Canteen System Assistance Notes

Infantry light weapons can basically be found in inventory and only require a quick overhaul before being packed and dispatched. The 37mm anti-tank gun has a huge production capacity and can be adjusted at any time. Mountain guns and howitzers need to be scheduled for production. Field guns are improved upon the "Miss 75" and require very little man-hours to complete the preparation, packaging and dispatch. Trucks require coordination with several major automakers and assemblers, but the Nationalist Army's requirements are not too excessive, so the problem is not too serious...

They also proactively helped the Nationalist Army inquire about the report's requirements for "individual artillery" and "large-caliber mortars." Someone suggested that the "bazooka" and "chemical mortar" currently being tested by the Ordnance Department might just meet these two requirements. The theater office even sent letters specifically to several American submachine gun manufacturers, asking if they had the "submachine gun with a bayonet lug and bayonet attachment" the Nationalist Army needed.

Soon, the military needs were almost sorted out. A series of military orders and transportation plans began to be arranged from the second half of 1942 to five years later. The Americans did not know when the war would end, so they made a plan based on five years. With so many weapons and equipment delivered step by step, the Chinese would have no problem arming a million-man army.

But why do the Chinese troops in the south need so many miscellaneous items? Uniforms, helmets, canteens, and even so much rations? Southern China isn't Siberia like the Soviet Union. I heard it's warm there and can grow a lot of food."

There was a young office worker who had worked overtime for 6 hours. He sipped bitter coffee, leaned back in his chair, looked up at the list of supplies held in the air, and complained in English with a slight Italian accent.

In order to help the American people understand the complex situation in China, the United States simplistically claimed in its domestic propaganda that "China was fighting a civil war before the Japanese invasion." As a result, the material distribution department of the China-India-Burma Theater Office was also divided into the "North China (CCP) Group" and the "South China (preserved fruit) Group" - this guy named Mike has been working overtime in the "South China Group" for almost a week.

"The Soviets are just buying canned food from us... Chinese guy, let me ask you, what does this 'hei tlieh pi yu tung' stand for?"

"Black iron oil drums are made of thin steel sheets rolled at room temperature and are primarily used to store fuel." A bespectacled Chinese employee looked up and spoke fluent, accent-free English. "They're what we often call 'standard oil drums,' and come in sizes from one gallon to ten gallons."

"Oh, that's easy. We can just ship 'hei t'ieh pi' to the Chinese and they can process it into oil drums themselves."

"I'm afraid not, Mike. Look at the note below this requirement—China lacks factories capable of welding and barrel making. Simply shipping black iron sheets to them is useless."

"This is terrible. Shipping empty oil drums... how much transportation capacity will be wasted?" Mr. Mike rubbed his increasingly thinning hair again, feeling a headache. "Now if we want to ship things into China, we either have to go through a big detour through the Middle East or use an airplane to transport them. Shipping empty oil drums... is simply a crime."

"You might be able to put the fuel they need in barrels and transport it over together to reduce waste." The Chinese employee said without surprise.

"Mike, you don't need to be surprised. My family has been coming to the United States since my grandfather's generation.

China itself is a very backward country. As long as there is any product with a little bit of industrial capacity, they can only rely on imports.

It's a solution, but it doesn't solve the problem. At this rate, every time we plan for material transportation, we'll be as busy as we are today. It's strange to say, I didn't have to worry so much when dealing with those Communist Party representatives before.

"They don't want so many things, and their requirements are very precise, so we don't need to do any extra sorting. Oh, and even if you include all that miscellaneous equipment, it seems quite complicated... By the way!"

call!

Suddenly, Mike slammed the table. He stood up, emptied his cup of black coffee, and announced loudly, "Friends! I have an idea."

"The Lend-Lease Act contains detailed provisions regarding the source of leased materials. In special circumstances, in order to save transportation tonnage and the United States' financial expenditure, materials can be provided to the recipient country through local procurement.

"When I was working in the Northern China team, I worked on a project to expand an oil field and refinery." The Northern China government, that's the communist government, right? How did they transport fuel? It must have been barrels, so they must have the ability to process them!

"We could just ship the materials to them, or pay them directly in US dollars and hire them to produce oil drums for us, which we could then provide to the government in southern China. Furthermore, I imagine that the government in northern China could also produce at least some of the simple but high-volume items like rations, clothing, and water bottles."

