A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

The Fengtian Army of China is a powerful force, with a complete army, navy, and air force, including infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineers, supply troops, and armored troops. Many of its weapons and equipment are even more advanced than those of the Central Army, especially its artillery, which is the largest in the country.

After the change of flags, the army was reorganized, and the army and division levels were abolished, forming relatively elite national defense brigades and weaker provincial defense brigades.

The force outside the Great Wall numbered over 20, including about 17 regular troops and 4 irregular troops. It consisted of 13 national defense brigades, 3 national defense cavalry brigades, 1 artillery brigade, 2 independent artillery regiments, 7 provincial defense brigades, 2 provincial defense cavalry brigades, 2 government guard regiments, and a number of land reclamation troops.

The brigade has three infantry regiments under its command, which is actually the organizational structure of a division. The brigade also has a heavy mortar company, a cavalry company, a special service company, and a communications company. Its main heavy firepower consists of six 150mm heavy mortars, but it does not have any artillery.

Each infantry regiment consists of 3 infantry battalions, 1 mortar company, 1 heavy machine gun company, and 1 field gun company, equipped with 6 80mm mortars, 12 heavy machine guns, and 4 Liaoning Type 14 37mm field guns.

Each battalion consists of four infantry companies, but lacks battalion-level heavy machine guns and mortar firepower.

Each company consists of 3 platoons and 12 squads. Light machine guns and grenade launchers are equipped to the squads. Each company has a total of 12 light machine guns and 12 grenade launchers.

Song Hongfei said, "The equipment of the Fengtian Army can be described as excellent. Not to mention other warlord troops, even the general Central Army troops cannot reach this level."

Wang Zhi nodded and said, "That's true. Each infantry squad has one light machine gun, and some even have a grenade launcher. In particular, each regiment has six 80mm mortars and four 37mm anti-tank guns. Other units really can't reach this level. The Kwantung Army is actually mainly equipped with light weapons, so the Fengtian Army is not inferior in terms of equipment."

Song Hongfei said, "The organization of the Fengtian Army is somewhat special. Its artillery is organized into independent artillery brigades and artillery regiments. Infantry brigades and below are not equipped with artillery, which is only deployed during wartime. However, this results in a lack of infantry-artillery coordination training during peacetime, which leads to problems in coordination and command during wartime."

Song Hongfei continued, "What I don't understand is that at the battalion level, it's one thing to not have mortars, but there are no battalion-level heavy machine guns. In wartime, if the regimental heavy machine gun company is assigned to the battalion, there will be many inconveniences. The heavy machine gun is the core of the basic infantry firepower. How can infantry tactical training be carried out in peacetime?"

Zhang Yi said, "It is indeed puzzling. A regiment has 12 heavy machine guns, which could be organized into battalion-level machine gun companies, with 4 machine guns per battalion. This would be beneficial in both peacetime and wartime."

Wang Zhi continued, "Have you noticed something else? It's not just the artillery and cavalry; the Fengtian Army has organized engineers into independent battalions and transport troops into training units, all under the control of the headquarters. It seems that these two auxiliary branches are not present below the brigade level."

"The disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Although they are not combat units, they still have a significant impact on the combat effectiveness and independent and sustained combat capabilities of the troops," Song Hongfei said after thinking for a moment.

"It's hard to fathom Zhang Shaoshuai's intentions. I even think it's to guard against several regional veterans who each have their own agendas. After all, they are a warlord army."

The three men also marked the troop deployment of the Fengtian Army in detail on the sand table and map.

In Liaoning Province, the garrison consists of 4 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry brigades, 1 independent 8th Artillery Brigade, 2 provincial defense brigades, and several other units. Among them are 7000 national defense personnel, provincial defense personnel, and miscellaneous troops, and over 6000 police personnel, totaling approximately 6 personnel. The main forces include:

独立第7旅，下辖3个步兵团及直属部队约8200人，还有一个装备12辆法国雷诺FT-17坦克的战车连。

The 12th Independent Brigade, with approximately 8000 men.

The Independent 19th Brigade consisted of only two regiments, totaling approximately 5800 personnel.

The 20th Independent Brigade, with approximately 8000 men.

The 3rd Cavalry Brigade, approximately 3500 men.

The 4rd Cavalry Brigade, approximately 3500 men.

The 2th Independent Artillery Brigade, comprising two heavy artillery regiments and equipped with 32 150mm howitzers, is stationed in Fuxin and has approximately 3000 personnel.

The Provincial Defense Brigade No. 1 consists of 3 infantry regiments and 1 cavalry regiment, with a total of approximately 7000 personnel.

The Second Provincial Defense Brigade, a cavalry brigade, has approximately 4000 personnel.

In addition, there were the 61st Regiment of the 19th Brigade, which served as Zhang Shaoshuai's bodyguard, more than 2000 students and instructors from the Military Academy, the supply and training team, and guards from various government agencies and arsenals, totaling about 7000 people.

In addition, there was the Police Corps, which was reorganized from the former 20th Division of the Fengtian Army, with about 6000 men. This unit was the only one that was prepared and organized to resist during the incident.

