Chapter Seven Night Talks

  With wine and food aplenty, they saw off the officials who had come for inspection.

  "Let's go for a walk."

  "Alright, please."

  I followed Jiang Baili and Chen Shaokuan along the bay, walking slowly, while our attendants were waved away.

  "It's great that you've set up the factory here! As long as we lay down a minefield at the entrance of the bay, the enemy's big ships won't be able to get in and their cannons won't be able to reach; the outer sea is mostly rocky mountains, making it difficult to land; dive bombing is also restricted by the rugged terrain; level bombing is also restricted by the terrain, only high-level bombing is possible, but the target is not large, and it's close to the mountain range, hiding behind the mountain, the bombing effect won't be good either."

  "Hou Fu, you don't know, right? This virtuous and capable person is very powerful. Next year, if you come again to take a look, there will be several dozen more high-caliber guns here, it's not certain yet!"

  "Brother, you have such great abilities? How about sharing some of it with me? Hahaha!"

  Looking at the gradually darkening sky, the evening wind was blowing, and Jiang Baili recited: "The period of peace will not last long, when the war winds rise... Brother's heavy assault gun will be used as the main artillery for the new infantry regiment. Except here, next year Han factory will start production on a scale twice that of this year. In addition, the 37 high and low dual-purpose cannon project has also started, and the army and air force have purchased a large number of barrels from Germany together.

  "I originally thought..."

  "The Germans are rational by nature and General Falkenhausen will not be bothered by a small dispute over words."

  "That makes me feel at ease."

  "Brother Xian, I'd like to hear your views on the current situation, what do you think?" Jiang Baili asked leisurely as he gazed out at the sea.

  "With a military expert like you present, how can a junior like me have any say?"

  "Little brother, don't be so modest! Just with what you've done in Nanjing, it's enough to make the old gentlemen feel ashamed!"

  "That was just me studying some military technology in the US, it's only related to weaponry, as for the current situation, it's a matter of national politics, I dare not comment on it."

  "Then let's talk about weapons!" Jiang Baili said with a smile.

  "Alright, since the gentleman asked." I organized my words, "In terms of weaponry, mutual restraint and counter-restraint are the fundamental principles that run through weapons research and equipment. For the current land army, to a large extent, it is targeted at our military's equipment and troop deployment."

  "What about?" Chen Shaokuan asked.

  "Yes. Our new army formation has popularized light machine guns to infantry companies, forming a strong army with 9 Czech-style light machine guns in an infantry battalion. The enemy's infantry company is equipped with 6-9 light machine guns and 3 grenade launchers. Our infantry regiment is equipped with 4-6 heavy machine guns and 2 81/82 mortars, while the enemy's infantry battalion is equipped with 6-8 heavy machine guns and 2 infantry guns. In wartime, an infantry brigade usually has a mortar company attached to it. The grenade launchers can attack our light and heavy machine guns, and the mortars and infantry guns can suppress our mortars in terms of numbers and range, thus forming a curved firepower suppression against our army at all levels from platoon to regiment. Once the two armies engage in battle, our light and heavy machine guns and mortars, which are the backbone of our firepower, will be quickly destroyed by the enemy's curved firepower that we cannot suppress."

  "How is the army of a powerful country organized?" Chen Shaokuan asked in puzzlement.

  "Major powers equipped infantry regiments with 50-60mm mortars; infantry divisions/brigades were equipped with heavy mortars of over 100mm caliber."

  "Didn't the German advisory group consider this aspect?" Chen Shaokuan turned his head and asked Jiang Baili.

  "Yu and his team have successfully replicated the Japanese Type 50 grenade launcher and French 60mm mortar, but the Chairman of the Committee believes that light artillery is not important. The Advisory Group and Military Affairs Department have decided not to include light mortars in the second phase equipment list."

  Chen Shaokuan sighed: "In that case, our army will be at a great disadvantage compared to the Japanese army not only in heavy weapons but also in light weapons!"

  "Not bad, but fortunately, the 120 heavy assault project provided by Xiao Lao Di is on horseback, and both Hanyang and Xiangshan are producing simultaneously. I've calculated that within two years, we can equip all the divisions currently under Zhong Yang's control with two 6-gun artillery battalions, plus a 6-gun battalion of purchased and self-made 37mm cannons to form an artillery regiment. Hehe, this is also a project proposed by Xiao Lao Di. This way, even if heavy artillery is still not good enough, light artillery, anti-tank, and air defense will no longer be at a disadvantage, and we can even gain some advantage in mountain warfare."

  "Haha, now I can rest assured! Good job, little brother!"

  After a while, Jiang Baili sighed: "Actually, I'm still worried that one artillery regiment can't support both air defense and anti-tank warfare with just one dual-purpose artillery battalion, or even two battalions are barely enough; and maybe Ri himself will only give us two years."

  I knew that Chiang Baili had already finalized the draft of "National Defense" during this period and should have a relatively accurate prediction of the direction of the war against Japan, but when I heard Mr. Baili's prediction of the time was so accurate, I couldn't help but be shocked! Who is it that has traveled through time, you or me?

