The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 484 Major Military Meeting
Nearly half a month after the Military Commission's inspection, in the headquarters of the Assault Corps, a slightly tired He Wei looked at the telegram and a commendation order just sent by the General Staff Office, and a knowing smile appeared on his face.

The inspection of the Assault Corps five days ago was very successful. The officers and soldiers of the Assault Corps performed excellently in the random inspection and assessment of assault shooting in the attendant room. In the 150-meter rifle shooting assessment, among the four regular squads participating in the assessment, two infantry squads from the infantry company achieved excellent shooting scores of an average of ten rings and an average of eleven rings respectively, while the other two random squads from the engineering company and the communications company also achieved an average of ten rings and an average of nine rings. Even the rifle shooting scores of soldiers from non-infantry combat units can reach such a level. There is no need to explain the shooting technical level of the Assault Corps!

Such shooting results immediately amazed Major General Huang, the senior advisor of the Secretariat who initiated the assessment. Not only that, when the shooting results of the four regular classes of the Assault Corps were reported to the review group, Minister He, Minister Xu and other members of the review group, and even the three Russian advisers, were all amazed at the shooting results of the Assault Corps.

The results of He Wei's high-intensity live-fire shooting training at all costs were fully demonstrated in this sudden shooting assessment.

After the shooting assessment, the assault corps' scheduled combat exercise plan was also implemented one after another. The process and results of each subject were also very perfect. Whether it was the individual exercises of each branch of the arms, such as infantry, artillery, communications, logistics, and engineers, or the coordinated tactical exercises involving multiple arms, they all received high praise from the reviewing group members.

Among them, the two main arms of the Assault Corps, the infantry and artillery, received the highest evaluation. In all the battles that the Assault Corps has participated in the past, the infantry and artillery were undoubtedly the most backbone forces for the Assault Corps to win in all the battles. Their tactical level and tactical quality need no further explanation, and their performance in the exercise naturally amazed the reviewing group.

The coordination of units at all levels of the infantry force, the command capabilities of sergeants, officers and cadres at all levels, as well as the level of use of terrain and terrain features in infantry tactics, and the use of various tactical actions such as attack, defense, retreat, and pursuit, were all highly praised by the reviewing group, and all subjects were remarkable.

This was even more true of the artillery unit's performance. During the exercise, the assault corps' artillery battalion, under the command of Battalion Commander Chen Xinsheng, carefully arranged a live-fire exercise with artillery clusters ranging from 500 meters to 10,000 meters in live-fire formation.

The Type 94 75mm mountain gun and the Soviet-made 76.2mm field gun in the artillery battalion all participated in the exercise with live ammunition, practicing all kinds of artillery shooting tactics with different ranges, types of ammunition, and targeting different targets.

The artillery battalion of the assault corps is equipped with 24 75mm mountain guns and field guns. Its overall strength can be regarded as an understaffed artillery regiment.

The live ammunition and real soldiers of a small artillery regiment, the overwhelming artillery fire and the thick smoke that covered the sky during the large-scale shooting exercise also deeply shocked the reviewing group. Even the concentrated anti-aircraft shooting of dozens of MG34 general-purpose machine guns could shock and amaze the group of office officers who had been away from the battlefield for a long time. Let alone the concentrated shooting exercise of a small artillery regiment.

This large-scale review and verification of the Assault Corps, led by the Military Commission, came to a successful conclusion amid the constant shock, admiration and astonishment of the reviewing group.

The telegram and commendation order now in front of He Wei are the results of the Assault Corps' excellent performance in the inspection and exercise. The telegram came from the Military Commission, and its content was basically a summary of the members of the review group on the Assault Corps within a few days after the review. It cannot be said that it is 100% praise and flattery, but more than 95% of it is praise for the Assault Corps.

As for the 5% of criticism, they were basically irrelevant things, and could not even be considered criticism. In the telegram sent by the Military Commission, it was clearly pointed out that the Assault Corps was the unit with the strongest comprehensive performance in education and training, quality, tactics and other aspects among all the units reviewed in this large-scale inspection. It is indeed the ace force of our military. This evaluation can be said to be extremely high.

