The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 470 Expanding Desire

He had already known about the organization of joint combat exercises to welcome the Military Commission's inspection, and he had been prepared for it. After all, the Military Commission had invested a huge amount of money in the Assault Corps. With so much money invested and so many equipment and officers added to the Assault Corps, it was natural to see some results.

It is only natural for the higher-ups to come and inspect and ask the assault corps to organize a combat exercise to demonstrate the training results. However, the presence of two senior ministers under the Military Commission and a bunch of military advisers means that this is quite a big deal.

He Wei guessed that maybe the Military Commission was still very worried about the Japanese airborne troops' attack on the temporary capital, which had been slow to make any moves. They were afraid that the assault corps, which was directly responsible for the combat readiness defense and anti-airborne missions of the temporary capital, would make mistakes in combat readiness and training, so they set such high standards for the inspection and examination of the assault corps?

"The Military Commission has made quite a fuss. Not only did they ask my corps to conduct some kind of joint combat exercise, but they also invited two ministers and even foreign military advisers to come. It's really a hassle."

He Wei thought for a moment and then joked with a smile.

Wang Yuanling pointed in the direction of the accompanying urban area and said, "The organization of this inspection and joint combat exercise is actually none of our assault corps' business. The review organized by the Military Commission this time is aimed at conducting a comprehensive inspection and review of the first-phase training troops directly under the Military Commission to check the training and construction results of each unit. To be precise, it is a nationwide comprehensive inspection and review of the first-phase training troops directly under the Military Commission in various war zones across the country."

"Although my corps is directly under the Military Commission, it has never been included in the list of the first phase of training troops. It should have nothing to do with us. This time, they specifically named my corps for inspection and made such a big fuss. I guess it's because our corps is too special. First, we won a great victory in Yangxin. Second, we are now responsible for the combat defense and anti-airborne missions of the secondary capital, so our corps was also included in the review. As for the minister's personal visit and the need for foreign military advisers, it is probably because of the special nature of my corps. A big tree attracts the wind."

"What is the first phase of the direct training troops of the Military Commission? I have never heard of it before."

He Wei was suspicious. He really didn't know much about the Military Commission's first phase of direct training troops mentioned by Wang Yuanling. Recently, he had been immersed in the construction and training of the Assault Corps and the First Supplementary Soldier Training Department. He had no time to take care of things that had nothing to do with him. What's more, he was sure that the Assault Corps was not included in the list of this phase. Therefore, He Wei was very unfamiliar with this term.

Wang Yuanling thought for a moment and said, "Captain, this first batch of directly-administered training troops of the Military Commission is part of the military reorganization plan set by the Military Commission last year. To be honest, it was a classmate of mine from the Army University who works in the Military Commission who told me this. According to him, after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, our army suffered heavy casualties and serious losses in combat effectiveness. Therefore, in order to reorganize the combat effectiveness of the troops, the Military Commission began to organize training for the troops. According to the plan, this batch of training troops is divided into the first batch and several subsequent batches. Among them, the first batch is divided into the directly-administered training troops of the Military Commission and the training troops of the theater. The Military Commission trained 16 armies and 46 divisions, and the theaters trained 19 armies and 43 divisions."

"Among these trained troops, the ones directly under the Military Commission are naturally the most elite. I don't remember all the specific numbers of the first batch of directly under the Military Commission, but there are the Fifth Army, the Seventy-fourth Army, the First Army, and the Seventy-first Army. These are all elite troops of our Central Army. The Military Commission has given great preferential treatment to these troops in terms of equipment, personnel and supplies. It can be said that they are the elite troops of the Central Army that are given priority in replenishment, training, and preferential treatment. Of course, they will definitely be the backbone combat forces of various war zones in the future. Now that the training of these troops has been going on for some time, the Military Commission will naturally organize inspections and acceptances to conduct inspections."

He Wei nodded slightly and understood the meaning of the first phase of the direct training troops of the Military Commission. It seemed that they were elite troops directly controlled and commanded by the Military Commission and given priority for replenishment. The numbers reported by Wang Yuanling were also all elite troops.

Needless to say, the Fifth Army is the so-called mechanized army that the National Government has invested a lot of resources, weapons and equipment to build. The 74th Army is an elite force that fought all the way through the early days of the War of Resistance. The First Army was Hu Zongnan's starting point, a veteran elite of the Central Army, and it performed well in the Battle of Shanghai and the Battle of Wuhan. The predecessor of the 71st Army was the National Government's Central Guard Army, which had three famous infantry divisions, the 87th, 88th and 36th, all of which were elite troops.

