A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

Song Hongfei's sergeant battalion strictly prohibited the deduction of soldiers' salaries and food rations, and the good food standards ensured that the soldiers had strong physiques and good morale.

The training ground of the sergeant's camp was filled with enthusiasm, the soldiers were leaping and bounding, and the hoarse shouts of the squad leaders were deafening.

"Sweat more in peacetime and bleed less in war!"

The large, bright red slogans erected at the edge of the training field have been deeply etched into the minds of every soldier in the sergeant's battalion.

Song Hongfei placed great emphasis on training every infantryman in the "five essential infantry skills": shooting, grenade throwing, demolition, earthmoving, and bayonet fighting.

Good individual skills, coupled with good physical fitness and tactical maneuvers, form the foundation of all tactical training.

After a period of transformative training, the soldiers' morale is high and their spirit has been completely transformed. The soldiers are all strong and robust, standing like pine trees, sitting like bells, and moving like the wind, with every move exuding the unique vigor of soldiers.

The continuous stream of troops and officers from various units who came to the sergeant camp to observe and learn from their experience revealed the unmistakable spirit and morale of a formidable force.

Song Hongfei especially emphasized that infantry technical training should be closely integrated with tactical training. He put forward a series of novel and advanced tactical ideas at the time, including tactical principles such as "one point on two sides, three-three system, four groups in one team, small group multi-way attack, and three fierce tactics". He led his officers and soldiers to crawl and roll on the training ground all day long, running various tactics.

Of course, Song Hongfei himself admitted that he had taken full advantage of his transmigration, as these advanced tactics were the result of many years of war experience and were summarized and refined by people from later generations with blood and lives.

"Well-equipped professional soldiers use professional and skillful tactics to defeat the enemy at the lowest cost! Who is the strongest? We are the strongest!" This is the combat philosophy that Song Hongfei instilled in every officer and soldier of the sergeant battalion.

With the powerful firepower configuration of the Type 24 semi-automatic rifle, MP28 submachine gun, and Type 24 general-purpose machine gun, Song Hongfei's series of tactics, combat methods, and combat formations were continuously put into practical training and promoted.

The "three-three system" is the most basic combat formation and the foundation for other tactics. Typically, an infantry squad is divided into 3-4 combat groups, each with 3-4 people. Each person has a different role, with specific details on how each person is organized for combat. One person is responsible for attack, one person is responsible for cover and guard, and one person is responsible for support. Experienced and respected sergeants or veterans serve as group leaders.

The "three-three system" has various combat formations, such as horizontal and vertical lines, left and right echelons, and front and back triangles, which can be flexibly used according to the enemy situation, firepower, and terrain conditions. Usually, the distance between people is about 5-6 meters, and the distance between groups is 20-25 steps (10-15 meters), which is determined by the principle of facilitating command, communication, coordination, combat, and movement after the formation is deployed.

Three combat teams constitute a combat squad, and three combat squads constitute a combat detachment. Detachments at all levels may adopt a three-three system as appropriate, depending on their combat nature, mission, and scope.

In combat, the "three-three system" combat units are spread out on the battlefield in a fan shape. The formation is loose and the firepower is concentrated. The width and depth of an infantry squad's attack or defense can usually reach 100 meters, achieving the greatest tactical effect with minimal casualties.

"Four groups and one team" refers to the tactical organization and coordination of a squad. For example, a squad of 12 people is divided into 4 tactical groups. Depending on the different combat missions, a tactical team may have assault groups, fire support groups, demolition groups, grenade throwing groups, support groups, and cover groups, each with its own responsibilities and working together. The coordinated operations of these groups often result in an effect where "1+1 is greater than 2".

Such combat formations and tactics unleashed unprecedentedly powerful combat capabilities, which were simply beyond the reach of bolt-action rifles and unimaginable in units without a large number of automatic weapons. The officers of other units who came to observe and learn from this experience were truly amazed and underwent a profound spiritual baptism.

China's modern military thought was deeply influenced by the Soviet Union. The Whampoa Military Academy, which was built with Soviet assistance, completely copied the Soviet Union's experience in building its army. Its teaching placed extreme emphasis on political and ideological education, to the point that too much time was devoted to teaching and training military courses, military technology, and military specialties.

Most of the military instructors at Whampoa Military Academy came from the former Jiangwutang and Baoding Military Academy. Although they were not lacking in elite talents, they had long been in a backward military ideological environment in modern times. Furthermore, due to the great influence of Soviet advisors on Whampoa's teaching, Whampoa basically followed the Soviet army's manuals entirely.

Due to the situation and the needs of the war, the teaching of the first six classes of students at the Whampoa Military Academy before the completion of the Northern Expedition lacked systematicity and stability, resembling a crash course, and simply and rigidly followed the Soviet military academy education and training theories. In the early stages of the Northern Expedition and the Civil War, the Soviet tactical concept of tiered, wave-like group assaults was basically used.

