Jun.22 (China Military Story released by China Military Power Mashup and written by Wei Tongbing) -- "Food and fodder should go ahead of troops and horses," says The Art of War, a Chinese military canonical book from more than 2,000 years ago. The Chinese have long been aware of the importance of transport in military operations. Without transport, armies cannot mobilize, making it impossible to carry out military operations. With China's rapid growth, the country's rail network has seen six accelerations in its development, enhancing military rail transport in operational mechanisms, hardware and overall support ability.

Exercising on Full Range Transport Support

In the command room of the transport department of the PLA's General Logistics Department, everyone was intensely absorbed in their work. According to the drill plan, an army would cross three military area commands and four railway networks. The transport operation was one of the most demanding in terms of distance, loads, standards and links.

On receiving their orders before the exercise, the military representatives at the railway bureaus notified the missions and timelines to the bureau's leaders and local government authorities for coordination. The bureaus set up a military transport management team and joint headquarters with local governments, which also formed military support management teams.

The coordinated command of the joint headquarters facilitated the cooperation of army and local governments. A transport and support scheme for the troops was immediately formed, including the loading and unloading of supplies, vehicle maintenance, locomotive maintenance, fixtures and reinforcements, train relay arrangements, water supplies, arrangements for cadres, food supplies and secrecy.