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  • To Ray, request for eval, Chinese training

    Sir,

    Dylan at the CDF posted the following articles

    To start the ball rolling, here is a 3 Dec article on CTTB from JFJB. Please note it is governed by rules concerning FAIR USE>

    On the vast Horqin plain is a modern training base capable of directing exercises, monitoring troops deployment, simulating battles, carrying out auxiliary assessment, and operating other advanced functions. In recent years, mechanized and motorized infantry units have successively staged spectacular war games in the base.

    After observing a soul-stirring combat drill between the opposing Red Team and Blue Team, the author keenly felt that command communications, which serves as the "nerve" system in the battleground, is playing an increasingly important role in spurting the development of combined tactical maneuvers in a modern battleground setting and enabling military units to truly acquire a modern war tempo in military maneuvers.

    Modern wars have expanded multi-dimensionally into land, sea, air, outer-space, electronics, and cyberspace. The multi-dimensional battlegrounds have gradually merged into one organic whole and formed a seamless chain, with command communications becoming the lifeline in this battleground chain.

    The Tentacles of Communications Extending To the "Multi-Dimensional Battleground"

    (Observations from the maneuver) A maneuver conducted under hi-tech conditions began in late autumn... [ellipsis as published] As soon as a certain motorized brigade entered the pre-designated area, the base department directing the maneuver immediately notified the brigade through the network telecommunications system of the time an enemy reconnaissance satellite would fly over the area. Immediately after that, the air unit of the base's Blue Team carried out a "precision attack" on the brigade, causing severe damages to dozens of the brigade's tanks. This unanticipated "sneak attack" "befuddled" the brigade commander. After assessing the situation, the Red Team regrouped for battle and began to continue its advance toward the destination. The Red Team, however, unknowingly entered the Blue Team's heat-sensing reconnaissance zone, and this promptly attracted the attention the Blue Team's tactical air unit and armed helicopters, which launched ferocious air attacks. Again, the Red Team suffered casualties. Having been attacked on two occasions even before confronting the Blue Team, the Red Team adopted measures to speed up its forward movement. However, it again encountered strong radio wave interference from the Blue Team. It managed to barely maintain communications by altering the telecommunications mode.

    The Red Team was losing ground in the subsequent fierce air and ground battles... [ellipsis as published]

    [Commander's reflections] The maneuver was conducted in the air and on the ground around the clock. Engagement occurred from a direction you least expected. It was truly impossible to have an effective defense. After the completion of the maneuver, we spent a week reviewing it. We broke out in a cold sweat, but we realized a simple truth: A modern war is all-dimensional, and every target is subject to attack, which can come from any direction. Highly efficient and fast command communications is vitally important in maneuvers and has a decisive impact on the outcome of war for either side.

    [Off-Screen comments] A modern war is a war aiming at seizing supremacy in all dimensions where the distinctions between the front and the rear are blurred and developments on the battleground are full of uncertainties. To this end, the tentacles of command communications must stretch out to reach multi-dimensional battlegrounds of land, sea, air, outer space, electronics, and cyberspace. In recent years, revolving around this goal, a number of the military units in the Shenyang MR organized personnel to carry out research in command and control, intelligence and reconnaissance, early warning and detection, telecommunications, electronic confrontation, and all kinds of information support. More than 20 systems have been developed, which enable commanders to have complete command and control over the entire course of confrontations under information-based conditions and to achieve total linkup between the three armed services and various systems.

    The modern battleground will become more and more "transparent." More often than not the opposing sides are competing to make the battleground more "transparent" to their side. Transparency is the precondition to precision attacks.

    Reconnaissance and Monitoring Moving Toward "Real-Time Transparency"

    (Observations from the maneuver) As soon as a certain mechanized division moved out of the camps after receiving order to conduct the maneuver, the hall where the exercise was directed, which was several thousand kilometers away from the maneuver, immediately started the long-range satellite positioning and monitoring system to carry out visual monitoring on the division during the entire movement process. The division personnel's every movement -- from the scene of getting on the vehicle, boarding the train and airplane, choosing the route after getting off the train, climbing the mountain, and crossing the river, to the scene of marching, fighting, having meals, camping, taking shelters, making contact, administering affairs, providing supplies, making repairs, and providing rescues -- was displayed on the electronic screen in real time inside the hall. The combat postures of both the Red Team and the Blue Team came into view on 16 monitors. The commanders' facial expression, the sound of bomb explosion, and the thunders of the airplane were seen and heard as if they happened nearby. The scene of the battleground -- the sound, the lightning, and the smoke -- were animatedly and clearly transmitted from every place and in different angles to the exercise directing hall. The general director of the exercise directed one attack after another against the opposing sides, and with the director's command, complicated, dangerous, irreversible situations appeared one after another in the battleground. The battleground visual monitoring and telecommunications systems made it possible to monitor the development thousands of kilometers away as if they were close at hand.

