by Dale Brown
strike group-they only have mines and fuel-air explosives left by now,
but that should do the job." He pointed at the high-definition monitor.
"HongLung will need to move farther north, right to the mouth of Davao
Gulf, before firing. That means we have about twenty minutes to get
someone in position..."
"There isn't time to send retargeting data to the B-Is, Tom, " Jarrel
said. "We've got two orders we can give the bombers now-attack or
withhold. If we order two planes to withhold, they abort right in the
middle of all that air defense. They have to traverse a hundred and
twenty miles of stiff defenses, find the right ship, and attack. It's
crazy. I say send the B-Is in and finish the job. This is an obvious
bluff, and we're falling for it. "But if it's not a bluff..."
"I have a suggestion, sir, " Masters said. "I think I have a way we can
strike that Chinese destroyer in time. And Jon Masters began to outline
his plan to his audience. . MINDANAO, THE PHILIPPINES The frigate
Xiamen had been hit by no less than six Harpoon missiles and was burning
as fiercely as a volcano in the mouth of Davao Gulf-its patrol boat
escorts could not get within five kilometers of it because of burning
fuel oil on the water, the intense heat, and the occasional explosions
in her weapon magazines. Three of Xiamen 's six patrol boat escorts had
been hit by Harpoon missiles, which left Davao Gulf wide open for the
strike package to enter. Two B-52s took heavy-caliber gun fire hits
from patrol boats and were forced to jettison their ordnance armed
before penetrating into the target area, and one was shot down as it
withdrew from the area; all of the crewmen safely ejected and were taken
prisoner. The destroyer Yinchuan, which had few antiair weapons in its
arsenal, was the next to fall. Ten B-52s from the three southern strike
packages descended on it and her escorts, filling the air with forty
Harpoon missiles designated just for one vessel. Most of the missiles
struck other vessels or were intercepted by Yinchuan 's escorts, but ten
Harpoon missiles found the heavy destroyer. It sank in less than twenty
minutes. The destroyer Dalian, which was equipped with the Hong Qian-9 I
surface-to-air missile system, and its antiair-equipped escorts wreaked
havoc on the six B-52s that were fragged to attack it. Two B-52s
sustained heavy damage and were forced to withdraw; one crashed over
land to the east of Bangoy Bay, while the other was attacked by fighters
and destroyed as it tried to escape the target area. But Dalian had
expended most of its weapons defending the amphibious assault force
against Tomahawk cruise missiles, and it soon found that it could not
defend itself against an onslaught of twelve Harpoon antiship missiles
launched against it. Battered and listing to starboard, the destroyer's
captain finally decided to beach his vessel near Matiao rather than have
it sink in Bangoy Bay. The vertical-plot greaseboard in the flag bridge
of the destroyer Hong Lung was physically painful to look at. Destroyed
vessels were in red, damaged and out-of-commission vessels were in
black, damaged but operational vessels were in green-and-black stripes,
and fully operational vessels were in green-and there were damned few of
those. Fortunately, most of the green vessels were amphibious assault
ships-the attackers still had not reached the Marines on the beach.
"Flag, bridge, we have visual sighting on destroyer Xiamen, " the
skipper of the Hong Lung radioed to Admiral Yin. "He is signaling a
request for assistance. Shall we come alongside?" Captain Sun looked at
Yin, who silently shook his head. Sun considered asking the Admiral to
reconsider, thought better of it, then radioed, "Bridge from flag.
Tactical recovery only, longboats and stage-three damage-control
parties. Maintain course and speed to establish patrol position. Flag
out." Sun shut off the intercom before the captain could argue as well.
"Dalian reports he is safely aground, sir, " a radioman reported.
"Captain Yeng reports he can repair his fire-control system, estimated
time to completion, thirty minutes." Another silent nod from Yin. "Tell
Captain Yeng to continue antiair coverage with electro-optical and
visual means until his radar fire-control system is repaired, " Sun
said. "Add that the Admiral commends him for saving his vessel and for
his confirmed kills, but that he is still the primary antiair warship
for the invasion force." Captain Sun stepped over to the vertical plot,
studied it for a moment, then said, "We should have the transports evade
north into Bangoy Bay-it will hide them better from any bombers that are
still in the area. When the all-clear sounds, they can travel at flank
speed south with their escorts to recover. "What escorts?" Yin
muttered. "What escorts are left?"
"You see, sir, we have at least six patrol boats . . . and the Hong
Lung group will be in position to cover their withdrawal, of course.
Once past us, our air coverage will protect them until they dock at
Zamboanga to load reinforcements."
"Six... patrol... boats.. ." Yin said in a low, wavering voice. "Six.
. . I began this operation with eight destroyers, twenty frigates, and
nearly sixty patrol boats. There are no capital ships left that can
escort the amphibious assault ships back to port? None?"
