Following the return of their defeated soldiers in June 1869 the Chinese government and military command sought explanations for the spectacular defeat of the army. Responsibility was quickly allocated to the commanding general who soon disappeared. Having thus addressed public opinion they now sought the real reasons.
Clearly UNION fire power had been overwhelming but the Chinese decided that the main error had been that they had launched the invasion with insufficient troops. However that was due to the simple fact that the number of soldiers involved had been the maximum that could be supported and transported by the limited railway network in that part of China. The bulk of the Chinese population lived in the west of the country and that area had most of the railways. Clearly the Chinese would need to bring the full weight of their army against the UNION to secure a victory therefore a major program of railway construction was instigated in the east including the provision of substantial railhead facilities south east of Harbin. In fact a major new military base was started just east of that town in preparation for another invasion perhaps in 1871. In the meantime the Chinese reinforced the line of outposts already in existence along the border.
In the UNION the scale of the victory had surprised both the government and army. They realised the policy of providing the army with massive firepower had been a correct strategy. UNION artillery was far in advance of anything available in the other countries of TIAN. Nations like Britain, Germany and France , although using breech loaders , still had guns that needed resetting after each shot. Only the UNION had perfected the buffer mechanism that enabled rapid firing and some nations, like China and Russia, still used muzzle loading cannon. Additionally no other country possessed heavy artillery at all and no nation had the sheer quantity of artillery pro-rata to troop numbers as the UNION.
However it was very clear that the UNION army would need to be significantly increased in size to meet the now evident threat posed by China. Therefore authority was given to make changes in the structure of various battalions which would have the effect of increasing the size of a UNION army to just over 40,000 and also to create two brand new UNION armies. The 6th army would be based at the new Fort Laramie north of Dallas and 7th army would be located at the new Fort Apache north of Lincoln. New rail lines would be constructed to enable all armies to move to the border with China, this was in addition to the railway that was already under construction from Denver to the Chinese border to supply the large number of UNION forces still located along the eastern end of that border. There was no shortage of volunteers for the new armies following the Chinese invasion and by seeking voluntary transfers from experienced personnel in the existing armies, especially by promotion, the new armies were soon manned and on course to be fully operational. Providing the huge quantities of new vehicles and equipment actually proved some what more challenging. As part of the ramping up of military production, sufficient material was also ordered to fully equip another whole army but this would be held in a special store at Rock Island Arsenal over and above the standard replacement stocks already held.
UNION thinking now moved to consideration of how to deal with the Chinese threat in the longer term. Some suggested fortification of the border in case of another invasion while others suggested negotiations may be possible especially after the defeat China had suffered. Another group proposed to invade China, deal a shattering blow to the Chinese army and destroy all infrastructure in the east of that country so making another invasion impossible without huge construction and investment, in other words making another invasion of the UNION just too expensive for the Chinese to contemplate. UNION strategists recognised that with the exception of an infantry brigade in Mexico and a cavalry brigade on the border with Ukraine, all other UNION forces, including the new armies, could be deployed in such an operation.
In January 1870 a new factor appeared in the strategic situation. Although the UNION had returned over 90,000 Chinese prisoners and buried another 30,000, they still held almost 5,000 badly wounded Chinese soldiers who had been too seriously injured to return back in June the previous year. These men had been treated in two large field hospitals set up near Denver and some had even been treated in the base hospital in Fort Reno. It was now time for them to return to China. Through Mexico and via France, who had links with China, word was sent that these men could now be returned. The Chinese were not aware that the UNION had retained these soldiers for treatment and were not pleased at the prospect of their return and the impact on public opinion of finding that the UNION had been so considerate of Chinese wounded. The initial Chinese response, as conveyed to the UNION, was that the Chinese would take their soldiers back next time they invaded the UNION. In the event China eventually agreed to return of the wounded soldiers which took place in March. However the mention of another invasion had not gone unnoticed and this together with intelligence on Chinese railway construction activities finally enabled the UNION to decide how to resolve the China problem. Instructions were issued to the UNION army to prepare for an invasion of China during the summer of 1870.
