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Individual equipment of the Anti-Japanese Army:
by：XinXing
2020-08-28
Only the elite troops of the Central Army were equipped with German helmets
Individual equipment generally refers to the personal equipment carried by soldiers. There are now dozens of types of individual equipment. Compared with the War of Resistance in terms of quantity and function, it is simply a world of difference.
So what was the situation of the individual outfits of the Chinese and Japanese armies during the War of Resistance Against Japan?
Let's talk about the Chinese army first. Although the Chinese army at that time said that it was a unified organization in name, in fact there were big differences between various factions. Not to mention, even the most basic military uniform colors are different from each faction. The summer uniforms of the Central Army are mainly yellow-green, and the winter is mainly blue-gray cotton uniforms. Among the local miscellaneous troops, the northern troops are mostly blue-gray uniforms, the southern Guangdong and Guangxi troops are khaki, while the Yunnan Army is blue-green. Even the color of the uniform is so messy, what other individual outfits are there to talk about. In comparison, it is natural that the Central Army is more regular, and somehow it still has the tolerance of government troops. However, taking the situation at the time and taking the Chinese army's highest standard of the elite troops of the Central Army as an example, there are only five pieces of standard personal equipment for individual soldiers: helmets, bullet belts, water bottles, dry food bags and gas masks.
Individual equipment of the Anti-Japanese Army: People have raincoats and I have big straw hats
Only the elite Chinese troops will be equipped with imported German helmets.
When the Japanese saw the German helmets, they knew the elite troops had entered the battlefield.
The typical representative of the Central Army in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War was the famous German armorer. Needless to say, the German armorer's helmet is naturally the famous German M35 helmet. Because it was finalized in 1935, it was called M35. As soon as the model was finalized, it received a large order from China, which was as much as 220,000. So the German military decided to satisfy China's needs first. In this way, the Chinese army became the first users of M35 helmets. The M35 is an improvement based on the German M17 helmet during the First World War. The manufacturing process has been improved. It uses basically modern 'hot pressing' technology. Therefore, it is lighter than M17 and has stronger protection against shrapnel. And M35 uses a brand-new inner helmet to make it more comfortable to wear. So whether it is appearance, material, function or comfort, they are all pretty good. German products just want to win!
By 1936, China had imported a total of 315,000 M35 helmets, which almost rounded out the M35 output before 1936. By the time the Anti-Japanese War broke out in 1937, the Central Army had basically allotted M35. Now you can see Chinese soldiers wearing M35 helmets in many historical photos at that time, which is an obvious example. Wearing M35 helmets has also become a major symbol of the Central Army. The Japanese army will know that the troops wearing M35 helmets are the main force of the Chinese army, and they will immediately gather their energy and go all out.
Individual equipment of the Anti-Japanese Army: People have raincoats and I have big straw hats
The picture shows soldiers of the elite Chinese expeditionary troops stationed on the Nu River front line in southern Yunnan Province serving food from the food bucket.
High-profile soldiers can carry 100 bullets
The bullet bag is a long bag made of canvas. There are two main ways to carry it. The first is the most common. A long bullet belt is wound obliquely from the shoulder to the waist and then around the waist. Finally, Knotted with a cloth tape around the waist. This kind of long ammunition bag can hold 20 ammunition bags, and each ammunition bag contains a five-round ammunition magazine, with a total ammunition capacity of 100 rounds. This standard was absolutely high in the Chinese army at that time. Friends who have watched the movie 'Dong Cunrui' will definitely remember that the Eighth Route Army's ammunition bag looks full, but in fact there are only three to five bullets. The others are used to pretend to be bullets to fool people with small wooden poles. The second type is two shorter bullet belts, either crossing the chest like an 'X' shape, or hanging from the shoulders, like an inverted 'U' shape. There is also a method of hanging one on the shoulder and one on the waist. The non-commissioned officers and lower-ranking officers equipped with the Mauser shell gun among the German weapon divisions are equipped with special leather magazine bags for the shell guns, which can hold 12 ammunition bags with 20 rounds, which are fastened to the waist with a belt buckle, and then 'Y' The shaped shoulder strap supports the magazine bag at three points. When dressing, the gunner puts on his pistol cover first, and then the magazine bag. The pistol cover is fixed under the magazine bag so that the pistol gun on his back will not sway when marching.
