In the end, after his own careful consideration, Liu Hua still decided that the choice of the commander of the armored regiment should be selected by himself among all the students of the teaching regiment. These students were chosen for a simple reason. Many of these students are college students and have a certain level of literacy. The ability to accept new knowledge and new tactics will obviously be much stronger than that of these cadres who are mostly peasants. In addition, among these students, many of them are no strangers to the tank and have a certain understanding, which is far from being comparable to other cadres of the reading division.

Liu Hua, who made the decision, began to be the candidate for the commander of the armored regiment and began to conduct assessments. Of course, in order to be the head of an armored regiment, first of all, one must be politically competent. And to meet this day, it is the dozen or so students who took the lead in joining [***]. As a result, more than a dozen [***] members became Liu Hua's first batch of assessment students.

Since he had a list of more than a dozen people handed over to him by the political commissar, Liu Hua quickly called these dozen people to the headquarters and began to review and evaluate them one by one. During the assessment, basically everyone had to communicate with the division commander Liu Hua for about ten minutes.

Of course, in the face of the unfamiliar equipment of the tank, most of the students' answers made Zhang Hua particularly speechless. However, what made Liu Hua happy was that among the dozen or so people, Liu Hua still found a very talented person. Especially one of them, a young man named Yang Jinghua.

When answering Liu Hua's series of questions, not only did he answer them fluently. More importantly, a number of very innovative questions were raised. Among them, what Liu Hua values the most is his understanding of tank combat. In his eyes, although the power of the tank is very huge, it is not invincible. If he encounters a cluster bombardment of a large number of aircraft, then death awaits him

From his words, Liu Hua could feel that this Yang Jinghua would definitely achieve very good results in tank combat in the future. In the end, after careful discussion with the political commissar, Yang Jinghua was boldly appointed as the head of the first armored regiment of the Reading Division, as for the candidate for the political commissar. In order to convince people more that this young regiment leader, who had almost no qualifications, was concurrently held by the political commissar himself.

As for the newly formed 1st Armored Regiment, it had a total of four battalions. Including three armored battalions, one infantry artillery battalion. Each armored battalion consisted of a tank company of three tanks, a company of coordinated infantry, and a transport company of eight large trucks. Finally, there was an infantry artillery battalion, equipped with six Type 92 infantry guns captured in this operation, with a total strength of 600 men, equipped with 9 tanks, 24 cars, 360 rifles, 27 light machine guns, 84 pistols, and six infantry guns

"Comrade Yang Jinghua, now in the name of the Party Committee of the Reading Division, I officially appoint you as the commander of the first armored unit of our Reading Division, that is, the commander of the First Armored Regiment. As for your political commissar, there will be political commissar Luo himself as the political commissar of the division. How, do you have the guts to take on this task. Yang Jinghua was called to the headquarters, Zhang Hua, the political commissar, and the chief of staff stood in front of him and loudly announced this order that made people feel a little incredible.

"Ah, the commander of the first armored regiment, but, division commander, I am only a squad leader of the teaching regiment now, now let me be the commander of the regiment, can the soldiers believe me???" Listening to Liu Hua's order, Yang Jinghua in front of him was stunned and asked in disbelief.

"Comrade Yang Jinghua, it's because your qualifications are too shallow, we are afraid that you will not be able to suppress the veteran soldiers below. That's why I let Political Commissar Luo personally serve as the political commissar of the First Armored Regiment to help you manage the troops. So, in the 1st Armored Regiment, you are the commander of the regiment, and no one will question your qualifications in any way. So you have to go into battle easily and train your troops well. How, are there any problems. Liu Hua explained with a smile.

"Yes, thank you for the trust of the division party committee, I, Yang Jinghua, will definitely not live up to your trust, take this unit well, please rest assured." Yang Jinghua's heart just lifted it down a lot, and replied loudly.

"Well, there is the arrogance of a scholar who does not admit defeat. Commander Yang, when you leave this command today, you are the commander of the first armored unit of our army, how about it, do you have any specific requirements and difficulties, let's sit down and talk. If possible, I will try to satisfy you as much as I can. For Yang Jinghua's unyielding answer in front of him, Liu Hua was very satisfied. pulled Yang Jinghua to sit in the command headquarters and asked with a smile.

"Yes! Comrade Yang Jinghua, what else do you have to worry about, and what questions do you have now? The division commander and I gave you the task that within a week, the armored regiment must be formed. Within a month's time, the armored regiment will form a certain combat effectiveness. After two months, the troops will be able to be pulled into the battlefield, although I am also the political commissar of the first armored regiment, but I am not responsible for the training of the troops, so your task is very arduous, and if you have any difficulties now, mention it to the division commander. You must know that the division commander has a very good study of tank combat. This should have a certain impression on you in the assessment a few days ago. Political Commissar Luo Ronghuan also said with a smile.

