Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 205 Visiting the First Contingency Plan Mobilization, Visitors from the Northwest

The joint battalion maneuver exercise will not begin so soon, as the base is nearly 100 kilometers away from the exercise area approved by the military region.

The tanks are not that fast.

In the conference room.

A group of people gathered around the computer screen, watching the view from above like they were watching a movie, marveling at it.

Chen Mo stood aside, desperately searching his memory for information about drones.

His previous knowledge of this subject was limited to what others had told him; he rarely had any personal experience with it.

After all, the real technological leap in the drone field only began around 2014.

He had already changed careers by then.

Prior to this, even military models of drones were only used as target drones for reconnaissance, detection, or carrying out attacks, and did not have such a wide range of functions.

"Director, we've made contact with Director Ma."

Pei Shuaijun held up the microphone and loudly reminded him.

Hear sounds.

Luo Yaowu took three steps at a time, quickly walked up to him, grabbed the microphone, and said, "Old Ma, this is Luo Yaowu. I have something to tell you, see if you can do it."

Because the distance is too far.

Chen Mo couldn't hear the specifics of the communication with Dean Lu, but he could tell from Director Luo's expression that...

The two sides did not reach a satisfactory agreement.

Currently, electronic warfare units do exist, but the current technical reconnaissance units and those of the future are basically organized in two different ways.

They weren't as powerful as later generations, who could easily hack into each other's communications and even broadcast cartoons like Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf.

In the late 1990s, the principles of modern warfare could be roughly divided into three categories.

First, command chain strikes, also known as decapitation strikes.

But decapitation strikes are not as easy as they are portrayed in TV dramas. The idea that a unit's commanders can gather in a field tent for meetings at the drop of a hat is pure nonsense.

That's not how you fight a war.

In a war of even moderate scale, even at the regimental level, there are at least four or five reserve commanders.

If the top military commander is killed in action, the chief of staff will take his place; if the chief of staff is killed in action, the political commissar will take his place; if all else fails, there will be a deputy; and if the deputy is killed in action, there will be a battalion commander.

Even a centipede with a hundred legs doesn't die easily.

Moreover, with a force of hundreds or thousands of people, there is no possibility that if the top commander is beheaded, the entire unit will lose command.

In reality, beheading one or two people will not have a significant impact on the overall situation.

Second, it targets the logistics chain. Doesn't that sound like an easy target?

If logistical supplies are cut off, the enemy will eventually be defeated due to a lack of ammunition or supplies.

In fact, cutting off logistics is more difficult than a decapitation strike.

Because we are a large country, our military system is also very large, and once the war situation reaches a certain scale...

Their logistics system is self-contained and not attributed to any particular unit's dispatch.

Let's just put it that way.

Before participating in high-intensity exercises, a brigade-level unit will often give repeated reminders, requiring all operations staff to be on high alert and avoid making any basic mistakes.

Because in the minds of these units, losing an exercise is acceptable; losing is normal.

Losing to tactics, losing to coordination, losing to logistics—it's all acceptable.

In short, we cannot lose to the specific command and control aspects; if we lose in this area, it means the commander is incompetent.

When reviewing past events, you might get so frustrated you feel like your head is going to be punched in the head.

The problem is, the logistics department thinks the same way.

We can lose the exercise, but we absolutely cannot lose because of poor logistics. Anyway, we can say whatever we want, but we must never blame our own unit for the problem.

The logistics department's statistics office is always keeping track of the losses of the front-line troops. Even if you don't want it, they will find a way to send the supplies to you.

What the heck? Are you trying to cut off my logistics?

Damn it, do you know why we don't see the so-called "God of War" H-6 bombers so often in exercises?
If nothing unexpected happens, the base of that thing is not far from the logistics base, and the Army Aviation Dispatch Center is also next to the logistics base. Whoever is in charge of logistics will have to think twice about whether they can withstand a bomber that can carry up to 15 tons of bombs in a single sortie and send a squadron to take care of them.

Therefore, in ancient times, cutting off logistics was called a surprise attack. In modern warfare, cutting off logistics is only possible by sheer luck.

Otherwise, if the firepower is insufficient to counter a division, it would be best to study decapitation strikes as the most reliable option.

