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Republic of China Army

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The Republic of China Army (ROCA) (Chinese: 中華民國陸軍; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó Lùjūn) is the land-based service branch of the Republic of China Military and it is the largest and oldest branch of the entire Chinese armed forces. The ROCA can trace its lineage from the 1880s with the creation of what would become the Beiyang Army, a powerful, Western-style Imperial Chinese Army established by the Qing Dynasty government in the late 19th century. It was the centrepiece of a general reconstruction of Qing China's military system. The Beiyang Army, officially renamed to the Republic of China Army in 1912, would go on to play a major role in Chinese politics in the 20th century, It made the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 possible and went on to defeat all it's rivals for power in the new Republic of China, with the defeat of the Nationalist Kuomintang in 1913 and 1927, and the Chinese Communist Party in 1949.

As a uniformed military service, the Republic of China Army is one of the four military branches of the Republic of China Military. It is under the operational command of the General Staff Department, who is officially controlled by the Central Military Commission (CMC). However, the military members of the General Staff has a majority vote in the CMC, giving them effective control over the operational decisions of the military. The ROC Army is headed by a senior appointed military officer, Commander of the Army (COTA) who is member of the General Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, and by a junior military officer, the Deputy Commander of the Army (DCOTA). It is the largest military branch, with a projected strength of the combined-component of the ROC Army being 1,000,000 soldiers, and at least 500,000 auxiliaries. The Central Military Commission's issued national defence white paper state: "The Army is mainly responsible for land combat missions, including mobile combat troops, border defence forces, and security guards. In accordance with the strategic requirements of mobile operations and three-dimensional attack and defence, the Army actively promoted the transformation from regional defence to global mobility, accelerated the development of army aviation, light mechanised units and special operations forces, strengthened the construction of digital units, and gradually realised the miniaturisation of troops. Modular and versatile, improving air-ground integration, long-range manoeuvring, rapid assault and special operations capabilities. Army mobile combat units include 13 group armies and some independent synthetic combat divisions (Brigades), currently 850,000 people. Compiled into seven military regions." The branch has the ability to participate in conflicts worldwide and is the major ground-based offensive and defensive force of the Republic of China.

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Structure

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Operational Structure
There are 13 corps sized Army groups of the Republic of China Army, divided among five Theater commands — Northern, Central, Western, Eastern, Southern. Within the Theater Commands, many older divisions are being downsized into full brigades (Chinese: 旅; pinyin: Lǚ) - armoured, mechanised infantry, field artillery, air defence artillery, engineering and logistics brigades.

International observers currently attributes the ROC Army with nine active tank divisions consisting of a number of armoured brigades. The traditional structure of ROCA divisions (armoured and mechanised) consisted roughly of three regiments – tuan (Chinese: 团; pinyin: Tuán) – of the main arm, each of three battalions (Chinese: 营; pinyin: Yíng) plus support units, a fourth regiment of infantry (in an armoured division) or armour (in an infantry division), a field artillery regiment, an anti-aircraft regiment or battalion, and signals, engineer, reconnaissance, and chemical defence battalions or companies, plus combat service support units.

A typical ROCA armoured brigade has the brigade HQ, 4 tank battalions (124 main battle tanks) – each tank battalion has 3 tank companies (30 + 1 tank for the battalion commander), 1 mechanised infantry battalion (40 armoured personnel carriers), 1 field artillery battalion (18 self-propelled howitzers) – 3 batteries of 6 guns each and 1 anti-aircraft battalion plus a support battalion. In a mechanised/motorised infantry brigade, the organisation is 4 mechanised/motorised infantry battalions, 1 tank battalion and the rest as in the armoured brigades but with towed guns in the field artillery battalion.

There are 8 active artillery divisions consisting of a number of artillery brigades. A typical ROCA artillery brigade has 4 artillery battalions each with 18 guns in 3 batteries and 1 self-propelled anti-tank gun battalion (18 vehicles).

