It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 192 | Debut at the Peak
"First, the position of the Eighth Mechanized Infantry Division is still available. It will definitely not be easy for you to lead this division."

"As for the second option, it's to go to the General Staff (General Staff Headquarters), where there are fewer miscellaneous tasks and a more leisurely life."

After saying that, Li Miaocheng looked up at Shang Ke to see what choice he would make.

Shang Ke hesitated before asking, "Uh...where was the Eighth Mechanized Infantry Division organized?"

"The Taizhou area."

"Director, if I were to lead this division, would I be qualified to receive the rank of colonel?"

Shank remembered what the captain had said in Budapest, so without thinking twice, he asked a question, wanting a promise.

Li Miaocheng thought to himself, "The head of the advisory group and the dean of the tank academy have jointly recommended and guaranteed my success. Besides, everyone knows about the big commotion you caused in Hungary. What makes you unqualified?"
"If you don't mind the trouble, then go lead the troops and train them. Just do it, are you worried about not being qualified?"

The position of commander of the newly formed 8th Armored Infantry Division was extremely attractive to Shang. Being able to directly lead troops was naturally excellent, and this was a proper mechanized division, far superior to an ordinary infantry division.

Another unexpected advantage is that Taizhou is not far from Suzhou, making it convenient to go home when you have free time.

After all, he had been in a long-distance relationship with his fiancée for a year, and now that he had finally returned to China, it would be unreasonable for him to stay in the General Staff Department if he were to remain in a long-distance relationship again.

After agreeing on their destination, Li Miaocheng waved his hand and granted Shang a ten-day paid leave.

However, Mr. Shang still shamelessly said, "Director, ten days of leave is too short. It should be at least half a month, right?"

"Ten days isn't enough for you to rest? Everyone in the General Headquarters only had one day off for New Year's Day."

"Mainly because... it's about time for me to have my wedding."

"Then I'll give you five more days."

"Also, Director, when will my promotion order be issued?"

Annoyed by his questions, Li Miaocheng waved him away and replied irritably, "It'll only take a day or two!"

Shang Ke left the building feeling somewhat elated.

The regimental commander has kept all his promises; he didn't just make empty promises. Major General Zhang, the regimental commander, is truly a kind and honest man.

After imagining it for a long time, he finally came to his senses and realized that he had unknowingly walked to the front gate.

He then realized that he hadn't yet figured out the organization and formation of armored infantry divisions, so he hurriedly turned around and went back.

The Organization Bureau is a subordinate department of the General Headquarters. It has a small number of staff and is responsible for carefully designing scientific and reasonable troop organization.

From infantry squads to armored divisions, every combat unit has a standard organizational structure, which is an indispensable and important aspect.

The organization of the Federal Armed Forces' 39th Anniversary Armored Infantry Division was roughly as follows:

Division Headquarters
| [Combat Units]

Armored Infantry Regiment ×3
Armored Artillery Regiment ×1
Tank Battalion ×1
| [Support Units]

Armored reconnaissance battalion (mechanized)
Armored Communications Battalion (Mechanized)
Air defense battalion (motorized)
Anti-tank battalion (motorized)

Engineer Battalion (Motorized)
Military Police Company (Motorized)
Chemical Protection Company (Motorized)
| [Supporting Unit]

>Field Supply Regiment

>Field Supply Battalion >Field Hospital
Field Repair Depot
Field Post Office
No? They brought in twenty Gundam commanders right off the bat?
To be honest, when Mr. Shang saw this organizational structure, he was dumbfounded. In terms of organizational structure, this division was far too luxurious, and it could be said that it was at its peak right from the start.

However, a careful evaluation can still reveal some shortcomings.

Shang Ke's opinion was that the organization seemed a bit too large and bloated, and that it could be considered to reduce one mechanized infantry regiment, or of course, to keep it as it was.

