by James Rosone
“Mr. President, our airborne forces were officially relieved two days ago by elements of the 31st Army. We have traditionally had good relations with Myanmar prior to our incursion, and we have used that relationship to our benefit. Our social media campaign was very effective in painting our forces as saviors to the needy of the nation, and as our troops have moved across the border, we are distributing food and offering free medical clinics in each of the villages and cities our forces enter.”
“Before our invasion of Myanmar, we liaised with their military and informed them that as long as they do not resist, we will integrate their army into the PLA as a colonial army, and even offered to pay them in Chinese dollars in accordance with their ranks. This has proven to be exceptionally effective, to the point that we have only had eight armed confrontations. Three of our soldiers have been killed, while close to one hundred have been injured, but this was mostly from a bridge that collapsed when several troop transports crossed what they thought was a stable bridge. Aside from these few engagements, the majority of the military and the political leaders of Myanmar have welcomed us with open arms.”
The other members of the CMC asked a variety of questions about the operation, but otherwise appeared content with the progress being made in Myanmar. In less than a month, the rest of the country would be occupied by the PLA, and then the integration of their economy and armed forces would begin. One of the first priorities would be to bring in a vast amount of specialized farming equipment to increase the country’s rice and other agricultural production to maximum capacity. China would also begin a series of massive infrastructure projects, connecting the rail lines in western Yunnan province with the ports in Yangon and the other major cities in the country.
Once additional farming equipment and proper infrastructure were developed in Myanmar, the country would be able to provide up to 11% of China’s demand for rice and 14% of its demand for other agricultural products. Myanmar would also provide China with a seaport on the Indian Ocean, greatly shortening the transportation time of moving goods to and from Europe.
As the group finished discussing the situation in Myanmar, General Wei moved on to the next slide in his presentation, which showed a map of Laos, a fellow communist country. Unlike Myanmar, Laos had a souring relationship with Vietnam. Throughout the late 1970s and into the 1980s, Vietnam had both invaded and then occupied parts of Laos. It was not until the late 1990s that Vietnam had fully withdrawn its forces from the country.
General Wei explained, “As you know, the People’s Republic of China has spent the better part of the last seven years developing enhanced economic relations with Laos. The commitments we’ve made there to increased foreign aid and economic development seem to be paying off. We implemented the same strategy with Laos as we did with Myanmar in terms of offering to pay any Laotian armed forces that are cooperative in Chinese Yuan. We also bribed key senior military and political officials there when we found a holdout or it was needed to smooth the transition.”
General Wei nodded in acknowledgement towards Foreign Minister Yong. “Our compatriot here also spoke with key state officials in Laos to make it clear that once Laos was successfully annexed, all of its foreign debts to China would be forgiven and its other international debts would be taken care of by the People’s Republic.”
“So, how is the military advancement going there, given these enticements?” asked a more cantankerous advisor.
“The 12th Army moved throughout the country unhindered, and has secured their armed forces. We have encountered virtually no resistance to the annexation there. The rest of the Laotian government should be fully integrated over the coming weeks. Once the military actions are complete, both Laos and Myanmar will become provinces of China; the leaders of each respective country will remain in power as long as they support the authority of the Chinese government. As soon as these countries come under the umbrella of our authority, we will all begin to benefit; our Minister of Agriculture is confident that his department will be able to start integrating Laos’ food production into our economy starting next week.”
The various advisors and political officials in the room all nodded, happy with every word that had just come out of General Wei’s mouth.
Then the next slide in the presentation came up, and a collective groan could be heard. Even the stoic men before him could not help but express some frustration at the sight of a map of Vietnam.
China and Vietnam had had a troubled relationship since the end of the American war with Vietnam in the mid-1970s. Soon after that conflict, Vietnam interfered in Laos, and since China maintained close political ties with Laos, they invaded Vietnam to “teach them a lesson.” That military incursion lasted for several years and resulted in a humiliating defeat for the Chinese army. The Vietnamese had become extremely battle-hardened after fighting the French and the United States. They were also militarily backed up by the Soviet Union, which provided them with numerous military advisors and also a significant amount of military equipment. The result was a drawn-out war that resulted in the PLA being humiliated at the hands of a much smaller nation.
The PLA had an axe to grind against Vietnam, especially since their country had somehow managed to thaw their relationship with the US and were actively considering allowing the US to build a naval base in their country. Vietnam had also laid claim to the Spratly Islands, which were clearly part of China and held vast oil and natural gas reserves. General Wei was not at all surprised by the change of mood in the room.
Wei glanced at the slide; the picture was not pleasant. Unlike Myanmar and Laos, several regions of Vietnam were bogged down in heavy fighting. He took a deep breath before he began. “Mr. President, we invaded Vietnam with the forces from the Southern Theater of Operations, led by General Yang. We bolstered his army group with 100,000 militia forces. Because of this, our army has been able to capture Hanoi and the surrounding area in less than two weeks. Our airborne forces have secured the critical port area of Hai Phong, which will allow us to better supply our military there and bring in additional ground forces.”
He then moved to a slide that showed the southern half of Vietnam. “The PLAN was able to offload their naval infantry to secure the coastal cities of Huế and Da Nang. We also landed a substantial force not far from Ho Chi Minh City, which they should secure by the end of next week. Our three carriers have been providing exceptional air support to the naval infantry, and proven they can operate as an effective combined air, land, and naval force.” As he spoke proudly about the achievements of the PLAN, its leader (who was seated several seats away) swelled with pride.
President Xi smiled. “Congratulations are in order to Vice Admiral Ning Sheng, I see. Your efforts to modernize our navy and turn it into a fully integrated combined arms force have clearly been very fruitful.”
