The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 458: Discussion on Expansion
With the assistance of the Military Commission, the Assault Corps used the vehicles sent by the Military Commission and various Japanese vehicles captured by itself to complete the deployment and relocation of the troops in just a few days.

He Wei selected two main garrisons for the assault corps, both located in Tianxi Township at the junction of Ba County and Fuling. Among them, all the organized combat units of the assault corps moved to the former barracks of Liu Xiang's Sichuan Army located in the eastern suburbs of Tianxi Township.

This garrison has complete barracks that can accommodate a reinforced brigade, and is more than enough to hold all the officers and soldiers of the assault corps. There are many mountains near the temporary capital, so there are both open areas and various green mountains near this east suburb barracks.

For the troops, the nearby open areas can be used for plains field training, while the hills can be used for training in mountain attack and defense warfare and field marches in complex terrain, which are really excellent choices for garrisoning.

That day, when He Wei was inspecting the areas of Ba and Fu counties accompanied by two county heads, he fell in love with this barracks at first sight. As for the other base, namely Longyan Cave and Longyan Mountain in the west of Tianxi Township, Ba County, they were the storage sites for ammunition, supplies, and equipment selected by He Wei for the assault corps, as well as the locations for supporting industries such as clothing factories in his future farming plan.

Longyan Mountain is a semicircular mountain group consisting of large and small hills connected together, and surrounded by large tracts of open land. In addition, there is a large natural cave in Longyan Mountain.

Such a terrain and environment is naturally a good place for storage and industry. The large open land surrounded by mountains is suitable for the establishment of industries such as clothing factories. As for the natural cave Longyan Cave located within the Longyan Mountain, it is of course the best choice for storing various supplies and ammunition. It has dangerous mountain terrain, open areas surrounded by mountains, and caves that are hidden and secret enough. The terrain near Longyan Mountain is simply the best farming base for He Wei.

In short, the two strategic passes, Dongjiao Barracks and Longyan Mountain, were the main bases for the Assault Corps to station and develop in the future. The combat troops of the Assault Corps used Dongjiao Barracks as their long-term base for various combat and training tasks, while Longyan Mountain served as the Assault Corps's large logistics base, providing the Assault Corps with sufficient logistics and rear-line support. These two bases, which were stationed and logistics bases deep in the rear of the Anti-Japanese War in Sichuan Province, could be called the headquarters and old nest of the Assault Corps!

From the overall perspective of the War of Resistance, even in the normal historical development line, the Japanese army did not attack the temporary capital even until the end of the war. Now with He Wei constantly flapping his butterfly wings, Sichuan Province and the temporary capital will only be safer. Therefore, the security of the old nest base camp selected by He Wei for the assault corps is extremely high, and there is no need to worry about being suddenly attacked and occupied by the Japanese army.

Therefore, it can be imagined that no matter where the assault corps is transferred to fight in the future, no matter what combat missions it performs, the two training and logistics bases in Ba County will be the strong backing of the assault corps' combat forces, and will provide all-round support for the assault corps for a long time!

Early in the morning of December 1st, there was a bustling scene outside the assault corps camp. Amidst commands and shouts, streams of gray people were pushing walls, cutting trees, and filling trenches outside the camp. Shovels were flying, dust was rising, and the loud shouts and calls of the officers and soldiers, full of energy and vigor, were constantly blowing in, dispelling the chilly wind.

Some soldiers even opened their chests and even bare their arms. They worked very hard. The sounds of trumpets, digging, orders and shouting made the camp, which had not been occupied for a long time, very lively.
In the guard posts distributed along the walls, the sentries carrying rifles stood proudly with their guns on their backs, in high spirits. The riflemen held the Czech-made vz24 rifles with bayonets and looked into the distance vigilantly. The light machine gunners in the machine gun posts also meticulously grasped the grip of the Czech light machine gun and scanned around. All the officers and soldiers in the posts were strictly performing their guard duties and fulfilling their responsibilities.

The East Suburb Camp, which had been deserted for a long time, became bustling again with the arrival of the officers and soldiers of the Assault Corps, showing great vitality and vigor under the reflection of the sun.

