by Vivek Ahuja
“This doesn’t help me any,” the PM grumbled. “If we don’t respond then the people of this country are going to hang us. Beijing cannot be allowed to get away with this!”
“And they won’t! But acting rashly is exactly what they want us to do!” the NSA shouted back.
“Besides, what are we going to strike back with?” Chakri asked rhetorically. “The Chinese attacked us with long-range cruise-missiles. We don’t have any in our service. Air-Marshal Bhosale and Air-Marshal Iyer are putting together our response now. But we need to give them time to plan and execute their actions properly and not act out of turn. Bite the pain! Our time to respond has not yet come!”
“When this is all done,” Ravoof said, “the escalation to nuclear weapons will be inevitable. What we need to do soon is to draw a line in the sand to ensure that Beijing knows the consequences of any action beyond it. Perhaps the Russians can be asked to open a discreet line of conversation with Beijing. The main danger here is that neither side will give up the war in defeat. So we have to find out what the real cost of peace is, or else we will all find out the real cost of war.”
NEW CHINA NEWS AGENCY
DAY 10 + 2359 HRS
“The operations by the courageous men and women of the People’s Liberation Army against Indian aggression on the borders of Tibet go well on its tenth day. The people of northern Bhutan celebrated the arrival of our soldiers and thanked the soldiers for freeing them of Indian hegemony. The Indian attack on our innocent comrades in Kashgar was avenged today when the People’s Liberation Army Air Force launched a devastating series of raids on Indian forces in the eastern frontier city of Tawang. It was an action that weighed heavily on our leaders but the enemy has been shown that they would be better off not underestimating our will and our determination to ensure our people’s safety. If the enemy continues to push us further, they will find themselves engulfed in an ocean of fire the likes of which the world has never seen.”
day 11
HAA-DZONG
BHUTAN
DAY 11 + 0530 HRS
Lieutenant-General Potgam walked out of the former IMTRAT admin building after being woken up by his adjutant. He stepped out of the main doors and looked around. The place was as abuzz with activity as ever, despite the freezing cold morning. Mi-17s were operating out of the former golf-course, although the mushed up ground there no longer looked like it ever was anything more than a swamp. The artificial grass there had been crushed into the earth long ago under the weight of the arriving helicopters loaded with cargo. Had it not been for the few paved roads inside the base this place would have shut down because of deteriorating logistics long ago.
Potgam walked down the small step of stairs from the building and began walking to the parked AXE utility-vehicle parked on the road waiting for him, its engines revving on neutral gear. He recognized his driver but also noticed new faces standing nearby with their Tavor rifles…
The 12TH Para-SF Battalion had deployed alongside the 9TH and the 11TH into Bhutan. The 11TH was deploying via An-32s at Paru and being airlifted via helicopters from there to Thimpu, where Colonel Misra was leading the assault on the remnants of the once powerful PLA Highland Division at Barshong. The 12TH Battalion was Potgam’s reserve force that he intended on deploying for security duties around Paru and Haa-Dzong.
The 12TH Battalion had already deployed companies to Lieutenant-Colonel Fernandez’s location north of Paru and had also secured Paru airport.
Now he could see Paras standing next to his vehicle, heavily armed in case JFB headquarters came under attack. But Potgam was not worried about getting attacked from the ground. Not anymore.
Potgam had chopped over control for a single Nishant UAV from his original force to the commander of the 12TH Para-SF to allow his men to find and isolate the faint infrared signals detected north of Paru and suspected of being enemy special-forces units. Potgam had no spare men before to try and do anything about them. But now the situation had changed, and he wanted them dealt with…
His driver pulled the vehicle from neutral and pushed into forward drive just as the two Paras jumped into the back. The vehicle lurched forward on the slushy wet mud and accelerated, forcing Potgam to hold on for his life. His vehicle drove past the parked helicopters at the golf-course, heading away from the admin building and towards a large patch of trees just inside the base perimeter to the east. He could see camouflaged netting deployed over the tree branches to cover the comms trailers. He also saw a dozen or more Paras patrolling in silence, their breaths visible as puffs in front of their faces…
No. His main concern for this base now was from the air. The Chinese control of the skies via manned aircraft was no more. But the threat from cruise-missiles and ballistic-missiles was definite and very real.