    [Commander's reflections] In the past, when a maneuver unit let its soldiers "graze" [do as they want] in the mountains and plains, the exercise director was oblivious to their movement. This time, when they tried to hide in the forests and mountains in camouflage, they were still being observed and attacked wherever they went. Cadres and soldiers all said they were no longer able to hide, even though they had been trained to do so. They learned afterward from the review that the exercise director was able to "see" them through the aerial visual telecommunications and reconnaissance means and "hear" them by means of computerized telecommunications networking technology... [ellipsis as published] "Transparency" has given us pressure and made our work more difficult. From now on, we must focus on how we are going to fight in a "transparent" battleground and do well in the modern "vanishing act."

    [Off-Screen Comments] The empty-city stratagem (fluffing the enemy by keeping the gates of a weakly defended city open as if a trap were laid for him inside) developed by Zhuge Liang (181-234, statesman and strategist during the period of the Three Kingdoms) no longer works today. The various hi-tech reconnaissance and monitoring tools have equipped the exercise director with a "celestial vision." Modern high and new technology has turned the earth into a "transparent globe." In recent years, in light of the characteristics of the increasingly transparent future hi-tech battleground and the reliance on the target being transparent during precision attacks, a number of units in the theater of operations have used reconnaissance, battleground monitoring, digital soldier, and real-time information distribution systems to rapidly distribute through multiple routes information on the air and sea situation and on the unit's mobile position, as well as meteorological maps and cloud charts in combat zones, forward reconnaissance information, pre-warning intelligence in combat airspace, maritime vessel movements, and pictures taken by unmanned reconnaissance planes. Commanders can directly control airports, towers, sea ports, piers, battlegrounds, and artilleries. They are also capable of issuing commands to frontline companies and sentries guarding the border and the coast. They truly achieve the level where they can contact the three armed services horizontally and control the grass-roots units at the bottom vertically. All this has greatly raised their perception of the battleground and provided a reliable safeguard for winning the war in a modern hi-tech setting.

    Software is the "soul" in the information-age battleground, the infrastructure of the entire combat system, and the key to achieving information supremacy.

    Telecommunications Methods Moving Toward Being "Intelligent"

    (Observations from the maneuver) As the maneuver reached a climax, the exercise directing department issued online command through the network telecommunications and command system formed by 60 computers, which served as the core of the system. On the screen a certain armored division was seen breaking through the ground and air interdiction firepower of the Blue Team. However, as soon as it entered the pre-designated battle launching zone, it encountered the interdiction fire of the Blue Team's artillery, air unit, and helicopters. The Red Team's camp was immediately enveloped in smoke. Yet, misfortunes never come singly. At this tense critical moment, assistant to the exercise director sent to them a dozen or so pieces of information concerning the battle...[ellipsis as published] In the face of these large amount of fragmented data, containing both true and false information and revealing clues of the movement of the hi-tech equipped enemy, the Red Team's division commander immediately instructed his staff to start the computerized decision-making support system. After an intensive analysis and quantified assessment, the division commander quickly sent his assessment of the enemy situation and his new battle plan to the exercise directing department. At the same time, the commander transmitted a computer-drawn battle plan to the exercise directing department ...[ellipsis as published] After reviewing the plan with its accompanied graphics, the exercise directing department quickly sent out its comments through encrypted circuit. With this, a new round of combat unfolded.

    [Commanders' reflections] It was truly a thrill-filled maneuver! A maneuver that normally takes 20 days and nights was completed in five days and nights. The intelligent telecommunications software and other systems brought about increased efficiency, which in turn greatly quickened the tempo of the maneuver and resulted in the maneuver's qualitative leap. As the "clock" of the maneuver accelerated, some of us who were used to the slow pace found ourselves unable to adapt to it, and many problems were also exposed as a result. It appears that many people still hold the "old tickets." They must quickly improve the quality, and in particular they must do more research in the field of "soft destruction" to bring both their "soft" and "hard" skills up-to-the-mark in order to be able to board the "passenger ship" of modern war.

    [Off-Screen Comments] Revolution in military affairs [RMA] in many developed countries begins with software, especially by making the command system "intelligent" and capable of helping commanders handle large amount of information, carry out scientific decision-making, and exercise correct command. In recent years, focusing on the information battleground, some units developed software systems in support of combat command decision-making, weapons automatic control, and border and coast situation notification. These systems are capable of not only acquiring, transmitting, and inquiring about all kinds of battle information but also helping analyze the situation of the enemy as well as our own situation. In addition, they are capable of conducting comprehensive analysis, calculation, and control of information essential to combat command and provide commanders with intelligent decision-making tools, thereby noticeably increasing the timeliness of combat command. Further, they are capable of organically integrating the command chain, data chain, and weapons chain, making it possible for real-time interaction between the information system and the weapons platform. This has improved the precision of weapons during attacks.

