What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
The strongest combat effectiveness of the Nationalist army is the 74th Army, the 18th Army, the 5th Army, the New First Army, the New Sixth Army, these five armies are strong in battle, and at the same time, in the process of fighting with the Japanese army during the War of Resistance, it is also the army that has made the most meritorious contributions, so it is known as the five main forces of the National Army. The commanders of these five armies were all Whampoa students, Chiang Kai-shek's concubine generals, and ordinary local generals were not qualified at all.
The world knows the five ace armies of the National Army, but every ace army has an ace division, do you know which divisions it is?
The five aces of the Nationalist Army
The 74th Army was established during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, with two divisions, the 58th Division (Division Commander Feng Shengfa) and the 51st Division (Division Commander Wang Yaowu), followed by the addition of the 57th Division. These three divisions are the best equipped ace divisions of the Nationalist Army, especially when the first commander of the 58th Division was Yu Jishi, the nephew of Chiang Kai-shek, so good equipment was at his disposal, and the division had a total of 54 heavy machine guns, 274 light machine guns, 243 grenadiers, 16 mountain artillery, field artillery, and howitzers, and 30 mortars and flat-fire guns, which were considered top equipment.
However, the 57th Division is also very strong in combat effectiveness, with a tenacious fighting style, known as the Tiger Ben Division, in the Battle of Changde, the 57th Division performed extremely heroic, with the strength of a division and the Japanese army 3 main divisions bloody battle for 16 days and nights, achieved the annihilation of tens of thousands of enemies, this battle 57 Division played the tiger ben division prestige. The 58th Division is the best equipped and the 57th has the strongest combat effectiveness, so Xiaobian personally feels that among the three divisions of the 74th Army, the one worthy of the ace division should be the 57th Division.
The 18th Army was the earliest of the five aces of the Nationalist Army, so it was known as the eldest brother in the army, and the first commander was Chiang Kai-shek's concubine Chen Cheng. Friends who may know history know that Chen Cheng started with the 11th Division, and the 18th Army was also established on the basis of the 11th Division, so the 11th Division was the ace division of the 18th Army. If you want to become the commander of the 18th Army, you must first serve as the commander of the 11th Division, and the successive commanders of the 11th Division are all tough generals of the Nationalist Army, such as Luo Zhuoying, Huang Wei, Hu Lian and others who serve as the commanders of the 11th Division. Throughout the life of the 11th Division, it can be summed up in one sentence; it became famous in warlord melee, grew stronger than encircling and suppressing the Red Army, contributed to the anti-Japanese flames, and defeated the Soldiers in the Huaihai Battlefield.
The Fifth Army was also established during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the only mechanical unit of the Nationalist Army, which became famous in the Battle of Kunlun Pass and won the title of Iron Horse Division. At that time, the army had the 77th and 200th Divisions under its jurisdiction, the newly formed 22nd Division, of which the 200th Division was also the earliest mechanical division in the Nationalist Army, the Fifth Army was also established on the basis of the 200th Division, and Du Yuming was the first division commander of the division, and the second division commander was General Dai Anlan, who promoted the country during the War of Resistance. However, the new 22nd Division later formed a new First Army with the new 38th Division, so that the 200th Division sat firmly in the position of the ace division of the Fifth Army.
The New First Army was also established during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, born in India, by Sun Liren's New 38th Division and Liao Yaoxiang's new 22nd Division, and its commander was Zheng Dongguo, a veteran general of the Huangpu Phase I. Both divisions of the New First Army were ace divisions, so the army also won the title of the First Army under the heavens. Strong combat effectiveness, good equipment, military commanders and division commanders have received good military education, and are famous generals in the Nationalist army at that time, later, Zheng Dongguo was promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, and the position of commander was held by Sun Liren.
The New Sixth Army is the five main forces of the Nationalist Army, the latest ace army to be established, Chiang Kai-shek in 1944 based on the new 22nd Division to expand the New Sixth Army, so the new 22nd Division is the New Sixth Army, the strongest combat effectiveness of the ace division. It can also be said that the New First Army and the New Sixth Army were born of the same mother. In the later period of the Great Counter-Offensive of Yunnan and Burma, the New Sixth Army played the prestige of the Tiger of the Nationalist Army, and it was naturally indispensable to win this honor, including the subsequent division commanders, all of whom were generals personally selected by Liao Yaoxiang as division commanders.