In addition to bullets, each soldier also carried two M24 grenades in a canvas bag. The canvas grenade bag was connected by a muslin strip and hung around the neck. The bag was hung on the chest and secured with a cloth strip on the back. Judging from the photos left over that year, in addition to two-packs, there are five-packs or even eight-packs of grenade bags. There are grenade pouches that are hung on the chest or slung around the waist.
Individual equipment of the Anti-Japanese Army: People have raincoats and I have big straw hats
It was the pride of China that the best-paid New 38 Division arrived at the US military camp in India. They were all required to burn their old and dirty military uniforms, take a shower, and then the US military issued new clothing before they could officially enter the barracks.
Military blankets with helmets and leather bags are only used for military parade to show military might
Part of the kettle is purchased from Germany, and part is domestic imitation. With oval cork cover and shoulder strap. This is different from the metal lid water bottle worn on the belt used by the German troops. The dry food bag is square, with a strap over the shoulders, which is also different from the belt worn by the German army.
The gas mask is a 1930-style mask made in Germany, and later there are a few domestic imitations. The gas mask is usually packed in a canvas bag instead of a cylinder like the German army. However, in some photos of that year, you can see that the gas masks carried by the German soldiers were also installed in the cylinders. In fact, they were imitated in France in the later period. The difference is that the imitated cylinder reinforcement pattern is horizontal, while the German army uses straight To enhance the pattern.
In addition, the Central Army’s individual equipment includes leather backpacks, military blankets, rain cloths, iron lunch boxes, water bottles, dry food bags, bayonet knives, and two sets of three-pack leather gun boxes. This luxurious outfit mainly refers to the individual outfit design of the Japanese and German troops. However, it only has the opportunity to be rationed to soldiers during military parades and field training attended by senior generals. It is rarely distributed during wartime, which can only be regarded as a supplement. Vase decoration on the facade. It is a pity that the German weapon-style divisions did not distribute the most iconic German personal outfit 'Y'-shaped harness during World War II, and lacked the most eye-catching touch of the German single-soldier outfit.
The real feature of the national army is a straw hat, sunshade and rain
In addition, all Chinese troops, whether it is the Central Army or the local miscellaneous brand, are equipped with a straw hat. It is woven from dry straw, it can protect against sun on sunny days, and protect against rain on rainy days. The straw hat usually has the number or code of the unit. That is the real individual equipment with Chinese characteristics.
By the end of the Anti-Japanese War, the most well-equipped Chinese army was naturally the Indian army trained and equipped by the United States in India. Since the British provided clothing and individual equipment at the beginning of the training, the personal equipment of the Indian army is the British 1937 personal equipment set, which is also called the P-37 equipment set. This set of equipment includes: canvas belt, canvas Suspenders, rucksacks, small rucksacks, water bottle sets, canvas bullet bags, etc., can also be equipped with other equipment according to the nature of the task, such as a shovel set, a pick, etc. The 1937-type outfitting set was the most popular single-soldier outfit series used by the British and Commonwealth armies during World War II. Therefore, the single-soldier outfits of the Indian Army reached the international advanced level at that time.
Individual equipment of the Anti-Japanese Army: People have raincoats and I have big straw hats
In September 1944, the 200th Division of the 5th Army, the most elite of the Chinese army, took an American plane into the anti-Japanese battlefield in northern Yunnan, western Myanmar. Although you are the most elite division of the national army, the soldiers who carry poles, wooden buckets and bamboo baskets, and wear homespun clothes look more like a miscellaneous army.
The canvas belt used in the 1937 outfit set is made of khaki cotton canvas. The front end has a ㄇ-shaped male hook, and the back is sewn with vertical ribs to connect with the C-shaped metal hooks at the back of various bags. There is no perforated hanging on the belt. Point is the most typical British style, this design is very conducive to stability.
The 1937 outfitting set also emphasizes the concept of modular outfitting. The canvas sling can be combined with the slings of large and small backpacks as a system sling, or it can be used as a separate load sling without any backpack, or just The single strap is used as a side strap for side hanging and shoulder hanging. When using the sling, you can also connect the sling, canvas belt, and bullet bag. After all the equipment is combined, it becomes the system load sling of the whole set.
