at such a distance. Without artillery support to use, the Japanese army can only let the Japanese army run rampant.

2. Mosin-Nagant M1891/30 Rifle This gun is a weapon supported by Maozi. During the Battle of Xuzhou, Maozi began to provide arms to the national army. After that, the national army also began to buy weapons from Maozi. M1891/30 rifles were imported to China in large quantities. M1891/30 rifles used × 54mm convex bottom edge Sharp ammunition, the barrel length is 730mm, the full length of the gun is 1234mm, and the weight of the empty gun is only 100mm. The shooting accuracy of this rifle is quite high, which can almost compete with the Japanese Type 38 rifle, but the number of equipment is not very large, only a few elite troops are equipped.The shooting sound of this rifle is different from that of the German rifle. Once the Japanese army heard the sound of this gun firing, they would usually be careful. There are two reasons for this. The first is because the shooting of this type of rifle is quite accurate. If the opponent uses This kind of rifle shooting is very dangerous for the Japanese army to casually expose their whole bodies on the front line.The second is that this type of rifle is mainly equipped with a few battle-tested elite troops. If you encounter troops using this rifle on the battlefield, it means that the opponent is by no means weak, so you must be careful to deal with it.This type of rifle caused many casualties to the Japanese army during the Battle of Changsha and the Battle of Hengyang. The 74th Army and the 10th Army deployed by the National Army in the Changheng area used the Mosin-Nagant M1891/30 rifle. The evaluation of the rifle is also quite good. It is believed that the enemy who fights with the Mosin-Nagant M1891/30 rifle should not be underestimated and should be dealt with carefully.

3. Springfield M1903 Rifle This type of rifle is a U.S.-aided weapon. It fires × 63mm sharp bullets. It is the most powerful rifle equipped by the national army. The size of this type of rifle is not long and easy to carry. The barrel length is only 610mm. , just the dimensions of the carbine.Moreover, although the M1903 rifle is short, it uses powerful bullets. The shooting accuracy should be very bad, but the shooting accuracy of this gun is very high, no less than Maozi's Mosin-Nagant M1891/30 rifle, and The work is reliable, and there are almost no failures on the battlefield. The Japanese army captured a large number of M1903 rifles in the early days of the Pacific War. They have conducted shooting tests. It has been confirmed that the shooting accuracy of the M1903 rifles is equivalent to that of the Japanese 99 short rifles. Strong structure, reliable action, very suitable for use in harsh environments.

However, this type of rifle was only equipped by the Chinese Expeditionary Force stationed in India during the Anti-Japanese War and a part of the national army who was trained later. It joined the war very late and did not have time to play any role. 4. M26 light machine gun This gun is a light machine gun purchased from Finland. Finland’s M26 light machine gun originally used Maozi’s × 54mm convex-bottomed sharp ammunition, but China did not use Maozi weapons when importing this gun. Therefore, in order to simplify logistics, Finland requires Finland to export M26 to China. The light machine gun is modified to use × 57mm heavy pointed ammunition.The national army ordered 50,000 of this type of light machine gun, but in the end only received a small number, only more than 1,300, so its status in the war was not important.

The mechanism failure rate of the M26 light machine gun is very high. The Finnish army discovered that it is commonplace for the M26 light machine gun to get stuck during shooting, so it was nicknamed the stuck 26 light machine gun. The maintenance conditions of the national army are worse than those of the Finnish army. The failure rate of the M26 light machine gun on the battlefield is naturally higher, and the reliability rate is far inferior to the 11-year light machine gun of the Japanese army.However, the M26 light machine gun is by no means useless. Although the failure rate is higher than that of the Japanese 11-year model, its shooting accuracy is not inferior to that of the 11-year model, which is famous for its high precision. It is a very powerful weapon on the battlefield. M26, like the 11th year of the Japanese army, is often used as a sniper rifle on the battlefield.This type of light machine gun proved on the Sufen battlefield that its shooting accuracy was higher than any other machine gun on the Sufen battlefield at that time. It had extremely high accuracy whether it was single or burst, so it played a huge lethality.