"In this way, the United States saves transportation capacity and money, the Chinese get jobs and supplies, and we also reduce the workload - this is a win-win situation!"

Chapter 655: American Aid Story - Eighth Route Army

In the China-India-Burma Theater Office in Washington, the "South China Group" was working relentlessly overtime, even resorting to OEM (original equipment manufacturing) to ease their workload. Meanwhile, the "North China" team had a much easier time. The Eighth Route Army's supplies list submitted to the Americans was concise and clear. While the requested items were relatively advanced, the variety was not overwhelming, and the workload for the entire group was not too overwhelming.

It is even said that these communists sometimes even spent their own money to buy things that were not included in the "Lend-Lease Act", which made them seem more business-minded.

Therefore, on a certain undisclosed list, the "North China Government" was given a different priority level of aid than China's preserved fruit, namely the WIA level - lower than the United Kingdom, an equal ally, and Canada, the American backyard, but on the same level as Australia and the Soviet Union, and higher than "third-tier allies" such as China's preserved fruit and Brazil.

It was precisely because of this underlying hierarchy that the Eighth Route Army, far away in northwest China, truly experienced what American-style arrogance is.

-One One————One

"Mr. Dolan, I remember that the first batch of tanks we requested were for 'training', correct?"

"Yes, my dear king, it is indeed a training tank. What we sent here is also a training tank. There is no problem."

"But, Mr. Dolan, the two acres of M3 light tanks and M3 medium tanks parked here, as well as tractors, recovery vehicles and other modified vehicles - are all for training?" "Yes! These are only fifty or sixty of them. There are about 170 more M3 light tanks and more than 80 M3 medium tanks piled up at the port or in transit. They are all for your training."

Lieutenant Dolan Brooke, an employee of the US Army's office in the Eighth Route Army, was unfazed by the fuss of the Eighth Route Army's receiving personnel. "It's just a matter of the transport fleet making a trip. When transporting oil equipment and industrial equipment for you, these tanks are very heavy and make excellent ballast for efficiency and stability, significantly increasing the transport capacity of lighter cargo."

"As for this number... for the United States, as long as they crush the Japanese heads with their tracks, it won't be a big deal.

"So, my dear friend, there's no need to be too surprised—but I'm saying that land transportation is indeed inconvenient. If we hadn't brought over 300 oil well tractors with us this time, how long would it take to transport the goods with just those British and Soviet trucks you have..."

After hearing this kindhearted lieutenant's completely lacking self-awareness, the Eighth Route Army personnel in Xinjiang Province responsible for receiving the vehicle clenched their fists. Damn, they were shown off by a local tycoon.

As a more efficient and modernized regime, the Communist government in northern China began coordinating and negotiating with the United States regarding the delivery of American aid as early as May 1941, after President Roosevelt announced the application of the Lend-Lease Act to China. The outbreak of the Pacific War and the visit of a US delegation to the liberated areas further accelerated the arrival of US aid to China.

Through the on-site inspection visit of the US Navy delegation headed by Carlson, and the relevant information submitted by the Eighth Route Army, and after communication and coordination with the Eighth Route Army's negotiating representative in the United States Dong Xiancong and Acting Political Commissar Deng, the US side quickly shipped the first batch of supplies urgently needed by the Eighth Route Army.

A complete set of refinery kits produced by Mobil Oil and compatible with British refining equipment, American 125/100 aviation fuel refining components, core components of oil pumps, and pressurized oil seamless pipes that the Eighth Route Army could produce on its own but would occupy the production capacity of its gun barrels... These materials were unloaded in Iran, and then, through the agreement between China and the Soviet Union, occupied the Middle East Railway and the Soviet Railway to be transported to the Sino-Soviet border, and finally were gradually transported to where they were needed by the Eighth Route Army's Northwest Channel Transport Team.

These critical supplies significantly accelerated the construction of the second phase of the Yumen Oilfield project and enabled the early start of the third phase, with an annual production and refining capacity of 25 tons. By the end of 1943, the production capacity of the Yumen Oilfield under the Eighth Route Army's control was expected to exceed 60 tons/year. Combined with the expansion of the Yanchang Oilfield to 3 tons/year and a small amount of coal-to-oil equipment, the Eighth Route Army was able to increase its oil production capacity to 65 tons/year, not counting the refined oil produced through the canteen system.