At least, it's safer.

Because once the bombers are deployed, it's hard to say who will be the first to be beheaded.

The third is to crack down on the communication chain.

This is what Chen Mo just suggested: using drones equipped with jamming systems to paralyze the enemy's radar and communications, leaving them helpless and unable to respond.

In the principles of modern warfare, only attacks on communication chains carry the lowest risk and the highest potential reward.

This is why Luo Yaowu was so agitated just now.

The phone hangs up.

Luo Yaowu turned and walked to the conference table. His excited expression had clearly returned to calm: "Regarding the question Chen Mo raised earlier, Director Ma of the college will contact Northwestern Polytechnical University soon to conduct technical exchanges."

"The mainland command will also arrange a delegation to accompany us to fly to the AVIC UAV Research Institute today for discussions. Comrade Chen Mo's proposal is feasible, but the UAV model is not yet equipped with the corresponding functions."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo felt neither disappointed nor happy.

It's unclear whether bringing together all the software engineers from the Army Academy, the Army Command, and Northwestern Polytechnical University can break through this technical hurdle in the short term, given a research direction.

If we can break through, this exercise will be much easier.

Installing jamming systems is not difficult, but current electronic and energy systems must be upgradable.

Otherwise, saying more won't help.

The issue of drone interference has been temporarily put aside.

Directly in front of the conference room, a large screen of seven or eight square meters was turned on. This thing is not currently able to project combat scenes, but is an information command collection platform.

The screen is divided into two main areas, which respectively record the command orders issued by the accompanying staff group and each company.

The conference room now serves as the command center for the exercise.

Luo Yaowu, Zhang Jinnan, and the remaining members of the military region's training department, staff department, and logistics department will conduct an overall assessment based on the maneuver orders, calculating the mobility, defense, combat organization, coordination efficiency, and order results of each company in the entire combined battalion.

As time goes by little by little.

The first hand-cranked drone launched has begun its return journey.

This thing is only good for providing visibility while following a convoy; it's practically useless because the flight distance is too short, only a dozen kilometers is the limit.

After circling around at a distance, you need to control the return trip; otherwise, if the battery runs out, the equipment will disintegrate on its own halfway through the journey.

without any exaggeration.

In order to retrieve more than a dozen hand-cranked drones, the base mobilized fifty or sixty people to search for spare parts all over the mountains and fields.

Some of these people were soldiers on duty, while others were engineers who hadn't finished withdrawing and were just joining in to help.

After the information command collection platform is debugged and debugged.

Luo Yaowu arranged for lunch to be delivered to the meeting room.

One p.m.

The joint battalion moved to a location 60 kilometers away from the base.

An army aviation brigade mobilized by the military region was dispatched to conduct aerial photography of the ground armored forces. With the help of ground-based filming personnel, the footage was finally transmitted back to the base.

Live streaming of the entire event has begun.

This was decided long ago. After all, the base only has four 206 vehicle-mounted drones, which is enough for the joint battalion to use in a unified manner.

Once separated, four aircraft cannot monitor the operational details of so many companies.

2 p.m.

Feng Hongbing, the brigade commander of the Xiaocheng Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade, arrived at the base conference room with his chief of staff and a group of staff officers.

The group included Tang Haodong, commander of the 188th Division; Qin Quan'an, chief of staff of the army; and Li Guanduo, director of operations and training. They came one after another to participate in the first mobile contingency plan visit of the Army Academy Joint Battalion.

No one from the 189th Division came. It's probably because two months ago, when his old comrade-in-arms didn't help, Commander Zheng was still a little angry with Director Luo.

3pm.

When the joint battalion was 80 kilometers from the base, an order to halt all advance was given over the general radio.

The convoy, which had been moving slowly on the rough dirt road, came to a complete stop.

The formation remained largely unchanged, still a two-kilometer-long column, with the tank battalion guarding the left and right flanks, and other branches of the armed forces, including the logistics convoy, moving within the formation.

We were on the job for over three hours, covering a total distance of eighty kilometers. That's not fast, but it's definitely not slow either.

At least, for such a large mobile formation to travel nearly 100 kilometers without being defeated by the environment or abandoning its vehicles is quite remarkable.