    Modern warfare has transformed from one aiming at "destroying the enemy's effective strength" in the past to one aiming at "paralyzing its command system." Thus, making command communications systems capable of defending against attacks and interference and increasing their self-defense and recovering capability has become a key element in winning victory.

    Telecommunications Equipment Elevated To Become "Self-Defensible"

    (Observations from the maneuver) After a whole-day long-range raid, a certain mechanized division entered its campsite and got ready to camp. Then out of the blue, the division command post lost communications with the division and all the radio stations went dead. "Are we encountering electromagnetic interferences?" "Interference even before the maneuver officially starts?" The move taken by the Blue Team's interference detachment from its hiding place dealt a heavy blow to the unruffled Red Team commander at the very first encounter ...[ellipsis as published] After the maneuver officially began at dawn, the Red Team frequently altered its radio frequencies and changed the passwords several times. However, the Red Team did not expect that the Blue Team would employ all kinds of means to carry out interference around-the-clock and, at a critical moment of the battle, use cyberspace hackers to conduct precision strikes to cripple its command apparatus, pushing it to precarious conditions on several occasions. In return, the Red Team did all it can to counter the interference. Instead of passively defending the interference, it took the initiative to counter the interference, adopted evasive tactics against the Blue Team's interference signals, sent out false signals to attract the enemy's attention, promptly restored the operations of the damaged telecommunications equipment, and secretly started new telecommunications devices. The series of measures finally yielded results...[ellipsis as published]

    [Commander's reflections] In the battleground, a commander fears most the interference and destruction of the communications equipment, as it would render the military unit "deaf" and "blind," incapable of making full use of the available resources. In the past, the Red Team was used to the availability of radio stations and walkie-talkies. Now, things had come to a terrible mess as a result of the Blue Team's all-weather, all-altitude electromagnetic interference. Thanks to research in enemy interference and equipment recovery conducted during normal times and increased target-specific training, the maneuver did not suffer a major setback. In view of this, research in this area needs to increase...[ellipsis as published]

    [Off-Screen Comments] As the saying goes, "Electronics must arrive before the troops and tanks move in," and "Expect destruction even before the start of war." The all-weather, all-altitude, and all-timeframe electromagnetic interference has become increasingly intense on the stage of modern war. Raising the anti-interference and self-defense recovering capability of the command communications equipment appears vitally important in the information battleground. In recent years, a number of military units have stepped up efforts to build up the self-defense protection ability of the command communications system under conditions of field operations. They used block structure and module assembly to improve the systems' mobility and flexibility and anti-electromagnetic interference technology to improve the anti-interference capability, and they built "reticulated networks," which cover a wide area, possess fast transmission speed, and have no single control centers, to prevent the systems from being hampered by their geographical locations and enable them to enter the networks at any point, interact with one another, and share information. This way, no single-point destruction will affect the operation of the entire systems, which have also acquired good anti-assault, anti-interference, and field operation survival capabilities enabling them to adapt to the complex and volatile battleground environment. While laying stress on building up the command communications systems' self-defense capability, attention has also been paid to integrating offense with defense, and vigorous efforts have been made to explore computer network investigation techniques and nodes sabotage and information assault techniques and tactics so that the information systems will acquire a basic information combat ability capable of carrying out both "offensive and defensive" operations.
    Glad tidings arrived from the Inner Mongolian plateau the other day -- At a certain large training base for staging joint tactical exercises, a group of People's Liberation Army's [PLA] reserve force units joined the PLA's regular ground and air units in successfully conducting a joint real-soldier exercise, which showed various fresh breakthroughs in the overall fighting capacity of the PLA's reserve forces.

    At the training site, a strong cold winter wind was blowing when reporters suddenly saw a signal flare rising into the sky. Under the fire support of an air unit of the air force and an air unit of the ground force, the officers and men of a Shanxi-based reserve division, just converted into regular servicemen and hiding behind a hill, rapidly dashed out from behind the hill at two sides, charging forward to seize a strategic elevation. They were joined by a motorized brigade on the right. The two forces quickly encircled a "blue" unit on its two sides, which was immediately caught in passivity. This was a scene at a joint training exercise staged by a certain unit of the Beijing Military Region, involving both reserve and regular units.

