China’s Combined Brigade is currently one of the most formidable ground forces in the world in terms of offensive and defensive capabilities. Its firepower, level of informatization, and independent operational capabilities are hard to match globally, earning it the title of Hexagonal Warriors.
The Formidable Chinese Combined Forces
China’s military began its combined construction early on, but it wasn’t until the military reform in 2016 that active combined units started to emerge. Many have heard of the renowned Chinese combined units, yet few understand the differences between traditional ground combat units and combined units.
The Superiority of Combined Units was well demonstrated during the 2018 China-Russia Joint Military Exercise.
The Vostok-2018 joint exercise that year was one of the largest Sino-Russian military exercises in recent years. The Russian military had no intention of hiding its strength during the exercise; instead, it directly showcased its elite combat capabilities before China.
Although the Russian military is much smaller in scale compared to the former Soviet Red Army, it still displayed the momentum and ambition of the old iron and steel torrent, flaunting its formidable military power.
As a major participant, China also deployed a sizable combat force, including 3,200 Chinese soldiers and over 1,000 pieces of technical equipment. During the live-fire confrontation phase, a fully-equipped Russian motorized infantry brigade encountered interception by a Chinese combined battalion. The ensuing battle greatly shocked the Russian side.
The motorized infantry brigade that participated in such exercises is undoubtedly one of the elite units of the Russian military, with a total force of up to 4,400 soldiers. Yet, they encountered only a little over 800 soldiers from the Chinese combined battalion.
Although there was a significant technological gap between the two sides, the Russian military believed that with a fivefold numerical advantage, they should have a slight edge. However, the actual result was that the 4,400-strong Russian motorized infantry brigade was completely annihilated by the Chinese military within a short 40-minute firefight.
The outcome not only stunned the entire Russian command, but also left Western military observers watching the exercise bewildered. They had never expected the Chinese military’s combat capability to be so powerful.
The fact that an 800-strong unit could annihilate a 4,400-strong motorized infantry brigade within 40 minutes was considered impossible by many military professionals, especially considering that this combined battalion from China was not even an elite unit.
They were just an ordinary second-tier combat unit of the 78th Group Army, equipped with relatively outdated 99G main battle tanks and 86A infantry fighting vehicles. The battalion’s original mission was to provide flanking support for frontline operations, and annihilating the Russian motorized brigade was just an incidental action.
Since 2016, the entire Chinese military has completed combined transformation, including the 78th Group Army. The coordinated combat capabilities between different branches of combined units are extremely formidable. This is also the core reason why the outside world believes that the Chinese military can annihilate enemy forces several times its own size in a short period.
In simple terms, although Chinese combined units may appear small in scale, their actual firepower and combat effectiveness far exceed those of traditional Russian motorized combat units.
If even combined battalions possess such formidable combat power, then how powerful is the Chinese Heavy Combined Brigade, which is the core of the Chinese army’s offensive capabilities?
China has kept the organization of its active forces confidential, but it is possible to speculate and analyze based on the foreign trade combined brigades specifically designed for export, offering a glimpse into the actual combat capabilities of the Chinese military.
The Secret of the Heavy Combined Brigade
According to the configuration of a new type of military trade land combined brigade publicly displayed at the Zhuhai Airshow in 2022, a combined brigade comprises 1 armored battalion, 4 mechanized infantry battalions, 1 artillery battalion, 1 drone battalion, 1 reconnaissance battalion, 1 anti-tank battalion, 1 combat support battalion, and 1 logistics support battalion.
If configured for urban warfare specialization, it can also include a battalion-level unit for urban combat support, with a total force of around 6,000 personnel in a combined brigade.
From this configuration alone, it can be observed that there are a wide variety of unit types under the Chinese combined brigades, covering all aspects of combat. This is indeed a characteristic of combined units; while traditional ground combat units were only responsible for land operations, combined brigades form a comprehensive combat system.
Of course, ground offense and defense remain the main tasks of combined brigades. They are equipped with a total of 98 VT-4 main battle tanks and 120 VN-22 wheeled combat vehicles, which are also the core of the combined unit’s offensive capabilities.
The firepower support units in the combined brigade will also be equipped with heavy support equipment such as SH-5 truck-mounted artillery and SR-5 rocket artillery systems.
To adapt to modern battlefields, the drone battalion will be equipped with high-altitude, long-endurance surveillance-strike integrated drones at theater level, while multi-axis individual drones will be deployed to grassroots combat units, showcasing a dazzling array of technological equipment.
Apart from the Chinese military, the only other military force that has achieved combined construction is the US military. Their heavy brigades are also combined units, but even compared to China’s foreign trade combined brigades, the US military does not have the advantage in firepower, especially in heavy fire support, where there is a huge gap between them and the Chinese military.
The main means of fire support for the US military is still the M-109 series 155mm self-propelled howitzer, which has the shortest range and slowest rate of fire among the mainstream self-propelled howitzers in the world. Of course, this is somewhat related to the fact that the fire support of US ground units relies on air units. However, just like the Chinese military, the US military also assigns air assets to combined brigades, further widening the gap in firepower.
If the US military were to encounter Chinese ground equipment such as the domestically produced 99A and 04A, their operational pressure would be even greater. Considering that the US military currently cannot establish air superiority in conflicts with the Chinese military, the independent operational capabilities of ground units will become increasingly important.
In short, the Chinese Heavy Combined Brigade is the spearhead of China’s army offensive, perfectly demonstrating what is known as “Chinese-style aesthetic of violence.” In today’s world, the only units that may pose a certain obstacle to it are units of a similar nature in the US military. Faced with the ground forces of other countries, the Chinese army is almost guaranteed victory.
For all ground forces of any country, the Chinese army is probably a formidable opponent they would prefer to avoid at all costs.
References:
[1] Vostok 2018 Military Exercise | New equipment deployed for only 6 months, unleashed fierce firepower overseas. The Paper [Retrieved on 2018-09-14]
[2] Overview of the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force. Sohu [Retrieved on 2013-01-30]