The general bullet bag for the Indian Army is convenient for everyone
There are several kinds of canvas bullet bags equipped by the Indian Army. One is a compass/pistol general-purpose bag, which is of canvas texture and square. It can carry compasses and can also hold pistol bullets and rifle bullets. The second type is the rifle canvas bullet bag, with a double bullet bag design, that is to say, one bag has two bags, and each person usually carries two sets of bullet bags.
There is also a relatively large BASIC bullet bag, also called MK-3 universal bullet bag. This bullet bag can hold rifle bullets, submachine gun magazines, and Bren machine gun magazines. Because the Bren machine gun has a faster firing rate, the ammunition consumption is naturally large, so it is necessary to carry more magazines, and the magazines carried by the machine gunner alone are definitely not enough, so the MK-3 general-purpose bullet bag is considered in the design At this point, the infantry can also carry ammunition for the machine gunner to supplement. The bullet bag is a straight rectangular parallelepiped with khaki canvas texture. It can be fixed through the canvas sling, and can also be connected to the copper hook and hook on the backpack strap. It is flexible and convenient to use, and is loved by the majority of officers and soldiers. The most common bullet bag used by military soldiers can also be seen in many historical photos.
In addition to British outfits, the Indian Army is also equipped with a small number of American outfits, but American outfits are mostly single and scattered accessories and rarely complete sets. The accessories mainly include M-1936 canvas belt and M-1923 belt bullet bag. , Carbine magazine bag, .45 pistol side holster, M-3 shoulder holster, .45 pistol magazine bag, M-1942 bayonet set, etc. The reason why only a small amount of American equipment was equipped was that the British 1937 equipment set was well-designed, easy to use, sturdy and durable, very popular with Chinese soldiers, and abundant supplies. Therefore, American equipment is only equipped for soldiers with special mission needs and a few lower-level officers and noncommissioned officers.
Individual equipment of the Anti-Japanese Army: People have raincoats and I have big straw hats
The picture shows on September 4, 1944, before the Chinese Expeditionary Force was about to charge the Japanese in Tengchong, the US Army Liaison Group gave its helmet to the Chinese soldiers. These helmets will be given priority to the death squads that charge at the front.
Both American and British helmets in India
In the early days, the helmets of the Indian Army were the British MK-2 Tony (TOMMY) helmets. After entering the battle in northern Myanmar, due to the consumption in the battle, coupled with the imperial steel helmets, the anti-elasticity and comfort were not ideal, so the U.S. military was stationed later. The Indian Army successively issued the M-1 helmets for active service in the U.S. Army. The first replacement of the M-1 helmets was the new 38th Division. Later, the entire new First Army was basically replaced. Except for a few units directly under the new Sixth Army, which received M-1 helmets, most of the troops are still British MK-2 helmets.
The M-1 helmet used by the Indian Army at that time was Model-1943/44. The helmet body was slightly higher than the later improved Model-1956 helmet. The khaki cotton woven sling was fixed on the inner helmet and combined on the sling. The sweat ring, and the inner helmet has aluminum spikes to connect the inner helmet belt. The function of the inner helmet belt is to prevent the helmet from shaking back and forth after wearing the helmet. However, few soldiers use this way. Most of the inner helmet belts Hang on the front brim of the helmet. In addition to the plain face helmets, the M-1 helmets used by the Indian Army also use a large number of camouflage helmet nets that cover the helmets, and the left side of the helmets are painted with a blue sky and white diary for identification.
It can be said that the individual equipment of the Indian Army was already at the first-class level in the world at that time. Coupled with American equipment and training, it was indeed China's most elite troop in the late Anti-Japanese War. It is not surprising that it achieved a brilliant victory in northern Myanmar. Up.
Individual equipment of the Anti-Japanese Army: People have raincoats and I have big straw hats
The US military issued rubber shoes to elite troops drawn from all over China to replace their straw sandals. They will participate in the upcoming battle against Yunnan, Burma and India, and they need a pair of good shoes.
The gas mask is only equipped with special arms. The helmet is an elite symbol
But to be clear, whether the German weapon division or the Indian army stationed, their number accounted for only a small part of the entire Chinese army at that time, and their individual equipment was more advanced than the highest-level ordinary Central Army troops. Not representative. The individual equipment of more Chinese troops can be described as bleak. Due to the poor national strength and the lack of materials, gas masks were only issued to the Central Army and some special arms such as artillery, air defense, and armored troops. Almost no local unbranded troops were equipped with gas masks. When the Japanese army released gas, they could only use towels. Get wet and cover your nose and mouth. It's better if it's tear gas, but if it's suffocating gas, there is only a dead end. The helmet is not available in all units, only a few of the main forces of the Central Army and miscellaneous units are equipped.