    At the site of the exercise, several commanding officers who helped organize the exercise told the reporters: Over the last few years, in order to prepare for a military struggle, we have worked hard to reinforce the reserve units' rapid mobilization capacity and fighting capacity under a hi-tech war. We have staged training exercises to study rapid mobilization, including its procedures, content, and measures. Through conducting joint training exercises involving the reserve and regular units, we have explored countermeasures, training methods, and tactics for long-range mobility and tough fighting under complicated terrain, and developed a series of valuable theories and tactics.

    The above training exercise, staged over a period of 25 days, was divided into three stages, including rapid mobilization, long-range motorized mobility, as well as experimental real-soldier confrontation training, with a motorized march covering nearly 1,500 kilometers. In the mobility training, more than 10 reserve units, including infantry, antiaircraft artillery, reconnaissance, engineer, and antichemical units, among others, conducted simulated real-war training centered on various topics, such as "marching, fighting, eating, residing, hiding, controlling, supplying, repairing, and rescuing," among others. Considering problems like low-level training and slow-paced development of fighting capacity that result from the lack of equipment and drill grounds for the reserve units, the reserve units involved in the exercise staged training activities at a large training base, employing the regular units' superior resources, including equipment and qualified personnel, with an eye on bringing about a breakthrough for their training in terms of content and support, among other aspects, and on complying their command organs at the division and regiment levels, including professional and technological training, to those of the regular units at the corresponding levels. They also hoped to usher in joint training, joint support, and joint operations mechanisms for the two forces. Considering a future war mode, and in order to further enhance overall fighting capacity, like their regular counterparts, the reserve units also persistently conducted training for pre-war preparations, long-range mobility, and both offensive and defensive operations by staging "confrontations involving real soldiers and real equipment and operations involving real ammunition and explosives, with training activities geared to the real-war requirements and comprehensively appraised throughout."

    The leaders and experts concerned at the PLA general departments noted: The latest training exercise scored a series of breakthroughs that explored a road and provided an experience for the PLA's reserve forces to conduct training in line with their training programs, stage join training activities, deepen their training reform, and rapidly build up their fighting capacity.
    A combined tactical training base under the Nanjing Military Region successfully organized an exercise the other day, featuring night-time attacks under high-tech conditions. The exercise was carried out by two opposing groups of an armored regiment. As a result, the exercise has realized a gradual upgrading from live training to on-line training and from day-time training to night-time training.

    On the site, we found out that the scene of combat between a "red" unit and a "blue" unit was transmitted through a battlefield monitoring system to the directors' department. The leader of the training base said: the drill focuses on carrying out night-time combat under bad battlefield conditions and in bad timing. The confrontation, which was mainly conducted in a dynamic manner, aimed at improving the ability of the "red army" commander in adapting to changes and in implementing a night-time combat mission. During the drill, they focus on the following topics: how an armored regiment can carry out night-time attack training; what kinds of battlefield environment will a regiment encounter during night-time combat in mountainous areas; and during the night-time operation, what kinds of tasks, actions, organizations, and equipment are involved. The regiment has accomplished leaps from basic night-time training to comprehensive night-time training, from traditional night-time training to night-time training under high-tech conditions. The regiment has fully utilized some high-tech or innovated equipment during the drill. Through this drill, the regiment has tested its overall capability in conducting night-time operations. It has explored ways for a whole division or regiment to conduct night-time training. The regiment has also summed up its experiences in organizing and directing live confrontation drills at night in a training base.
    Recently, a newly established combined-arms tactics training base in frigid mountainous area under Chengdu Military Region used, for the first time, a digitalized guidance and deployment system [dao diao xi tong 1418 6148 4762 4827] to provide a near-real battleground environment and to support a successful combined-arms tactics exercise for anti-airborne (airlanding) operation and logistics support in frigid mountainous area, involving 10,000 troops and 1,000 vehicles. This exercise signaled the completion and commissioning of our Army's first combined-arms tactics training base in frigid mountainous area. From this point on, the "iron fist on the plateau" became equipped with a high-standard, high-quality authorized "whetstone."

    When the construction of this base started, the party committee of the base decided on the aim of building the best training base in frigid mountainous area in the whole Army. They built nearly 100 km of roads and laid over 100 km of optical cables in the frigid mountainous area with an average elevation of 3,000 meters. They built five training grounds capable of supporting combined-arms tactics training across a plateau area of hundreds of square kilometers; imported a batch of advanced training software products; built an indoor training hall capable of simultaneously supporting online exercises involving multiple divisions, brigades, and divisions; and, by using advanced electronics technology, built a guidance and deployment command center capable of conducting real-time training guidance and deployment and displaying more than 10 live pictures of the battleground, as well as a mobile guidance and deployment monitoring system and electronic reconnaissance system.
    According to a Jiefangjun Bao report: In early autumn, several "Blue Army" cyber experts came to "challenge" the command posts of three divisions. After repeated trial of strength and struggles, "Red Army" commanders deeply felt that "it gets more spirited every time you sharpen your combat skills with this kind of rival."