The East Suburb Barracks where the Assault Corps was stationed was originally the barracks of Liu Xiang's Sichuan Army. It was very large. If you looked down from the sky, the walls of the entire camp were square. Each wall was about two thousand meters long, and there was an entrance and exit in the center of each wall.

Outside the wall is an earthen fence surrounding the barracks, and there is a small trench outside the earthen fence. Looking down from the air, it is a square trench with a square earthen fence inside, and inside the earthen fence is a square barracks wall. On the north, west and east sides of the wall, there are three barracks for garrison troops. In the center of the camp is a very spacious playground.

In general, the construction of this barracks is quite good. The building materials used are all first-class materials. Various storehouses and supporting facilities are also very complete. Not only that, the layout of some places is indeed unique. For example, in the center of the camp, a special path was built connecting the entrance of the south wall to the north barracks, running through the entire camp. There are also exquisite screen walls on both sides of the path. Not to mention the area and capacity. He Wei roughly estimated that it is no problem for this barracks to accommodate three infantry regiments at a time, and it is more than enough for the assault corps.

After the assault corps moved in, He Wei directly placed his corps headquarters as well as the special forces company, engineering company, communications company, logistics company, and field hospital in the north barracks, while the three infantry battalions and the artillery battalion were stationed in the east barracks in turn.

As for the interior of the camp and the barracks, the officers and soldiers of the assault corps did not need to spend too much energy on renovation. They only needed to clear the weeds and clean the inside of the barracks. The only thing that required some effort was the earthen walls and trenches outside the barracks. He Wei really did not like the structure of the barracks with an earthen wall outside the outer wall, and a trench outside the earthen wall. He Wei estimated that the original Sichuan Army wanted to use this thing as an outer defense, but in He Wei's opinion it was too useless.

Although the earthen wall outside is tall and has a certain blocking effect, it also blocks the line of sight of the guard posts in the camp and the firing range. The trench set up outside the earthen wall is even more useless. If the enemy intends to attack this camp, wouldn't it be easy for them to cross the trench?

Moreover, the trench was set outside the tall earthen wall and was blocked by the earthen wall. If the enemy really did anything to the trench, the people in the camp would not be able to see it at all because of the earthen wall blocking their view, which would have a counterproductive effect.

Therefore, in He Wei's opinion, it would be better to demolish and fill in the earthen wall and trench as soon as possible. There was no need for them to continue to exist. He simply asked the troops to demolish the earthen wall outside the barracks and fill in the trench. In this way, the structure of the entire camp would be much simpler.

As for the defensive function of trenches and earthen walls, He Wei planned to replace them with sentries set up outside the barracks. Later, he would get a generator and set up electrified wire mesh on the walls, which would provide a better defensive effect than earthen walls and trenches. Outside the camp, the atmosphere was very lively. In He Wei's office at the North Barracks, the atmosphere was also very warm. He Wei, three infantry battalion commanders, the artillery battalion commander, and the chief of staff Wang Yuanling gathered together and were discussing a very important issue for the assault corps - organization!

Although the troops have arrived at the new camp, it will take some time to reorganize all aspects. Therefore, He Wei is not in a hurry to start the recruitment issue which he regards as the top priority. Although He Wei is very enthusiastic about recruiting soldiers, he is also able to keep his composure. He Wei has already revealed the news that the assault corps will recruit soldiers instead of conscripting them in Ba County and Fuling County to the county governors of the two counties. After hearing the news, the county governors of the two counties were as happy as if they had been pardoned, and patted their chests to say that they would fully cooperate with the assault corps' recruitment work.

After He Wei secretly informed the two county governors of the news of changing conscription to recruitment and asked them to keep it strictly confidential, he never leaked any news again.

He planned to leave those village heads and security chiefs alone for a while, and wait until the assault team was completely stabilized and all preparations for recruiting soldiers were made, then he would suddenly launch an attack and start recruiting soldiers directly, catching these village heads and security chiefs off guard. By then, he thought the effect of recruiting soldiers would be better.

In this case, the matter of recruiting soldiers will be put on hold for the time being. The top priority at the moment is naturally to draw up a staffing plan for the assault corps that is about to be expanded.

