Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 200 Everything is Ready, the East Wind is About to Rise (Part 2)

For a battalion composed of multiple units to be combat-effective, it must have independent logistics and a separate combat system.

Chen Mo knew this better than anyone else.

The problem is, with over a thousand people, plus combat vehicles, transport vehicles, and all sorts of armored vehicles, wouldn't the organization be too bloated?
With a number of personnel far exceeding the size of a battalion, not to mention combat effectiveness, command alone would be a major problem.

Chen Mo collected the personnel lists faxed from all the units and took them to Luo Yaowu's office.

Joint training is about to begin.

Director Luo was also extremely busy, with a mountain of documents piled up on his desk, all of which were archives of exercises collected by the Army Academy.

"report!"

"Enter."

Luo Yaowu glanced up and saw Chen Mo push the door open and enter, noticing that he was holding a folder.

Director Luo said, "It's a list from another unit, right? Let's leave it here for now and find a place to sit."

"Yes, Chief!"

Upon hearing what Director Luo said, Chen Mo didn't rush to hand over the documents he had prepared. Instead, he sat obediently on the sofa in the office.

Wait quietly.

About forty minutes later, the sound of manually turning pages stopped, and Luo Yaowu finally tossed the two archives in his hand onto the corner of the table.

"You should also take a look."

"By the way, how many people from each unit have come?"

“More than nine hundred people.” Chen Mo quickly stood up, handed over the documents in his hand, and then picked up two archives from the corner of the table and opened them to look at them.

The content is nothing special.

It is still a record of the 6th Armored Division of the 38th Army's exercise, a mountain warfare in complex terrain, and a deep-penetration mobile warfare.

The only noteworthy point is that the commanders in these two battles did not focus on tank dogfights.

One side took advantage of the mountainous terrain to disassemble and reassemble their equipment in the first instance, breaking it down into smaller units. In the vast exercise area, they set up a battlefield centered around a single armored tank, supported by infantry companies for sniping.

At the same time, mobile infantry were deployed to occupy important high ground within the exercise area.

This tactical arrangement, though seemingly loose, exudes a palpable sense of menace even through the written description.

Chen Mo didn't watch the detailed battle process; he just flipped through it casually. The same was true for the deep engagement; from the start of the exercise, the commander organized the entire regiment to equip itself and conduct large-scale battlefield maneuvers.

Seeking an opportunity for a decisive battle.

Chen Mo has looked at many save files like this in the past two months. He can roughly figure out the subsequent gameplay by just flipping through them.

"finish watching?"

Luo Yaowu saw Chen Mo place the documents on the desk, and he leaned back in his chair: "Tell me, what brings you here?"

"Report, everything's alright." Chen Mo straightened his chest, changing his mind about what he had originally intended to ask.

First of all, the leaders have already reviewed the personnel lists of each unit and have not mentioned anything about the number of personnel, so it would be superfluous for him to say anything more.

Second.

The two combat archives I just looked at mentioned unconventional tactics. If you encounter such troops on the battlefield...

The fact that the joint battalion is a bit bloated is not necessarily a bad thing.

"Hmm, you little rascal, you never come here for no reason."

Luo Yaowu smiled and shook his head: "Don't you think these units are being incredibly generous? It's just a few companies, why are they sending so many people?"

Without waiting for Chen Mo's response.

Luo Yaowu continued, "You are a very smart person and you learn things very quickly, but there is one thing: your thinking is too rigid."

"We want to make the exercise the best it can be, but what does 'best' mean? And how do we achieve that?"

"We weren't given enough time to prepare. Joint training isn't that simple. Only people can guarantee combat effectiveness."

"Logistics needs people, reconnaissance needs people, and the main force needs people. Only when we have enough people can we replace them independently in a short time when problems arise during joint training."

"Not only do we need to adapt to this new unit, but all comrades also need to adapt."

"So, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir, I understand."

"Okay, let's dismiss them. The people from the Seventh Brigade should arrive around noon. You and Xiao Pei will be in charge of receiving them."

"We expect all units to be present by around 9 p.m. at the latest tonight. We will rest for the night and depart on time tomorrow."

"Yes!"

After saluting again, Chen Mo turned around and gently closed the door.

After returning to the conference room.

He reorganized the personnel and firepower plans that had been faxed over and put them into a special document bag.

As for what Director Luo just said, that the joint training is about selecting the best of the best, Chen Mo neither agrees nor disagrees.

how to say.

The world is essentially a giant makeshift organization; the decisions made by those in power are often wrong, and they may not even truly understand everything.

Otherwise, why would we need to conduct repeated experiments?