    The New Outline requires that tactical operation be the focus of command post training. After making investigations and analyses, leaders of the Jinan Military Region [JMR] believed that tactical operation skills in confrontational exercise can be improved only by breaking the army units' longstanding training pattern that involved self-conducted training, evaluation, directing and acting. Therefore, thanks to the arrangements and guidance of the military region's departments concerned, a training base of JMR has teamed up with JMR's Army Academy to designate several cyber experts as the "Blue Army" who would draw up multiple sets of meticulous plans and bring them to the army units to engage divisional command posts in tactical confrontational operations. At the scene of tactical operation of an armored division's command post, this reporter saw that the division's automated command system had been networked with the "Blue Army's" command and control system to form a network of command and control, support, and viewable operations as well as a network for displaying battleground scenes. This allowed command and control documents as well as operation results to be drafted on the computer and transmitted over the network. The command and control personnel would input the resolve and disposition of the "Red Army" and the "Blue Army" into the computer's combat simulation system for automatic assessment of the posture and battle losses. This was different from the old pattern whereby confrontations were mainly judged by people, and was more objective and fair. This reporter noted that the computer could generate at most 24 copies of battle situation report in one minute, providing detailed data for both sides to analyze their gains and losses. Meanwhile, the battleground audio materials were compiled into a multimedia courseware, which was used to continuously create momentum in the course of the maneuver, making the command post's indoor operation more warlike and soul-stirring.

    With the "Blue Army" cyber experts coming to the door to make challenges, all parties to the confrontation have benefited. A training base and an army academy have made good use of their talent pool and advanced equipment, and made up for the weaknesses of the army units that lack a high-level confrontational force and an arbiter system. Through confrontations, the army units have effectively and more deeply studied their combat rivals, combat environment, and tactical applications; and further examined and verified the army units' achievements in the study of operation methods. Comrades of JMR's military training departments believed that this method of arranging experts to come to the door for confrontation purpose is a new way to train the command posts strictly according to the New Outline.
    In early August, a mighty ironclad force was rolling through a mountainous area in eastern Guangdong, as an evaluation offensive-defense exercise went underway: The attack group made up of armored, artillery, and other elements responsible for the main offensive launched sneak attacks and forcible assaults alternately and kept the initiative of the battle firmly in their hands. This was a result the effort of a regiment under Guangzhou Military Region to sum up their positive and negative experience of combined training in the past and to organize and create new training methods and operational methods in a scientific way according to the requirements of the new training program.

    In the first half of this year, the percentage of A grades in each subject that this regiment scored in the half-yearly assessment organized by the group army was over 98 percent. However, in a combined exercise organized by the division, the main attack unit made up of the regiment's picked elements suffered one setback after another in their offensive: the combined commanding of different arms was problematic and the new-generation vehicular radio of the armored element was unable to contact the radio of the engineer element, so they missed the best chances for obstacle demolition. The straight A's in the training subjects under separate specialties did not translate into victory in combined exercises. After an in-depth investigation, this regiment established that the requirements regarding individual subjects in specialty-specific training were strict, but combined training was not given enough attention and different specialties were merely bundled together in a simplistic way. The resultant ineffective coordination among different elements and unavailability of logistics support became the main causes of the setbacks in the exercises.

    It was necessary to turn the "tough fingers" into an "iron fist." In accordance with the requirements of the new training program, this regiment combined the tactical training subjects for squads, platoons, and companies level by level and introduced generalized command, modularized grouping, and standardized modules, organized by the regiment and implemented by each battalion. They organized their subordinate infantry, missile, communication, and reconnaissance elements into attack groups and support groups in a scientific way, just like putting up building blocks. In order to free themselves from the confines of the procedurized setup of tactical subjects, they took their units to the combined training base to undergo targeted training by rotation in a variety of subjects, such as reconnaissance, approach, attack, defense, and support, so as to increase the level of difficulty in combined training.
    It was early autumn. At a certain joint tactical training base on a highland beyond the Great Wall, tanks rolled on the ground and warplanes roared in the sky above, forming a three-dimensional firepower network made up of land and air forces. That was a joint divisional and regimental tactical drill conducted by a certain mechanized division of the Beijing Military Region and a certain aviation division of the Beijing air force based on the new outline and future operation missions.

    In joint divisional and regimental tactical training in the past, airplanes were usually substituted by "aviation models" and joint land-air operation training only occurred in battle-level drills organized by theaters of operations. Furthermore, roles were predetermined by the directing department, leaving little room for participating units to bring their capabilities into full play. The new outline stipulates that units should choose drill topics and organize implementation methods according to their operation missions and focusing on integrating different arms and services. The Beijing Military Region therefore convened numerous land-air coordination meetings and formulated unified drill plans for land and air units, which provided the basis for joint operational training between units.