As JFB forces became more and more dominant and the PLA positions became weaker, this threat only increased. And it didn’t take more than two or three missiles to completely shut down Paru for days, if not permanently.
Same went for Haa-Dzong.
He had controlled this war in Bhutan in its initial days from the old IMTRAT buildings. Now the threat to this place was very high and he could not afford to continue keeping his headquarters so vulnerable. So he had ordered all critical elements of the headquarters spread out and dispersed. The situation and the threats had changed, and so had his tactics.
The only problem is, now I have to drive for five minutes every time I want to make a call to somebody!
The vehicle rumbled to a stop a few meters away from the entrance of his comms trailer, bristling with antennae and small satellite dishes on its flat roof. There was an army technician climbing the ladder on the side of the trailer to reach the roof as Potgam walked over. His comms officer, an army Lieutenant-Colonel, was there to meet him.
“Well?” Potgam asked.
“General Suman wanted to talk to you, sir,” the signals officer replied as they walked in and shut the door behind them. Potgam was handed a speaker set from one of the NCOs inside.
“Warlord here,” Potgam said matter-of-factly.
“Potgam, it’s damn nice to hear your voice! How are things looking up there?” Suman said from Kalaikunda. Potgam noted the informality of the conversation. There were very few people in the army who could take that tone with him, and only because they had known him for decades. He responded accordingly and had a rare smile on him:
“It’s nice to hear your voice too, Suman. Glad to see you in nice spirits. I take it the Chinese plans for us aren’t going too well?”
“Indeed!” Suman exclaimed. He was in good spirits. “The bastards thought they could kill me and push my boys out of Arunachal Pradesh just like last time. Well, I am still alive and kicking and it hasn’t worked out too well for them over there. Sikkim is secure like the gates of hell and we have snatched a good chunk of the Chumbi from them during Chimera. I wish things were as good in Ladakh but that’s out of my control. I heard that there are nasty armored knife-fights taking place over there even now. Our boys got their asses handed to them and they returned the favor to the Chinese. Neither side has any strategic momentum worth speaking of over there now. This brings me to Bhutan.”
Oh boy. Here we go… Potgam thought as he listened.
“Bhutan is the only sector where we have lost significant chunks of soil, Potgam,” Suman continued, more soberly this time. “The Chinese hit Bhutan much harder than we had expected. Heck, we were still looking around for the Highland Division when it went rolling into the RBA defenses. And the Bhutanese got crushed and folded their cards far too quickly to give us a chance. You and Dhillon have done well under the circumstances. If I had the time, I would let you do what you are doing and retake the lost territory. But time is a luxury we no longer have.”
Potgam frowned as he nodded to himself. This was not a surprise.
“Nuclear card?” He asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yes,” Suman answered bluntly. “The bastards
in Beijing hit Tawang yesterday with cruise-missiles and inflicted staggering civilian casualties. At about the same time, their media mouthpieces started blurting very clear threats to further attacks against our cities and infrastructure, possibly with nuclear weapons if you read between their lines. The intelligence boys up at army headquarters are convinced that we are fast approaching Beijing’s nuclear threshold.”
“Surely they are not that stupid?” Potgam thought out loud. “Between Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, we must have crushed…about seven Divisions worth? Maybe five more remain in engagement? Add perhaps other six or seven Divisions in Ladakh plus their security Divisions in Tibet? So they have a lot more Divisions across the mainland that they can bring into the fight first. Why jump to the nuclear card so soon?”
