After the "1.28" Songhu War of Resistance, Chiang Kai-shek, in view of the modernization war, had gone from plane to three-dimensional, from the front to the rear, and was threatened by aircraft everywhere, and was determined to expand the organization of the Aviation Administration and speed up air defense construction. At the beginning of June, the "Five-Year Construction and Air Defense Plan for the Air Force" was promulgated, and it was planned to set up 40 75-mm anti-aircraft gun companies, 20 anti-aircraft machine gun companies (or 20-mm machine guns) and 20 searchlight companies in batches within five years, focusing on the eastern coastal provinces close to China and Japan.
The Nationalists operate using a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > to prepare for the construction of air defense schools, foreign consultants competed to participate</h1>
In September 1932, Chiang Kai-shek asked Finance Minister Song Ziwen: "Anti-aircraft artillery service hopes to buy thirty gates as soon as possible." Juvid Juve, the U.S. general adviser of the Hangzhou Jianqiao Central Aviation School, wrote a letter of advice at that time, willing to help the Nationalist government army form an anti-aircraft artillery unit. The German Military General Adviser Fotzel, who was very attentive to his own interests and was not far behind, suggested that "if anti-aircraft guns can be purchased, please quickly open a very small anti-aircraft artillery school attached to the artillery school, and start the organization with a special German adviser and a small number of cadres composed of officers, non-commissioned officers and private soldiers."
In order to save money, Chiang Kai-shek instructed the Aviation Director Ge Jing'en: "The proposal of the anti-aircraft artillery school should be changed to an anti-aircraft artillery section, which can be attached to the artillery school or the aviation school, and there is no need to set up another school." Even if you build another house and buy a separate equipment, you do not have to set up a separate school name. The matter may be discussed between Director Ge and the Aviation School U.S. Consultant on what is appropriate. He also asked whether the equipment and instructors listed in its proposal could be hired and then negotiated with the German General Counsel. ”
Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Tzu-wen
However, Song Ziwen strongly supported Fotzer and explicitly advocated handing over to the German advisers to preside, and Juvid was so embarrassed that "power and responsibility are not exclusive and unwilling to participate", and Ge Jing'en was embarrassed in the middle, so he had to call Chiang Kai-shek to approve it. On November 29, Jiang Fudian said: "First ask the US consultant if he can be responsible for the deputy and how the US anti-aircraft artillery equipment and tutorial are, and I hope that the brother will tell you in detail before deciding." Juvid repeatedly asked who would host the class or the school. Chiang Kai-shek tried to persuade Soong Tzu-wen that "if the US advisers can be responsible for concurrently running the anti-aircraft artillery squad, it is advisable to allow the US advisers to be allowed to do so, and the US goods will be fast and realistic."
It was not until January 18, 1933, that the dispute over the advisers between the United States and Germany was finally settled, and Song Ziwen insisted on his own opinion, and Chiang Kai-shek telegraphed Ge Jing'en: "The anti-aircraft artillery school site is decided to set up an aviation school, please quickly prepare the premises and contact the German advisers." After the Fötzel intermediary bridge, the national government ordered 20 75 mm anti-aircraft guns in Bofors, Sweden, 4 pairs of German Siemens searchlights, Zeiss 2-meter baseline altimeters, Hungarian Goma commanders, British Vickers 13.2 mm anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft gun tractors and other anti-aircraft equipment.
Swedish Bofors 75 mm anti-aircraft gun
Soon, the "Aviation Administration Anti-Aircraft Artillery Class" was established at the former site of the Agricultural College of Zhejiang University in Jianqiao, Hangzhou, and the first batch of cadets were mainly from the artillery department of the Central Military Academy, graduates of engineering, and young people eliminated from the flight subjects of the aviation school. Before all the weapons and equipment arrived, Ge Jing'en could not bear the pressure of work, and resigned for reasons of physical health, and the post he left behind was taken over by Deputy Director Xu Peigen. At this time, although Chiang Kai-shek was busy planning and directing the fifth "encirclement and suppression" war, he attached great importance to the anti-aircraft artillery squad. For example, on October 30, Jiang criticized Xu: "Anti-aircraft shells have arrived, but the ammunition depot has not been built, once there is danger, what will happen?" The education of anti-aircraft artillery classes shall be subject to the unified guidance of German advisers and shall not be arbitrarily taught by the various instructors. ”
At the end of the year, Chiang Kai-shek attended the graduation ceremony of the aviation school, inspected the anti-aircraft artillery class by the way, and instructed in person to "quickly set up a junior college to train special air defense officers to undertake the heavy responsibility of China's air defense cause."
A 37 mm anti-aircraft gun equipped by the National Air Defense Force
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > reuse German returnees regardless of their previous suspicions</h1>
In January 1934, relying on the air defense anti-aircraft artillery class and the civil air defense research class, China's first professional school to train air defense construction talents - the "Air Defense School of the Aviation Administration" was officially launched. Coincidentally, almost at the same time, Huang Zhenqiu, who had traveled as far as Germany to study air defense, embarked on a voyage back to his homeland.