    What is the purpose and the method of conducting joint divisional and regimental tactical operational training? Commanders of a certain mechanized division and a certain aviation division faced a series of practical issues. The two sides adopted the method of visiting each other for on-site study before conducting drills. They studied the performance features of each other's major equipment, conducted classes for each other, and jointly explored and established a set of coordinated mechanisms for joint operational training. In joint planning, the two sides established unified topics according to the characteristics of future operation missions and formulated multiple operation training plans based on conceptualized situations. In joint coordination, the two sides arranged for land and air commanders to design training programs together, undertake missions together, make resolutions for joint operations together, and organize joint operations in coordination. In joint actions, both sides stressed conducting drills on changing the level of preparedness against war, rapid and stealthy assembling, exercising varied long-range mobility, and other operational actions. In joint support, the two sides established multiple dedicated direct lines between land and air forces and a land-air intelligence information network, thereby resolving communications, intelligence, and other support problems in joint land-air operation training.

    In conducting joint confrontation drills using actual troops and equipment, the two units, acting as the "Red Army," show unity and good coordination in drafting operation plans, commanding actions, and providing operational support. Zhao Haibin, commander of the mechanized division, said that by extending to the divisional or regimental and tactical level, joint land-air operational training has effectively raised the overall operational capabilities of military units.
    A fierce confrontational drill started in a certain training center for contractual tactics under the Beijing Military Region in early April. It was the first time for the "Red Army," organized by a certain motorized infantry brigade, to meet a tough rival, which imitated the crafty tactics of foreign militaries tactics and advanced means and launched now and then electronic jamming, surprise attacks on networks, three-dimensional reconnaissance, and remote attacks... [ellipses as published]. So, the well-trained motorized infantry brigade could not be off its guard at all.

    This abnormal "Blue Army" was organized by a certain armored brigade. Over the past two years since it served as a "Blue Army," its troops have fought with two-thirds of the units under the Beijing Military Region. Through over 10 fierce operations, this army has won the title of "devil rival" and turned itself into a "grindstone" for tempering servicemen's combat effectiveness.

    This "Blue Army brigade" enjoys a well-deserved reputation. Reporters noticed when visiting this brigade that the troops appeared similar to the targets that they acted not only in the concept of operations and the application of tactics but also in their attire. Cannons, tanks, armored vehicles, and other weaponry were camouflaged. Officers and men were wearing unique, eye-catching attire and badges, and their self-made high-technology model weapons looked as if they were real. According to foreign militaries' high-technology features and contractual tactical requirements, relevant departments also installed this brigade with aviation, electronics, guidance, cannon, telecommunications, reconnaissance, and other high-technology operational weaponry and talented persons. Zhang Li, commander of the "Blue Army" and commander of this armored brigade, introduced: To vividly and powerfully serve as a "Blue Army," this brigade has collected lots of information about foreign militaries, studied the latest foreign tactical theories, mapped out several dozen sets of operational plans, invited over 10 foreign military researchers to give lectures, and repeatedly conducted indoor Internet-based simulated drills and outdoor confrontations between "red and blue armies." So, this "Blue Army brigade" is capable of imitating different foreign militaries during confrontations.

    Many people took no notice of this "Blue Army brigade" at the time when it first appeared in the training center. A certain motorized infantry brigade that had never been defeated in confrontational drills was the first to fight hand to hand with this "Blue Army." This motorized infantry brigade marched into the training center in a way that it had used to do. After a fight, the motorized infantry brigade found the "Blue Army brigade" performed outstandingly. The motorized infantry brigade was caught unprepared and defeated on the battlefield. Then, the second unit under the motorized infantry brigade conscientiously studied the "Blue Army brigade's" tactics and worked out a detailed plan to deal with the "Blue Army." But, the "Blue Army brigade" suddenly changed its tactics, launched ground and air attacks at the same time with various sorts of high-tech weaponry, and defeated its opponent. Another well-equipped unit made full preparations after conscientiously drawing lessons from the previous two "operations." Soon after the operation started, this unit forced the "Blue Army" to a low-lying area and victory was in sight. All of a sudden, the "Blue Army's" helicopters landed, in a big formation from the sky, amid strong covering fire. The "Blue Army" swiftly broke through the encirclement and surrounded the "Red Army"... [ellipses as published]

