Chapter Thirteen: The First Army Division
Which branch of the army is the strongest? Which branch has fought the most wars and achieved the most outstanding military exploits? Which branch has a strong work style, from the highest general to the lowest soldier, can look down on the world? The answer is naturally the First Division, which belongs to the First Army Group. It is a tiger-like division that developed from the original 150-man security team of the Asia-America Group. From the overthrow of Lu Rongting to the War of Protection of the Nation and the Constitution, this division fought from Guangxi and Yunnan all the way to Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and as far as Xinjiang, experiencing over a thousand large and small battles and campaigns.
Especially in the stability maintenance operations in Xinjiang and other regions, there have been countless achievements, with 10 people awarded first-class merits, second-class merits, and third-class merits. The entire division has collectively received a first-class merit once and has been commended four times... Of course, behind these honors are also painful sacrifices. From the founding of the army to the large-scale reorganization of the land forces, 105 people have made the ultimate sacrifice, 241 people have been disabled due to injuries, and there is no record of the number of wounded in battle. It is the branch with the most casualties in the land forces. However, the honor of being called the "First Tiger" of the land forces will continue to be passed down and carried forward, because they are the strongest in the land forces - they are the First Division!
"We are the First Army Group, what does it mean to be first? Is it because we were the first to complete our formation, or is it because we have the most outstanding military achievements and the strongest combat power?" Tang Renhui was a straightforward man, he didn't like beating around the bush with his brothers who had been through thick and thin with him for over a decade, he liked speaking loudly and clearly.
"Since its establishment on February 25, 1914, until today, October 1, 1927, the First Division has gone through thirteen years and seven months. Thirteen years! We have had 105 people gloriously sacrificed, 241 people retired due to injury, and 2584 people honorably discharged. The battles we fought were more than the number of enemies killed by other troops, the difficulties and setbacks we experienced were more than any other troop, but we did not complain, when tasks came, we did not shirk or retreat, because we are the First Division, we are the bravest and most combat-effective Tiger Troop in the army, and we will also be the pride of the future Chinese Army!"
Tang Renhui had invested too much emotion in the First Division, which he had led to victory. From Guangxi to Xinjiang was not just a few thousand kilometers of straight-line distance; the thirteen years of wind and rain that the First Division had gone through still left a deep impression on him. From being equipped with single-shot rifles and small mountain cannons to being equipped with automatic rifles and series of artillery, becoming the true first strong division of the army... Today, this division has reached another pass, and after crossing it with new equipment, they will become the first fully established armored division of the army, and also the only armored division in the First Army Group.
The first division waiting for the replacement is no longer the one 13 years ago. The ruthless years and the reform of the army have brought too many changes to this unit, with only over 2,000 people retiring honorably in more than 13 years. Most of the initial 10,000+ people have become officers at all levels in other units of the army, some are still studying in military schools. Over the past decade, many people have come and gone, but the combat effectiveness of the first division remains strong and its fighting spirit remains high. This is also why the First Group Army and the General Staff Department firmly support the establishment of the army's first armored division on the basis of the first division.
The army's research on armored forces was established with the support of the Fourth Army, and Deng Laibin was one of the many military commanders who supported the development of group army armor mechanization. Perhaps among them, the Fourth Army was in Guangxi, with the advantage of "near water tower first get moon", but they were the most supportive, happily accepting a batch of technical officers from the Guangxi Army Officer School, and sending a batch of officers to the Kunming Army Academy for training. With the strong support of the General Staff Department and the General Equipment Department, the research and production tasks of armored weapon vehicles were undertaken by the Yamei Special Automobile Company, and two military factories were responsible for the development of weapon systems.
Tanks can develop a family of vehicles, such as tank command vehicles, tractor vehicles and rescue vehicles, which can be developed on the basis of tanks. The difficulty of developing derivative series in the vehicle family will not be great. Armored transport vehicles can evolve into a family of vehicles, such as armored ambulances and armored command vehicles with only 12.7mm heavy machine guns, and infantry fighting vehicles with small-caliber cannons and coaxial machine guns that open fire ports and rear doors. After making some adjustments to the vehicle body, it can be equipped with different types of artillery to become a self-propelled artillery vehicle.
Tanks, tank command vehicles, tank tractors, tank rescue vehicles, armored ambulances, armored transport vehicles, armored combat vehicles, and self-propelled artillery vehicles. The two major vehicle families make up the weapon system of mechanized troops. However, since the Type 22 "Menghu" tank has already been finalized as the main equipment for the experimental unit, and its series of vehicles will soon be developed and enter the verification phase, in order to make the experiment more extensive and scientific, the best approach is to equip all the necessary equipment, from tanks to self-propelled artillery, everything must be complete.