The rank-and-file soldiers, rigorously trained in politics and bound by strict military discipline, charged forward with manpower to compensate for firepower, engaging in hand-to-hand combat and close-quarters fighting at crucial moments. In China, the battlefield firepower, intensity, offensive and defensive tactics, and the quality of soldiers were all extremely low and backward. Against opponents with weaker firepower and even worse skills, a wave-like, group-based push could often achieve victory, but at a heavy cost.

However, when facing the Japanese army, they completely overwhelmed the Chinese army in terms of weaponry, firepower, intensity of war, tactics, pace of attack and defense, and soldier quality. Their combat effectiveness far surpassed that of the Chinese army. Fighting such an enemy cannot be solved by manpower or morale alone.

A tactical unit of the Japanese army, equipped with several heavy machine guns and grenade launchers, and reinforced by battalion or regimental infantry artillery fire support during battle, could be more effective than a battalion or even a regiment of the Chinese army. Under the dense and powerful artillery fire of the Japanese army, traditional skirmish line wave-like charges would only increase casualties and have no combat effect.

The infantry defensive positions and supporting firing points that the Chinese army has long used either follow the German military manuals of World War I, with heavy machine guns deployed on both sides of the front of the position to kill the enemy with crossfire, or follow the old Soviet Russian manuals and the practices of the civil war, with them deployed in the center of the position to maximize the effectiveness of firepower by overlooking the enemy.

Until the early stages of the total war, facing the powerful artillery firepower of the Japanese army, the Chinese National Army still used the outdated linear defense theory and deployed its troops according to the old manuals of the Soviet Union and the German army.

During the Great Wall Resistance, the 25th Division of the Central Army under Guan Yudong deployed heavy machine gun positions in exposed areas on the high ground of the mountains along the Gubeikou line. These positions immediately became targets of long-range artillery fire from the Japanese army, and the division suffered heavy losses due to overwhelming artillery suppression.

It wasn't until the formation and reorganization of the "German-equipped divisions" that the Chinese army gradually learned and practiced new German tactics, such as tactical assault group tactics. However, German tactics emphasize firepower and mobility, and the generals of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army, who had long been influenced by the old Soviet military thought, had outdated and rigid thinking about warfare. They often simply copied the tactics in a rigid and inflexible manner and could not apply them flexibly.

Although the Chinese army fought valiantly, the Japanese army was almost invincible. This was partly due to the vast difference in national strength and military power between the two sides, but the outdated military thinking and tactics of the Chinese army's commanders at all levels were also an important factor.

Song Hongfei rigorously trained the sergeant battalion, covering everything from individual combat tactics, squad tactics, and platoon tactics, to offensive and defensive tactics in various terrain environments at the infantry company level, and the transitions between various tactics and combat formations. The sergeant battalion soldiers have all undergone strict training and drills, and have reached a level of orderly, tacit, and proficient mastery.

After rigorous comparative exercises, the leaders of the training corps also discovered that a Type 24 semi-automatic rifle with a 10-round magazine in the hands of a well-trained veteran could achieve a combat rate of fire of 40 rounds per minute, which could suppress three bolt-action rifles with 5-round magazines. The rifle firepower of a combat squad could easily suppress an infantry squad equipped with a light machine gun.

However, there is an important issue that many people often overlook: the Type 24 semi-automatic rifle uses 7.92mm full-power ammunition, which has great power and recoil. Soldiers are somewhat intimidated when they first come into contact with it. The slender Chinese recruits find it difficult to maintain stability when shooting, which brings considerable difficulties to mastering the semi-automatic rifle and shooting training.

The training corps had good food and benefits, especially Song Hongfei's sergeant battalion, which strictly prohibited the deduction of rations and pay. The food was the envy of other units. One significant change was that the soldiers became stronger. In less than two months, the average weight of the sergeant battalion soldiers increased by nearly 5 kilograms. They were all strong, healthy, and vigorous, and naturally, they could withstand the recoil of semi-automatic rifles without any problem.

Song Hongfei believes that the 6.5mm Type 38 rifle used by the Japanese army had low recoil, making it very suitable for the short-statured Japanese, which is a very targeted approach.

Song Hongfei believed that rifles using intermediate-power ammunition were more suitable for the physical condition of Chinese soldiers. He couldn't help but feel a little anxious again; what was the progress of the ballistic testing and finalization of the intermediate-power ammunition developed by the Ordnance Department?

In response, Yu Dawei said, "The research is progressing smoothly, but finalized production will take some time."

Song Hongfei also knew that industrial development could not be fundamentally changed in just three to five years. Even a skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice. Time waits for no one, and he could only sigh helplessly.

The advanced Type 24 semi-automatic rifle and general-purpose machine gun, combined with advanced tactics and strategies, were like wings to a tiger, greatly increasing the combat effectiveness of the sergeant battalion and the entire training brigade. The spirit and powerful combat strength of this fierce and powerful army were thus highlighted.