From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

Chief of Staff Shen was absolutely right; reforms at the military brigade level are the most difficult.

Above the army level is the theater command level, where there are many old connections. It can be said that affecting one part affects the whole, and many more aspects must be considered.

Unlike the divisions below, even if they disagree, their power is limited and they can't cause much trouble.

The base commander naturally had a deep understanding of what Chief of Staff Shen said, but as a senior colonel, it was not convenient for him to discuss it further.

So he changed the subject and said, "Chief of Staff, I really don't understand."

The Seventh Steel Brigade was formed less than a month ago, and it is incomplete in all aspects. Its equipment and personnel training are inadequate, and it has not yet formed a brigade-level combat capability.

How dare you bring them out to compete against two top-tier teams?
To be honest, I really don't understand. Most of the comrades in our base also have many questions about this and would like to ask the Chief of Staff to clarify things for us.

"Oh? Is that so? What are your main concerns?" Chief of Staff Shen asked with a smile.

"The main issue is the difference in combat strength between the two teams."

Commander S of the base summarized the words and said: "In previous red and blue army confrontations, the strength of the two sides was basically evenly matched, with divisions against divisions, regiments against regiments, and battalions against battalions. The equipment and ammunition were also quantifiable and comparable."

But this time, the 7th Steel Brigade is not mature at all; in fact, it's only half a brigade.

However, they were sent to confront the 708th and 909th Brigades, whose strengths were far too disparate. The comrades all believed that such a confrontation did not conform to the rules of the game and violated the principle that exercises must be fair competition.

Take the first phase as an example. Arranging for the 7th Steel Brigade to compete against the 708th Brigade was, in my opinion, very unfair to the 7th Steel Brigade. The judging criteria used by the directors and judges were also difficult to accurately grasp.

The base commander's words sounded principled, but at their core, they still had that traditional flavor.

Pursuing the ultimate fairness.

It's all about rigid formulas.

"The battlefield is never a fair place. War is not a sporting event, much less a game of entertainment. Everything must be done according to the rules."

Chief of Staff Shen smiled and corrected, "A military superpower will not give you a break and refrain from attacking you just because your opponent is weak or lacks strength."

Or, for the sake of your so-called fairness, you might lower the configuration and equipment of your own troops to fight on the same level as you.

On the contrary, in a real war, everyone is wary of a strong opponent and dares not act rashly against him. There are many who pick on the weak.

Illegal organizations will not refrain from launching open provocations or ceasing attacks simply because you have a strong military.

Instead, they will resort to all sorts of underhanded and despicable methods that you would consider low-class to launch various actions against you, without ever discussing principles or fairness with you.

Of all the wars, large and small, that have occurred internationally in recent years, which one was fought with a balance of power? Huh?
Which participant in a war discusses the rules of the game with their opponent when initiating the war?

Have you ever seen a war like the one common in the Middle East and Africa, where a heavy machine gun mounted on a pickup truck can overthrow a government?

Chief of Staff Shen paused here, his gaze fixed intently on Commander S of the base.

The base commander was speechless and could only lower his head in silence.

"I suppose you haven't seen it before, that's to be sure."

Chief of Staff Shen continued walking forward: "But today, this kind of asymmetric warfare model is already commonplace for us."

Asymmetry is precisely the norm in war and the true state of actual combat.

Can you say that it's not a form of future warfare? Regardless of your opinion, I believe it is, or at least it is a form of future warfare.

The concept of asymmetric warfare was proposed by the United States, and their special forces are most adept at this type of warfare.

"That makes sense."

The base commander was convinced and exclaimed, "It seems that the exercise model we have been developing has made training and exercises too rule-based and gamified."

This makes it seem fair, but in reality, it's quite the opposite, and it's increasingly detached from real-world application.

"Well said."

Chief of Staff Shen nodded in satisfaction and said, "Many comrades haven't realized this yet, so it's understandable that they have doubts."

The base commander suddenly realized the truth, his mind cleared up, and he said with lingering fear, "Fortunately, the Steel Seventh Brigade won its first battle. If the Steel Seventh Brigade hadn't fought well in its first battle, it would have been wiped out by the 708th Brigade right away."

Given the current environment, pursuing the path of specialized combined arms brigades is probably no longer a viable option.

The reform of divisions into brigades is the current trend of reform across the military, but combined arms operations are not the absolute mainstream and are currently only one of several options.

If the 7th Steel Brigade loses the first phase of the exercise, it will definitely affect its future development.

At the very least, in terms of resource allocation, it will definitely not be as good as it is now.

"When Xing Siling and Political Commissar Feng suggested letting this little tiger see the world, I was actually quite nervous."

Chief of Staff Shen said with feeling: "How I wish that the 7th Steel Brigade could be stronger and more mature before it is put forward to show its power to the whole army."

They appeared before troops from all over the entire theater of operations, displaying their truly extraordinary strength as a formidable foe.

However, Commander S believed that we should not cultivate our specialized combined arms brigade into an aristocratic force, a privileged force, like feeding giant pandas, turning them into fat tigers that are only good for show and decoration.

That would completely negate the purpose of establishing specialized combined arms units to serve as hypothetical adversaries across the entire theater of operations, thereby honing and enhancing combat capabilities.

Chief of Staff Shen pointed out a key point: excellent troops can only be trained in adversity.

Therefore, the training of the 7th Steel Brigade involves providing them with the best equipment and supplies, while also placing the greatest pressure on them.

Fighting a powerful elite brigade without any training is just the first step in putting pressure on them.

"I understand now. The commander means to allow the 7th Steel Brigade to mature and grow rapidly through competition with many elite units," the base commander said with sudden realization.

“We’ve never had a truly professional combined arms brigade before. We can’t just copy foreign models, and we can’t follow the old path of Zhurihe. So what should our combined arms brigade look like?”

Chief of Staff Shen looked at the sky at a 45-degree angle with a deep gaze and said with a hint of expectation, "Therefore, if Chen Jun is to lead the formation of a specialized combined arms brigade, it must first have Chinese characteristics and be characteristic of our army, and secondly, it must also have the characteristics of our theater command."

Moreover, two key points should be emphasized: specialization and swiftness.

"Specialization? Offensive capability?" The base's S commander didn't understand, his face full of question marks.

"Specialization means that it is different from the past, where the exercise troops were the red and blue forces. From the formation, function, and mission of the troops, to the organization and programming, weapons and equipment, and officers and soldiers, we must highlight the characteristics of the hypothetical enemy."

The goal is to ensure that other units in the theater of operations feel unfamiliar with, wary of, and find the 7th Steel Brigade difficult to deal with. The theater commanders have deeper ideas about specialization, hoping that the 7th Steel Brigade can have the ability to imitate, to accurately imitate the armed forces of a certain foreign army or a hostile organization, to play the role convincingly, and to be a professional training partner.

We must treat them as true adversaries on the battlefield, engage in genuine combat and hard-fought battles, so that the theater troops can learn a lesson and remember the mistake.

Chief of Staff Shen's explanation of specialization was so thorough that the base's S commander immediately understood what specialization meant.

Then we moved on to the second point.

"Being proactive means taking action; you can't just wait around waiting for something to happen."

Chief of Staff Shen emphasized the first sentence to highlight this point before continuing: "Once the Steel Seventh Brigade matures, they will no longer be stationed in one place, but will launch attacks in all directions, carrying out all-domain operations that are capable of both offense and defense."

It integrates various combat elements of the army, becoming a modular combat combination of multiple branches of service, and a unique new type of combat force.

The goal is to achieve a small organizational structure but enormous energy, and small actions but significant impact, with cities and transportation lines as the main battlefields, highlighting the characteristics and style of future army operations.

Of course, this is just one of our ideas, and whether it will succeed is still unknown.

I had absolutely no idea what the outcome of the battle between the 7th Steel Brigade and the 708th Brigade would be.

Chen Jun had meticulously studied foreign military tactics and even made his own innovations.

They learned from foreign militaries, but not by mechanically imitating them; they developed their own unique characteristics. This proactive approach, which involved taking initiative rather than waiting passively, is something everyone should learn from.

To be honest, the fact that the 7th Steel Brigade defeated the 708th Brigade was a huge relief to me.

Chief of Staff Shen and the base's Commander S walked and talked. They had just emerged from the woods when two vehicles drove up along the road.

Two cars stopped in front of the two men, and a man with three golden hairpins on his shoulders got out of the cars.

The big boss of the war zone!

"Commander Xing."

"Hello, Chief."

Chief of Staff Shen and the base's Commander S immediately saluted. Chief of Staff Shen then asked with concern, "Why did you return from the meeting in the capital so quickly?"

