Bright Sword: Iron Will 52

Chapter 52: Organizational Reform and Rear Area Preparation

After a brief rest in Daying Town, the Provisional First Brigade continued its southward advance. The farther south they went, the more defeated soldiers they encountered. Wang Feng naturally seized this opportunity; compared to recruiting new soldiers from the civilian population, incorporating these defeated soldiers was clearly the most cost-effective. They possessed rich combat experience, and their retraining period would be short. Their morale was somewhat low, but this was a minor flaw compared to the advantages they offered.

However, Wang Feng wasn’t accepting just anyone. A person’s demeanor is very easy to discern. Defeated soldiers typically moved slowly, their steps dragging, giving off a palpable sense of dejection. They also carried minor injuries and clutched their weapons tightly. Most had been separated from their units and lost contact with their main forces. In Wang Feng’s view, these soldiers could be incorporated, and with some simple training, the order and discipline of the troops could be restored.

Runaway soldiers were different. Runaway soldiers were hurried, their eyes darting nervously when a large unit passed by, fearing recognition. Their demeanor conveyed weakness and cowardice. Wang Feng resolutely refused to accept such soldiers. Emotions are contagious on the battlefield, and one bad apple could spoil the whole bunch.

In this way, as they marched, the Provisional First Brigade incorporated over twelve hundred soldiers. Adding the two hundred and eighty-plus from Daying Town, this was enough to form a new infantry regiment. As for the so-called appointment from the Sixth Group Army headquarters, it was merely a smokescreen Wang Feng had created. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to convince the defeated soldiers along the way to change their flags and sincerely join the Provisional First Brigade.

Whether or not the ruse would be discovered didn’t concern Wang Feng. Or rather, it wasn’t a high priority. With Japanese swords at their necks, who had time to worry about such things? The first priority was to arm themselves by any means necessary. After experiencing the Provisional First Brigade’s abundant food and receiving their advance pay for a month, the soldiers would likely have no objections.

The generals of various units sat high and mighty, unseen and untouchable. Some new recruits who were illiterate couldn’t even state their original unit number, let alone the name of their highest commander. They wouldn’t feel any loyalty to their original units. Their allegiance would gradually shift to the Provisional First Brigade.

Four days later.

Yangqu.

Provisional First Brigade headquarters.

Wang Feng was planning the troop reorganization.

“Fangyuan, what are your thoughts?”

Zhao Fangyuan stared at the list of weapons and equipment on the manuscript paper, lost in thought. After the battles at Pingxing Pass and others, the Provisional First Brigade’s resources had been significantly replenished. Currently, the entire brigade possessed nearly one hundred and fifty light machine guns—a level of firepower that many regimental units could only dream of. The quantity was substantial, but the types were diverse. A small portion were captured Type 11 light machine guns (6.5mm caliber). The vast majority were Type 65 light machine guns provided by Yan Laosi, copies of the Czech ZB vz. 26, but also in 6.5mm caliber. There were also about ten Czech ZB vz. 26 light machine guns (7.92mm caliber).

There were over sixty heavy machine guns, with more uniform types. The original few Maxim machine guns had been destroyed in battle. Currently, the heavy machine guns were a minority of captured Type 92 heavy machine guns and the majority were Type 38 heavy machine guns produced in Shanxi. However, the calibers were still not uniform. Besides light and heavy machine guns, there were over fifty grenade launchers.

Zhao Fangyuan frowned, “Commander, in my humble opinion, all automatic firepower should be concentrated to deliver superior firepower against the Japanese army.”

Wang Feng stared at the manuscript on the table, thoughtful. This viewpoint was indeed correct; this was the approach taken by most Chinese armies.

Sergey, dressed in a Shanxi Defense Army uniform, stood to the side. Being a foreigner, he lacked insignia and rank, but this didn’t diminish his enthusiasm for the discussion. After joining the Provisional First Brigade, Wang Feng appointed Sergey as an instructor for the staff department, under Zhao Fangyuan.

“From the perspective of human wave tactics, we need to concentrate superior firepower to suppress the Japanese army and buy time for our infantry to close with the enemy,” Sergey added. “A 13-man infantry squad is suggested, allowing for a sufficiently wide front.”

Wang Feng nodded; the three opinions coincided, so there was nothing more to discuss.

After the reorganization, an infantry squad would consist of 13 men. A platoon would have three squads, totaling 45 men including platoon headquarters. A company would have three platoons, totaling about 150 men including company headquarters.

The organization became richer at the battalion level. Equipment reinforcement prioritized Zhang Hu’s regiment. A battalion had three companies; just the ordinary infantry numbered around 450 men. This wasn’t all. An additional fire support company was added, with six heavy machine guns and eighteen light machine guns. And a grenadier company was added, equipped with twelve grenade launchers. Thus, a battalion had about 850 men. The regiment had three battalions, for a total of 2550 frontline combat troops. They possessed eighteen heavy machine guns and fifty-four light machine guns. This dense firepower configuration was comparable to elite regiments of the Central Army. It was sufficient to stand alone.

The brigade directly controlled a heavy artillery battalion with four Type 91 howitzers, and expanded the number of mortars in the mortar battalion to twenty-four. Other units remained unchanged.

Now that he had plenty of weapons, Wang Feng didn’t forget Liu Zhijian’s Second Regiment. The organizational structure followed the standard of the First Regiment. In addition, he reorganized Kong Zhiyong’s reserve force into the Third Regiment, also modeled after the First Regiment. However, after equipping the Second Regiment, the remaining supplies could only equip half of the Third Regiment. They lacked not only weapons but also personnel.

Based on this structure, the Provisional First Brigade would need at least 9,000 troops to meet the standard. But currently, the Provisional First Brigade had only about 6,300 personnel. There was a significant shortfall. Relying on Yan Laosi for reinforcements was unrealistic. They could only recruit locally.

Wang Feng turned to ask, “Fangyuan, how’s the recruitment going?”

The moment the troops entered Yangqu, they started posting recruitment notices everywhere. Currently, the Shanxi Defense Army did not have a clear recruitment structure. Although the Ministry of Military Affairs always listed recruitment as a primary objective, the actual recruitment was done by each unit independently. Without bureaucratic restrictions, Wang Feng was much bolder. He directly launched a large-scale recruitment campaign in Yangqu. He wasn’t limited to 9,000 men; the more, the better.

Sergey’s officer training class was about to begin in the afternoon; fueled by the “human sea tactics” doctrine, the speed at which reserves could reinforce the front and the training period for new recruits were significantly shortened, more in line with the current rapid expansion.

As the three discussed, a communications soldier ran in quickly.

“Report, Commander! Urgent telegram from Xinkou!”

Zhao Fangyuan stepped forward, took the telegram, scanned it, and his expression instantly changed.

(Chapter end)

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter