by James Rosone
He turned to his executive officer. “Send word to the other battalion commanders that we are to prepare to leave the tunnels. They are to head to their assigned sectors and begin engaging the PLA ground forces as soon as they encounter them. Also, tell our air defense units to be ready to engage enemy aircraft shortly after exiting the tunnels. I have no idea if the air force has been able to maintain air superiority or not, but we’ll need them to cover our advance to the beach. Understood?” he asked.
His XO just nodded, smiling at the thought that they were finally going to get into the action.
Once he had given his XO the green light to move ahead, Wang turned and walked down the line of tanks he would be traveling with, informing each tank commander that they would be leaving shortly. As he stopped to talk to commanders, a group of the tankers gathered around him. He got the sense that they might be a bit nervous.
“This is it, men,” he said, getting their attention. “All our training and long days and nights in the field have led us to this point. When we leave the tunnels, you need to head as quickly as possible to the various beach locations we’ve been assigned. By the time we arrive, the PLA will probably have a substantial amount of armor already landed, so identify your targets quickly and take them out. Keep moving and make yourselves hard targets to hit. We have some mechanized infantry support, but do not rely on them exclusively to keep you safe,” Wang said, hoping his speech would give them the reassurance they needed.
After Wang’s impromptu speech, his men returned to their tanks with a bit more grit and determination than they had a few minutes before. Almost all at once, the tanks and other armored vehicles began starting up their engines in the tunnels. As Colonel Wang made his way back to his command vehicle, he could hear the sound of the tunnel entrance being opened up, which meant the order to move must have come while he was giving his little pep talk. Wang picked up his pace a bit and trotted quickly back to his vehicle, where he was greeted by his tank gunner.
“Sir, the order came down for everyone to prepare to advance,” confirmed his gunner.
The radio in his vehicle suddenly sprang to life. “Striker Six, this is Iron Mountain One. How copy?”
Colonel Wang recognized the voice of his division commander, but it sounded a bit more strained than usual. “This is Striker Six. Good copy, Iron Mountain. What do you have for me?” he asked.
“Striker One, we have lost air superiority. Expect heavy enemy aircraft support when you approach the beach. The international airport has been placed out of commission, and there are currently enemy airborne troops landing across the airport. Your orders are being amended to support the 232nd Infantry Brigade as they attempt to retake the airport. Once that has been accomplished, resume your attacks against the beach landing zones. How copy?”
Shocked by the response, Colonel Wang was lost in thought for a moment before responding. Once his unit left the tunnels, they would be fully exposed and moving as quickly as they could to engage the enemy at the beach. If they redirected to the airport, then chances were a lot of his forces would be destroyed by the enemy aircraft that would undoubtedly be supporting the airborne troopers.
“Iron Mountain, I copy the request. If we do this, my brigade will most likely not be combat effective to engage the beach zones. Do you want me to focus on the airport over the beach zones?” he asked.
There was a pause in the conversation. Clearly the division commander was thinking about that and trying to decide what was more important.
“Striker Six, this is Iron Mountain. Disregard my last order. Continue with your original plans. Hit the beach zones hard. Prepare to fall back to Zone B if air opposition is too high. How copy?” asked the general.
Colonel Wang keyed his mic. “That’s a good copy, Iron Mountain. Good luck and happy hunting. Out,” he responded before he switched over to the brigade net.
“Listen up,” Wang said to his men. “We are a go to attack the beach zones. I want each battalion to hit their objectives and do as much damage as you can. When your units reach 70 % casualties, I want you to fall back to Zone B and be ready to defend from the entrenched positions the engineers have ready for us. Happy hunting, gentlemen. Let’s go kill us some commies!” he shouted.
In minutes, the tanks revved their engines and surged forward out of the tunnels. As Colonel Wang’s tank emerged from the tunnel, he stood in the turret so that he could gain a better sense of their surroundings. His jaw dropped; the destruction before them was astounding. While the area around the tunnels was not that bad, black columns of smoke filled the skyline in nearly every direction. As he looked further down to the beach zones, all he could see was explosions and large billowing clouds of black smoke.
Wang’s tank followed the others in the lead, heading towards Beach Zone Foxtrot, roughly twelve kilometers away from their current position. As they moved across the roads that were not bombed out, he heard the swooshing sound of several missiles. He craned his neck around to see where the noise had come from and spotted one of his air defense vehicles firing off a third anti-aircraft missile at an unseen target high above them.
“As long as his air defense vehicles can keep the enemy aircraft off my tanks, we still have a fighting chance of crushing the landing operations that are underway,” Colonel Wang thought, trying to remain optimistic.
Within the next fifteen minutes, Wang had already seen two enemy helicopters blown up, as well as three enemy aircraft that had attempted to attack his armored column. Three of his tanks and two infantry fighting vehicles were also blown up, his first casualties of the war.
When his column came within three kilometers of the beach, they encountered their first enemy armor resistance, a group of Type 96 main battle tanks, the ZTZ-96s. While not as formidable as the T-99s, they were still dangerous, and Colonel Wang was exceptionally lucky that his M60s caught the enemy tanks by surprise. They were able to get off the first shots, destroying the four ZTZ-96s before they knew what hit them. In seconds, his lead company of tanks punched past the burning wreckage and moved aggressively towards the beach, where the PLA was clearly in the process of offloading additional armor.
