Chapter 314: The Importance of Good Logistics

Morin picked up the plan and flipped through it page by page.

It had to be said that Kleist and the others did an excellent job.

The entire plan was very meticulous, definitely at the level of a textbook template.

The first phase of the exercise was a 120-kilometer full-regiment, full-equipment motorized maneuver, testing the unit’s rapid reaction and long-distance raid capabilities.

In the plan, not only were the detailed march route, departure order of each battalion, and rest points along the way planned, but a subject of “evading enemy artillery attacks” was even included.

The second phase was the deployment and offensive drill after arriving at the designated area.

How infantry disembarked at the assembly area to unfold combat formations, how to advance safely and quickly to the contact line to seize firing points, how artillery conducted fire preparation, how scouts infiltrated—every link had detailed tactical plans.

The third phase was the assault drill of “Infantry-Knight Coordination.”

The Armored Knight squad led by Ludwig would serve as the spearhead of the attack, coordinating with the infantry battalion to launch an impact on a simulated fortified defensive position.

For the Armored Knights and their maintenance personnel, this 120-kilometer raid was also a test…

The entire plan had clear logic, was interlinked, considered thoroughly, and almost no obvious loopholes could be found.

“Well done.”

Morin put down the plan, nodded, and said with a smile: “Very detailed and thoughtful.”

Hearing Morin’s affirmation, Kleist and Manstein both showed relieved smiles on their faces.

Even Paulus, who had just joined the headquarters and was still relatively cautious in dealing with people, slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

“Sir, we are confident that this joint practice will be very successful!”

Kleist’s tone was very certain: “For over a month, everyone has been holding back their energy. Whether it’s those veterans or the newcomers added, they all want to prove themselves in this exercise.”

“Yes, sir.” Manstein also echoed, “Basic training has slowly become solid, new weapons and equipment are basically in place, and helmets and stick grenades have also begun to be replaced…”

They were speaking the truth.

With the continuous replenishment of new equipment and the continuation of high-intensity training, the current instruction unit was on a new level of combat effectiveness compared to before.

Each battalion, company, and platoon had been fully equipped with light machine guns and submachine guns according to the ratio, possessing close-range firepower and continuous suppression capabilities far exceeding other infantry regiments.

Plus the Howitzer Battalion, the regimental Field Gun Company, and the three Armored Knights led by Ludwig.

The current instruction unit, on paper, was absolutely the undisputed ace among the regiment-level units of the entire Saxon Army.

The officers of the headquarters, especially veterans like Kleist who had followed Morin from the beginning, watched the unit grow day by day, their hearts filled with pride.

They firmly believed that under the guidance of this perfect plan they formulated and Morin’s command, this exercise would surely achieve complete success, demonstrating the powerful strength of the instruction unit to the entire army.

However, Morin just smiled and did not show the same confidence as they expected.

“Plans are dead, the battlefield is alive… No matter how thorough the plan is, there is always the possibility of accidents. In short, let everyone stay alert and not take it lightly.”

These words were somewhat like a bucket of cold water poured on the hot hearts of these headquarters officers.

They looked at each other, somewhat not understanding Morin’s meaning.

In their view, this was just a scaled-down “Imperial Exercise,” not really going to the battlefield.

Under such sufficient preparation, what accidents could happen?

Kleist, who was more familiar with Morin, felt a thump in his heart. He keenly sensed a hint of strangeness under Morin’s calm expression.

The Commander seemed—not as optimistic about the result of this joint practice as they were.

Why?

Could there be any major omissions in the plan that they hadn’t discovered?

He picked up the plan again, checking it over and over, but couldn’t find where the problem lay.

“Sir, is there—something inappropriate in the plan?”

Paulus on the side couldn’t help asking.

He had just come to the headquarters not long ago and didn’t know Morin’s style of doing things very well. He only felt that this young commander had deep thoughts and was unfathomable.

“The plan itself is fine.”

Morin shook his head, then continued: “But those executing the plan are people, and those equipment, especially those ‘recruits’ and ‘new equipment’ participating in large-scale maneuvers for the first time.”

“But it doesn’t matter. Don’t put too much pressure on yourselves. Just execute according to the plan first~”

After the meeting ended, the three walked out of the office full of doubts.

“What do you think the Commander meant?” Walking on the road, Kleist couldn’t help asking.