To ensure oilfield construction, the Eighth Route Army also imported a number of large construction machinery and heavy trucks from companies like Caterpillar, Combine Harvester, and Delmont. "We have such a complex and massive demand in such a short period of time. Can you successfully meet it?"

At the time, the often inexperienced Eighth Route Army soldiers thoughtfully sent inquiries to the Washington office of the China-India-Burma Theater. Because industrial and agricultural production equipment took far greater priority than munitions and weapons in US procurement, the comrades in charge of the connection even sent a telegram to the Americans, suggesting that if transportation capacity was limited, only production equipment could be delivered, with the tanks and other munitions on the order temporarily delayed.

"No problem, don't worry." The American replied.

Because the Soviet Union was preoccupied with fighting Germany and had insufficient tank production capacity, it transferred a small number of BT-5 and BT-7M tanks to the Far Eastern Military Region and stopped sending any more tanks to the Eighth Route Army. While the Eighth Route Army turned to Britain to purchase tanks and armored vehicles such as the Valentine, American and even Canadian tanks also entered its selection range.

According to the Eighth Route Army's conception, the ME Stuart, with its adequate armor and light weight, should be a light tank more suitable for the Chinese battlefield and could serve as the main force. The "M4 Sherman" medium tank, with the largest production volume, although needed to accompany the pontoon troops in China, its armor and firepower were already considered "heavy" in China, and could be purchased in small quantities to serve as the spearhead of the armored forces.

However, at this point in 1942, the US military prioritized the M5 light tank, as the Sherman tank had not yet reached full mass production. Since the equipment couldn't wait for the arrival of the troops, the Eighth Route Army decided it would be a good idea to procure some tanks in advance—such as the M5's predecessor, the M3 tank, and the Canadian "Ram" tank, a conversion of the M3 medium tank—to train sufficient American tank crews.

The Eighth Route Army then applied to the Arms Allocation Committee for a battalion of training tanks.

But who would have thought that the Americans would send hundreds of them: not only the Stuart, but also the Ram tank's "father"!

This was not enough. They also said nonchalantly that the tanks were very heavy and were suitable to be delivered as ballast! The Eighth Route Army had no choice but to stare at the eyes blinded by the local tyrants and inspected the batch of tanks at the receiving yard in Xinjiang Province.

M3轻型坦克均是不带后缀的"WM3原版"，带着迷你的小炮塔和国军同款的37毫米炮;M3中型坦克则是使用焊接车体的M3A3"和使用铆接装甲M3A5°型，同样安装了37毫米炮，并在侧面有一门75毫米的榴弹炮。这两款M3坦克均按照八路的要求改装了柴油发动机，可以和八路现役的瓦伦丁柴油型通用燃料。

In addition, there are some T2 tank recovery vehicles with rescue cranes; mine-clearing engineer vehicles equipped with bulldozers and mine scopes - there are no such armored engineer vehicles in the US military's arsenal. These two accessories suitable for Ms. and Ms. tanks were customized by the Eighth Route Army at their own expense.

These vehicles were in very good condition, all newly produced, with no mileage other than test runs and moving. The heading, coaxial and commander's machine guns of each vehicle were all intact - it was a pity that they were all .30 Browning machine guns, which were not compatible with the Eighth Route Army's advanced ammunition - all kinds of spare parts and ammunition were fully included: the Eighth Route Army could even find a huge ammunition box in the cockpit of the M3 medium tank, which contained 50 drums filled with .45 ammunition and 2 brand new Thompson submachine guns.

"All tanks are guaranteed to be of the highest quality. If any of them have suffered water damage, you can use them as targets for anti-tank artillery."

Lieutenant Dolan Brooke, an employee of the U.S. Army's office in the Eighth Route Army, accompanied the Eighth Route Army in counting all the tanks that arrived in the first batch. He confidently assured them, "Those tanks will not be included in the list of aid supplies. The missing tanks will be replenished on the next liner. The freight will be paid by the insurance company, and our Chinese friends will not have to pay for it."

"Next, our main task is to transport the tanks one by one from this desolate Gobi Desert to the training grounds, and then one by one to the front lines," he added. "No problem, it's our duty."