Suman thought he knew the answer to that question: “Because, old chap, our flyboys decimated their flyboys during the time we were fighting on the ground. Air-force operations in Ladakh and southern Tibet have been highly successful. The Chinese can no longer control what is happening in Tibetan skies and their ground forces are feeling the heat as a result of it. Our boys are now striking deep into Tibet. Any and all reinforcements the PLA intends on bringing in will be hammered before they even get to the FEBA. Beijing can see the writing on the wall here.”
“It’s Sumdorung Chu all over again,” Potgam noted and sighed.
He had been a young Lieutenant back in 1986 during that crisis. The threat of nuclear weapons use by China in response to any Indian offensives into PLA controlled territories had forced India’s hand to quite an extent despite superiority against the PLA. It was happening again…
“Yes it is!” Suman agreed. “We push them too hard and they will move to the nuclear threshold.”
“Which gives us little time on the ground here,” Potgam added.
“Exactly. How much time do you need?”
“Damn hard to say, Suman,” Potgam said as he considered that question. “This is war we are talking about here. I can’t give you an estimate because we don’t know how hard the survivors of the Highland Division north of Thimpu will fight. Only thing I can say is that every bit of support, men and time you can buy for us is useful. Colonel Misra leading the Paras is fully aware of the overall situation and is expediting things. That is the only guarantee I have for you right now!”
There was silence on the radio for several seconds.
“Very well, warlord,” Suman said finally. “You have the ball. Run with it as best as you can. Meantime, I will get my operations people to divert as many resources as we can free up. We are fighting under a nuclear umbrella now, my friend. Let’s keep that in mind. Panther-actual, out!”
GOLMUD
NORTHERN TIBET
DAY 11 + 0740 HRS
The first rays of sunlight sneaked under the low hanging clouds and illuminated the eastern slopes of the mountains. But none at the airbase had time to muse over the beauty.
As the valley reverberated under the characteristic whine of Il-76 engine noises, few looked up. The KJ-2000 touched down on the concrete of the runway, leaving puffs of smoke in its wake and rolled all the way to the end of the runway. Aircraft landing at such high altitudes had to land faster and had substantially longer roll distances. It sped past the main tarmac where a smaller KJ-200 was parked with engines switched off. The tired and weary crew of that aircraft were stepping off and boarding a military bus that would take them to their secure bunker residences.
Further down the line five Su-27s stood on the tarmac, loaded out to full capacity with air-to-air weapons. Two of their brethren were rolling to take their place on the runway for take-off just as the large AWACS aircraft rolled off it and headed towards its designated area under the guidance of a utility vehicle in front of them.
OVER NORTHERN BHUTAN
DAY 11 + 0745 HRS
The EW operator on board the Indian CABS AEW aircraft checked his watch and noted the time on his notepad with a pencil. He looked over his shoulder to see Group-Captain Roy standing with his arms crossed, looking at the data on the screen.
Twelve hours to the mark… Roy thought and smiled.
The PLAAF had gotten complacent and fallen into a cycle of operations that had become highly predictable. Just a few minutes ago the replacement KJ-2000 for the one that had returned to Golmud had broadcast its radar emissions for him to see and detect.
The Chinese 76TH Airborne Command and Control Regiment and the rest of its parent 26TH Air Division were running defensive operations like clockwork out of Golmud with Su-27 and J-11 support from 19TH Division’s roster. Almost all of these aircraft were now on DCA tasking over central Tibet.
It doesn’t matter why they fell into complacency. Just that they did…Roy thought as the EW operator typed up the latest track information and transmitted it to the operations center at Shillong.
As he had done before.
BAGHDOGRA AIRBASE
NORTHERN INDIA
DAY 11 + 0830 HRS
In the fields north of the airfield, word came down to the battery commander and his crew from SFC headquarters. They had been briefed beforehand and had several hours to prepare.
They were ready.
Within minutes the noise from the hydraulic pumps filled the air and the first of three Agni-I ballistic-missile launchers elevated their precious cargo. As the missiles reached their elevated position, they jutted above the nearby trees. The sunlight glistened on the green-brown camouflaged missile fuselage carrying the black re-entry warhead on top.
