And then, the artillery support platoon would swiftly move into position.
In the urban environment of Nest Capital, the power of artillery was greatly diminished.
The entirety of Nest Capital, rather than being a vast complex of buildings, could more accurately be described as if the whole city itself were a massive structure. Although there were some open spaces, the presence of various obstacles generally made it impossible for artillery to provide accurate fire support over a distance of twenty kilometers.
However, this did not mean that the artillery was useless.
Difficult to fire from a distance, but not at close range?
Facing the threat of the enemy, with the help of their armored and infantry brethren at the front, they could forcefully construct fire support points to lob fire in an almost direct-fire manner to places within their reach. Their fire coverage, from the usual twenty kilometers in open-field conditions, was reduced to just two kilometers, and even then, they were often blocked from having clear lines of sight.
But heavy artillery was still heavy artillery, and it could still devastate any target within its reach!
The highly skilled and smooth coordination of the Composite Camp left many officers of the Star Realm Army who witnessed this spectacle dumbfounded.
The fluidity of their offensive, like mercury pouring down, not only shattered many of their preconceived notions but also truly preserved the lifeline of the entire division.
They did not let their brothers in the Rage Bear Legion fight alone. Soon enough, multiple platoons came to their aid, helping the warriors of the Rage Bear Legion secure this retreat route. Then, the entire division began to retreat in an orderly fashion, as ordered, withdrawing from this hopelessly lost district.
Without a doubt, this Composite Camp of the Rage Bear Legion had performed an extraordinary feat.
Their arrival not only saved an entire division but also prevented the area from falling into utter ruin.
Although it was not a complete reversal of the situation, turning defeat into victory, it could still be considered as saving a building from near collapse.
The key point was that this was a combat group of less than a thousand soldiers.
The incident caught the attention of Major General Hanson.
On one hand, it resolved a major crisis, allowing him to finally get a good night’s sleep.
On the other hand, he was astonished at how the Rage Bear Legion’s troops could suddenly appear there and exhibit such formidable fighting strength.
The answer to this didn’t require his personal investigation.
The multitude of staff under his command provided him with the answers.
The large staff team quickly delivered the report to the Major General’s desk.
The appearance of a Rage Bear Legion unit on the battlefield wasn’t particularly surprising.
They had been sent to a nearby area earlier for a routine clearance mission. They completed their mission successfully, and even finished several days ahead of schedule.
While the troops were stationed locally, awaiting the takeover by the Planetary Defense Forces, Colonel Li Kexi noticed the changing situation nearby and sent a camp over to “check things out.”
And with that inspection, they “resolved” the situation.
Another matter that deserved Major General Hanson’s careful consideration was this:
Why were the Rage Bear Legion troops so formidable with the same equipment and not a large number of soldiers?
According to reports from the staff, the first reason was that every soldier in the Rage Bear Legion met the standard requirements of the Star Realm Army.
Interestingly enough, although there were certainly many among the Dragonhawk 3rd Corps’s twenty-plus million troops who reached this level, the overall proportion was only about half; and among that half, another half had reached this level only after arriving at the Star Realm Army.
This shouldn’t have been the case, but it was the reality stemming from an unavoidable situation.
The soldiers of the Star Realm Army mainly come from the troops offered by various planets along with their payment of Imperial Tax, and it was also possible for the Star Realm Army to simply transfer troops from the Planetary Defense Forces into their ranks.
But the standard level of the Star Realm Army generally required at least five years of military training under experienced instructors before soldiers could meet the criteria. On many planets, the total service time for conscripts and volunteers wasn’t even that long.
Of course, theoretically, none of this should have been a concern for the Star Realm Army. The Military Affairs Department, the Star Realm Army Command, weren’t supposed to handle these issues. If a planet didn’t provide qualified soldiers, it shouldn’t count towards their tax obligations. But political and economic considerations, coupled with corruption factors…
There was no remedy.
Hanson was only a Major General, after all; he couldn’t change these things. What he could do was ensure that, once soldiers came to his force, at least they could be trained into competent warriors through his efforts.
