Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 446 How did the reorganization wipe out our regiment? (Bonus chapter, please vote)

"Old Chen, I don't understand this telegram."

Holding the reorganized telegram sent by his superiors, Luo Ping was somewhat bewildered.

He recognized every single word on it, but when they were put together, it was so hard to understand.

"What exactly is this thing that's independent, composite, total, and branch all at once?"

"And what about our regiment? Why don't we even have an infantry regiment among our subordinate units?" Luo Ping became more and more anxious as he spoke.

When the report was submitted before, there was clearly a regimental-level unit. How come there isn't even a formal staff position now?

Isn't this just like being raised by a stepmother?!
"Originally, I wanted to reorganize it into a combined arms regiment, but the commander said that it was not appropriate for a regiment to have so many people, so I changed it to an independent combined arms detachment," Chen Chengxing explained.

"A detachment? Aren't we a detachment? Why are there detachments under a detachment? Doesn't that confuse the primary and secondary roles?"

"Look carefully, this is the Second Independent Combined Forces Detachment. As for the detachments below, those are branch detachments."

“We are all equals, just with different roles in the revolution,” Chen Chengxing explained.

"Don't give me any of that nonsense, just tell me what level we are at right now?" Luo Ping asked, this was the question he cared about most.

"Four independent combined arms detachments, each detachment consisting of nine infantry battalions, one mountain artillery battalion, and one heavy mortar battalion."

"There are also directly subordinate guard companies, communications companies, reconnaissance companies, air defense companies, anti-tank companies, engineer companies, field hospitals, and supply corps, with a standard strength of 9,200 people."

"The brigade also has directly subordinate guard battalions, air defense battalions, communications battalions, special operations brigades, independent armored combined arms battalions, field hospitals, and engineer regiments."

"Then there are the logistics transport regiment, the uprising training regiment, and the independent field artillery regiment that was registered under our name but was later taken away—these are all units that are not officially part of the organization."

"Looking at this troop strength and configuration, what do you think?" Chen Chengxing asked rhetorically.

The logistics transport regiment of the brigade and the supply team of the detachment that Chen Chengxing mentioned are both front-line transfer units.

Currently, the G army's logistics and transportation mainly rely on the militia.

"Oh, I see, it's silk."

“Hey, you can’t talk nonsense! You can’t talk nonsense!” Chen Chengxing immediately interrupted.

"Although it has the title of 'General,' it's still a detachment!" Chen Chengxing emphasized.

"Say whatever you want," Luo Ping said speechlessly.

He couldn't quite grasp Chen Chengxing's way of thinking.

Instead of pursuing formal staffing, they've become obsessed with things like general detachments and branch detachments.

"I have another question. We don't have an infantry regiment. How will we conduct combat operations in the future?" Luo Ping asked.

"Old Luo, your mindset needs to keep up with the changes on the battlefield."

As Chen Chengxing spoke, he pulled out several battle reports from the side.

"It's not like we were fighting a guerrilla war against the Japanese invaders back then."

"After this period of fighting with the Guo army, I have found that independent infantry regiments have basically lost their ability to fight alone."

"Whether it's the Kuomintang army or us, the smallest operational unit for independent operations must be at least a division or a reinforced brigade."

“A regimental-level unit can only perform tactical tasks, but a battalion-level unit is equally suitable for these tactical tasks.”

"Therefore, I reorganized the combined arms regiment into an independent combined arms detachment, which includes nine infantry and two artillery units, so that they could stand on their own."

"In order to strengthen the independent combat capabilities of each branch, the mountain artillery regiment will also be split up and distributed, with the original mountain artillery regiment commander concurrently serving as the artillery staff officer of the general brigade, and the regimental headquarters merged into the general brigade."

"As for the small-scale operations at the regimental level that you mentioned, if necessary, temporary combat battalions can be set up and flexibly deployed according to the situation."

"Flexible configuration? That works too." Luo Ping nodded.

In Chen Chengxing's organizational chart, each detachment, in addition to the captain, also has two deputy captains and a chief of staff, which should be for this purpose.

"What about the equipment? The telegram didn't mention how to get the equipment," Luo Ping asked.

"The weapons needed by anti-aircraft machine gun companies, air defense battalions, and anti-tank companies are not rifles and submachine guns."

"Solve it yourself," Chen Chengxing explained.
"Let's get the anti-aircraft machine gun company and the air defense battalion up first. Didn't we capture a few American-made M2 ​​heavy machine guns before? Let them practice first. If they don't have bullets, they can practice aiming."

"The retired Type 24 heavy machine guns can also be used temporarily."

