Long Qian crouched beside a willow tree, holding a telescope to observe the scene of the exercise. The two parties A and B decided by drawing lots were a mountain road encounter, and Party A from Yizhou to the west and Party B from Yanzhou to the east met in a predetermined area. The strength was exactly equal, both were an infantry battalion with four infantry companies, another machine gun platoon (four Maxim heavy machine guns), and another 57mm mountain artillery company (four mountain guns). The number of troops participating in the exercise is about 820.

This scale is considered large-scale in this year's exercise.

There are no regulations on the mode of operations, on the time of operations, and on the results of operations. Before Long Qian called a stop, the two sides had to fight until they crushed their opponents.

It should be pointed out that the two sides do not know the strength and firepower of the other side. Both sides were given the same task, which was to occupy a certain place within a specified period of time with an infantry battalion attached to a mountain artillery company (the heavy machine gun platoon was already a regular part of the infantry battalion). Due to time constraints, the troops departing from Yizhou and Yanzhou had to follow the path set by the General Staff Office, so that the encounter was inevitable. Due to the constraints of the terrain, the deployment of troops and the use of heavy firearms are major issues of concern to the General Staff Office. The purpose of the exercise was to test the troops' ability to respond to unexpected situations.

The troops participating in the exercise were determined by drawing lots from the General Staff Office, and the first standard and the first battalion (battalion commander Xiong Xun) faced the second standard and the second battalion (battalion commander Ding Xiaofu). The one who plays Party A is the first standard and one battalion, and the one who plays the second standard and the second battalion is Party B.

The exercise area was designated by Long Qian, roughly in the spring of the previous year, when he and Zhang and Wu Yizhou were attacked. But the commanders of both battalions certainly did not have the opportunity to survey the terrain beforehand.

Xiong Xun, who served as the company commander in the early battle of Wang Qin, originally followed Wang Mingyuan to form a reserve force, and finally made a name for himself a year later in this army, which no one knew what was going on before. With a paper order, Xiong Xun left the reserve force he had fallen in love with, and went to the first battalion of the first standard to replace Feng Lun as the battalion commander, and became the battalion commander of the battalion that was said to be the most elite battalion of the first standard. And Ding Xiaofu, who participated in the first senior class of the battalion military academy, was also transferred to the military academy because of the battalion commander Shi Dashou, and was promoted from company commander to battalion commander.

In terms of qualifications, Xiong Xun is a little older than Ding Xiaofu, but it is about the same. Since the formation of the battalion military academy, the transfer of battalion and company commanders has become the norm. The two battalion commanders took over the battalion at the same time, and Feng Lun concurrently served as the old foundation of the first battalion was Ye Yanbing's old battalion, and Xiong Xun was the commander of one of his companies. And Ding Xiaofu himself is the company commander of Shi Dashouying. So. The two of them knew about their own camp.

Fair.

Long Qian had asked Situ Jun's General Staff Office, who was also the director, about the judgment of the results of the exercise. The General Staff believes that. The exercise, which began as an encounter, should be a battle without a win. Although the process will be intense and tortuous, due to the equal strength of both sides, neither of them will be able to complete the given task, and a stalemate will be formed.

Long Qian did not say anything about this.

Both Ning Shijun and Situ both believed that the purpose of Long Qian's organization of such an exercise was more to observe the resilience of the two battalion-level commanders. The other was to observe the use of the mountain artillery company assigned to him by the two battalion commanders.

Ning Shijun went to the exercise site. Situ did not go.

According to Long Qian's order. Neither Lu Shan nor Zhou Yi came to the exercise site. But both gave death orders to their respective troops. This exercise must be won. Therefore, it was inevitable that the two units advancing in the east-west direction would go to the exercise site deliberately made a mistake by the General Staff Office with the confidence of victory.

Long Qian wanted to test the troops' response in the event of a sudden encounter with the enemy.

The "battle" began at around 10:20 a.m. It's been two and a half hours now. Even under the shade of the willows, Long Qian's back was already wet with sweat. One can imagine the hardships of the exercise troops who have been fighting on the hillside.

