Chapter 344: Rage Over Losing 1.5 Million Square Kilometers Of Territory
Fighting requires high morale.
Exercises are the same.
Chen Jun and Gao Cheng brought the order back to Steel Seventh Battalion, gathered all battalion cadres at battalion headquarters for a general meeting, and announced this overseas exercise at the meeting.
It immediately caused a huge reaction in the venue, with everyone nearly excited enough to dance and sing on the spot.
The cadres had rested for half a year, feeling like they had grown fur from idleness, and had long been eager for a big fight, even privately starting to pick opponents.
Some hoped to fight their old unit, teaching their old leaders how to “be soldiers and fight wars.”
Just thinking about it was exciting.
Some felt they were already invincible and urgently wanted to emulate the previous Zhu Rihe First Brigade Blue Army Battalion, taking on all seven war zones of the entire army one by one.
Bullying weak opponents might not greatly improve combat effectiveness, but it was satisfying enough.
If it feels good, what more is there to say.
Some even set their sights on A Detachment, hoping for a grand showdown on the venue with this legendary “Soldier King hub.”
Don’t fight ordinary people; fight legends.
It’s all about the challenge.
Besides these three mainstream ideas, the warriors had dozens of other miscellaneous thoughts—only you can’t imagine them, nothing they couldn’t think of.
With several hundred warriors in the entire regiment each voicing their opinions, almost every possibility was mentioned, yet no one guessed right.
Fighting overseas against the Russian Army was just too unexpected.
From the founding of the country over fifty years ago, the entire army’s various exercises numbered countless, but the Army had never exercised with foreign troops.
Something that hadn’t happened in decades was now happening to them.
Who could have thought of it.
But it was precisely this unexpected result—getting to go abroad and beat the Russians soundly—that further ignited the fighting spirit and morale of Steel Seventh Battalion warriors.
Stimulated by home-country sentiments and historical legacies, they were all geared up to thrash the Russian Army.
Ordinary civilians might not know—or rather, not fully understand—the details of Chinese territory being occupied, but as soldiers, they were most sensitive to territory.
And most civilians didn’t know that the Russian Army was the country that occupied the most Chinese territory.
Over 5 million square kilometers in total.
That’s a full 5 million square kilometers, not 150 square meters—the entire area of China is only 6 million square kilometers, equivalent to losing one-sixth of the national territory.
To put it more clearly.
The combined area of Hunan, Hubei, Guangxi, Guangdong, Henan, Hebei, Jilin, and Shaanxi—these eight provinces—barely adds up to that figure.
Equivalent to eight provinces’ area being cunningly seized and, due to historical issues, impossible to take back.
It was truly infuriating just to think about.
A soldier’s primary duty is to defend the territory; thinking of so much land robbed by the old Russian Army stirred anger no less than against the little Japs.
Now with a chance to attend the banquet in Russia, it would be a disservice to their uniforms not to slip in some personal payback.
Under this shared enemy sentiment and desire for fierce revenge, the entire battalion’s warriors were like injected with chicken blood, launching frenzied, all-out training.
They didn’t even need company organization; warriors spontaneously added extra practice.
After a week of desperate intensive training, the entire battalion’s condition had adjusted to peak, morale soaring sky-high, everyone super energized and glowing.
Even if Chen Jun ordered them to strap on explosive packs and charge to die with the enemy.
No one would blink.
The army’s condition was at its best, about to depart for Russian territory, with the remaining week for preparing equipment and supplies.
The situation at the Russian exercise ground was completely unknown to China.
Though they invited the Chinese Army to participate, they didn’t say the Chinese Army could openly go investigate their troops and land in detail.
With the exercise venue completely unknown and no understanding of Russian logistics support.
Steel Seventh Battalion had to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
What is the worst-case scenario?
Treating this trip not as an exercise, but imagining Steel Seventh Battalion as an isolated unit air-dropped into the enemy’s rear area.
