Chapter 1760 Show of Force (2)
Haihan's efficient external expansion method has gradually become the target of imitation by many countries in the South China Sea and even the entire East Asia region. However, the problem is that it is difficult for other countries to have armed forces with the same level of combat effectiveness as Haihan, so they want to imitate Haihan through this method. Continuously launching small-scale wars to expand territory is impractical for most countries. For example, Annan has had long-standing territorial conflicts with neighboring Siam, Cambodia, Champa and other countries. Even with the strong reinforcements of Haihan to provide military support, the advantages gained in border wars are still difficult to translate into Victory.
More and more countries are gradually realizing that the military gap between them and Haihan is not just about the number of troops, equipment levels, strategies and tactics, but also combat experience, resource allocation, personnel treatment, logistics supply, comprehensive national strength, etc. Factors that are not visible on the surface will also affect the combat effectiveness of the army, and catching up with the gap with Haihan in these aspects is much more complicated than training the army.
However, these factors are difficult to be directly reflected in the military parade. What the public can see is only the soldiers of the special operations force and the most basic individual equipment. It is unlikely that they can appreciate the true power of the Haihan Army. at. But that doesn't matter. After all, the achievements of the Haihan Army over the years are truly there, and no one will doubt whether their combat effectiveness is adequate. Most of the ordinary people's military knowledge is relatively limited. In addition to watching the excitement at the scene, part of their attention is also focused on gossipy issues such as whether a certain officer is still single.
Those who can really see a little bit of knowledge from the military parade have to be professionals such as military attachés and intelligence personnel from various countries. For example, the rifles carried by these special operations soldiers are significantly different from the rifle models exported by Haihan. The rifle body is shorter and lighter. People who are familiar with the Haihan military can recognize it from their appearance. They are equipped with the legendary advanced rifles that can fire continuously. However, even if you recognize this gun, the complexity of its structural principles cannot be copied just by looking at it, which will only increase your jealousy.
Without such advanced individual weapons with outstanding performance, it is naturally impossible to imitate the tactics of special operations groups, let alone narrow the gap in combat effectiveness. There were inevitably a few sour sighs among the onlookers, but they were completely covered up by the cheers one after another, and they did not attract the attention of others at all.
Another special force that is also famous in the South China Sea is the South China Sea Special Warfare Group, which was formed under the leadership of Roger. It also made great achievements in the Battle of Manila and has been upgraded to the South China Sea Independent Battalion. It can be regarded as a private group. The non-governmental armed forces were upgraded to a regular army with an official establishment. However, because the defense pressure on Star Island was relatively high, a thousand soldiers and horses were borrowed from Annan to serve as a temporary garrison on Star Island. After the war, Roger hurried back to Star Island with his troops and did not rush. After returning to Sanya to participate in the National Day military parade, even the relevant commendation orders will not be sent to Xingdao for presentation until later.
Of course, Roger doesn't care too much about these red tape procedures. Compared with the awards on paper, he cares more about whether the Executive Committee can give Xingdao greater autonomy in military and trade, and whether the Ministry of National Defense can Whether to relax the upper limit of the military budget of the Star Island garrison and issue more new weapons and equipment to enhance the combat capabilities of the independent battalion. As for articles about military parades, which are mainly for outsiders to read, Roger is no more interested than Takahashi Minami. However, Takahashi Minami's troops have no mission for the time being, and there is no way to evade being arranged by the Ministry of National Defense to participate in this military parade.
Following the special operations group was the only naval unit to participate in the land parade, the Marine Corps, which was personally commanded by Tom Wang. The emergence of this force, in addition to the objective needs of military development, is actually the work of Wang Tom's personal ambition. Of course, this does not refer to political ambitions, but Wang Tom's exploration of naval combat methods. He hopes to enable the navy to have certain amphibious combat capabilities and get rid of over-reliance on the army in small-scale operations in local areas. This will improve the naval combat efficiency.
