Why is it said that China had the most beggarly army in the world during World War II?

Corrupt "Beggars' Army"

Shortage of materials brings difficulties to supplies, but corruption in the army further worsens the living environment of soldiers. Even in direct line troops, soldiers always There was not enough to eat. Not only food, but also almost all military supplies were in short supply.

Each person has a formal 79 rifle, and each person has a set of military uniforms. However, new military uniforms have not been issued for a long time, so after some troops marched for several months, their military uniforms were in tatters and were called "beggars" force". A photographer captured a Chinese Expeditionary Force communications soldier standing on the roadside shaking his phone. There were two large patches sewn on his military uniform's shoulders and waist. Even so, there was still a long rip on the back, and his pants were too fat. It is short, and the laces of the straw sandals pinch the feet with exposed veins. Only the helmet on the head and the green backpack with the letters "US" slung across the body show that this is a soldier, and the helmet and backpack are undoubtedly the United States. Equipment assigned to people.

The soldiers also made their own shoes. One of the most important tasks of a platoon leader is to teach the recruits how to make straw sandals. Shoes made of ropes, rag strips and hemp straw are durable and can be walked for two months. If only hemp straw is used, such shoes can be worn for three or four years. The sky fell apart. Therefore, when the soldiers of the Chinese Expeditionary Force collected trophies, they often did not miss the rags on the dead bodies.

Shortage of materials certainly brings difficulties to supplies, but corruption in the army undoubtedly further worsens the survival of soldiers.

I personally experienced corruption in the military. "In 1943, the troops were stationed in Baoshan, preparing to cross the river. Before the war, supplies were distributed, including high-quality khaki uniforms imported from the United States, leather shoes, woolen socks, and various cans. As a result, the quartermaster only distributed six feet of yellow to each person. Bu, I heard that the quartermaster colluded with some officers to resell army supplies to the mainland. We often see various army supplies for sale in the market in Dali. The distribution of supplies for the entire army is never made public. It is completely operated in secret. If you want to get good equipment, you have to do it. Bribery to the superior.

The Americans studied the food distribution system of the Chinese army and concluded: According to the army regulations, each soldier is given 24 ounces of rice per day and a portion of salt; a full salary per month. All spent on food, a pound of pork could be purchased a month. A Chinese soldier could live well on these quotas. However, in fact, what they really received was only a portion of the food and money allocated to them. The result was that most Kuomintang soldiers were undernourished.