The transmitted images are projected onto a large screen.

Chen Mo could clearly see soldiers getting off the tank one after another.

A reconnaissance helicopter began to fly at a low altitude and eventually hovered over the convoy.

The command center's communication system was connected to the reconnaissance aircraft's air-to-ground voice system. Luo Yaowu stood up from the front of the conference room.

His gaze was fixed intently on the screen. His demeanor was icy; he grabbed the megaphone from the table and boomed, "At ease!!"

The sound, coming from inside the helicopter eighty kilometers away, was extremely powerful and echoed in the silent assembly area.

brush!
The soldiers who had just disembarked from the tanks instantly obeyed the orders. More than 1000 soldiers, in the blink of an eye, used an inconspicuous "at ease" to demonstrate what it means to be a fierce and powerful army.

The commanders from the military region and various units who came to visit looked at the performance of their respective companies with faint smiles on their faces.

after all.

If someone from their own workplace performs worse than someone from another workplace in this kind of situation, it's truly embarrassing, like pushing a millstone naked and going around in circles.

You should know that the people in the joint battalion come from four division- or brigade-level units, and the chief of staff is here today; they don't want to lose face.

Luo Yaowu was quite satisfied with the posture displayed by all the soldiers, and he nodded slightly: "Attention!"

"Tell me about it."

Director Luo's face was stern.

"The Ishijo Army Academy has been preparing for this military exercise for seven years, and the Kyoto Military Headquarters has been waiting for seven years. We have been preparing for too long and waiting for too long."

"The 63rd Army is an old group army with a long history and outstanding combat achievements. Comrades, some of your slogans are that we should pay any price for victory."

"Some comrades will shout that they are capable of fighting and winning battles, and that I will be the first to fight, and that victory will be assured!"

"I don't want to discuss the meaning of these slogans here today, but I want to tell you that once we get to the Northwest battlefield, our enemies will become elite divisions transferred from the Jincheng Military Region."

"But the Kyoto Military District only gave us one reinforced battalion."

"Now, tell me, who is the First Field Army?"

Luo Yaowu's voice was calm.

But the aura emanating from the helicopter was completely different.

If you tell these people that they came here to cooperate with the information technology experiment and to achieve a decent result on the Northwest battlefield.

Many people probably wouldn't care at all.

For many soldiers at the grassroots level, the concept of "informatization" is truly unfamiliar, to the point that it's almost dispensable.

But comparing who is the number one field army sounds like a hollow title, very unrealistic.

But it worked remarkably well; this question immediately stirred the emotions of the soldiers present.

Across the screen.

Chen Mo could see that the morale of the soldiers in the various companies, which were not even in proper formation, was changing.

The indomitable spirit flowing in the blood of soldiers was fully catalyzed at this moment.

What Jincheng Military Region, what Northwest battlefield? If these things were placed in front of them now, these people would probably be confident of smashing their heads in.

Whether or not it can be done remains to be seen, but at least we have confidence.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Thousands of people roared in unison, the sound waves rolling and carrying for miles.

"very good!"

"I hereby declare the surprise drill officially commence. Move out!!"

This was followed by the conclusion of Luo Yaowu's speech.

The helicopter began to slowly ascend, and the accompanying staff issued instructions according to the pre-established maneuver plan.

The steel torrent began to move.

From Chen Mo's perspective, all he could see was that the tank group, which had been moving in a unified formation on the ground, was constantly turning and dispersing. The reconnaissance company, the logistics company, and the engineer company were moving out separately, some with the main force and some on their own, according to the plan.

The tank battalion consisted of three companies, which were divided into three routes of movement.

However, this division was not based on the original plan, nor was it a random division. The contingency plan was discussed overnight and was based on complete firepower groups.

For example, the 1st Company of the Tank Battalion, the company that Chen Mo had temporarily commanded, had nine tanks break away from the formation. The main battle tank turrets were all angled at 30 degrees, with armored infantry fighting vehicles and self-propelled rocket launchers trailing behind.

Between every three tanks, there would be an anti-aircraft fire network consisting of Type 77 anti-aircraft machine guns, aimed at the air.

Ensure that mobile units possess long-range and air defense capabilities.

