"Yiluan Division?" The Chief of Staff of the Thirteenth Division thought for a moment and asked uncertainly: "Oh, you mean the one who specializes in sabotage?"
"Yes."
The level of confidentiality of Yiluan Division is not low, which is almost the upper limit of what a general at the division and brigade level can know.
Most of the generals did not pay too much attention to the newly-established special operations organization, thinking that it was just a group of guys planning to secretly carry out sabotage - the strategy was cunning and despicable, and it was not an upright battle.
They despise them, but they do not deny the necessity of the existence of this type of people - although what they do has nothing to do with being aboveboard, there are still people who must be sneaky.
"We must pursue and suppress them. If those guys let loose and escape, they will soon be able to gather a group of people again. We must catch them all in one fell swoop."
"Those are all the best soldiers among the best. The fact that they get together to do some sneaky things is really..."
"Indeed, if it is broken up, those elite veterans will be enough to hold up two divisions."
"Is it okay to ask them to do this work?"
The generals present were talking to each other, and there was a lot of discussion.
"... Ke Xing is very knowledgeable about this. Back then, the military sent you to kill the traitors in a hurry, and you discovered your potential in this area." Nie Quan knocked on the table, looked at Zhou Changfeng and said: "Why don't you tell me now?"
The latter stood up again, clasped his fists and said: "Due to the relative confidentiality, many people lack understanding of the special unit of Yiluan Division and often judge it preconceived. This is definitely inappropriate."
"Then let's hear what the famous men in our navy have to say," the military affairs officer at the General Military Department joked with a smile, "I'm all ears."
"To put it bluntly, it's just a personal opinion." Zhou Changfeng cleared his throat, looked around half a circle at the people present, and said:
"The special forces here specifically refer to special operations units. Although they are essentially elite light infantry units, their training, use, and meaning are completely different. In addition to basic training, special forces also need to learn airborne landings. , foreign languages, psychological games, driving various vehicles, more extreme survival abilities in the wild, and various tips for using foreign weapons.”
"Some people may think that the so-called special forces are elite scouts. This is not true. The core difference is also very simple. Scouts and scouts serve for a battle or a campaign, but special forces are different. They serve for a certain purpose. One serves a clear goal.”
"Attention! This 'goal' is also extraordinary. Using elite teams to complete missions with strategic significance and macro-impact, and bringing benefits that are difficult to achieve through conventional military operations. This is the core principle and the difference between special forces and reconnaissance forces key."
"Just give me a random example to give you a rough analogy to give you an intuitive feel. The Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia has to cross many ravines and canyons along the way, so many bridges were built. It is difficult for high-altitude horizontal bombing to hit them, and dive bombers It can’t fly that far.”
"In this case, if an elite team can go deep into the enemy's territory and blow it up, wouldn't it perfectly fit the law I just mentioned? This operation caused the interruption of the large railway, which has strategic significance and is also a conventional military Action can’t do it.”
His words were not difficult to understand, and the generals present were not ordinary people, and they immediately understood the essence of it.
A sharp, sharp hidden weapon can make a big difference with a small thing!
The commander of the Fourth Division couldn't help but clapped his hands and said with emotion: "Well said, this kind of recognition is really bold and can be called far-sighted."
The staff officer of the General Military Department also nodded and said: "Elite men, surprising the enemy, sealing one's throat at the sight of blood, using small things to make a big difference... Not to mention, I think he has a certain charm, which is very wonderful."
"To deal with the stragglers of the Resistance Army who are as hard to catch as loaches, it is indeed appropriate to have such elite soldiers to follow and pursue them." Nie Quan stroked his short beard and suddenly thought of something, "Hey, this seems to be what you said. It doesn’t match the strategic significance.”
Zhou Changfeng immediately replied: "Because it is the highest pursuit after all, it depends on the timing. And good opportunities cannot be encountered often, so sometimes it is not impossible to lower the level and use it as an elite scout, but it cannot be overused. Otherwise it will lose its original meaning.”
The most important thing that special forces need to pay attention to when operating is confidentiality, all in order to surprise the enemy. They often need to fight for a long time without friendly support and supplies. The nature of their operations means that they are unable to carry heavy equipment and only have light weapons on hand.
Because of this, they also rely heavily on pre-provided intelligence. Once the intelligence is wrong, not to mention armored units and infantry units, even second-line garrison units and even militia may severely damage them.
