by James Rosone
Admiral Lomas finished his walk and found himself in front of the Navy Gateway Inns & Suites. His staff had rented out the facility for his upcoming conference with his senior NCOs and officers. It had been a rough two and a half years for the Navy. Many of them had lost friends and colleagues they’d known for years, some their entire careers. His goal in renting out the facility was to give everyone a more relaxed environment as they collectively talked about the next phase of the war. During the day, they would hold a series of briefings and strategy sessions; at night, the plan was to celebrate promotions and awards over some delicious BBQ and beers, letting the men and women relax and enjoy each other’s company.
As he reached the front door of the building, the sentries snapped a smart salute and held the door open for him and his bodyguards—they never left his side, even for morning walks. He took a few minutes to freshen up in his room and put a fresh uniform on before leaving to head to the conference room.
When he walked into the main meeting room, everyone stood at attention as he made his way to the front lectern. “At ease,” he ordered.
Surveying the room, Lomas saw a lot of familiar faces, but also a lot of new ones. With the war ended in Europe, the bulk of the Atlantic fleet had been moved to his command for the final phase of the conflict. Sensing the energy in the room, Lomas took a deep breath in before letting it out. “Gentlemen, the greatest war our generation has ever fought is in the final stages. We have before us one last great task—the defeat of both India and China. This morning, we’re going to begin with our strategy concerning India.
“The President has given the Indians an ultimatum: they are to make peace with the Allies and leave the Eastern Alliance in seven days, or face severe consequences. In preparation for the need to swing the hammer, we have been ordered to prepare a series of military strikes aimed at two areas of their economy. However, in order to go after their economy, we’ll first have to neutralize their navy. Although their navy has been largely absent from the war to this point, we will begin actively hunting them down and sinking every Indian-flagged vessel we find, to include their merchant marine ships.
“Once the navy has been removed as a threat, we will pursue the assault on their economy. The first domain we will target is their steel industry, going after a series of steel mills and manufacturing plants. India has been providing China with vast quantities of military war stocks, and the fastest way for us to put a dent in the Chinese ability to wage war is to remove India from the war production equation. The second industry we’ll be going after is their railway infrastructure: major rail junctions, railyards, key tunnels, bridges, and repair facilities. This will restrict their ability to move materials to support China and prevent them from moving against the Allied forces in Southeast Asia as we continue to liberate more nations.”
He paused for a second, letting some of this sink in. This was probably many of these officers’ first chance to really see the big picture of the war and how their efforts were shaping the outcome. In many cases, soldiers, sailors, and airmen are told where to shoot and who to shoot, but seldom given an explanation for why or told how their actions impact the grand strategy. Now that Lomas was the Pacific Commander, he wanted to do things differently. He wanted them to know the end state, so they could help him craft the best means to meet the President’s stated goals.
“The purpose of the strikes at these two sectors is to seriously impede their ability to wage war while minimizing the loss of life as much as possible,” Admiral Lomas continued. “Our attacks will take place in the dark of night, when most people will be asleep, and will be coordinated to hit as many targets as possible during an upcoming three-day holiday. These actions will also coincide with a massive cyberattack that CyberCom and the NSA will be launching.”
Many of the officers were scribbling some notes at this point, as well as looking at the maps shown on the wall behind him. “We are forming Task Force 92, which will comprise two of our Ohio submarines, six Virginia submarines, twelve Ticonderoga cruisers, twenty-two Arleigh destroyers, and the carriers Ford, Stennis, Nimitz, and Roosevelt. The fleet will be escorting an Australian Army division and two US Army divisions, which may or may not set up a ground base in India to establish and protect the creation of a series of airfields for the Air Force to operate from. This task force will leave in seventy-two hours and will move at best possible speed to get in position in case the President gives the order to proceed.”
Admiral Richards raised his hand to ask a question. Lomas nodded toward his protégé. “Sir, if we are forced to engage India in direct combat, will that delay or derail the invasion of Mainland China, and do we know where the landings will most likely take place?”
“Those are excellent questions, Admiral. Yes, if India doesn’t surrender immediately, it may push back some of our timelines for when we had wanted to launch the final ground war in China. However, it won’t impede our preparation of the battlefields. We’re going to launch three seaborne invasions. The first two are diversions and will have a limited scope and mission. The third invasion will be the main attack and will coincide with the Army’s three-pronged attack they will be launching from the north.”
Admiral Lomas signaled for General Roy Cutter, the Marine Ground Commander for Asia, to come forward. They briefly shook hands and said a few hushed words before the Marine signaled for his first slides to be brought up. “I’m going to briefly give you the outline for the seaborne assaults, as many of you will start the preparatory attacks in the coming weeks.”
Cutter turned slightly to verify that his first slide was properly displayed, then refocused his attention to the navy captains and admirals before him. “The first attack will be against Shantou, which is slightly southwest of Taiwan. It’s a short distance for our forces on the island to have to move, but more importantly, it allows our force to threaten the Hong Kong-Guangzhou industrial sector to the south, as well as the critical port city of Xiamen directly opposite Taiwan. A landing of Allied forces in this location is going to force the PLA to commit a large number of their divisions down here in order to prevent us from tearing into their industrial heartland.”