The Second General Staff has already captured a considerable amount of American equipment and ammunition, so each infantry battalion has gradually replaced its heavy machine guns with M1919A4s.

"As for the anti-tank company, each company is equipped with 6 Japanese 47mm anti-tank guns or American 37mm anti-tank guns."

In order to increase the organizational capacity, Chen Chengxing decided to break up the original independent anti-tank artillery battalion and distribute the units.

The reason Chen Chengxing specifically assigned an anti-tank company to each detachment was because...

Its main purpose was not anti-tank warfare, as the Nationalist army only had a few tanks in total.

The primary role of anti-tank guns is to be deployed to the front lines during combat to directly engage the Kuomintang army's fortified defenses.

In the latest organizational structure, Chen Chengxing has abolished the dedicated infantry gun unit and replaced it with the captured M18 57mm recoilless rifle.

Each infantry battalion now has 800 men, consisting of 3 infantry companies, 1 machine gun company, and 1 artillery company.

每营9挺重机枪，6门81/82毫米迫击炮，3门57毫米无后坐力炮。

Of course, Chen Chengxing did not directly eliminate infantry guns, since there were not enough recoilless guns available at the moment.

As for the surplus infantry guns, they are also being used as additional firepower at the battalion level without being part of the authorized staff.

Generally, each battalion will be reinforced with one or two Type 92 infantry guns, and each infantry company will be reinforced with several M1919A6 light machine guns and several bazooka rocket launchers.

The M1919A6 is too heavy to be used as a squad light machine gun, but its firepower is not sustained enough to be used as a heavy machine gun.

Therefore, none of the units wanted it; they preferred the M1919A4 heavy machine gun.

Fortunately, there weren't many of these light machine guns, but they were still sufficient to enhance the firepower of a company and to be used in conjunction with heavy machine guns.

Although each infantry battalion is nominally 800 men, with the addition of various reinforcements, the actual number is much larger.

However, neither the Type 92 infantry gun nor the M18 recoilless rifle is very effective against solid concrete fortifications.

At this point, as an anti-tank gun with an extremely long caliber, it can hit exactly where it is pointed at at close range.

That way, we can avoid the strongest parts of the fortification and directly attack the weak points such as the side and rear walls, entrances and exits, or observation windows.

Luo Ping scratched his head at Chen Chengxing's explanation.

"If you say it's okay, then it's okay. But where is our cavalry regiment?"

In this organizational structure, all units have been reinforced, except for the cavalry regiment.

"The cavalry was split up, with some being assigned to reconnaissance companies in various units, and the rest being reorganized into this armored combined arms battalion."

"As for warhorses, the Japanese horses were given to the field headquarters, while the Mongolian horses were kept for transporting heavy weapons and supplies for each battalion."

Japanese horses are heavy-duty and fast, making them excellent cavalry horses, but they are fed too well.

If it's just for transportation, Chen Chengxing doesn't want it; local Mongolian horses are more suitable for the Second General.

"And your armored battalion?"

"This matter still falls to Zhou Weiguo. I've already sent someone to fetch him," Chen Chengxing said. Armored warfare isn't something you can just do with a rifle; it requires professionals.

Just then, a report came from the doorway.

"report!"

"come in."

"Captain, you wanted to see us?" Zhou Weiguo came in with Sun Desheng.

"Weiguo, I remember you said you studied Blitzkrieg in Germany, right?"

"Yes, I majored in infantry, but I also studied armored warfare." Zhou Weiguo nodded.

He mainly studied infantry, and secondarily armored warfare. As for special operations, he studied them on his own after reading a few books out of interest.

"Okay, you know about the reorganization of the East China Field Army. We've also been reorganized into a general detachment."

"I specifically set up an armored combined arms battalion to make use of your abilities, so you'd better do a good job."

"Armored battalion? We got tanks?" Zhou Weiguo immediately became excited.

In the battles of Mazhuang and Yixian, only thirty tanks were captured in total, and the field headquarters unexpectedly distributed them to them.

"Divide tanks? No, we didn't." Chen Chengxing shook his head.

"Are there armored vehicles?" Zhou Weiguo asked again.

Even if there are no tanks, armored vehicles are still good.

"No!" Chen Chengxing shook his head again.

"Nothing? What are we going to do if the armored battalion has no armor?" Zhou Weiguo was dumbfounded.

"If I had everything, what would I need you for?"

"Chang Ruiyuan has tanks and armored vehicles, the Americans have them, but they won't give them to us."

"So, to support your work, I'll allocate 15 trucks to you and transfer Zhang Chu to be your battalion chief of staff. You can convert them into armored trucks yourselves."