At that time, the mainstream steel helmet equipped by the Chinese army was the British MK-2 Tony (TOMMY) helmet, which looked like a flat pot, which was the shape of a flying saucer, so it was also called a 'flying saucer helmet'. This is the shape of the British World War I helmet. You must know that World War I was mainly trench warfare. Soldiers basically hid in trenches. The helmet mainly protected the head from shrapnel, so it was designed into a pot shape. By the time of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the helmets of this shape were obviously outdated in terms of resistance to elasticity and comfort. Such outdated model helmets are all good things in the Chinese army.
Military shoes are straw sandals
The officers and soldiers of the Chinese army wear belts around their waists. Soldiers wear narrow belts, officers wear wide belts, and some are equipped with cross-back armed belts. The armed belt was originally used to hang the officer's saber. Later, although the saber was replaced by a pistol, the armed belt was retained and became the officer's identification mark. Such a simple armed belt is the capital for officers to show off. As a result, it has become an excellent identification mark for Japanese snipers on the battlefield. Therefore, shortly after the beginning of the War of Resistance, the Kuomintang Military and Political Department explicitly prohibited officers from wearing armed forces on the battlefield.
The dry food bag used by the local army is also different from the Central Army. It is a coarse cloth bag with one end sewn and one opening. After filling the grain (usually raw rice or dried steamed buns), tie the opening tightly and place it diagonally on the shoulders. , Or put the quilt outside the dry food bag, and then carry it on your shoulders. From this point of view, it can be known that the supply of field cooking for the Chinese army at that time was quite backward, and it was difficult to guarantee hot food, so physical strength and nutrition were definitely difficult to guarantee.
Individual equipment of the Anti-Japanese Army: People have raincoats and I have big straw hats
At a rehabilitation camp on the Lieto Highway, an American general took off his hats to a group of disabled Chinese soldiers. These disabled soldiers have received better care from their uniform clothing. After healing, they will return to the country.
Chinese leggings hit the knees to prevent bushes from hooking
Not to mention military boots. Only a few high-ranking generals have riding boots. It is quite good for ordinary military officers to have a pair of leather shoes. For ordinary soldiers, cloth shoes are a luxury item, so the Chinese army at that timeEspecially the standard equipment of the Southern Army is straw sandals.
There is a photo of Zhang Indian Army and expeditionary troops from China in the Mangyouhui Division. The Indian Army soldiers have helmets, boots and submachine guns, plus a full set of individual equipment, while the Expeditionary Army soldiers have small hats, straw shoes, rifles, and canvas bullet belts. The huge contrast between the two gave me an extremely deep impression.
The best combination of straw shoes is leggings, which is also a major tradition of the Chinese army. Even the Indian army, fully equipped with British and American equipment, still insisted on wearing leggings. The Chinese army’s leggings are very distinctive. They always wrap the leggings around the knees, instead of wrapping them up to two-thirds of the calf height. Leggings are also very particular. The gaiters played by experienced veterans will not affect blood circulation because they are too tight, nor will they fall apart when they are too loose. The function of the leggings is that the trouser legs will not be hooked by the ground plants when the soldiers are marching on foot in the wild, and they can prevent a large amount of blood from pouring into the feet and causing foot discomfort when marching on long distances.
Looking at the entire period of the War of Resistance Against Japan, apart from a few elite troops such as German weapon divisions and the Indian army, even the Central Army has only five basic helmets, bullet belts, water bottles, dry food bags and gas masks. For the local miscellaneous troops, even the five major pieces are not fully equipped, almost without gas masks, and it’s pretty good to have helmets and bullet belts. Many troops have only the three most basic pieces: straw hats, straw shoes and big blades! Leaving aside light weapons and artillery, just from the perspective of individual equipment, we can see the backwardness of China’s equipment and the lack of materials at the time. However, it is under such circumstances that the Chinese army still has a long-term relationship with the well-equipped Japanese army. After eight years of hard work, the hardships and sacrifices made are enough to make future generations admire it!