He nodded to the captain who was manning the computer with the PowerPoint presentation on it. “Our next landing will be near Wenzhou, another major Chinese port and industrial center. Our goal is not to capture the city or even to threaten further inland. The objective is to make them believe that is our goal and, again, commit a large concentration of forces to the area.”
The next slide showed Lianyungang, just opposite South Korea. “This is our primary landing zone. We’re going to land the majority of our Marines here and then drive on Jining, some 300 kilometers inland. This force will be the primary blocking force for the Army as they drive on Beijing. We’ll go into more detail on these landings in the near future as we get closer to when they will take place. With that, I’m going to hand it over to General John Bennet, the overall Ground Commander for Allied Forces in Asia.”
General Bennet walked up to the lectern and surveyed the room. This was the first time he’d briefed an all Navy-Marine crowd, and it did feel a bit odd. However, if his plans for defeating China were to come to fruition, he’d need their help, especially with the Marine landings. The Marines needed to be such a perceived threat that the PLA would move most of the forces they would have arrayed against him to the south.
“Captains, Admirals, thank you for allowing us Army guys to talk with you today,” Bennet said, which elicited a few chuckles from the crowd. “As Admiral Lomas alluded to earlier, we’re going to hit the PLA with three prongs. The first is going to be Army Group One, which is currently snowed in in Mongolia. A large part of the Army forces from Europe have been moved to this location. They’re going to perform two functions—one, they will go after the Chinese nuclear assets in west China and capture or destroy them, and two, they will attack Beijing from the interior of China.” As he spoke, he used a laser pointer to highlight a
couple of items on a large PowerPoint map.
“Army Group Two is going to attack the Jinzhou-Fuxin Line, which stretches from the coast here to this location here.” As Bennet motioned with the pointer again, they could all see just how large this fortification was. It had essentially become the Chinese version of the French Maginot Line.
“Army Group Three will attack Harbin and thread their way through Tongliao in Inner Mongolia, which will hopefully open up a line of attack around and behind this massive fortification the PLA has built. The hope is that we won’t have to actually punch our way through the Jinzhou-Fuxin Line and get enough forces behind them to force them into surrender. Once we’ve opened this area up, it’s 470 kilometers to Beijing.”
He paused for a moment and nearly laughed when he saw the expressions on the faces before him. He could see that some of the officers were glad they were going to be on a ship and not having to fight the ground side of this war. “Lord willing, President Xi is going to come to his senses and call an end to this war before we have to proceed this far into the plan. If we do have to fight, this land invasion is not going to be quick. We’re estimating the Chinese will fight a lot harder for their actual homeland than they did in the occupied territories. Unless there are no questions, this concludes my portion of the brief.”
One of the captains raised his hand. “Sir, what is the timeline for the Army’s ground fight?” he asked.
“Tentatively, we’re looking at July, but that will largely depend on when the Marines are able to start their seaborne attacks and what happens in India. If the Indians don’t surrender, then we’ve been directed to seize the port city of Chennai on the Bay of Bengal and turn it into a beachhead for potential future combat operations against the Indian government,” replied General Bennet. He didn’t want to get too far into detail about the operations just yet.
Walking to the front of the room, Admiral Lomas addressed the group. “Thank you, General Cutter and General Bennet, for giving us an overview of the coming operations. Gentlemen, ladies, I wanted to give you the big picture of what’s going on so we can discuss how we’re going to make this happen. It’s an enormous task our Commander-in-Chief has given us, and I need your help in figuring out the best means of achieving it. This afternoon and tomorrow, we will break up into smaller groups, and that is exactly what we’re going to do. With that said, let’s break for lunch and then get right to it.”
The next several days, the senior officers discussed the best course of action, and more specifically how they were going to achieve each task. The next six months would change the course of the world, and thus its future.
*******
New Delhi, India
Rashtrapati Bhavan
President Xi would normally never leave China during a time of war, but his meeting with Prime Minister Vihaan Khatri was best held in person. With the demise of President Petrov and the capitulation of the Russian Federation, Xi needed to make sure his remaining allies stayed strong and didn’t jump ship.
The air was cool as President Xi walked toward the location of his little assembly, and the aroma of the gorgeous flowers nearby saturated the Mughal Gardens, which surrounded the grand Indian palace. He heard the noise of a group of people walking behind him and looked back to see Prime Minister Khatri walking toward him, a bright smile on his face. “President Xi, good morning,” he called. “It’s so good to see you in person. I hate using those video teleconference devices.” He finished his approach and the two shook hands.
“Likewise, Mr. Prime Minister,” answered Xi. “I’m glad we were able to meet and discuss these important matters of state in person. I hope you don’t mind my suggestion that we meet in your lovely gardens? With the flowers in bloom and the air so fresh, I couldn’t escape their beauty. The clean air helps to clear the mind.” The two men began walking down another row of blossoms.