"Yes, political commissar, the division commander is now in the first armored regiment, but the soldiers of the troops. According to the plan, the entire armored regiment had 600 fighters. However, now apart from me and the commissar, it can be said that there is not even a single fighter. At the same time, tanks, artillery, and automobiles belong to a technical branch. So, division commanders, political commissars, I want to select dozens of cadet soldiers in the teaching regiment to serve as drivers of tanks and cars or junior commanders. They all have a certain foundation of warmth, and in this regard, the ability to accept new knowledge will be much faster than that of ordinary fighters," Yang Jinghua proposed.

"Well, this is a good idea, these students are intellectuals with a certain amount of culture, and it is very easy to learn. In addition, it can train a large number of tank drivers for our army. Commander Yang, you can do this thing, the more than 1,000 students of the teaching regiment, whoever you like, you want. In addition, I will transfer one company of troops from each of the three guard regiments, and at the same time, the divisional artillery regiment will transfer you a platoon of combat backbones to form an artillery battalion of the armored regiment. Zhang Hua nodded with satisfaction and ordered affirmatively.

"Yes, thank you, Commander. It's just that, division commander, there is one more problem. Now the whole reading force. It seems that no one can drive this except that you can drive a tank. So, about teaching the fighters to learn to drive tanks. I also want you, teacher," Yang Jinghua said embarrassedly.

"Hehe, Head Yang, there is no problem. In the early days of the formation of the 1st Armored Regiment, I would squat in the armored regiment and personally guide you in training. When the time comes, I will also give you some different methods of tank warfare. However, before you can learn these things, you must learn the most basic tactics of using tanks. That is the infantry and tan cooperative operation, and next, I will explain to you what is the infantry and tan cooperative operation. Zhang Hua agreed without hesitation. At the same time, he took out a pencil and a piece of paper and began to sketch in front of Yang Jinghua

"This infantry tank cooperates with each other, and there are three combat modes, namely: 1. Tank in front, guide infantry. 2. Tanks are on the same line as the infantry, advancing together. 3. Tanks are behind, follow up, provide fire support to the infantry. In the first month, you mainly trained the infantry and the tank before cooperating," Liu Hua explained, drawing sketches on a blank piece of paper

In this way, the two of them fought together around this Butan, and discussed for several hours before it ended with Yang Jinghua's satisfied nod.

After the meeting, Yang Jinghua began to run back and forth between the guard regiment, the logistics department, and the headquarters teaching regiment to form his armored regiment. The hard work paid off, and with his efforts, it took only five days for the shelves of the armored regiment to be completely erected. At the same time, all the forces of the armored regiment have been fully equipped. And until this day, the 1st Armored Regiment of the Reading Division was established under the order of the division commander Liu Hua. And there was political commissar Luo Ronghuan, who personally awarded the military flag of the first armored regiment.

"Comrades, from today onwards, you will be a glorious soldier of my armored regiment. I am your head Yang Jinghua. Starting today, I will take you to know a new mode of warfare and what tank combat is. At the same time, as the first batch of fighters of the armored forces, after the expansion of the armored forces of our army in the future, you will become seeds one after another, and bring more fighters to become one of us. So, I hope everyone, regardless of which unit you used to belong to. When you enter the first armored regiment, you are a new soldier, and everything needs to be started from scratch. Therefore, I hope that everyone, starting tomorrow, under the guidance of me, the division commander and the political commissar, will begin a month-long training. To the whole army, to show the demeanor of our armored forces. At the same time, one day, we will drive the tanks in our hands and kill devils on the battlefield. Well, the comrades did not have the confidence to train our armored regiment into the most combat-effective unit in the whole army. Looking at the 600 soldiers in high spirits in front of him, Yang Jinghua, as the regiment commander, began his first speech.

Immediately, the roar of the soldiers sounded in the garrison of the armored regiment. And Yang Jinghua, as the commander of the regiment, heard the roar of the soldiers and saw the high morale of the soldiers, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. Because from the roar of the soldiers, he felt that the soldiers had recognized him as the commander of the regiment. At the same time, it also indicates that his first speech in front of the whole group has achieved considerable results

Under the high morale of the soldiers, early the next morning, all the fighters of the entire armored regiment, carrying their own weapons, came to the training ground to assemble and began their first day of training.

As three companies of coordinated infantry, their training no longer emphasizes fighting bayonets with little devils, but emphasizes the marksmanship of the soldiers. Because, on the battlefield, their task is to open the enemy's breakthrough under the cover of tanks. Another task is to secure the tank in front of you. Kill and injure all enemies who dare to approach the tank and threaten the safety of the tank.

