A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

That day, Song Hongfei had a messenger from the battalion headquarters bring Zhang Yi, the company commander of the 3rd Company, to the camp.

When Zhang Yi arrived at the battalion headquarters, he saw Song Hongfei talking to two unfamiliar officers, a captain and a lieutenant, and the battalion's mortar platoon leader was also there.

"Report!" Zhang Yi entered and saluted.

Song Hongfei returned the greeting and said, "Let me introduce you. This is Zhang Yi, the company commander of the 3rd Company, and these two are Captain Tang Long and Lieutenant Liang Pingshan."

The group saluted each other.

"Sit down and let's talk," Song Hongfei said, getting straight to the point. "After this period of tactical training, the combat effectiveness of each company has greatly improved, and morale is also very high. Our light weapons firepower is among the best in the world, but the entire battalion only has one mortar platoon with two 82mm mortars, which is not enough, far from enough! I believe everyone has seen in the tactical exercises that 'small group multi-pronged attacks' and 'assault group tactics' all require strong artillery support!"

“Yes, our infantry company and below only have machine guns, so we have to rely entirely on hand grenades for heavy firepower,” Zhang Yi said.

Song Hongfei nodded, looked at him, and said, "The brigade has now decided that my battalion's mortar platoon will be expanded into a gun company, equipped with four 82mm mortars, and Captain Tang Long will serve as the company commander of my battalion's gun company!"

"In addition—the commander-in-chief also agreed to assign our battalion one infantry artillery platoon, with two light infantry guns." Song Hongfei added, "The Schneider M1928, 75mm caliber, can also be used for direct fire by quickly replacing the 47mm anti-tank gun barrel. Its armor-piercing capability is similar to that of the Austrian 'Berlu' 47mm anti-tank gun. It can kill the Japanese thin-skinned tanks with one shot."

"An infantry battalion equipped with two infantry guns?! My God, this is the only one of its kind in the entire army!" Zhang Yi was already somewhat surprised.

"You're overthinking it. It's assigned to my battalion for training," Song Hongfei corrected him. "The infantry artillery platoon assigned to it will be temporarily incorporated into the battalion's artillery company, and Lieutenant Liang Pingshan is the platoon leader of the infantry artillery platoon!"

Zhang Yi was still very surprised: "Battalion Commander, you're really something! You managed to get this done! A Japanese infantry battalion only has two 92mm infantry guns. Now our battalion can fight the Japanese one-on-one!"

"After much pleading and persuasion, the commander finally agreed," Song Hongfei said with a smile. "Our army's infantry-artillery coordination capabilities are extremely weak, and the brigade already has plans to strengthen training in this area."

Zhang Yi was filled with admiration, and his gaze towards Song Hongfei was practically one of worship.

Tang Long and Liang Pingshan couldn't help but laugh.

Song Hongfei said, "This cannon has an advantage: it is lightweight and highly mobile. In addition to being towed by manpower or animal power, it can also be disassembled into 12 parts for transport by carrying or shouldering. Each part weighs only about 30 kilograms. It is also specially designed with a carrying tool for human shouldering, with each part weighing no more than 40 kilograms."

Song Hongfei continued, “Our country’s horse administration has long lagged behind. Our army has not even achieved mule and horse production, let alone mechanization. The mules and horses in the artillery battalion directly under the brigade have low carrying capacity and are not able to bear heavy loads. Their numbers are also very limited. Now the brigade commander has approved the formation of a supply platoon in our battalion, but it can only rely on manpower for transportation. This artillery can get rid of mules and horses, but it can be transported by manpower, which is very suitable for us.”

All three nodded in agreement. Liang Pingshan, the platoon leader of the infantry artillery platoon, especially understood this deeply. The weak native mules and horses of China made life unbearable for the artillerymen and seriously affected the construction, development, and growth of the Chinese National Army's artillery.

Chinese pack horses could only carry 7 to 80 kilograms. Faced with artillery components that often weighed over 100 kilograms, their legs would give way and they would be unable to bear the weight. The consequence of forcibly overworking them was that the service life of pack horses was greatly reduced. After a fierce battle, a large number of mules and horses would often die from exhaustion.

Song Hongfei said to Zhang Yi, "After graduating from West Point, you studied artillery at Fortress Military Academy in South Carolina, and after returning to China, you served as an infantry company commander. You have a good understanding of the tactics and techniques of infantry and artillery. I plan to start a pilot program in the 3rd Company to carry out training in infantry-artillery coordination!"

“Napoleon once said: Artillery is the god of war!” Song Hongfei said. “Infantry-artillery coordination is very complex and difficult to master. It requires precise timing and attack deployment, and demands a high degree of cooperation between infantry and artillery. It also places high demands on commanders! Major military powers were able to achieve slow-advance barrage fire during World War I. The coordination between infantry and artillery in the Japanese army is also quite good now, but it has always been a weakness of our army!”

"I've looked into it, and our army's artillery manuals still use the direct firing method, while the Japanese army has long been using the indirect firing method that was popular during World War I. During the Great Wall Resistance, the Japanese army's long-range artillery was deployed in concealed rear positions, and based on a single gun, they could launch concentrated artillery attacks without even needing to test fire. Our army suffered heavy casualties, and we didn't even know where the enemy's artillery positions were! Just from the perspective of artillery tactics alone, we are already far behind!"

The three listened carefully, their expressions becoming serious.