On the Chinese battlefield, the M26 and the Japanese 11-year-old machine gun are basically equal opponents, but the number is far inferior to the Japanese 11-year-old light machine gun, and it is also far inferior to the ZB-26 light machine gun. In addition, the Japanese army has an absolute advantage in artillery power. The total results of the national army's M26 light machine gun are naturally far from being comparable to the Japanese army's 11-year light machine gun and the national army's ZB-26 light machine gun. 5. DP28 light machine gun This gun is a weapon aided by Maozi. It uses × 54mm convex bottom sharp bullets and is fed from a magazine. The national army usually uses a magazine with a capacity of 47 rounds. It can also be installed with a large magazine with a capacity of 60 rounds. The gun length is 1270mm, the empty gun is full weight, the shooting accuracy of this gun is average, the ammunition capacity is 1-2 times larger than other light machine guns of the national army, and the firepower is good. It seems to be very suitable for suppressing shooting. The guns began to be put into actual combat in large quantities, but there were many problems exposed in actual combat. They were completely unable to compete with the Type 96 light machine guns that the Japanese army began to use in large quantities on the battlefield at that time. A total of 2,500 were purchased, and the quantity was very small. However, this was not because the national army was unwilling to buy more, but because Maozi was afraid that providing a large amount of arms to the national army would cause the Japanese army to launch an attack on Maozi, so he exported them to the national army. There is a strict limit on the quantity of arms, so the national army does not have many woolen weapons, which cannot replace the many German and miscellaneous weapons.

Although the performance of this gun is not as good as the Japanese Type 96 light machine gun, and it has no advantage over other types of Japanese light machine guns on the battlefield, the price of this gun is very low, only equivalent to 1/10 of an American Thompson submachine gun! ! !The battlefield power is far more than the Thompson submachine gun! ! !This is very attractive to the national army, so the national army will ask for 100,000 guns. If the delivery is successful, then the DP28 will replace the ZB26 as the main light machine gun of the national army. With so many arms, when the arms deal with China was terminated, a total of 2,500 DP28 light machine guns, 50,000 Mosin-Nagant M1891/30 rifles, and 2,000 outdated Maxim machine guns were provided.

Due to the small number of woolen weapons, the national army had to distribute the woolen weapons to a few elite troops. Among the first batch of hairy mechanized troops was the famous 74th Army. In addition, the 10th Army was also a hairy army. These elite troops Launched a long-term contest with the Japanese army in the Hunan area. The DP28 light machine gun also participated in frequent battles. In the fierce battle with the Japanese army, the DP28 light machine gun exposed many problems. First of all, the firearm was too heavy and difficult to carry after the magazine was installed. It was not suitable for marching. When marching, the magazine had to be removed. The reaction speed is slow when encountering a sudden attack, and the installation speed of the magazine is not only slow, but also not strong when placed on the gun, and cannot withstand bumps. In addition, it is easy to jam when shooting continuously, and the failure rate is also high. In principle, this type Light machine guns are more suitable for position defense, but not so good for offensive operations. When the DP28 light machine gun was fighting in Hunan, the main opponent it encountered was the 96-type light machine gun, which was very difficult for the Japanese army. This light machine gun was a modification of the 11-year-old machine gun. The 11th type is comparable, very accurate, high reliability and not easy to break down, and the magazine replacement speed is fast, and the firepower is continuous. In the battle, the Japanese army once guarded the bunker and only one person manipulated the loading and shooting of three 96-type light machine guns. , The example of fighting for several hours, the heat dissipation of the Type 96 light machine gun barrel is not easy to be red hot, and the barrel is replaced very quickly. It is easy to march while carrying ammunition, so it is very good at dealing with sudden attacks. In comparison, the DP28 light machine gun is much inferior.However, the operation in Hunan is basically a defensive operation. The DP28 light machine gun can basically meet the operational needs of the national army and play a big role. 6. FN BAR M1930 light machine gun This gun fires × 57mm ammunition, the barrel