Japanese Equipment

AFV:

Type 89 KO CHI-RO Medium Tank (1932) - Mitsubishi 11.5 ton gasoline powered medium tank. Armament: 57mm short barrel gun, 2 x 6.5mm MG (one fwd one aft). Armor: 10 to20 mm. Speed: 13 to 15 mph. The gasoline-powered engine often had problems in the cold of Manchuria. Narrow tracks limited its effectiveness off road in soft terrain. Generally used in the infantry support role. This tank was a direct descendant of the Vickers Mark C commercial tank.

Type 89 OTSU CHI-RO Medium Tank (1936-40) - Upgrade of the KO version, this med. tank was diesel powered and could achieve a 25 mph speed, despite its increased weight of 12.7 tons.

Type 92 Heavy Tankette (1932) - Ishikawajima 3.5 ton lt. tank. Armament: 2 x 6.5 mm MG. Speed: 25 mph. Armor: 6mm. Later production versions substituted a 13mm MG for one of the 6.5mm MGs. These hv. tankettes were designed for the cavalry support role and had a crew of three.

Type 95 HA-GO Light Tank (1935-42) - Mitsubishi 6.5 ton light tank. Armament: 1 x 37mm Gun, 2 x 7.7mm MG. Speed: 40 mph. Armor 6-12mm. An excellent tank using an air-cooled diesel engine that provided an excellent power to weight ratio. Its small size and good cross-country capabilities made it very effective in China.

Type 94TK Tankette (1934) - 2.6 ton tankette. Speed: 42 mph. Crew of 2. Armament: 1 x 6.5 or 7.7mm MG. 4 to 12 mm armor.

Originally conceived as an AFV to pull a tracked 1.5 ton supply trailer into combat, this tankette had a poor weight to track area ratio causing it to often run afoul in off-road conditions. Later versions of the tankette mounted a 37mm gun and had 16mm armor in critical spots. Western intelligence often mistook this tank for the Type 92.

The first Japanese armored unit was formed in 1931 when the Kwantung army combined a platoon of tanks with a platoon of armored cars to form the Independent Tank Company of the Kwantung Army. This unit was employed in combat that same year north of Harbin, Manchuria. In 1934, a mechanized brigade was formed near Kungchuling, Manchuria with the intended use against Soviet forces. Much of Manchuria being suitable for armor operations gave Japanese armored theorists a false impression of the effectiveness that armor might have in China.

Throughout the mid-30s the Japanese experimented with a variety of mixed tank type armored units, but logistic concerns and difficulties ultimately nixed this concept.

In China, the typical armored company had 10 tanks (either M89's or M95's). Three companies formed a regiment.

Armored Cars: The effectiveness of wheeled armored cars in China's more modern cities, such as Shanghai, was immediately realized. Against lightly armed Chinese soldiers, armored cars generally proved sufficient protection.

Once the fighting moved into the rural hinterland, the armored car became a sudden liability, as its wheeled configuration could not properly deal with the lack of infrastructure found in these remote regions.

In China, the Japanese used four principle types of armored car.

Naval M25 Armored Car - A Vickers-Crossley design with a domed turret mounting two parallel Vickers-Maxim MG on top of a commercial truck chassis. Armament: 8 to 11 mm. Double tires on rear axle for increased payload. Weight: 5 tons.

Naval M92 Osaka - A completely Japanese design intended to replace the M25 beginning in 1932. Superficially similar to the M25, it incorporated a number of improvements such as a more conventional turret with one MG forward and one aft. Weight: 5.8 tons. Speed: Just under 40 mph.

M92 Imperial Naval Armored Car - This armored car supported a tankette turret and had two rear axles. Weight: 6.5 tons. Speed: 50 mph. Armament: A Hv. MG in turret and a Lt. MG to the right of the driver. Ports on the side and rear of the armored body and a mount on the top of the turret were also used for the Lt. MG.

M93 Sumida - were similar to the 3-axled cars in appearance but could be converted to run on rail lines in just 20 minutes. Armor: up to 16 mm. Armament: one Hv. MG and rifle slits around the armored box. The Sumida was used effectively against guerrillas along the rail lines.

Other Vehicles:

M92A Prime Mover - A tracked towing vehicle used to pull heavy artillery pieces.

M81 Truck - A six wheeled open-body vehicle.

Trucks were rare enough to be organized into separate transport units that were generally used in logistic work, although occasionally they were employed in a combat roll as well. As late as 1940, a Japanese division still had less than three hundred organic trucks. Instead, the division depended primarily on the three to five thousand attached horses and mules.