Individual equipment generally refers to the personal equipment carried by soldiers. There are now dozens of types of individual equipment. Compared with the War of Resistance in terms of quantity and function, it is simply a world of difference.
So what was the situation of the individual outfits of the Chinese and Japanese armies during the War of Resistance Against Japan?
Let's talk about the Chinese army first. Although the Chinese army at that time said that it was a unified organization in name, in fact there were big differences between various factions. Not to mention, even the most basic military uniform colors are different from each faction. The summer uniforms of the Central Army are mainly yellow-green, and the winter is mainly blue-gray cotton uniforms. Among the local miscellaneous troops, the northern troops are mostly blue-gray uniforms, the southern Guangdong and Guangxi troops are khaki, while the Yunnan Army is blue-green. Even the color of the uniform is so messy, what other individual outfits are there to talk about. In comparison, it is natural that the Central Army is more regular, and somehow it still has the tolerance of government troops. However, taking the situation at the time and taking the Chinese army's highest standard of the elite troops of the Central Army as an example, there are only five pieces of standard personal equipment for individual soldiers: helmets, bullet belts, water bottles, dry food bags and gas masks.
Individual equipment of the Anti-Japanese Army: People have raincoats and I have big straw hats
Only the elite Chinese troops will be equipped with imported German helmets.
When the Japanese saw the German helmets, they knew the elite troops had entered the battlefield.
The typical representative of the Central Army in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War was the famous German armorer. Needless to say, the German armorer's helmet is naturally the famous German M35 helmet. Because it was finalized in 1935, it was called M35. As soon as the model was finalized, it received a large order from China, which was as much as 220,000. So the German military decided to satisfy China's needs first. In this way, the Chinese army became the first users of M35 helmets. The M35 is an improvement based on the German M17 helmet during the First World War. The manufacturing process has been improved. It uses basically modern 'hot pressing' technology. Therefore, it is lighter than M17 and has stronger protection against shrapnel. And M35 uses a brand-new inner helmet to make it more comfortable to wear. So whether it is appearance, material, function or comfort, they are all pretty good. German products just want to win!
By 1936, China had imported a total of 315,000 M35 helmets, which almost rounded out the M35 output before 1936. By the time the Anti-Japanese War broke out in 1937, the Central Army had basically allotted M35. Now you can see Chinese soldiers wearing M35 helmets in many historical photos at that time, which is an obvious example. Wearing M35 helmets has also become a major symbol of the Central Army. The Japanese army will know that the troops wearing M35 helmets are the main force of the Chinese army, and they will immediately gather their energy and go all out.
Individual equipment of the Anti-Japanese Army: People have raincoats and I have big straw hats
The picture shows soldiers of the elite Chinese expeditionary troops stationed on the Nu River front line in southern Yunnan Province serving food from the food bucket.
High-profile soldiers can carry 100 bullets
The bullet bag is a long bag made of canvas. There are two main ways to carry it. The first is the most common. A long bullet belt is wound obliquely from the shoulder to the waist and then around the waist. Finally, Knotted with a cloth tape around the waist. This kind of long ammunition bag can hold 20 ammunition bags, and each ammunition bag contains a five-round ammunition magazine, with a total ammunition capacity of 100 rounds. This standard was absolutely high in the Chinese army at that time. Friends who have watched the movie 'Dong Cunrui' will definitely remember that the Eighth Route Army's ammunition bag looks full, but in fact there are only three to five bullets. The others are used to pretend to be bullets to fool people with small wooden poles. The second type is two shorter bullet belts, either crossing the chest like an 'X' shape, or hanging from the shoulders, like an inverted 'U' shape. There is also a method of hanging one on the shoulder and one on the waist. The non-commissioned officers and lower-ranking officers equipped with the Mauser shell gun among the German weapon divisions are equipped with special leather magazine bags for the shell guns, which can hold 12 ammunition bags with 20 rounds, which are fastened to the waist with a belt buckle, and then 'Y' The shaped shoulder strap supports the magazine bag at three points. When dressing, the gunner puts on his pistol cover first, and then the magazine bag. The pistol cover is fixed under the magazine bag so that the pistol gun on his back will not sway when marching.