The Eighth Route Army's receiving team gazed at the tanks, large and small, parked across a two-acre field. They lamented the American behavior, yet at the same time, they accepted this arduous mission with a mixture of pain and joy. They shook Lieutenant Brooke's hand vigorously: "All the truck regiments operating the Northwest Passage would likely have to deal with these tanks and heavy trailers for a long time to come."

But at that moment, the roar of engines echoed from the sky. Two light yellow fighter planes slowly emerged from the distant horizon and rapidly approached the tank-filled receiving area. The pilots, clearly attracted by the newly arrived tanks, circled the planes several times, waving their wings to signal the men on the ground.

Lieutenant Brooke noticed the fighter's large inverted gull-shaped wings.

"Are these the navy's 'pirates'? Their stuff has arrived too?"

"They arrived a long time ago, but the planes were packed in crates, with the wings, fuselage and propellers separated. We and our Soviet comrades reassembled them in the assembly workshop in Touhunhe. They should be testing flights now, right?" someone answered.

"That still seems inconvenient. It would take too much trouble to transport it by plane and then assemble it."

Lieutenant Dolan Brook nodded. "I have a suggestion. Next time you contact the Navy, tell them that transporting planes in crates is too much trouble. Why not...use an aircraft carrier?"

Chapter 656: Sino-Soviet Wartime Cooperation Plan (⑴) Give and Take

The Soviet people were facing aggression from the German Nazis, while the Chinese people were also suffering from aggression from the Japanese militarists. In the fight against fascist aggression, the Chinese and Soviet peoples were comrades-in-arms and fellow travelers. We empathize with the Chinese people's suffering.

I am deeply moved and at the same time deeply apprehensive about the Chinese people's selfless support for their Soviet comrades in such a critical situation... Now, on behalf of the Soviet people, please allow me to hand over this batch of supplies to the Chinese people...

Major General Dmitri Anatolyevich Midyvedevsky, the Soviet representative to the border region, briefly read a congratulatory message and shook hands cordially with Zuo Jiquan, Chief of Staff of the Eighth Route Army's Central Military Commission. The two signed their respective receipt and dispatch forms and exchanged lists of supplies. If this wasn't a small-scale handover meeting, there would have been a barrage of spotlights snapping, capturing this memorable moment.

After completing the handover, the two representatives walked side by side to the center of the hall, picked up a pair of scissors and cut a red rope, symbolizing that the handover of the materials was officially completed.

Behind them, a large-caliber, long-barreled cannon was firing high up.

She raised the barrel of her gun and pointed it at the clear blue sky.

While continuing to receive various logistical materials transported by return vehicles, the Soviet Union also received a lot of industrial products and even weapons and equipment produced in China.

The No. 2 early warning radar (Soviet special version) deployed in Moscow has been in continuous operation for a long time. Although it requires a fixed position, consumes more than 15 kilowatts of electricity, and occasionally explodes, overheats, and overcools... its ability to detect aircraft groups at a distance of about 400 kilometers in almost any weather conditions has made it the "guardian angel" in the eyes of Moscow's air defense forces.

In the first half of 1942, the Eighth Route Army transferred to the Soviet Union a special version of the same early warning radar, as well as a truck-mounted mobile deployment radar (F-type), capable of detecting single targets at a range of up to 120 kilometers. The Soviets reportedly intended to deploy these radars in Tikhvin near Leningrad to provide early warning to the fleet and air defense forces in the Lake Ladoga region, preventing German forces from disrupting transport routes across the lake.

At the same time, the Eighth Route Army also delivered anti-aircraft machine guns using 14.5mm ammunition to the Soviet Union.

This anti-aircraft machine gun designed by Comrade Alexey Ivanovich-Sudaev working in China is basically an original time and space version of the KPV anti-aircraft machine gun. The 49kg bare gun can be installed on a 3%kg tripod or a 105kg wheel frame to achieve automatic firing.

Based on the needless range and destructive power of the 14.5mm caliber, it can not only pose a threat to low-flying German and Japanese fighter planes, but can even destroy many lightly armored units. The troops conducting weapon testing in Shandong Province, China, once sent two such machine guns to the hills during the battle on the Jiaodong Peninsula, and then used this weapon alone to straf the remnants of a company of the retreating Japanese 10th Division until their organization collapsed and they surrendered.

