Since the 1930s, light machine guns have been widely equipped in various armies of our country at that time. In addition to direct outsourcing, some arsenals can also manufacture their own light machine guns.
By the time the all-out Anti-Japanese War began in 1937, the total number of light machine guns equipped by various armies reached tens of thousands. Among them, the adjustment division of the Central Army was equipped with the most abundant light machine guns. At that time, the light machine guns of the adjustment division could be equipped to the infantry squad level. According to the establishment, each division could be equipped with 324 light machine guns. Of course, some units are actually equipped with more equipment. For example, the 36th Division actually had 351 light machine guns at that time.
At that time, after the Red Army was adapted into the New Fourth Army , because there were very few artillery and heavy machine guns , the light machine gun actually became the most direct fire support weapon for the grassroots troops. According to statistics, at the beginning of the all-out war of resistance, the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army had 112 light machine guns; the 129th Division had 93 light machine guns.
Obviously, the number of light machine guns equipped by our army at that time was much less than that of the elite national army. Moreover, the models of machine guns and were relatively complex and in relatively poor condition. Of course, the bullets were not comparable.
But despite this, the light machine gun still played a very important role in the war against Japan at that time. At the same time, the light machine guns equipped by the Japanese army are naturally the focus of our army's combat capture.
According to statistics, by June 1939, the Eighth Route Army had seized 384 light machine guns, and some of the main forces with better results against Japan had already been equipped with crooked handles and .
Relatively speaking, the national army's machine gun losses and replenishments at this time are much greater.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Military Affairs of the National Government, by 1939 the number of light machine guns lost by the National Army had reached 31,500; however, 30,500 were replenished during the same period, which basically made up for the losses. However, due to the increase in the number of organic units of the national army at this time, the number of light machine guns equipped by various departments has actually declined.
However, in general, the light machine guns of various departments of the national army can be supplemented by the rear. Relatively speaking, the light machine guns of our army at that time had to mainly rely on capture.
As for fighting against the Japanese army, everyone knows that it is not easy to capture equipment, especially weapons such as machine guns and artillery. The national army achieved a great victory in the famous Third Battle of Changsha, but only 101 light machine guns were actually captured. Relatively speaking, the national army lost a lot of light machine guns at that time.
General Su Yu said this when talking about the topic of light machine guns:
Our troops all like light machine guns. Of course, light machine guns are good, but too many are not good. You have only thirty or forty soldiers in a company, but you have five light machine guns. Three men can carry one. Fifteen of them are gone, and there are ten to twenty riflemen. The light machine guns cannot be charged with bayonets, and even if they run out of bullets, they can't be used as a rifle.
Therefore, it is good to have more light machine guns, but there must be sufficient soldiers, and riflemen must also be increased in proportion. We must understand that we are currently facing difficulties in sourcing ammunition. Solving battles depends not mainly on the firepower of light machine guns, but on rifles and bayonets.
When the Kuomintang troops fight, they usually throw away dozens of light machine guns. Each of their squads had a light machine gun, and three people were required to man the light machine gun. If one was injured, two people would be required to rescue it, so three were sent; if three were injured, nine would have to be removed. As a result, no one could carry the light machine gun, so they had to throw it away.
In the late period of the Anti-Japanese War, due to the large number of light machine guns produced by the national arsenal and the assistance from the United States, the overall number of light machine guns equipped by the national army at that time was still quite large.
According to statistics in June 1945, the number of light machine guns equipped by the entire Chinese army has exceeded 65,000, even more than the Japanese army at that time.
At that time, our army mainly relied on captured machine guns. Although they reached the level of several thousand, they were still far behind the national army.
According to statistics by December 1945, the number of light machine guns equipped by our army was 9,937.
By the time the War of Liberation began in full swing in 1946, the average number of technical weapons equipped by the main forces of the national army would obviously exceed that of our army. However, during the battle, the Chinese military units were often completely destroyed by our army, and these weapons and equipment were also seized.
Of course, for troops that win more battles, they will capture more, and their equipment level will be better.
For example, in September 1946, a certain unit of our army in Suzhong said: The first battalion of Chiang Kai-shek's army has several machine guns, and our battalion also has several machine guns. Jiang Jun has several cannons, and we also have several cannons. This shows that for some of our army's elite troops, some equipment has reached the level of the national army's field troops.