The R&D task of the armored vehicle series is tense and difficult, not because the company lacks technical capabilities, but because there is no basis for reference. When countries around the world have not yet formed a systematic understanding of tank research, the army has already thought about mechanized equipment matching and establishing its own mechanized troops as soon as possible.
There is no reference object to borrow, so we have to take the old road. The only way is to ask Commander Zhang Yu for advice, exercise imagination, and solicit opinions from the troops. Perhaps because it was only used for experimentation, this task did not have too high or harsh technical requirements for vehicles. As long as they could meet the basic requirements, it would be fine. Even the military itself didn't know how to conduct product acceptance, so the autonomy of the Yamei special vehicle was very high, and the development task was completed quickly.
The research codename for the armored series vehicle completed in April 1995 was "Strong Shield". Since it was used for experimental purposes, the military did not give it an official name, but instead gave it a temporary one, adding "95" to the front of the vehicle's purpose. The 95-style armored series all adopted high-strength armor steel plate welding, with turbocharged and intercooled diesel engines, mechanical transmission, torsion bar suspension, five forward gears and one reverse gear in the manual gearbox, and used a uniform power transmission device on the right front, with the driver located on the left side.
According to the army's conception, armored vehicles are indispensable partners for future battlefield and tank troops to fight in coordination. Therefore, at that time, the army thought that all armored series vehicles should have high mobility suitable for various terrains and climates, develop with emphasis on their respective uses, and any vehicle in the series should have good adaptability, that is, even armored ambulances need to be able to fight when necessary, and after some emergency modifications on the battlefield, they can transform into other types of vehicles.
The clever designers well solved the unclear opinions of the military, and after relevant inquiry and inference based on the vague requirements of the military, they believed that all armored vehicles must focus on mobility, protection, sealing, universality and other aspects. With the existing mature automobile manufacturing technology in the autonomous region, under Zhang Yu's intervention, the answer sheet handed over was very satisfactory to the military, although the armored transport vehicle was cancelled under Zhang Yu's intervention.
The armored command vehicle of the Type 22 tracked armored vehicle family, with a combat full weight of 13.8 tons and a crew configuration of two drivers plus six passengers, in the "2+6" mode. Equipped with only one 7.62mm self-defense machine gun, it is for use by future mechanized division-level commanders and staff, and was used experimentally by the commander of the experimental brigade. In addition to the vehicle's own power generation system, a gasoline engine is also equipped to provide power, and three radios are installed, one of which is a spare.
Type 22 120mm self-propelled mortar, combat full weight of 14 tons, crew configuration 2 + 4, the main weapon is a 120mm mortar with an elevation angle of 45° to 80° and a rotation angle of ±14°. There is also a 12.7mm high-low dual-purpose machine gun, with 50 rounds of mortar shells and 560 rounds of machine gun bullets. The 81mm self-propelled mortar vehicle is very similar to this vehicle, except that the main weapon is an 81mm mortar that can rotate 360°, with 70 more rounds of ammunition, and two more people are carried, otherwise it is no different from the 120mm self-propelled mortar.
The Type 22 armored ambulance has a combat weight of 13.8 tons, with a crew configuration of 2+4 when lying down and 2+8 when sitting. It is only equipped with one 7.62mm light machine gun and 300 rounds of ammunition for self-defense. The vehicle will be equipped with emergency medical supplies and equipment, as well as air conditioning, for the purpose of rescuing wounded personnel in mechanized units during wartime.
The Type 22 122mm self-propelled howitzer is different from the previous three, it's a real killer. With a crew of 2+4, equipped with one 122mm howitzer, elevation range from -5° to +70°, traverse angle ±22°, basic ammunition load 40 rounds, no light or heavy machine gun configuration.
The infantry fighting vehicle is an important type in this armored series, especially with the dual capabilities of mobility and protection. This vehicle can be assigned to a simplified infantry squad. The infantry compartment has shooting holes on both sides and at the rear door, each with an observation mirror above it, allowing infantrymen inside to fight.
The Type 22 infantry fighting vehicle has a full weight of 14.7 tons and is classified as a light infantry fighting vehicle. The personnel configuration is 3+8. The single-person turret is equipped with a 25mm machine gun. The elevation range of this machine gun is from -9 degrees to +35 degrees, and it can rotate freely in the horizontal direction. With 400 rounds of ammunition and automatic feeding, it can be called a "super large machine gun" or "battlefield big broom". No one has been hit by the 25mm machine gun yet, but the army believes that such a "large-scale lethal weapon" will have its day to be used.