Originally from Meixian County, Guangdong Province, Huang Zhenqiu graduated from the sixth infantry section of Baoding School, and was wounded in the so-called "Defending the Party" and fighting against Chiang Kai-shek in the winter of 1929, and was once disheartened. Later, Huang Zhenqiu was sponsored by Zhang Fakui to go to Germany to study, first to study German, and then hired a retired German colonel to guide the study of air defense. That is to say, Huang Zhenqiu did not enter the relevant professional schools for further study, in addition to discussing theoretical knowledge, he often "went to visit the secret anti-aircraft weapons of the German Siemens factory, such as anti-aircraft guns, illuminated lights, and command instruments, to understand their performance and use of operational essentials one by one."
Huang Zhen ball
Tired of the sword and light of the civil war, Huang Zhenqiu was reluctant to return to the Guangdong army, and sent Zhou Zhirou, who was sent to inspect the European Air Force, to lead the way, hoping that he would give full play to his strengths and contribute to the country. At the end of February, Huang Zhenqiu arrived in Shanghai from Hong Kong and immediately went to Nanchang to meet Chiang Kai-shek, who instructed Huang to "go to Nanjing to inspect the cadet corps of the Ministry of Military Affairs and the Military and Political Department, and to hangzhou to inspect the air defense school, and come back to make a report."
The news of Huang Zhenqiu's report to the central authorities quickly spread, and Wang Jingwei, the chief executive of the administration who had never interfered too much in military affairs, made an exception to send a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek: "Huang Zhenqiu, the former commander of the Fourth Army Division, has been studying in Germany for several years and has recently returned to china to live in Hong Kong. Please repeat the poop. Considering that Huang Zhenqiu had an "anti-Chiang Kai-shek" history, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to Mao Bangchu, vice president of the Aviation School: "Comrade Huang Zhenqiu came to Hangzhou to visit the aviation and air defense schools, and hoped to entertain and tell the truth in detail." ”
Small-caliber anti-aircraft weapons used by the Nationalist army
Chiang Kai-shek did not care about the previous suspicions, and Huang Zhenqiu decided to devote himself to the cause of central air defense. At the same time that Xu Peigen stepped down due to the Nanchang Airport fire, Xu's former principal of the defense school was also dismissed. On May 29, Huang Zhenqiu took over as the principal of the air defense school. Perhaps intending to test Huang's professionalism, Chiang Kai-shek proposed a few months later that an air defense exercise be held in Nanjing before the end of the year.
Huang Zhenqiu, who had recently taken office, inevitably lacked confidence, and if he lost his official position, he would also be laughed at by friends and powers, so he expressed his opinion to Jiang Gushen that it would be better to do it at the defense school station this year and then hold it in the capital Nanjing next year. Chiang Kai-shek did not agree: "When you study air defense in a foreign country, you only exercise after seeing that others have made all the preparations, and if we are like foreign countries, we don't know when and when the exercise will be held, so you should let go and be bold, do as much as you can, and gradually try to improve it." ”
Air defense equipment used by the Nationalist army
Huang Zhenqiu plucked up his courage and carefully prepared for nearly three months, and on November 21, 1934, a terrible siren sounded over Nanjing. Xia Lumin, a student of the first phase of the anti-aircraft artillery class of the defense school, recalled: "The first capital air defense exercise was a new thing, with the Guanghuamen Outer Airport, the Ming Palace Airport, the Xiaguan Railway Station and the urban area as the 'main protective targets.' Formulate the 'Land and Air Liaison Letter Mark', and form a 'protection regiment' with gendarmes, police, students, and urban Zhuangding sub-districts, responsible for maintaining law and order, and guiding evacuation, firefighting, fire fighting, drug prevention, and rescue work. Anti-aircraft artillery and searchlight units are centered on Wutai Mountain in the urban area and are equipped with heavy layers of crossover. With Hangzhou as the imaginary enemy flying team, nanjing aircraft as the defensive flying team. ”
Six years later, the Nationalist government designated November 21 as an air defense festival in recognition of the contributions of the air defense officers and men of the Huang Zhen Ball Office.
bibliography:
1. Gu Linhui: A Study on China's Anti-Air Raid Struggle During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Military Science Press, 2012.
2. Yuan Chengyi, "Research on the National Government's Air Defense against Japan During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-1945)", China Social Science Press, 2016.
3. Huang Zhenqiu: "Twelve Years of Air Defense", Taiwan, Commercial Press, 1970 edition.
4. Xia Lumin: "The Kuomintang's Air Defense and Huang Zhenqiu", National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference literature and history materials: "Selected Manuscripts of Literature and History Materials - Military Institutions (Part I)", China Literature and History Publishing House, 2002 edition.
5. "Outline of the Anti-Japanese War of The Air Defense Forces on the Ground", Collection of the Second Historical Archives of China, 787-17030.