Why did the Eighth Route Army reject the military rank system at this time? What questions would soldiers naturally ask when implementing the military rank system:
"Military rank? What is this? Why do you need this?"
"Just like the stubborn soldiers, call them captain, major, etc."
"What? Then isn't this the same as the stubborn army? Isn't this a class act and special treatment?"
…
When Wang Shuheng came to Wang Xuexin, he said this: "Commander, I haven't understood the use of this military rank for a long time. You want to talk about command. Isn't it good for our division, brigade, regiment, battalion and company to be like this? Our Eighth Route Army is like this
Isn’t it possible for the stubborn army to win the war even if they haven’t held military ranks for so many years? The stubborn army has held military ranks for so many years, which sounds majestic and majestic, and can easily be assigned to this school or that general. Why don’t they let the Japanese beat them to a pulp?”
Wang Shuheng thought he would definitely win this "protest" because "facts speak louder than words" and what he proposed were all facts.
But he didn't expect Wang Xuexin to break his defense with just a few words.
"Comrade Wang Shuheng!" Wang Xuexin casually handed Wang Shuheng a glass of water... The phenomenon of superiors handing water to subordinates is very common in the Eighth Route Army. This is also a manifestation of the Eighth Route Army's emphasis on equality between officers and soldiers. What's more, Wang Xuexin and Wang Shuheng are both regimental commanders.
In principle, the two are equal.
"In the past, we could have no military ranks!" Wang Xuexin continued: "It is indeed okay for division, brigade and regiment commanders to command like this, but have you ever thought that this has a lot to do with our army's commanders and soldiers being familiar with each other? Soldiers
During combat, they know in their hearts who their company commander, platoon leader or even squad leader is, and they know who to take command from, and even after the commander dies, they can immediately find a suitable person to replace him!"
"Then..." Wang Shuheng asked puzzledly: "Why can't the airborne troops do it? Do they have to use military ranks?"
Wang Xuexin smiled and replied: "The airborne troops use planes to drop troops into the enemy's airspace. Do you think you can jump to the ground and stand in the sky? When the wind blows, the troops scatter in pieces, and the soldiers look for them.
It’s normal to find no generals and no soldiers!”
When Wang Xuexin said this, Wang Shuheng understood a little bit, but then he thought about it and felt something was wrong: "Captain, our group only has more than two thousand people, don't worry, we will all become familiar with each other in a few days!"
Wang Xuexin chuckled and replied: "Let's talk about familiarity first. It's okay for more than two thousand people to become familiar with each other over a few days. They train, eat and sleep together every day without looking up. But you can make the army from
Are regimental commander, battalion commander, company commander, platoon commander, and squad leader all listed in order?"
When Wang Xuexin asked Wang Shuheng, he was dumbfounded.
There is no problem remembering the group leader. There is only one group leader for the whole group.
Battalion commanders are also very relaxed, there are only three or five battalion commanders in a regiment.
Company commanders are not a big problem, there are at most twenty company commanders in the entire regiment.
But the problem becomes bigger at the platoon leader level, where there are dozens of platoon leaders.
The monitor will...
Moreover, if you want to determine who is commanding on the battlefield, you should memorize these military positions from big to small, and every soldier must remember them.
If there are personnel changes, such as a commander being promoted, a commander being transferred, demoted, or withdrawn, these must be recorded in a timely manner.
Does this require training or fighting?
Just remember these things every day!
However, Wang Shuheng was still unwilling to give in. He said: "Commander, then we only need to report our respective military ranks, right? I am the platoon leader, his squad leader, and there is a company commander. I listen to the company commander..."
Wang Xuexin explained with a smile: "If a battle breaks out and there are guns and cannons, do you think that everyone is getting together to play pretend, and you still ask each of them about their military positions first?"
When Wang Shuheng thought about it, he thought so. The battle started almost as soon as the airborne troops touched the ground, or even before they even touched the ground.
In this tense state, the soldiers are all busy fighting and may not have time to get together and communicate with each other... And this is not a question of whether there is mutual communication, but a question of timely and continuous communication.
For example, at this time, a group of soldiers were fighting intensely with the enemy. A platoon leader shouted: "I am the platoon leader, comrades, listen to my command!"
Another shout came from the other corner: "I am the company commander, comrades, listen to my command!"
Then every time they meet a group of comrades, even if there are only one or two, the soldiers have to ask about their military positions first... No one can guarantee that one or two of them will have a battalion commander who can command them.
Therefore, when meeting people, they have to compare each other's military positions and then decide who will command.
And there is something called "words without evidence". Who knows if there will be a Japanese advance team from the mainland mixed in among them. If he calls me "I am the battalion commander"... Do all the soldiers have to obey his command?
But it is much simpler to implement the military rank system, and the size of the military rank is clear at a glance.
The problem of the Japs advancing into the mainland still exists, but it is no longer enough to just call them. The Japs must first obtain military uniforms with corresponding military ranks, and also have military certificates and other things to prove their identity. This disguise is obviously more difficult.
Much larger.
Wang Xuexin saw that Wang Shuheng understood the importance of military rank, so he struck while the iron was hot and said: "So, Comrade Wang Shuheng, you should understand how we are going to train next, right?"
"Understood!" Wang Shuheng stood up and replied: "Implement a military rank system and let soldiers learn and become familiar with military ranks!"
Wang Xuexin raised his head and then asked: "What else?"
"And..." Wang Shuheng was confused by Wang Xuexin's question. What else could there be?
But he immediately understood after thinking for a moment, and immediately stood up and said: "Understood, disrupt the organization and carry out various tactical training!"
Wang Xuexin nodded with satisfaction. Wang Shuheng was not slow in responding and was a suitable candidate for the group leader.
What the airborne troops need is reaction speed, otherwise they will be surrounded by the Japanese and be unable to move and fall into a bitter battle.
As for why we need to disrupt organizational training...
Needless to say, one of the differences between airborne troops and other troops is that other troops can maintain their organization and go into battle. Even after fighting a few battles and suffering casualties, they can still maintain their organization, because these troops are led by battalion commanders.
The company commander took the company commander, and the company commander took the platoon commander... one by one took his own soldiers into battle.
The airborne troops are different. They have a chaotic organization when they land. It is almost impossible for the soldiers to find their original squad leaders, platoon leaders, and company commanders and fight under their command.
Therefore, during daily training, soldiers must get used to this: there is no fixed company and platoon leader to direct them to fight. They depend on their military rank. As long as the military rank is higher than theirs, they will unswervingly follow his orders to fight.
Of course, this requires grassroots commanders to have very high command standards and military qualities.