In the previous article, the author talked to you about a series of stories about the liberation war, such as the comparison of the strength of the two sides in the liberation war, the comparison of the military uniforms of the two sides, and so on. Today, we talk about the comparison of the two warhorses. By June 1946, Chiang Kai-shek's troops totaled just over 150,000 warhorses. In contrast, the development of PLA troops is very rapid. By the mid-1950s, the PLA had 19 cavalry divisions under its command and more than 400,000 horses. So why is the gap between the two sides so large?
First, let's talk about the role of cavalry in historical warfare. In ancient warfare, with the development of the mode of war, a series of troops such as cavalry, infantry, and archers appeared. With the gradual refinement of the cavalry unit, it was divided into a series of cavalry such as heavy cavalry, light cavalry, archers, and rangers. Even after entering the 19th century, in the era of rapid development of firearms, the cavalry force was still not immediately abolished, and famous lancers appeared in various countries.
In the ancient history of our country, a series of famous cavalry units appeared, such as the Iron Floating Tu of the Jin Dynasty, the Xuanjia Army of the Tang Dynasty, the Iron Harrier of the Western Xia, and so on. In a series of wars in the 20th century, the armies of various countries were inseparable from cavalry units. During the First World War, Germany, Britain, France and other world powers formed a considerable number of cavalry units. Although countries have successively formed tank units, the performance of tanks is not perfect and cannot completely replace cavalry units.
Due to practical needs, the Soviet Union, at its peak, formed a total of more than 20 cavalry divisions. Until the outbreak of World War II, the Soviet army still had more than 10 cavalry divisions. In terms of role, the cavalry unit has a great advantage. First of all, the mobility and assault ability of the cavalry units are very strong, and the reaction speed is very fast. It is convenient for rapid maneuvering and assault, and even if surrounded by enemy forces, it can also use the mobility of cavalry to break through.
Warhorses have a strong ability to run, if a cavalry has two or three warhorses to change, they can even travel thousands of miles and then launch a sudden attack. In World War II, a series of countries such as the Soviet Union, Britain, and Germany had a considerable number of cavalry. Several Soviet marshals were from cavalry generals, such as Marshal Zhukov, who had made great achievements in battle, and so on. Of course, if the cavalry is not used properly, that is another story. For example, at the beginning of World War II, the Polish cavalry and the German army were hard-hitting, and the result was naturally one-sided.
During World War II, the Japanese army paid great attention to the construction of cavalry units. Before the outbreak of the War of Resistance, the Japanese army had a total of 17 Grade A divisions. According to the regulations, each Grade A division has 8 companies under its jurisdiction. Due to the lack of mechanization capabilities of the Japanese army, in order to make up for this deficiency, each First Class Division would have 1 cavalry company under its command. Especially in the complex terrain of North China, the advantages of cavalry are very obvious. In the film and television drama "Bright Sword", there was a tragic scene of the cavalry company of the independent regiment against the Japanese cavalry wing.
The predecessors of the PLA troops were the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, and the predecessors of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army were the Red Army. In fact, as early as the time of the Red Army, several cavalry units of different sizes had been formed successively. Later, in the process of conferring the rank in 1955, more than 10 generals were born in the cavalry unit of that year. In the War of Resistance Against Japan, the cavalry units of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army gradually grew.
In the relatively large base areas, cavalry units were basically formed. In the absence of mechanized troops, the cavalry unit belonged to the ace weapon of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army. For example, in a battle in the Jianghuai region, the cavalry of the New Fourth Army fought head-on with the Japanese cavalry units and won a complete victory. On the battlefield in North China, the cavalry of the Eighth Route Army attacked everywhere, and the Japanese troops everywhere did not dare to show their heads.
Compared with the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, Chiang Kai-shek's troops were far behind. By the summer of 1946, Chiang Kai-shek's troops had a total of 120 corps and 354 divisions, with a total strength of more than 4.5 million troops. Among them, there are more than 308,300 war horses. However, this is only the book figure, and the actual number of warhorses of Chiang Kai-shek's troops is only more than 150,000. Due to the prevalence of corruption and the preemption of officers at all levels, the situation of shortfalls in various units is serious. For example, in the formation of a cavalry regiment, the actual cavalry unit has only 1 battalion, and the other 2 battalions have been reduced to "infantry." ”
Chiang Kai-shek's troops were in a slightly better condition, and the troops of those local warlords were even worse treated. For example, a division of a local warlord, the entire division has only more than 30 war horses. These 30 or so horses were used either for high-ranking officers to ride or for communications, and not even a cavalry platoon could be formed. Even in Chiang Kai-shek's concubine troops, problems in all aspects are blinding. Some officers colluded with each other, shoddy, and used mules to impersonate war horses. Many so-called "war horses" simply cannot undertake the task of rushing and can only be used to transport supplies.
In 1946, after the liberation war began, the PLA troops became stronger and stronger, and gradually formed four major field armies in the northeast, northwest, east China and the central plains, and north China field troops, with a total of 5 major field groups. Each field group formed a considerable number of cavalry units, such as the Northeast Field Army, which had reached a total strength of 1.02 million people by the time of the Liaoshen Campaign. Among them, there were 5 cavalry divisions under its jurisdiction. In the Liaoshen Campaign, tens of thousands of "long knife cavalry" played a great role.
By February 1950, the various units under the people's liberation army had been reorganized, and a total of 14 cavalry divisions were under its jurisdiction. At the founding ceremony parade in 1949, the cavalry units of the People's Liberation Army formed a cavalry square and marched in a neat pace to be inspected. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, cavalry units also played a huge role in the suppression of bandits in Rehe, Suiyuan, Qinghai and other provinces. By the mid-1950s, PLA troops had 19 cavalry divisions under their command, and the number of warhorses exceeded 400,000.
The number of warhorses has far exceeded that of cavalry, that is to say, the cavalry units of the People's Liberation Army can use the way of changing warhorses to achieve large-scale long-range raid operations. Compared with the development of the PLA cavalry, the cavalry of Chiang Kai-shek's troops can only be described as "people are addicted to food" as "people are addicted to food" to describe.
After entering the 1950s, with the end of the large-scale war, China entered the stage of post-war reconstruction, resumption of production, development and construction. With the development of 156 important projects, China has gradually possessed a sound heavy industry system and a military system. Heavy equipment such as Type 59 tanks began to be equipped to various units. With the continuous development of science and technology, motorization and mechanization have become the mainstream of the development of the Army. In such a large environment, the size of the cavalry force began to gradually shrink, and the number of war horses and cavalry became smaller and smaller.
In 1984, with the requirements of the new era, the People's Liberation Army abolished the cavalry as a branch, and after that, the cavalry became history forever. Of course, the cavalry did not withdraw completely from the troops. Two cavalry units remained in the southwest and northwest, and in these complex terrains, the automobile could not go up at all, and relied on war horses at the critical time.
There are many more stories about the Liberation War, and the author will talk to you slowly in future articles.