Most of the photos shown here are from Chinese sources dated 1935-37.
Information on WWII Chinese forces is rare and hard to find. The best readily available source is the excellent Osprey book entitled "Chinese Civil War Armies 1911-49".
The second world war started for China in the early 1930's, when Japanese military forces invaded China and began an absolutely savage series of endless attacks on Chinese cities and civilian populations. The Chinese were extremely unprepared for the Japanese assaults and finally began to seriously gear up for a prolonged war against Japan.
The uniforms and equipment used by the various Chinese defense forces were quite varied and sometimes unique. The figures shown in the photos above are German trained Nationalist troops as seen in 1937-38. The German model 1935 helmets are worn here and the "Chiang Kai-shek" rifle is a Chinese made copy of the German Mauser 98k.
Here we see another picture illustrating the German influence on Chinese forces including the cut of the uniforms and the European car.
The photo above shows General Stillwell presenting awards to Chinese soldiers during WWII. These troops are dressed in the cotton uniform that is often associated with the Chinese communist units.
The soldier in the photo directly above is a member of the Nationalist army "Big Sword" unit.
These soldiers are being presented with quilted padded cotton vests to help keep them warm at the front.
After receiving their vests, it's back to the front for these Nationalist Chinese troops.
ARMOR IN CHINA
The Chinese bought tanks from many countries to equip their armored units in the 1930's and 40's. Here we see a German Pz 1 being used in a training exercise in 1936.
This German armored car was photographed in 1938 in China.
The original captions for the two photos of the Chinese British Mk 6 tanks state that the vehicles are in Chinese hands and attacking the Japanese. Upon closer examination, it would appear that both of the Chinese vehicles have been knocked out and captured by the Japanese.
The above photos show an assortment of different nationality's vehicles that were all used by the Chinese from 1930-45.
We are working on a few "China Front" projects here at HCM, they will be offered to Warriors when they are done. So keep your eyes open for more unique subject releases in the coming year. If you have any questions or comments feel fre to contact us at hardcorpsmodels.com