Brigades are a relatively new formation for the ROCA. Introduced in the 1990s, the ROCA plans to expand their number and rid itself of the massive, rigid formations of its older model. As a step towards modernising its army, this new system allows for smaller, cross-service arm battle groups of battalion size within a brigade to operate independently, increasing the ROCA's ability to respond to a rapidly changing battle situation. The ROCA has yet to fully take advantage of this new formation, but has been taking steps to successfully integrate it in its force structure.

Special Operations Forces
The ROC Army first became interested in modern special warfare in the mid-1980s when it was shifting from the "defensive regional war" to "fighting a local war under hi-tech conditions." The ROCA planners believed that the next war would be a short, fast-pace conflict on the periphery rather than a total war on Chinese territories, and conventional infantry-orientated ground forces in their mass numbers could no longer meet the requirements. It specialises in rapid reaction combat in a limited regional war under high-tech conditions, commando operations, counter-terrorism, and intelligence gathering. The size of the Special Operations Forces is estimated at 7,000 ~ 14,000 troops.

Equipment

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In the 1980s the ROC Army, which relied upon obsolescent but serviceable equipment, were most anxious to improve defences against armoured vehicles and aircraft. Most equipment was produced from American designs of the 1950s, but weapons were being incrementally upgraded, some Western technology. One example of upgraded, American-designed equipment was the Type 70 MBT, an improved version of the M60 Patton MBT. The Type 70 MBT had improved armour, a gun stabiliser, a fire control system including a laser rangefinder, infrared searchlights, and a 105 mm smooth-bore gun. In 1987 the existence of a new, Type 80 MBT was revealed to the international press. The tank had a new chassis, a 105 mm gun, and a fire control system. The ROCA was believed to have atomic demolition munitions, and there were unconfirmed reports that it also had tactical nuclear weapons. In any case, nuclear bombs and missiles in the Chinese inventory could be used in a theater role. The ROCA had a scarcity of antitank guided missiles, tactical surface-to-air missiles, and electronics to improve communications, fire control, and sensors. China began production of the Soviet inspired antitank missiles in the late 1970s, but lacked a more powerful, longer range, semiautomatic antitank guided missile. The ROCA required a mobile surface-to-air missile and an infantry shoulder-fired missile for use against helicopters and certain other aircraft.

The ROC Army continue to undergo significant modernisation and re-structuring to deal with potential threats and enhance their capabilities. Front line troops such as special forces, marines and paratroopers are given priority in receiving modern weapon systems and equipment. Other areas of improvement are its battlefield C4ISR capabilities, with the introduction of satellite communications, wireless networks, and digital radios, army commanders are now able to maintain constant communications with their front-line units while on the move. The bulk of the ground forces have been regularly asked to operate under severe electronic countermeasures conditions in exercises. Also a network-centric warfare capability connecting different combat, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance elements to form an integrated network is being developed.

Approximately 40% of the ground force divisions and brigades are either armoured or mechanised to deal with potential large scale conventional threats. Mechanised infantry are soldiers carried by Infantry Fighting Vehicles or Armoured Personnel Carriers. A mechanised infantry squad consists of nine men; six armed with QBZ-95 assault rifles, one machine gunner and crewman, and one RPG gunner. Non-mechanised infantry are soldiers moved by truck. A non-mechanised squad consists of 12 men; the original nine men plus one extra machine gun crew and RPG. Troops wear green-patterned camouflage uniforms, combat helmets, and flak jackets (ballistic vests with ceramic plates are only issued in rare cases). The dismounted squad has two walkie-talkie radios, while the vehicle has a longer range radio and intercom system.

The standard sidearm of ROC Army is the QSZ-95, with the most common calibre among soldiers, commanders and special forces being the 5.56×45 mm. The Israeli Uzi and German MP5 are 9×19 mm submachine guns used by special forces, while the Chinese made QCW-77 is the most common submachine gun among non-combat personnel such as vehicle crews and aircrews. The most common shotguns are the Italian Franchi SPAS-12 and Benelli M4. Sharpshooting is provided by the T93 sniper rifle for regular soldiers and the German PSG1 and DSR-1 for special forces. The most common machine gun is the Belgian FN Minimi light machine gun.