“Not at all,” responded Khatri. “The flowers are beautiful, and I’m sure you must miss being able to stroll around wherever you choose.” This statement was a nod toward the security precautions President Xi had to take in China. If the Allies caught wind of where he might be, there was a decent chance a cruise missile would find its way to the location.
Turning to look at his counterpart, Xi started the conversation. “I felt it important for us to speak in person to discuss the war. I was shocked and aghast at what happened in Russia. Who could have imagined Petrov’s own head of personal security and the FSB turning on him like they did? This never would have happened had Ivan Vasilek not been replaced.”
Prime Minister Khatri grunted before he replied. “It’s terrible. The surrender of Russia also sent nearly 140,000 of our soldiers into captivity, and a large part of our air force is also interned. Between our military losses in the Far East and western Russia, our armed forces have been greatly degraded. It will take us many months before we are able to replace the losses in tanks and aircraft.”
The two walked for a few moments as Xi digested what Khatri had just said. “Is he subtly telling me India is not going to continue the war?” he wondered.
“I won’t lie, there have been some major setbacks in the war,” President Xi admitted. “It hasn’t turned out how we had thought it would or how our planners had predicted. However, it’s far from lost. While some of our initial objectives are no longer feasible, many others still are. China still maintains control of Southeast Asia and some parts of the Philippines and Malaysia. The South China Sea is still firmly in our grasp.” He paused, looking at Khatri before continuing. “If India continues to stay with us, we can defeat the Allies when this war turns into a ground campaign. They can’t occupy us or hope to defeat our vast militia force.”
Khatri thought about that for a moment. Their alliance had certainly lost some major battles. They still possessed some of their initial gains, though, and the war-weariness of the Allies would soon begin to sap them of their energy. If the conflict dragged out for several more years, then there was a good chance they could force the Allies into accepting a peace that favored them. The question his colleague, President Aryan Laghari, continued to ask was how much longer the people of India would continue to support the war. With the loss of their armies in both western and eastern Russia, there was a growing undercurrent of unrest among the wealthy members of society.
The prime minister sighed. “You know the Americans issued us an ultimatum last week. We have until tomorrow to end our involvement in the alliance and seek an alternate peace deal with the Allies or face severe retaliation until we capitulate.” Despite the serious topic at hand, the two continued to walk at a slow pace through the gardens, pausing every now and then to admire a bed of flowers.
“The Allies have a fleet sailing toward our waters even as we speak,” Khatri explained. “I have the support of the people right now, but that might change if we were directly attacked. Is there any chance the Allies will entertain a peace settlement now?” he asked, almost pleading for some tidbit of insight.
Xi took a deep breath in and out and walked over to another bed of flowers. Then he turned to look at Khatri again. “The only terms of peace we’ve received from the Allies are contingent on total and unconditional surrender. That is not something I, or the people of China, will ever accept. If the Allies would be willing to sign an armistice, we could end this war tomorrow, but a total capitulation is not something we will accept.”
President Xi continued, “Prime Minister, I want you to think about something for a minute. Even if the Allies did attempt to land forces on your coast, India has such a vast army and population that you could simply overwhelm them at the beach. The Allies can attack you from the sea, but they can’t threaten you on land. China still has some new superweapons that we will be unveiling against the Allies in the near future. I’m confident these weapons will change the dynamics of the war. When the Allies launch their ground invasion this summer, they will be met with such overwhelming numbers of militia forces that we will simply ov
errun them. Then our new superweapons will be unleashed, and we’ll be able to severely damage their air force, the one branch that has prevented them from being completely overrun in Asia up to this point.
“The war in Europe and against us has destroyed more than 50% of the Allies’ tier-one aircraft,” President Xi explained. “These are expensive and complicated aircraft to produce and cannot be replaced overnight. As we degrade them further, the tide of war will change in our direction. I just need India to hold strong, at least until the end of summer. Then you can make a fair assessment as to whether or not our new tactic will have worked.” Xi’s voice almost pleaded with Khatri not to abandon the alliance, at least not right away.
Khatri studied Xi’s face. He must have seen the look of sheer determination in his eyes because his own expression softened.
He nodded his head. “Fine,” he responded. “We’ll stay with the alliance for a short while longer, but your new tactic had better work. I’ll issue the order to our navy to attack the Allies as best they can. We’re going to lose what navy we have in this attack, but hopefully it will further hurt the Allies enough that they won’t be able to properly threaten our country.”
President Xi smiled.
Prime Minister Khatri looked around as if he wanted to make sure no one else could hear them. He leaned forward, “There is one thing I should tell you as well,” Khatri said in a low voice. “Our cyberwarfare division infiltrated one of the American banks.”
President Xi gasped. “When I give the order, they will completely erase the bank’s entire electronic records and their backup records at Iron Mountain,” Khatri said with glee. “This will cause considerable chaos in the American banking system. I hope this attack will help to persuade them into looking for more amenable peace terms.”
The two leaders talked for a while longer before Xi headed to the airport and back to Beijing. Both parties had a lot of things to get ready for.