Therefore, marksmanship is very important for these fighters. The most important thing left was 9 tanks of three tank companies. On the first day of the unit's training, Liu Hua, as the division commander, put down everything at hand and came to the training ground of the armored regiment to teach these tank drivers how to learn to drive tanks in the shortest possible time.

However, the tank at this time can be said to be very rudimentary, especially in terms of driving. Plus a dozen tank drivers have experience in driving. Therefore, a dozen drivers, after less than half a day of study, each of them can drive a tank alone and run a lap around the training ground.

A tank with strong combat effectiveness must not only have a qualified driver, but also evade possible enemy fire at any time. Even more important are the weapons on the tank, the crew, and a commander. The armament column consisted of two machine gunners, one foregunner and one deputy gunner. However, these people are talents in the special service battalion, and all they need is actual combat training and adaptation to the environment inside the tank.

What gave Yang Jinghua and Liu Hua the most headache was the nine commanders needed by the armored regiment. In the end, Zhang Hua adopted the suggestion of Yang Jinghua, the commander of the 1st Armored Regiment, and screened hundreds of soldiers in the entire tank regiment, hoping to select a qualified commander.

The hard work paid off, and after several rounds of elimination, the list of more than 20 fighters appeared in Zhang Hua's hands. Yang Jinghua, the head of the group, is also very satisfied with the list in his hand. Because, among the more than 20 people, as many as 18 were student soldiers who had studied at the university, and half of the dozens of people who were pulled from the armored regiment appeared in these lists.

"Division commander, I think the candidate for the commander, let's choose from this. These people are basically college students and have a high level of awareness in tank combat. More importantly, they are very capable of receiving new knowledge and new tactics. The regiment commander Yang Jinghua took the list in his hand and asked Liu Hua, the division commander in front of him.

"Well, these people are basically college students, I think it's okay. But, Captain Yang, after all, there are more than 20 people, and we only need nine people, I don't know how do you think we should choose next? Liu Hua nodded, agreed to Yang Jinghua's proposal in front of him, and continued to ask.

"Commander, I have a solution here, I don't know if I can use it. This method is only used when many schools are selecting talents? Yang Jinghua said cautiously.

"Comrade Yang Jinghua, you are the commander of our first armored regiment, and I am only responsible for guiding the training of the soldiers. So, if you have something, you say, don't twist and please. You have to remember that you are no longer a college student, but a regimental leader who is in charge of hundreds of people. Seeing the cautious head Yang Jinghua in front of him, Zhang Hua frowned and said.

"Yes, Commander, I understand. Division commander, my opinion is very simple, that is, to conduct a one-week training for more than 20 candidates, of course, the content of the training is all about tank combat, but the candidate for this training can only be the division commander. A week later, after a certain assessment of these people, we selected the top nine fighters as commanders. Of course, the remaining dozen or so fighters are not without opportunities, they will become the reserve candidates for the commander, and when our army has enough equipment, they will have the opportunity to use their talents. Yang Jinghua introduced.

"Okay, this method is too good, Commander Yang, just do it, in addition, during this week's training, not only more than 20 soldiers, but all the cadres above the platoon level of the entire armored regiment should be called to audit. As a cadre of an armored regiment, you can't even understand the most basic tank combat methods. After listening to Yang Jinghua's plan, the division commander Liu Hua couldn't help but be amazed. Because, Yang Jinghua's plan made Liu Hua think of the cultivation talent phalanx that was often used in the workplace in later generations, first training, then assessment, and then posting

With a specific training plan, the training of the entire armored regiment slowly became regular. Similarly, division commander Liu Hua successfully selected nine commanders after a week-long training of dozens of candidate commanders.

Unlike the reading division, the whole army, and the training in full swing is that the little devils in the entire Shanxi, especially the little devils in the strongholds around the reading division's base. After an infantry wing and two battalions of the Kwantung Army, a total of 6,000 Imperial Army soldiers, were wiped out by the Reading Force Division with lightning speed. Not only was the chief of staff of the North China Garrison Army, the mastermind of the entire campaign, criticized by the military department, but even the commander, Lieutenant General Tada Toshi, who had just been in office for less than a month, was almost sent to a military court for trial for this matter.

After this incident, the North China garrison army, which had just arrived because of the arrival of reinforcements from the Kwantung Army, had a certain amount of strength in its hands, and was once again faced with a crisis of tight troops. In the face of such a situation, the little devils in various counties, according to the store, no longer have the courage to go out of their strongholds to disturb the famous Eighth Route Army, but stay in the store every day, praying that the readers of the Eighth Route Army will not focus on their strongholds.

As a result, while the other battlefields across the country were engaged in fierce battles, the North China battlefield was very calm, and the enemy and our armies were under the command of their respective commanders and tried to restrain themselves as much as possible. However, such a calm is a very good development opportunity for the Reading Force and for the entire Eighth Route Army behind enemy lines.

(To be continued)