At platoon and company levels, the heavier Belgian FN MAG machine gun is used. Also at those levels are the Chinese M203 40 mm rifle-attached grenade launcher and the South African Milkor MGL 40 mm handheld grenade launcher. At company and battalion levels, weapons include the American M2 Browning 12.7 mm heavy machine gun, the Mk 19 40 mm belt-fed automatic grenade launcher and the FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank rocket launcher. The PP-82 82mm mortar is fielded at the battalion level, with the heavier French Mortier 120mm used by artillery units.

The cost to equip a single Chinese soldier is about 9,400 yuan (US$1,523), far less than Western soldiers, due to the lesser amounts of issued kit. Roughly half is the cost of the QBZ-95 rifle alone (4,300 yuan), with the second costliest being the helmet at 1,580 yuan. Unlike Western soldiers who are given body armor, knee and elbow pads, goggles, and gas masks, the regular Chinese soldiers are often not issued body armour higher than company levels. Only two radio sets are issued to each company for the commanding officers, with only a few soldiers in each squad carrying compasses, and fewer still having night-vision equipment. The infantry equipment that is not issued otherwise, however, has been seen in standard kit when they are deployed into high risk areas, as observed for units participating in international peacekeeping and counter-piracy operations.

Equipment Summary

> Main articles: Army Equipment, Weapons equipment

5,300 active Main battle tanks.
1,200 active Infantry fighting vehicles.
2,900 active Armoured personell vehicles.
8,000 active Armoured cars.
6,300 pieces of Towed artillery.
1,700 active Self-propelled artillery.
1,700 pieces of Rocket artillery.

At the onset of the French & Indian War the Acadian Peninsula was tenuously controlled by the British, while Ile Royale and mainland Acadia north of the Kennebec River was controlled by the French. The Ohio River may have been the initial powderkeg that began the war, but the Kennebec River had been growing more and more militarized for years, with Acadian/Wabanaki militias fortifying the eastern side of the river and militias of New England Planters fortifying the west. With the onset of the war a few small skirmishes and engagements between the militia sides began, with the Acadians holding off the New Englander advances but not going on the offensive themselves. French Regulars were focused on the St. Lawrence Seaway and attacks into northern New York at the onset of the war, but the French Homeland’s focus finally turned to Acadia towards the 2nd year of the war, when a British force dispatched from Boston assaulted and took Fort Beausejour. The victory was Phyrric for the British, and a counterattack from nearby Fort Gaspereau quickly took back Beausejour, but the potential for the British to open up yet another front in Acadia was more than enough for the French to place more focus on not only defending mainland Acadia but also taking back Peninsular Acadia. Through 1756 and 1757 the Acadian fronts remained impressively stable with Peninsular Acadia still in English hands until in 1758 the British once again assaulted Acadian positions—this time Louisbourg, on Ile Royale. In this timeline the French opted to use Louisbourg as a more major supply depot than IRL, causing it to be heavily-enough defended to hold off the British attack until they were forced to retreat back to the Peninsula, but by this point Fort Duquesne on the Ohio River had fallen, and while the French had managed to have some limited early success in the Adirondacks of New York, the war elsewhere was beginning to turn against them. Finally in 1759 the British began their final assault on the St. Lawrence Seaway, with forces coming by way of Fort Niagara in the south and the St. Lawrence Seaway in the north. To this point the Kennebec position had managed to hold strong against the New England militias, but French command knew it was only a matter of time until British forces moved in. The English had taken a gamble however in their two-pronged assault, with the northern wing of the attack coming primarily from Peninsular Acadia, leaving the area vulnerable to an uprising of Acadian settlers and Wabanaki Confederacy Indians, who were quickly bolstered by French Regulars and friendly Scottish forces that retook the region from the British, who didn’t counterattack—confident that they could retake the area after seizing the St. Lawrence River. In a suprising move, King Louis XV, who had recently ordered New France to reduce its defensive perimeter to the St. Lawrence River, once again ordered a reduction; this time to the Acadian Frontier. General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm—the commander of all French Forces in New France—who had already lost all hope of holding Quebec City in the case of a siege, eagerly took this opportunity to withdraw from the city to the south, swinging to the east and setting up positions in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli with artillery aimed at the river. As English ships sailed down the river they opened fire, with the English not expecting such a large force outside of Quebec City they took a suprising number of losses and landed on the northern shore of the river, thinking they would take Quebec City before assaulting Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, however after the seizure of Quebec City the British forces were instead ordered to join the assault on Montreal to the south, unaware of the fact that Montreal’s garrison had also retreated through the forests of northern New England to Acadia