“I don’t understand either.”

Manstein frowned.

“We haven’t failed to consider the problems the Lieutenant Colonel mentioned… The plan has set up multiple contingencies for recruits and new equipment, which should be enough to deal with most emergencies.”

“Perhaps, the Commander just wants to remind us not to be arrogant and complacent.” Paulus speculated.

The three discussed for a while, and finally could only attribute Morin’s “abnormality” to his consistent caution and strictness.

They didn’t know that the reason Morin wasn’t optimistic about this exercise wasn’t dissatisfaction with their plan, but stemmed from his knowledge beyond this era.

As a “relevant practitioner” from another world, he knew too well how much trouble a unit that had just completed motorization would encounter during its first long-distance maneuver.

Engine overheating, tire blowouts, drive shaft breakages—various strange mechanical failures would pop up like bamboo shoots after rain.

And they would specifically choose to appear during the exercise…

Not to mention, what a nightmare a huge convoy composed of more than three hundred new vehicles would be in terms of coordination, communication, and command.

In this era where radios were not popularized to the squad and platoon level, and there was no mature traffic control and maintenance support system, wanting such a huge convoy to successfully complete a 120-kilometer maneuver…

Morin felt it really depended on God’s blessing.

The plan formulated by Kleist and the others looked perfect on paper.

But they were ultimately officers of this era. Their understanding of “motorized maneuver” still remained at the superficial stage of “switching soldiers from carriages to trucks.”

They couldn’t imagine what a chaotic scene it would be when dozens of trucks traveled on narrow rural dirt roads, and one of them broke down, blocking the entire convoy.

They also couldn’t imagine what kind of paralysis the command system would fall into when messengers rode horses back and forth in a convoy seven or eight kilometers long, but couldn’t find the target unit.

Morin foresaw all these.

But he didn’t say it directly because some concepts were hard to grasp just by talking.

Some falls, one must experience personally to know how painful they are.

Some lessons, only with chaos and failure as the price, could these proud officers remember them deeply.

What Morin wanted wasn’t a “seemingly perfect” performance, but a “stress test” that could expose all problems and wake everyone up.

Because the instruction unit was originally an experimental unit set up by the army to explore new tactics and combat methods.

However, what surprised Morin somewhat was that not everyone in the entire instruction unit was blindly optimistic like Kleist and the others.

Besides himself, two other people also harbored deep worries about this joint practice.

That was the commander of the Regimental Supply Company, Stein, and the platoon leader of the Wireless Radio Platoon of the Regimental Communications Company, Heinz Wilhelm Guderian.

These two seemingly inconspicuous grassroots officers, relying on their respective professional knowledge and keen intuition, sniffed the scent of “problems” in advance.

Stein had been in a very bad mood recently, or even anxious.

As the commander of the Supply Company and also the “chief steward” of all vehicles in the regiment, he knew better than anyone how difficult those Radiant Crystal Trucks parked in the vehicle depot, wiped by soldiers like treasures, were to serve.

Stein glanced at the truck painted in field gray beside him. This car was indeed beautiful.

But no matter how beautiful, it couldn’t change its fragile suspension, delicate Radiant Crystal Internal Combustion Engine, and transmission system that might malfunction with a bump.

Stein was among the first batch of people in the entire Saxon Army to come into contact with Radiant Crystal Trucks.

Since these mechanical creations were just put into military trial use, he had been dealing with them.

He knew the temper of these guys too well.

Running on flat roads was fine, but once on the muddy rural dirt roads of Western Europa, if no problems occurred, it would be a miracle.

Now, the regiment actually planned to conduct a 120-kilometer long-distance maneuver with full personnel and equipment.

One hundred and twenty kilometers!

Thinking of this number, Stein felt his teeth start to ache.

He could almost foresee that within an hour after the exercise began, trucks would start “breaking down” on the road.

At that time, the entire convoy would be blocked on the road, stuck in the middle… just thinking about that scene made his scalp numb.

“A bunch of bookworms who only know how to draw lines on maps.”

Stein cursed secretly in his heart, referring to those staff officers in the headquarters who formulated the plan.

In his view, this plan was simply whimsical.

Just as Stein was sighing at a row of trucks, a figure walked over from the other end of the vehicle depot.

“Captain Stein, worrying about your ‘babies’ again?” The visitor’s voice was loud and very familiar.