In addition to bullets, each soldier also carried two M24 grenades in a canvas bag. The canvas grenade bag was connected by a muslin strip and hung around the neck. The bag was hung on the chest and secured with a cloth strip on the back. Judging from the photos left over that year, in addition to two-packs, there are five-packs or even eight-packs of grenade bags. There are grenade pouches that are hung on the chest or slung around the waist.
Individual equipment of the Anti-Japanese Army: People have raincoats and I have big straw hats
It was the pride of China that the best-paid New 38 Division arrived at the US military camp in India. They were all required to burn their old and dirty military uniforms, take a shower, and then the US military issued new clothing before they could officially enter the barracks.
Military blankets with helmets and leather bags are only used for military parade to show military might
Part of the kettle is purchased from Germany, and part is domestic imitation. With oval cork cover and shoulder strap. This is different from the metal lid water bottle worn on the belt used by the German troops. The dry food bag is square, with a strap over the shoulders, which is also different from the belt worn by the German army.
The gas mask is a 1930-style mask made in Germany, and later there are a few domestic imitations. The gas mask is usually packed in a canvas bag instead of a cylinder like the German army. However, in some photos of that year, you can see that the gas masks carried by the German soldiers were also installed in the cylinders. In fact, they were imitated in France in the later period. The difference is that the imitated cylinder reinforcement pattern is horizontal, while the German army uses straight To enhance the pattern.
In addition, the Central Army’s individual equipment includes leather backpacks, military blankets, rain cloths, iron lunch boxes, water bottles, dry food bags, bayonet knives, and two sets of three-pack leather gun boxes. This luxurious outfit mainly refers to the individual outfit design of the Japanese and German troops. However, it only has the opportunity to be rationed to soldiers during military parades and field training attended by senior generals. It is rarely distributed during wartime, which can only be regarded as a supplement. Vase decoration on the facade. It is a pity that the German weapon-style divisions did not distribute the most iconic German personal outfit 'Y'-shaped harness during World War II, and lacked the most eye-catching touch of the German single-soldier outfit.
The real feature of the national army is a straw hat, sunshade and rain
In addition, all Chinese troops, whether it is the Central Army or the local miscellaneous brand, are equipped with a straw hat. It is woven from dry straw, it can protect against sun on sunny days, and protect against rain on rainy days. The straw hat usually has the number or code of the unit. That is the real individual equipment with Chinese characteristics.
By the end of the Anti-Japanese War, the most well-equipped Chinese army was naturally the Indian army trained and equipped by the United States in India. Since the British provided clothing and individual equipment at the beginning of the training, the personal equipment of the Indian army is the British 1937 personal equipment set, which is also called the P-37 equipment set. This set of equipment includes: canvas belt, canvas Suspenders, rucksacks, small rucksacks, water bottle sets, canvas bullet bags, etc., can also be equipped with other equipment according to the nature of the task, such as a shovel set, a pick, etc. The 1937-type outfitting set was the most popular single-soldier outfit series used by the British and Commonwealth armies during World War II. Therefore, the single-soldier outfits of the Indian Army reached the international advanced level at that time.
Individual equipment of the Anti-Japanese Army: People have raincoats and I have big straw hats
In September 1944, the 200th Division of the 5th Army, the most elite of the Chinese army, took an American plane into the anti-Japanese battlefield in northern Yunnan, western Myanmar. Although you are the most elite division of the national army, the soldiers who carry poles, wooden buckets and bamboo baskets, and wear homespun clothes look more like a miscellaneous army.
The canvas belt used in the 1937 outfit set is made of khaki cotton canvas. The front end has a ㄇ-shaped male hook, and the back is sewn with vertical ribs to connect with the C-shaped metal hooks at the back of various bags. There is no perforated hanging on the belt. Point is the most typical British style, this design is very conducive to stability.
The 1937 outfitting set also emphasizes the concept of modular outfitting. The canvas sling can be combined with the slings of large and small backpacks as a system sling, or it can be used as a separate load sling without any backpack, or just The single strap is used as a side strap for side hanging and shoulder hanging. When using the sling, you can also connect the sling, canvas belt, and bullet bag. After all the equipment is combined, it becomes the system load sling of the whole set.
