Taiwan's Second Operational Zone executed the largest cross-operational zone reinforcement in Han Kuang exercise history on Aug. 10, 2026, pushing two battalions of armored vehicles overnight from Hualien to Yilan aboard civilian flatbed trailers and freight trucks.
The nighttime mission, conducted on day six of Han Kuang 42 live-fire exercises, was the first time the Second Operational Zone had carried out a cross-operational zone reinforcement at battalion scale during the annual drill. Storm Media was embedded with the force and witnessed the entire operation.
How Civilian Trucks Moved An Armored Force Overnight
Forces began assembling at the Hualien Chongde Control Station (崇德管制站) shortly before 10 p.m. on Aug. 9. Armored vehicles were loaded onto civilian flatbed trailers and large freight trucks, and the convoy pressed northward along the Suhua Highway, passing through the Chongde Tunnel. By approximately 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 10, the column reached its Yilan staging point. Armored vehicles were unloaded and troops fanned out along multiple routes to pre-designated tactical positions.
A Historic Scale With The Commander On Board
Lt. Gen. Chiu Chih-feng (邱之峯), commander of the Second Operational Zone, accompanied the force throughout the operation. The mobilization of two battalions represented the largest force commitment in any Han Kuang cross-zone reinforcement to date. Previous iterations of the exercise had tested cross-zone reinforcement concepts at smaller scales in immediate combat readiness drills and joint defense exercises, but Han Kuang 42 committed full battalion strength and integrated civilian transportation assets for the first time.
Taitung District Command Fills The Hualien Force Gap
To prevent a force vacuum in Hualien's key ports and strategic zones while the two battalions pushed north, Taitung District Command (台東地區指揮部) simultaneously deployed forces into Hualien from the south. The parallel movement demonstrated Taiwan's ability to maintain overlapping territorial coverage even as ground forces shift across operational zone boundaries — a capability that would be critical if real combat required rapid rebalancing of island-wide defenses.
The cross-zone mission reflects Taiwan's broader priority of verifying that forces can move quickly between geographic commands without leaving defensive gaps at the point of departure. （Related： Han Kuang 42 | Civilian Trucks Haul Taiwan's Armor North by Night ｜ Latest ）
Original Article in Chinese