The 25mm autocannon is the army's latest attempt, although the 12.7mm heavy machine gun has good performance when using corresponding ammunition, its small caliber problem is more serious, and the 20mm autocannon is not bad but still lacks a big killer, especially The naval side also reflected that the 20mm-caliber anti-aircraft gun had limited capabilities, so the General Equipment Department took the lead in developing the 25mm autocannon to meet the demand for more intense firepower. It can fire armor-piercing shells, armor-piercing incendiary shells, and fragmentation explosive shells, with a high firing rate of 600 rounds per minute, a range of over 2,000 meters, and a penetration thickness of over 400 millimeters. This is an uncompromising big killer. Such a powerful thing can only be equipped to the trial troops for experimentation, and the first one to be installed was the infantry fighting vehicle.
Compared with the assault infantry fighting vehicles, the armored recovery vehicle is more specialized. The focus of the vehicle is its rapid rescue capability on the battlefield, so the Type 22 armored recovery vehicle is only equipped with a single 12.7mm caliber high/low dual-purpose heavy machine gun, with a crew configuration of 1+5, and is equipped with a one-ton hydraulic crane, generator, electric welder, cutter, a set of wrenches and hydraulic pliers and other small tools.
All models in this armored series are the same in many ways, from large engines and armor types to small batteries and smoke launchers. The concept of generalization and practicality has been taken to an extreme. Of course, because they all have different uses, their weapon equipment and vehicle construction are also different. They are the same in terms of maximum highway speed of 60 kilometers per hour and a range of 500 kilometers with a fuel capacity of 450 liters, but their off-road capabilities are quite different. The armored rescue vehicle and repair vehicle cannot be compared to the infantry fighting vehicle.
Such a big fuss to build an armored experimental brigade, the purpose is to test the feasibility and pros and cons of building armored forces. In terms of configuration, this brigade will not be fully equipped at once, so AM General Corporation came up with two barely passable armored vehicle series, and after spending a lot of time, they finally created a fully armored tracked luxury experimental brigade.
The armored experimental brigade has two armored regiments, a mechanized infantry regiment (hereinafter referred to as the mechanized infantry regiment if not necessary) and an artillery regiment. This is also the best configuration arrangement that can be made according to the purpose of the experiment and the army's own understanding of armor.
Armored regiment, with 3 tank companies and 1 support company; Mechanized infantry regiment, with 3 mechanized infantry companies and 1 support company; Artillery regiment with four companies, three 122mm self-propelled howitzer companies and one support company. The support companies are all similar, equipped with armored recovery vehicles, ambulances, etc., to provide support for their parent units.
Tank company has three platoons, each with four tanks plus two from the battalion, totaling 14 tanks and 42 people in a tank company. Mechanized infantry company has four platoons, three mechanized infantry platoons and one firepower platoon. Each mechanized infantry platoon has four infantry fighting vehicles, while the firepower platoon of the mechanized infantry company has three 122mm self-propelled howitzers and one infantry fighting vehicle, plus two infantry fighting vehicles from the battalion, totaling 170 people. The 122mm self-propelled howitzer company is a bit shabby, with six self-propelled howitzers and one command vehicle.
In total, as a basic tactical unit, the armored experimental regiment has six tank companies, three mechanized infantry companies, three self-propelled howitzer companies, and three support and security companies. Not counting the command vehicles and support and security company vehicles, the regiment suddenly had 84 tanks, 45 infantry fighting vehicles, and 21 self-propelled howitzers. If we calculate these vehicles with their attached weapons, with one tank equivalent to an infantry platoon, then this experimental regiment is already more powerful than two infantry divisions. Moreover, with 84 tanks and 45 infantry fighting vehicles launching a charge under the fire cover of the self-propelled howitzer cars, the momentum and deterrent force are far stronger than that of two infantry divisions!
The Logistics Equipment Department and the technical personnel of the Yatong Special Vehicle Organization conducted a six-month rapid test on the two major vehicle series, and after all design indicators were qualified, the two series of vehicles were officially finalized for small-scale production. In February 1925, the Fourth Army Armored Experimental Regiment formally accepted its equipment, and after nearly two months of theoretical review and practical operation, on April 7, 1925, a live-fire exercise was conducted at a training ground in Hezhou under the Fourth Group Army. This exercise focused on the training results and level of company-level units, and more importantly, it aimed to identify shortcomings through a large-scale drill.