The general bullet bag for the Indian Army is convenient for everyone
There are several kinds of canvas bullet bags equipped by the Indian Army. One is a compass/pistol general-purpose bag, which is of canvas texture and square. It can carry compasses and can also hold pistol bullets and rifle bullets. The second type is the rifle canvas bullet bag, with a double bullet bag design, that is to say, one bag has two bags, and each person usually carries two sets of bullet bags.
There is also a relatively large BASIC bullet bag, also called MK-3 universal bullet bag. This bullet bag can hold rifle bullets, submachine gun magazines, and Bren machine gun magazines. Because the Bren machine gun has a faster firing rate, the ammunition consumption is naturally large, so it is necessary to carry more magazines, and the magazines carried by the machine gunner alone are definitely not enough, so the MK-3 general-purpose bullet bag is considered in the design At this point, the infantry can also carry ammunition for the machine gunner to supplement. The bullet bag is a straight rectangular parallelepiped with khaki canvas texture. It can be fixed through the canvas sling, and can also be connected to the copper hook and hook on the backpack strap. It is flexible and convenient to use, and is loved by the majority of officers and soldiers. The most common bullet bag used by military soldiers can also be seen in many historical photos.
In addition to British outfits, the Indian Army is also equipped with a small number of American outfits, but American outfits are mostly single and scattered accessories and rarely complete sets. The accessories mainly include M-1936 canvas belt and M-1923 belt bullet bag. , Carbine magazine bag, .45 pistol side holster, M-3 shoulder holster, .45 pistol magazine bag, M-1942 bayonet set, etc. The reason why only a small amount of American equipment was equipped was that the British 1937 equipment set was well-designed, easy to use, sturdy and durable, very popular with Chinese soldiers, and abundant supplies. Therefore, American equipment is only equipped for soldiers with special mission needs and a few lower-level officers and noncommissioned officers.
Individual equipment of the Anti-Japanese Army: People have raincoats and I have big straw hats
The picture shows on September 4, 1944, before the Chinese Expeditionary Force was about to charge the Japanese in Tengchong, the US Army Liaison Group gave its helmet to the Chinese soldiers. These helmets will be given priority to the death squads that charge at the front.
Both American and British helmets in India
In the early days, the helmets of the Indian Army were the British MK-2 Tony (TOMMY) helmets. After entering the battle in northern Myanmar, due to the consumption in the battle, coupled with the imperial steel helmets, the anti-elasticity and comfort were not ideal, so the U.S. military was stationed later. The Indian Army successively issued the M-1 helmets for active service in the U.S. Army. The first replacement of the M-1 helmets was the new 38th Division. Later, the entire new First Army was basically replaced. Except for a few units directly under the new Sixth Army, which received M-1 helmets, most of the troops are still British MK-2 helmets.
The M-1 helmet used by the Indian Army at that time was Model-1943/44. The helmet body was slightly higher than the later improved Model-1956 helmet. The khaki cotton woven sling was fixed on the inner helmet and combined on the sling. The sweat ring, and the inner helmet has aluminum spikes to connect the inner helmet belt. The function of the inner helmet belt is to prevent the helmet from shaking back and forth after wearing the helmet. However, few soldiers use this way. Most of the inner helmet belts Hang on the front brim of the helmet. In addition to the plain face helmets, the M-1 helmets used by the Indian Army also use a large number of camouflage helmet nets that cover the helmets, and the left side of the helmets are painted with a blue sky and white diary for identification.
It can be said that the individual equipment of the Indian Army was already at the first-class level in the world at that time. Coupled with American equipment and training, it was indeed China's most elite troop in the late Anti-Japanese War. It is not surprising that it achieved a brilliant victory in northern Myanmar. Up.
Individual equipment of the Anti-Japanese Army: People have raincoats and I have big straw hats
The US military issued rubber shoes to elite troops drawn from all over China to replace their straw sandals. They will participate in the upcoming battle against Yunnan, Burma and India, and they need a pair of good shoes.
The gas mask is only equipped with special arms. The helmet is an elite symbol
But to be clear, whether the German weapon division or the Indian army stationed, their number accounted for only a small part of the entire Chinese army at that time, and their individual equipment was more advanced than the highest-level ordinary Central Army troops. Not representative. The individual equipment of more Chinese troops can be described as bleak. Due to the poor national strength and the lack of materials, gas masks were only issued to the Central Army and some special arms such as artillery, air defense, and armored troops. Almost no local unbranded troops were equipped with gas masks. When the Japanese army released gas, they could only use towels. Get wet and cover your nose and mouth. It's better if it's tear gas, but if it's suffocating gas, there is only a dead end. The helmet is not available in all units, only a few of the main forces of the Central Army and miscellaneous units are equipped.