However, although the Military Commission gave a very high evaluation to the Assault Corps, it did not include the Assault Corps in the ranking of this national troop review. In the ranking of this national troop review organized by the Military Commission, the first place among army-level units is still the Fifth Army of the Army, which is equipped with a large number of tanks and is known as a mechanized force, while the division-level unit is still the newly formed 22nd Division under the Fifth Army.

The Commando Corps, which was rated as the "best performing" unit, did not participate in the ranking of this review.

The reason given by the Military Commission was that the Assault Corps was similar in structure to a reinforced infantry regiment, but was stronger than a reinforced brigade in actual strength and equipment. Therefore, because the Assault Corps' organization was too special, the Military Commission decided that the Assault Corps would not participate in the ranking of this review.

Before the review, He Wei, who was very competitive, had wanted to win the first place in one fell swoop and let the Assault Corps defeat the Fifth Army and take the first place in the national troop review. But now it seems that this wish cannot be fulfilled. Although it is a pity, He Wei can understand it.

Firstly, apart from the Assault Corps, the Fifth Army's performance was indeed the best. Secondly, the Fifth Army was, after all, a top-notch elite force built by the National Army with a huge investment of manpower and material resources. It would certainly be embarrassing if it did not win the first place.

However, judging from the Military Commission's telegram evaluating the Commando Corps's inspection and exercise, the Commando Corps can definitely be called the uncrowned king.

But there is a saying that goes, "If you lose something in one place, you may gain something in another." Although the Assault Corps did not win the first place, the attendant's room that came in unexpectedly from the reviewing group gave He Wei an unexpected surprise.

The commendation order from the Chairman's Office in front of He Wei read as follows: "He Wei, the commander of the Army Assault Corps, is loyal and resolute, and is a practical and honest officer. He is the most outstanding commander. The unit's excellent performance in education and combat is unmatched in the country's army. In the future, the unit must continue to focus on strengthening its construction. The various units under the Military Commission are ordered to give priority to its repair and use in emergency situations. I hope your department and officials will continue to work hard, strengthen combat readiness training, and carry forward the Whampoa spirit."

The content of this commendation order is not much, but it also gave extremely high praise to the Assault Corps and He Wei. The sentence at the end "the unit will still need to continue to focus on strengthening its construction in the future" means that the development and construction of the Assault Corps will receive more resources from the Military Commission in the future.

More importantly, this commendation letter came from the Chairman's Secretariat and was signed by President Chiang Kai-shek. Even the wording had a flavor of what President Chiang dictated. This also meant that the Assault Corps and He Wei not only made themselves known to the Military Commission because of this exercise, but also to Chairman Chiang.

If we take into account the military exploits that He Wei and the assault corps had made in previous operations, He Wei was no longer just a figure in the eyes of Principal Chang. The assault corps had the chairman's commendation order, and it was absolutely certain that they would be given priority in replenishing equipment, manpower, and equipment, and priority in expanding the corps. In addition to this commendation order, Principal Chang also specially rewarded He Wei with 1,000 yuan in cash and the assault corps with 10,000 yuan in cash, which made He Wei's personal pockets and the assault corps' pockets bulge.

In short, this inspection and review of the assault corps can definitely be considered a complete success.

Smilingly, he put away the telegram and commendation on his desk, listened to the loud shouts and drills coming from outside the window, then took out a pen and paper and began to write furiously. Except for not getting the first place, all other aspects of the inspection were perfect, and there were even many unexpected surprises. Even Principal Chang issued a commendation order to continue to focus on the construction of the assault team.

Of course He Wei would take the opportunity to ask for things from his superiors, especially since his goal of motorizing several companies directly under the assault corps, which he had always dreamed of, was now finally possible.

After a burst of rapid writing, He Wei quickly drafted a telegram to the Military Commission requesting replenishment. In the telegram, He Wei emphasized two requirements. First, to continue to replenish a batch of ammunition and equipment for the Assault Corps. Secondly, to request a batch of trucks, motorcycles and other motor vehicles for the Assault Corps. The reasons were also very sufficient. Needless to say, the ammunition and equipment consumed a large amount of ammunition in the training and education of the Assault Corps. They fought a lot, so of course they needed more replenishment.