"Sir, most of our frigates and patrol boats are still operational and
still on patrol in the Philippine Sea, " Sun said. "We have recalled a
few of them, along with the destroyer Zhangzhou, to holster our inner
defenses." Sun stepped toward Yin, straightened his back, and said,
"Sir, you deployed your forces like a true master tactician. You fought
a superb battle against the best the Americans could throw at us. Your
objective, the Marine invasion and the occupation of Davao and Samar
International Airport, is almost complete. You have won, sir. You
have-"
"Sir! Enemy aircraft inbound from the northeast and east of Davao, "
the radioman reported. The vertical plot technician began drawing in
the aircraft reported inbound, and the number seemed to grow to alarming
size every second. The northeast aircraft were farther behind the
eastern group, but were moving in rapidly. "What kind of aircraft are
they?" Sun ordered. "The Admiral needs type of aircraft. Get it!"
"Aircraft in eastern group reported as B-52 aircraft only, " the
radioman replied after several inquiries. "No identification yet on
northeast aircraft." But judging by the speed at which the vertical plot
technician was updating their position, Sun could easily guess-B-52
bombers, followed by B-I and F-I I I bombers. The three southern groups
were just the first wavethe second package, not as large as the first
but even more powerful, were going after the Marines themselves. "Issue
an air-defense alert to all vessels and all forces; enemy bombers
inbound from the east and northeast, " Sun ordered. "Have all forces
take cover on the beach. Disperse landing craft and assault vessels as
much as possible." Admiral Yin looke
d as if he had been deflated with a
knife. He could only stare at the vertical plot, muttering something to
himself that Sun could not hear. "Sir? Do you have further orders?"
Sun asked. The Chinese Fleet Admiral could only mutter something
unintelligible, stare at a slip of paper he had been given by the
communications section, and stare at the board in absolute horror.
"Attention! Attention! Air-defense warning! Gunners man your
batteries and stand by." Colonel of Marines Yang Yi Shuxin glanced
nervously at the loudspeakers on the "island" superstructure above him,
then at the turrets where the ship's numerous 37-millimeter antiaircraft
guns were mounted, but he quickly turned his attention back to the men
on his landing craft. No one said a word, but Yang raised his voice
easily above the amplified voice and said, "Be silent, all of you. The
gunners have their job and you have yours. Stand by." Yang was leading a
troop of forty heavily armed Chinese Marines in the invasion of Davao.
They were aboard the aircushion landing craft Dagu, a monstrous
sixty-ton vessel that skimmed above the surface of the water on a
cushion of air created by six gas-turbine-powered propellers on the
bottom of the craft; two turboprop propellers above pushed the craft to
over seventy kilometers per hour over land or sea. Dagu carried two
small armored personnel carriers, each with 30millimeter machine guns on
board; the landing craft itself was armed with two 14.5-millimeter guns
manned by four very young-looking soldiers. Unlike other landing craft,
Dagu would take her Marines right up onto dry ground instead of into
chest-deep water. The amphibious landing ship they were on carried two
such air-cushion landing craft, plus four conventional landing craft,
along with twenty armored troop-carriers on the tank deck and thirty
"deuce-and-a-half' utility trucks on the main deck, plus a total of four
hundred Marines. Other amphibious assault tank-landing ships carried
air-cushion landing craft, but they always called on Colonel Yang to
lead any assault. Yang's men would be the first Chinese soldiers to
occupy Samar International Airport and lay siege to the city of Davao
itself. Other smaller Yuchai or Yunnan-class landing craft had gone
ahead to try to draw fire, spot targets for the destroyer's guns, or
dismantle beach defenses. Dagu would lead the main Marine assault on
the beach itself. After Yang's Marines and APCs captured the beach, they
would bring the amphibious assault ship into shallow water, deploy the
pontoon bridge sections carried on the hull sides, and start rolling the
trucks off the forward ramp. Once on the road, the trucks would rush
forward and take Samar Airport-and victory. The LST's two big twin
76.2-millimeter guns began pound ing away on the beach as the amphibious
assault ship made a slight turn to bring both guns to bear. "Ready!"
Yang shouted, and his men gave an animal-like growl in response. Dagu
's helmsman started the engines, and the air-cushion vehicle's
four-meter-tall armor-covered skirt quickly inflated. A horn blared on
the aft deck, the stern ramp lowered, and Dagu 's helmsman gunned the
twin turbojet propellers. The air-cush ion craft leaped out into the
darkness, hit the water, and sped toward the beach. What Yang saw when
they cleared the amphibious assault ship looked like something out of a
child's nightmare. Ships were on fire everywhere. At least two other
tank- and troop-landing ships were burning fiercely, with smoke
billowing out of two more. Antiaircraft guns were sweeping the skies in
seemingly random patterns. The water that Yang could see was littered
with bodies, capsized landing craft, and debris. As he watched, another
explosion ripped across the water, the shock wave strong enough to
stagger him. He had to remind himself that he could not show fear in
front of his men, most of whom he knew were watching him. One of the
toughest things for a Marine to do was step off a fast, safe landing
craft and hit the beach, and for most of them only the sight of a brave
leader would make them do it. They had been dropped into the water over
two kilometers offshore, but the air-cushion vehicle ate up the distance
quickly-less than thirty seconds to go, and they would be on dry land.