The lead company soon radioed back to Colonel Wang. “Sir, we are engaging dozens of mainland infantry fighting vehicles and light tanks. Request assistance to take them out. How copy?”
“That’s a good copy. Sending reinforcements your way,” Wang replied.
Just as the rest of the battalion was moving forward to assist their fellow tankers, nearly two dozen light and heavy tanks emerged from the beach sector two kilometers to their right and charged his units.
“Tank, stop!” Colonel Wang yelled to his driver. “Gunner, turn forty-five degrees and engage enemy tanks!”
The following three minutes were pure chaos as dozens upon dozens of tanks began to engage each other. While projectiles from both sides filled the air like a swarm of killer bees, the Chinese ships added to the fray and shot off quite a few three-inch rounds to try and produce some indirect fire support for their ground forces.
Wang’s tank was rocked twice by near-misses before his driver began to move the tank to another firing position. As the pandemonium subsided, the Taiwanese battalion broke through the remaining defenders and pushed forward to hit the beach directly.
Colonel Wang’s tank followed another vehicle through a cut in the sand that led them straight across the highway to the beach. Just as Wang’s tank cleared the cut, the vehicle in front of him exploded in spectacular fashion, showering Colonel Wang’s tank with shrapnel. Despite the shock of losing their comrades so violently, they pressed on.
As they cleared the wreckage of the tank, Wang had to do a double take at what he saw. There were dozens of amphibious assault ships in the water and driving up the beach towards his tanks. A hovercraft flew in from the water and drove ten meters up the beach before dropping its forward landing deck to offload two ZTZ-96 main battle tanks.
“Gunner, target the tanks on t
hat hovercraft!” Colonel Wang shouted over the intercom.
In seconds, their turret turned to point right at the enemy tanks less than 500 meters away and fired. The first tank blew up as it began to leave the hovercraft; Wang’s gunner had scored a direct hit. A mere second later, the other tank exploded in a blaze of glory — another one of Colonel Wang’s tanks had had the same idea.
While they engaged the tanks and amphibious assault vehicles arriving at the beach, Wang’s gunner grabbed the coax machine gun and poured fire onto the infantry soldiers who were trying to charge toward them. The other Taiwanese tanks followed suit, splattering the enemy forces with heavy and accurate tank and machine gun fire.
When it looked like they might finally succeed in securing the beach, a sudden series of thunderous explosions rocked their tanks. Colonel Wang peeled himself off the floor of his tank and reoriented himself to reality. Through the daze of what was most likely a mild concussion, he realized that they had just been hit by a series of bombs dropped by enemy aircraft. Several more of his vehicles had been completely obliterated. Wang’s only comfort was the thought that those soldiers had not had to suffer in their demise.
“Everyone, fall back to Zone B!” the colonel yelled into the radio. “I say again, everyone fall back to Zone B immediately! We’ve done all the damage we can do here!” he shouted over the battalion net.
“At least we did our best to crush this invasion force right here,” Wang thought. “I hope my other battalions had as much luck as we just had.”
As the battalion fell back, Wang heard the telltale sounds of chopper blades approaching as a series of PLA ground attack helicopters flew in. They strafed Wang’s tanks with machine gun fire. The colonel held his breath; the armor on their tanks seemed to be holding up well against the incoming bullets. A moment later, Wang heard the unmistakable whistle of antipersonnel rockets and his stomach sank. A couple of the rockets did not connect with their targets as Wang’s brigade all performed evasive maneuvers; however, two more tanks were completely destroyed. The losses were adding up.
One of Wang’s anti-aircraft gun trucks sprang to life, rapidly firing heavy machine gun rounds into the choppers above them. Within seconds, one of the helicopters was turned into a fireball, descending quickly from the sky. Two more enemy helos were damaged as several of Wang’s tank commanders returned fire with the M2 .50 machine guns they had on board. They were able to break free from the aerial attack fairly quickly.
It took nearly forty minutes for his entire brigade to make it back to Zone B and begin to prepare to meet the enemy in their fixed fortification. While Wang hated using his tanks in fixed positions like this, he realized that his tanks should have no problem beating back a PLA ground attack from there. Colonel Wang’s main concern was that enemy aircraft and helicopters would still be able to snipe at them with their long-range antitank missiles.
“If that happens, what’s left of my brigade will be ripped apart before they can even make a difference,” he thought with dread.
Whose Side Are You On?
Outside Taipei, Taiwan
Heng Shan Military Command Center
President Hung glared at General Sheng, her Air Force Commanding General. “Are you working with mainlanders, General?” she asked, her voice dripping with hostility and contempt.
General Sheng, for his part, looked appalled at the mere mention of such an accusation. “My force is doing its best to defend this country, Madam President. Perhaps if your government had not cut our funding so severely, we’d have the aircraft, pilots, and equipment needed to properly defend ourselves against a much larger force,” he shot back. Since she had come into power nearly fifteen months ago, President Hung had done what she could to cut the defense budget, shifting that money to education and other social programs; this had not grown any love between her and her senior military leaders.