At this time, Tang Renhui from the First Army Group came to "watch the war". The result of watching the war was that soon after, a batch of elite soldiers from the First Army Group traveled thousands of kilometers to participate in training at the Kunming Military Academy and Liuzhou Officer School. At this time, Deng Laben of the Fourth Army felt something was wrong, but he didn't say anything because he still believed in the saying "near water tower first gets the moon".
The experimental team has been practicing various tactics, testing the results of research on armored forces at the Army Academy. In October, the first batch of officers and soldiers who completed six months of short-term training joined the experimental team, which had already formed a well-structured combat force. The Blue Army, also known as the 5th Infantry Division of the 4th Group Army, was no longer able to withstand the experimental team's attacks in several exercises. After the officers and soldiers from the 1st Group Army joined, more equipment was added, and the team had already expanded to the scale of an armored brigade, but still maintained its original size. However, Deng Lai Ben clearly understood that the General Staff Department intended to let the 1st and 4th Group Armies compete with each other to determine which unit would establish the army's first armored division, and ultimately decide who would become the first heavy group army in the army.
"In the face of reality, our imagination is more developed, and the consequences are even more unbearable!" Deng Laben believed a phrase that Zhang Yu often said, because the development of things was indeed beyond his expectations. This shows that his imagination was too developed, and the result was naturally unbearable. The First Army, which suddenly appeared halfway, not only picked up one treasure after another.
The Army Academy has been studying armored warfare strategies and tactics for many years, and these experiences can be shared by anyone. However, the Experimental Brigade was formed after the Fourth Group Army's hard work, but the result is that the First Group Army inserted a stick and established their own experimental brigade in just over eight months, from theoretical learning to formation. The Army's first armored experimental brigade was established in February 1926. Deng Laben had a belly full of grievances with no one to tell, because the General Staff Department gave a simple reason - "If the infantry can't withstand the armored experimental brigade's attack, then build another experimental brigade to fight against each other and practice to bring out the true level." So Deng Laben was very supportive of this reason in his heart, although he had countless grievances. Of course, he also looked forward to directly confronting the First Group Army and seeing who would be the pride of the army.
The fourth experimental division of the same training has been in opposition for more than a year. In the first month, the First Army Corps naturally lost more and won less. The General Staff's small abacus was satisfied because the two experimental divisions were placed in the same training ground, although they were stationed in different places but often had to face each other. Putting two tigers in one mountain benefited the General Staff, while the two old tigers also discovered their opponent's shortcomings through continuous opposition and found their own disadvantages through their losses. They all continued to improve and grow continuously.
The final result of the two tigers' desire to fight will have a clear outcome, that is, in the autumn report performance in November 26, in front of many heavyweight spectators such as Zhang Yu, Commander-in-Chief of the People's Army, Zhuang Jiaming, Chief of Staff, and the Marine Corps Observation Team, the two old tigers ended up with a draw. In theoretical manipulation and individual extraction assessment, the experimental team of the Fourth Army was the most experienced and gained a slight advantage, thus winning the championship in the confrontation match. This time, the title of the more skilled tiger fell on the head of the Fourth Group Army Experimental Team, but the First Group Army also performed well, especially on the day of the confrontation match, it was their eleventh month since they were formed into a team, while their opponents had already been in service for twenty-one months as "veterans". For them, being able to win a draw in the armored confrontation battle was already very remarkable.
The results of the exercise were very satisfactory, and it was not until then that the General Staff revealed their true intentions. The Chief of the General Staff, Zhuang Jiaming, who had once eaten with Tang Renhui and Deng Laben, really played a trick on his two old comrades this time. The performance of the two experimental divisions was very good, but in the end, it was the Amet Special Vehicle Company that received the award for completing the development task in a short period of time and having excellent vehicle performance, which can be considered as the first generation of armored forces of the army, provided that there are some improvements in details. As for the two group armies, the feedback was very simple: both armies could establish their own armored forces.
The First Army Group is an important force in the northwest, and it is a fully manned first-class combat unit. The Fourth Army Group, although the smallest in scale among the four major army groups, is stationed within Guangxi Province. When the Guangzhou Military Government changed to a new leader, the role of this army group became even more prominent.
