Republic of China Armed Forces

The Republic of China Armed Forces (ROCA, 中華民國國軍), known as the National Revolutionary Army (NRA, 國民革命軍) before June 1948, is the regular army of the Republic of China with the implementation of the army reforms of 1948, calling for civilian control of the military. It was previously the military wing of the Kuomintang, during the Kuomintang party-state, and was engaged in multiple wars such as the Northern Expedition, Second Sino-Japanese War and the Sino-Manchu War.

Originally organized with Soviet aid as a means to unite China under Kuomintang rule, the Armed Forces has been in multiple engagements, such as the Northern Expedition against Beiyang Warlords, the Second Sino-Japanese War against the Imperial Japanese Army, Sino-Manchu War against the Qing Royal Army, and has also been engaged with Vietnamese communist forces and French Colonial Forces during the ongoing Vietnamese Civil War.

History
The NRA was founded by the KMT in 1925 as the military force destined to unite China in the Northern Expedition. Organized with the help of the Comintern and supposedly guided under the doctrine of the Three Principles of the People, the distinction among loyalty to the party, state and army was often blurred. A large number of the Army's officers passed through the Whampoa Military Academy, and the first commandant, Chiang Kai-shek, became commander-in-chief of the Army in 1925 before launching the successful Northern Expedition. Other prominent commanders included Du Yuming and Chen Cheng. The end of the Northern Expedition in 1928 is often taken as the date when China's Warlord era ended, though smaller-scale warlord activity continued for years afterwards in groups such as the New Guangxi Clique under Li Zongren. The dissolution of the First United Front led to the NRA to start purging their leftist members and largely eliminated communist influence from it's ranks. Lacking a foreign advisor, the NRA looked to the then Weimar Republic Germany, historically a strong military power. The Weimar Republic, limited by the Treaty of Versailles, was unable to send military advisors in a military role to the newly United China. When the ROC initially requested famous generals such as Ludendorff and von Mackensen as military advisors, the Weimar Republic turned these requests down as to not to be seen as sending generals to foreign countries as mercenaries.

In 1933, the new Nazi party that was in charge of Germany disavowed the Treaty, furthering relations between the Anti-Communist Nazi Party and the Anti-Communist Kuomintang, with Germany expanding Chinese infrastructure and training Chinese troops, while China provided industrial aid for Germany. By the same year, the first of the many advisors to China was Max Bauer.

In 1934, the newly formed Chinese General Staff proposed a plan to reform the cowardly and then-corrupt NRA into a fighting force to be reckoned with, fearing a Japanese invasion of China, and the inability of China at it's current state to defend against a Japanese invasion. The plan was to reform the army into 80 Divisions of highly trained and well-equipped troops organized in the fashion of German forces. Immediate work was put to the plan, purging corrupt elements while reorganizing the officer structure at the Whampoa Officer Academies. By 1937, 24 Divisions had gone through mass mobilization and training along German lines, with corruption and rife in the NRA to be reduced. The first of the many divisions that were reorganized were the 3rd, 4th, 8th, 37th, 87th, 88th, 91th, 200th divisions and the Training Division.

An unknown amount of Nazi military advisors were sent to China to reform the NRA, and it is unknown of who after 1935. In 1938, due to closer collaboration with the Empire of Japan, the Nazi Regime recalled all resources from China.

For a time, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Communist forces fought as a nominal part of the National Revolutionary Army, forming the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army units, but this co-operation later fell apart.

Troops in India and Burma during World War II included the Chinese Expeditionary Force (Burma), the Chinese Army in India and Y Force.

In 1942, the US offered to reform the NRA yet again, training the troops in British India. By then, 35 divisions had been retrained in India and Sichuan, and the new driving force in the NRA by 1944. After the drafting and implementation of the Constitution of the Republic of China in 1947, the National Revolutionary Army was transformed into the ground service branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces – the Republic of China Army (ROCA).

The post-war ROCA was a formidable force - the NRA crushed warlords and subjugated communist uprisings with ease - but this was to come to a test at 1947, with the Sino-Manchu War. The Soviet trained Qing troops were one of the stepping stones of the ROCA to become a global fighting force - another army reform had followed in 1948 had mechanized and motorized the majority of the ROCA at the time.

Structure
The NRA throughout its lifespan recruited approximately 4,300,000 regulars, in 274 Standard Divisions (正式師), 35 New Divisions (新編師), 12 Cavalry Divisions (騎兵師), eight New Cavalry Divisions (新編騎兵師), 45 Temporary Divisions (暫編師), and 13 Reserve Divisions (預備師), for a grand total of 387 divisions. However, some divisions were formed from two or more other divisions, and were not active at the same time.

At the apex of the NRA was the National Military Council, also translated as Military Affairs Commission. Chaired by Chiang Kai-Shek, it directed the staffs and commands. It included from 1937 the Chief of the General Staff, General He Yingqin, the General Staff, the War Ministry, the military regions, air and naval forces, air defense and garrison commanders, and support services Around 14 Million were conscripted from 1937-1945.

Organization
Military Affairs Commission


 * Military Region ×12 (戰區)
 * Army Corps ×4(兵團)
 * Army Group (集團軍 Group Army)
 * Route Army (路軍)
 * Field army (軍)
 * Corps x191 (軍團 Army Group) – usually exercised command over two to three NRA Divisions and often a number of Independent Brigades or Regiments and supporting units. The Chinese Republic had 191 Corps during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Corps became the basic tactical unit of the NRA having strength nearly equivalent to an allied Division.
 * Division (師)
 * Brigade (旅)
 * Regiment (團)
 * Battalion (營)
 * Company (連)
 * Platoon (排)
 * Squad (班)