Of course, this doesn't mean that Chen Mo's suggestion was correct. In any case, everyone has their own opinion on this matter, and the final decision is made by the highest level.

Whether it's right or wrong, doing it is the right thing to do.

Chen Mo felt that it would be easiest to train the personnel from each company if they were transferred in full-scale units without changing their own.

However, the higher-ups were thinking that time was of the essence, and the more personnel and weapons the better. They wanted to find problems in joint training and, in the shortest possible time, use the best soldiers to build an informationized joint battalion with combat capability.

The personnel arrangements were settled.

As an accompanying staff officer, Chen Mo was also responsible for finalizing the staffing arrangements before the others arrived.

The current combined battalion consists of three tank companies, one howitzer company, one anti-aircraft artillery company, one anti-aircraft artillery radar company, and one rocket artillery company.

In addition, the reconnaissance company was divided into artillery reconnaissance detachments and engineer detachments.

The entire battalion consists of nine companies.

If logistics are included, it would be a battalion with ten companies, and the logistics personnel would be the largest, accounting for almost half of the total personnel, numbering four or five hundred.

These are all the logistical support units that each unit provides to its own company. The sheer scale of their deployment is enough to make your scalp tingle.

Such a generous staffing level is something you really can't find before.

Chen Mo spent the entire morning in the conference room, assigning manpower to the ten companies based on faxed information.

Of course, Chen Mo wasn't doing this job alone; Pei Shuaijun and seven or eight lieutenants who graduated from the staff academy also had to work together.

After all, it is a battalion-level unit with thousands of people, almost equivalent to an infantry regiment. At this time, the staff team must be of high quality.

The staff group not only includes trainees, but also staff officers stationed there by the military region's staff department. However, those people only contribute during wartime.

They are not needed for training or integration into the organization for the time being.

Luo Yaowu had previously served as a division chief of staff and could manage even a tank division with tens of thousands of men, let alone a small combined battalion. With him overseeing things, it would be much easier.

Only then can newcomers like Chen Mo have the opportunity to fully demonstrate their abilities.

"Good boy."

When organizing the personnel, Pei Shuaijun and his team were initially unsure of how many people would be coming to the joint battalion.

When the exact number of people was tallied, Pei Shuaijun looked at the ten companies, and the total number of people, including those at the base, was a full 1106.

Old Pei's eyes immediately widened to be bigger than bull's testicles: "Why are there so many people?"

"Even if we add all the warehouses in our base, we still can't support the food, clothing, and shelter of more than 1000 people."

"Furthermore, how can armored troops, artillery, and infantry be put together in one battalion? Let's not even talk about how they'll fight, how will they be trained?"

Pei Shuaijun graduated with a degree in armored communications and had done a lot of research on training and combat, so he was most sensitive to the organization of mechanized forces.

"Wasn't it the same during previous experiments?" Chen Mo turned to look at Pei Shuaijun.

"fart."

“There were never any such large-scale exercises before. At most, there were three or four hundred people. Also, we weren’t allowed to participate in exercises before. They were all small-scale tests, and even the opponents we tested had to sign confidentiality agreements in advance.”

"Unlike now, where they just pull it directly to the Northwest."

Not allowed to participate in the exercise
Upon hearing this, Chen Mo suddenly recalled, for some reason, his encounter with Vice Dean Zhang and Director Luo at the location where the armored vehicles were parked the previous night.

Before leaving, the two couldn't help but touch the tank; they had been quite nervous about the military exercise that morning.

He clearly relaxed in the evening, and even said something about distinguishing between homework and drills.

At first, Chen Mo thought it was because the exam was open-book that the two old men were so relaxed.

Thinking about it carefully now, that's probably not the case.

In the past, when we experimented with information technology, we set up a special Blue Army battalion. Since the ideas were all learned from foreign militaries, the entire Blue Army battalion ate hamburgers and beef, wore foreign military uniforms, and completely imitated foreign militaries in terms of weapons, tanks, and even the titles of officers and some internal regulations.

The reason why these troops are not allowed to participate in exercises is quite obvious.

Because if you put this kind of configuration on the battlefield, and disregard appearances, it would definitely look like a foreign army.

If the experiment is lost, that's fine; but if it's won, the morale of the troops might be shaken.

In that era, the idea that the Army Academy was the best in the world was deeply ingrained, and a large number of people were unwilling to admit it, or did not want to admit that this idea was too arbitrary.

Chen Mo estimated.

The reason why the previous experiments failed was probably because of this "red will always win and blue will always lose" mentality.

It may not be the main reason, but it will certainly have some impact.