Clearly UNION fire power had been overwhelming but the Chinese decided that the main error had been that they had launched the invasion with insufficient troops. However that was due to the simple fact that the number of soldiers involved had been the maximum that could be supported and transported by the limited railway network in that part of China. The bulk of the Chinese population lived in the west of the country and that area had most of the railways. Clearly the Chinese would need to bring the full weight of their army against the UNION to secure a victory therefore a major program of railway construction was instigated in the east including the provision of substantial railhead facilities south east of Harbin. In fact a major new military base was started just east of that town in preparation for another invasion perhaps in 1871. In the meantime the Chinese reinforced the line of outposts already in existence along the border.
In the UNION the scale of the victory had surprised both the government and army. They realised the policy of providing the army with massive firepower had been a correct strategy. UNION artillery was far in advance of anything available in the other countries of TIAN. Nations like Britain, Germany and France , although using breech loaders , still had guns that needed resetting after each shot. Only the UNION had perfected the buffer mechanism that enabled rapid firing and some nations, like China and Russia, still used muzzle loading cannon. Additionally no other country possessed heavy artillery at all and no nation had the sheer quantity of artillery pro-rata to troop numbers as the UNION.
However it was very clear that the UNION army would need to be significantly increased in size to meet the now evident threat posed by China. Therefore authority was given to make changes in the structure of various battalions which would have the effect of increasing the size of a UNION army to just over 40,000 and also to create two brand new UNION armies. The 6th army would be based at the new Fort Laramie north of Dallas and 7th army would be located at the new Fort Apache north of Lincoln. New rail lines would be constructed to enable all armies to move to the border with China, this was in addition to the railway that was already under construction from Denver to the Chinese border to supply the large number of UNION forces still located along the eastern end of that border. There was no shortage of volunteers for the new armies following the Chinese invasion and by seeking voluntary transfers from experienced personnel in the existing armies, especially by promotion, the new armies were soon manned and on course to be fully operational. Providing the huge quantities of new vehicles and equipment actually proved some what more challenging. As part of the ramping up of military production, sufficient material was also ordered to fully equip another whole army but this would be held in a special store at Rock Island Arsenal over and above the standard replacement stocks already held.
UNION thinking now moved to consideration of how to deal with the Chinese threat in the longer term. Some suggested fortification of the border in case of another invasion while others suggested negotiations may be possible especially after the defeat China had suffered. Another group proposed to invade China, deal a shattering blow to the Chinese army and destroy all infrastructure in the east of that country so making another invasion impossible without huge construction and investment, in other words making another invasion of the UNION just too expensive for the Chinese to contemplate. UNION strategists recognised that with the exception of an infantry brigade in Mexico and a cavalry brigade on the border with Ukraine, all other UNION forces, including the new armies, could be deployed in such an operation.
In January 1870 a new factor appeared in the strategic situation. Although the UNION had returned over 90,000 Chinese prisoners and buried another 30,000, they still held almost 5,000 badly wounded Chinese soldiers who had been too seriously injured to return back in June the previous year. These men had been treated in two large field hospitals set up near Denver and some had even been treated in the base hospital in Fort Reno. It was now time for them to return to China. Through Mexico and via France, who had links with China, word was sent that these men could now be returned. The Chinese were not aware that the UNION had retained these soldiers for treatment and were not pleased at the prospect of their return and the impact on public opinion of finding that the UNION had been so considerate of Chinese wounded. The initial Chinese response, as conveyed to the UNION, was that the Chinese would take their soldiers back next time they invaded the UNION. In the event China eventually agreed to return of the wounded soldiers which took place in March. However the mention of another invasion had not gone unnoticed and this together with intelligence on Chinese railway construction activities finally enabled the UNION to decide how to resolve the China problem. Instructions were issued to the UNION army to prepare for an invasion of China during the summer of 1870.
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