length is 550mm, the total length of the gun is 1060mm, and the combat weight is purchased from Belgium. In the 1930s, China was definitely a loyal customer and big buyer of Belgian gun manufacturers. The central government and warlords around the world The private rich and gangsters are particularly keen to buy Belgian firearms. It is no bragging to say that as long as the firearms were manufactured in Belgium at that time, even if they were only short-term modified civilian models, they must be in the hands of China. Look at the Browning pistol, as many calibers and models as Belgium made, and as many calibers and models as China has imported, ranging from military and police models to gentleman and lady models.At that time, China, from military officers to soldiers, from officials to wealthy businessmen, from policemen to hooligans, from squires to dancers, was proud of owning a Belgian-made firearm. Gold lettering.Regardless of whether it is a soldier or a bandit, as long as it is carrying a Belgian-made firearm, even if it is an old musket that has been discontinued a long time ago, it will have to walk with pride. See, the guy on the uncle's shoulder is made in Belgium. Back then China's harpy is no less than today's China's harpy. The national army imported this type of machine gun from Belgium without any actual planning. Anyway, Belgian-made guns must be good, so we must buy some. In addition, the Belgian-made BAR machine gun fires ×57mm bullets, which coincides with the main force of the national army. The firearms and ammunition are the same, which is even better. Naturally, you need to buy more, and warlords from all over the country are on the horse. Since you bought it, I will buy some even if you buy it, so there is no exact number for how much you bought, but it is made in Belgium Since it is a famous brand of Jingle Bells, the price is naturally quite expensive, so although the warlords from all over the central government got on the horse and went to Belgium to buy machine guns, the quantity they bought was not much. The army is allotted some of these brand-name machine guns. These are not cheap items like the German box guns produced by Germany authorized by Belgium. If you really want to buy them on a large scale, you don’t have enough money in your pocket. After this Belgian-made BAR M1930 light machine gun was sent to China, once it was released to the army, I wished I could offer it to my father. The machine gunners polished it every day, and occasionally carried it outside for a stroll. It was really dazzling. .After the outbreak of the war, the BAR M1930 light machine gun also entered the battlefield. Although the actual combat performance is not outstanding, it is still very popular. This is of course a certain brand-name psychological factor, but the BAR M1930 light machine gun of the Belgian FN company It is indeed of excellent quality. It hardly breaks down on the battlefield. It does not need to be deliberately maintained. It can be picked up anytime and anywhere. It has a compact structure. It is easy to carry no matter it is marching or fighting. However, the gun's firing rate is not good, unless the enemy is close to a very close range, generally there is no need to fire continuously, and the magazine capacity is small, it is not suitable for the suppressive shooting task of the machine gun, it is like a rapid-fire rifle on the battlefield.Generally speaking, the BAR M1930 light machine gun has no outstanding combat performance on the battlefield, and is not as distinctive as the M26 light machine gun. However, its ruggedness and durability without picking bullets make all the troops love it on the battlefield. This BAR The M1930 light machine gun can be used as long as it has a × 57mm bullet. It can shoot all kinds of heavy-pointed bullets, light-pointed bullets, and round-nosed bullets. Like a bolt-action rifle, it does not pick bullets. In order to maintain the combat power of the Czech machine guns, the troops were troubled. In the army, the standard bullets were insufficient, and they mainly used stray old bullets or even remade bullets to make bullets. In difficult times, the performance of the BAR M1930 light machine gun without failure and without picking bullets is undoubtedly its biggest advantage. 