The helmsman was taking a zigzag course into shore-he was probably only
dodging other destroyed landing craft or pools of burning fuel, but Yang
always told his troops that they did that to confound the enemy gunners.
Dagu 's gunners opened fire several times on the beach, but Yang heard
no mortars, bazookas, or heavy gunfire coming from there. "No resistance
from the beach!" he yelled to his men. The Marines around him growled
happily in reply. "Drive and conquer! Split into threes, divide, and
run for cover! Watch for engineers ahead of you." Minesweeping engineers
who had gone ahead of them had fluorescent orange tapes on their arms
and backs to distinguish them from... A huge explosion erupted behind
them, lighting up the horizon so brightly that Yang could easily see the
treeline. "Eyes front!" Yang shouted as his men ducked, then began to
try to turn around in the close confines to see what had been hit. "Get
ready!" Yang did not look either, although judging by the secondary
explosions, their amphibious assault ship had been hit. He could
faintly hear the roar ofheavyjet planes overhead, and Dagu 's gunners
even swung their puny machine guns futilely in the sky after the engine
sounds. That did nothing but highlight their positions. "Guns front!
Reload! Cover the landing!" Yang shouted. The gunners and their
loaders were too scared to listen-they were either watching the
destruction of their mother ship or scanning the dark skies above for
enemy bombers. "APCs, start engines!" The heavy diesel engines on the
armored personnel carriers roared to life, and gunners in the top
turrets chambered rounds. Seconds later, the air-cushion landing craft
hit the shore, the turbojet engines surged to full power, the craft
raced up onto the beach, and the forward part of the air-cushion skirt
began to deflate for offioading. The gunners finally began to rake the
treeline with gunfire. "Ready!" Yang shouted, and the
adrenaline-pumped men growled once again. The forward lip of the
air-cushion vehicle hit the ground and the ramp swung down. Yang leaped
up onto the ramp, ran down it onto the beach, then waved at his men,
pointing toward the treeline not thirty meters away. "Marines! Go! Go!
G-" His last word was drowned out by a massive cloud of fire and a
head-pounding explosion-Yang felt as if all the air had been sucked out
of his lungs and replaced by sheets of pure fire. Several Marines
scampering down the ramp were blown off their feet and onto the beach as
a shock wave larger than any Yang could ever recall rolled over them.
His night vision was completely wiped out by a blinding burst of light,
and his eardrums felt as if they had burst-no, his whole head felt as if
it had burst... Four F- III G fighter-bombers screamed into the area
n
early at supersonic speed, right into the midst of the lines of landing
craft trying to land their forces on the beaches south of Davao. They
did not carry Harpoon missiles or bombs. Instead, each carried four 2,
000-pound BLU-96 HADES FAE, or fuel-air explosives, canisters. Each
HADES canister contained three hundred gallons of explosive fuel-oil,
and the canisters were toss-released about a thousand feet over a group
of eight landing craft. About eight hundred feet above the water, the
canisters popped open, and the fuel oil began to disperse in large white
clouds of vapor. Seconds later, when the vapor cloud was about five
hundred feet above the landing craft and had expanded to one hundred
feet in diameter, tiny sodium detonators in the vapor clouds fired off.
The resulting explosion was greater than the force of a
twenty-thousand-pound high-explosive bomb, creating a mushroom cloud of
fire that stretched across the water for nearly half a mile and a shock
wave that churned the water into a boiling froth for two miles in all
directions, deafening or knocking soldiers unconscious and setting the
landing craft underneath the explosions immediately afire. Two of the
HADES canisters sailed over the beach, amidst several platoons of
Chinese Marine engineers, and the incredible force of the explosion was
just as devastating on land. The closest HADES canister went off three
miles away, but to Yang and his Marines it felt as if they were in the
middle of an erupting volcano. Yang found himself dazed but unhurt,
flat on his stomach, his rifle thrown several meters away. He
lowcrawled to his rifle, picked it up, then rose cautiously to his
knees. "Marines! Forward! APCs! Move out!" Thankfully, the first APC
began to lumber off the air-cushion landing craft; the second showed no
signs of moving. "Get those APCs off the landing craft! Move it! Move
it!" Slowly, his men got to their feet, stumbling toward the APCs to
take cover behind them as they got their senses back. As Yang urged his
men to get off the landing craft, he was able to scan out toward the
straits toward his amphibious landing ship-and what he saw horrified
him. The entire interior of the ship seemed to be on fire. Pieces of