As for adding vehicles, that was even more justified. The reason was naturally to add vehicles to the assault corps on the existing basis, to strengthen the mobility and emergency response capabilities of the assault corps, so as to better perform anti-airborne combat readiness tasks near the temporary capital. Of course, He Wei wanted more than just cars. He also asked his superiors for a group of drivers and officers who had studied automotive sciences.

As the saying goes, people feel refreshed when good things happen to them. The assault corps performed excellently in the inspection that just ended, and now they have a good reason to ask for things from their superiors. He Wei's ideas also flowed like a spring, and in a short while he had written the draft telegram on two whole pages.

After drafting the telegram and checking it carefully, He Wei immediately called the phone directly connected to the combat readiness duty room. Soon, the voice of the duty staff officer was heard over the phone.

"Captain! This is the combat duty room, please give me your instructions!"

"Send someone to notify Captain Sun of the Third Independent Motor Vehicle Battalion to come see me!"

Not long after, a middle-aged officer with the rank of major came to He Wei's office. It was Sun Fa, the major battalion commander of the 3rd Independent Motor Vehicle Battalion assigned to He Wei. He was a graduate of the Army Logistics School before the Anti-Japanese War. After graduation, he was assigned to work in the Army's motor vehicle unit. He started as a motor vehicle platoon leader and worked his way up to motor vehicle battalion commander. He was a professional motor vehicle officer with profound attainments in military traffic and military transportation. Now He Wei had applied to his superiors for a large number of additional vehicles, preparing to motorize a part of the assault corps' troops, and naturally he needed the battalion commander of the motor vehicle unit to come and help.

After Sun Fa arrived, He Wei said straight to the point: "Captain Sun, I asked you to come here this time because I have a mission for you. I have asked the higher-ups to add a batch of vehicles and drivers to motorize several companies directly under my corps. Since your troops are assigned to me, I will not be polite with you. If the additional vehicles and soldiers are in place, you will be responsible for education and training. How about it? Is there any difficulty?"

"Commander He, there is no problem. As long as the additional vehicles, equipment and officers and soldiers arrive, I will definitely train them into a first-class vehicle unit."

Sun Fa said, patting his chest.

Since his Independent Motor Vehicles Battalion 3 was assigned to the Assault Corps, the tasks it undertook were not heavy. It only undertook some transportation and receiving of supplies from time to time. Compared with those motor vehicle units that were performing high-intensity military transportation tasks on the front line, the Independent Motor Vehicles Battalion 3 was very idle after being assigned to the Assault Corps, but the treatment it enjoyed was 100% on par with that of the Assault Corps.

There is no need to say much about the treatment of the assault corps. The food and drink expenses of the troops are several points better than those of the well-paid motor vehicle troops. They carry out extremely easy tasks and enjoy generous treatment. Now He Wei personally gave Sun Fa an important task, and Sun Fa of course agreed without any hesitation.

"Very good, Captain Sun, I'll leave this matter to you. Although your battalion is only assigned to my corps and has a subordinate command relationship with my corps and is not part of my corps' structure, I always treat you equally and regard your battalion as a unit within my corps' structure. I hope you won't let me down and must complete this task with high quality and high standards!"

He Wei said in high spirits.

Sun Fazhe stood up with a serious look on his face, saluted He Wei and said solemnly: "Please rest assured, Captain He, I will do my best to complete the mission!"

He Wei encouraged Sun Fa a few more words before sending away the battalion commander of the motor vehicle battalion assigned to the assault corps. Afterwards, He Wei enthusiastically sent the prepared telegram to the communications company and ordered them to send it to the Military Commission.

He Wei was determined to apply to the Military Commission for additional cars to motorize part of the Assault Corps. Although cars were expensive and considered strategic materials in China, the Assault Corps was a unit that the Chairman had requested to be replenished first, and it had also achieved excellent results in the recent inspection, so it should not be a big problem.

Therefore, He Wei continued to supervise his assault corps and the first replacement soldier training department day after day with full expectations. However, before He Wei could wait for the reply from the Military Commission regarding the application for additional vehicles, the Military Commission sent him a notice asking him to go to the capital to attend an important military meeting.

(End of this chapter)