Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 218 Blue Army, advance! Kill!

Time flies by in the midst of intense and efficient busyness.

Chen Mo stood upstairs smugly for a while, but then he didn't have time to slack off. He turned around and went back to his dormitory to pack up all the documents and research papers that Dean Lu had left for him.

We're going to take it to Huanglongwanggou.

During the preparation period for each company, Chen Mo also went downstairs for a few rounds. The reduction of logistics was a big problem, and it was necessary to negotiate and communicate about who to keep and who not to keep.

If this were just a regular training session or exercise, many soldiers would be happy to choose not to go in this hot weather.

After all, once you get to that godforsaken Northwest region, if war breaks out, let alone getting rest, even taking a bath or washing your face will become a major problem.

When soldiers are away from home, it's common for them to go a month without showering or washing their faces, and they'll smell terrible every day. Few people are willing to put up with that kind of environment.

The problem is that even the leaders of the Kyoto Military Region are paying attention to this exercise, and the collective second-class merit is being awarded as if it were free.

Few people would be willing to pass up a similar task.

However, Chen Mo did not interfere too much with logistics. As the battalion commander, he was only responsible for the training, and he left other trivial matters to the newly appointed political instructor and Liang Hongjie to handle.

Chen Mo had already made up his mind to train Liang Pai to be the future head of logistics, so he had to take this opportunity to hone his skills.

"Hello, battalion commander!"

"Hello, battalion commander!"

While strolling around the base, soldiers would occasionally greet you loudly as they passed by.

When he encountered someone so sensible, Chen Mo would respond, and he would even deliberately go to crowded places to listen to a few more words.

There's no way around it, this feeling is just too awesome!
Before, everyone called him "Xiucai" (a scholar who passed the imperial examinations), but suddenly the title "Chang" (meaning "leader") was changed, and everyone felt comfortable with it.

During this time.

Chen Mo also specially gathered the intern cadres transferred from the Army Academy, such as Qin Xiaojun and Xu Zhanqi, who were acquaintances he had met during the academy's mid-year assessment.

They were assigned to various companies as staff officers according to their respective specialties and the focus of their training. This served two purposes: firstly, to assist the company commanders in training and coordination, and secondly, to help these new officers learn as quickly as possible.

The Blue Army battalion was, after all, just a temporary, cobbled-together unit.

Subsequently, in accordance with the orders of the Kyoto Military Headquarters, each military region was to establish an informationized battalion, and these people were the old guard of the Kyoto Military Region.

They must be trained in advance.

When the preparations were almost complete, Chen Mo received the list of personnel to be left behind from the logistics company and the training regulations and plans specific to military doctors from the medical detachment.

The entire battalion was equipped and began its transfer.

Da da da.
The tank tracks twisted and turned, and the friction between the steel caused a roaring noise, which was matched by the roar of the high-horsepower engine.

Thick exhaust fumes and plumes of foul smoke filled the air, a mixture of the distinctive smell of burning diesel and engine oil—a smell ingrained in the very marrow and blood of the mechanized corps.

The company commanders, in coordination with the platoon sergeants, stood fifty meters apart outside the base, their movements powerful and forceful as they waved guide flags and issued a series of commands to guide the heavy equipment sequence to begin moving out of the depot.

Once on the main road, we set up our driving position.

The Blue Team is going to a training camp.

Chief of Staff Qin had already left to work on equipment and personnel transfers, so the people seeing him off were naturally replaced by leaders from the Army Academy.

Led by Vice Dean Zhang Jinnan and Director Luo Yaowu, a group of instructors stood at the entrance of the base.

Watching hundreds of pieces of equipment and nearly a thousand officers and soldiers gradually merge into one, the scene was powerful, and the military might was palpable.

Wang Jianyong, a veteran of the reconnaissance company, was pulled to Chen Mo's side to serve as a temporary orderly. Old Wang drove the off-road vehicle, while Chen Mo stood in the passenger seat.

They circled around all the tank formations of all the companies.

The vehicle stopped at the entrance of the base.

