A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

During this period, Song Hongfei was riding high. He rose from battalion to regiment, and as the commander of a fully organized unit, he was ambitious and eager to make a name for himself. His responsibilities became heavier, and he had more to do every day.

Having tasted the benefits of combined arms operations, the top brass of the Military Commission and Commander Gui of the Training Corps decided to fully implement organizational and training reforms adapted to modern warfare within the Training Corps.

The superiors' thoughts and expectations were quite simple: they hoped that other units of the National Revolutionary Army could have the same strong combat capabilities as the Sergeant Battalion of the Training Corps, and that the Sergeant Battalion could spread like a seed throughout the various units of the Training Corps. They also hoped that other units included in the reorganized divisions could use the Training Corps as a successful model for comprehensive training, and ultimately build the Chinese National Revolutionary Army into a powerful and modern army that would deter major powers from making any rash moves.

As the person in charge of the organization and training reform of the entire training brigade, Song Hongfei had a multitude of tasks to handle, and he devoted himself to the organization plan and training implementation.

When the higher-ups rewarded those who had performed meritorious service, they were very generous, and all three company commanders were promoted one rank.

The Third Regiment was the shortest-established regiment in the Training Corps, and its training level and combat effectiveness were inferior to the other two regiments. Commander Gui Yongqing specially allowed the newly appointed Third Regiment Commander Song Hongfei to prioritize the selection of a large number of grassroots backbone personnel from the sergeant battalion to strengthen the Third Regiment.

According to the conventions of the National Revolutionary Army, Song Hongfei could recommend him to the brigade as the new commander of the sergeant battalion after his transfer, and could bring a small number of his trusted officers with him to take up his post in the 3rd Regiment.

The decision of whether to keep or leave officers is crucial to their future and promotion, making it one of the most difficult issues to handle. How to best utilize talent in the job caused Song Hongfei considerable trouble for several days. After careful consideration, he devised a plan.

Company Commander Wang Jingxiong followed Song Hongfei to the Third Regiment and served as the battalion commander of the Third Battalion.

After graduating from West Point, Zhang Yi, the company commander of the 3rd Company, studied artillery at the South Carolina Fortress Military Academy. He had a considerable understanding of modern infantry and artillery tactics. Song Hongfei recommended Zhang Yi to succeed him as the battalion commander of the sergeant battalion to continue training in infantry-artillery coordination. In the future, the backbone personnel trained by the sergeant battalion could be sent to other units in large numbers.

Taking advantage of the successful armored warfare example of the Battle of Chishui River, Song Hongfei gave a detailed report, suggesting that an armored detachment be established in the Training Corps to explore mechanized warfare and infantry-tank coordination in the National Army infantry units as early as possible, in order to adapt to the development of future modern warfare.

Liao Yaoxiang, the company commander of the 2nd Company, had studied mechanization at a military academy in France, and Song Hongfei recommended him to serve as the commander of the newly formed armored detachment.

Captain Gui readily accepted Song Hongfei's proposal.

During the Xi'an Incident, He Jingzhi, the Minister of Military Affairs, commanded the Central Army to press on the border, which greatly increased his prestige in the Nanjing National Government. The armored assault operations of the Eastern Front Group were invincible, which shocked the warlords across the country and made great contributions to the Nanjing Central National Government in gaining the initiative. He was very proud as the Commander-in-Chief of the Expedition, and he also strongly supported the report of the Training Corps.

However, this infuriated Xu Yuexiang, the chief of the armored forces and principal of the transportation and logistics school, and Du Guangting, the commander of the armored regiment. The country was poor and the army was not wealthy either. Tanks and armored vehicles were already in short supply, and armored personnel were even more precious. Training and exercises often left the armored regiments in dire need of manpower.

A batch of Krupp Type 1B tanks and "Hausch" armored vehicles ordered from Germany last year have just been delivered. Du Guangting is ambitious and ready to carry forward the armored corps. Now his training brigade is trying to steal people and vehicles.

Du Guangting was so angry that he cursed, "We're finally about to see a harvest, and this bear comes to steal the corn? This is outrageous!"

Xu Yuexiang and Du Guangting were naturally very unhappy. Zhang Wenbai, the director of education at the Central Military Academy, and Gui Shuaizhen visited the Transportation and Logistics School several times. They tried their best to persuade them with reason and emotion, but they were met with many cold shoulders from Xu Yuexiang and Du Guangting.

However, Song Hongfei's report fully and thoroughly explained the necessity and development trend of multi-service combined operations in modern mechanized warfare. Based on the successful combat in the Battle of Xijing, it was regarded as a golden rule among the high-ranking members of the Military Commission. In the end, Xu Yuexiang and Du Guangting could not win against Minister He of the Ministry of Military Affairs and President Chiang Kai-shek, so they had to reluctantly give it up.

The Ministry of Military Affairs transferred some tanks, armored vehicles, and armored personnel from the armored corps to form an armored detachment based on the cavalry unit of the Training Corps, and incorporated a tank company and an armored reconnaissance company.

