Chapter 59: My Military Strengthening Measures
Now, the modernization transformation plan of various military camps in Shanxi Province has been fully completed. Qualified officers and soldiers selected from the Jin Army's internal guards and external troops have begun to move into various military camps. Under the leadership of officers trained at Qing Shengying Camp, they began regular training and local defense missions. Qing Shengying Camp was transformed into a specialized higher military school for cultivating officers and various professional soldiers, giving priority to enrolling those who performed exceptionally in the Jin Army, experienced soldiers from other provinces, and young intellectuals who had studied at domestic and foreign military schools. After a short period of further study at Qing Shengying Camp, these individuals could take on their posts with competence and play their due roles promptly and effectively, maturing faster than young intellectuals without any military experience. Therefore, they also had more opportunities for promotion.
The officers trained by the Qingying Military Academy made up the main body of the Jin Army, enabling the Jin Army to evolve into a knowledge-based, professionalized and regularized army. Kang Fan adopted measures such as strengthening cultural education and professional military skills training for officers and soldiers, cultivating modern combat theories and command skills for officers, and organizing various types of military exercises to enhance the soft power of the Jin Army, laying a solid foundation for future equipment upgrades and modern strategic tactics.
At the same time, hardware conditions such as barracks facilities and living treatment were further improved. With the rapid increase in production capacity for new-style weapons and equipment, the replacement work was carried out throughout the army. The regular army of the Jin Army is steadily achieving mechanization, while the large number of war horses and new-style horse-drawn carriages originally equipped are transferred to the Inner Guard Corps, further expanding the scale of the Inner Guard Cavalry Corps.
The main efforts of the Shanxi military industry department are to improve and perfect existing weapons and equipment, continue to enhance the production capacity and technical level of new-style weapons and equipment, make pre-research for the development and production of updated weapons and equipment, and maintain advanced advantages. Due to the priority guarantee of civilian construction, the progress of new-style weapon research in the military industry department is not very ideal. Later, Kang Fan, a weapon expert, joined the research team, and under his leadership, the research progress of new-style weapon equipment was accelerated.
The military-industrial enterprises in Shanxi Province are managed by the Equipment Management Bureau under the Jin Army Staff Department, which is responsible for researching and manufacturing all military equipment needed by the province's armed forces. One of its research and development centers is where Kang Fan works, where he and other military technicians spend countless days and nights. The old-fashioned weapons and equipment replaced by the Jin Army are allocated to other domestic troops at a low price or as a gift, while the newly produced new-style weapons and equipment are only supplied to the Jin Army's needs or used as strategic reserves, without any plans for external sales. At the same time, under the joint efforts of the Staff Department and various armed forces, the military-industrial department is protected, the management of military equipment is improved, the personnel in the military-industrial enterprises are strictly controlled, and the confidentiality work of advanced military technology is well done.
Kangfan, with the aim of intimidating domestic factions and Western powers through military force and enhancing combat capabilities, holds large-scale military exercises in different regions every summer and winter. As the number of advanced technological equipment in the army continues to increase, each exercise has a different content and approach, but it is getting closer to Kangfan's goal, and a new tactic is gradually maturing.
Shanxi is located in the hinterland of China, surrounded by mountains on all sides, with a terrain that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. With the current defense system, even if only lightly armed internal security forces are used to resist, any enemy would not dare to enter Shanxi territory, without the need to mobilize the regular army of Jin. What Kang Fan is considering now is the combat problem in the Northeast region, where the plain area is vast, rivers crisscross, forests are dense, and mountains are relatively few, which is completely different from the terrain of Shanxi. In a war with Japan and Russia, without sufficient advanced weapons and equipment, as well as well-trained officers and soldiers, there would be absolutely no chance of winning.
The number of officers and soldiers stationed in Heilongjiang is nearly 200,000. Relying on the solid and perfect defensive fortifications scattered throughout the important sections of Heilongjiang, defending the home and the land should not be a big problem. However, due to the gap with the Jin army's regular army in terms of personnel quality, equipment level, and other aspects, most officers and soldiers can only be used as defensive forces, and their mobile combat capabilities are weak. Once war breaks out in Heilongjiang, the Jin army still needs to take on the main combat force, along with a small number of elite mobile troops in Heilongjiang, to jointly undertake mobile combat tasks. Therefore, it is necessary to vigorously improve and enhance the mechanization, even armorization level of the Jin army's regular army, and strengthen its mobile combat capabilities.