Chen Mo quickly got out of the car, walked up to several leaders from the Army Academy, and saluted them.

"Hello, Chief!"

"The entire battalion is fully equipped and ready to depart at any time. Please give your instructions!"

Chen Mo deliberately raised his voice, and his report, with its strong penetrating power, attracted all the Blue Army officers who had not boarded the vehicle.

Line up on your own and await orders.

In just one morning, Chen Mo established prestige throughout the entire battalion, gaining the voluntary cooperation of the battalion's officers.

Vice President Zhang returned the greeting solemnly, his eyes revealing appreciation.

He didn't have a good impression of Chen Mo at first, thinking that the young man was too ambitious and had too many goals, making him unsuitable for working in a place like the military that required pure thinking.

However, after several encounters...

He realized that his previous thoughts were somewhat biased. Chen Mo had not been in the army for long, but his courage and action were indeed extraordinary.

It seems more suitable for survival in the military.

Zhang Jinan looked up at the resolute and energetic cadres in front of him.

He began by saying, "Comrades, do you know why we must build an information system, why we must experiment, and why we must expend enormous human and material resources to try it out?"

This question was suddenly raised during a farewell scene.

The officials on site didn't react immediately, or rather, even if they did react, it was useless. Information technology is a well-worn topic among the higher-ups.

However, at the grassroots level, it's still a relatively new term.

After waiting a few seconds, and seeing no response,

Zhang Jinnan grinned: "If you can't answer that, we'll ask another question."

What is most important in modern warfare?

This?
The officers present saw that the old man was determined to ask him something, and one of the company commanders, who was not wearing a rank insignia, looked up and shouted, "Report, the person operating the weapons is the most important."

"Yes, that's good. People are very important." Zhang Jinnan affirmed gently, "Anything else?"

"Report: Advanced equipment is very important."

Another company commander, not to be outdone, responded loudly.

Vice President Zhang reiterated: "Indeed, a generational gap in equipment can be extremely fatal to a war."

"Does anyone else have anything to add?"

The atmosphere gradually became more lively.

There were even sycophants who shouted that science and technology were the most important thing, and that the military academy instructors who trained cadres worked very hard and were the most important.

Actually, what this sycophant said wasn't wrong. It's about strengthening the military through science and technology. But to praise it so openly in front of leaders from the Army Academy is a bit like trying to attract attention.

Zhang Jinan's smile remained unchanged.

He then turned to Chen Mo and asked, "Battalion Commander Chen, what's your take on this issue?"

Normally, Chen Mo would have shown his abilities long ago.

But as a battalion commander, especially in front of so many officers in the battalion, he wouldn't answer the question rashly.

Upon hearing the question, Chen Mo straightened up and said, "Report, it's the system."

"In recent years, the military region has been downsizing, reforming, and transforming into a mechanized force. The reasons for this are wide-ranging, but ultimately it is because the factors that determine the outcome of modern warfare have become systemic."

"Yes, it's a system."

Zhang Jinan looked up and sighed. At this moment, the vice president was not as arrogant as usual, and his expression was filled with reminiscence.

A memory that shocked me and that I couldn't process for a long time.

"I'm going to tell you a story."

"In 91, during the Gulf War and Operation Desert Storm, the United States shocked the world and our field army with its brand-new integrated information warfare model."

Vice Dean Zhang spoke slowly.

"A country with thousands of tanks, hundreds of fighter jets, and a history of large-scale combat in the Iran-Iraq War, was powerless to fight back."

"While we were still focused on pursuing air superiority, our enemy had already acquired and perfected a series of new attack methods, including information superiority, air superiority, electromagnetic superiority, and even intelligence superiority and communication superiority."

"It made a war that lasted only a few dozen days a true example of system asymmetry."

"But ground combat only lasts 100 hours."

At this point, whether it was a misperception or Zhang Jinnan's emotions were indeed quite turbulent, everyone present, including Chen Mo, could detect a trace of lingering fear in Vice Dean Zhang's tone.

Yes, it's lingering fear, the kind of fear that can be conveyed even through words.