Regarding the expansion of the troop organization caused by the defense against the Japanese airborne troops, He Wei did not take charge of determining the organization himself as he did when the assault corps was first established. Instead, he gathered ideas from all sides and widely absorbed suggestions from grassroots officers and soldiers.

After all, the officers and soldiers at all levels of the current assault corps have experienced the tempering of bloody battles. Those new recruits who were just recruited when the unit was established in Wuhan have now all become veterans who have seen blood, and the officers have more combat experience and have their own opinions on combat and organization.

In this situation, it would not be appropriate for He Wei to take charge of the overall situation. Therefore, regarding the organization plan after future expansion, He Wei asked the battalion commanders to first discuss and inquire within their battalions, and collect opinions from platoon leaders, sergeants and soldiers on the current organization and their willingness for future expansion.

After fully absorbing the opinions of grassroots officers and soldiers, several battalion commanders brought the collected opinions to further discussions with He Wei.

Expansion means expanding the organization, increasing manpower, weapons and firepower. Naturally, the reactions of the battalion commanders and officers and soldiers at all levels were very enthusiastic. The enthusiastic atmosphere and discussion in He Wei's office were the best proof of this.

Fu Chen, the commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion of the Assault Corps, who was always calm and composed, looked at He Wei and the others and said in a gruff voice, "My battalion suffered the most casualties when defending Banbi Mountain, especially when fighting the Japanese Marines. We took the initiative to launch attacks, fought river crossings, and besieged the enemy. The losses were really not small. The officers and soldiers of my battalion agree that the infantry firepower of our corps' grassroots units is actually quite sufficient. It's no exaggeration to say that our firepower is stronger than that of the Japanese. However, the number of infantry, especially the search force, still needs to be strengthened."

Fu Chen picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, looked at He Wei and said: "Captain, when we crossed the Fuchi River and took the initiative to attack the Japanese Marines, my battalion was the main force of the attack. When we advanced, it was Yang Biao's special forces company directly under the headquarters that opened the way for my battalion and served as the search force. This company fought well, but also fought miserably. It was this company that encountered the Japanese tank infantry mixed search team on the way forward, and warned my battalion in advance, giving my battalion enough time to react. Only then did we attack in time and eat up the Japanese tank and infantry mixed search team. This shows the importance of search power."

"So, I have three opinions. First, the weapons and firepower of the infantry seem to be sufficient and there is no need to increase them too much. Second, the number of infantry can be appropriately increased. Third, the infantry battalions should establish special search forces."

The commander of the second battalion, Fang Jing, who was folding his arms, also nodded and said, "I second the motion. Search is very important. According to normal basic tactical principles, an infantry battalion also needs search forces when it moves forward. If there is no separate search force in the battalion, then troops must be drawn from the infantry companies below to perform the search mission. This is equivalent to weakening the combat power of the subordinate companies. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a special search force at the battalion level."

"Also, what the battalion commander said about increasing the strength of the infantry is also correct. After fighting so many battles, I have also realized that what determines how long and to what extent a unit can fight is determined by the number of infantry in the unit. Infantry is a consumable commodity, so the more infantry that can fight, the longer the unit can hold out. In any case, the more infantry, the better."

He Wei nodded slightly and said, "It seems that you two are heroes with similar views and opinions."

At this time, Wang Yuanling also joined in and said, "Captain, don't you have the same opinion? In Banbi Mountain, you used the friendly cavalry and the headquarters' direct special agent company to form a fast forward search force, and let my section chief Zhao Zhanhai lead it. It was this force that not only successfully scouted the situation of the Japanese Hata Detachment, but also successfully defeated the Japanese Hata Detachment's vanguard with its mobility. After the war, you, the commander-in-chief, said that you would add a search force directly under the headquarters. Your opinion is no different from that of Captain Fu and Captain Fang. You all think that our headquarters should strengthen the construction of specialized infantry search forces."

He Wei nodded in agreement and decided on the first item of expansion in his mind. Both battalion commanders would establish separate search teams within the battalions, and he also planned to strengthen the search force directly under the headquarters. So the first step of expansion would be to add a search platoon to the headquarters company of each battalion, and another search company to the headquarters' direct forces.

(End of this chapter)