Of course, although He's assault corps is also a first-class elite, its nature is extremely special. Although it is directly under the Military Commission, everything, including equipment replenishment, officer replenishment, funding and personnel are directly handled and managed by the Military Commission, but it has never been included in the first or second training list.

He Wei probably guessed the same as Wang Yuanling's, that the nature of the Assault Corps was too special, or it could be said that the Assault Corps had a transcendent status. Therefore, although the Assault Corps was not in the sequence of the first-phase training troops directly under the Military Commission, it had more weight than the troops on the list, so the Military Commission included the Assault Corps in the inspection of the first-phase training troops.

The presence of the two ministers and the Soviet military adviser in person further demonstrated the importance the Military Commission attached to the Assault Corps.

Wang Yuanling pondered again and said, "Captain, this first-phase training unit directly under the Military Commission is not simple. Hehe, especially the Fifth Army. All the tanks donated by the Soviet Union were given to them, and the tanks bought from Italy were also given to them. One army not only has three field infantry divisions, but also extremely large direct-affiliated units, including tank regiments, motor vehicle regiments, artillery regiments, etc. There are thousands of various vehicles in one army. The tank defense guns are all towed by jeeps and are equipped with first-class equipment. The funding of one army is equivalent to that of two or three armies of other units. It is really generous. These were also revealed to me by my classmates at the Army University. The heavy firepower and heavy equipment of this army are much stronger than a division of the Japanese army. The comprehensive strength can be said to be the best in the national army."

"The other troops are not simple either. They are all top-notch elite troops of the Central Army. I guess they all want to show their faces and win first place in this inspection by the Military Commission. After all, the Military Commission attaches great importance to this inspection. Troops that achieve good results and good rankings in the inspection and review will definitely receive more resources and reinforcements from the Military Commission."

Wang Yuanling's expression changed again, and he chuckled and said, "If you ask me, if our assault corps hadn't gotten involved, I think the Fifth Army would have a great chance of taking first place in this review. They have good equipment and high-level officers. The army commander is Du Yuming, who used to be the commander of the Army Armored Corps. The division commanders under him are also tough guys. The overall quality and level of the troops are very high. However, now that we have been dragged in, I think the Fifth Army's crown is in danger. The Fifth Army is wealthy, but this unit has not fought many serious battles. Not to mention their tank units, just take the infantry units for example. Their infantry units' combat experience is simply incomparable to that of our brothers in the corps. In terms of infantry subjects, we are definitely able to suppress the Fifth Army, and other units certainly can't compare with us."

As Wang Yuanling spoke, a sense of pride and confidence in victory arose spontaneously. Indeed, as he said, the Fifth Army and those troops in the first phase of training troops directly under the Military Commission were not ordinary troops. They were all army-level units and were much larger than the Assault Corps. However, in terms of combat records and exploits since the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japan, no unit could surpass the Assault Corps. And the Assault Corps was a field infantry unit. Therefore, Wang Yuanling certainly had the confidence to be so proud.

He Wei pondered for a moment and then spoke again: "In that case, we must prepare well for this inspection. Well, I think we need to continue to adjust the training of the new recruits. To be honest, I am very confident in dealing with this inspection and joint combat exercise. Needless to say, the veterans of our corps have fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. I have enough confidence in them. The main problem is still with the new recruits. The training of the new recruits must be strengthened as much as possible. As long as the training of the new recruits is done well, they will not lag behind in the inspection and joint combat exercises after they are added to the combat units of the assault corps. Now it is March, and the inspection is in July, which is just over four months. I remember that our scheduled training time is three months, right?"

"That's right. The basic training time for new recruits is three months. During these three months, the five supplementary battalions will complete the initial training of these new recruits, complete the basic military education and the education on the use of basic infantry weapons. After that, they will be selected and added to the combat units of the assault corps." Wang Yuanling replied.

He Wei looked towards the playground outside the office and said, "The training plan and overall progress remain unchanged, but the daily training time must be increased, and the intensity must be increased on the existing basis. This inspection and joint combat exercise is indeed very important. We must increase the training and let the brothers work harder. When educating the use of various weapons, we must focus on live-fire shooting. Use as much live-fire shooting as possible to enhance the recruits' mastery of weapons and their ability to use them. Don't be afraid of wasting ammunition. We have enough ammunition in our warehouse. Even if the ammunition depot is really empty, I have a way to get it. In short, we must increase the intensity of training, do a lot of live-fire shooting, and train these new recruits well."