7. Hotchkiss M1922 light machine gun This type of light machine gun is imported from France. It has a large number of equipment and its performance is not bad. It should be able to play a great role on the battlefield. It was rarely seen until the middle of the war.This type of machine gun is good in terms of performance alone, but the terrible thing is that the bullets of this machine gun are difficult to deal with.In addition to the central army, there are many warlords of this type of machine gun. After 1934, the national army began to adopt a standardized route. The regular army rifles were reduced from 13 calibers to 4 calibers. The number of French caliber rifles was not small, and they were not eliminated. However, this Hotchkiss M1922 light machine gun actually has 4 different types of ammunition that are in service with the national army at the same time, and there is no absolute majority of the models, and they are all about the same number. What's more terrible is that the barrel of this machine gun is difficult to self-made. Moreover, the internal parts of the Hotchkiss M1922 light machine gun that fires different bullets are different in size and cannot be interchanged, so it cannot be modified into a machine gun that fires the same type of bullet. Not only that, but all the bullets of this French weapon are fired with smokeless cotton. However, this Hotchkiss M1922 light machine gun is only suitable for firing smokeless cotton as propellant bullets. At that time, the production of smokeless cotton in China was small and the quality was unstable, so the bullets for this machine gun were basically imported. The model of this machine gun serving in the national army has 8mm bullets, some fires bullets, and some fires bullets. This French army rifle has the most bullets in the national army, and the dizzying thing is that this bullet has × 57mm And × 54mm, the same is true for a series of 75 caliber rifles of the national army. There are also × 57mm and × 54mm. I feel dizzy when I look at it, but this Hotchkiss M1922 light machine gun has models that fire 4 different bullets at the same time. It is difficult to produce bullets in the army, and some troops do not use these bullets except for a few Hotchkiss M1922 light machine guns. Therefore, this gun was troublesome to use before the war and should be cut. After the outbreak of the war As soon as this gun was on the battlefield, it naturally became the gun with the most troublesome ammunition supply. In order to equip the troops with this gun, the logistics and supply department was very busy. They barely lasted until the middle of the war. The loss of these machine guns was lost and replaced, and this uncle was no longer supported. Along with this machine gun, the 75-caliber rifles of the national army were basically replaced. 8. ZB26 light machine gun This type of light machine gun is imported from the Czech Republic. Due to the low price, the import quantity is relatively large. In addition, the structure is simple and the imitation requirements are not high. There are also imitation productions in various parts of the country. During the war alone, there were more than 40,000 domestic production. During the last war, the imports before the war and the number of imitations before the war, with a total equipment capacity of 100,000, were definitely China's well-deserved main machine guns at that time. Due to the huge number, both the regular army, the local army and the township militia were equipped. There are ZB26 light machine guns howling on all battlefields up and down the Yellow River, north and south, and the ZB26 light machine gun has naturally become the iconic weapon of the Chinese army. The ZB26 light machine gun has a barrel length of 602mm, a total length of 1165mm, and a weight of 9kg. It uses 20 rounds of straight magazines to feed ammunition, and fires × 57mm heavy-pointed bullets. The flame is obvious, and it is difficult to control the poor aim.The combat characteristics of this gun are very similar to the BAR M1930 light machine gun of Belgian FN company. The advantage is that the gun is compact in structure, durable and rarely breaks down.However, it is also difficult to control and have low precision when performing long bursts.In addition, the ZB26 light machine gun is only suitable for using × 57mm heavy-tip ammunition, and its performance will decrease if it fires × 57mm light-tip ammunition. ZB26 is quite picky about bullets. It can only fire standard bullets. Forged bullets and bullets with poor production quality and substandard specifications cannot be used. Obviously not as good as the BAR M1930 light machine gun of the Belgian FN company. The ZB26 light machine gun has high shooting accuracy and power when performing single burst or short burst shooting, but the accuracy is poor due to difficult control during long bursts. In addition, the heat dissipation performance of the ZB26 light machine gun is defective. The cartridge barrel will overheat. After the barrel is overheated, the bullets fired will lose stability, fly around without aim, and will land on the ground after flying far. There is almost no threat to the enemy. Although the ZB26 light machine gun The barrel can be replaced quickly, but frequent replacement of barrels on the battlefield is very annoying, and the national army does not have so many spare barrels for machine gunners to