In addition, there is another crucial point: under the current organizational structure, this division's anti-tank capabilities are absolutely insufficient.

Each of the three infantry regiments has an anti-tank company, including six 65mm anti-tank guns, and the division's anti-tank battalion has 18 anti-tank guns, for a total of 36 guns.

Based on history and his own experience, Shank strongly demanded improvements in this area, arguing that relying on 65mm towed anti-tank guns would be insufficient to counter the onslaught of T-34 formations.

Ideally, the division's anti-tank battalion should be upgraded to a mechanized unit, equipped with self-propelled anti-tank guns. This would not only be more powerful but also have a faster reaction time, resulting in a world of difference in combat efficiency.

The people from the organization bureau weren't pretentious at all; on the contrary, everyone was very interested in Mr. Shang's practical experience.

“What you say makes sense, but the Hunter-Destroyer vehicle project tendered by the Equipment Bureau is still far from being finalized, and there are no vehicles available right now.”

"Get some tanks, remove the turrets and keep only the hull, then modify a cannon to install them, and use them temporarily as a transitional measure."

"Is it really necessary to be in such a hurry? Our country won't be fully prepared until next year at the earliest," someone muttered.

"Do you expect the enemy to wait until you're fully prepared before they make their move?" Shang Ke retorted sharply, his anger rising at these words. "How can we proceed without being fully prepared? Are we going to wait until the fire is burning before we start to panic?"

After much discussion, everyone agreed that his words made sense, so they decided to start drafting the revised version.

Before leaving, he asked a colonel in the organization bureau to write a note that resembled a letter of introduction.

With this note, Shang Ke went to the Equipment Bureau with great interest; otherwise, he really wouldn't have had the authority to learn about the specific projects.

As the name suggests, the Equipment Bureau is responsible for the weapons and equipment of the Federal Armed Forces' Army, Navy, and Air Force. Its scope is very broad, covering planning, bidding, procurement, acceptance, and so on.

Here, he learned about numerous parallel development plans, the number of which was beyond his imagination.

First and foremost was the medium tank, a project he was most concerned about. This project was called "Project 175," and the two companies that participated in the bidding were China Everbright Heavy Industry Group and China United Industrial Group.

The equipment bureau kept changing the technical and tactical specifications, making them a rather annoying client.
-
The initial requirement for empty vehicle weight was no more than 26 tons, but it has now been relaxed to 30 tons.
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Initially, frontal protection was required to withstand Russian-made 40mm anti-tank guns, but now it has been upgraded to 76.2mm field guns and the short-barreled guns of the T-34.
-
The side protection requirements remain unchanged; it only needs to be able to withstand Russian-made 14.5mm anti-tank rifles.
-
The initial requirement was to use the 65mm short-barreled cannon, but it has now been changed to an 80mm long-barreled tank cannon.

Both companies have prepared their prototype vehicles for the bidding, and they will compete against each other after the New Year.

However, in terms of appearance, Shang Ke still prefers Hualian Industrial's design, which has a tough and angular shape and uses a torsion bar suspension for the running gear.

He said with satisfaction, "Fortunately, everything is going smoothly and on the right track."

After wandering around and having lunch at the General Headquarters, he was about to return to the National Defense Army's Yin Hotel when he suddenly remembered that there was still an important matter to attend to.

The tailor shop in the alley outside Weiyang University has been deserted lately; business in the twelfth lunar month is not as good as before New Year's Day.

The shop manager, wearing glasses, stood far away with a newspaper in his hands, the only sound the apprentice girl operating the sewing machine.

Just then, someone pushed open the door and entered, and a gust of cold wind rushed into the room.

The store manager looked up and felt that the person in front of him looked quite familiar, as if he were a regular customer from before?
She suddenly remembered, put down the newspaper, and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh? You are that..."

With a look of reminiscence on his face, Shang Ke looked around and smiled, "You guys make really good clothes, that's why I'm back again."

(End of this chapter)