Chapter 39: I Want to Rearm My Jin Army
As the industrial power of Ningwu Prefecture grew, the military industry received strong support, and the production of new-style weapons and equipment began immediately. The Shanxi Army's regular army began to be equipped with new self-made weapons and equipment from autumn 1898, and a large-scale reorganization plan was implemented. The plan was as follows: The Shanxi Army's regular army consisted of one artillery battalion equipped with 36 130mm cannons, one cavalry battalion, one logistics battalion, and three infantry battalions, with a total strength of over 15,000 men. The infantry battalion took the squad as the basic combat unit, with each soldier equipped with one 96-style rifle, one 96-style military sword, and four wooden-handled grenades. Each squad had one squad leader, one deputy squad leader, three machine gunners, ten soldiers, one 96-style general-purpose machine gun, and one new-style horse-drawn vehicle, for a total of 15 men; each platoon was divided into three infantry squads and one logistics squad; each company was divided into three infantry platoons, one artillery platoon equipped with two 82mm recoilless guns, and one logistics platoon; each battalion was divided into three infantry companies, one artillery company equipped with six 82mm mortars, and one logistics company; each regiment was divided into three infantry battalions, one artillery battalion equipped with twelve 82mm field guns, and one logistics battalion.
Each level of troops has a logistics unit that can complete multiple combat support tasks, including intelligence, sniper, reconnaissance, communication, engineering, medical care, cooking, and transportation. The logistics units below the company level are limited in their capabilities due to personnel constraints, while those at the company level and above have expanded personnel and equipment, such as the 96-style sniper rifle, electrical/optical devices, explosive devices, and communication equipment. These units can fully support the combat tasks of their respective troops.
In addition, officers from deputy squad leader and above are equipped with the Mauser M1896 semi-automatic pistol. This pistol was imported from Germany and domestically produced by Kangfan, which also made improvements to the design, including changing the fixed 10-round magazine to a detachable box magazine that can be inserted from below, increasing the speed of reloading.
Non-frontline personnel such as artillerymen, communication soldiers, medical soldiers, cooks, and logistics soldiers are equipped with the Winchester M1894 lever-action rifle, which was also imported from the United States and domestically produced by Kangfan. This rifle fires the same 25mm high-speed pistol cartridge used in the Mauser M1896 pistol, increasing its lethality.
This rifle is lightweight, compact, and easy to carry, making it suitable for self-defense use. It has been redesignated as the 96-style carbine.
This unified the ammunition used by the Jin army's regular troops into three types: 39mm medium-power rifle cartridges for the Type 96 rifle, 54mm high-power machine gun cartridges shared by the Type 96 sniper rifle and Type 96 machine gun, and special sniper rifle cartridges; and 25mm Mauser pistol cartridges for the Type 96 automatic pistol and Type 96 carbine. The domestically produced ammunition was not very diverse, which was beneficial to the growing Ningwu Prefecture's military industry department.
Kang Yan's two innovative reforms of the Jin army's regular troops: cutting off braids and shaving them into short flat heads; wearing new-style single-soldier equipment, etc. are signs of the transformation of the Jin army's regular troops from old-style armies to new-style armies, as well as tactical needs, which must be done.
The new-style individual equipment was also designed by Kangfan himself: the individual equipment includes military uniforms and combat equipment. Military uniforms include everyday clothes and training clothes, which are divided into two categories. Everyday clothes are worn by officers and soldiers in their daily lives, consisting of shoes, hats, outerwear, and underwear. Underwear is made of pure cotton fabric, including tank tops/shorts, shirts/pants, woolen sweaters/pants, and cotton jackets/pants; Outerwear includes military uniforms, which are divided into winter and summer wear. Summer wear is made of cotton-blend fabric, paired with short-sleeved shirts, while winter wear is made of woolen fabric, paired with cotton vests and gloves. The color of the fabric is a solemn dark green, with bright rank insignia on yellow-green shoulder straps, in the style of Sun Yat-sen's uniform, which is consistent for officers and soldiers; Training clothes are worn by officers and soldiers during training and combat, consisting of military uniforms and camouflage clothing. Military uniforms are made of durable cotton-blend fabric, with a color close to that of the fields, in shades of gray-green. The design follows Kangfan's own style of training uniform. Camouflage clothing is made of green/gray/green-gray three-color camouflage, waterproof and windproof synthetic fabric, paired with a hood and detachable warm fleece lining. Since it is worn on the outermost layer, it is designed to be wide and thick; Shoes and hats include military caps, boots, casual shoes, and military socks. Military caps are divided into summer and winter styles, both made of the same fabric as everyday clothes. Summer military caps have a long-brimmed baseball cap style, while winter military caps have a style with earflaps made of fur and cotton. Boots are made of high-strength synthetic fiber fabric in gray-green color and brown leather, with soles made of wear-resistant synthetic rubber material, in a high-top ankle-protecting style, with breathable design. Winter boots have insulating layers. Casual shoes are canvas sneakers. Each pair of military boots or casual shoes comes with two pairs of cotton-made military socks.