  "There must be a war in the Central Plains, and the enemy will inevitably follow the route of the Mongolian iron cavalry that destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty 800 years ago, namely from Shanxi to Tongguan, crossing Qinling Mountains, occupying Hanzhong, and then attacking Sichuan and Hubei. If their plan succeeds, our country will be doomed. We must adopt the strategy of 'deeply entering the enemy's territory' for the anti-war army, establishing a core area with Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Guizhou as the main provinces, Gansu, Yunnan, and Xinjiang as the base, holding back the enemy, fighting a protracted war, waiting for Britain and the United States to join the war, and jointly defeating the enemy, in order to achieve final victory."

  "Not bad, now North China is basically controlled by various warlords, except for the Shanxi army's good defense, most are weak and new armies. Even the Shanxi army, because Yan Xishan is not good at commanding, even if the Shanxi army defends well, it can't last long if the Japanese army launches a full-scale attack. Moreover, there is also the North China Plain, the possibility of the Japanese army breaking through Song's forces and quickly advancing southward is very great." I blurted out involuntarily.

  "Haha! Little brother Luben has finally figured it out! Still saying you don't understand military strategy?"

  "Hahaha" Everyone burst out laughing together.

  "Von Falkenhausen's idea was to use the 36th, 87th and 88th Divisions as a model, supplemented by army-affiliated special troops, to form a three-division corps to counter an enemy division and supporting units. Originally, the division's supporting artillery and high-angle artillery were weak points, but my younger brother's project just made up for it."

  "There are 17 regular army divisions, and if mobilized, the number will at least double. Excluding troops stationed in Northeast China and other parts of the country, within six months, no less than 25 divisions can be deployed to the battlefield, possibly even reaching 30 divisions. The 36th, 87th, and 88th Divisions are definitely unbeatable with a three-to-one ratio, but which domestic troops can match their combat strength?"

  "The personnel and equipment of the reserve division are far inferior to those of the regular army. We should be able to take them down two to one."

  "Our troops are barely enough for a civil war, let alone a foreign war. Don't even mention three against one, even six against one would be a stretch!"

  "They basically have long-term combat experience, just haven't fought against the Japanese army before. If they can have reasonable targeted training before the war and add some equipment supplements, it's not impossible for two armies to fight one division."

  "Hmm, they mostly didn't have artillery equipment, and light machine guns were scarce, relying only on rifles, a limited number of heavy machine guns, plus a few old-fashioned mountain cannons; to ask them to face the powerful firepower composed of heavy artillery, tanks, and warplanes that they had never seen before without falling, and after suffering heavy losses without firing a shot, still having to engage in battle with well-trained enemy infantry, it's very difficult, very difficult."

  "How many weapons can we supply to this massive army? Resources are limited!"

  "Imitation of Czech light machine gun, imitation of French 60mm mortar and 120mm heavy mortar; anti-tank hand grenade, engineer shovel."

  "Is this still not enough?"

  "Isn't the quantity a bit too much? For light machine guns, three per company is enough; for light mortars, three per battalion is enough; for heavy mortars, twelve per army corps is enough; for heavy grenades, one hundred per division is enough; and as for engineer shovels, just a few more will do."

  Everyone couldn't help but smile wryly.

  "It is unavoidable to suffer losses from bombs and shells without seeing the enemy, but if they can greatly reduce their losses, these old soldiers can still fight against the Japanese infantry."

  "What new tactics does my younger brother have?"

  "The weak side defends against heavy firepower, no more than imitating the Western Front, relying on trenches, shelters, and anti-artillery caves to partially block the enemy's heavy firepower; our army needs a large number of equipment for engineering troops to dig trenches."

  "German trench shovels are models we can imitate in form but not in sharpness!"

  "No steel shovel, iron shovels produced by domestic small and medium-sized iron factories can also be used as substitutes."

  "Trowel?"

  "Not bad, as for the shovel itself, there is not much difference between imported trenching shovels and domestic iron shovels."

  "Now the troops will only dig trenches and do ordinary field works; fighting internal wars is still possible, but once facing the enemy's heavy artillery and bomb coverage, the losses will inevitably be staggering."

  "Don't worry, little brother has already figured out a solution since he brought it up."

  "Haha, only Mr. Bai Li knows me! Some time ago, the Arsenal sent a battalion of engineering soldiers to help with construction, after completion I borrowed from Director Yu and let them practice a few moves, tomorrow please ask the two gentlemen to comment on how it is?"

  "Alright then, I'll be eagerly waiting!"

  The peacetime organization of the army was revised in May 1936:

  Army Command: Korean Army, Taiwan Army, Kwantung Army.

  Combat troops: 17 divisional headquarters, 34 infantry brigade headquarters with 68 infantry regiments, 17 cavalry regiments, 14 field artillery regiments and 3 mountain artillery regiments.

  Combat troops: 4 cavalry brigade headquarters, 5 field heavy artillery brigade headquarters under which were 4 tank regiments, 8 cavalry regiments, 2 mountain artillery regiments, 1 horse artillery regiment, 9 field heavy artillery regiments, 9 heavy artillery regiments, and 6 high-angle artillery regiments.

  Affiliated with the Taiwanese Army: 2 infantry brigades, 1 mountain artillery brigade, 1 high-speed artillery brigade, and 2 heavy artillery brigades.

  Attached to the Kwantung Army: 1 guard unit, 1 heavy artillery regiment.

  Army Aviation: 3 flying division headquarters governs 11 flying brigades, a total of 142 flying squadrons.