Originally, Song Hongfei believed that given China's current national and military situation, the military's development had not yet reached the level of infantry divisions being equipped with tanks. In fact, Gui Shuaizhen and Song Hongfei's reports only aimed to acquire some armored vehicles to form a mechanized battalion. Unexpectedly, after tasting the benefits of armored assaults in the Battle of Xi'an, the Nationalist government's high command fell into the trap of being overly ambitious. President Chiang Kai-shek, with a stroke of his pen, included tanks as well.

The members of the Training Corps were overjoyed; there was no reason not to accept something that had been delivered to their door.

Xu Yuexiang and Du Guangting were no pushovers either. They were only willing to allocate the Vickers amphibious assault vehicle, which had thin armor, weak firepower, and limited operational range. This type of vehicle was not equipped with a cannon, only a 7.7mm machine gun. With the new German armored vehicles available, they could exchange them for motorcycles, which would also be a convenient way to do them a favor.

"Something is better than nothing." Gui Shuaizhen was already very satisfied, so excited that she was a little carried away.

However, the entire training brigade did not have enough mechanized personnel, so some personnel and vehicles were transferred from units such as the directly subordinate motor transport team to make up the size of a battalion.

This was the first combined arms mechanized unit in the history of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army equipped with tanks, armored vehicles, and various support vehicles. Due to a shortage of vehicles and machinery, some horses and cavalry were still retained.

What should the unit be called? The people at headquarters were discussing it endlessly. Still call it the Cavalry Battalion? Of course, that wouldn't be right. Armored Battalion? Mechanized Battalion? Both seemed a bit off.

Song Hongfei had a sudden inspiration and said, "I think we should call it the Armored Cavalry Battalion."

"Hey, this is great! It's so fitting!" Everyone exclaimed in admiration.

"Armored cavalry! That's perfect! That's the name!" Commander Gui made the final decision.

Xu Yuexiang and Du Guangting of the Armored Corps also encountered a small problem: amphibious tanks need a suitable training ground. The Transportation and Logistics School and the Armored Corps' own training grounds were certainly not going to be allocated to them, so they had to find another place.

Looking at the huge defense map of the Nanjing area hanging on the wall, the group started discussing it again.

“Amphibious vehicles are obviously not suitable for small ditches and ponds.”

"That Du Guangting is a real old fox. He's already taken all the suitable locations. I think the only place with a large body of water near Jinling City is Xuanwu Lake. We can't train there, can we? What would happen if they opened fire!"

"The butterfly effect is truly terrifying..." Song Hongfei never imagined that the subtle flapping of the butterfly's wings would equip the Training Corps with armored vehicles that did not exist in real history, and that all of this was closely related to him. He couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.

He was well-versed in history and recalled that the Vickers amphibious tanks did not participate in the Battle of Nanjing. Looking at the current development, many things have quietly changed due to various circumstances.

"We should make good use of this opportunity and play our due role after the outbreak of a full-scale war..."

Looking at the huge map, Song Hongfei suddenly had an idea and said, "Since it's called 'Dragon Link,' it should be a major river."

Song Hongfei pointed to the area around Mufu Mountain and Yanziji on the Yangtze River on the map and said, "There are several areas of still water at the foot of Mufu Mountain in this area, as well as a large enough open space. The several hundred meters wide section of the Yangtze River south of Baguazhou is also enough for the amphibious vehicle Menglong to cross the river."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.

"Truly worthy of being called Dr. Song, always coming up with ingenious ideas!" Gui Shuaizhen laughed heartily. "Yanziji is not far from the city, with the Navy's 'Wen Tianxiang' torpedo squadron and artillery emplacements stationed there. The location is easy to find, and the roads are convenient. On the other side, at Baguazhou, there is the Ordnance Department's artillery range, which is perfect for conducting infantry-artillery joint training with them. It's killing two birds with one stone!"

Gui Shuaizhen continued, “The Ministry of Military Affairs has ordered my brigade to expand and form a supplementary regiment. I was just worried about the lack of barracks and training grounds at Xiaolingwei. I think it would be perfect to build a training ground in the Guanyinmen area of ​​Mufu Mountain, where the various units of the brigade can take turns training there. All officers in my brigade must understand infantry-artillery coordination and infantry-tank coordination, and each unit must receive corresponding training! Chief of Staff Fu, you should lead the staff office to come up with a specific implementation plan so that it can be submitted to the Ministry of Military Affairs for approval as soon as possible.”

Gui Shuaizhen then looked at Song Hongfei and said, "Hongfei, let's start with your Third Regiment. The armored cavalry battalion will cooperate with your Third Regiment to carry out infantry-tank combined arms training. Not only the Third Regiment, but you also need to take charge of infantry-artillery and infantry-tank combined arms training in all units of the brigade! Don't forget, you, Song Hongfei, are an instructor in the brigade's officer training team!"

"Yes!" Song Hongfei nodded in response.

Everyone was secretly surprised, thinking that after winning the battle, he was highly valued by everyone from the Military Commission to the Chief of Staff. He rose rapidly after the battle, and winning the battle was the truth!

However, everyone was convinced that no one else could do combined arms tactics, such as infantry-tank coordination, infantry-artillery coordination, and modern multi-service mechanized tactics.