Stein looked back; it was Guderian.

Stein’s impression of Guderian, the new wireless radio platoon leader, was very special.

This was an “anomaly.”

An officer from the cavalry unit, yet he had no interest in horses, instead running to his Supply Company that managed trucks all day long.

Whenever he was free, he would crawl under the car, disassembling and assembling parts with the maintenance technicians, not caring about being covered in oil.

Later, after the two became familiar, Stein learned that Guderian, this “anomaly,” had always been more interested in mechanical units like Radiant Crystal Vehicles, and even used more than a year’s saved salary to buy a Radiant Crystal Sedan to dismantle and play with himself…

This was also why this guy’s understanding of mechanics was even deeper than some of his old drivers.

Stein initially thought this person was a bit neglecting his proper duties, but after contacting him for a long time, he found Guderian to be a rare fellow enthusiast.

Both had a near-fanatical obsession with this mechanical power made of steel.

“Guderian, you came just in time.”

Seeing him, the worry on Stein’s face eased a little.

“You are also considered half an expert. Do you think the headquarters’ plan for a 120-kilometer maneuver is crazy?”

Hearing this, the smile on Guderian’s face also subsided, replaced by a solemn look.

The two chatted briefly and thought of many problems that might be encountered during the long-distance march. When Stein began to complain again that the headquarters’ plan was whimsical, he found Morin leaning against the door looking at the two with a smile.

“Lieutenant Colonel!” The two immediately stood at attention and saluted.

“…Ignore me, continue~ I just ran over specially to see the preparation of the convoy.”

Morin looked at the two in a good mood. He was glad that Stein and Guderian could detect these problems.

With his interest piqued, Morin also chatted directly with the two about these issues.

It was also at this time that Morin realized that Guderian could become the “Father of Armored Forces of the Third Reich” not only because he had certain foresight.

But because he was truly willing to understand these novel mechanical creations through practice.

At the same time, some of their ideas actually coincided with the people from the Equipment Section and Support Section Morin had dealt with in another world.

What is the core of mechanical equipment maintenance work?

Many people would probably say spare parts because one cannot make bricks without straw; these spare parts directly constrain maintenance work.

But in fact, the “failure pattern” of vehicle equipment is the core of cores.

The three quickly reached a consensus in this regard: bringing more spare parts is useless. Only by focusing on failure patterns and highlighting preparation priorities can twice the result be achieved with half the effort.

However, there were other difficulties in front of them—most vehicles were to be used for personnel and equipment transport, so the transport capacity of the Supply Company was limited. Just transporting all conventional equipment and materials of the instruction regiment was already close to its transport capacity limit.

In the end, only 3 trucks could be spared specifically to transport mechanical spare parts.

And the task of these spare parts was crucial—not only to ensure the foolproof long-distance maneuver of all Radiant Crystal Vehicles but also to support the entire subsequent joint practice without errors.

“Which spare parts to bring? How many of each?”

This directly became the key problem waiting to be solved.

Stein first sorted out the equipment demand list based on failure occurrence patterns and daily material consumption data, and divided it into three levels.

Subsequently, he convened experienced drivers and heavy equipment soldiers to solicit opinions, and finally completed the review with the assistance of Guderian, an “enthusiastic young man.”

After multiple rounds of repeated deliberation and precise calculation, an equipment demand list was finally finalized.

At the same time, considering that the convoy would be too long after the whole regiment set out, Stein planned the maintenance spare parts commonly used for long-distance maneuvers into a configuration mode of “two big bags plus several small bags.” Small bags were distributed directly to the drivers of each company, facilitating quick self-handling when minor faults occurred on the way.

Big bags were distributed to the “Forward Maintenance Team” and “Middle Maintenance Team” to ensure timely response and repair when problems were encountered.

He himself led the maintenance support team, following the vehicles transporting mechanical spare parts at the rear, coordinating the maintenance support and wrap-up work of the entire convoy.

After the plan was formulated, Stein felt Morin was increasingly “unfathomable.”

Because this Lieutenant Colonel, who seemingly specialized in infantry command, proposed many key suggestions for the Supply Company—especially the organizational optimization plan of setting up a “Forward Maintenance Team” and “Middle Maintenance Team.”

Meticulous and thorough, as if he had commanded large convoys to complete long-distance marches many times…