Post
by Goldfish » 03 Oct 2004 23:50
Japanese and Chinese uniforms (for troops south of the Yellow River) were almost identical in the 1920's and early thirties and were probably influenced by the Japanese, with high collars and a similar peaked cap. Troops north of the Yellow River usually wore blue padded cotton uniforms and fur caps. After 1928, most Chinese soldiers had a "stand and fall" collar instead of the stiff high collars, but the high stiff collars were popular for high-ranking officers, including Chiang Kai-Shek, for the duration of the war. The Japanese uniform after 1930 (TYpe 90) was very different from the Chinese uniform with its high stiff collars, "swallowtail" collar insignia, and interior tunic pockets (as opposed to the exterior pleated pockets of the Chinese). The later Type 98 (1938) Army uniform adopted an open collar and more Chinese-looking insignia, but retained the interior pockets. The Chinese winter padded uniforms were very different from the Japanese as well as headgear, with the Chinese cap resembling the German M-43 and the Japanese with their peaked forage cap. Chinese uniforms were brown, blue, or occasionally khaki, while Japanese uniforms were mostly khaki.
My understanding on influence is that Japanese uniforms had been influenced first by the French, then the Prussians after 1870. Beginning in the Taisho era (about 1910), however, evolution was mostly domestic. Chinese uniforms were a hodge podge of types throughout the 1911-1949 period, especially in headgear, but the early mainstream Imperial (1900-1911) and warlord (1911-1928) uniforms, as well as early Guomindang, were heavily influenced by Japan. Starting in 1928, however, he Chinese began moving away from Japanese models and towards German models, which they kept until the end of the Civil War. Various troops, depending on where they were, wore Freench-style or Russian-style uniforms, helmets, and equipment.