"100 hours."

Zhang Jinnan's voice suddenly rose.

"In those 100 hours, both sides deployed over a million troops. The US destroyed or captured more than 2000 tanks, more than 800 armored vehicles, and more than 960 artillery pieces, and took nearly 18 prisoners, resulting in 10 casualties."

When this data was released, some senior officials present merely narrowed their eyes but remained silent.

However, some less experienced cadres felt their scalp tingle, their whole body go cold, and every hair on their body stood on end.

Because of this, it was not widely publicized internally, and many grassroots cadres were completely unaware of it. After all, knowing about it would only cause panic and serve no other purpose.

Furthermore, this is not within the scope of research for ordinary cadres.

But that doesn't stop them from knowing what this data represents.

Leaving aside the number of troops deployed, the captured equipment alone is equivalent to the strength of ten 188th Strategic Assault Divisions.

Ten divisions.

They couldn't even last four days before they were completely routed. Even the most intense battles in the past were never this extreme.

Moreover, ten divisions only represents the number of prisoners; the actual number of troops deployed would be much higher.

Similarly, it didn't last more than four days.

Those who heard the news for the first time felt as if the sky had fallen; the enemy was far too powerful.

It has become so powerful that it inspires awe and fear.

Ignoring the expressions of the officials present, Vice President Zhang continued, "Are you aware of the casualties suffered by the multinational forces led by the United States?"

This gave everyone a few seconds to process the situation.

Zhang Jinnan said in a heavy tone, "It's more than 600 people. This is the total number of casualties for the multinational forces, while the American casualties themselves are only about 200."

The enemy suffered 600 casualties, inflicting over 100,000 casualties on the enemy, and also had over 100,000 captured.

Casualties: 1:200; prisoners: 1:200.

This data is based on real events; otherwise, no one would dare to fabricate such a story.

Even later anti-Japanese war dramas lacked bold imagination.

The result, announced by the vice president of the Army Academy, caused a moment of disarray among the officers standing in formation.

Many people were experiencing shortness of breath.

Luo Yaowu, who had been standing to the side and had been listening in silence for a while, suddenly nodded: "That's right, that's the data."

"During the operation, information suppression disrupted communications across the entire army, causing the ground command to lose contact with various corps, division, and brigade headquarters, and communication links were completely blocked."

"Absolute air superiority strike: the Lion's Ministry of Defense, Air Force Headquarters, Intelligence Bureau Headquarters, Fuxing Part Headquarters, Telecommunications Building, Power Plant and more than 300 other strategic targets were bombed."

"Army units, command posts, and more than a thousand tactical targets were attacked by missiles, and the command chain was completely paralyzed."

"This was an unequal battle, and the defeat was so horrifying that it terrified the whole world."

"The war is over, and many people are afraid!"

Luo Yaowu said with a serious expression, almost roaring, "I'm not afraid to tell you, even I was afraid when I learned the outcome of this war."

"We once had a unit that achieved the pinnacle of light infantry tactics, and we once proclaimed that our army was invincible."

"The large-scale immigration began after this war, when our enemy became so powerful that it was despair-inducing."

"Many people would rather go out and wash dishes than come back. Not only outside, but even when we were in a semi-mechanized and semi-motorized era, there was a lot of pessimism."

"Even in subsequent joint exercises, many people lacked the will to fight."

"Back then, the leaders at the top held a meeting and personally said something like, 'If a full-scale war breaks out at that time, we must be prepared for the entire population to be mobilized as soldiers.'"

"Because, no matter how we calculate it, we can't last a year."

"Comrades, do you understand what it means for the whole nation to be mobilized as soldiers?"

"That would mean sending a large number of untrained civilians to the battlefield in order to ensure the country's survival and the nation's survival in a major war!!!"

"This is the greatest shame for us as soldiers!"

There was dead silence.

Some gritted their teeth, some clenched their fists, and some had tears welling up in their eyes.

Soldiers, even if they are afraid, will charge into the enemy's path and eliminate them when they arrive on the battlefield.