Not to mention eating, even water cannot be replenished.

Since it is a drill, you can't use real ammunition. The Mengshan Army purchased rubber bullets from the Germans for the exercises, but due to their high price, the quantity was not large. Before the exercise, 1,500 rounds were fired at each side A and B, and they ran out of ammunition within about 10 minutes of the start of the encounter. So, despite the intensity of the gunfire and the earth-shattering shouting, there was basically no danger. The five referee teams jointly composed of the General Staff Office and the Staff Section of the First and Second Standards were distributed at several major points on the battlefield to adjudicate on the offensive and defensive effects of both sides. One of the groups was not far from Long Qian's location, standing in a conspicuous place, loudly discussing the progress of the exercise.

This kind of unplanned exercise is the most exciting and the least difficult to judge. Although the participating troops will abide by the ruling of the referee team, if they believe that the referee result is unfair, they will file an appeal afterwards, and even have heated arguments or even hold grudges.

Exercises are battles. The victory or defeat of the exercise is linked to the officers at all levels.

Long Qian got up and handed the telescope to the guard, and in his opinion, the exercise was over.

Neither side was apparently aware of the sudden engagement, and both sides were a little flustered at the beginning. Showing a desire to attack, the Xiongxun battalion resolutely launched a fierce attack. Dante's small rich camp sought safety first, trying to occupy the high ground on the left and right and gaining a firm foothold first. This difference in choice led to the passivity of the Ding battalion, which was oppressed by the bear battalion and retreated for more than three miles, and the high ground occupied by the division of troops did not play much role, and was destroyed by the mountain artillery company deployed on the spot by the bear battalion.

Because of the special terrain, this section of the mountain road is curved, and occupying a high ground cannot overlook and control the battlefield, and Ding Ying's desire to control the battlefield is a bit wishful thinking.

The problem with the bear battalion is that it ignores the strength of its opponents and hopes to crush them with a ferocious assault. The initial offensive did pay off, and the two sides were captured by more than forty people. Dante Xiaofu mobilized his rearguard company to seize the high ground with his horn sound, and used heavy machine gun fire to effectively inflict damage on the bear battalion that was attacking on the mountain road, covering the mountain artillery company to set up artillery counterattacks on the mountain road, turning the situation in one fell swoop. A powerful counterattack was immediately launched, crushing the avant-garde company of Party A and gaining a firm foothold, but for some reason, Party B did not continue to attack and win in one fell swoop, but gathered the main hedgehog on two high ground connected to each other, and sent a class-sized reconnaissance team to find out the strength of the other side.

After encountering the opponent's counterattack, Xiong Ying did not stick to it like Ding Ying, but carried four heavy machine guns up the hill. Fire support positions were constructed. Two companies then attacked along the mountain road, while the other two companies adopted the tactics of climbing over the mountains to outflank the rear road. But Ding Ying's intention was quickly determined. After the emergency transfer of troops, the attack of the roundabout detachment of the bear battalion was blocked.

The battle was a stalemate. Rather, it responded to the judgment of the General Staff Office before the exercise.

Long Qian stopped the exercise in time, "Blow the trumpet and stop." Let all the officers above the company commander come over, and the referee team will also come over. Long Qian instructed Ning Shijun.

"Yes."

"Let the troops eat on the spot. Immediately transfer the injured number to the hospital. Long Qian added.

Accidents occur in every exercise, and injuries are almost inevitable. In severe cases, death occurs. According to the military regulations of the Mengshan Army, all officers and men who die in the exercise will be treated as if they died in wartime.

Eleven officers and soldiers were wounded during the nearly three-hour exercise, one of whom was blinded in one eye by a rubber bullet, which is a pity.

There's no way around it. The military is a violent group, and soft training and exercises are certainly not enough. Despite the varying degrees of casualties caused by each exercise, the intensity of the training and maneuvers increased.

The officers of the participating units arrived at Long Qian's observation post an hour later.