Antiaircraft Artillery: Since the Chinese had virtually no effective air force, the motivation to develop AA was low. Many smaller caliber AA units were converted to MG units and used in a ground combat role.

M88 - A 1928 piece with a slow traversing dual-purpose 75mm gun. Manual aiming made the effective range much less than the actual range of the weapon. Weight: 5390 lbs. Rate of Fire: 15 to 20 rpm. Range: 15,000 yds for a 14.6 lb round. Altitude: 30,000 ft for a 14.6 lb round.

Artillery:During the war in China, the Japanese employed a wide variety of calibers ranging up to 230mm siege artillery pieces, but the real workhorses were the 75mm guns and howitzers.

M4 Tashio Howitzer - This short barrelled, 150mm bore, box-tail carriage gun was antiquated by 1937 but widely employed by the Japanese due to the quantities of it on hand. The gun broke down into two pieces for transport, a considerable asset in China, where poor roads and bridges were a constant problem. Weight: 6100 lbs. Range: 7500 yds for an 80 lb round.

M96 Howitzer - A modern split-tail carriage howitzer, the M96 began to replace the M4 in 1936. Bore: 150mm. Range: 11,400 yds.

Tashio 14 Howitzer - Split-tail carriage, 105mm bore. Range: 15,000 yds with a 35 lb round.

M92 Howitzer - Split-tail carriage, 105mm bore. Range: 20,000 yds with a 35 lb round.

M91 Howitzer - Split-tail carriage, 105mm bore. Range: 11,500 yds with a 35 lb round.

M41 Howitzer - A 75mm mountain gun, this weapon disassembled into highly portable pieces. This gun fired a 14 lb. high explosive shell or a 15 lb shrapnel shell to 7800 yds. Weight: Approx 1000 lbs. Rate of Fire: 10 rpm.

M94 Howitzer - Similar to the M41, this mountain gun was slightly lighter. It threw a 13.5 lb round to a range of about 9800 yds. Rate of Fire: 15 rpm.

M38 Field Gun - Obsolete by 1937, this 75mm gun saw plenty of action well into the 1940s due to its plentiful quantities. Weight: 2501 lbs. Range: 13,080 yds with a pointed nose shell and 9,000 yds with a high explosive shell. ROF: 15 rpm. This gun could be set up to fire in just two minutes.

M90 Field Gun - Long barreled 75mm bore. Range: 13,300 yds for a 14.3 lb shell.

M95 Field Gun - Short barreled 75mm bore. Range: approx 7 miles. M92 Field Gun - A highly portable 70mm weapon, this gun weighed just 468 lbs. Its stubby barrel could be elevated to fire like a mortar. Range: 1.7 miles for an 8.4 lb round. Rate of Fire: 10 rpm. This gun could be manhandled across rough terrain by its crew and was thus popular with Japanese troops despite its flimsy construction and strong recoil. This gun was used extensively in China. Since Chinese armored strength was just a token of antiquated vehicles, the two Japanese 37mm antitank guns saw little action in China.

M11 Tashio Antitank Gun - A 1922 gun almost identical to the 37mm French WWI gun. Weight: under 200 lbs. Penetration: .7 inch of 1920s armor. Range: approx 1 mile.

M94 Antitank Gun - Bore: 37mm. Weight: 815 lbs. Range 5500 yds. with a 1.5 lb shell. Penetration: 1 inch of 1930s armor. This gun was used throughout the war.

Mortars were used extensively by the Japanese infantry. Of the eight mortars employed by the Japanese in the 1930s, six were used extensively in China. The two 50mm types were not used very often in China.

M97 81mm Mortar - This 81mm mortar, along with the M99, became the standard Japanese infantry support weapon. Weight: 145 lbs. Range: 3000 yds for a 7 lb shell or approx. 1200 for a 14 lb shell.

M99 81mm Mortar - Bore: 81mm short barreled. Weight: 52 lbs. Range: 2000 yds.

M97 90mm Mortar - This mortar, weighing 220 lbs, was effective in static situations.

M94 90mm Mortar - Weight: 340 lbs. Range: 4000 yds with an 11.5 lb round.

M93 150mm Mortar - Weight: 557 lbs. This weapon was strictly a seige weapon and had a range of only 2000 yds when firing a 44 lb shell.

Although they were mechanically inferior, the Japanese machine guns were probably the most effective of the infantry support weapons employed in China.

