Chapter 719 Recruit Training
After five years of operation, the Haihan Militia's recruit military training system has become relatively mature. As long as the situation requires it and there are sufficient soldiers, it can continuously train new recruits to join the militia in a cycle of 70-100 days. This capability is not only possessed by Sanya, but also by garrisons in various places. It just depends on whether the Military Commission agrees to authorize it.
Most of the time during this training period for recruits is spent on queue training, which mainly includes resting, standing at attention, turning around, walking in unison, goose-stepping, running, standing still, lining up vertically and horizontally, gathering and disbanding, counting, etc. Although it would be very mechanical and boring to implement these training contents repeatedly for dozens of days, this is the training method that is most suitable for the situation of the Haihan Militia. The most basic tactic of the Haihan Militia is the musket formation. Being able to maintain a neat combat formation during war and accurately execute the commander's orders is the main criterion for the military skills of ordinary soldiers. The purpose of queue training is to allow these skills to form conditioned reflexes in the recruits through long-term repetitive training, so that they can complete tactical actions with their body's reactions in dangerous and chaotic situations during wartime.
Of course, queue training also plays a role that cannot be ignored, which is the cultivation of soldiers' discipline and obedience. Even hundreds of years later, the army has long given up on queuing and shooting tactics and practiced skirmishing. However, basic queuing training is still a required course for all armies. The purpose is to make soldiers develop the habit of obeying orders and prohibitions.
Another main content of recruit training is physical training, including 100-meter sprint, frog jump, push-ups, horizontal and parallel bars, cross-country march, etc. The purpose of these training contents is more clear, that is, to lay a good physical foundation for the following tactical training. If the soldiers do not have a strong body, no matter how brilliant the tactics formulated by the command are, it will be difficult to implement them in time of war.
After the first two training contents have been implemented for a period of time, the recruits will begin the real tactical training. Individual combat skills such as shooting, fighting, and blasting will officially appear at this time. During this stage, some talented and outstanding individuals will begin to emerge, and after the completion of recruit training, they will be assigned to more professional special forces such as sniper, artillery, and reconnaissance for further training.
After the entire training period, there will be a corresponding combat skills assessment. At this stage, the chief officers of each unit will also come to the recruit camp to select soldiers. Most of the recruits will then officially join the army and be assigned to each unit.
There is actually no fundamental difference between the Haihan Militia's recruit training methods and the practices of other countries during this period. The difference is that the top management of the Haihan Militia has accumulated hundreds of years of experience, and the training plan formulated is more targeted and implemented. The efficiency and results obtained are also far stronger than those of its contemporary competitors. If we really want to say that what is unique to Haihan, it is actually the ideological and political work that is carried out all the time in the military camp.
At present, the company headquarters level of the Haihan Youth League is equipped with specialized political cadres, and the mandatory requirement for political cadres is that they must be members of the Haihan Youth League. This status symbolizes extremely high loyalty to the Haihan Executive Committee and the Haihan regime. Regardless of whether they are naturalized cadres in the military, government, industry, or commerce, and want to climb up the official career path, the status of the Youth League is to be promoted to When it reaches a certain height, it will definitely be included in the assessment criteria. And these political cadres who are also members of the youth league will apply the various skills they learned in the league cadre school to the recruits. Every day they will call the names in the morning, give lectures in the afternoon, and sum up in the evening. After a few months, they will have a negative impact on the recruits. The subtle influence is also quite significant.
It is precisely because of the auxiliary means of political work that the Haihan Militia's cohesion and loyalty are higher than those of the feudal dynasty army of the same era. Since the establishment of the Haihan Militia, there have been very few cases of rebellion or desertion, and the response to each recruitment has been very enthusiastic. If we compare the Ming Dynasty's garrison and military system on Hainan Island, the situation of the Haihan Militia is enough to put officials at the top and bottom of the Ming Dynasty's Ministry of War to shame.
