Much has been made of not only Foreign and especially Western influences on the Chinese military, but also on China's need to adopt or a tleast in some form or other emulate such influences. I think that this can be overdone, particulary in the realms of both strategy and tactics, as well as technology (though the latter is mainly in the farther past). From Sun Tzu to gunpowder to the 3-Cell Infantry Squad just to name a few, China has had an immense influence on the Military strategy, operations, tactics, history, and thought of the entire world. Only Germany rivals China in this area. No-one else, not even Russia and Britain even come close.
Having been an infantryman, I personally take great interest in the 3-Cell Infantry Squad that was pioneered by the PLA (then called the Red Army) at least as early as the 1930's. Its performance in battle against both the Kuomintang and the Imperial Japanese Army so impressed a US Marine Corps officer (Carlson) who observed it in battle against the IJN in 1937 that during the Second World War, he adapted it for use in a USMC Raider Battalion. After the disbandment of the Raider Battalions part-way through WWII, the USMC as a whole adopted the Chinese 3-Cell Infantry Squad. The USMC Rifle Squad changed the name of the 3-man Chinese "Cell" to "Fire Team" and during 1944 added a fourth man to the Fire Team. The Cell is the original Fire Team upon which modern Infantry Squad/Section organizations and tactics (combined with the German integration of the Light Machine Gun into the Infantry Squad/Section, which the USMC did not undertake until the 1980's), are presently based.
The Chinese 3-man, 3-Cell Infantry Squad lent itself to great flexibility and the use of individual initiative. Foreign Infantry Squad/Section organizations often (and often still do) limited these, unnecessarily even. A two-team based squad or section is capable of making frontal attacks by alternating cover fire and movement between teams (but this involves the prospect of heavy losses) or performing flank attacks, with one team providing cover fire to suppress the enemy position while the other moves as close a possible to the enemy position and then assaults it from the flank.
The 3-Cell Squad is capable of both of these offensive tactics, but with a twist. In the frontal attack, the 3-Cell squad can use the cover fire of two teams to cover the movement of one team at a time, thus providing greater suppressive fire than just one team covering, reducing losses. In the flank attack, again, two teams can cover with suppressive fire the enemy position while the third teams moves under cover to a flank, and then assaults the enemy.
But the 3-Cell Squad is capable of another offensive tactic that the two-team squad/section is more or less incapable of (at least without extensive reorganization, and only if it has sufficient numbers to do so to begin with). This is the double-flank (or double-envelopment) attack, and in certain conditions of terrain this is not only possible, but desirable. There are two basic variations of this attack, depending on the weaponry used. The first variation uses one Cell with a light machine gun (and ideally an underslung grenade launcher as well) to provide cover fire to suppress the enemy position, while the other two cells move under cover to opposite flanks until the 3 cells of the squad form a "T" shape with the base of fire cell at the base of the T, the two flanking cells at opposite ends of the top of the T, and the enemy caught right in the middle. The two flanking cells in this variation should not use light machine guns for fear of shootiung each other, but rather aimed sinlge-shots (and maybe even aimed, short bursts) at the enemy position. The enemy may panic, and perceiving (falsely) that the rear is still open, may try to break-out out or escape to the rear. The two flanking cells will cut him down with ease. If assault is necessary, great care must be taken as one cell assaults while the other two cells switch their fires to cover the assaulting cells' rear.
The second variation of the double-flanking attack which the 3-Cell Squad is capable of, (but not the two-team squad or section) is much more risky, especially as it uses a light machine gun and an underslung grenade launcher in each Cell. Again, one cell provides covering fire while the other two moves to the flanks, but this time they keep moving until each forms a top arm of a "Y" formation. This variation may be used to reduce a stubborn, by-passed centre of resistance, in which friendly troops cannot get in, but the enemy can't get out either. An actual assault is unlikely to occurr here, rather the enemy is to be waited out and destroyed by fire (he will eventually run out of food, ammo, and water), thus (hopefully) sparing friendly troops unncessary losses in trying to dig out a more or less immovable enemy. Great care must be taken with arcs of fire to avoid hitting the other cells, especially for light machine guns, and arcs for these may well be restricted to only about 20 degrees or so. Nevertheless, the enemy is surrounded and his situation is hopeless, and he will be destroyed by fire sooner or later (unless he surrender of course). This is a tactic to be used against hopelessly cut-off and surrounded die-hards, and to kill them without risking your own men unnecessarily against fanatics. You can't really do this with a two-team squad/section.