    The "Blue Army brigade" won three victories in succession and smashed the traditional confrontational exercise structure in which the "Red Army won and the Blue Army was defeated," thus having stunned and brought unprecedented pressure on the commander of the "Red Army." Some were afraid that they would lose face if they were defeated. So, before the drill started, they asked somebody to plead for mercy and requested that the "Blue Army brigade" be merciful. To this end, Zhang Li, commander of the brigade; and Zhang Ruixiang, political commissar of the brigade, clearly stated, "We are 'grindstones' but not bean curds. We need to resolutely face up to formidable opponents in order to temper ourselves and triumph in future wars." To this end, the troops were always "vicious and merciless" during confrontational drills. Through simulated operations, the "Blue Army brigade" enjoyed more and more respect from its opponents. Many "Red Army" commanders who had fought with this "Blue Army brigade" spoke highly of this brigade's good images and spirits. They stated that they had greatly tempered themselves and learned a lot from fighting with this brigade.

    Reporters found an interesting change from the "Blue Army brigade's" drill records: The "Red Army" experienced more defeats and fewer victories at first in the 10-odd confrontational drills over the past two years. But in the last few operations, the "Blue Army brigade's" defeats outnumbered its victories. Leaders of the "Blue Army brigade" were not worried about but pleased with this change. They said that this indicated that the "Red Army" has enhanced its capability of directing operations. This accorded with their expectations.

    Chief Zhu of staff in a certain training base, who had directed several drills, narrated to reporters the brilliant contest between the Red and Blue Armies: At the first round of the battle, a certain brigade that acted the "Red Army" planned to encircle the "Blue Army" from two directions. No one knew that the network killers of the "Blue Army" issued a false order and sneaked into the left side of the marching "Red Army." After the "Red Army" knew that it had been deceived, the troops on its right side were annihilated. At the second round, the "Blue Army" once again played its "master card" and launched network attacks. A crack special armed unit was dispatched to launch surprise attacks on the "Red Army." But, this special armed unit was unexpectedly outflanked by the "Red Army." The "Red Army," after a defeat, enhanced its network defense, created confusion on the Internet by passing off the fake as the real thing, and successfully cheated the "Blue Army"... [ellipses as published] The "Red Army" summed up experiences, drew lessons, and studied new tactics during the operations. It made new improvement from each operation it had taken part in. "The Blue Army brigade" ceaselessly explored ways to apply foreign military tactics during confrontations and made the drills like real ones. Two "tigers" were fighting on the training center and made the drill reaching its climax... [ellipses as published]

    Editor's Thoughts

    Striving for Breakthroughs in the Course of Reform and Innovation

    "Blue Army units" with good images and spirits, which evolved from "Blue Army commanders" in those days, vividly emerge in all arms and services today. Our military's contractual tactics training is ever increasingly closer to real operations through reforms. It should be said that our military training history in the new age is a history of ceaseless reforms and innovations. Reforms and innovations have given a big push to the modernization of our military and the improvement of our military's high-technology operational capabilities. The world military transformation is developing swiftly and profound changes are taking place in forms of operations. So long as we base ourselves on high starting points to reform and blaze new trails in training and to further make a bigger breakthrough in training the military with science and technology will we be able to be in an invincible position.

  • #2
    CDF's first conclusion is that BLUEAR has no idea what a real NATO force could do or could not do. Next is the incredible lack of recee action with the Planning Dept (ie, the managers/referees of the entire exercise) deciding the exact reconnaisance/survelliance that both BLUEAR and REDAR gets.

    There is a question that has been raised but sorta sidetracked. Would these actions have a chance against the Indian Army? The lack of recee is most troublesome to us trying to understand PLA doctrine.

    A CDF member, Chinawarrior, a 79 vet, and a Capt in the GHQ, stated

    Finally regarding the Sino-India tension in 1987, I can assure you that your claim was totally groundless. There were two isolated shooting incidents buy both sides without casulties to either. The Tibet Military region was placed on 2nd degree alert. The situation developed in the summer of 1986 when the Chinese border patrol noticed in the Xia Cha-yu area buffer zone (where they patrol 3 times a year) that the Indians were building border posts in the areas they had been driven out in the 1962 border war, creating a creeping occupation, the Chinese response was to build our owns posts, pretty soon these posts started to intertwine with each other. During these times, both sides shout to the others side to get out, but nobody moved. Following these developments, both sides started to make military units closer to the border, India reportedly moved 10 battalions there as reinforcements and the PLA moved two regiments plus the only 2 dozens of Black Hawk helicopters there. I was working in the Situation Room of PLA G-2 at the time. The Chinese leadership did considered a war with India. ironically, the civilian leaders wanted the fight, but the PLA decided that PLA could not win a fight in the western sector due to logistic difficulties. At one of the meetings hosted by then prime minister Zhao Ziyang, General Xu Hui-zi, deputy chief of general staff, attended by officials from railway, telecommunication and health minisries and other PLA departemnts, PLA officers indicated that unless they were allowed to open the Eastern sector through Pakistan, PLA would be at a disadvantage. Even with the eastern sector, there would be no guarantee of victory unless the central government was totally prepared for a drwn-out full scale conflict. While all options were being considered, there came the news that the Indian foreign minister was going to visit Beijing to discuss the tense situation. One week later, Indian Foreign misister reached an agreement with his Chinese counterparts that both side would withdraw back to the post 62-war line of control, thus a crisis was avoided.
    This shows that the PLA has acknowledged that the InA is in a superior position and yet, based upon the above, I find it hard to believe that the PLA think that they have the right thinking in this region.

