This is another important difference between airborne troops and ordinary troops: the different quality requirements for commanders.
The quality requirements for commanders in ordinary troops usually only need to be at the company commander level, with at most one or two deputy company commanders as alternate commanders. If this is not possible, it is not a big problem to use the platoon commander to take over.
This is because most ordinary military operations are conducted in company-based units... Even modern operations are more often conducted in company-based units.
If the company is fighting as a unit, then the burden of command falls on the shoulders of the company commander. The company commander needs to be able to stand alone. He must be prepared to lose contact with his superiors and be able to independently analyze the enemy's situation and act accordingly when he is separated from the main force in extreme circumstances.
Make correct judgments and choices and issue combat orders.
The commanders below the company level are also the platoon leader and squad leader. They do not need to stand alone because they only need to execute the orders issued by the company commander.
However, the airborne force's requirements for commanders only reach the company level, which is far from enough.
Because the paratroopers are scattering beans into the enemy-controlled areas, and there are piles here and there. It is very likely that there will be only one squad leader among dozens of soldiers... The probability of having a squad leader is still very high, because there are more than 2,000 soldiers per paratrooper.
There are about two hundred human regiment leaders.
Of course, the situation where there is only one squad leader among dozens of soldiers is more extreme. It is more common for there to be one squad leader among the groups of soldiers.
This requires the quality of commanders to be at the squad leader level, because they often need to be able to stand alone on the battlefield.
And this is very important, and even directly determines whether the entire army can exert its combat effectiveness.
But of course, it is obviously unreasonable to apply one size fits all to all commanders, and there must be a focus.
This is how Wang Xuexin analyzed it with Wang Shuheng:
"The responsibilities of the regiment commander and battalion commander basically remain unchanged. They still command the troops they belong to in combat! The company commander's command is more focused on achieving strategic goals..."
This is different from ordinary troops.
In most cases, first-level commanders of ordinary army companies only complete the tasks assigned by their superiors, such as taking a certain position and holding a certain high ground. They do not need to consider strategic goals.
But when the airborne troops reach the company level, they must consider strategic goals. For example, the goal of this airborne mission is to blow up the enemy's ammunition depot or capture a certain bridge. Then the company commander must know what he can do to better achieve this goal.
It's not about waiting for orders from superiors.
The reason is very simple. A 2,000-man airborne regiment only has about twenty company commanders. These company commanders are more likely to have heavy troops than battalion and regimental commanders.
Just like in the airborne operation of the Eagle Airborne Force against Sicily, the regiment commander spent the entire night searching for only about twenty people to gather around him... Airborne landings are based on probability rather than military rank or rank. Everyone is carrying
When you parachute to the ground, your military rank cannot determine whether you have more comrades around you.
And probability is definitely more likely to fall on a commander with a larger number of people.
There is only one regiment commander, three or five battalion commanders, but there are more than twenty company commanders. Therefore, the troops gathered around the company commander will definitely be more and they are likely to be the main force, that is, the backbone force to complete the mission.
If the company commander does not think about the problem at the level of strategic goals and directs his troops to fight, then the battle will not be fought, or it will be fought in vain.
Wang Shuheng nodded after listening to Wang Xuexin's analysis and said: "The requirements for company commanders are high, almost reaching the level of ordinary army commanders!"
This may sound exaggerated, but it is actually the reality of the Eighth Route Army: the Eighth Route Army is extremely short of commanding talents. Although many independent regiment leaders are leaders, they have not yet reached the level of considering issues from the strategic purpose level. More
All I have to do is complete the tasks assigned by my superiors.
Li Yunlong is a strange person. Without orders from his superiors, he waits for a while to build a cavalry battalion and then attacks a village. It seems that he is doing everything possible to obtain equipment and ammunition, but in fact he is fighting the enemy on his own.
At this time, the company commander of the airborne troops is required to have similar command qualities and be able to spontaneously make decisions that are beneficial to strategic goals, which is quite difficult.
That's why Wang Shuheng frowned. For the first time, he felt that the airborne regiment he led was not simple.
Wang Xuexin continued: "At the platoon level, at least tactical level command is required. Because they must be able to independently lead the troops to fight against the enemy and preserve their strength to move closer to friendly forces!"
Wang Shuheng responded with a heavy face: "This is almost the quality of a company commander!"
Wang Xuexin continued: "In addition to requiring tactical command, the squad leader must focus on understanding the map and finding points. They are the main force in gathering the troops!"
Wang Shuheng understood it completely after hearing this.
Although Wang Xuexin is talking about starting from regiment commander, battalion commander to company and platoon squad leader, in fact the order of combat should be viewed in reverse:
The main task of the squad leader is to gather the troops and bring the scattered soldiers together like a river flowing into the sea to form combat effectiveness.
After the squad leader gathers the troops, there will most likely be a platoon leader. The platoon leader will direct these troops to deal with the enemy forces encountered along the way and move closer to the friendly forces.
After the platoon leader successfully moves closer to the friendly forces, there is a high probability that the company commander will take command. At this time, it is time to consider the coordination of various parts to achieve strategic goals.
As for the regiment commander and battalion commander, if they can be contacted, they will consider the overall situation and command the battle. If they cannot be contacted, the company commanders can complete the task by coordinating with each other...
This is what a qualified airborne force should look like.
"Commander!" Wang Shuheng said thoughtfully: "So, what is more important in establishing an airborne force is the commander's command quality?"
"Of course!" Wang Xuexin nodded happily. The fact that Wang Shuheng said these words proved that he understood.
The quality of the commander determines that the airborne troops are not just infantry who can parachute.
As soon as the infantry who can parachute land on the ground, they will be disorganized and confused, and they will fight independently or even passively, just like the paratroopers hiding in the vegetable field and sleeping... They are actually
Loss of effective command.
Then Wang Xuexin added: "In addition to the quality of the commander, we must also pay attention to the physical fitness and combat quality of the troops, especially the marching speed, because they are likely to need to march quickly to reach the combat target or get closer to friendly forces. In addition, we must also pay attention to air-ground coordination.
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It goes without saying why we should pay attention to air-ground coordination.
At this time, parachute troops often did not have infantry-artillery coordination or infantry-tank coordination... because they had not yet developed to the point where they could airdrop artillery and tanks.
Then they have only one force they can rely on, and that is aviation.