Other companies, such as long-range rocket artillery companies, anti-aircraft artillery companies, and howitzer companies, were also interspersed with tank battalions to form new fire support groups.

Starting from different directions.

This is a type of coordinated maneuver.

Judging from the conference room, these maneuvers seem quite easy to execute.

But Chen Mo knew very well that this kind of execution ability came not only from the experience accumulated by the Army Academy through numerous experiments, but also from the staff officers who accompanied the company on its journeys.

They've probably been incredibly busy for a long time.

They need to issue orders while communicating with the main combat units, constantly recording maneuver data and relocation positions.

Officers skilled in mechanized warfare share a common awareness.

That is, recognizing mechanized warfare as an objective power struggle, liking and being accustomed to the practice of concealing troops, which is the most proficient basic command method for senior generals.

By taking advantage of the enemy's misjudgments, a fatal blow can be delivered at certain stages of the battle.

Chen Mo had reviewed the records of previous experiments. At first, the Lu Academy wanted to use information technology to fight the enemy, based on this conventional thinking.

After all, the first two experiments did not involve reconnaissance equipment like drones, which are fast-flying and make little noise.

The only approach is to incorporate information-based tactics from a tactical perspective.

Chen Mo guessed that Director Luo still wanted to take advantage of the psychology of hiding soldiers and confront those division-level commanders head-on on the Northwest battlefield with this kind of contingency plan.

Because, according to Chen Mo's own understanding.

The joint camp already has a comprehensive system, and information technology has been incorporated.

Further rehearsals of these techniques would be somewhat redundant.

Next, there were no particularly noteworthy points in the joint exercises.

The routes of maneuver are different.

The reconnaissance company that went out first kept reporting the terrain to the rear, while the units that went out later did not deviate from their movement direction.

Avoid rugged areas as much as possible, increase speed, and minimize maneuver time.

The entire joint camp was proceeding smoothly and in an orderly manner.

Joint training is a big deal.

Regardless of how you train them, this is something everyone should focus on.

But no one expected it.

Around 7 p.m. on July 30, all the soldiers of the combined battalion were still hungry when they moved along the pre-planned route.

Pei Shuaijun suddenly received a report from the soldiers on duty at the base gate. His expression changed, and he ran breathlessly to the conference room.

He whispered a few words to Luo Yaowu.

Director Luo, who had been watching the drill intently, was stunned when he received the report. It took him a while to get up and clap his hands.

"Comrades, I'm afraid this military exercise is not as optimistic as we imagined."

"We haven't even set off yet, but the people from the Jincheng Military Region have already arrived and are already outside the gate."

"Jincheng Military Region, who's here?"

Luo Yaowu's words immediately attracted the attention of everyone present.

Chief of Staff Qin of the military region looked up and frowned, asking, "Old Luo, who's here?"

"Commander Wang of the 61st Division of the 21st Army."

Luo Yaowu's expression remained calm.

Chen Mo, who had been sitting in the back watching the joint training, suddenly looked surprised.

To be honest, he wasn't familiar with many units in the Jincheng Military Region, and he probably hadn't even heard of many of the other units.

But Chen Mo was quite familiar with the 61st Division.

Isn't that the division where Xie Yong and Ding Zeliang, whom he met in dormitory 402 of the Army Academy, belong?
The 6th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 182nd Regiment of the 61st Division was the famous Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company.

Before the Northwest military exercise even started, people from the Jincheng Military Region arrived.

And to find the base so precisely right away, this person seems like an uninvited guest.

What's this? Are you issuing a challenge, or have you come here to spy on us?

Chen Mo pondered to himself.

It's understandable that he had this idea, in order to ensure that this year's military parade can proceed normally.

The General Staff arranged two large-scale exercise venues, one in southern Guangdong, with the Nanjing Military Region and the Guangzhou Military Region participating.

The other is the Northwest, where only the Jincheng Military Region participated in the battle.

The sudden dispatch of the Army Academy, interfering in the affairs of the 21st and 47th Armies of the Jincheng Military Region, was a direct challenge to their so-called informationized joint battalion.

They were uninvited guests as well.

If someone sends someone to your door at this time, and you say they're coming with good intentions, probably no one will believe you.

(End of this chapter)