The USMC formally adopted the Chinese 3-Cell Squad in 1944, and after making its own adaptations to it (including adding a fourth man to each cell, thus inventing the Fire Team), and has used it ever since. It is the envy of Infantry all over the world, and it born was three-quarters of a century ago in China.
Having been an infantryman, I personally take great interest in the 3-Cell Infantry Squad that was pioneered by the PLA (then called the Red Army) at least as early as the 1930's. Its performance in battle against both the Kuomintang and the Imperial Japanese Army so impressed a US Marine Corps officer (Carlson) who observed it in battle against the IJN in 1937 that during the Second World War, he adapted it for use in a USMC Raider Battalion. After the disbandment of the Raider Battalions part-way through WWII, the USMC as a whole adopted the Chinese 3-Cell Infantry Squad. The USMC Rifle Squad changed the name of the 3-man Chinese "Cell" to "Fire Team" and during 1944 added a fourth man to the Fire Team. The Cell is the original Fire Team upon which modern Infantry Squad/Section organizations and tactics (combined with the German integration of the Light Machine Gun into the Infantry Squad/Section, which the USMC did not undertake until the 1980's), are presently based.
The Chinese 3-man, 3-Cell Infantry Squad lent itself to great flexibility and the use of individual initiative. Foreign Infantry Squad/Section organizations often (and often still do) limited these, unnecessarily even. A two-team based squad or section is capable of making frontal attacks by alternating cover fire and movement between teams (but this involves the prospect of heavy losses) or performing flank attacks, with one team providing cover fire to suppress the enemy position while the other moves as close a possible to the enemy position and then assaults it from the flank.
The 3-Cell Squad is capable of both of these offensive tactics, but with a twist. In the frontal attack, the 3-Cell squad can use the cover fire of two teams to cover the movement of one team at a time, thus providing greater suppressive fire than just one team covering, reducing losses. In the flank attack, again, two teams can cover with suppressive fire the enemy position while the third teams moves under cover to a flank, and then assaults the enemy.
But the 3-Cell Squad is capable of another offensive tactic that the two-team squad/section is more or less incapable of (at least without extensive reorganization, and only if it has sufficient numbers to do so to begin with). This is the double-flank (or double-envelopment) attack, and in certain conditions of terrain this is not only possible, but desirable. There are two basic variations of this attack, depending on the weaponry used. The first variation uses one Cell with a light machine gun (and ideally an underslung grenade launcher as well) to provide cover fire to suppress the enemy position, while the other two cells move under cover to opposite flanks until the 3 cells of the squad form a "T" shape with the base of fire cell at the base of the T, the two flanking cells at opposite ends of the top of the T, and the enemy caught right in the middle. The two flanking cells in this variation should not use light machine guns for fear of shootiung each other, but rather aimed sinlge-shots (and maybe even aimed, short bursts) at the enemy position. The enemy may panic, and perceiving (falsely) that the rear is still open, may try to break-out out or escape to the rear. The two flanking cells will cut him down with ease. If assault is necessary, great care must be taken as one cell assaults while the other two cells switch their fires to cover the assaulting cells' rear.
The second variation of the double-flanking attack which the 3-Cell Squad is capable of, (but not the two-team squad or section) is much more risky, especially as it uses a light machine gun and an underslung grenade launcher in each Cell. Again, one cell provides covering fire while the other two moves to the flanks, but this time they keep moving until each forms a top arm of a "Y" formation. This variation may be used to reduce a stubborn, by-passed centre of resistance, in which friendly troops cannot get in, but the enemy can't get out either. An actual assault is unlikely to occurr here, rather the enemy is to be waited out and destroyed by fire (he will eventually run out of food, ammo, and water), thus (hopefully) sparing friendly troops unncessary losses in trying to dig out a more or less immovable enemy. Great care must be taken with arcs of fire to avoid hitting the other cells, especially for light machine guns, and arcs for these may well be restricted to only about 20 degrees or so. Nevertheless, the enemy is surrounded and his situation is hopeless, and he will be destroyed by fire sooner or later (unless he surrender of course). This is a tactic to be used against hopelessly cut-off and surrounded die-hards, and to kill them without risking your own men unnecessarily against fanatics. You can't really do this with a two-team squad/section.
The USMC formally adopted the Chinese 3-Cell Squad in 1944, and after making its own adaptations to it (including adding a fourth man to each cell, thus inventing the Fire Team), and has used it ever since. It is the envy of Infantry all over the world, and it born was three-quarters of a century ago in China.