Blood-Red Front

"I never expected you to appear on the battlefield, and in the most dangerous front line at that."

Across from Lin Zhiyuan, Mu Ya sat upright.

At this time, Lin Zhiyuan and Mu Ya had already transferred to the temporary headquarters of the 6th Regiment.

Hearing Mu Ya's words, Lin Zhiyuan poured her a glass of water, his tone very calm, "If others can do it, so can I."

"But speaking of the battle, I have to thank you."

"If it weren't for your help in striking the newly formed 101st Division headquarters, the 6th Regiment might not have been able to withdraw from the Wenhe position."

"You've really changed." Mu Ya picked up her water glass and took a sip. "You never thanked me before, you just wanted to hide away somewhere far away."

"That was before." Lin Zhiyuan touched his nose.

He is not himself; of course he has changed.

The original owner suffered from psychological trauma due to being beaten since childhood, but Lin Zhiyuan did not have any such trauma.

After staring at Lin Zhiyuan for a while, Mu Ya was about to speak when a communications soldier reported from the doorway: "Commander, the forward command post has arrived."

"Please come in." Lin Zhiyuan stood up.

"I'm going back now." Mu Ya also stood up and took her leave.

"The troops have just withdrawn and there's been a lot going on. I apologize for the poor hospitality. I'll treat you to a meal in a couple of days."

"it is good."

Mu Ya nodded and walked out of the regimental headquarters.

The communications officer also brought in a colonel.

"Commander Lin, I am Colonel Ding Hang, Chief of Staff of the Second Detachment."

"Sir." Lin Zhiyuan saluted proactively.

"Hehe, Commander Lin is now a colonel, so we're equals."

Ding Hang took out the new military rank insignia and helped Lin Zhiyuan put it on.

"Originally, the detachment commander was supposed to come and hold a ceremony, but as you know, it's wartime now, so we have to keep everything simple."

Because of the wartime situation, not only were the ceremonies simplified, but the promotion process also underwent significant changes.

In normal times, Lin Zhiyuan wouldn't even be able to be promoted to lieutenant colonel, let alone colonel.

Lin Zhiyuan didn't care about the ceremony at all; he was more concerned about the supplies.

"What are the superiors' plans for the 6th Regiment? Have they provided any reinforcements or equipment?"

"That's for sure," Ding Hang said. "Even if others don't have it, Commander Lin must."

Both Ma Yuewu and Huang Zhengjie were very willing to accept Lin Zhiyuan's appointment as commander of the 6th Regiment.

The reason is simple: given Lin Zhiyuan's status, his troops would naturally be the priority recipients of reinforcements.

The fact that the 6th Regiment received reinforcements is equivalent to the 2nd Detachment and the 8th Army receiving reinforcements.

"However, I don't know the specifics either; we'll have to wait and see," Ding Hang explained.

"Commander Lin, you can go to the logistics department of the forward command post in Dingjia. They are currently responsible for distributing the military supplies transported from the rear. I think they will give you some face."

"Okay." Lin Zhiyuan nodded.

The two chatted for a few more minutes before Ding Hang got up to say goodbye.

However, Lin Zhiyuan did not go to the logistics department.

He knew, of course, that he would get what he asked for, but that was not a good thing.

The reason is simple: the 6th Regiment has already retreated and does not urgently need supplies. If the 6th Regiment asks for more supplies at this time, the front line will receive less. Lin Zhiyuan cannot do such a thing under any circumstances.

Although Lin Zhiyuan did not take the initiative to collect the medicine, his status meant that the 6th Regiment was still the priority echelon for second-line replenishment, and related equipment and new recruits arrived at the 6th Regiment's garrison one after another.

A week later, the 6th Regiment had recovered from a depleted force of only 800 men to 2200 men.

Although it's still a third short of full strength, it's at least a force to be reckoned with.

Of course, these are not the most important things.

For Lin Zhiyuan, the most important thing was that he finally welcomed the Chief of Staff of the 6th Regiment.

Major Guan Jianchu.

"Welcome! Welcome!" Lin Zhiyuan shook Guan Jianchu's hand repeatedly.

Throughout the week, personnel and weapons arrived every day, keeping Lin Zhiyuan extremely busy.

God knows how he got through a week like that.

Lin Zhiyuan's enthusiasm left Guan Jianchu somewhat bewildered.

Before Guan Jianchu could react, Lin Zhiyuan had already started stuffing documents into his hands.

"This is the list of veterans of the 6th Regiment. The current four infantry battalions will be merged back into three battalions, each with three infantry companies, one machine gun company, and one mortar company."

"This is the list of newly recruited soldiers. They are still undergoing acclimatization training. Once the training is completed, they will be assigned to infantry companies first. The regimental-level companies will wait for further reinforcements."

"This is a list of supplies sent by the logistics department. After the troops are reorganized, the supplies should be distributed in a timely manner."

"This is the outline for new recruit training that I have drafted. You should arrange for someone to compile it into a booklet. The training of the 6th Regiment should be carried out according to this outline."

At this time, Xia Guo's infantry training mainly followed the tactics of Prosen from 20 years ago. In Lin Zhiyuan's view, this was far behind the pace of modern warfare.

Therefore, he combined the infantry drill manual with later militia training manuals to rewrite the basic infantry training methods.

However, Lin Zhiyuan is not a professional trainer, so there are still some details that need to be supplemented and revised.

Looking at the stack of documents piled up in his hands, Guan Jianchu paused for a moment.

He never imagined that upon arriving at his new workplace, before he could even have a meal, he would be overwhelmed with work.

Good news: The commander didn't treat him like an outsider.

Bad news: The commander didn't treat him like a human being either.

After quickly flipping through the documents in his hand, Guan Jianchu asked, "Regimental Commander, is each battalion equipped with a machine gun company and an artillery company?"

According to the Xia Army's organizational structure at that time, heavy machine gun companies and 82mm mortar companies were directly subordinate to the regimental headquarters and would only be assigned to battalions during combat.

Lin Zhiyuan nodded.

"The Battle of Binxi has clearly demonstrated one thing: future wars will revolve around heavy firepower. Without sufficient firepower, it is impossible to compete with the Rising Army."

"With so many heavy weapons, how will we transport them?"

Guan Jianchu's question went straight to the heart of the matter.

War is not just about transporting weapons; ammunition is the core issue.

Without bullets and shells, heavy machine guns and mortars are no better than a stick for burning.

"Increase the number of reinforcements," Lin Zhiyuan said.

"Each battalion will be reinforced with 300 unarmed soldiers, who will serve as manpower transport in peacetime and as troop replenishment in wartime."

Lin Zhiyuan had considered this issue when he was reorganizing the organization.

Normally, to equip each battalion with heavy machine guns and 82mm mortars, the troops would at least need to be equipped with mules and horses.

However, the horse administration is not something that can be accomplished overnight. The Xia Kingdom has been working on it for 10 years, but it can only guarantee the mules and horses needed by the artillery units.

During wartime, mules and horses are considered consumables, especially those used to pull field artillery. When pulling field artillery on long marches, they can die very easily.

Transporting ammunition by manpower does not present this problem, as the quantity can completely compensate for the transportation volume.

As for food, Lin Zhiyuan doesn't need to worry about that for the time being while fighting on domestic soil.

"Okay, I understand."

Guan Jianchu pushed up his glasses, then sat down at the desk that had just been assigned to him, looking somewhat resigned to his fate.

After assigning all the work at hand, Lin Zhiyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and walked out of the regimental headquarters.

Looking up at the sun in the sky, Lin Zhiyuan stretched and said, "The weather is so nice."

……