After answering questions, Roger saw that it was still early and invited these sponsor representatives to the training ground to visit the training situation of the troops stationed on the island. Naturally, the curious representatives would not refuse.
However, the training the recruits received was obviously not very entertaining, and a considerable number of them were even unable to accurately distinguish left from right. Roger held a meeting with sponsor representatives for more than an hour, but the recruits were still learning how to line up in order of height. After watching for a while, the representatives were too embarrassed to focus on these idiots anymore. However, Roger had become accustomed to this and comforted everyone: "You can remember how clumsy they are now, and wait until three months later to see what they look like after being reborn. By then you will know that you are like this." Is it worth the money? ”
Wang Changyue asked: "Chief Luo, can you let us take a look at the training of the militia army so that we can have a comparison?"
Roger pointed to the other end of the playground and said: "The two platoons being trained over there were recruits recruited from Sanya in the first half of this year. They came back with me at the end of last month. You can take a look at their training status."< br>
Under the leadership of Roger, everyone came to watch the training of the two platoons. The two platoons were trained in two places, one of which was the simplest military stance training. The sharp-eyed Wang Changyue quickly discovered a detail. The soldiers were holding a leaf under their palms on both sides of their thighs. He immediately asked Roger for the reason.
"This is to keep them focused and prevent their hands from moving randomly." Roger explained: "As soon as their hands move, the leaves will fall off, and the instructor will be able to notice in time. Whoever's leaves fall off will be Got to be penalized.”
Fan Pingshun asked in confusion: "Standing like this is also training?"
"Yes, this is also troop training." Roger did not explain the purpose of doing this in detail, but answered simply and clearly: "If soldiers who can't even stand still at ordinary times, can we expect them not to be frightened to the ground on the battlefield?"
Although Fan Changshun felt that Roger's answer was a bit unreasonable, he couldn't refute it after thinking about it. The Haihan Vigilante Group obviously wanted to use this to emphasize discipline and obedience, and this simple and crude method seemed to have a good effect. Everyone looked at the incense sticks for a while, but no one loosened their palms and let the leaves fall off. The training content in another area is obviously more interesting to the visitors than this boring standing military posture training. The soldiers here hold a Type 30 flintlock rifle flat in their hands and maintain the shooting posture. The militia's standard cowhide kettle hung on the pipe. Obviously, this posture requires more energy than simply standing. Many people had obvious sweat beads on their hairlines and temples, and some people's arms were shaking slightly.
After waiting for about two or three minutes, the instructor next to them blew a whistle, and the soldiers lowered their gun barrels in relief. Another row of soldiers behind them stood up and made the same action, while the soldiers who had completed the training put the kettles into their hands. And it was hung on the barrel of the newcomer.
Roger didn't need to explain this action. Everyone could see clearly that it was training the soldiers' basic shooting skills. However, there are still knowledgeable people who have questions about this. Portuguese representative Ricardo asked: "Excuse me, Chief Luo, this musket shooting target is not based on accuracy. Why do we need soldiers to conduct such aiming training?"
Roger shook his head and said: "This is not aiming training. This is actually the same as standing in a military posture. We require every soldier to maintain a stable state during combat and only respond to the commander's orders. Let them always Holding the gun is to make them accustomed to taking the next step after hearing the commander's order, and not to shoot in advance rashly, which will affect the combat effect."
The situation Roger mentioned was indeed common in wars of this period. Especially the Ming army, which had been equipped with a large number of muskets, often panicked when dealing with the boar-skin cavalry outside the pass and did not wait for the target to enter the optimal shooting range. They opened fire in advance, causing the musket array to be defeated by the cavalry. The advanced weapons did not bring the victory they deserved. The training method of the Haihan Militia is to eliminate this phenomenon. As long as the commander does not give a signal to fire, the soldiers must maintain the posture of aiming their guns and wait for the target to enter the strike range.