However, they could not bear to send untrained civilians to the battlefield, because Luo Yaowu was right; at this point, it would be a disgrace to any soldier.

"Therefore, we must catch up, we must become strong."

"During this time, some people groveled and bowed down! Others faced death and lived!"

Some people just give up! Some people fight!

"Nearly 10 years of dormancy, just to catch up."

"We are now undergoing the third stage of mechanization. In the past eight years, we have experimented with informatization five times and failed five times. This is the sixth time."

"You may still fail, but that's okay. We will give you the best equipment, the best officers, and the best conditions."

"And comrades, please remember this too!!"

"This training camp isn't just about participating in military exercises; you guys have to risk your lives!!"

"Be that spark, and start a prairie fire!"

"Be that seed, and change the entire army."

"Now, on behalf of the Kyoto Military Region, the General Staff, and the Field Army, I implore you to fight to the death for the Army!"

The words fell.

A group of senior colonel-level instructors from the Army Academy stood at attention and saluted in unison! This sudden scene left the officers present completely bewildered.

The soldiers waiting to depart in the distance were also dumbfounded by the situation. Although the leaders of the Army Academy did not lead troops.

But they were, after all, a group of division-level commanders.

Who has ever seen a group of leaders saluting their subordinates?
The Army Academy's research on informatization received support from the General Staff and the major military regions. As the director of the Strategic and Operational Studies Department, Luo Yaowu was already shouldering a heavy responsibility.

He has the right to say such things.

Many officers in the Blue Army were stunned, but Chen Mo was not. He quickly turned around and jumped into the passenger seat.

"Blue Army Camp!!"

Chen Mo roared.

Although he had not led troops for long, he had enough experience. Having lived two lives, he had suffered injustices and lived in a daze.

But when it comes to serious matters, Chen Mo never loses face.

With a roar, he unleashed the spirit of decades of military service, and the grandeur of a warrior who could fight across three thousand miles and single-handedly defeat a million soldiers.

A fierce and ruthless voice instantly filled the entire base.

Even without prior rehearsal, the next second, the entire battalion's fighting spirit was awakened by the officers' shouts.

Passionate and tragic!
"kill!"

"kill!!"

"kill!!!"

The sound spread like wildfire among the soldiers.

Behind Chen Mo were thousands of soldiers roaring. He stood on the vehicle and returned the salute to his superior.

Then I sat down directly.

"Set off!!"

"Yes!"

Wang Jianyong responded, stepped on the gas, and the off-road military vehicle rumbled as it turned around and headed towards Huanglongwangou.

Even the battalion commander took action.

What else was there to say? All the assembled cadres returned the salute and then quickly ran toward the armored vehicles.

Rumble!
The high-horsepower engine roared.

The behemoth, which had been prepared for a long time, began to move.

Only when the soldiers from the Blue Army battalion had gone far enough that the rear of the vehicles was almost out of sight did the leaders at the base gate lower their salutes.

The experiment has been ongoing for a long time, and many people don't understand why. Now, the answer has been revealed.

The students from the Army Academy watched the departing team intently, hoping that this training camp would be a success.

Chen Mo sat in the passenger seat. He didn't go with the troops to Huanglongwangou. Instead, he held a map of the area near the camp and let Wang Jianyong drive.

I took him for a walk around the neighborhood.

Chen Mo was observing the surrounding terrain. The time for coordinated training was too tight, and there was no point in just participating in the training camp at the training ground.

The Blue Army camp lacks cohesion, and for now they can only familiarize themselves with the terrain in a simple way.

But to do all this, he, as the commander, must conduct on-site investigations; otherwise, how can he plan training if he doesn't even understand the terrain?
As for the training that day, Chen Mo wasn't in a hurry. After all, the deputy battalion commander was a colonel in the staff department and quite capable.

Before setting off, Chen Mo had communicated with Deputy Battalion Commander Gao Jin, who said that the Blue Army battalion's equipment and personnel were not all in place.

The mobile collaborative mixed formation doesn't need to be too complicated; just follow the 31211 operation mode and carry out basic collaboration.