As the British forces began to occupy the St. Lawrence Seaway in the autumn of 1759 and winter of 1760, French Regular forces began to fortify positions in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli as well as along the Kennebec River and St. Jean (Saint John) River, and with the St. Lawrence Seaway taken and fairly quickly pacified, the war on the Acadian Front began in the summer of 1760, with assaults on positions on the Kennebec River as well as the now heavily fortified Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, which had rapidly gone from an unassuming rural seigneury to a major defensive position for the front, and General Montcalm left his second-in-command, Francois-Gaston de Levis to defend the position while he turned his eyes to the south. de Levis held Saint-Jean-Port-Joli strong against multiple British assaults, and the strength of this position so close to Quebec City forced the English to garrison a sizeable force in the city that could have been better used at the front. In the south the Kennebec position held tenuously for a time, until January 12th 1761, when a force attacking from the frontier village of Augusta successfully breached the defenses and began to advance to the north and east. Montcalm ordered his forces to fortify the St. Jean river upstream from Petit Sault (Edmundston, NB) as well as the St. Croix River, with Montcalm placing his headquarters right on his new front at St. Etienne (St. Stephen, NB). While the majority of the French Regulars quickly retreated to the new front, Wabanaki and Acadian militias fought on orders of a slow, orderly retreat; waging a guerilla war against the advancing British as they withdrew to the new front. With their familiarity with the land, the militias successfully whittled down the British forces as they advanced. The smaller northern wing especially—advancing through the thick forests of northern Maine—lost enough of their numbers that British command eventually simply redirected them to Quebec City to attack Saint-Jean-Port-Joli with the fresh forces garrisoning the city. However in a move the British were not expecting de Levis’ forces left their fortifications for the first time in nearly 2 years to attack the haggard northern wing on their way to Quebec City, routing the force. The southern wing advanced along the coast, harassed by militias with less success, and while many of the Acadian and Wabanaki militias got to the new front, they did not put much more than a small dent into the British force, who finally reached the St. Croix River across from the village of St. Etienne. The battle that followed, just as the trees began to regain their leaves in the early spring of 1762, was surprisingly bloody, with British soldiers engaging the French Regulars across the river while simultaneously being harassed by militiamen who had lagged behind and arrived late to the battle. The fighting at St. Etienne lasted until September of 1862 when the British finally disengaged and retreated, hoping to instead attack the Acadian Peninsula from the sea as they had done previously in order to hit what they thought would be a weaker point in the Acadian position. While there were almost no French Regulars in the position. Acadian and Wabanaki militias were thick in the area as well, and reinforced by Scottish allies they managed to successfully hold the peninsula until the Treaty of Paris in early February of 1763; with both sides wanting to divert their forces back to Europe they agreed on a border running along the Saint Croix river to its headwaters, then along a line directly north to the Saint Jean river to its headwaters, then to French positions at Saint-Jean-Port-Joli on the Saint Lawrence River. The French and British regulars quickly withdrew to Europe, with New Englanders quickly filtering in to their new gains in what is now northern and eastern Maine as the Acadians and their native allies retreated back to the remainder of Acadia.