The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 205 The Eye-Catching Combined Battalion (Subscription Request)

From the battlefield situation.

The firepower of the combined battalion has reached the standard of a division, even surpassing the 42nd Division which has just been expanded into a Type A Infantry Division. It is estimated that it can be comparable to the old Type A Infantry Division.

However, the total strength of the combined battalion is only more than 800 people, the size of a battalion.

Fewer people means mobility and flexibility!
It can react quickly on the battlefield and seize the opportunity in time.

The combat results of a combined battalion surpassed those of the entire 42nd Division. This sharp contrast could not be more obvious.

If it is said that the combined battalion previously established by Panshan Machinery Factory was not taken seriously by the higher-ups.

After all, it’s just a battalion, no big deal, not noticeable at all.

But after this battle, it was impossible for the combined battalion not to attract the attention of the leadership.

Just one look at the weapons and equipment, the 20 Type 80 main battle tanks and 2 Type 80 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns alone are enough to make the leaders' eyes widen.

因为在盘山机械厂研制出80式自行高炮、80式坦克后，部队便决定咬咬牙采购5辆80式自行高炮、10辆80式坦克。

But the first batch of deliveries will not be until July this year.

This means that the troops now do not have their own Type 80 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns or Type 80 tanks.

The Type 80 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and Type 80 tanks currently used to train and cultivate soldiers are still leased from the Panshan Machinery Factory. They are export versions and will be delivered to Iraq.

However, the combined battalion has 20 Type 80 main battle tanks and 2 Type 80 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns.

In addition, the infantry and special operations forces of the combined battalion also attract attention.

Everyone wears bulletproof vests, bulletproof helmets, and the latest camouflage uniforms.

The leaders naturally have an impression of bulletproof vests and bulletproof helmets, because there is a lot of controversy above whether to purchase bulletproof vests and bulletproof helmets. Many leaders are even more displeased with the flashy camouflage military uniforms of Panshan Machinery Factory.

This camouflage military uniform is no match for the green military uniform.

However, it was the bulletproof vests and bulletproof helmets that greatly reduced the casualties of the combined battalion.

Not to mention the various weapons used by the combined battalion on the battlefield, including Type 80 rocket launchers, new flamethrowers, and so on.

As for the fuel-air explosive bomb that was mentioned prominently, it attracted even more attention.

With the power of the country, it is naturally easy to collect fuel-air bombs, which have terrifying destructive power.

Half a year ago, some people even suggested that we should discuss with the Americans about introducing fuel-air explosive bomb technology. After all, the two sides are now in a cooperative relationship, and the relationship is getting better year by year.

Unfortunately, when we sent someone to tentatively raise the issue, the Americans decisively rejected it.

As it turned out, Panshan Machinery Factory actually mastered the technology of fuel-air explosive bombs and produced a large number of them.

At 2:30 in the afternoon, at the headquarters command center.

Commander Wang of the 42nd Division was the first to speak, giving a summary of the battle.

There is not only a summary of the combat process, but also a summary of the casualties on both sides, and of course a summary of the problems exposed by the troops.

The problems exposed in combat are often the next problems that the commander has to solve.

Commander Wang compared the situation of the troops with that of two years ago. It was obvious that after experiencing the "Red Dragon's Roar", the soldiers had experienced the baptism of blood and fire on the battlefield, and their combat effectiveness had obviously improved a lot compared to two years ago.

Even the command levels of commanders at all levels on the battlefield have been improved.

The leaders asked questions one after another and then made comments.

"Director Liu, do you have any suggestions?" the leader asked, and everyone looked at Liu Tao.

"I have two suggestions. One is that the soldiers of the 42nd Division obviously do not have enough shooting training in peacetime, which affects the combat effectiveness of the troops. Shooting training should be strengthened in peacetime." Liu Tao said that he also had his own observations on the battlefield.

Commander Wang said unhappily, "Shooting costs bullets. How can we waste them like that?"

"Even though a bullet doesn't cost much, if a soldier fires five bullets a year, the entire army will have to fire more than 30 million bullets a year, which will cost 3 to 4 million yuan a year." A leader said with a smile: "If a soldier fires ten bullets a year, more than 6,000 bullets will be fired a year, which will cost 60 million yuan in military expenses."

"We can save as much as we can," the leader said with a smile. "We are not the Americans or the Soviets. Each of their soldiers fires 30 to rounds of ammunition per year on average. If we follow this standard, we will have to fire more than billion rounds of ammunition per year, and the military expenditure alone will be more than million yuan."

"Besides, we can't produce that many bullets in a year." The leader looked helpless.

Money is one thing, bullet production capacity is another!

China produces hundreds of millions of bullets a year, using up a portion and storing a portion.

Liu Tao smiled and said, "Production capacity is not a problem. Our Panshan Machinery Factory's branch factory will be put into production this year. By then, the annual output of bullets will reach 10 billion rounds. If that is not enough, we can invest in building more bullet production lines. Not to mention 30 billion rounds, even 100 billion rounds will not be a problem."

As for the price of bullets, there is nothing we can do about it.

Because the army's purchase unit price is already very low, the military factory does not need to pay taxes, otherwise the military factory will lose money on every bullet produced.

The other leaders looked at each other in surprise. They didn't expect that the bullet production capacity of Panshan Machinery Factory had become so large.

"We can destroy as many bullets as possible produced in the past and purchase new ones for storage!" Liu Tao smiled.

"What about the second suggestion?" The leader didn't say much. After all, this involved military spending and it needed to be carefully discussed before a conclusion could be reached.

Liu Tao said: "The soldiers are lacking in actual combat experience, so we can rotate battles in Koulin Mountain, Zheyin Mountain, and Laoshan Mountain. We can mobilize troops from all over the country to fight there, one or two regiments at a time. We can rotate the battles over and over again. The scale of the battles will be relatively small, and it can also train the troops' actual combat capabilities."

One leader's eyes lit up, obviously moved by Liu Tao's suggestion.

After nearly three decades of peace, the combat effectiveness of the troops has declined significantly.

This was vividly demonstrated two years ago, to the point that the veterans couldn't help but miss their old troops.

If we can carry out rotational battles and train the troops, then the troops will be more combat-ready.

Liu Tao saw that the leaders looked thoughtful and smiled in his heart. His suggestion had been proven to be feasible in history, and rotation warfare was a win-win situation overall.

It’s just that China won twice!
After the rounds of fighting, the combat effectiveness of the troops has indeed been greatly improved. A group of cadres have stood out and become the backbone of the future Chinese army.

It will not attract attention, and I guess all parties are happy to see this situation.

After all, compared with the Soviet army in Afghanistan and the ongoing Iran-Iraq War, this is the focus of the world.

It’s nothing at all, it’s hard to even become the focus.

(End of this chapter)