In Kyiv province, there are 6 infantry brigades, 1 cavalry brigade, 1 independent artillery regiment, 1 governor's guard regiment, and several other units. The main forces include:

独立第21旅、独立第22旅、独立第23旅、独立第24旅、独立第25旅、独立27旅、骑兵第4旅。

Deputy Commander-in-Chief's Guard Regiment.

10th Artillery Regiment.

In Heilongjiang Province, there are 3 infantry brigades, 1 cavalry brigade, 3 provincial defense brigades, 1 government guard regiment, 1 agricultural reclamation army (brigade), and several other units. The main forces include:

Independent 26th Brigade, Independent 28th Brigade, Independent 29th Brigade.

2nd Independent Cavalry Brigade.

The Guard Regiment of the Deputy Governor's Office of Longjiang.

The 1st Provincial Defense Brigade, the 2nd Provincial Defense Brigade, and the 3rd Provincial Defense Brigade.

Longjiang Reclamation Army (Brigade)

The garrison in Retba province consists of one infantry division and one brigade, two cavalry brigades, one security cavalry brigade, and several other units, totaling approximately 30,000 men. The main forces include:

The 36th Division consisted of three infantry brigades, one cavalry regiment, one artillery regiment, and one engineer battalion and one supply battalion, totaling approximately 15,000 men.

The 22nd Independent Infantry Brigade, with approximately 6000 men.

The 17th Independent Cavalry Brigade, approximately 2500 men.

The 19th Independent Cavalry Brigade, approximately 2500 men.

The First Security Cavalry Brigade, approximately 2000 men.

The Rehe Special Agent Team consisted of approximately 1000 people.

In addition, there are troops under the command of 8 garrison commanders and 3 guard districts.

Based on the extensive intelligence gathered, Song Hongfei, Wang Zhi, and Zhang Yi carefully compared the troop strength of both sides, and their hearts sank:

The Kwantung Army had approximately 1.5 regular troops, mainly equipped with light weapons. In addition, there were more than 1 auxiliary troops, including soldiers and police officers who were urgently recruited, bringing the total to about 2.5. Even if all the "Korean Army" troops were used for support, the total number was no more than 5.

The total military strength of the Eastern Kingdom is approximately 32, of which 23 are in the army, stationed in various locations including the mainland, the Korean Peninsula, and Taiwan. This means the available manpower is at a disadvantage. Due to the impact of the global economic crisis, the Eastern Kingdom government has continuously reduced its military spending, with most of its military expenditure going towards naval competition. The army possesses only about 50 tanks and over 300 aircraft, and its overall technological equipment is not advanced.

The Fengtian Army had a force of over 20 outside the Great Wall, equipped with aircraft, tanks, and artillery, including hundreds of cannons of 75mm caliber or larger. The variety and quantity of these weapons were unparalleled in the country, even surpassing the army of Japan.

The Fengtian Army had purchased more than 30 advanced Renault tanks and more than 20 armored vehicles from abroad, and the 7th Brigade of Beidaying had 12 tanks.

At that time, Japan had just developed usable tanks, and the Kwantung Army, which participated in the war, did not even have tanks, only a few lightly armored cars, which could not compete with the Fengtian Army's tanks.

The main aircraft that the Eastern Army could deploy in combat were a single air wing stationed in Korea. The Kwantung Army's air force had been disbanded years earlier, and its fanatical operational plans had never even considered air support.

The Fengtian Army Air Force has more than 200 usable aircraft of various types, more than all other military forces in the country combined.

Tragically, the Fengtian Air Force did nothing, and the pilots were all on leave. In the end, about 110 combat aircraft and more than 40 training aircraft, totaling about 160 aircraft, were captured. Among them, most of the more than 80 relatively new aircraft that had been purchased just one or two years earlier fell into enemy hands.

However, a crucial factor was that, due to the limited range of combat aircraft at the time, the Fengtian Air Force actually had a complete advantage in ground stations, and the Japanese Air Force could not gain any advantage in a hasty start to the war.

Japan's greatest advantage was its navy, with a total tonnage of approximately 30 tons, ranking third in the world after Britain and the United States, far surpassing China in strength. However, the navy's role in attacking the Kwantung Army was relatively limited, and the Kwantung Army's naval forces had already been largely disbanded.

At that time, the total tonnage of the Chinese navy was less than 5 tons, with about 5400 officers and soldiers. The Fengtian navy had 27 warships with a total tonnage of 3.3 tons, including 3 cruisers, 8 seaplanes, and 2 marine corps, with a total strength of about 3300 people, which could be said to be the best in the country.

However, there was actually no need to compare the strength of the navies, because the Fengtian naval leadership had no intention of going to war. Almost all of the Fengtian navy's warships were anchored in Jiaozhou Bay, and after the incident, they coexisted peacefully with the Japanese navy. Meanwhile, the Fengtian river defense fleet was trapped on the Songhua River with nowhere to go, and its ships were subsequently captured.

Fengtian Army also has a relatively complete military industrial system, with an arsenal that is "the best in Asia". It can produce not only rifles, light machine guns, heavy machine guns, mortars, mountain guns and howitzers, but also 150mm heavy howitzers. The production capacity of bullets, mountain gun shells and howitzer shells can also meet the needs, and it can basically achieve self-sufficiency in weapons and ammunition.

The three agreed that the Kwantung Army was outnumbered and outgunned, and that Japan did not have the capability or preparation for a large-scale invasion.