At that time, the mainstream steel helmet equipped by the Chinese army was the British MK-2 Tony (TOMMY) helmet, which looked like a flat pot, which was the shape of a flying saucer, so it was also called a 'flying saucer helmet'. This is the shape of the British World War I helmet. You must know that World War I was mainly trench warfare. Soldiers basically hid in trenches. The helmet mainly protected the head from shrapnel, so it was designed into a pot shape. By the time of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the helmets of this shape were obviously outdated in terms of resistance to elasticity and comfort. Such outdated model helmets are all good things in the Chinese army.
Military shoes are straw sandals
The officers and soldiers of the Chinese army wear belts around their waists. Soldiers wear narrow belts, officers wear wide belts, and some are equipped with cross-back armed belts. The armed belt was originally used to hang the officer's saber. Later, although the saber was replaced by a pistol, the armed belt was retained and became the officer's identification mark. Such a simple armed belt is the capital for officers to show off. As a result, it has become an excellent identification mark for Japanese snipers on the battlefield. Therefore, shortly after the beginning of the War of Resistance, the Kuomintang Military and Political Department explicitly prohibited officers from wearing armed forces on the battlefield.
The dry food bag used by the local army is also different from the Central Army. It is a coarse cloth bag with one end sewn and one opening. After filling the grain (usually raw rice or dried steamed buns), tie the opening tightly and place it diagonally on the shoulders. , Or put the quilt outside the dry food bag, and then carry it on your shoulders. From this point of view, it can be known that the supply of field cooking for the Chinese army at that time was quite backward, and it was difficult to guarantee hot food, so physical strength and nutrition were definitely difficult to guarantee.
Individual equipment of the Anti-Japanese Army: People have raincoats and I have big straw hats
At a rehabilitation camp on the Lieto Highway, an American general took off his hats to a group of disabled Chinese soldiers. These disabled soldiers have received better care from their uniform clothing. After healing, they will return to the country.
Chinese leggings hit the knees to prevent bushes from hooking
Not to mention military boots. Only a few high-ranking generals have riding boots. It is quite good for ordinary military officers to have a pair of leather shoes. For ordinary soldiers, cloth shoes are a luxury item, so the Chinese army at that timeEspecially the standard equipment of the Southern Army is straw sandals.
There is a photo of Zhang Indian Army and expeditionary troops from China in the Mangyouhui Division. The Indian Army soldiers have helmets, boots and submachine guns, plus a full set of individual equipment, while the Expeditionary Army soldiers have small hats, straw shoes, rifles, and canvas bullet belts. The huge contrast between the two gave me an extremely deep impression.
The best combination of straw shoes is leggings, which is also a major tradition of the Chinese army. Even the Indian army, fully equipped with British and American equipment, still insisted on wearing leggings. The Chinese army’s leggings are very distinctive. They always wrap the leggings around the knees, instead of wrapping them up to two-thirds of the calf height. Leggings are also very particular. The gaiters played by experienced veterans will not affect blood circulation because they are too tight, nor will they fall apart when they are too loose. The function of the leggings is that the trouser legs will not be hooked by the ground plants when the soldiers are marching on foot in the wild, and they can prevent a large amount of blood from pouring into the feet and causing foot discomfort when marching on long distances.
Looking at the entire period of the War of Resistance Against Japan, apart from a few elite troops such as German weapon divisions and the Indian army, even the Central Army has only five basic helmets, bullet belts, water bottles, dry food bags and gas masks. For the local miscellaneous troops, even the five major pieces are not fully equipped, almost without gas masks, and it’s pretty good to have helmets and bullet belts. Many troops have only the three most basic pieces: straw hats, straw shoes and big blades! Leaving aside light weapons and artillery, just from the perspective of individual equipment, we can see the backwardness of China’s equipment and the lack of materials at the time. However, it is under such circumstances that the Chinese army still has a long-term relationship with the well-equipped Japanese army. After eight years of hard work, the hardships and sacrifices made are enough to make future generations admire it!