For special forces that penetrate deep into enemy territory, being exposed in advance basically means failure. When faced with an enemy with superior firepower but no friendly support, how can they deal with heavy machine guns and forced assault rifles by relying only on sniper rifles, submachine guns, light machine guns, and rifle grenades? What about artillery and armored vehicles?
Do you want to use your sniper rifle to counter the enemy's heavy machine guns and mortars? When heavy machine guns rain down heavy bullets from six to seven hundred meters away, who can continue to aim calmly? As for mortars with a range of several miles, that is even more impossible.
This has to mention the classic case of "special forces were wiped out by female militiamen using mortars".
Different from the Ming army, Western armies such as Britain, France, Germany, and the United States often use reconnaissance detachments as the forward tentacles of large forces, carrying out relatively high-profile armed reconnaissance or fire reconnaissance missions to find out the enemy's frontier for large forces. deploy.
The Ming army's reconnaissance unit placed more emphasis on concealed and deep penetration, trying to avoid crossfires, infiltrating behind the enemy's front line without anyone noticing, and then quietly retreating after reconnaissance.
Their tactics include: lurking and infiltrating to draw defense maps, capturing lone enemy soldiers to interrogate intelligence, observing targets to guide their own artillery or air strikes, destroying key facilities, etc.
This can be said to be a consistent style inherited from history - the scout units of the ancient Ming Army such as the Night Guard, the Anti-Security Army, and the Sentinel often did this kind of work, going deep into the grasslands, looking for enemy movements, and kidnapping Mongolians. Cross-examination news.
However, due to the single method (only infiltration on foot), limited training (no long-term survival training, etc.), and insufficient equipment (lack of portable communication equipment, etc.), even the Ming army's reconnaissance unit can only perform shallow, near-depth, and deep missions. .
The existence of professional special forces can fill this gap - well-trained special forces can enter depth through airdrops and perform long-range reconnaissance missions.
For example, the LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol) established by the Americans during the Vietnam War was mainly responsible for conducting far-reaching and deep missions.
In view of the regional characteristics of the Pacific War, it is destined not to have a head-on confrontation with large armies like in the European plains. The scale of land battles is generally small, fragmented, and scattered.
Under such conditions, it is a good place for the flexible and elusive special forces to show their strength.
"What do you mean by that sentence? 'Prepare the hunter troops and bring terror to the enemy.'" Zhou Changfeng muttered the instructions given to the Special Air Service Group by a fat prime minister with a cigar in his mouth in history.
There are historical examples such as the British Special Air Service Regiment's raid on the Norwegian Heavy Water Plant, the German Brandenburg Army's Operation Oak to rescue Benito, and many other examples that people can talk about and remember endlessly. Zhou Changfeng is looking forward to the Ming Dynasty's special forces in future wars. Performance.
But before that, they probably have to practice on the Japanese islands.
The next day.
Huzhou Prefecture, on the south bank of Taihu Lake. The sky had just dawned, the water and grass were luxuriant, and a group of wild ducks were slowly shuttled among the reeds.
But as the sound of paddling came, the originally contented ducks were frightened and swam away quickly.
A dozen figures were half-submerged in the water, moving towards the shore.
There was a ball of packages floating in front of each of them - simple floats made by wrapping their luggage in ponchos to assist in swimming.
Even if the water quality is good, having to carry a load of up to 60 kilograms to complete an armed swim of one or two miles away is a test of physical strength.
After finally reaching the shore, they had to be divided into groups for cover. Some people were on guard with guns, and some people quickly put on their gear.
However, just as everyone was about to continue, the roar of motorcycles came from afar.
A two-wheeled light motorcycle speeded down the dirt road and finally stopped in front of everyone. The corporal who came to deliver the order greeted: "It's urgent, call it a day! Go outside and take the car back to the camp!"
call! Can the exhausting and life-saving training be put on hold?
The soldiers almost couldn't hold back their cheers. They packed up casually and left the training area in a big way.
After returning to the temporary training camp, everyone sat on the ground without any fuss, consciously dismantling their weapons and wiping the wet parts.
The gun is the life of a soldier. If it is not carefully maintained, if it malfunctions on the battlefield, you will die.
Later, several officers came slowly, and everyone stood up one after another, standing up straight and waiting for instructions.