In order to build momentum for his direct troops, Wang Tom personally led the troops and appeared at the front of the troops on a tall horse. He was also the only senior general to participate in the military parade today. The rider behind him was Wu Sen, the captain of the Black Shark who made great contributions in the Battle of Manila.
In fact, this is not Wusen's first time to participate in a military parade, but being able to attend this event as the aide of the Navy Commander is a great honor for him personally, even as much as receiving a military medal. However, Wu Sen lived in seclusion during this period and had been training sailors at the Victory Port Naval Base. Little did he know that the people had already molded him into a new fighting hero. Some people even called him a star general in both the navy and the army together with Takahashi Minami. official.
Of course, there will be some foreigners who will express some sour opinions regarding such comments. They believe that the most favored naturalized officers in the Haihan Army and the Navy are not Han, which shows that the status of the Han people in the Haihan Kingdom is not the same. It is not as high as the official propaganda, and the senior officials prefer to appoint other ethnic groups as military attachés. However, there is no market for opinions like this in Sanya. After all, Takahashi Minami and Wu Sen have been naturalized and played for Haihan for a relatively long time. This is even more than the vast majority of citizens, so not many people will think that their place of origin is What is the direct relationship between it and the official position? As for the status of the Han people in Haihan, it is not the turn of people from other countries to make irresponsible remarks. After all, the officially designated languages and characters are from the Han people, which can already explain the problem.
However, there is another objective reason why Tom Wang asked Wu Sen to attend the military parade with him today. That is, after the military parade is over, the executive committee will issue a commendation order and military medal to Wu Sen on the spot. Naturally, he must first Went out to wait.
It is also Haihan's practice to publicly award awards to soldiers who have achieved military merit during the National Day military parade. The propaganda department will also cooperate with this event to build momentum and establish the image of a combat hero in the minds of the people. With such an example, the people of Haihan will be more motivated to join the army, and the people will give more support to the country's military actions overseas. Due to the frequent foreign wars in Haihan, there are also many opportunities for promotion in the military. Many young people regard joining the army as a shortcut to get ahead. The number of military recruits has been on the rise in recent years. It is precisely because more and more people are voluntarily surrendering to the army that the Ministry of National Defense dares to relax and approve the upgrade and expansion requirements for overseas garrison troops.
The Ministry of National Defense has made arrangements with several newspapers in advance to launch a series of interviews with military officers after the National Day. All the interviewees will be those who have received awards for their meritorious service. The newspapers will report their heroic deeds in more detail. This kind of subject matter has always been popular among the people. I believe that after this series of interviews are published, it will set off a new round of enthusiasm among Haihan people to join the army. Of course, after official packaging, Wu Sen may no longer be the "reincarnation of the dragon" in the mouth of folk storytellers, but a heroic image endorsed by the official will obviously have more credibility than unreliable folk exaggeration. Wu Sen's personal development in the future can also play a better role in promoting.
The existence of the Marine Corps is not unfamiliar to the people in Haihan. Their combat experience in the Liaodong region has long been conveyed through newspapers. In addition to the style of military uniforms, the individual equipment of this unit is consistent with the characteristics of the army. The battle groups are almost identical, so they will naturally be regarded by the public as elite troops of the same level as the special battle groups - and this is exactly what Wang Tom wants to achieve.
After the Marine Corps came the cavalry battalion, but in fact this organization is just a general term most of the time. In recent years, the territory controlled by Haihan has been expanding, and garrisons in various places have more or less cavalry establishments. The cavalry unit commanded by Harugong is also constantly introducing new things and diverting some personnel and horses to various areas to reduce the pressure on transportation and feeding.
In the previous battle against Manila, although the cavalry battalion also participated, it actually did not play a big role in the early stage. The navy and army infantry mainly played the leading roles. It was not until the Haihan Army captured the city of Manila in the later period that a large number of Spaniards in the city fled to the inland plains north of the Pasig River to escape the war. At this time, Harugong's cavalry began to show its power in the process of chasing down the remaining enemies. But in general, the cavalry played a limited role in the Battle of Manila and was far less important than previous military operations in the north.
