Chapter 21: The White Cavalry Regiment

  He didn't see any surprised expression on Hebal's face. Zhong Yi straightened his back, "Battalion Commander, what is the situation with the troops' deployment?"

  "Report, sir." Nationwide Lin Biao stood up straight, "As per the officer's request, each company of the armored regiment is equipped with 10 Type 59 tanks, 6 infantry fighting vehicles and 4 logistics transport vehicles. Currently, all wheeled vehicles and transport vehicles have arrived, but there are still 6 tanks missing, and..."

  "What's more?" Zhong Yi said with some dissatisfaction.

  "Heavenly Bird said that the base funds are insufficient and the construction of the remaining tanks will be postponed." Red Alert soldiers all call Heavenly Bird "Bird Advisor".

  "Playing the piano can be delayed, but how can tank construction be delayed? Everyone disperse for now, I'll take care of the tank matter."

  ……

  "How can the funds be insufficient? These days, twelve mining trucks have been working non-stop, and the four smelting furnaces' chimneys are also constantly emitting black smoke. The daily income is 360,000... just 360,000! Suddenly building so many tanks would indeed be insufficient." When Zhong Yi returned to the command center, he saw the available funds on the holographic screen with a 6,600 digit behind it and calmed down as well. Building an armored battalion was like throwing money into a bottomless pit. What about when they have a whole regiment or even division? And what about the navy and air force? Those would be even bigger bottomless pits."

  Tormented by insoluble problems, Zhong Yi now really admires those great men. Taizu was originally a self-made man, and even in this era, the Red Army on the Long March had nothing. Many Red Army soldiers probably hadn't even seen tanks, but in later generations, didn't they still overthrow the three big mountains and establish a red regime? He said: All reactionaries are paper tigers. Hmm, all Australian troops are paper tigers, difficulties are temporary, at least we still have our base!

  All construction and mobilization tasks except for tanks were suspended. Three days later, the armored regiment was finally assembled, and each company took turns training on the large drill ground. In the previous battle where they annihilated the cavalry regiment, the tank commanders and machine gunners had all gotten a taste of action, but the artillerymen hadn't had much chance to try out their skills. This time, in training, Zhong Yiming explicitly instructed them to conduct live-fire exercises, allowing each artilleryman to personally fire several rounds without worrying about wasting ammunition.

  It's not that I don't care, one shell is worth tens of thousands of dollars, but the next enemy we face will be even stronger, and it's impossible to solve the problem with just machine guns. It's time for the 100mm main cannon of the Type 59 tank to show its power.

  As the number of Red Guards and engineers in the base gradually increased, the guards' vigilance over the prisoners also relaxed, especially after Hebal and Commander Comrade reached some cooperative intentions. Many Australian soldiers even actively requested to join the Red Army, which was impossible, but Zhong Yi didn't want to discourage the enthusiasm of the white soldiers. After all, most of those who wanted to join were Hebal's confidants, and many were even members of Hebal's family sent to cultivate assistants for the heir. They all had a close relationship with the Smorgon family. To show his sincerity in cooperation, Zhong Yi approved the selection of soldiers from among the prisoners to form a cavalry regiment. The selection criteria were simple: the soldiers themselves chose whether to leave the Australian army and join the Great China Base. At the same time, Zhong Yi also threw out a big temptation that was hard for the soldiers to refuse: after the white cavalry regiment passed the loyalty test, they could become true Steel Knights - armored warriors, just like the Red Guards.

  This was also Hebal's request, he knew that the white people could not temporarily gain Zhong Yi's trust, so he proactively proposed to have the Red Guards soldiers serve as mid-to-high-level officers in the cavalry regiment and be responsible for training. This made Zhong Yi think of the pseudo-army during the domestic anti-war period... Bah! He shook his head quickly to drive this thought out of his mind. These white soldiers had a great use in Zhong Yi's plan, how could they be compared to those traitors who lost face for their ancestors? Hehe, I don't know what other white people will call these cavalry regiment soldiers in the future, White Traitors? Or Aussie Traitors?

  Arrange the guards to join the cavalry regiment, except that the regimental commander must be Hebal, three battalion commanders and most of the company commanders are also held by the guards. Qian Zhihao was appointed as the deputy commander of the cavalry regiment. This order caused Qian Zhihao's strong protest, "Boss, you can't do this! I'd rather continue to be a junior lieutenant...".

  "Obey orders, or I'll send you to be a sapper squad leader."

  Qian Zhihao reluctantly surrendered to the old man's authority, and in the following days, Deputy Director Qian, who was filled with frustration, vented all his indignation in training. The white cavalrymen were trained to death by him, which also greatly improved the tactical quality and willpower of these warriors. In future wars, this unit made countless achievements after fully transforming from cavalry to armored troops, becoming a fist unit among whites, earning Qian Zhihao a lot of face.

  A few days later, Jiang Yunzhi finally waited for the secretly launched reconnaissance infantry vehicle to return. Due to the obstruction of the Magreshev Mountains, the armored troops could not use the route of the previous raid on the super mine shaft to advance to Karguly, so after the decision to occupy the gold mining area was issued, two wheeled reconnaissance infantry vehicles secretly left the base and bypassed the Magreshev Mountains to find a suitable road for tank breakthroughs.

  The return of the reconnaissance vehicle means that the time for sending troops is approaching, this is the first true deployment of the base's armored forces, and it is a battle that cannot be lost, whether for the development of the base or the honor of the troops!

  Zhong Yi and the deputy commander of the armored regiment, Lin Guang, Jiang Yunzhi, and the cavalry regiment's He Maer and Qian Zhihao, four team leaders, repeatedly simulated the battle process on the holographic map in the main building hall, fully considering all possibilities, including the dispatch of reinforcements from Perth. In just one month, Jiang Yunzhi, who had risen from sergeant to lieutenant colonel and deputy commander of the armored regiment, looked slightly tired on his signature poker face. "Sir, the key to this battle lies in whether the 3rd Company can block the retreat route of the 17th Brigade in the southwest direction. If the Australian army finds that they are no match for our tanks after the battle starts, and the main force of the 17th Brigade organizes a timely withdrawal, plus the possible reinforcements from Perth, the 3rd Company will be attacked from both front and back."

  "Yes, sir. I agree with Vice Captain Jiang's idea. Rather than letting the 3rd Company be attacked from both front and back, and having our tanks stay in place as artillery, it would be better to concentrate all of our tanks and launch a full-scale assault. After all, the Australian army is not a mechanized unit, they can't outrun our tanks." Captain Lin was a handsome young man with a standard pretty boy face.

  Guderian's armored wedge tactics? Zhong Yi found it a bit amusing, our tank numbers are really too pitiful, including the command tanks of the regimental headquarters, there are only 32 vehicles. However, being able to come up with this tactic, Lin is indeed a talented person, Guderian is probably still a small figure in the German army now. However, Zhong Yi does not agree with this version of the wedge tactics, it's not that the tactics are bad, but rather the scale of the battles between both sides is very limited, scattering tens of thousands of people means winning the battle, scattering a few thousand people is called "releasing the tiger back to the mountain". But what Jiang Yunzhi brought up also makes sense, how much effect can a blocking defense line composed of 10 tanks and 6 armored personnel carriers have when attacked from both front and rear?

  Among them, Zhong Yi suddenly saw Hebal as if he had something to say, and then hesitated. "Sir, do you have anything to say?"

  It seemed that Zhong Yi's question had helped him make up his mind, and Hebal suddenly stood up.

  "Commander, I have a way to delay the withdrawal of the 17th Brigade."