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88th Division (National Revolutionary Army)
Encyclopedia
The 88th Division was a German-trained and reorganized division
in the National Revolutionary Army
.
as part of the Fifth Army, fighting alongside the 19th Route Army
.
purged its leftist members and completely eliminated Soviet influence from its ranks. Chiang Kai-shek
turned to Germany, historically a great military power, for assistance in the reorganization of the National Revolutionary Army
.
The Weimar Republic
sent advisors to China, however due to restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles
, these advisors could not serve in military capacities. When Adolf Hitler
became Chancellor
in 1933 and disregarded the Treaty, the National Socialist Party
and the Koumintang united by their anti-communist ideals
began closely cooperating with Germany
training Chinese troops and expanding Chinese infrastructure while China
made its markets and natural resources available to Germany.
In 1934 General Hans von Seeckt
, acting as advisor to Chiang, proposed a '60 Division Plan' for restructuring the Chinese Nationalist Army into 60 divisions of highly trained, well-equipped troops along German doctrines. The 88th Division was one of the first divisions to be reorganized and alongside the 36th Division
and 87th Division became the cream of the crop of the National Revolutionary Army
.
In 1937, though still not completely reorganized, the 88th Division under the command of Sun Yuanliang
was rushed to the Second Battle of Shanghai
alongside the other German-trained divisions. The elite, German-trained division performed admirably, pushing the Japanese marines back to the very shores of Shanghai. However the absence of air and naval support, poor coordination between units, and the lack of defence in depth
, resulted in the division suffering heavy casualties towards the end of the three-month battle. On 25 December 1937, Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek ordered the division withdrawn to join the ill-fated Battle of Nanjing
. This led to portions of the 524th Regiment remaining at the Sihang Warehouse for days and successfully covered the retreat of the division, while beating back numerous Japanese assaults on the warehouse.
After the Battle of Nanking, the 88th Division never recovered its former strength and was of limited significance later in the war. In 1938 the 88th Division participated in the Battle of Wuhan
as part of the 71st Corps. In 1942 the 88th Division was again reorganized and redeployed into Burma as part of the Chinese Expeditionary Force (in Burma).
German-trained divisions in the National Revolutionary Army
The German trained divisions were the elite of the infantry divisions in the National Revolutionary Army trained under Sino-German cooperation...
in the National Revolutionary Army
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...
.
First Battle of Shanghai
The division was present at the First Battle of Shanghai in 1932 under the command of General Yu JishiYu Jishi
Yu Jishi was a Chinese Nationalist military general from Fenghua, Zhejiang. He served with distinction during the battle of Shanghai and was wounded leading a defense in battle. After the war, he retreated to Taiwan with the Republic of China's Nationalist government and served with the defence...
as part of the Fifth Army, fighting alongside the 19th Route Army
19th Route Army
19th Route Army was an army in the Republic of China led by General Cai Tingkai. It gained a good reputation among Chinese for fighting the Japanese in Shanghai in the January 28 Incident in 1932...
.
Order of Battle (1932)
- 5th Army - Zhang ZhizhongZhang ZhizhongZhang Zhizhong was a general in the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China. He was born in Chaohu, Anhui, and attended the Baoding Military Academy from which he graduated in 1916...
(張治中) - 88th Division - General Yu JishiYu JishiYu Jishi was a Chinese Nationalist military general from Fenghua, Zhejiang. He served with distinction during the battle of Shanghai and was wounded leading a defense in battle. After the war, he retreated to Taiwan with the Republic of China's Nationalist government and served with the defence...
(余濟時)
-
-
- 262nd Brigade - Qian Lunti (錢倫體)
- 264th Brigade - Yang Bufei (楊步飛)
-
The 88th Division as a German-trained division
In 1927 after the dissolution of the First United Front between the Nationalists and the Communists, the ruling KuomintangKuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
purged its leftist members and completely eliminated Soviet influence from its ranks. Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
turned to Germany, historically a great military power, for assistance in the reorganization of the National Revolutionary Army
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...
.
The Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
sent advisors to China, however due to restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, these advisors could not serve in military capacities. When Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
became Chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
in 1933 and disregarded the Treaty, the National Socialist Party
National Socialist Party
Parties in various contexts have referred to themselves as National Socialist parties. Because there is no clear definition of national socialism, the term has been used to mean very different things...
and the Koumintang united by their anti-communist ideals
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
began closely cooperating with Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
training Chinese troops and expanding Chinese infrastructure while China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
made its markets and natural resources available to Germany.
In 1934 General Hans von Seeckt
Hans von Seeckt
Johannes Friedrich "Hans" von Seeckt was a German military officer noted for his organization of the German Army during the Weimar Republic.-Early life:...
, acting as advisor to Chiang, proposed a '60 Division Plan' for restructuring the Chinese Nationalist Army into 60 divisions of highly trained, well-equipped troops along German doctrines. The 88th Division was one of the first divisions to be reorganized and alongside the 36th Division
36th Division (National Revolutionary Army)
The 36th Division was a cavalry division in the National Revolutionary Army. It was created in 1932 by the Kuomintang for General Ma Zhongying, who was also its first commander. It was made almost entirely out of Hui Muslim troops, all of its officers were Hui, with a few thousand Uighurs forced...
and 87th Division became the cream of the crop of the National Revolutionary Army
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...
.
In 1937, though still not completely reorganized, the 88th Division under the command of Sun Yuanliang
Sun Yuanliang
Sun Yuanliang was a Chinese military general of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China. Sun was the last surviving member of the first graduating class of the Whampoa Military Academy, as well as the last surviving army-level commander of the Second Sino-Japanese War...
was rushed to the Second Battle of Shanghai
Battle of Shanghai
The Battle of Shanghai, known in Chinese as Battle of Songhu, was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China and the Imperial Japanese Army of the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War...
alongside the other German-trained divisions. The elite, German-trained division performed admirably, pushing the Japanese marines back to the very shores of Shanghai. However the absence of air and naval support, poor coordination between units, and the lack of defence in depth
Defence in depth
Defence in depth is a military strategy; it seeks to delay rather than prevent the advance of an attacker, buying time and causing additional casualties by yielding space...
, resulted in the division suffering heavy casualties towards the end of the three-month battle. On 25 December 1937, Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek ordered the division withdrawn to join the ill-fated Battle of Nanjing
Battle of Nanjing
The Battle of Nanking began after the fall of Shanghai on October 9, 1937, and ended with the fall of the capital city of Nanking on December 13, 1937 to Japanese troops, a few days after the Republic of China Government had evacuated the city and relocated to Wuhan...
. This led to portions of the 524th Regiment remaining at the Sihang Warehouse for days and successfully covered the retreat of the division, while beating back numerous Japanese assaults on the warehouse.
After the Battle of Nanking, the 88th Division never recovered its former strength and was of limited significance later in the war. In 1938 the 88th Division participated in the Battle of Wuhan
Battle of Wuhan
The Battle of Wuhan, popularly known to the Chinese as the Defence of Wuhan, and to the Japanese as the Capture of Wuhan, was a large-scale battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War...
as part of the 71st Corps. In 1942 the 88th Division was again reorganized and redeployed into Burma as part of the Chinese Expeditionary Force (in Burma).
Order of Battle (1937)
- 88th Division - Total strength: 14,000 men
- 2 infantry brigades
-
-
- 1 artillery company
- 1 light artillery company
- 1 signal company
- 1 SpcOps company
- 3 infantry battalions
-
- 3 infantry companies
-
- 3 infantry platoons
-
- 3 infantry squads
- 1 heavy weapons company
- directly under divisional command
- 1 artillery battalion
-
- 3 artillery companies
- 1 anti-tank company
- 1 anti-air company
- 1 engineer company
- 1 signal company
-
- 2 "wired" platoons
- 1 wireless platoon
- 1 heavy transport company
- 1 SpcOps company
- 1 field hospitalField hospitalA field hospital is a large mobile medical unit that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities...
team- 2 reserve regiments
-