use for frequent replacement on the battlefield, so well-trained machine gunners Pay attention to this point when operating the ZB26 light machine gun, aim calmly, and only shoot single or short bursts at the enemy, so that the barrel will not overheat, and the shooting is accurate, the killing effect is good and the bullets are saved. The basis for the Japanese army to judge whether the enemy in front of them is a well-trained unit on the battlefield. If the Japanese army sees the enemy machine gunner on the opposite side and uses ZB26 light machine guns to shoot long bursts at the first sign of trouble, it can be judged that the Chinese troops in front of them are full of lack of training. Troops with combat experience recruits can easily win, otherwise they must be dealt with carefully. Generally speaking, the ZB26 light machine gun is not suitable for suppressing shooting like the BAR M1930 light machine gun of the Belgian FN company. It is also a rapid-fire rifle, and it is more difficult to serve than the BAR M1930 light machine gun. The light machine gun has no outstanding high performance. It is only because of its low price and easy acquisition that it lacks funds. China, which has backward industrial capabilities, chooses it as the main light machine gun. In a word, it is not because the ZB26 light machine gun has the best performance, but because it was the best light machine gun at that time. China has no choice. 9. Bofors M1930 75mm mountain gun One of the most cutting-edge suppression artillery during the Anti-Japanese War of the National Army was a product of the Swedish Bofors company. Its performance was enough to enter the world's most advanced 75mm mountain artillery. The artillery brigade, namely the 1st Artillery Brigade and the 2nd Artillery Brigade, used these treasures intensively to provide fire support for the elite groups of the national army. Although the losses were great during the war, they played a significant role. Among the artillery, this type of artillery has the greatest results.Compared with the new 94-type 75mm mountain gun corresponding to the Japanese army, this type of mountain gun has the advantage of a maximum range of nearly 300 meters, but its weight is also 200 kg heavier than the Japanese army's mountain gun, but it can still meet the battlefield movement requirements of the national army. When the Japanese 94-type 75mm mountain artillery or the 38-type 75mm field artillery, if the difference in quantity is not large, the simple artillery battle will not be inferior. Bofors M1930 75mm mountain gun uses L20 barrel, the maximum range is 9150m, and the whole gun weighs 785kg. The performance is quite good. 10. LeFH18 105mm howitzer During the war, the most cutting-edge 105mm howitzers of the national army were extremely rare. The LeFH18 105mm howitzers were cutting-edge artillery made in Germany, but they were expensive. Only more than 30 were purchased and organized into an independent artillery regiment to support the elite corps of the national army. The maximum range is 12325m, the weight is 1955kg, and the projectile is heavy. Due to the small number and the key care objects of the Japanese artillery and aviation, they were completely lost in the war.In terms of performance alone, the performance of the LeFH18 105mm howitzer is good. It is enough to compete with the Japanese 91-type 105mm field howitzer, but it cannot cope with the Japanese field heavy artillery. , so the loss is huge, and it will be lost soon. 11. FH18 150mm howitzer This gun is the most modern and powerful field cannon of the national army until the mid-1950s. The number is extremely rare. This gun is a special artillery imported from Germany. Due to its high price, the purchase quantity is as rare as the LeFH18 105mm howitzer, only 36 There is only one heavy artillery regiment. The German side made some modifications according to the requirements of the national army. The gun barrel is longer than the same type of artillery used by the German army, and the medicine chamber has also been enlarged. Therefore, the range is higher than that of the same type of artillery equipped by the German army. Further, the maximum range reaches 15000m. The FH18 150mm howitzer suffered great losses in the war, but a few survived the war and played a certain role during the war. Although the range of the FH18 150mm howitzer is relatively long, it cannot compete with the Japanese field heavy artillery and heavy artillery. Once it is used on the battlefield, it will definitely attract the attention of the Japanese army. Therefore, when using the FH18 150mm howitzer on the battlefield where the Japanese army’s long-range artillery threat is strong, it must be very careful. The position selection and firing timing must be very careful. In addition, support such as air defense is also essential.