    Would you be so kind as to give your eval?

    Comment


    • #3
      Interesting.

      I wonder if 1962 can be repeated.

      The other scenarios are too far fetched. We all have a long way to go; at least on the ground.


      "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

      I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

      HAKUNA MATATA

      Comment


      • #4
        Sir,

        I do not believe that the tactical situation of 62 could be repeated. The InA would not be caught napping a second time around.

        However, the 62 strategic result is an example of the desired goal of the Chinese War Zone Campaign doctrine. It's goal is to create a political victory out of a military action.

        The 62 War was not a military victory for the PLA. They were overstretched. Their supplies were exhausted. In a very litteral sense, had they not been withdrawn, they would have surrendered.

        However, as we all know how the Chinese turned that war into a propaganda victory.

        It would seemed that this would the desired goal of WZC.

        Comment


        • #5
          Very dispassionately speaking, the Chinese achieved their aim in 62. It was a great political victory.

          The strategic aim to hang on to the Foothills ie to the plains would not have been possible for long since the routes were actually trails and logistics would have collapsed.

          The strategic goals now of the Chinese is limited and pragmatic from the Chinese point of view. That is why they are ready to negotiate about dropping their claims in the East with gains in the West (Western Tibet and Ladhak).

          While it may be carrying coals to Newcastle since you are a Chinese yourself, I always say do not underestimate the Chinese. Their patience and the calm Buddha appearnace can be real deceptive! :) :D No offence meant.

          I personally appreciate the Chinese since they can humble even the greatest of all. All you have to observe is how they have got the US and Russia in their sights!

          They truly give credence to the adage - he who laugh last, laughs the best [loudest].
          Last edited by Ray; 02 Feb 04,, 18:00.


          "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

          I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

          HAKUNA MATATA

          Comment


          • #6
            Sir,

            My thanks for reminding me that the Chinese look at military actions quite differently than we (West) do. They routinely include political, diplomatic, as well as military actions and objective into a single campaign. I readily admit that I get a very strong headache in trying to come to terms with that kind of thinking.

            While it may be carrying coals to Newcastle since you are a Chinese yourself, I always say do not underestimate the Chinese. Their patience and the calm Buddha appearnace can be real deceptive! No offence meant.
            None taken. I rather find it humrous myself since alot of people attribute Chinese calm characteristics to me when I am nothing of the sort. I wish (and so do alot of my sub-ordinates who had been dressed down by me) that I had those qualities.

            All you have to observe is how they have got the US and Russia in their sights!
            A result of a people, Sir. Or the results of one man?

            I wish to use the 1962 War example again. Zhou (Chou) En-Lai was more responsible in weakening InA presence in the disputed zone than 10 PLA battalions. Yet, that kind of magic touch was very noticeably absent in the 79 War against Vietnam.

            Nixon began Sino-American reapproachement in the 1970s and yet, it was not until the mid 80s that China started to play the US card against the USSR under the crafty leadership of Deng Xia Peng. Up until that point, China was like the USSR, spending money galore on defence. It was in the early 80s that DXP cut the defence budget (largely to eliminate waste) and started implicitly relying on US protection, under an understanding that China will fight in WWIII against the USSR regardless of the situation.

            I would also like to pass something onto you, Sir, concerning the PLA. The good Capt, Chinawarrior, relayed to the CDF the compensation the family of a Fallen in the 79 War got. The family would need two Fallen in order to receive enough money to buy an ox.

            Comment


            • #7
              Colonel,

              Hope you got my e mail.


              "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

              I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

              HAKUNA MATATA

              Comment


              • #8
                Sir,

                Yes, Sir, I have received your email and my very, very much appreciated thanks.

                Comment


                • #9
                  was the email related to the discussion?

                  If so, can you send me an email as well?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Blademaster,

                    My computer had crashed and all the data including e mail addresses vanished.

                    I know it must be exasperating for you, but pvt me with your e mail id.

                    Sorry for the inconvenience.


                    "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

                    I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

                    HAKUNA MATATA

                    Comment

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