6.5 mm Tashio 3 Hv MG- The most widely used MG in China, this Hotchkiss-type weapon weighed 60 lbs and was easily transportable. Although obsolete by 1937 standards, this weapon was still used in large numbers. While not generally used in this manner in China, the gun could also be set up as an anti-aircraft weapon. The gun had a slow rate of fire (400 rpm) causing allied troops to refer to it as the "woodpecker."

7.7 mm M92 Hv MG - This weapon was very similar to the Tashio 3 using the same mount and virtually identical in appearance. Weight: 63 lbs. Rate of Fire: 450 rpm.

A heavier 13mm MG was also available, but was generally reserved for mounting in AFV. 6.5 mm M96 Lt. MG - This Bren-like weapon weighted 22 lbs and was mounted on a bipod. Rate of Fire: 550 rpm. This weapon could also be used as an excellent one man automatic weapon.

7.7 mm M92 Lt. MG - A Lewis-type weapon, the M92 was simply an M96 up-chambered to handle the larger caliber ammunition.

7.7 mm M99 Lt. MG - Weight: 20 lbs. Rate of Fire: 500 - 550 rpm. Mount: monopod.

The Japanese used three rifle types, all based on the 1898 Mauser bolt action, and all chambered for a 6.5 mm round.

Each soldier had a 14 ounce, 15.5 inch bayonet with which he received extensive training. The bayonet was psychologically linked to the ancient warriors of Japan.

There were several versions of grenade. Two stick versions were used, one looking similar to the German "potato masher." Other versions were cast iron with brass fuses. Most had waffled surfaces, but the M99, at just 10 ounces, supported a smooth exterior.

The flame-thrower was devastating to the Chinese when used, but the Japanese had too few to make a serious impact on the overall war.

Chinese Equipment

A definitive list of Chinese small arms and artillery is almost impossible to assemble. Every sort of import and captured weapon was employed. Standardization was virtually non-existent. Generally, if available, each squad had an automatic weapon of some sort. A company might have a few machine guns, generally of .30 caliber. Larger units might have a 20mm anti aircraft gun or even a 37mm anti-tank gun. Divisional weapons included bores ranging from 75mm to 155mm, but these were general antiquated or captured pieces and were always in seriously short supply.

Vehicles

At the outset of the conflict, the Chinese had a variety of antiquated AFV and about 7000 trucks. Many smaller pre-war European models were on hand. The more significant version are listed.

VCL M1931 - 29 of this British manufactured amphibious tankette were purchased in 1935 and organized into the 1st tank battalion. Weight: 3 tons. Armament: One 7.92mm coaxial MG.

L3/35 - About 100 of this Italian tank were purchased. A number of them served with the 2nd tank battalion. Weight: 3.5 tons. Armament: One bow mounted MG.

PzKpfw IA - A small number (possibly 10) of this German vehicle served with the 3rd tank battalion. Weight: 5.5 tons. Armament: one coaxial MG.

Vickers 6-Ton Mk E & F - About 20 of these British tanks were purchased and used in the 1st and 2nd tank battalions. Weight: 7 tons. Armament: One 47 mm gun and one bow MG.

VCL Mk VI Carrier - 24 of these vehicles were purchased by China in the mid-1930's and used as part of the 2nd tank battalion. These tiny vehicles were designed as a carrier to increase the mobility of the Vickers MG. Weight: 1.5 tons.

T-26 M33 - Some 88 of this Soviet tank was supplied in the 1938 to 1939 timeframe. Most were formed into the 1st tank regiment that was assigned to the newly forming 200th Infantry Division, the only totally motorized infantry formation in the Chinese Army during this time period. Weight: 10.5 tons. Armament: One 45 mm gun and one bow mounted MG. Some had a second MG for AA purposes.

A variety of armored cars were employed throughout China during the conflict. In addition to foreign purchases and aid, such as the German PSW 221 and Soviet Ba-20 and Ba-6, many indigenous versions assembled from materials on hand. Particularly in warlord armies, ordinary trucks would have metal plates bolted to the sides of the vehicle and a machine gun mounted on the top and thereby became an "armored car." Put several of these vehicles together, and the warlord then commanded an armored brigade.
Europa, Glory, and War of Resistance are Trademarks of Game Research/Design

More War of Resistance

War of Resistance: Introduction
War of Resistance: Japanese Order of Battle
War of Resistance: Chinese Order of Battle
War of Resistance: Japanese and Chinese Equipment
War of Resistance: Bibliography

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