In simpler terms, the Blue Army battalion should first be organized into a formation consisting of three tanks, one armored vehicle, two troop carriers, and one engineer vehicle.

This type of organization is connected by communication or command vehicles. Once the signalmen arrive, they are then integrated with the logistics and medical teams.

There are many ways to form mixed mobile formations, and this is just one of them. The purpose of this training is to connect the dynamic chains of the cluster.

Ensure that the entire battalion can quickly deploy assault formations when coordination is required in combat terrain.

This training method sounds simple, but it is actually very complex and much more difficult than simple infantry-tank coordination.

It can be said that if the 188th Division had known how to organize itself, it wouldn't have been forced into such a dire situation in Operation Zone 5.

Right now, we don't have all the people or all the equipment, so we can only keep training like this for now.

Chen Mo had been sitting in the car observing the terrain since around noon, in the sweltering heat of nearly forty degrees Celsius.

Wang Jianyong's job as a temporary orderly was not easy either. He didn't even have a sip of water and was always driving around in his convertible.

But there's no way to complain.

Because Chen Mo had no water to drink, no food to eat, and had to take out a map from time to time to make references, write and draw on paper, and arrange subsequent collaborative training.

The two were exposed to the sun until almost 5 p.m.

Even a proud reconnaissance soldier like Lao Wang was scorched to a crisp and had no strength left.

Chen Mo, whose face was also tanned dark from the sun, finally put away the map and placed it on the back seat, saying, "Let's go, squad leader, back to camp."

"Alright." Wang Jianyong's spirits lifted somewhat when he heard that they had to return to camp.

“Scholar, you are now a battalion commander. Even if you are only a temporary acting battalion commander, you can’t keep calling me squad leader.”

"Just call me Lao Wang."

"Isn't this a bad idea?" Chen Mo paused for a moment, then raised his hand to rub his temples and laughed, "It's fine, it'll only take ten or twenty days."

There aren't that many rules.

"Well, I can't call you 'scholar' anymore, I have to call you 'battalion commander'."

Wang Jianyong didn't think there was anything wrong with his suggestion. He stepped on the gas, muttered something to himself, and quickly drove towards the camp.

Because the road into Huanglongwangou was difficult to travel, all the camp's training was conducted on the outskirts.

At the beginning.

Chen Mo didn't plan to watch the training session. He wanted to go back to camp first to eat something and drink some water before coming over to observe in detail.

After all, although the Blue Army battalion is just a joint battalion and doesn't have much tacit understanding, it is still a carefully selected company. Training in mobile coordination and group formation should not be a problem, right?

But Chen Mo was really wrong this time.

Before we even got close to the training area, we saw several veterans in the distance hitting the front and sides of a transport truck with hammers on an open space.

The car body has many dents and is badly flattened.

You can see it from a great distance.

Chen Mo frowned and pointed to the location of the transport vehicle: "Let's go over there and see what's going on."

"Row."

Wang Jianyong nodded, swiped the steering wheel, and drove the car over.

Upon seeing the new battalion commander arrive, the several veterans who had been busy immediately stopped, jumped off the vehicle, and lined up.

"Stop with the rules. What's wrong with the car? Did you crash during training again?"

Chen Mo looked up and gestured to the truck.

"Yes, it's hit several times now." The veteran replied with a grin, clearly having been using his hammer quite a bit all afternoon.

These people were specifically assigned to this place to repair cars.

"Okay, get busy."

Chen Mo waved his hand, turned around and sat in the passenger seat. This time, without him saying anything, Wang Jianyong drove himself toward the training area.

Coincidentally.

Just as Chen Mo approached the edge of the training area, a Type 96 tank and a Type 63 troop carrier traveling in the distance collided with each other with a loud bang.

There was a miscommunication in command and coordination.

And that's not all; there are even worse ones further away.

Chen Mo watched helplessly as, during the combined arms operation, the infantry were required to board the vehicles with the team. He saw that the Type 96 gun barrels were almost piercing into the truck bed, yet a large number of infantrymen still refused to board.