Combat equipment includes bulletproof helmets, combat vests and backpacks, as well as bulletproof chest armor. Bulletproof helmets and bulletproof chest armor are made of high-toughness, high-strength alloy steel. The outer surface of the helmet is covered with a three-color camouflage fabric of the same material as the uniform to avoid reflection and facilitate camouflage. The combat vest is made of high-strength synthetic materials in the same color tone as the training uniform, with insert pockets on the front chest and back that can be inserted into bulletproof chest armor during battle to provide protection for officers and soldiers, and can be pulled out during peacetime to reduce weight. It has special bag openings and tightening straps that can be used to carry pistols, magazines, compasses, windshields, hand grenades, bayonets, lighters, etc. The combat backpack is used to carry rice boxes, dry rations, water bottles, raincoats, down sleeping bags, toilet paper, and other single-soldier combat security items.
Each soldier is issued with 2 sets of military uniforms, 2 sets of work clothes, combat equipment, goggles, fingerless gloves, knee pads and elbow pads, bedding, sleeping bag, raincoat, cotton-padded jacket, aluminum tableware and water bottle, engineer's spade or pickaxe, etc.
The officers and soldiers were issued the same training uniforms, with a more concealed design of rank insignia on the left chest pocket cover of the jacket, which could be covered by an overcoat during combat to conceal their identity. The cavalry was equipped with sabers and long tube leather riding boots, while other equipment was the same as that of the infantry. As for the military camps used for training and garrisoning troops, after the large-scale expansion and renovation project of Qingying Camp is completed, it will become a military base that can accommodate up to 20,000 personnel, which is more than enough to garrison the standing army. The internal security forces will be mainly deployed within the Yanping Road area to protect this most important industrial zone in the province centered on Ningwu Prefecture. The old military camps scattered throughout the Yanping Road area were renovated and transformed according to Kang Fan's plan, used for the training and garrisoning of the internal security forces.
The uniforms of the Internal Defense Forces are similar in style to those of the regular army, but with a brighter olive green color and distinctive yellow insignia indicating their professional affiliation, bright red collar tabs, and rank shoulder boards. According to the different missions performed by various troops, they were reorganized into security troops responsible for assisting local governments in maintaining social order, combating domestic and foreign illegal activities, intelligence, and other matters related to local security; guard troops responsible for local administrative institutions and personnel, important public facilities, natural resource protection, etc.; border defense troops responsible for border patrols and inspections, anti-smuggling, drug control, and management of entry and exit of people; engineer troops responsible for construction of important local facilities, exploration, exploitation, and monitoring of natural resources; and fire brigades responsible for emergency response, disaster relief, and major epidemic prevention and control. They are also preparing to equip each troop with various types of weapons and specialized equipment in the future when conditions are ripe. Currently, the main weapons used by the Internal Defense Forces are still the old weapons and imported weapons discarded by the regular army, only equipping the cavalry units of the security and border defense troops with 96-style rifles, carbines, and pistols to enhance law enforcement capabilities. The main effort is to quickly equip the troops with professional equipment, such as transport vehicles, fire trucks, ambulances, bulldozers, excavators, various optical surveying instruments, wireless communication devices, etc., to better serve society. As local social undertakings develop, their dependence on the Internal Defense Forces increases, driving the forces' professionalization and regularization construction to deepen and improve continuously, with their scale expanding steadily, gradually becoming the largest branch of the local armed forces in terms of personnel numbers.
Kang Fan applied the same management methods he used when he was a soldier, while strictly enforcing military discipline, re-establishing higher standards for military personnel's salaries and living conditions, which were differentiated according to rank and profession. A fair and reasonable system for officer promotion was established, increasing the subjective initiative of officers and soldiers. The new food treatment was more abundant than before, with a more reasonable ratio of staple and non-staple foods, and was the same for both officers and soldiers.
Kang Fan organized the completion of specialized troops such as engineering, medical, communications, logistics and transportation within the Jin army to be dispatched in their entirety to construction sites in Ningwu Prefecture and other parts of the province for regular rotation training. On the one hand, this could support local construction; on the other hand, it could give the Jin army actual combat experience. As for those combat troops, Kang Fan often personally led them in large-scale drills with full equipment, covering the entire territory of Shanxi Province.
The Jin army's standing army, composed of elite soldiers selected from all over the country, had undergone systematic and standardized training in Shanxi Province, making their strength unmatched by any other provincial military force at that time. The textbooks written by Kang Fan and the military ideology he instilled had fundamentally changed the Jin army officers and men. Equipped with the most advanced weapons designed by Kang Fan, under the organization and planning of the Jin army's general staff, combining rigorous training with large-scale military exercises based on actual combat scenarios, the fighting capacity of the Jin army's standing army rapidly matured. In terms of individual combat capability, Kang Fan believed that the officers and men of the standing army were already the best in the world.