Unable to contact domestic friendly forces, no reinforcements, no supply replenishments.
Everything relying on themselves.
Only preparing to this extent could ensure that Steel Seventh Battalion, representing the Chinese Army in this exercise, wouldn’t embarrass itself on the exercise ground.
Relying entirely on Russian help—who knows what chaos could ensue.
To achieve this, Chen Jun set standards for Steel Seventh Battalion’s preparations, detailed down to every warrior.
From smallest to largest arrangements, every level must be orderly.
Warriors needed to carry all supplies for a battle themselves, including weapons, equipment, protective gear, full-load blank ammunition, etc.
Even field rations—two days’ worth per person.
Support Company prepared three more days’ supply food, totaling enough for Steel Seventh Battalion to sustain independently for five days without external help.
When Chen Jun was so detailed on individual soldier requirements, Gao Cheng couldn’t help but joke.
“Old Chen, we’re going to an exercise, not really to war. The Russian Army will surely prepare exercise supplies; no need to bring from domestic.”
From a normal perspective, Gao Cheng’s thinking was perfectly reasonable.
The Russian Army, being such a big country, holding a strategic-level large-scale exercise, couldn’t possibly lack food supplies.
But Gao Cheng only saw the surface, limited by his personal experience, not his ability.
After all, Gao Cheng was not yet thirty.
Chen Jun’s lifetimes added up to nearly a hundred years; his understanding of the army far surpassed Gao Cheng’s, especially in details, a world of difference.
Russia would surely prepare exercise supplies—Chen Jun had no doubt.
But this was the Russian Army’s strategic-level exercise, with tens of thousands of their navy and army troops, logistics centered entirely on them.
China sending just one battalion of a few hundred—Russia wouldn’t specially procure Chinese supplies.
Even in the best case.
If Russian logistics personnel highly respected the Chinese Army and promptly provided ample ammunition supplies, there would still be issues.
For example, Steel Seventh Battalion was fully equipped with Type 95 series, whose caliber was almost China-specific.
Other Type 96 main battle tanks, Type 86 infantry fighting vehicles, heavy artillery company’s anti-air and ground artillery—their ammo matching Russian-issued ammo?
Whether Chinese Army could stomach Russian field rations and food.
These were potential hidden dangers.
If problems arose with shells or food, fixing later would be difficult; most likely, they’d have to make do.
Making do would greatly reduce combat effectiveness.
If Steel Seventh Battalion performed worse than Russian troops in the exercise, failing to show combined arms combat effectiveness, that wasn’t the biggest deal.
Losing the army’s face—that was the big deal.
By preparing everything in advance to war-fighting “quantities,” Chen Jun eliminated these hidden dangers.
It was all transported by military train anyway, not warriors carrying it themselves.
Bringing plenty didn’t affect travel.
If Russians provided familiar food and matching ammo.
Even better!
Steel Seventh Battalion already brought enough; extra from Russians meant double reserves, allowing a comfortable rich war.
“People” fully supplied with food and essentials, weapons with ample ammo.
Logistics platoons basically fully loaded.
With supplies resolved, one big matter remained—
Inspection, maintenance, and upkeep!
From warriors’ personal guns, night vision goggles for night ops, to main battle tanks, heavy artillery, missiles, etc.
All battalion equipment fully inspected, all hidden dangers eliminated.
Before departure, full deep maintenance on all machinery and vehicles, maximizing fault-free in exercise.
If a vehicle’s performance was poor or couldn’t be optimally repaired short-term.
Eliminate it—Chen Jun personally writes the report content, Battalion Commander Gao Cheng submits to superiors for new vehicle replacement.
Russian equipment fundamentally incompatible with China’s, no short-term compatibility.
Equipment taken out by Steel Seventh Battalion—if faulting in exercise, not only embarrassing, showing poor Chinese army equipment quality.
Also impacting Steel Seventh Battalion’s combat effectiveness.
Even quick fixes delay opportunities; if unfixable, no resupply, losing one vehicle loses combat power.