They blocked the entrance to the train carriage.

Chen Mo prided himself on having a good temper and rarely losing his temper.

But see this scene.

The black lines on his forehead were practically jumping up.

This efficiency is ridiculously high, could it get any more outrageous?

"Go and notify them to suspend training."

Chen Mo issued the order.

Wang Jianyong ran to the sergeant major in the distance, instructed him to wave a flag, notify the command vehicle, and issue instructions via radio.

After the vehicles stopped, Chen Mo, disregarding whether he had a driver's license or not, drove alone to the training ground while Wang Jianyong was on his way back.

When he arrived, the infantrymen who had been blocking the way were still standing at the entrance of the carriage.

"What are you doing?"

Chen Mo's face was filled with anger, and his eyes were glaring.

Hearing the commotion, the group turned around and realized that it was the battalion commander coming over. Nearby officers also quickly got out of their vehicles and rushed over.

"I'm asking you a question! What were you doing just now?"

"what?"

"The tanks behind have already pushed up, didn't you see them? Call your platoon leader over here!!"

Chen Mo was truly furious. Not only was the training substandard, but there was also a near-accident. Who wouldn't be angry in that situation?
"Reporting to the battalion commander, her legs went weak just now, and she couldn't move when she saw the tank coming."

An elderly infantryman nearby responded with a helpless expression.

Following the direction the veteran pointed, Chen Mo then discovered that there were two women squatting in the crowd.

Not only were they squatting on the ground, but there were also six or seven standing nearby.

They were all interns from military medical colleges.

Chen Mo glanced at it and immediately understood what was going on. The medic had never been with the team before, let alone seen a moving tank so close to him.

The training suddenly shifted to combined arms operations, and we were being chased by such large machines, with cannon barrels rumbling right up to us.

I couldn't adapt to it all at once, and I was so scared that my legs went weak.

The train carriage entrance was blocked, preventing people behind from boarding.

"Battalion Commander, it's my fault."

Before Chen Mo could say anything, Liu Min, the captain of the medical team, came running over breathlessly and spoke first.

"I didn't say it wasn't your problem; your problem is much bigger."

Chen Mo snorted coldly: "How many people are in your medical team?"

"Report, there are sixteen people in total."

Although Liu Min didn't understand why the battalion commander would ask that question, she still answered truthfully.

Sixteen people?

"Captain Liu, haven't you taken any field medical courses?"

Chen Mo pointed to eight or nine female soldiers nearby and angrily said, "As a battlefield medical unit, the basic principle that personnel should be dispersed and absolutely not gather together, don't you, as the captain, understand this?"

"A vehicle is crammed with more than half of the medics. If that vehicle is damaged in the war, the entire battalion will lose half of its medical capacity."

"Is this your arrangement?"

Liu Min turned pale from the scolding; as a woman, it was rare to be scolded so bluntly.

Even if she was wrong.

This was the first time Chen Mo had ever experienced this.

"Why, you still have questions?"

Chen Mo turned his head and looked at the two female soldiers who were still squatting on the ground, unable to even stand up.

He said decisively, "Captain Liu, I don't care what method you use, eliminate the fear of your team members within one day."

"Even if you have to stand in a line and let tanks run around you for half a day, you have to overcome this problem."

"If a similar situation occurs again tomorrow, all of you in the medical team should pack your things and go back."

"Training camp is not suitable for you."

"Can you understand?"

"Yes!" Liu Min pursed her lips, her face full of stubbornness.

See this.

Chen Mo didn't say anything more, turned around and left, heading towards the two unlucky guys who had just been in a car accident.

He reiterated his previous statement: "A merciful general cannot command an army."

Whoever has a problem will be dealt with.

We must train the entire battalion to have some semblance of information synthesis capabilities in the shortest possible time.

Otherwise, no matter how good the equipment is, it can't withstand face-to-face attacks.

The next few days.

He will make everyone in the camp understand what it means to live each day as if it were the end of the war.

(End of this chapter)