The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 314 Army Ceremony
In the early morning of May 21, 1938, the flags of the Assault Corps camp in Hanyang were fluttering. The sounds of drills and shouts of killing that used to fill the entire camp were completely gone. Instead, there was a tense, lively but revealing atmosphere. An aura of majesty and chilling.

Today is the inauguration ceremony of the Army Commando Corps, and it is also the day of the review ceremony where Minister He of the Ministry of Military Affairs personally led a group of important officials from the Ministry of Military Affairs to review.
In the center of the camp playground, a tall military parade platform rose from the ground. The national flag, the party flag, the Prime Minister's portrait and will were hung in the middle of the platform. The couplet "The revolution has not yet succeeded, comrades must still work hard" was hung on both sides. Red and green flowers were hung around the platform.

There is a colorful archway on each side of the parade platform. On the top of the archway, the words "Military Parade Ceremony of the Army Commando Corps in the 27th Year of the Republic of China" are embedded on the top of the archway. In front of the parade platform, a wooden pole is erected with a hanging Holding a broad blue sky and white sun national flag.

On the parade stage were Minister He of the Ministry of Military Affairs, as well as more than 20 important officials of the Ministry of Military Affairs at the level of colonels, major generals, lieutenant generals, and dozens of non-military local personnel. The eyes of everyone on the parade stage were all distant. Attracted the commando team queue at the place.

At this time, more than 4,500 officers and soldiers of the assault force who were waiting for review had all lined up with neat appearance and resolute expressions in accordance with the review formation requirements in the infantry drill.

The Assault Corps is arranged from left to right in the order of infantry, artillery, engineering, transport and communication. The ones on the far left are the 1st Battalion of Infantry, the 2nd Infantry Battalion and the 3rd Infantry Battalion of the Assault Corps, followed closely by the Artillery. Battalion, engineer company, baggage company, communications company, special agent company, and health team directly under the corps.

All battalion-level units under review formed a square formation. The infantry battalion was 15 steps away from the infantry battalion, the artillery battalion was 30 steps away from the infantry battalion, forming a parallel column. The engineer company was 30 steps away from the artillery battalion, forming a parallel column.

All officers and soldiers in the parade were dressed in combat uniforms and wore imitation German M35 helmets produced by the Jiehe Factory in Hong Kong Island. The weapons of each combat unit were all laid out in front of the parade.

In front of the queue of the infantry companies of each infantry battalion are nine Czech light machine guns, three mg34 general-purpose machine guns in heavy machine gun tripod combat status and six French-made Brand 37mm mortars. The battalion's heavy In front of the queue of the machine gun company and the battalion's mortar company were eight shiny Czech-made ZB heavy machine guns and four Brand mm mortars.

In front of the formation of the artillery battalion, there were six Japanese-made Type 1909 1932mm mountain guns from the first mountain gun company of the Assault Corps, four Russian-made M-type mm mountain guns from the second mountain gun company, and six Russian-made mountain guns from the tank defense gun company. The M mm tank defense guns are also neatly lined up under the tug of mules and horses.

All officers and soldiers equipped with Czech vz24 rifles had bayonets on their guns, and they gave off a strange light under the reflection of the rising sun.

However, such a large team did not make any abnormal noise at this moment. Apart from the roar of the war horses and the sound of the wind, there was no noise in the team, which showed the extremely good training and discipline of the assault team.

In the center of the queue of the Assault Corps, He Wei sat firmly on the horse, wearing a black silk starburst hat with no pattern on his head, a golden army infantry lieutenant colonel dress collar on his collar, a delicate ribbon hanging on his right chest, and a It is a thick shiny copper belt buckle, and a shiny Huangpu No. 11 Zhongzheng Sword hangs on the belt. He Wei, who is wearing the regular uniform of an Army Lieutenant Colonel, seems to be integrated with the war horse, and he is particularly majestic and heroic.

He Wei scanned the formation of the Assault Corps from beginning to end, performed a sword-skimming gesture beautifully, and threw a sword in the air with his ceremonial sword. He then turned his horse's head and galloped to the foot of the parade, reining his horse to a steady stop. Stop, pull out the saber from your waist with a loud sound and point it at the phalanx.

"Sir, the Army Commando Corps respectfully invites you for inspection!"

Minister He nodded to He Wei, looked at the grand and solemn formation of the Army Commando Corps, and whispered slowly: "Strong army, strong army, good army!"

Immediately, Minister He also stood at attention and shouted "stand at attention" in accordance with the regulations of the military parade. Then, all the spectators on the parade stage also stood at attention and sang the national anthem together. They bowed three times to the portrait of the Prime Minister hanging high on the parade stage. Minister He then respectfully Ode to the Prime Minister’s will.

After all this process was completed, Minister He immediately stepped off the military parade platform, rode a military horse, and began to review the assault team accompanied by He Wei.