Moments later the ground reverberated and an exhaust of fire and smoke flashed out of the nozzles on the first missile, filling the air and forming a cloud that enveloped the missile within seconds. The tip of the missile elevated above the gathering exhaust and the missile lifted into the clear blue morning skies underneath a pillar of flame.
It was followed seconds later by the second missile and then the third.
Within a minute all three missiles were in the air and their pencil thin trailing exhaust outlined their northbound parabolic trajectories for all the citizens of Baghdogra to see…
GOLMUD AIRBASE
NORTHERN TIBET
DAY 11 + 0835 HRS
There was little time for the Chinese to respond.
The KJ-2000 airborne radar aircraft over Lhasa immediately picked up the launches as the missiles moved above the elevation of the Tibetan plateau and accelerated far above into the upper atmosphere. Soon they were above and beyond the detection range of the Chinese radars.
The warheads separated from the boosters and fell back into the atmosphere. The three black warheads moved above all remaining Chinese air-defenses and entered the atmosphere on their way down south of Golmud…
Klaxons were sounding off at the airbase there as the warning from the airborne KJ-2000 radar crew came down via the 26TH Air Division HQ at Korla. But there was no defense possible. As every Chinese soldier on the ground ran for cover, dumping whatever they carried with them at that moment of time, the three one-thousand kilogram conventional warheads streaked through the atmosphere above their heads. At the speeds involved, it might as well have been instantaneous for those on the ground below.
The first warhead exploded a few dozen meters above the camouflaged revetments being used by the crews of the 821 Brigade detachment including their three CJ-10 GLCM launchers, command, control and support vehicles.
The expanding ball of white flame flashed through the area, ravaging the ground and reflecting the shockwaves across the hard terrain in all directions radially. The thunderclap instantly deafened anyone within the Golmud valley and the expanding circle of destruction behind a wall of gravel and rocks swept through the outer perimeter of the airbase…
The second warhead slammed moments later into the concrete tarmac being used by the 76TH ACCR and the inverted cone of flame and concrete rose hundreds of feet into the air, expanding outward and sweeping across the parked Chinese AWACS and AEW aircraft.
/> The mushroom cloud of dust and smoke was now rising thousands of feet into the air when the last warhead, a bit delayed at launch, swept overhead and crushed its way into the runway midway along its length.
In one brutal and sudden sweep the Chinese 26TH Air Division and its organic 76TH ACCR had lost the bulk of its AWACS and AEW assets. By the time the thunder and echoes of the explosions rippled through the hills and dissipated away, the three mushroom clouds of dust had enveloped the airbase as they rose silently into the gray skies above.
OVER THE SIKKIM-TIBET BORDER
DAY 11 + 1240 HRS
The high frequency rumbling noise of the Heron’s twin propellers was drowned by the howling winds as the large unmanned aircraft flew past the snowcapped Chomo-Yummo peak and entered the Tibetan plateau, twenty-thousand feet below. The sunlight glistened off the dull-gray paint as it flew above the intermittent cloud cover below, deep inside Chinese controlled Tibet…
The Israeli made Heron is designed for very high-altitude and long-endurance missions. But it is not a combat aircraft. It has no weapons of its own. It does have powerful eyes and the patience to stay above, quietly, for long periods of time.
For the past eleven days, IAF Herons were being used for reconnaissance patrols above the battlefields in Ladakh, Chumbi-valley and Arunachal-Pradesh. But in all these cases they had flown over Indian airspace. But now that the PLAAF fighter and airborne radar threat as well as the S-300 based air-defenses in the Shigatse-Lhasa region had been terminated, the conditions had changed. The PLAAF would continue to challenge the skies over central and southern Tibet, but they would now not have the assets needed to find and eliminate the lone Herons flying over remote sectors and at high-altitudes. And that was good enough for the Heron operators within the IAF.
