The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 238 The curtain opens
September 9th, just as the day dawned.

The northern plateau in the golden autumn is waiting for the historic 9:30 am.

Countdown: click, click, click, click.

A ray of light had just appeared in the sky, there was still some darkness on the earth, and there was still a hint of morning coolness between heaven and earth.

"Didi dididi~~~"

An emergency assembly whistle sounded in the military camp.

"Emergency gathering!"

The soldiers gathered urgently.

Assemble quickly in company units.

After the company was assembled, it was assembled in battalion units.

Before long, the entire combined brigade was assembled.

"Get in the car!" Li Fuguo's voice was loud and his words were full of majesty.

Afterwards, the soldiers began to move in unison, some boarding tanks, self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, self-propelled howitzers, infantry fighting vehicles, or transport vehicles.

Then we came to the place assigned to the combined brigade by the command, and the entire combined brigade arrived first.

Other troops also arrived at their respective areas one after another.

Liu Tao looked at the troops, which were from the Beijing Military Region's field army, artillery division, anti-aircraft artillery division, tank division, engineering corps, chemical defense, camouflage, electronic warfare, communications, meteorology and other professional and technical teams, as well as the navy and air force participating in the exercise.

These troops were dispatched in batches several months ago by rail transport and motorized marches. Tens of thousands of military vehicles and hundreds of trains traveled day and night to the land of North China.

The Air Force's fighter aviation, bomber aviation, attack aviation, and helicopter units all carried out long-distance large-scale transfers and arrived at Zhangjiakou, an important military town in North China.

The combined brigade is the only unit from other military regions and the only unit that is not in the military sequence.

In name, the combined brigade belongs to the armed forces of Panshan Machinery Factory and is responsible for protecting the Panshan Machinery Factory.

Similarly, the combined brigade wears camouflage uniforms, while other troops wear Type 65 uniforms, which makes the combined brigade stand out.

Moreover, the combined force brigade is the only one where every soldier wears a bulletproof vest and a bulletproof helmet.

Just after 7 o'clock, everyone saw the convoy on the Mountain Emergency Military Road winding into view. More than 700 guest support vehicles passed through various intersections with the sentry posts adjusted to the second.

All vehicles connected harmoniously according to strict procedures and drove into the loess road of the exercise site without delay or large gaps.

Liu Tao watched the cadres getting off the car one by one. Many of them left a deep mark in China's modern history and created China's modern history!
At the same moment the leader sat down on the viewing platform, it was already 9:30.

boom! boom! boom!
Three red flares, leaving smoke trails, shot up into the sky.

The training grounds within a radius of several hundred kilometers were filled with people racing against the clock and the wind was blowing violently.

The first exercise was a surprise attack on a defensive position. Blue Army fighter jets flew overhead, and a dark mass of tanks, covered by their aviation, advanced rapidly according to the predetermined plan. Blue Army long-range bombers carried out air strikes on targets in the depth of the Red Army campaign. The Red Army Air Force took off urgently... The combined brigade also participated in this surprise attack on a defensive position.

The plan for this exercise has been formulated and no one dares to act recklessly, just as the commander-in-chief emphasized during the meeting: the political significance is greater than the military significance.

This time, it's all live-fire exercises. If anything goes wrong, a single artillery shell could kill dozens or even hundreds of people.

The slogan of the entire exercise is: standards must be high, requirements must be strict, work must be meticulous, and results must be good!
But at the same time, this is also a competition, and who can stand out depends on their own abilities.

The combined brigade, with four combined battalions as the spearhead, kept advancing and firing. Dust rolled, artillery roared, and shells fell, shaking the earth.

Several Type 81 122mm self-propelled howitzers were firing continuously, also while moving.

The combined forces brigade moved very quickly, surpassing other troops and forming an arrow-like shape.

Even though it is not the fastest speed, on such a dirt road, the speed of the Type 80 tank and the Type 80 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun still reaches 70 kilometers per hour, which is far beyond the speed of other tanks.

But in just ten minutes, the combined brigade had become the most handsome guy in the whole venue.

This scene also attracted the attention of many leaders, who watched with binoculars and kept a close eye on it.

"Is this our experimental force? The degree of mechanization is very high, it can be called a mechanized force!" Leader Su's eyes glowed.

When it comes to large-scale troop operations, he is definitely an expert, and it is no exaggeration to say that he is the best in the army.

'60 vs. 80, the advantage is mine' and 'fight against gods' are both referring to him.

"They don't call themselves mechanized forces, but synthetic forces. They have a synthetic brigade with 6000 soldiers, and are now equipped with 80 Type 80 main battle tanks, 50 Type 80 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, 50 Type 81 infantry fighting vehicles, and 10 Type 81 122mm self-propelled howitzers." The commander is not tall, and his Mandarin has a strong Sichuan accent. "At the beginning of the year, they were still a synthetic battalion, but they annihilated more than three infantry regiments, one tank battalion, and one artillery regiment of the enemy. It's a miracle."

"So extravagant?" "I know about the Type 80 main battle tank and the Type 80 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. Their performance is very advanced, far exceeding that of the Type 59 tank. Because of the Type 80 main battle tank, the army no longer equips the Type 59 tank, and the Type 69 tank is no longer produced."

"The weapons developed by Panshan Machinery Factory are given priority in equipping this unit. After the Chinese New Year, they proposed to expand to a brigade-level organization. Lao Qin and his men asked them to be responsible for the construction of the Malong training base, and we agreed to their request." The leader smiled and said, "It can be regarded as an experiment to explore the future development path of the troops."

As for the development of the troops, there are actually fortifications already in place.

By streamlining the troops, funds can be saved for purchasing weapons and equipment, thus building a motorized force in 10 to 20 years.

Motorized troops. The US, British, German, Soviet and other troops during World War II can all be called motorized troops.

Today's military powers, any of which dare to call themselves military powers, have all achieved motorization.

After building a motorized force, it will take another 10 to 20 years to build a semi-mechanized force, which is the standard of the Soviet and American armies in the 60s.

The current French, British, German, etc. armies are all considered semi-mechanized forces.

As for mechanized troops, currently only the Soviet Army and the US Army can be said to be fully mechanized and truly mechanized troops.

China has to focus on economic development, so its military spending is limited. Under such circumstances, it will take about 30 to 40 years for the Chinese army to achieve semi-mechanization.

To achieve full mechanization, it would take 50 to 60 years, according to optimistic estimates.

(End of this chapter)