The first one in line was the First Infantry Battalion of Fu Chen's Assault Corps. When Minister He approached the square formation of the First Infantry Battalion, He Wei pointed at the First Infantry Battalion with a ceremonial sword.

"salute!"

The officers and soldiers of the first infantry battalion immediately stood at attention and held their guns in a chest-flat salute. The riflemen raised their rifles, and the submachine gunners held their submachine guns vertically in front of their chests. The company commander who was temporarily issued a courtesy knife also waved his saber. The flashes of bayonets and sabers formed standard straight lines.

Regardless of whether it is forward or backward, left or right, or diagonal, the entire square seems to be composed of straight lines shining with cold light.

Minister He rode forward, raised his hands in salute, and his face was indescribably excited. Immediately afterwards, the Second Infantry Battalion, the Third Infantry Battalion, the Artillery Battalion, the Engineer Company, the Baggage Company, the Special Agent Company, and the Communications Company accepted the orders in turn. Minister He's review was completed, and when Minister He completed the review and returned to the parade platform accompanied by He Wei, his face was full of excitement.

Minister He didn't even care about the surrounding entourage. After taking the stage, he couldn't help but praise: "Good troops, good soldiers!"

The same was true for everyone watching the ceremony. They were full of praise for the reviewed troops of the Commando Corps. The senior officials of the Military and Political Department who came with Minister He were also veteran soldiers for many years. They had seen many troops, but today's Commando Corps Their performance really surprised them.

In the current situation where the Chinese army has suffered heavy losses, when these senior officials conducted inspections and reviews of the troops, they saw that both the mental state and the physical appearance of the troops were deteriorating.

The image of an elite force that is full of energy and strong in body like today's Commando Corps is probably only comparable to the training corps of the Central Military Academy before the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War.

Therefore, the officers who were watching the ceremony on the parade platform did not hesitate to praise them. As for the non-military personnel, their eyes widened when they looked at the majestic and mighty troop array of the Assault Corps.

"Reporting to the commander, the assault group has been formed and the formation is ready. Please give instructions, sir!"

He Wei saluted Minister He and said.

"The split begins!"

Minister He ordered.

Following Minister He's order, the formation formation began immediately. The three infantry battalions of the Assault Corps, the artillery battalion, the engineer company, the baggage company, the secret service company, and the communications company lined up neatly and marched in neat steps to begin the advance formation formation. .

The riflemen carried their rifles tightly on their backs, while the light machine gunners advanced with shoulder guns. The machine gunners of the mg34 general machine gun group and the zb37 general machine gun group carried machine gun tripods in groups of three and raised the machine guns high. The artillerymen and August st mortarmen disassembled the mortars and advanced among the ranks in a combat disintegration and advance posture.

One of the officers and soldiers of the artillery battalion got on the artillery and ammunition auxiliary vehicle of the mountain cannon, and the other formed a neat column and drove in the direction of the viewing platform with ten mountain cannons and six tank defense guns as the guide. Whenever a unit advances to the center of the viewing platform, He Wei immediately gives the command "Look to the right!" The advancing officers and soldiers immediately pay attention to the viewing platform, and He Wei also introduces it to Minister He. The department's chief officers and past war history.

A torrent of teams from various units affiliated to the Assault Corps passed the parade stage one after another within half an hour.

Due to training time issues, although He Wei did not have time to conduct goose-stepping training or the more powerful goose-stepping rifle training for the officers and soldiers of the Assault Corps, the entire battalion and company of the Assault Corps marched forward and fired like a forest of bayonets. The bright steel helmets they all wear make up for the lack of uniformity, and the veterans of the former secret service battalions scattered in each battalion and company add a bit of murderous aura to the ranks.

There is no doubt that the half-hour performance once again won repeated praise from the audience.

After the formation ceremony, all the officers and soldiers of the corps lined up again in front of the viewing platform, and He Wei stood at attention and saluted Minister He: "Report to the Minister, Wu Yi's new army has been assembled. Please give the Minister a lecture and give the flag!"

Minister He looked at the officers and soldiers of the Assault Corps with a glowing face and said: "What I saw today are the mighty soldiers on the training ground. The performance of the Assault Corps on the training field alone is unparalleled among the current Chinese army. I hope The Army Commando Corps will also be a truly elite division, a tiger and wolf division, in the future fight against the Japanese aggressors! He Wei, Commander-in-Chief of the Army Commando Corps!"

"Here! He Wei strode forward and stood at attention.

The adjutant behind Minister He handed Minister He a military flag with the words "Army Commando Corps" written on it. Minister He immediately said in a solemn voice: "Today I award you the military flag. I hope you will defeat the enemy on the battlefield in the future, kill the enemy to serve the country, and repay us." Rivers and mountains!”