The exercise has been going on for nearly 10 days now, and it is a very important debut for the combined arms brigade. Normally, the top leader of the theater command would definitely be present, but he has only just appeared now. It turns out he went to the capital for a meeting.

"As soon as the meeting ended last night, I took a car back overnight and rushed here early this morning so as not to miss the exciting show," the big boss said with a smile.

"Commander, the real show hasn't even started yet, because it's not time to launch the final offensive," explained the base's Commander S.

"The exercise is less than three days away, and Chu Zhangang's troops are still not ready? This efficiency is unacceptable," the big boss complained.

"It's not that he's not ready to attack yet, but that he and his troops are still on their way."

Chief of Staff Shen spoke calmly, but couldn't hide the smugness at the corner of his mouth.

"What's he dawdling about on the way?" The big boss was now a little curious.

"The Seventh Steel Brigade blocked our advance along the way, slowing it down a bit," Chief of Staff Shen said softly, without deliberately favoring one side.

"How did Chen Jun manage to fight like that? Chu Zhangang is quite capable; how could he hold off his 909th Brigade for so many days? That really surprises me," the big boss said.

"In Chu Zhangang's words, the Seventh Steel Brigade's tactics were like ganging up on each other, attacking in all directions. They mainly engaged in psychological warfare, information warfare, and propaganda warfare, along with tactics such as network infiltration. They completely bewildered Chu Zhangang from the start, leaving him utterly helpless."

Chief of Staff Shen laughed as he said this, and after a couple of seconds he continued, "Fortunately, I finally recovered yesterday and my condition is much better than before."

The Blue Army is still three or four hundred kilometers away from Wolf Mountain. If nothing goes wrong, they should have a day or two at most for all three columns to arrive.

The top leader of the theater command was unaware of the details of the exercise, and Chief of Staff Shen only gave a general overview.

This led him to believe that the 909th Brigade still had the advantage, and he casually remarked with his hands on his hips, "I knew it. The 7th Steel Brigade doesn't yet have the capability for live-fire blocking and confrontation, so it will be very difficult for them to stop the 909th Brigade."

"hehe."

Chief of Staff Shen smiled and did not make any explanation. Instead, he said with great interest, "Commander S, you've come at the right time. The two sides are about to have a tough battle, which is the live-fire confrontation you've been most looking forward to."

"it is good!"

The big boss immediately became interested and waved his hand, saying, "Then what are we waiting for? Get in the car quickly, let's go and see what's going on."

"Please!"

Chief of Staff Shen gestured.

After the war zone's top leader turned around and got into the car first, he and the base's S commander followed behind.

ten minutes later.

The war zone's top leader and Chief of Staff Shen, along with their entourage, arrived at the exercise command center hall of the directing department and took their seats in the first row to watch the exercise.

The directing department sent a guide to the front to give a special explanation to the big boss of the war zone.

"The left flank of the Red Army is advancing north along the railway and is about to reach the second dispatch station. After a brief adjustment here, it is expected that the armored forces of the Red Army will arrive at Langshan and complete their assembly in the designated area before tomorrow afternoon."

The Red Army's right flank advanced along the national highway, and was equipped with an artillery regiment and a motorized infantry battalion.

We arrived at the Anxi River ferry crossing at noon today, and are preparing to take a ferry north across the river. We are currently communicating with the local ferry company.

"Why not take the bridge? Why choose to take a boat? Isn't that much more troublesome?" the boss asked, puzzled.

"The Anxi River Highway Bridge is undergoing major repairs, and heavy-duty vehicles are prohibited from passing through it. Therefore, when we were developing the exercise plan, we confirmed that the Anxi River Bridge had been blown up and that taking the ferry was the only way to cross the river."

After the commentator finished explaining, he waited a few seconds.

Seeing that the big boss of the war zone did not continue to ask questions, he continued to explain: "The Red Army's central route and the 909th Brigade command post have now arrived in Ningjiang County."

"It's still 340 kilometers to Langshan Base, and Commander Chu is currently stationed here."

When the commentator got to this point, he used a laser pointer to illuminate the large map in front of him, marking the location with red laser dots.

"Why didn't he keep going? Why did he stop halfway?" The war zone's big boss was speechless.

With no one blocking the way, stopping halfway through is indeed puzzling. (End of Chapter)