CHINESE ARMIES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 19 March 1926, Page 6

CHINESE ARMIES.

CURIOUS FIGHTING FORCES. WARRIORS A.NJJ UMBRELLAS. Lecturing on '‘The Chinese Armies of tne Present Day” at the Hoyai United Service institute, Major-Gen-eral Sir J. S- Fowler, who has recently returned from China, said there was no such thing in China as a national army, but there was a number of armies under the command of so-called generals, who raised them to further tiieir own ambitious ends. The recruits had no compunction about fighting against their fellow-countrymen so long as they were put up to ‘"fight against the other side,” but always with the one proviso that their families were secure. The Chinese had a list of grades of nobleness, and that of the soldier came last but one on the list. (Laughter.) They made , extraordinarily good field engineers, and there was very little they could not do with bamboos. The various armies were very well equipped with modern rifles, for which there was a good supply of ammunition, replenished by smuggling. The most important arsenal was one in Manchuria, on which General Chang Tso-lin had spent £2,000,000, and it was capable of turning out 100 rifles and 300,000 rounds of small-arm ammunition a day, 100 field guns, and 100 machine-guns per year, and 500 shells a day. The uniforms of all the armies were blue-grey in colour, . and the soldiers wore arm bands of different colours, which were pinned on so that they could easily change sides. (Laughter.) ‘‘When it is wet,” proceeded General Fowler, “they have a good supply of umbrellas. You may laugh, but an umbrella is extraordinarily useful in wet weather. The Chinaman is thoroughly accustomed to its use, and it is undoubtedly a great protection to him.” The lecturer described the “Christian” General Feng Hu-hsiang as “a great, big burly Chinaman.” Christianity for his army meant no drinking of wine, and no smoking, and the soldiers were not allowed any wives or female society at all in the neighbourhood. In the room where General Fowler had breakfast there were many texts with Chinese figures on them, and a hymn was sung. In the barracks he found officers and men sitting side by side working a “sort of Heath Robinson loom.” on which they were making cloth for their uniforms. “I do not believe these men ever touch any pay,” he said. “They get assured food, and they have the hope of some day being let loose to loot.” (Laughter.) Chang Tso-lin, the war lord of Manchuria, invited General Fowler, on the occasion of a visit to his courthouse, “to sit on a sort of sofa, at each end'of which was an enormous Manchurian tiger.” “They were,” said the general, “twice th© size of any Indian tiger I have ever seen, and most imposing beasts.” " He described this Chinese general as an insignificant man in stature, and so nervous about his own safety that he never w.ent into the street except in an armoured motorcar. The lecturer also saw the exEmperor, “an extremely nice youth of about 18, who has taken the English name of _A.rt.liur. Ho is not likely, so far as one can see, to make a Manchurian warrior.” In Canton there are, said the lecturer about 200 Russian instructors with the army, and these are Red Russians. Chang Tsolin, in Manchuria, had a number of Russians with him, some White, and some men who were wandering about North China in a semi-starving condition. In the fighting the Chinese general used them as “shock” troops, and they did very well. At the last Japanese manoeuvres General Fowler saw visiting officers from the different Chinese armies. They were supposed to be at daggers drawn, but in Japan they were all fraternising together. GJeneral Fowler’s opinion of the Chinese armies of to-day is that “they are really formidable on account of modern weapons and numbers.” He also expressed the view that owing to the nature of the country China w.ould be a very difficult country for a modern army to operate in.