lovenovelstory Chapter 181: The force expands to 4 men; Puma tanks are deployed.
Chapter 181: The force expands to 4 men; Puma tanks are deployed.
Just as they had established a foothold in Huangchuan, subsequent orders from the Fifth War Zone arrived one after another: ordering Li Jianghe's troops to garrison Huangchuan, deploy them rigorously, and guard against Japanese troops attacking from the east.
Li Jianghe climbed to a high hill on the outskirts of Huangchuan City and looked out at the terrain before him.
The rolling hills and crisscrossing paths presented a terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, yet memories of the Battle of Wuhan involuntarily flashed through his mind.
In the original battle, the Nationalist troops on both sides of the Yangtze River fought desperately and held their defensive line. However, the final breakthrough of the Battle of Wuhan happened in the Xinyang area.
The Japanese army advanced southward from the north, like a sharp dagger, piercing deep into the heart of the Nationalist army's defenses and heading straight for Wuhan.
This rendered the efforts of those who stood firm on both sides of the Yangtze River meaningless and futile.
Fortunately, the withdrawal deployment of the Fifth Theater Command was extremely timely.
People around Wuhan, young and old, carrying simple belongings, moved westward in an orderly manner along the highway.
A large number of factory machines and equipment were carefully disassembled, loaded onto trucks, and transported to a safe area in the rear.
Books and teaching aids from various schools were also packed up and evacuated along with the migrating crowds.
These people, equipment, and knowledge, like deeply buried seeds of hope, were carefully preserved, accumulating strength for the subsequent protracted war of resistance.
After the troops officially entered Huangchuan city, Li Jianghe immediately laid down three rules, strictly ordering the entire army to refrain from harassing the local people. Anyone who violated the order would be dealt with according to military law without any leniency.
In addition, he ordered the establishment of soup kitchens throughout the city to distribute food and provide relief to refugees displaced by the breach of the Huayuankou dike.
These measures enabled the Third Column to quickly establish itself in the Huangchuan area and win the sincere support of the local people.
After stabilizing the local situation, Li Jianghe devoted all his energy to the reorganization of the troops.
This reorganization involves many aspects, all aimed at creating a more combat-effective mechanized force, and is divided into four core components.
First, expand the size of the troops.
The Third Column was expanded from its original 30,000 men to over 40,000.
This was the number Li Jianghe determined after repeated calculations; with his current merit points, it was just enough to maintain the operation of such a mechanized force.
If he were to summon all infantry, the troop strength could be doubled, but he always insisted on the elite force approach, selecting only the best equipment and personnel, preferring quality over quantity.
Second, upgrade the troops' equipment.
To replenish the front-line combat troops with more Type 234 armored vehicles and various large-caliber artillery.
This vehicle is an excellent modification platform, compatible with larger caliber artillery, and can also be modified into an engineering vehicle or command vehicle according to combat needs, making it extremely practical.
The artillery pieces deployed this time mainly include 105mm light howitzers, German 88mm guns, and some mortars.
This 88mm gun was originally designed as a dual-purpose gun for both anti-aircraft and anti-tank purposes. However, in actual combat, it was found to be extremely effective against tanks, making it a true all-rounder.
The German-made 88mm gun was the most procured because it was so practical—it could be used for air defense, anti-tank warfare, provide fire support for infantry, and accurately strike enemy bunkers and fortifications. One gun could meet multiple combat needs.
The 105mm artillery was mainly assigned to artillery detachments to replace the relatively outdated 75mm field guns in the troops.
The replaced 75mm field guns were not wasted; they were uniformly allocated to the artillery battalion of the motorized infantry detachment for use, making the best use of resources.
Third, establish a reserve force structure.
The reserve personnel mainly came from two parts: new recruits recruited locally and defeated Nationalist soldiers gathered on the battlefield.
After undergoing systematic military training and skills learning, these soldiers can serve as basic infantry, readily replenishing the combat losses of front-line troops, or supplementing some specialized branches of the armed forces.
For example, engineers, artillerymen, armored soldiers, etc.
This move can save Li Jianghe a lot of merit points to a certain extent, allowing him to use every resource wisely.
Fourth, upgrade and adjust the organization of the armed forces.
The original battalion-level organization was upgraded to a detachment, and the size of each unit was expanded accordingly to make the organization more suitable for the needs of mechanized warfare.
The motorized infantry detachment was mainly composed of two motorized infantry battalions, one supply battalion, one artillery battalion, one engineer battalion, one anti-tank battalion, one air defense battalion, and one communications company.
The motorized infantry battalion consists of three motorized infantry battalions, one communications platoon, and one tank company.
The equipment configuration of grassroots companies is even more sophisticated:
每个连队至少装备4辆卡车、3辆装甲运兵车、1辆加装50MM炮的234美洲狮装甲车、1辆221轻型装甲侦察车，以及1辆装甲抢修车，保障作战与后勤维修两不误。
As for the tank detachment, the equipment of the grassroots companies has been adjusted accordingly:
Each company is equipped with 3 armored personnel carriers, 6 trucks, 5 Puma armored vehicles, and 1 armored recovery vehicle, significantly increasing the number of combat vehicles.
Each company is equipped with 3 armored personnel carriers, 6 trucks, 5 Puma armored vehicles, and 1 armored recovery vehicle, significantly increasing the number of combat vehicles.
At the same time, the tank detachment has a larger company-level personnel, with each company having around 130 people, to meet the personnel needs of mechanized warfare.
In addition to the core motorized infantry detachment and tank detachment, the column-level organization also includes a heavy artillery detachment, a supply detachment, an engineer detachment, as well as directly subordinate units such as an air defense battalion, a medical battalion, a communications battalion, and a reconnaissance battalion, ensuring comprehensive coordination among all branches of the armed forces.
The heavy artillery detachment consisted of two heavy artillery battalions and one field artillery battalion.
Each heavy artillery battalion is equipped with 36 105mm howitzers, while each field artillery battalion is equipped with 48 75mm field guns.
The entire heavy artillery detachment possessed 72 heavy artillery pieces and 48 field guns, with a total of over 100 artillery pieces, making its firepower extremely formidable.
The air defense brigade mainly consists of two 88mm anti-aircraft gun battalions and one self-propelled anti-aircraft gun battalion.
一个88炮防空营装备15门88防空炮，自行防空炮营则装备20辆基于M3装甲履带车改装的自行防空车，构建起多层防空火力网。
In summary, each motorized infantry detachment is equipped with 108 trucks, 81 armored personnel carriers, 27 Puma fighting vehicles, and a varying number of motorcycles assigned to command posts at all levels, giving them maximum mobility.
Each armored unit is equipped with 162 trucks, 135 Puma armored vehicles, 81 armored personnel carriers, and 27 armored recovery vehicles, and is also assigned an armored engineer company, making it particularly strong in attacking fortified positions.
In terms of personnel size, the motorized infantry detachment had about 5,000 men, the tank detachment had about 6,000 men, and the artillery detachment had 3,500 men. In addition, with the various units directly under the column, the total personnel size of the Third Column was more than 40,000.
This size is staggering, roughly equivalent to the strength of two German armored divisions.
However, Li Jianghe's forces currently lack advanced tanks, possessing only a few outdated Panzer I tanks, which have long since become training tools for new recruits.