However, in the eyes of ordinary people, there is no doubt that the cavalry is a force with considerable visual impact. Even if their results on the battlefield are limited, it will not hinder the people's favor and support for this force.
Of course, not everyone will like Haihan's cavalry unit. For example, it is difficult for foreign military attachés to have a good look when they see this unit. There is no need to fight against the Haihan Cavalry Battalion. Anyone with a little military knowledge can easily imagine how much its strength will be improved when a well-equipped Haihan unit has better mobility. You must know that Haihan's cavalry troops are not only equipped with traditional weapons such as spears, sabers, bows and arrows, but are equipped with new Haihan rifles on a large scale. The musket formation is as lethal as the infantry, plus one person The terrifying maneuverability of two or even three horses would give anyone who encountered them a headache.
For other countries, the only good thing is that the current size of Haihan's cavalry is still limited by the number of horses. The number has always been less than a thousand, and the actual combat strength that can be put into the battlefield at one time is only a few hundred cavalry. On the one hand, this is due to the limited military budget of the cavalry unit, which makes it difficult to expand its establishment. On the other hand, it is also related to the development strategy chosen by Haihan.
Haihan has always used the sea as the main way to expand externally, and rarely gets involved in inland areas. In fact, there is currently no operational need to maintain a large number of cavalry. Even if there are more war horses in the future, the development direction considered by the Ministry of National Defense will not be to expand the cavalry, but to equip army units such as special operations groups with more mounts and pack horses to strengthen their ability during combat. Mobility. As for the Mongolian-style large cavalry unit that Harugong longed for, it was actually not practical in Haihan's national conditions, and he himself knew this very well.
The Ministry of National Defense hopes to use more horses to cavalry the Army, rather than continue to expand specialized cavalry units. The two may seem to have the same purpose, but in fact there are significant differences. The manpower, material and financial resources required to train an excellent cavalry force are no easier than training a navy, and the elimination rate of personnel and horses is also very high. But if it is just to train ordinary soldiers to learn to ride horses, without even requiring them to master the techniques and tactics of fighting on horseback, then things will become much simpler, and this is the goal that the Ministry of National Defense wants to achieve. This is not entirely stingy with the Ministry of National Defense. Under the current conditions, the latter approach can obviously improve the combat effectiveness of the army more quickly and maximize the role of limited resources. This is also Haihan's basic national policy. one.
Harugong is already over 40 years old. Although riding horses into battle is still not a problem, he also understands that although the cavalry unit looks glamorous on the surface, the resources he can obtain from the Ministry of Defense are limited. If he wants to be like other units, Expanding the establishment would only lower the standards of training and equipment and bring them in line with ordinary army units, which was contrary to his original intention of establishing the cavalry unit. Therefore, he chose to compromise, retaining an elite cavalry force and passing on cavalry tactics and tactics; at the same time, he tried to expand the scale of military horse breeding and increase the proportion of cavalry in the army in the way chosen by the Ministry of National Defense. All he can do now is to lay as solid a foundation as possible for Haihan's cavalry unit and military horse breeding system before he withdraws from the front-line troops.
One of Harugong's original purposes for participating in the time travel was to wait for the opportunity to search for the remains of his ancestors in Inner Mongolia, and maybe find several generations of ancestors in his family. However, with Haihan's current development direction, he believes that it will be difficult to achieve his goal. But he still hopes to settle in the north in the future, whether it is Shandong or Liaodong, where it will at least be closer to the prairie that often appears in his dreams.
Of course, he does not regret participating in the crossing operation ten years ago. In the past ten years, he has fought in the north and south, and he has fulfilled his dream that he could not fulfill when he was a cavalryman. However, when a person reaches a certain stage of life, he has to readjust his life goals. For example, now, instead of personally leading troops to fight and conquer all directions, he wants to see a powerful Haihan cavalry.
(End of chapter)