A War of Resistance: Yan Xishan vs Kim Chaek

As the Empire of Japan swept across East Asia, resistance took many forms. While the most notable were the heroic struggle by the Chinese, the Korean Righteous Armies had waged a stubborn guerrilla war since 1910. Today, I'm going to look at two of these resistance forces' leaders.

Yan Xishan- the warlord of Shanxi province; who trod a delicate line between the machinations of Mao, Chiang, and the Japanese for almost 30 years.

VS.

Kim Chaek- The Korean guerrilla fighter; who first fought against Japan, and later led the communist North in the Korean War.

WHO...IS...DEADLIEST?

To find out the history of war and modern science collide, as we test the weapons and tactics used by these instruments of war. We dissect their strengths and weaknesses and file them in for an all new battle to the death. It’s no rules, no safety, no mercy. It’s a duel to the death as we find out who is the Deadliest Warrior.

Warriors[]

Kim Hong-gye, better known as Kim Chaek, was a Korean independence activist, guerrilla fighter, and a commander of the Korean People's Army until his death in 1951. In 1927, Kim joined the guerrilla movement in Manchuria to oppose the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula. While a part of the forces in Manchuria, Chaek joined the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army and later moved to Khabarovsk in the Soviet Union. While in Khabarovsk, Kim Chaek met with Kim Il-sung, who would later become the first leader of North Korea, and form the 88th Special Brigade.

In 1945, Kim Chaek and the guerrilla forces would arrive in Korea via ship alongside the Soviet Red Army. He would be appointed to the position of Committee Vice Chairman of the Worker's Party of Korea and would later be made the Minister for Industry and Deputy Prime Minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea under Kim Il-sung.

During the Korean War, Kim Chaek would lead the Korean People's Army as a frontline commander. After the UN Intervention and the disastrous defeats at Incheon and Pusan, Chaek was stripped of military command by the Worker's Party. In January 1951, Chaek was killed by a US bombing run however, some speculate it was an assassination during a power struggle.

After his death, Kim Chaek's home town of Songjin and its surrounding county of Haksong were formally renamed to Kimch'aek City in his honour to commemorate his accomplishments. The Kim Chaek University of Technology, Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex, and Kim Chaek People's Stadium were also named after him in commemoration of his life.

The standard weapons of the Soviet armed guerrillas was the M1891/30 Mosin-Nagant chambered in 7.62x54mmR. One of the most recognisable rifles of the World Wars, the Mosin would be the standard weapon of the communist backed guerrillas and later the Korean People's Army until the late 1960s.

The signature weapon of the Soviet Red Army and Soviet armed guerrilla forces, the PPSh-41 was a high rate-of-fire submachine gun in 7.62x25mm Tokarev and is fed by either a 71 round drum or a 35 round box. Despite terrible accuracy, the PPSh's blistering fire rate of 900-1200 rounds per minute made it a favourite in urban combat.

With Korea being a Japanese colony, many of the weapons used by the resistance were either of Soviet, Chinese or Japanese in origin. A common sight in the hands of the Anti-Japanese guerrilla officers were captured Nambu Type 14 pistols. Chambered in the near pathetic 8x22mm Nambu cartridge, the Type 14 was often a weapon of last resort in any case due to its poor damage.

A common weapon seized from Japanese arsenals and scavenged from IJA casualties was the Type 97 "Kiska" grenade. A dual purpose hand grenade, the Type 97 could be used as thrown ordinance or used as a static mine due to its plunger-style arming procedure.

Yan Xishan was a Chinese warlord who served in the government of the Republic of China. He effectively controlled the province of Shanxi from the 1911 Xinhai Revolution to the 1949 Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War.

As the leader of a relatively small, poor, remote province, he survived the machinations of Yuan Shikai, the Warlord Era, the Nationalist Era, the Japanese invasion of China and the subsequent civil war, being forced from office only when the Nationalist armies with which he was aligned had completely lost control of the Chinese mainland, isolating Shanxi from any source of economic or military supply.

He has been viewed by Western biographers as a transitional figure who advocated using Western technology to protect Chinese traditions, while at the same time reforming older political, social and economic conditions in a way that paved the way for the radical changes that would occur after his rule.

Developed under license from the Weimar Republic and later Nazi Germany, the Type 24 Zhongzheng rifle was a copy of the German Standartmodell Gewehr, the precursor to the Karabiner 99k. Like its German counterpart, it's chambered in 7.92x57mm Mauser.

The varying warlords in China utilised a copy of the MP-18 manufactured predominantly from Tsingtao Arsenal. It differed from the German model by having a 20 round box magazine.

A common sight in China during the early 20th Century, the Mauser C96 was the de facto primary sidearm of many warlord armies. Firing 7.63x25mm Mauser, the C96 had an effective range of around 150 metres.

The standard grenade use by the varying Chinese warlords and armies was the Type 67 Grenade a copy of the German Model 24 Stielhandgranate. Like its German counterpart, it had a longer throwing range due to the handle and relied on a concussive blast to kill, yet its weight also meant fewer could be carried.

Notes[]

Battle will be 5 vs 5 and set in a mountainous road.

Voting ends on the 15th of August.

Votes must be at least one paragraph in length and must have proper punctuation and grammar.

Please no bias or arguments.