Of course, the "handover" also included relevant technical documents, user manuals, and the gun's designer and engineer, Comrade Sudayev. After completing the production process at the Chinese arsenal, he will take the fruits of his labor to the Soviet Gorky Arsenal (the KPV machine gun is more like a cannon) to achieve effective mass production of this weapon there.

This reverse export of supplies led to a phenomenon: in the trade ledgers of the Eighth Route Army and the Soviet Union, China's deficit began to decrease rapidly after the outbreak of the Soviet-German War. Seeing that the Chinese comrades were sending more and more goods, the Soviet officials in charge of foreign trade had to come up with an unfamiliar idea.

If this continues, won't the Soviets end up owing money to their Chinese comrades?

The Soviet Union had no burden in taking things from the Yankees, as they basically had no intention of paying them back; but if they had to owe China money... the Russians would find it a bit difficult to accept.

Therefore, at least based on the principle of mutual exchanges and balanced trade accounts, the Soviet Union also asked the Eighth Route Army many times, saying that although its current production capacity was very tight and it could not provide technical equipment such as aircraft and tanks, it could still provide some other things.

China's Dawalishi, how about you take a look at this list? Okay, let's take a look.

Considering the current strain on domestic industrial capacity, and the fact that only the three northeastern provinces and the liberated areas under Japanese occupation could produce equipment of some technological significance, the central government selected from the Soviet Union's list of goods some items it could not currently produce, or which would require significant labor and sunk costs to produce, as "rewards" for the return of supplies.

One of them is the Soviet-made 1939 Model 52-K 85mm anti-aircraft gun.

Before the war, the Eighth Route Army had purchased numerous 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns from Europe and had established maintenance and ammunition production capabilities. This renowned anti-aircraft gun, renowned during World War II, performed effectively both on land and at sea, becoming the Allied camp's most effective medium-caliber rapid-fire anti-aircraft gun. However, perhaps due to the absence of Japanese heavy bombers, the Eighth Route Army's large-caliber anti-aircraft guns were always in short supply.

As the artillery air defense system in World War II played the role of breaking up formations and interfering with high-altitude bombing by heavy bombers, large-caliber anti-aircraft guns are difficult to produce and have high manufacturing costs. The Eighth Route Army previously only had some Bofors M1929 75mm anti-aircraft guns that were quantum collapsed from Poland.

They played a significant role in the Battle of the Yellow River, successfully defending the then-under-construction Yumenkou Highway Bridge. However, their small number, inconvenient maintenance, and the inability to easily import or produce ammunition led to their gradual relegation to training for anti-aircraft artillery after 1941.

The Soviet-made 85mm anti-aircraft gun can fill this gap: the 52-K 85mm anti-aircraft gun has been tested in its original time and space, with many balanced performance indicators and excellent technical and tactical indicators. It can even continue to develop into tank guns and cannons. It is a very outstanding large-caliber anti-aircraft gun.

After hearing about the Eighth Route Army's needs, the Soviet Union enthusiastically allocated 4 battalions with a total of 64 anti-aircraft guns, and also provided 8 additional parts for training. They also stated that if the Eighth Route Army continued to have needs, they could continue to allocate one battalion every quarter.

After all, the primary production plant for the 52-K is the Red Kirov Arsenal in Kronstadt, which is, if not just a stone's throw from the front lines, quite close. Expecting it to export artillery like American arsenals is probably impossible. Furthermore, beyond this time, the Eighth Route Army will have to find its own way to deliver trucks to the border areas for the anti-aircraft artillery battalions.

The reason is simple: the Russians’ own trucks are not enough.

——-——---

At the same time, the Soviet Union also transferred about 100 cutting-edge 107mm recoilless guns.

This artillery piece came from Leonid Vasilyevich Kurchevsky, who had a close working relationship with Comrade Liu Helian. In this time and space, he was not shot for wasting state property, but his temperament of "letting go of himself and doing whatever he wanted" seemed to have not changed at all.

After completing the weight reduction design of the 82mm high- and low-pressure artillery, he did not follow the instructions issued by the General Artillery Administration, but independently conducted research on increasing the caliber of the artillery, and designed a 160mm high- and low-pressure artillery system weighing only 1.6 tons. This artillery, full of green skin flavor, is more like a "bomb thrower" than a cannon. ∵: The Soviet army conducted target shooting tests in the experimental field,

The 28kg explosive bomb fired by this thing directly "evaporated" the target, and even

The observer in the pit felt a tightness in his chest from the shock.

