This is the advantage of a country with a large population. It can easily concentrate its superior forces and "kill a chicken with a bull's knives".:3w.
Of course, fighting such a battle may feel overwhelming.
But war is never fair. Just like the "asymmetric war" I mentioned before, this is actually an asymmetric war. The asymmetry of our army against Vietnam is in terms of military strength and firepower.
Asymmetry, what we have to do is to maximize the advantages brought by this asymmetry. Only in this way can we achieve the goal of achieving the maximum results at the minimum cost.
"When the time comes..." Commander Jiang said, "I will ask the Fourth Artillery Division to cooperate with your actions, no problem!"
"No problem!" I replied.
Just kidding, an artillery division plus our artillery battalion, as well as artillery sighting radar, is far superior to the Vietnamese army's artillery force in terms of quantity and quality, so why would there be any problems?
"The difficult part is the Vietnamese army's firepower points, bunkers, and tunnel fortifications!" I continued: "The open firepower points and open forts can be easily solved, as long as you point out the detailed locations for us, plus the coordination of artillery observers, artillery sighting radars, and artillery.
, then it’s just a matter of how many shells there are.”
"Well!" Commander Jiang handed me a map casually: "On it are the firepower points and other fortifications of the Vietnamese army that our army has discovered."
"The difficult part is the hidden firepower points and bunkers that have not been discovered!" I took the map and glanced at it, then said: "This part is very concealed, and the Vietnamese will usually hide them very well. And these
The firepower points need to be resolved immediately in a short period of time, otherwise the attacking troops may suffer heavy casualties. And to take a step back, even if we can obtain the locations of these bunkers and hidden firepower points in time, it will be difficult for the artillery to provide effective firepower.
!”
The reason for this is very simple. The distance between the enemy and us is too close. Who knows whether one's own troops will be accidentally injured by this blast of artillery.
Therefore, at this time, it is difficult for the artillery sighting radar to play its role.
Of course Commander Jiang knew this, so he nodded and said, "What you said is correct, but...if your combined battalion fights this battle, can you do it?"
I nodded without thinking: "In some cases, yes!"
The reason is that the training method of the combined battalion is different from that of other troops. As mentioned before, the infantry of the combined battalion is more like an auxiliary arm of the artillery. That is to say, their tasks are mostly reconnaissance, discovering targets, and reporting targets to
Artillery. Then solve the problem.
Mr. Jiang just smiled and then stopped talking.
So I quickly understood what Mr. Jiang meant.
"Did the division commander say..." I asked with some hesitation: "Did the 40th Division also adopt new tactical training?"
"This can be said to be an attempt on our part!" Commander Jiang smiled at me: "That is to say, we are trying out the tactics you proposed to see if it can exert different combat effectiveness in actual combat!
"
"Oh!" I couldn't help but nodded after hearing this. This once again verified my previous idea, that is, our army needs to fight a war to test whether the reforms of our army during this period are correct. But what I didn't expect was that,
What I encountered in actual combat was the reform method I proposed.
But when I think about it, I feel that this is not surprising at all. You must know that our combined battalion has always been a model camp for the reform of the entire army, and the training methods of the combined battalion are all based on my ideas... In fact, it is also
It's not my idea, it's just my historical experience.
Therefore, it is natural that you will encounter your own tactics and methods in actual combat.
But this still surprised me because I didn't expect that my tactical reform method would become a reality on the battlefield.
"So..." Commander Jiang finally concluded: "If we divide this battle into three steps. The first is to suppress the Vietnamese artillery, the second is to destroy the obstacles at the front of the position to clear the way for the infantry to advance, and the third is to
Infantry and artillery worked closely together to launch an attack on Laoshan.
Of course, there may be some surprises, because not all situations are suitable for infantry and artillery to work together to solve problems. Infantry will also adopt traditional offensive methods when necessary, but the ultimate goal is clear, which is to give full play to artillery.
I will try to win Laoshan at the minimum cost and fight a clean and beautiful battle. Is there any problem?"
"No problem!" I replied: "But I need to learn more about infantry training and try to coordinate with the infantry!"
This is of course necessary. Although I know from Commander Jiang that the infantry of the 40th Division have undergone enhanced training in infantry and artillery coordination, I have only heard about it. If I don’t know it personally, I will not know for sure.
On the other hand, unexpected problems may arise during command.
Of course, Commander Jiang knew this very well, so he agreed without thinking: "If you need anything, just ask Staff Officer Wei. I am very confident in your ability, and I also have confidence in the Forty Division. I believe he can achieve what he has achieved."
Your request."
Commander Jiang was right. After returning to the base, I quickly requested several infantry and artillery coordination drills. Of course, this drill was a small-scale drill, that is, our artillery was under the command of the infantry of the 40th Division.
Launching an attack on a hypothetical target on the front line, the result was completely beyond my expectation. Most of the infantry were able to successfully guide the artillery fire into the required designated area...
On the surface, this seems like nothing, and it is not difficult to do. After all, there will always be a few soldiers in a company of infantry who are educated and good at calculations. Let them work hard and specialize in the observation and calculation of coordinates.
, then there will always be gains over time, and this is what the Forty Division did.
However, you must know that during the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam in 1979, not even the company commanders in our army could understand maps. Some cadres even pointed at the artillerymen who asked for coordinates when requesting artillery support.
Shouted: "I know the coordinates of a ball, can't you just hit it in the direction of the sun?"
So this kind of progress can almost be said to have made earth-shaking changes.
And more importantly, I think it is not only more effective coordination between infantry and artillery, but also a change in tactical thinking, that is, from the one-sided view of not being afraid of sacrifices in the past, holding weapons and moving forward.
Rushing has transformed into taking full advantage of artillery fire.
Of course, all this is only on the surface. Whether it is a mule or a horse, we still have to put it on the battlefield to draw a conclusion. (To be continued...)