But the problem is also that if the Fourth Army Group forms an armored division, it will inevitably affect the army's ability to solve domestic conventional wars in the future. Once a war breaks out, it will be the first to advance and guard areas such as Guangzhou, which means that neither the General Staff nor Zhang Yu wants to expose the People's Army's strength too early.
The troops that went to occupy and garrison the two lakes were all standard infantry divisions. When participating in the strong demolition of the rental boundary, they showed off their automatic rifles and Hummer cars, which didn't count for much in the eyes of the powerful countries. However, if a armored unit was sent to rumble over, or if the air force's planes were flown over to take a stroll, this would not conform to the current development strategy of the People's Autonomous Government and the military. Therefore, the benefits of building the first armored division were given to the First Group Army, which is located in the northwest region, where the land is vast and the population is sparse, making it less likely to expose its strength. The Fourth Group Army received compensation, including being allowed to prioritize selecting soldiers for its new recruits in 26 years to complete its full-strength construction, and a greater benefit was allowing it to retain the armored experimental brigade and establish a mechanized infantry division.
Two brigades want to complete their dreams, but they must still lack a suitable artillery for the artillery regiment. Previously, the 122mm howitzer was used as the main force of the artillery battalion in the armored experimental brigade, and it would be inappropriate to let it serve as the main force of the division-level artillery regiment again. The Ametek automobile company quickly came up with a plan for the 155mm self-propelled howitzer, and at that time, an artillery regiment could be equipped with three 155mm self-propelled howitzer battalions. The last hurdle on the road to building an armored army was cleared, and the bumpy road suddenly became smooth.
On the side of the First Army Group, they took the first division as the object of reform and built the army's first armored division based on the Armored Experimental Brigade. The division will have two armored brigades, one mechanized infantry brigade, and one artillery brigade. This division will be a major fist for the army, and the General Staff has placed it in the second-line area of northwest Gansu. Apart from the fact that this division still needs a long time to complete its combat transformation and upgrading, more consideration is given to hiding the army's sharp edge, and it will not be easily brought out until the critical moment. Once the armor roars, it must be the strong dialogue between the army and the enemy.
On the side of the Fourth Army Group, in addition to completing the task of filling up the army with a large number of excellent soldiers obtained in the 26th recruitment, they supplemented the originally short-handed Fourth Division with one regiment and established a new motorized infantry division, namely the Eleventh Army. Based on the armored experimental regiment and taking the Fifth Division as the reform object, they built the first mechanized infantry division of the army, which would have an armored regiment, two mechanized infantry regiments, and an artillery regiment at that time.
Two major army groups were training troops with their own armored experimental teams while also sending a number of officers and soldiers to Kunming and Liuzhou for study. At that time, they did not have equipment, but inherited many assets and talents from the former Asia Motors Group, making Asia Special Vehicle Company's scale and strength very large. During the European war period, orders for tens of thousands of trucks did not overwhelm Asia Motors Group, but the technical requirements and processing difficulties for tanks and armored vehicles were different from those of trucks. They also had a research and production task for 155mm self-propelled howitzers on their shoulders. Seeking help from Asia Motors Group, Asia Bus, and Asia Heavy Truck, the autonomous region's huge industrial manufacturing capabilities were immediately demonstrated. In August 1927, all production tasks were completed, and the self-propelled howitzer developed was recognized by the military.
After the technical inspection by both the military and enterprise sides, the Fourth Group Army of "near water tower" quickly got their equipment and completed the construction of the mechanized division. However, the First Group Army in the northwest had some trouble. The transportation task of the Sichuan-Shaanxi railway was extremely busy due to the construction of the Great Northwest, and the military did not want to easily interfere with the arrangements of the railway department. Therefore, it wasn't until the end of September that the first division got their equipment. After a week of equipment inspection, AM General completed the delivery, and the First Division officially set out on its journey to become the First Armored Division of the Army.
"No matter when, no matter where, our First Division has always been the ace, always been the vanguard, and always been the first in the army!" Tang Renhui was already the commander of the First Army Group, and it couldn't be said that he didn't care about the other troops in the group. He attached great importance to the coordinated development of the group army, but there was indeed a vague feeling in his heart that only the First Division could give him - a "I must be the first in the world" feeling, because that feeling belonged only to the First Division of the Army...
"There is a spirit in the First Division, that is, the Chinese Army is absolutely the world's first, especially the First Division of the Army, just as they say, it was, it is, and it will be in the future, because they are the First Division of the Army!" Before leaving, Tang Renhui gazed at the high-standing flagpole of the First Division, where the red-bottomed yellow-character "First Division" banner was fluttering in the wind!!