Minister Feng interrupted the two parties. “Enough. None of this arguing is going to change what has happened. We need to figure out if we are going to be able to stop the invasion.”
He turned and looked to the General of the Army and asked, “What is the status of the beaches?”
General Wong, who had been reading something on his tablet, snapped to attention and turn to address the group. “Our forces held the PLA invasion force at the beach for nearly an hour. In some areas they held out for much longer, but overall, we have not been able to stop the PLA from overrunning our positions and establishing multiple beachheads. They have also secured a couple of ports, although we have some underwater divers that will start to sink the transport ships they try to bring in. I have ordered our reserve forces to move forward and attempt to push the PLA ground forces back to the beaches, but unless my guys can get some sort of air support or air defense, our armored units are going to get wiped out.”
General Sheng bristled at that last comment. “I cannot guarantee any sort of air support for your forces,” he replied. “Just prior to the attack, our advanced warning radar systems came under a sustained cyber-attack. We did not know the mainlanders had launched a cruise missile attack against us until we spotted the missiles as they flew over the island. By then, it was too late to react. Most of our aircraft were caught on the ground. The ones that were in the air were quickly shot down by the sheer number of enemy aircraft being thrown at us. The few remaining aircraft we have left are trying to protect specific areas where we have the strongest air defense systems.”
Sighing softly, President Hung was almost in despair as she tried to calculate the next move. The American delegation had already told them the US would not be able to come to their aid should China invade.
“What are our options, generals?” she asked.
General Wang was the first to speak up. “Right now, our options are limited. We cannot hold the beaches, so we are falling back to our second and third lines of defense. We are going to make the PLA pay in blood for every kilometer of ground they take. At some point, we are going to start losing the major cities, and the island is going to get cut in half. At that point, the focus of our defensive effort will shift to the countryside, where we will try to bleed the enemy dry by carrying out insurgency operations. The bigger question is, at what point do we try to evacuate you, Madam President, and the civilian government to set up a government in exile someplace safe?” Wong replied solemnly.
They might only be in the opening hours of the war, but things were happening rapidly, and at some point, it would become impossible to evacuate the civilian government. President Hung lowered her head. This was not the response she had hoped for.
I’d Trade My Kingdom for a Horse
Washington, D.C.
White House Cabinet Room
The President rubbed his temples. He was feeling immensely overwhelmed by the events swirling around him.
As the Secretary of Labor, Maria Sanchez, finished her brief on the state of the economy and the manufacturing sector, Gates was lost in a sea of thoughts. “I wanted my presidency to be focused on domestic issues — fixing our economy, tax reform, regulation reform, healthcare and immigration. Now we’re embroiled in a global war that just keeps spreading, destroying any hope I had of trying to fix the nation for the little guy. These wretched war hawks have led us to this mess… I’d like to string them all up. Especially that Senator McGregor, who thought sending a carrier strike group into the Black Sea would force the Russians to back down from their threat of force.”
He heard the secretary say something more interesting, and it brought his attention back to the task at hand. Sanchez continued, “While the war is certainly taking resources away from our grander infrastructure plans, it has caused an immense boom in the manufacturing sector. Ford, GM, and Chrysler have shifted over 70 % of their production lines to producing military equipment and their factories are now operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Shoot, even Boeing has had to shift from producing civilian airliners to nearly 100 % military production. They just can’t k
eep up with the demands of the Defense Department.”
“You realize they’re having to do all this because tens of thousands of military members and their equipment are getting killed and blown up?” the President shot back. “While the economic news is good, let’s not forget that we are in the middle of a war — a war that has cost our nation deeply up to this point.”
Secretary Sanchez stiffened at the comment. “I meant no disrespect, Mr. President. I’m just stating the facts. I have a daughter who just enlisted in the Air Force, so I’m well aware of the war and its many consequences. The truth is that the economy is still booming as a result of what’s going on, and that, Mr. President, is a good thing,” she replied matter-of-factly. She then closed her briefing book and sat down.
The president looked at his economic team. They were smart people, all hand-picked based on their ability to get things done, not based on political donations or nepotism. He sighed as he realized his response might have been overly harsh.
“I appreciate everything you guys are doing. I just want everyone to remember that our goal right now is to win the war and bring a lasting peace to our nation and the world. Unfortunately, I need to end this meeting and head down to another briefing. If you will all please excuse me and continue your efforts, that would be greatly appreciated.” The President got up and headed for the door.
As the President began to walk the corridor to the elevator that would take them to the basement and the Situation Room, his Chief of Staff, Retired General Liam Greeson, leaned over. “You were a bit harsh with them, don’t you think?” he muttered.
The President grunted as the elevator door opened and they got in. “You’re right, I was. I’ll call Maria later and apologize.”
The two of them rode the elevator in silence and walked into the Situation Room. The generals and military advisors had already beat them to the meeting and stood up once Gates walked in, waiting for him to take his seat before they took theirs, as was customary.