Combined arms battalion’s multi-branch integrated operations is advantage; equipment and personnel hard to replace is disadvantage.
Chen Jun ordered advance maintenance, at least maximizing assurance that vehicles and equipment minimize exercise failure probability.
Most importantly…
Chen Jun’s previous life saw news on Russian permafrost terror.
Exercise timed right after winter, as spring thaws permafrost—Russians hadn’t specified exact location.
If exercise ground had permafrost zone…
If Steel Seventh Battalion vehicles unmaintained, Chen Jun really worried about major trouble.
As fully mechanized combined arms unit, if all vehicles mired in thawing permafrost mud, combat effectiveness slashed 80%.
Steel Seventh Battalion entered final prep phase, needing quite a lot of supplies and equipment.
At this crucial moment.
The value of unity was fully demonstrated.
Capital Military Region leaders highly valued it; Steel Seventh Battalion representing China to Russia for exercise, expected not to disgrace mission and complete task.
Steel Seventh Battalion performing well in exercise would boost entire Capital Military Region’s face.
So for Steel Seventh Battalion’s applications for various supplies and equipment, extremely accommodating, full green light.
Theater Commander personally approved…
Any supplies Steel Seventh Battalion needed must be satisfied fastest possible.
Tanks if needed, artillery if needed, missile vehicles if needed, radar vehicles if needed, electronic interference jamming vehicles if needed…
Just give whatever you want.
And complete processes in shortest time, delivering needed supplies to Steel Seventh Battalion equipment to companies within 24 hours.
With Capital Military Region’s strong support, Steel Seventh Battalion’s preparations were very successful.
When March 30 arrived.
Steel Seventh Battalion was fully ready, vehicles polished gleaming, supplies complete, warriors’ spirits skyrocketing.
When Steel Seventh Battalion’s nearly thousand members, led by Chen Jun, Gao Cheng, Ma Tianxiang, and others, formed squares on the training ground.
Group Army Senior Leader personally came to the site, stood on stage delivering send-off speech for Steel Seventh Battalion, expressing superior leaders’ expectations.
This was Chief Gao’s first time at Steel Seventh Battalion, satisfying all curiosity and further igniting warriors’ morale.
Then one-star leader representing the war zone, T Division Commander Ye Zhengjun, and others successively spoke on stage.
Having leaders from war zone to below all give send-off blessings and expectations—probably only this historic first Army overseas deployment.
Its significance too special, even writable in history.
How could top leaders not be moved.
After a round of speeches, official departure time arrived.
Accompanied by military band’s high-spirited music, under gazes of the leaders, Steel Seventh Battalion warriors quickly boarded trucks, heading to the train station.
When entire battalion warriors arrived at train station, military train already loaded full with Steel Seventh Battalion’s combat vehicles and artillery.
Warriors leaped off trucks, under each squad squad leaders’ lead, found their company positions, quickly reforming square formations.
Wherever they went, no disorder, not like ducks huddling—rapidly forming standard drill.
This is the Chinese Army’s “discipline”!
No second in the world.
“Entire battalion, per predetermined plan, companies quickly organize boarding.”
Gao Cheng couldn’t wait for the exercise, didn’t want more talk; once battalion formed up, crisply issued boarding order.
Companies pre-assigned yesterday responded almost simultaneously.
“First Squad, running march.”
“Second Squad, running march.”
…
Under standard drill commands, square formations on platform swiftly dissolved into small lines, rushing to car entrances.
Before train reached destination, car discipline under company and platoon leaders.
Led by Chen Jun and Gao Cheng’s battalion headquarters, no need to handle such minor matters below, instead accompanied war zone delegation to frontmost car.
War zone delegation was only part; more personnel would join later.
After all, country-to-country military exercise, involving high levels; upon Russian territory, needed counterparts to interface.
So not only war zone sending people, JW relevant departments and diplomatic departments would also send personnel.