"Yes!" He Wei took the military flag with both hands, spread it out and danced in the wind, the military flag buzzed, and the six characters "Army Commando Corps" shone with golden light.

"Kill the enemy and serve the country! Restore our rivers and mountains!"

He Wei shouted loudly.

"Kill the enemy and serve the country! Restore our rivers and mountains!"

More than 4,000 officers and soldiers of the Assault Corps shouted in unison. The majestic and high-spirited roars formed a torrent in the sky above the Assault Corps camp, and the entire camp was immersed in an extremely powerful and majestic fighting spirit.

The formation ceremony of the Assault Corps came to a perfect end after the parade and flag presentation. Then, under the leadership of He Wei, Minister He began to inspect the grassroots units of the Assault Corps, that is, he went down to the grassroots companies and platoons of the Assault Corps to inspect .

Minister He was very interested after seeing the outstanding performance of the Assault Corps in the review and detachment. He made an extremely detailed inspection of the training status and weapons equipment of the officers and soldiers in the grassroots units of the Assault Corps, and even went down to the squad platoon. He was very interested. Talk to squad platoon leaders and even ordinary soldiers, and personally inspect the rifles, machine guns, and even machine gun magazines and rifle bayonets in the hands of ordinary soldiers.

Obviously, the outstanding performance of the Commando Corps in the military parade put Minister He in a great mood.

During the inspection, Minister He was not only impressed by the eliteness and training of the soldiers, but also by the weapons and equipment of the commando corps, which even "scared" Minister He.

What shocked Minister He was naturally not the weapons allocated from the Ministry of Military Affairs, but the French-made 34mm mortars and German-made mg general-purpose machine guns that He Wei privately purchased.

Regarding the weapons he purchased privately, He Wei originally did not plan to show them in front of Minister He, but after careful consideration, He Wei decided to actually show them in front of Minister He.

For one thing, although he bought these weapons with the help of Minister He's tiger skin, He Wei was currently confident enough to prevent Minister He from knowing about his previous little moves.

Secondly, he had enough reasons to allow these weapons to appear in front of Minister He for a reasonable reason. The reason was also very simple. He Wei could have used this excuse to seize a large amount of property and money orders captured by the Japanese army in Jinling, and with this Batch of property purchased a batch of weapons on their own.

In fact, this reason had already been paved the way for Minister He. After all, He Wei had previously sent a sum of gold bars to Minister He's wife through He Shaozhou's route, and this batch of gold bars The name is also a captured trophy.

Minister He has never mentioned the gift-giving in front of He Wei, and it is absolutely impossible to mention it, but He Wei believes that he must know it in his mind. In short, this is also a reasonable reason.

The third and most important point is that from the perspective of the overall situation of the Anti-Japanese War, He Wei felt that it was necessary to let Minister He see this batch of weapons, and then encourage the national army's arsenal to imitate the weapons purchased by him in order to increase the number of national weapons. The firepower of military units.

Of course, the object of this imitation is definitely not the mg34 machine gun bought by He Wei. It is too difficult to imitate this thing, but it is not difficult to imitate the French-made Brand mm mortar. If the National Army If the arsenal of the country can imitate such mortars in large quantities and distribute them to troops, the company-level direct firepower of the national army will be greatly improved.

In fact, historically, after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the arsenal of the national army began to manufacture light mortars based on the combat experience of frontline troops. However, the manufacturing method was to directly reduce the size of the 82 mortar. However, this reduction plan has never been completed. success.

It was not until 1941 that this downsizing plan came to an end. After giving up shrinking the 82 mortar, the National Army's arsenal instead directly imitated the French Brand 60mm mortar, and the imitation was successful and finalized that year. It is "Sanyi 60 mm mortar."

He Wei showed the 60mm mortar to Minister He openly, hoping that through Minister He's path, he could attract the attention of the military industry department of the national army and save the national army's arsenal from a few years of detours by directly imitating the French 60mm mortar. Ten-millimeter mortars, if this weapon can be produced as soon as possible and distributed to troops as soon as possible, the firepower gap between the frontline troops and the Japanese army will certainly be narrowed.

He Wei's good intentions were not in vain. Minister He was in a very good mood and high interest after the military parade. When he learned that the mg34 machine gun and the Brand mm mortar were purchased by He Wei himself, instead of pursuing He Wei Wei privately purchased weapons for the armed forces. Instead, in front of a group of military and political attachés, He Wei praised He Wei's behavior of purchasing weapons out of his own pocket, praising He Wei's move as a selfless act.

After Minister He learned about the excellent performance of the mg34 machine gun and the 34mm mortar through He Wei's introduction, he also attached great importance to these two weapons and asked He Wei for the mg machine gun and the mm mortar on the spot. One (tool) is going to be taken back to the Ministry of Military Affairs and handed over to the rear arsenal for research.

He Wei's goal was successfully achieved.

(End of this chapter)