After the new "Tiger" and "Leopard" armored assault vehicles were formed and equipped, the Jin army's regular army had truly armored assault forces. The prototype of the few armored assault vehicles produced earlier was tested at the Nan Kou base, and after necessary improvements and perfection, it became the current "Tiger" and "Leopard" armored assault vehicles.
The "Tiger" armored vehicle was equipped with a new 82mm field gun, which was installed on the vehicle. The gun was equipped with a gyro stabilizer and a precise optical rangefinder, allowing for accurate shooting while moving slowly. The original equipment of three machine guns was retained. After replacing the diesel engine with a more powerful one, updating the metal-rubber tracks, and installing a torsion bar suspension system, the vehicle's top speed on flat ground exceeded 60 km/h, greatly improving its off-road performance, making it an ideal all-around performer.
The "Leopard" armored vehicle is a lightly armed infantry fighting vehicle based on the "Tiger" armored vehicle, equivalent to a tracked "Iron Horse" armored personnel carrier. It has the same off-road capability and protection as the "Tiger" armored vehicle, but its chassis differs mainly in that the engine is installed at the front for better layout of the crew compartment, rather than at the rear like the "Tiger". The "Leopard" armored vehicle is primarily used to carry infantrymen and cooperate with the heavily armed "Tiger" armored vehicle.
Although these two armored vehicles cannot be compared to the armored vehicles used by Conven in that era, in this battlefield environment where infantry and cavalry are still the mainstay, they not only have truly impenetrable defenses but also possess extremely fierce firepower, excellent defensive capabilities, and superior mobility, making them even more terrifying than all the legendary fearsome things!
For the Jin army artillery, the current 130mm cannon has great power, long range, high accuracy and reliable use, receiving widespread praise. After improvement, the total weight of the gun was reduced to 6.5 tons, the rate of fire increased to 8-10 rounds/minute, and the maximum range increased to 28 kilometers. The tracked tractor used for towing is modified from the "Leopard" armored vehicle chassis, with a closed cab and heating equipment added, which can carry all members of the gun crew and their equipment, making the ride more comfortable. Although this tracked tractor has a slower speed, its off-road mobility surpasses that of the "Iron Horse" wheeled military vehicle, providing valuable mobility for the 130mm cannon in complex terrain. At the same time, various variant vehicles based on this tractor, such as ammunition cars, pontoon bridge cars, bulldozers, excavators, and cranes, were also equipped with the Jin army engineering troops, revolutionizing the style of combat support and providing superior support capabilities for frontline units operating in various complex regions.
The 82mm field gun was very effective in suppressing Japanese artillery, machine gun positions, pillboxes and infantry charges during combat. It could be towed by vehicles such as the "Iron Horse" or "Leopard", making it an indispensable weapon for accompanying infantry. As a result, the original wooden wheels of the 82 field gun were replaced with rubber pneumatic tires to improve cross-country towing performance.
To effectively suppress the firepower of large-caliber heavy artillery equipped by Western powers in recent years, Kang Fan led the design of a new 40-tube 122mm long-range rocket artillery. The rocket launcher and loading device are installed together on the tracked chassis of the "Leopard" armored combat vehicle, launching high-explosive, steel ball, and incendiary rockets with various ranges, with a maximum range of 30 kilometers, exceeding the maximum range of Western powers' artillery by nearly one time, can be said to have an overwhelming firepower suppression capability. All 40 rockets can be launched within 20 seconds, with extremely fierce firepower. The high-energy propellant and high-energy mixture used in the rocket adopt the latest research results obtained by the Ministry of Chemical Industry in recent years. Without their efforts, even if Kang Fan designed it, it would only be an empty shell.
