Chapter 15: Focus on Developing Light Weapons

After seeing off the three regiment commanders of the 386th Brigade, Zhang Qian returned to his cave dwelling to prepare to choose the next national policy.

The most important problem facing the troops now is the lack of basic firearms and ammunition.

In the system, there are actually five national policy lines concerning troop armament. The one related to France targets the army's light and heavy weapons; the one related to the Soviet Union is about studying and imitating Soviet tanks and forming mechanized units; the one related to Germany is about building a tank factory belonging to the Eighth Route Army; the one related to Britain is about introducing British aircraft and learning aircraft manufacturing; the one related to the United States is about establishing the Chinese navy and obtaining some new warships.

Actually, Zhang Qian really wanted to get some tanks or a tank factory going, as tanks, being the kings of land warfare, are very suitable for the current battlefield.

First, at this stage the Japanese have no anti-tank weapons (the PIAT hasn't appeared yet; it came out in 1944, and back then it was mainly aimed at American tanks).

Second, Japanese tanks are mainly light tanks, but they suffer because the various Chinese war zones lack anti-tank weapons. These little bean‑tank toys, with Japanese industrial scrap iron running rampant across the Chinese land, if we could get some European‑bred tanks, that would be an absolute dimensional strike.

Finally, because the Eighth Route Army is not short of oil, there are records of oil in northern Shaanxi that can be traced back to the Han dynasty; both the Eastern Han historian Ban Gu's Book of Han and the Song dynasty scholar Shen Kuo's Dream Pool Essays mention it.

However, developing the petroleum industry was a matter of the late Qing: in 1905 the Qing government allocated funds in Yanchang to set up the "Yanchang State Petroleum Factory," thus beginning China's modern petroleum industry.

In 1935 the Red Army reached Yanchang and took control of the oil field. Afterwards, the Central Red Army that had gone through the Long March also arrived in northern Shaanxi. With the approval of the oil‑field workers, the Yanchang oil field continued to operate normally. Before Kai‑shek's Yumen oil field was completed, this was China's only oil field.

But tanks cannot be operated just by anyone; the current base comrades generally have low cultural levels, so the learning cost is really high, let alone tank‑infantry coordination.

Zhang Qian could only regretfully abandon the tank line and continue developing the army's light and heavy weapons, proceeding with the French national policy line.

"Focus on developing light weapons: given that individual weapons remain our army's basic equipment, our limited resources must be mainly invested in equipping advanced firearms.

Effect:

After 70 days obtain ore refining plant ×1

After France's surrender obtain:

MAS-36 rifle production line ×1

Hotchkiss M1914 heavy machine gun production line ×1

FM-24/29 light machine gun production line ×1

MAS-38 submachine gun production line ×1"

For the present Eighth Route Army, the ore refining plant is truly a timely relief; the vast Chinese land is rich in mineral resources, lacking only the means to refine them.

Zhang Qian is also very satisfied with the production line to be obtained this time; in fact, France's World War II‑era new equipment is not bad.

As a famous European military power, they claimed to have the strongest army in Europe, and their military technology certainly had a couple of tricks up its sleeve; many standard firearms actually outperformed European ones. However, the new weapons were not mass‑produced, so the speed of troop re‑equipment was insufficient, and in the end they were pushed back to their doorstep by the Germans, with most soldiers still using World War I antiques.

The French collapsed too quickly, so the excellent performance of their firearms could not be displayed; much of the new equipment was captured at ninety‑percent new, cheaply benefiting the German occupation forces in France and the Vichy French troops.

The MAS-36 rifle was born to replace the earlier Lebel M1886 bolt‑action rifle. It has good ergonomics, is easy to handle, has relatively high accuracy, and is cheap to produce. The MAS‑36 is shorter and lighter, weighing only 3.9 kilograms, making it very easy to carry. It fires 7.5×54 mm rimless cartridges,

with a magazine capacity of five rounds, an effective range of 350 to 400 meters, a muzzle velocity of 853 meters per second, and an overall length of 1020 millimeters. The rifle is fitted with a bayonet that, when not in use, sits like a rod in a metal tube under the barrel; when needed, it is pulled out, turned around, and inserted back. Moreover, the bolt action is very smooth; a trained soldier can make it function like a semi‑automatic. One could say it is the final glory of the bolt‑action rifle!

"The gun is a good gun, but its initial users were all weaklings; the blood of French men seems to have already been spent in World War I, so I directly give the French a lactation."

The Hotchkiss M1914 heavy machine gun is an air‑cooled, gas‑operated heavy machine gun with five cooling fins on the barrel, a gas pipe beneath the barrel, a pistol‑style trigger, and a ring‑shaped handle at the rear for convenient sweeping fire; its most distinctive feature is the use of 24‑round metal feed strips. Later it adopted detachable belts, making reloading more efficient than using the non‑disposable cloth belts of the Maxim gun. Based on the Hotchkiss M1914, the Japanese copied it into their Type 92 heavy machine gun. This gun is an old friend; the Yunnan army had large numbers of it with re‑bored calibers.

The FM‑24/29 light machine gun was designed to replace the notorious Chauchat. It took the feed system of the Danish Madsen light machine gun, placing the magazine on top of the receiver, firing the French 7.5×54 mm rifle cartridge, using a 25‑round magazine, with a theoretical rate of fire of about 450–550 rounds per minute, and it also features two triggers—one for semi‑automatic fire, the other for fully automatic. The FM‑24/29 is the French army's main light machine gun; it actually looks quite like the Bren, the ZB‑26, and the Type 99, though it lacks a carrying handle. This light machine gun can be considered the pride of France.

The MAS‑38 submachine gun fires 7.65×20 mm pistol cartridges, uses a 32‑round magazine, has an effective range of 50–150 meters, a muzzle velocity of 350 meters per second, and a theoretical rate of fire of about 600–700 rounds per minute. Its appearance is quite unique: the barrel and receiver are not aligned symmetrically, the barrel angles downward, making it look awkward. Overall, the MAS‑38 is a very good weapon—reliable, controllable, quite accurate, with moderate rate of fire and low recoil; most importantly, it is really small, about the size of a pistol without a stock and a box‑gun, fitting the portable concept well. Its only problem is that the 7.65×20 mm long cartridge has insufficient propellant, which greatly limits its effective range.

"It's famous! This is Mussolini's happy gun."

With these weapons, as long as production can keep up, the Eighth Route Army's combat power can experience a leap‑forward increase.

It is already January 1940; the Japanese' next sweeping operation is coming up soon. The 386th Brigade has received a batch of new weapons, and the combat power of all three regiments has improved.

"I don't know what changes Li Yunlong will encounter when facing the Sakata Regiment this time; I hope he can gain some spirit and also become smarter, while this dog‑skin plaster keeps wandering in front of me at the clothing factory."

Zhang Qian stroked his chin and muttered to himself.