"And tanks. I had some tanks that were damaged on the battlefield brought back. See if you can take them apart and replace the parts. I reckon it shouldn't be a problem to put together one."

Zhou Weiguo was stunned after hearing Chen Chengxing's words.

He studied armored warfare, but he didn't learn how to build armor from scratch.

"That's settled then. Go and get ready." Chen Chengxing waved his hand.

There was no other way; of all the people involved in the Second Division's overhaul from beginning to end, only Zhou Weiguo and Zhang Chu were capable of taking on this responsibility.

Chen Chengxing could only add more burdens to them.

After finishing his conversation with Zhou Weiguo about the armored combined arms battalion, Chen Chengxing turned to Sun Desheng.

"I've already told you about the cavalry regiment reorganization. Have you thought it through?" Chen Chengxing asked.

When Chen Chengxing talked to Sun Desheng about the cavalry regiment, he gave him a few options.

First, he was transferred to the cavalry unit directly under the command of the Nakano Field Army; second, he was appointed as the deputy commander of the detachment; and third, he was appointed as the deputy battalion commander of the armored combined arms battalion.

In terms of formality, each one is lower than the last.

"I've already made up my mind, I'm going to be the deputy battalion commander of the armored battalion."

“A cavalryman must be able to ride anything!” Sun Desheng said solemnly.

During his few days of rest, he kept thinking about this problem.

Whether he wants to admit it or not, there is no longer any room for cavalry to maneuver on the battlefield.

When it comes to speed, trucks not only run fast, but they also never tire.

In terms of combat effectiveness, a lightly armed cavalry regiment couldn't even defeat a single infantry battalion of the Second Division.

The armored battalion was the future development that Sun Desheng could envision.

It's rare to have someone like Zhou Weiguo, who has studied abroad, leading the way. If we don't learn now, when will we?

“Alright, the soldiers in the armored battalion are all converted from the cavalry regiment. You should learn from Wei Guo.” Chen Chengxing nodded.

"yes!".
After confirming the reorganization details, the entire Second General Manager's Office began mobilizing all staff.

The original eight regiments were split and reorganized into battalions.

The four independent combined arms detachments were commanded by Xu Wu, Zheng Hua, Sun Xun, and Qin Sheng, respectively, with the original regimental commanders serving as deputy commanders.

Chu Yunfei was transferred to the brigade as deputy chief of staff and head of the uprising training regiment.

After all, Chu Yunfei is a graduate of the fifth class of the Whampoa Military Academy and a top student of Chang Ruiyuan. Having Chu Yunfei speak for himself will be more effective than the G Army speaking for themselves.

As for the selection of political commissars for each detachment, Luo Ping has already communicated with his superiors and will transfer two people each from the Central Plains Field Army and the East China Field Army.

While Huaye was busy with the reorganization, an unexpected team arrived at the Second General Headquarters.

"The arsenal has already started production?"

Chen Chengxing's eyes widened as he looked at the row of 107mm rocket launchers laid out on the ground.

Each rocket launcher in front of us is also equipped with a hand tractor with a bucket, which is responsible for towing and transporting the ammunition.

"We've already conducted test firings, but haven't done any actual combat yet," Wen Ying explained from the side.

"In order to test the actual combat effect, the higher authorities specially approved the arsenal to produce 6 guns, which can be considered as forming a company."

"However, there aren't many shells; only enough for two rounds of firing."

"That's enough, that's enough." Chen Chengxing grinned from ear to ear, and went up to circle around the rocket launcher.

As for Wen Ying, who came with them, step aside for now; what woman can compare to a rocket launcher?

Don't underestimate these six rocket launchers; in a real battle, they're more powerful than an entire artillery regiment.

Wen Ying curled her lip in disdain as she watched Chen Chengxing groping around.

After inspecting each rocket launcher one by one, Chen Chengxing gave the order:
"Old Chu, immediately transfer people from the guard battalion, send some clever ones, and have them learn how to operate the equipment from the comrades at the arsenal."

"Okay." Chu Yunfei nodded.

Chu Yunfei knew about the arsenal's development of rocket artillery.

However, he didn't think he could develop it at the time, as the technology involved was quite advanced.

But to everyone's surprise, the arsenal not only developed the technology, but also completed the experiment at an incredibly fast pace and sent it to the battlefield.

After a busy day at the training ground, Chen Chengxing finally returned to the command post, satisfied.

As soon as Chen Chengxing returned to his residence, he heard the door slam shut.

"Wait a minute, I..."

The sound of gunfire lasted all night.

(End of this chapter)