The 96-type series of individual weapons, the 82 recoilless gun and other weapons have withstood the severe test of actual combat and performed well. In recent years, they have also undergone extensive cold region testing in Heilongjiang Province, with satisfactory results. Therefore, only improvements were made to the manufacturing process to increase production volume and quality.
After the production capacity of "Iron Horse" vehicles was increased, in addition to supplying civilian use and supporting economic construction in both places, its military series such as personnel/material transport vehicles, armored troop carriers, communication command vehicles, engineering vehicles, maintenance vehicles, medical rescue vehicles, refueling vehicles, water supply vehicles, field kitchen vehicles, etc. began to be equipped with the Jin Army's standing army on a large scale. The superior mobility, huge load capacity and perfect performance of this series of vehicles provided extremely strong combat guarantee capabilities for troops at all levels, enabling the Jin Army's standing army to achieve true mechanized warfare.
Other equipment, such as wireless communication devices, precision optical instruments, and individual soldier equipment, have also undergone varying degrees of upgrading and improvement, with performance enhancements across the board. The scope of equipment has continued to expand. Among them, portable wireless radios have been equipped at the company level, "Iron Horse" communication command vehicles have been equipped at the battalion level, main combat equipment such as armored cars and artillery have been equipped with vehicle-mounted wireless radios, and regimental and above-level units all possess their own communication command centers, enabling seamless contact with the Jin Army's general staff at any time. The establishment of this modern military wireless communication network has given the Jin Army a complete set of command, control, intelligence, coordination, and rapid response capabilities, making it a truly integrated combat force, marking a revolutionary transformation.
In addition, the winter uniforms of the standing army, which originally used cotton wool as thermal insulation materials, were all replaced with down products that had better thermal insulation performance and were lighter, more comfortable, and improved the cold resistance and tactical maneuverability of officers and soldiers.
By the end of 1903, Kornilov had three such armored mechanized divisions, realizing his original idea. The new organization of the Jin Army's standing division was as follows: each division had 3 mechanized infantry regiments, 1 armored regiment, 1 artillery regiment equipped with 24 130mm cannons and 12 40-tube 122mm rocket launchers, and 1 divisional logistics regiment.
Three regular army corps of Shanxi province also changed their commanders, appointing new people who are commendable in terms of knowledge level, military literacy and moral character. Among them, Zhou Tuanlong, who was stationed at the Nankou base in Beijing, was promoted to commander of the First Army of Shanxi Province. The commanders of the Second and Third Armies of Shanxi Province were also young officers who had studied abroad and had rich combat experience. One was surnamed Luo, who studied in Japan and was fluent in Japanese; the other was surnamed Yang, who studied in Germany and was fluent in German.
Thereafter, before the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, Koniev's new tactics were constantly maturing in high-intensity training and exercises, making full preparations for the upcoming war. This tactic is actually a armored striking force with strong firepower, defensive capabilities, and mobility as the fist, implementing large-scale mobile warfare, encircling and attacking the enemy's wings, inflicting continuous rapid and fierce blows on the enemy, destroying its combat command system and logistics support system, disrupting its combat deployment, and then using mechanized troops to implement division and annihilation. Koniev called this new tactic "Iron Fire Opening".
For the Heilongjiang garrison, in addition to continuing to increase the proportion of new single-soldier equipment produced in Shanxi in the Heilongjiang garrison, excellent Jin army officers were also sent to work in the Heilongjiang garrison, and more Heilongjiang garrison officers were trained at the Qing Sheng Military Academy. The training intensity of the Heilongjiang garrison's officers and men was increased to enhance the combat effectiveness of the Heilongjiang garrison.
Another important move was to draw on the large number of garrison troops from both places to form new standing army units, greatly expanding their forces in preparation for the impending war. The newly formed troops were heavily equipped with artillery and other heavy weapons, increasing training intensity and difficulty, bringing their combat effectiveness up to the level of the Jin Army's regular army before its reorganization. At the same time, the garrison troops began to fully replace their 81mm series light weapons with the 96 series, for use as a strategic reserve force. They also made preparations for mobilization and material reserves in both places, in preparation for the needs of an expanded war effort.
As for new aircraft and warships, the results achieved in recent years are also very encouraging.