The reason they were suddenly pulled to the Northwest battlefield was because the experiment was conducted with their own uniforms and vehicles. Without external influences, the military region would definitely amplify some of their advantages.

After all, even if this kind of experiment is won, it won't have any impact; it's just a normal exercise.

Figure this out.

Chen Mo finally understood why the two leaders were so keen on touching the tanks last night, and why they talked about the exercises and drills.

It turns out that this experiment was the first time the military region had truly provided substantial support.

Many of the previous experiments were probably not well-received even by those in power.

"What are you thinking about?" Pei Shuaijun realized that after he mentioned the problem with the previous experiment, Chen Mo seemed to be possessed.

He sat there motionless, completely still, and waved his hand in front of Chen Mo's eyes.

"Oh, it's nothing." Chen Mo smiled after realizing what had happened and continued with his work.

"Don't be silly, you haven't mentioned the problem we were talking about earlier. We have so many people this time, all kinds of military branches, how are we going to manage the training? How can we even fight a war like this?"

As Pei Shuaijun asked his question, all the staff officers who were busy in the meeting room turned their attention to him.

Because they share the same doubts.

They had encountered infantry units, artillery units, and armored units before, but this was a hodgepodge, forcibly cramming so many types of troops into one unit.

They had never heard of it.

Seeing the group of staff officers all dumbfounded, Chen Mo grinned, wanting to laugh but unable to.

It's important to understand that the role of the staff group is often more significant than that of the commander during wartime. This time, the battle hasn't even started yet, and the staff group is already in a daze.

It's fortunate that someone above them is there to take charge; otherwise, with this kind of setup, it would be quite difficult to win.

Faced with this question, Chen Mo looked up and thought for a moment before saying, "Informationized troops are inherently units that are diverse in their branches and integrate various elements."

"If it's just a single artillery unit or a single armored unit, without a complete combat system, it can't be considered an informationized force."

Everyone who heard this thought it made sense.

"Do you know why, when the commander was requesting personnel from the military region, he specifically instructed the squad leader to possess certain command abilities?"

"That's because informationized forces, with their combined scale, require many multi-skilled soldiers. Every soldier in the battalion must understand and be proficient in command chain control, inter-service coordination, and the like."

"Whether an information-based unit can exert its combat effectiveness cannot rely solely on the commander. Each unit must understand how to coordinate. With so many units integrated together, it is impossible for one person, let alone a battalion commander, or even a division commander, to command so many branches of the armed forces."

"The biggest advantage of a fully information-based combat system is that it can establish the fastest fire support system. During combat, any soldier can call for corresponding fire support via radio."

"For example, if armored troops discover an enemy target that poses a significant threat but cannot eliminate it, they can immediately notify the artillery in the rear without reporting to the commander, providing coordinate information for destruction." "With the entire battalion working together, any soldier can be a scout, and by the same token, any soldier can be the commander of the entire battalion in wartime."

Chen Mo sat alone in the conference room, speaking fluently and confidently, as these were the very methods of warfare that had become established in later generations.

He simply copied it verbatim.

However, this idea was extremely novel to the staff officers present.

"I understand."

Pei Shuaijun slapped his thigh: "At yesterday's meeting, the director said that we should transfer outstanding soldiers. Even if the existing staffing is changed, we should transfer people who usually perform well to fill the positions."

"Is this what you meant by 'one specialty with multiple skills' that you mentioned earlier, Scholar?"

"Only excellent soldiers are diligent, learn more, and can adapt to this new type of warfare more quickly."

"more or less."

Chen Mo nodded.

He guessed that Director Luo probably really thought this way. Because the exercise time was too tight, it was impossible to train them in a short period of time, so they could only rely on the veterans' own expertise and versatility to test them.

There is no optimal solution to this kind of thing. In any case, whatever you do is to be able to exert some of your combat power smoothly on the battlefield.

While Chen Mo and his group were having a great time chatting.

The conference room door was suddenly pushed open, and Luo Yaowu strode in. He glanced at everyone in the room and said, "Alright, I will give you specific tasks regarding what information technology is and how to command it."

"They keep talking about information technology experiments, but they don't even understand what information technology is. Isn't that making a fool of themselves?"

"The new system is an upgrade, an evolution, and a transformation in form. No one has ever said that the military is a system, but no one has ever said that the military is a living entity."

"No one emphasizes that the military is natural, but the reality is that any reform is a transformation. You should also open your minds and not limit yourselves with your current ideas."

"Chen Mo made a good point just now. Informationization means that the military is diversified and that units are composed of multiple elements."