But even that was difficult to achieve.
During peacetime, when there were no wars, the budget of the Star Realm Army was insufficient, offering no opportunity to fully let the soldiers practice their military skills. Without enough bullets, there could be no sharpshooters.
The situation for artillerymen, tank crews, and the like was the same.
But if it were just a difference in the quality of soldiers, it wouldn’t result in such significant concrete outcomes; after all, Dragonhawk’s warriors are not weak.
This brings us to the third factor mentioned by the staff officers: tactical concept.
The Composite Forces model adopted by the Rage Bear Legion is not exactly a novel idea. The Star Realm Army is full of talented individuals; wouldn’t they have thought of it?
Of course, they have.
To put it plainly, the advantage of Composite Forces lies in the flexibility of modular, small unit sizes, more officers under the same troop strength, a high concentration of technical equipment, and various troop types coordinating under a single command system.
It all sounds good, but each of these advantages comes at a cost.
Smaller unit sizes and flattened command structures mean more officers are needed, which costs money. Whether it’s training officers or providing them with higher compensation after they’re trained, the expenses are considerable.
A high concentration of technical equipment translates directly to money.
Various troop types coordinating requires a significant amount of training, which again means money.
The Military Affairs Department and the Star Realm Army, of course, have a lot of money; but they have even more places to spend it on.
All these advantages do not outweigh the benefits of maintaining more soldiers with less money under the current large-unit division system. And in a major frontal battle, large formations have their benefits.
Composite Forces can only be a small-scale approach to creating elite troops within the entire system of the Star Realm Army.
To be honest, Major General Hanson couldn’t understand why Governor Gu Hang would be willing to use such an army to pay the Imperial Tax.
It’s just not worth it, too honest… Isn’t the standard practice to randomly pick tens of thousands of warriors trained for a year or two, equip them with suitable light gear, try to establish good relationships, and then just settle it?
That way, for a million Tax Currency paid, the actual cost would be only seven hundred thousand.
The way you’re doing it now amounts to a cost of one million three hundred thousand to offset a tax of one million.
A complete loss.
Regardless, this was good news for Hanson.
He suddenly discovered that he had seventy thousand elite troops at his disposal.
Although there was only one brigade of true armored Composite Camps, the several infantry divisions from Rage Bear were all motorized, and the firepower of weapons like heavy-pounder guns was distributed down to the company level, with squad weaponry also packing more punch than the same number of Star Realm Army forces.
In any case, they were stronger than his own forces.
In a mix of emotions, he didn’t hesitate to start assigning this army from Rage Owl Star to more important tasks more frequently.
This was different from using them as cannon fodder.
Supplies and logistics were given the highest priority; when acting as the tip of the spear, they also needed a hilt, so support and coordinating units behind them were also plentiful in numbers. In fact, during joint attacks, he would generously hand over command to Colonel Li Kexi instead of senior officers from the Dragonhawk Legion.
In addition, when it came to winning battles, he was anything but stingy with rewards. From combat allowances for warriors and officers to reporting achievements of entire units to the Military Affairs Department, he was meticulous. Explore more stories with My Virtual Library Empire
When Gu Hang came to Fino City and met Li Kexi, Major General Hanson, who had also heard the news, hurried over for a meeting.
He sincerely thanked Gu Hang and also expressed some apologies.
After all, no matter how well he ensured the logistics or reported their accomplishments, the increased casualties from taking on more significant military duties were unavoidable.
Gu Hang expressed his understanding in return.
Although he was distressed by the casualties among his own soldiers, the combat actions of the Rage Bear warriors in this theater were indeed bringing real benefits and advantages.
After all, when the Star Realm Army fights, they’re not just going through the motions.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have hinted to Li Kexi that it was okay to perform normally in battle. Otherwise, even if they were just going through the motions, the command level of the Dragonhawk Legion wouldn’t notice.
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Supplement for yesterday
There will be another chapter late into the night, but it will be very late…