Kangzhan: Guide to Chinese Ground Forces 1937-45 is the first ready reference to the organization and armament of Chinese ground forces during the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-45. The work integrates Chinese, Japanese and Western sources to examine the details of the structure and weapons of the period. Recent scholarship has contributed greatly to our understanding of China's role in the war, but this is the first book to deal with the bottom-level underpinnings of this massive army, crucial to an understanding of its tactical and operational utility. An introductory chapter discusses the military operations in China, often given short shrift in World War II histories. The work then traces the evolution of the national army's organizational structure from the end of the Northern Expedition to the conclusion of World War II. Included are tables of organization and strength reports for the wartime period. The armament section illustrates and details not only the characteristics of the many and varied weapons used in China, many seen nowhere else, but also their acquisition and such local production as was undertaken. This is complemented by a chapter on the arsenals and their evolution and production programs. The Chinese army was one of the largest of the war and it, and Japan's, fought longer than any other. It faced unique challenges, including fragmented loyalties, huge expanses of territory, poor logistics networks, inadequate arms supplies, and, often, incompetence and corruption. Nevertheless, they fought bravely in major battles through 1941 and were able to counterpunch effectively in important regions through the rest of the war. Aimed at both military historians and wargamers, this work fills an important gap in our understanding of this, the most under-appreciated army of the war.

Rikugun: Guide to Japanese Ground Forces 1937-1945 is the first nuts-and-bolts handbook to utilize both the voluminous raw allied intelligence documents and post-war Japanese documentation as primary sources. This first volume covers the tactical organization of Army and Navy ground forces during the 1937-45 war. Using the wartime Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) mobilization plans, and the Unit Organization Tables, Unit Strength Tables and Unit History Tables compiled by the War Ministry and the 1st Demobilization Bureau during and after the war, a complete picture of IJA ground forces through the war is presented.The evolution of the Japanese force structure is examined, including infantry, armor, cavalry, artillery and naval ground combat units from battalion to division level, each thoroughly discussed and illustrated with tables of organization and equipment and mobilization data. This forms the framework for any discussion of the Imperial Japanese Army's capabilities and intentions.

Rikugun: Guide to Japanese Ground Forces 1937-1945 is the first nuts-and-bolts handbook to utilize both the voluminous raw allied intelligence documents and post-war Japanese documentation as primary sources. This first volume covers the tactical organization of Army and Navy ground forces during the 1937-45 war. Using the wartime Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) mobilization plans, and the Unit Organization Tables, Unit Strength Tables and Unit History Tables compiled by the War Ministry and the 1st Demobilization Bureau during and after the war, a complete picture of IJA ground forces through the war is presented. The evolution of the Japanese force structure is examined, including infantry, armor, cavalry, artillery and naval ground combat units from battalion to division level, each thoroughly discussed and illustrated with tables of organization and equipment and mobilization data. This forms the framework for any discussion of the Imperial Japanese Army's capabilities and intentions.