Of course, as far as East China is concerned, the Battle of Central Jiangsu is just the beginning. With the subsequent victories of Subei Battle , Lunan Battle , Laiwu Battle , more national army troops will be wiped out, and our army will seize more weapons and equipment.
For example, during the Battle of Laiwu in February 1947, the newly established East China Field Army captured as many as 1,773 light machine guns. This is not a small number. It is almost one-fifth of the number of light machine guns equipped by our army in 1945.
Being able to capture such a large number of light machine guns in one battle is obviously a "big fish".
The biggest fish here is the 73rd Army of the National Army. This army is one of the 13 armies that changed its weapons and equipment in the late Anti-Japanese War. It has jurisdiction over the 15th Division, the 77th Division and the 193rd Division.
According to the standards of the U.S. Armed Forces at that time, the troops directly under the army were equipped with 69 light machine guns, each division was equipped with 333 light machine guns, and the number of light machine guns equipped by the entire army reached 1,068.
Since the 73rd Army has not accepted reorganization, the organization and equipment of each division and regiment are complete. However, there were quite a few vacancies in the army at that time, and some of the directly-affiliated units had not yet participated in the war, so the number of light machine guns actually participating in the battle was slightly less.
The No. 2 "big fish" in the Battle of Laiwu was the 46th Army or the 46th Reorganized Division of the Guangxi Army . The reason why this unit has a strange name is because it was originally changed to a reorganized division, but after being transferred to Shandong, it was renamed the 46th Army.
However, after the brigades under the ministry were restored to proficiency, they did not seem to have perfected the three-regiment system, but they had sufficient soldiers and relatively good equipment.
The reason why this is so is because the 46th Army was actually co-organized by the 31st Army and the 46th Army of the Guangxi Army in 1945. In the late Anti-Japanese War, these two armies actually got a lot of beautiful weapons and equipment due to the first-come-first-served factor. Therefore, although the 46th Army is not the name of the American Armament Army, the weapons equipped by each unit are good, and because the Guangxi Army is not satisfied with the reduction of its establishment, the number of troops is relatively sufficient.
Of course, the 46th Army will definitely have a lot of light machine gun equipment. Basically, each infantry company is equipped with 9 light machine guns. It's just that the establishment of the infantry regiment is still smaller after all, so the number of light machine gun equipment is not as good as that of the 73rd Army.
In addition, during the Laiwu Battle and ancillary operations, they also annihilated the New 36th Division of the 12th Army, the 15th Traffic Police Corps, and some units of the 8th Army. Of course, some light machine guns were also captured. But compared to the above two integrated armies, it will be much less.
Speaking of the situation of the 73rd Army's light machine guns at that time, there are some interesting things worth mentioning.
When the 73rd Army was advancing, in order to prevent being ambushed, two battalions were specially equipped with light machine guns and submachine guns to form a summit team. They performed search missions on the way forward. When they encountered small units, they would fight on their own to cover the main force. If they encountered large units of the People's Liberation Army, they would first seize key points and wait for reinforcements from the main force.
It should be said that this 73rd Army still has some tactics, and of course problems sometimes occur. For example, when the personnel of the 46th Army entered the city, the 73rd Army's light machine gun fire almost killed the 46th Army. This was considered a conflict between the two forces at the time.
Of course, there was not much time for the conflict between the two to intensify, because after a day or two, the tens of thousands of troops in Laiwu were wiped out by Huaye.
Because the army was destroyed so quickly, it was hardly in a fighting state, so thousands of prisoners were captured, and mountains of weapons and equipment were seized.
In the end, these two armies mainly used equipment, and 1,773 light machine guns alone were handed over.
Huaye had just been formed at that time, and the upgraded field army of some local troops had not yet been equipped with weapons. The 1,773 light machine guns seized could be put to great use. Based on Huaye's establishment at the time, these light machine guns could equip about 33 regiments with lower configurations, and 22 infantry regiments with higher configurations.
In other words, after this battle, the light machine guns of several columns in Huaye were basically secured. In this sense, this "great gift" of the Battle of Laiwu is really not light!