"Everyone, put down what you're doing. I'll explain a few things first."

Director Luo spoke up.

The busy crowd quickly straightened up and sat down, assuming a meeting posture.

Luo Yaowu didn't waste any words. He walked to the front of the conference room and said directly, "We just received a report that all units have already set off and are heading this way."

"The 2nd Tank Battalion of the 7th Armored Brigade should be here within an hour at the latest. Judging from the current organization, our informationized battalion is indeed large in size and has a wide variety of branches of service, as you all know."

"But this also means that as a staff officer, it is impossible to take on this responsibility simply by mastering a single specialty."

"Therefore, after you all arrive, you must set more stringent requirements for yourselves and be sure to consult with the soldiers and military and political leaders."

"Don't be complacent. If we want to succeed, we need to keep learning. Only by maintaining a passion for learning can our army maintain its strong fighting capacity."

"I know this is a big challenge and very difficult, but overcoming these difficulties and rising to the challenge is the spirit we should maintain."

"Alright, Chen Mo, get ready to receive any visiting units at any time."

"Yes, Chief!"

After giving his instructions, Luo Yaowu left directly.

Looking at his back.

Chen Mo felt a pang of emotion. Chief of Staff Luo was eventually able to transfer from the 7th Division to the Army Academy, unaffected by the later reorganization, and rose from deputy division commander to division commander.

He also took the lead in overseeing information technology experiments.

There is some truth to that.

Luo Yaowu's thinking is indeed far-sighted; at least it is not limited to the present, nor is it in a hurry to emphasize the results.

In his view, learning is the most important thing, and this alone is a quality that many officers today do not possess.

The weather at the end of July and the beginning of August can be said to be the hottest time of the year.

Especially at noon, under the blazing sun, every breath feels like being roasted in a giant oven, making it extremely uncomfortable.

But as noon approached, more than a hundred people in the base, seemingly unaffected by the heat, gathered at the base entrance and gazed at the dirt road in the distance.

Chen Mo was also among the crowd.

There was no way to escape; the Second Battalion had already arrived, and he was in charge of welcoming them. He couldn't run away, no matter how hot it was.

As for the others in the base, they were tormented by the nearly two months of closed management.

seriously.

The base has no sales outlets and no entertainment facilities. So many veterans who spend their days with the loess soil are suddenly confined to the base and forced to attend cultural classes every day.

If it weren't for the engineers who could come and go freely and bring everyone Jianlibao (a popular Chinese herbal tea brand) and cigarettes every day, these veterans would have gone crazy long ago.

Now that they finally see some new people coming, those guys are so excited their eyes are practically popping out of their sockets.

The person did indeed arrive.

Type 141 troop carriers, Type 63 armored personnel carriers, and Type 96 tanks, divided into three groups, drove in a long, imposing procession, kicking up clouds of dust on the distant road.

"Scholar, are you nervous?" Pei Shuaijun asked abruptly as he stood in front of him.

"What are you nervous about?"

Chen Mo gave him a strange look. These tank battalions weren't going to fire at the base, so what was there to be nervous about?

“We keep talking about experiments, but the experiment isn’t officially started until the people show up. Once these people arrive, the pressure naturally begins.”

Pei Shuaijun said quietly.

Chen Mo ignored the chatter; pressure doesn't disappear just because the tank can't reach it.

While the two were talking, an old sergeant was already standing on the main road outside the base gate, waving a flag.

All command vehicles were parked outside the base.

After all, the space inside is limited. Tens of thousands of square meters of open space sounds like a lot. It's fine for running exercises, and it shouldn't be a problem to park the equipment of a battalion.

But other units will be coming later, and it's impossible for them all to park inside the base.

With the command flag waving, tanks and trucks were neatly parked in their designated positions.

The doors of the tanks opened one after another, and the crowd surged out of the tanks like ants emerging from their holes.

"Hurry up, hurry up, what the hell are you all dawdling about?"

"Old Gao, what the hell are you doing lying there like a corpse? Where did everyone go?"

"Hey, hey! Here it is."

As soon as the personnel got off the vehicle, Liu Hongyun, the battalion commander of the second battalion, started shouting to assemble the troops, and the company commander of the first company even ran and jumped out from behind the crowd.

Seeing the others hurriedly gathering, the more than one hundred people at the base entrance couldn't help but chuckle.

It's as if seeing others get punished makes them feel quite happy.

Chen Mo stood there for a while, and only after the team assembled did he quickly run towards Liu Hongyun's position.

"Good morning, Battalion Commander Liu."

Chen Mo smiled and saluted.

"Hehe, scholar, I've brought him to you."