The leader, the major, was a tall man with a medium build, neither thin nor fat. Although his complexion was darker, there was a certain gentleness between his eyebrows and his gestures.
As the chief officer of the Yiluan Division, Cai Zhichen attached great importance to his opportunities. He was a student at Taiyuan University with mediocre grades. He felt that he would not have much academic achievements, so he signed up to join the army out of the blue.
It can be said that it was a rare thing for college students to join the army ten years ago. The army regarded such highly educated talents as treasures and sent them directly to the non-commissioned officer short-term training course. After the training, they immediately went to the Yanjing Armed Forces Academy, so it was short-term. In just a few years, Cai Zhichen became an officer.
His thinking is detached, and as the saying goes, he has many clever ideas. When he served as a staff officer in the Hebei Dudu Mansion, he devoted himself to exploring and studying unconventional warfare forms. He wrote many pamphlets and often submitted letters to give advice, but no one appreciated it.
Fortunately, Batavia's action of killing thieves thousands of miles away was particularly impressive, causing quite a shock within the Ming army...
In short, with the help of many parties, the special operations unit with Yiluan Division as a cover-up was officially established, and it became the world's first professional special forces unit.
It can be said that the structure of the Ming Dynasty's special forces was designed by Cai Zhichen, and he is the well-deserved founder; and Zhou Changfeng's role in it, besides adding fuel to the flames, was to introduce new concepts from later generations to improve the existing organizational model.
"...That's it, everyone should be mobilized, so we must leave as soon as possible, be prepared, and set off tomorrow morning."
"yes!"
Even though the officers and soldiers of Yiluan Division are all carefully selected as the best among steel, because outsiders do not understand this "not taking the right path" tactics, the entire Yiluan Division is often questioned by some insiders.
For the arrogant and arrogant warriors, how can this be tolerated for a long time? Now it’s finally time to prove it!
War is a cruel struggle that puts each other to death. As long as it does not violate the minimum moral principles, then all tactics and methods should be feasible.
Only fighting an upright battle? That is a war fairy tale from the Spring and Autumn Period! It should be noted that soldiers are in a treacherous way, the place of life and death, the way of survival.
"Damn, it's really our turn now. To be honest, I'm a little nervous." A famous second lieutenant put his hand on his chest and sighed: "My heart is pounding...I am looking forward to it but also a little timid."
"Some people say they are not afraid but run away, and some people are trembling but refuse to retreat. There are countless such examples." Cai Zhichen, who happened to be passing by, patted his shoulder and said, "Relax and do your duty."
Because they were stationed in Huzhou Prefecture for training, most of the weapons and equipment were fully equipped, and the Yiluan Division could be said to be "dispatched in full force."
After a night of sorting and preparation, a total of 207 people from the headquarters, service team, reconnaissance team, and four combat teams went to the nearby Hangzhou Naval Base and took a flight to Tokyo.
Type 35 semi-automatic rifles, Type 34 submachine guns, Type 36 pistols, Type 20 automatic guns, Type 33 light machine guns... and the K31 straight-pull bolt rifle with a triple optical sight?
The carrying equipment hanging on the body is also quite unique. Some are cut and modified, some are mixed and matched, and some are self-sewn. They look quite messy and do not have the uniform look and feel of ordinary troops.
Zhou Changfeng, who witnessed the Ming Army's special forces with his own eyes, felt that it was particularly novel. Sophisticated weapons were undoubtedly the key to defeating the enemy, and the men carried by these elite men were absolutely rich in things.
When automatic rifles that fire intermediate-power bullets become available in the future, this unit will definitely be the first to try them.
"My Excellency, Cai Zhichen, I have met Commander Zhou."
Although Mr. Zhou was not as old as Cai Zhichen, he was a senior official, let alone an army with a strict hierarchy, so Cai Zhichen bowed his hands in a very standard manner.
Zhou Changfeng, who was smiling, returned the greeting and said, "Although it's not a good idea to ask you to do such hard work for the first time, it is the best choice right now. Just treat it as actual combat training."
"It's an exaggeration. The Resistance Army has a great influence and can cause a lot of trouble. It's important to solve them." Cai Zhichen, who looked calm, said seriously: "We don't care how painful, tiring or dangerous it is, we only care about the significance. "
No matter how painful, tiring or dangerous it is, can it compare to going deep into enemy territory and narrowly escaping death?
(End of chapter)