Afterwards, under the stern persuasion of the Artillery General Administration and the blue hats and the threat of going to the shores of the Aral Sea to raise mantises, Comrade Kurchevsky finally gave up his desire to cause trouble and calmly designed the "large-caliber recoilless gun" that Comrade Liuhe had once told him about.

Choosing the traditional caliber of 107 mm, directly adopting the technical path of perforated cartridges and rearward exhaust, and using a light tripod for support... Kurchevsky took less than three months to complete the design of the 107 recoilless gun, and after copying the technical documents, he handed them over to the arsenals in Leningrad and Sverdlovsk for trial production.

This simple-structured rifled recoilless gun weighs about 120 kilograms and can be used with a tripod of about 88 kilograms or a towed gun mount of 182 kilograms. It can fire armor-piercing shells with a dynamic penetration of 240 mm at a distance of 1100 meters, or fire grenades at a distance of 6500 meters to attack sheet-like soft targets.

Almost immediately after entering the battlefield, the 107mm recoilless rifle garnered widespread acclaim, particularly in combat in the Lyuban area. Many units previously using 45mm anti-tank guns and 82mm high-pressure and low-pressure infantry guns commented that this recoilless rifle almost perfectly replaced the former, offering greater portability and power. This led to a brief period within the Soviet Army where production of towed 82mm high-pressure and low-pressure guns and 45mm infantry guns was halted in favor of the 107mm recoilless rifle. However, given the war's pressing need for high numbers, this plan was ultimately abandoned.

"You must produce in large quantities. Sufficient quantity is part of quality." The Soviet comrades in charge of handing over equipment and tooling emphasized this to the Eighth Route Army.

"Or, in other words, when there are enough of them, it can represent everything about the weapon."

As the red rope wrapped around the 52-K gun was cut, warm applause rang out at the scene of the material handover. Xiongski and the left chief of staff shook hands again.

Xiongski shook his hands vigorously, then suddenly opened his arms and did a Russian

"Bear hug".

The Left Chief of Staff had clearly not anticipated this move and subconsciously tried to push the Slavic man away. However, Major General Midi-Vedovsky didn't engage in a passionate kiss. Instead, he lowered his voice and spoke to the Left Chief of Staff as the distance between them closed.

"Chief of Staff Zuo, 'Ms. Katyusha' and others have arrived. They, along with this batch of goods, have arrived in the border area and are waiting to meet and communicate with our Chinese comrades." Oh... so that's what happened. Chief of Staff Zuo, who had received the news a long time ago and even knew some of the historical situation, understood it instantly.

"No problem, we will make proper arrangements."

Chapter 657: Sino-Soviet Wartime Cooperation Plan (2) Roaring Flames

Eight I-rails, sixteen 132mm fixed-fin rockets, and a GAZ-6 cargo truck... After the launcher is laid flat and covered with camouflage, it looks like an ordinary truck with a cargo shed. This is Miss Katyusha from the Voronezh factory, the 5M-13.

She could fire all the ammunition on her back within 20 seconds, pouring it onto the heads of Nazis 8.5 kilometers away, sending them the strong love from the Central Rocket Research Institute's Second Central Special Design Bureau. Yes, she is so powerful and charming.

Comrade Mikhail Kuzmich Yangel, a designer from the GAU and a very important father of "Miss Katyusha", once thought

He thought that no girl could be as beautiful as Katyusha.

It is an existence filled with the warmth and kindness of a comrade-in-arms, as well as the solemn charm of death.

But now, the Russian bear is enjoying his "changing mindset".

His eyes were fixed on two American trucks: one was a 6x4 Canadian CMP truck, a fairly common off-road truck model with a load capacity of 3 tons, and the other was an American-made Mack oil well tractor/tank tractor, capable of carrying a 15-ton light tank - these trucks were beautiful, but more importantly, the former was carrying 24 round metal barrels on its cargo bed.

The latter was carrying eight thicker metal barrels on the cargo bed.

Right very sexy these guide tubes are supported by hydraulic support arms and posed in a "45° side face slightly raised" posture.