"Ask a few questions." Long Qian sat on the ground. But the officers of both battalions stood.

"First, when are you going to judge the strength of your opponent? Xiong Xun, you say it first. ”

"Report to the commander. I knew from the beginning that the other side was also a battalion. The forces are exactly equal. ”

"On what basis?"

"There is no basis. Guess. "Xiong Xun is real," the avant-garde company suddenly began. I realized that the commander would not set up one of my battalions to deal with one of the opposing companies. When the opponent's heavy machine gun fired. It's completely certain. ”

"Ding Xiaofu?"

"I determined it on the basis of reconnaissance. It's just a little certain. Ding Xiaofu hesitated, "Although I heard the other party's cannonball, I wasn't very sure." ”

"Why don't you judge by heavy machine guns?"

"The mobilization of the exercise force by the General Staff Office is not in accordance with the complete structure...... Maybe it's more troops......"

"So you're on the defensive?"

"Yes. Fear that the other person will eat you. Ding Xiaofu honestly admitted.

"Xiong Xun. You know that the other side is equal to you, what is the purpose of your detour? Show me? Prove that you haven't forgotten your scheduled tasks? ”

The attitude suddenly became stern. Xiong Xun was taken aback, "Report to the commander, I divided two companies into a detour and it was not a show, because the opponent launched a counterattack, I think the opponent may have saved up and continued to attack along the main road, so that I may be able to break through the opponent's defenses......"

"As you said, why do you leave two companies on the road? Attack and can't attack? Guarding may not be able to hold it, and it will collapse on both sides! What's more, your deployment puts artillery in useless places, what is it? ”

Xiong Xun lowered his head.

"Ding Xiaofu! If you don't attack, how will the mission be completed? ”

"Commander! I suspect that the opponent has more than one battalion, so I think I must first establish myself invincible......"

"Okay. As for the outcome of this exercise, the chief of staff will go through the procedure, and who performs better will not be determined until all the results of the referee team come out. At present, both sides have failed to complete their tasks, but it is consistent with the prior judgment of the General Staff Office. I would like to ask you three questions, and you should think about it and tell me the answers in writing.

First, where should the task stand? Will measures be taken to make the troops safer and more reliable according to the actual situation, or will they be desperate to complete the mission?

Second, how to view the exercises. Let me say a few more words on this question. No matter how realistic the drill is, there is also an element of cunning. For example, if you see an army in the same uniform as you on the opposite side, you immediately judge that it is an enemy. For what? Because of entering the exercise area, the 'enemy' can appear at any time. But you don't worry about artillery fire, and you don't worry too much about bullets. You know that the cannonballs will not fall on your heads, and the bullets that come from them are rubber, and they will not kill anyone. There will also be people like Xiong Xun, who hear the howling of heavy machine guns and judge that the other party is also a battalion. If it's a real battle, and the other side is wearing our military uniform, do you dare to shoot? Will the opponent make temporary adjustments? Like organizing a temporary formation?

The third is the use of heavy firearms. What the military school teaches you, how to use it in practice. Are you satisfied with the use of the artillery battery in this exercise? If you are not satisfied, how can you use it better? Okay, I'll give you ten days, you can write individually or collectively, but sign your name and send it directly to me. Long Qian ended his speech, "Chief of Staff, if you have any instructions, you can talk about it." ”

The organizer of the exercise is the General Staff Office, and Ning Shijun is the senior boss of the General Staff Office, so he must say this, "Everyone, it will take time to count the specific tactical effects and ineffective casualties." As far as I am concerned, there is basically no winner or loser in the exercise. There are more ingredients in the first standard, and the performance of the second standard is more realistic, but the enterprising spirit is not strong. The commander has already pointed out the existing problems. The biggest problem is those three. The troops need to rest, I see if they will disperse first? Let them sum it up? Ning Shijun looked at Long Qian.

Long Qian seemed to be thinking about something, and finally nodded. (To be continued......)

PS: Just rushed out, there are too many things.