Liu Hongyun returned the greeting with a smile, then pointed to the formation in front of him. Without a doubt, the tank battalion originally had a maximum of 160 men, but judging from the formation, it probably had more than that.

The 7th Brigade has transferred all its logistics personnel as well.

The total number of people is more than forty or fifty more.

Faced with the confident Battalion Commander Liu, Chen Mo touched his nose helplessly. Looking at the documents, he saw that this unit had one or two hundred people, and that unit had more than one hundred. The numbers didn't bring much visual impact.

Only when you actually face two hundred soldiers can you truly understand what "a lot of people" means.

The order to conduct the exercise was issued too hastily, leaving the base no time to prepare, and the acceptance process was also very rushed.

Many veterans from the reconnaissance company also went to help in the canteen. Otherwise, with so many people suddenly added, the original cooks would probably be unable to feed so many people, even if they were cooking and preparing food.

"Battalion Commander Liu, the commander has asked me to be in charge of reception. It's hot outside, let's go in first. Just give me another copy of the personnel list for each company and squad."

"Easy to say, easy to say!"

Liu Hongyun nodded, then turned to the ranks and said, "Hey, everyone, stop standing around here. After roll call, each squad will have its squad leader lead the way, following Lieutenant Xiu Chen."

"Let me make this clear from the start: all company commanders, pay attention to discipline. This is someone else's school grounds. Don't make a scene here. Behave yourselves."

"The company commander will lead the team in two columns. Let's move out!"

Liu Hongyun waved his hand.

The soldiers in formation turned around in unison and began to enter the base one after another.

Chen Mo claimed to be in charge of reception, but Pei Shuaijun was the one who did all the work, from assigning dormitories to running errands.

His so-called reception only included those on the official payroll. To put it bluntly, it meant comparing the personnel list that had been faxed over with the actual number of people who came, and then registering them.

The work isn't tiring, but it's also relentless.

After all, you can't expect Zhang Jinnan and Luo Yaowu, two division-level commanders, to do this.

The fact that the academy is leading the experiment means that the systemic issues will result in a severe shortage of mid-level officers.

The instructors were mostly senior colonels, and the trainees were mostly lieutenants, with a few captains.

Given this situation, Chen Mo had no choice but to take on most of the work.

Housing was scarce at the base, so they simply had new soldiers share a room, like in a tank company, where two squads would share one room, or even half a company would be crammed into one room to sleep on the floor.

However, many soldiers didn't care at all.

The base is backed by the Army Academy and has ample funding. All rooms are equipped with air conditioning, something that grassroots units can't afford.

Here, there's no need for training. After eating, you just stay in the dormitory and wait for orders. You don't even have to do housework. Many soldiers wish they could enjoy this comfortable life for a few more days.

Five p.m.

The anti-aircraft artillery company and the anti-aircraft radar company dispatched by the Xiaocheng Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade have arrived.

The two companies had nearly 300 men each. At that time, the army basically did not have standalone radar vehicles; radar systems were equipped on armored vehicles.

For example, the Type 90 anti-aircraft gun is equipped with the AF902 fire control radar. The arrival of the two anti-aircraft gun companies completely filled the gap in the air defense of the joint battalion.

7 p.m.

The howitzer company of the mechanized infantry brigade arrived. This company was even more exaggerated in size. The authorized strength was 150 people, but 217 people came. It also brought its own logistics system.

eight pm.

The long-range rocket artillery company of the 188th Division arrived.

This company has nearly two hundred people. You don't need to ask about the original organization; it's the result of negotiations between the academy and various units in the military region.

The Army Academy has clearly stated that it will train two batches of professional-level non-commissioned officers for each unit as a reward for this troop deployment.

That guy was just a temporary replacement, yet he helped train the troops and even helped cultivate talent for them afterwards.

Such a good thing is something you can't find even with a lantern normally.

How could they not be enthusiastic?

By 9 p.m., the more than 1,100 people had finally managed to settle down.

Reception work may sound easy, but once you actually do it, you'll know what it's like.

After a whole day, Chen Mo's hands were sore from constantly taking notes and constantly saluting and returning salutes.

But it was tiring, no matter how tiring it was.

After settling everyone in, Chen Mo walked out of the base and looked at the tanks parked for several kilometers outside.

Against the backdrop of darkness.

Rows of military green armored vehicles resembled sleeping, jet-black beasts.

Chen Mo took a deep breath.

Forcibly suppressing the excitement in my heart, I learned that the pilot troops had arrived.

Everything is ready.

Let's see just how strong this wind will blow next.

(End of this chapter)