This is actually quite necessary context, as the events of the 19th century directly lay the foundations for significant events in the 20th century. This page begins with a brief explanation of the collapse of the Qing Empire (with a very basic explanation of important events, 1839-1916 for contextual understanding), and then moves swiftly on to the early stages of the republic up until 1916. For this reason, constant references to the political, geographic, and military context will be made. For example, it may make no sense to the reader for the USSR to supply the KMT with AFVs in the late 1930s when the Chinese Communist Party might seem a more likely candidate for Soviet assistance. However, the second aim of this page is to give an understanding of the context in which these vehicles operated. During this time, various factions, such as the myriad of warlords, Nationalists (KMT/GMD), the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Japanese Imperial Army, French and British policing forces in treaty ports (mainly Shanghai), and others all operated AFVs of some description. The first one is, of course, exploring the fairly under-appreciated armor of China in the 1925-1950 period. Vickers Mark E Type B in Chinese Service.Gongchen Tank & Type 97 Chi-Ha in Chinese Service.

China military history museum hero tank