Tang Long and Liang Pingshan exchanged a glance, both secretly surprised. Song Hongfei was not only well-versed in infantry tactics, but also had considerable knowledge of artillery tactics.

Looking at the three men, Song Hongfei solemnly said, "The three of you are all experts in artillery. I hope you will work together to come up with a concrete plan for combined infantry and artillery training. If you have any difficulties or requests, just let me know. If the battalion can't solve them, I'll go to the battalion commander. Falling behind means being vulnerable to attack; time waits for no one. We must rise up and catch up!"

The three men stood at attention: "Yes, sir!"

Song Hongfei turned to Zhang Yi: "Company Commander of the 3rd Company, let's start the pilot program of infantry-artillery coordination at the company level with your company! Are you confident you can succeed?!"

"Have!"

Zhang Yi said firmly, his face glowing red, already somewhat carried away with excitement.

The expansion plan for the Sergeant Battalion of the Training Corps caused quite a stir. The Sergeant Battalion consisted of 3 infantry companies, 1 machine gun company, 1 artillery company, and 1 battalion-level supply platoon, with a full complement of over 800 personnel.

Each infantry company is equipped with one company-level machine gun squad, consisting of two standard Type 24 general-purpose machine guns with 6-kilogram tripods.

The machine gun company has three platoons, including two heavy machine gun platoons and one anti-aircraft machine gun platoon. It is equipped with nine Type 24 general-purpose machine guns with heavy barrels and heavy tripods. All of them are equipped with anti-aircraft sights and can fire heavy-point bullets and armor-piercing bullets. They have considerable anti-aircraft fire and anti-light armor capabilities. Three of them are specially configured as anti-aircraft machine guns.

The artillery company was equipped with four 82mm mortars and also had a platoon of two 75mm infantry guns.

Seeing such equipment and organization, many people are not just envious, they are extremely green with envy.

Everyone was secretly calculating just how strong the firepower and combat power of such an infantry battalion was. One infantry battalion was equipped with 15 heavy machine guns, 4 82mm mortars, and 2 75mm/47mm infantry guns/direct fire guns. The firepower of its heavy machine guns and artillery was equivalent to that of a regiment of the most elite German-style reconnaissance division!

More importantly, Song Hongfei's advanced tactics and strategies are extremely sophisticated and ingenious. After a series of rigorous technical and tactical training, the well-trained sergeant battalion is absolutely formidable in combat, capable of even contending with an elite infantry battalion of the Japanese army!

Under Song Hongfei's leadership, the sergeant battalion has been forged into a fierce and powerful force, whose high morale and formidable combat capabilities are already widely known.

The sergeant battalion is worthy of being called the strongest battalion in the Chinese National Army!

Gui Shuaizhen, the commander of the training corps, was all smiles and full of vigor. If every battalion of the three regiments of the entire corps had such combat power, wouldn't his training corps be even stronger than an army?

As winter approached, the sergeant battalion of the Training Corps stationed at Xiaolingwei underwent a rigorous joint inspection by special representatives of the Military Commission and the German military advisory group. They achieved top marks in all subjects, earning unanimous praise and admiration from the German military experts. During the inspection, the Military Commission's review group stated, "The Training Corps ranks first among all reorganized divisions, and the sergeant battalion ranks first within the Training Corps."

The large number of key personnel trained by the sergeant battalion, like seeds, branched out and blossomed in various regiments of the Training Corps, transforming into the most elite and powerful "adjusted divisions." As a successful model, the Training Corps saw the rapid expansion of its "adjusted divisions," with 30 divisions having completed their adjustment tasks. However, due to a shortage of heavy weapons such as artillery, subsequent "adjusted divisions" did not truly complete their adjustments, making the Training Corps the only unit to have truly completed the process.

教导总队编制有3个步兵团，满编员额为1万5千人。总队直属有军士营、炮兵营、骑兵营、工兵营、高炮营、特务营、辎重营、通信营、军械所、汽车队、卫生队、军官教育队等。其中直属炮兵营装备有3个连的75mm博福斯山炮；高炮营装备3个连的20mm苏罗通ST-5机关炮。

步兵团下辖3个步兵营，并辖4个直属连，其中第13连装备6门75毫米Le.IG18型步兵炮；第14连装备6门“百禄”47mm战防炮；第15连编有1个总机排、2个有线电话排，1个无线排；第16连为输送连；有的团还编有1个小炮连，有4门制20mm苏罗通ST-5机关炮。如此精锐的步兵团编制，在当时华夏国军队中是绝无仅有的。

每个营下辖3个步兵连，1个机枪连，1个营属82毫米迫击炮排。步兵营属火力强大，其中机枪连装备有6挺配备加重型枪管、加重型三脚架的“民24式”通用机枪，具备防空、反轻装甲能力；迫击炮排有2门82毫米迫击炮。

Each company consists of 3 infantry platoons and 1 company-level machine gun squad, equipped with 2 standard Type 24 general-purpose machine guns with lightweight tripods.

Each platoon consists of three infantry squads, and each squad has one Czech light machine gun.

The soldiers of the Training Corps were equipped with the Type 24 semi-automatic rifle. In elite infantry battalions like the Song Hongfei Sergeant Battalion, each squad leader, deputy squad leader, company and platoon leader had an MP28 submachine gun. A company had more than 20 MP28 submachine guns, making their firepower extremely powerful.

With its superior equipment and rigorous training system, the Training Corps became the most formidable force in the Chinese army at the time, truly the elite of the elite, the ace of ace.