"No problem. The biggest advantage of our new recruits is that they are simple and durable. They can endure hardships. They are all farmers' children. They work hard in the fields to make a living. They are not afraid of hardships. Increasing the intensity of training is no problem. I will improve the food standards later. The new recruits will definitely be able to withstand it."

Wang Yuanling said this with confidence, and he was obviously full of confidence in the more than 3,000 carefully recruited soldiers who were training on the playground.

He Wei said: "That's great!"

After saying that, He Wei thought again of the Japanese airborne attack on the temporary capital which was destined to never happen.

The main purpose of the Military Commission transferring the Assault Corps to the temporary capital this time was to guard against the Japanese airborne attack. But to be honest, He Wei didn't care about this at all. He knew that this was doomed to never happen anyway, so his mentality was naturally very different. He even almost forgot about it.

This is also reflected in the training of the Assault Corps. He did not ask the troops to conduct targeted training in anti-airborne operations. The various subjects and tactics currently trained by the Assault Corps are still mainly based on the conventional subjects of field attack, defense, pursuit, encounter, retreat, etc. of the Army's ground forces.

But since the Military Commission is coming to inspect and also wants to watch the assault corps conduct combat exercises, it would be very ignorant for He Wei not to emphasize the subject of anti-airborne combat in the inspection and exercises.

Therefore, in the upcoming inspection and review and joint combat exercises, subjects reflecting anti-airborne operations are indispensable. He Wei has to practice how to counter the Japanese airborne troops in front of the bigwigs of the Military Commission no matter what.

He Wei thought for a moment, then said, "Brother Yuan Ling, the importance of this review and joint combat exercise is self-evident. The General Staff Office must also formulate an exercise plan as soon as possible. One thing we must pay special attention to is that we must highlight the subject of anti-airborne. The Japanese airborne troops use parachutes or gliders to land, and this must be focused on anti-aircraft firepower. Therefore, in the exercise plan, there must be a large-scale anti-aircraft firepower shooting exercise. The core of the exercise is to eliminate the Japanese airborne troops in the air. The corps' machine guns, light and heavy machine guns, and various firearms that can carry out anti-aircraft shooting must participate. Organize an anti-aircraft shooting exercise in which all kinds of anti-aircraft firearms within the corps are concentrated. The scene should be as large as possible to let the superiors see that our corps has come up with a set of tactics and methods to counter the Japanese airborne troops."

Wang Yuanling nodded: "Captain, I understand. I will immediately take the staff to formulate a plan."

Immediately afterwards, after Wang Yuanling and He Wei determined the general subjects and plans of the joint combat exercise, as well as some precautions during the roll call and review, he hurried back to the Staff Office and began to lead people to formulate a plan for the joint combat exercise.

He Wei also paid more attention to the review and joint combat exercises in July.

Just as Wang Yuanling said just now, the troops that take the lead in the reviews and exercises will definitely get more resources from the Military Commission. If the Assault Corps wins the championship in the exercises and reviews and shows its face in front of a group of bigwigs, then the Assault Corps will definitely receive further attention from the Military Commission, and even further strengthened and focused on construction. By then, perhaps the strength of the Assault Corps will be further expanded, and there will definitely be benefits.

In this way, He Wei will naturally attach more importance to this review and exercise.

Logically speaking, the assault corps has just been replenished and expanded, and the troops can be said to be excellent and powerful in terms of both strength and equipment. It is time to lay a solid foundation, take every step steadily, and steadily build up the troops.

He Wei is still thinking about expansion and seeking more resources from the Military Commission, which seems a bit hasty. However, after listening to Wang Yuanling's description of the huge strength of the Fifth Army, He Wei couldn't help but become jealous, and his mind became active again. The desire to continue to expand the assault corps to make it stronger and better equipped kept growing, and he couldn't stop it.

Pondering his own thoughts, He Wei couldn't help but smile bitterly. The current expansion and construction of the assault corps had not been completed yet. Now seeing that other troops were well-equipped, he was itching to continue expanding and building on the existing basis to strengthen the assault corps.

Tsk tsk, my mentality is really too greedy!

(End of this chapter)