Of course, Roger would not tell Ricardo that with the improvement of steel production capacity and metal processing capabilities, Haihan Military Industry Department is currently trial-producing new rifled rifles in small batches. It is only a matter of time before smoothbore rifles with extremely poor shooting accuracy are withdrawn from the Haihan militia's standard equipment. When new rifles are equipped in the future, the significance of the tactical action of aiming and shooting will no longer be the current "just aim the muzzle." Just follow the direction of the enemy." Arranging for soldiers to practice new aiming skills in advance during training can also effectively shorten the adaptation period after the troops are equipped with new rifles in the future.
However, even with the currently installed muskets, the musketeers obtained by using Haihan's training method will obviously perform more stably on the battlefield than troops who lack relevant training. Ricardo secretly kept this detail in mind, and planned to write it in a report and send it to Macau and Goa after he returned, so that his colleagues could pay attention to this kind of detail when training musketeers in the future.
After watching the training conducted by the Haihan soldiers from these two platoons, several representatives who were originally uneasy about this training plan finally felt relieved. The Haihan Militia's control over details in training is obviously unmatched by other armies they know, and it is self-evident what level of soldiers can be trained with this level of dedication. Even if there is no opportunity to enter the Haihan Military Academy for further study in the future, if the Haihan people can be trained to the level seen in front of them, then it will definitely be enough for their own students to go back and organize a private armed force in the countryside. Of course, it would be better if you could complete the three stages of military training mentioned by Roger. After all, mastering individual combat skills and mastering officer skills are still at different levels.
The grassroots officers who retired from the Haihan Militia for various reasons went to work as managers and instructors in institutions such as Golden Shield, and their salaries were several times higher than those of their colleagues who were ordinary soldiers. This is valuable among those who only have The combat skills only mastered by military officers. And except for partners like the Li family in Guangzhou and the Xu family in Fujian who have deep connections with Haihan, no one else can even think of hiring such veterans with the qualifications of Haihan militia officers even if they spend money.
After a two-day field visit, sponsor representatives expressed satisfaction with the training conditions provided by Roger. Each family also quickly sent messengers to bring letters back to report to their superiors the latest developments on this island in the South China Sea.
Roger believed that the substitute training program he had adopted on Ambona Island, coupled with the island's plantation development plan and the continuous purchase of overseas slaves, would definitely be able to change the situation of this remote island in the past in a relatively short period of time. situation. Even if it cannot become a regional business center like Hong Kong Island, it must at least become a prosperous place in the South China Sea.
Just like the early stages of the development of Black Earth Port, after Haihan took control of Ambuna Island, the executive committee also gave a great preference to the development policy here. Considering that the geographical location, natural resources and surrounding environment of Ambon Island are not as easy to develop as other overseas territories, the Executive Committee has long ago decided that the management agency of Ambon Island will not need to pay taxes to the base camp for the first five years. All fiscal revenue can be used for local development and construction. The various financial investments made by the Executive Committee in the early stage will also be recorded in the name of Haihan Bank in the name of low-interest or even interest-free loans, and the repayments will be slowly started using local fiscal revenue five years later.
Although there are currently not many revenue projects on the island, and the income is not even as good as that of Yinggehai Salt Farm, a place with a single product but stable sales, Roger believes that as time goes by, the island's cash crops will attract more people. Merchant ships come here for trade, and those slave ships that originally only transported slaves will also leave with various local products on their return journey, instead of just collecting the money and leaving like now. In addition to the slaves, they will also Ambrosia's account books left a trade deficit.
In the future, as more merchant ships come and go, and the residents on the island have other livelihoods besides plantations and fishing, it will gradually become less difficult to introduce immigrants. In addition, this place will also become the bridgehead for Haihan's southward expansion in the future, and the steady flow of troops stationed will also inject more vitality into the island's economic system. Although there is no possibility of industrial construction here, Roger believes that as long as the business ideas are correct, agricultural trade can also revitalize this place. He has even written a letter inviting the Ministry of Agriculture to send senior technical personnel to stay here to provide nearby technical support for the development of plantations on the island.
(End of chapter)