Chiang Kai-shek launched a nationwide offensive against the Red Chinese designed to take control of the entire country. A sign that things might not go well occurred when Nationalist pilot Liu Shanben defected to the Communists with a B-24 Liberator.
The Nationalist Army had the edge on paper. It was larger and much better equipped. It also had more combat experience, the Red Chinese having sat out much of the Second World War. The Nationalist also had the benefit of various degrees of U.S. training, and oddly enough, German training before that.
World War Two vintage U.S. poster depicting a Nationalist soldier and his family. The soldier is accurately depicted in a Nationalist uniform, which was based on German uniforms, including the iconic German feldmutze. He's carrying a 98 rifle, although the straight bolt handle would indicate that it is not a K98k, many of which were supplied to the Nationalist by Nazi Germany. The rifle instead is a Mauser Standardmodell, a commercial predecessor to the K98k, or perhaps a Chinese made copy. Of course, this is just an illustration but it's likely based on photographs. By this point in 1946 many Chinese troops had American equipment of various types, but many infantrymen remained equipped just like this. Indeed, Chinese soldiers were more likely to carry Mauser bolt actions than any other rifle.
Last edition:
Tuesday, June 25, 1946. The World Bank commences operations.
Labels: 1940s, 1946, Aircraft, China, China (Xuzhou), Chinese Civil War, Economics, Food, Nationalist Chinese Army, Office of Price Administration, World Bank
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