The President turned to the Commander of the Chinese Air Force, General Xu Ding, and asked, “How have our new aircraft and bombers been performing in Vietnam?”
General Xu smiled proudly. “The Chengdu J-20 has performed beyond our expectations. During the opening hours of the war, it successfully shot down 12 Vietnamese fighters that attempted to interdict our airborne forces. It has continued to provide exceptional air superiority over Vietnam, shooting down another 14 aircraft.”
He switched over to a couple of his own slides to discuss some of the assessments they had conducted during the war. “We were able to successfully test the effectiveness of several of our naval cruise missiles from the Xian H-6 bomber. These missiles are now going to go into full production. We also tested several air-to-ground stand-off cruise missiles and guided munitions with the bomber as well. This was critical as this was the first time we were able to see how a number of our missile and bomb platforms would perform during a live combat scenario. This combat drill also proved that we can effectively engage and sink a foreign naval force with our anti-ship cruise missiles.” As he spoke, he showed several images of the H-6 firing a variety
of different missile platforms.
Before he concluded, a devilish smile curled up on the left side of his face. “Unbeknownst to the West and the rest of the world, we also successfully tested the H-20, our subsonic stealth bomber that has some similar characteristics to the American B-2 Spirit. The H-20 penetrated the Vietnamese airspace undetected during the opening hours of the incursion and carried out a series of strikes. We have continued to test various bombing tactics and ordinance with the H-20 in Vietnam and believe we have identified the few remaining flaws in the system. If we need to use it against the Americans, we now know it’ll be effective.”
Setting the Trap
North Atlantic
Captain Yuri Popov drank his coffee, lost for a moment in his thoughts. “I still can’t believe that I’m here,” he marveled. “I had hoped that cooler heads would prevail, and we could not go to war, but now that our brothers in the Black Sea have sunk an American Supercarrier, we might actually have a chance at winning. The American Navy has the best equipment and technology that money can buy, but if we could sink one of their Supercarriers, maybe they aren’t as good as everyone thought that they were…Well, if the Black Sea fleet could sink a carrier, then surely our little wolfpack can sink a few freighters in the Atlantic.”
Captain Popov reached the bottom of his cup of Joe, and moved back to action, signaling for his executive officer to join him at the map table while they discussed the plan of attack.
“To review, once we get in range of our cruise missiles, we are going to be the first to fire. Then as the NATO anti-submarine forces move towards us, our two Akula submarines will close in on the convoy and attack with their torpedoes.”
Mikhail, the XO, nodded.
Popov continued, “I want you to send a message to the Akulas. Tell them to position themselves in this area here.” He pointed to a spot on the map, roughly 140 miles from the mouth of the New York Harbor.
“Ay, Sir,” Mikhail responded.
The captain went on, “Our last intelligence report, which is only two hours old, said a group of fifteen freighters left Baltimore Harbor yesterday, and a group of six US Navy ships left Norfolk about the same time. Both groups are headed to New York, most likely to link up with this other group of twelve freighters and four additional naval ships. Altogether, that makes 27 freighters being guarded by ten navy ships. Of the ten naval ships, three of them are actually Marine amphibious assault ships, so they will not pose a serious threat to us.”
“The Akulas should be ready to commence their attack as soon as they hear our cruise missiles launch. If they have a clear shot, they should target the Marine amphibious troop ships first. If not, then they should take out the largest freighters that they can--those will most likely be the roll-on, roll-off ships that would be carrying the heavy armor units.” Captain Popov paused for a moment to allow his XO to catch up; he had been writing notes down, and he was getting a little behind.
Pointing to another position roughly 150 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia, Popov resumed his explanation. “When everyone has carried out their attacks, we will rendezvous at this location here. Then we will regroup and determine what Moscow wants us to do next,” he said with a smile.
Mikhail’s mouth also curled up to one side, mischievously. “Sounds good, Sir. I’ll get these instructions written up and sent off within the next two hours.”
Prior to the conflict, the Russian Navy had equipped their submarines with a new buoy communication system. At certain times on different days, the subs would raise the buoy to just below the surface and send or receive a set of messages. The buoy would stay just below the surface, sending several small antennas above the water for no more than sixty seconds, just long enough to send and receive a burst message and then dip back below the waves. The time window was coming up soon.
“Good,” Popov responded. “We need to get moving if we are going to be in position to attack the convoy when it leaves for Europe tomorrow. We are set to make contact in less than 24 hours.”
Retirement Cancelled
Atlantic Ocean
Captain Patrick Gilbert had just taken over as the Commodore of the first major NATO supply convoy to leave the US for Europe; they had just finished assembling outside of New York Harbor, and would make the transatlantic journey shortly. Captain Gilbert had been nearing retirement when the situation in Europe turned sour. He was less than eighty days away from retirement when he received a call from the Chief of Naval Operations office, informing him that his retirement had just been rescinded, and he was to take over as Commodore of NATO Convoy Group Alpha. He was to take Command of the USS Churchill; a guided missile destroyer that had just completed a series of repairs at Norfolk to act as the command ship for the convoy.
Upon receiving his orders, he hopped in his Ford F-150 and drove down to the pier where his new ship was docked. He was greeted by the executive officer and the outgoing Captain, a Commander Richard Owens, who was being assigned to a staff position. It was an impromptu change of command as there was a lot to get done and not a lot of time to get it all accomplished. They had fifteen hours to get everything sorted before they needed to be on their way to New York to link up with the convoy. Captain Gilbert would have a total of six guided missile destroyers as part of his squadron to defend the convoy. They really needed about ten to do the job effectively, but the rest of the available ships had already been detailed off to the carriers that were putting to sea. With the loss of one carrier in the Black Sea, the Navy wasn’t taking any chances with the Russian submarines and had beefed up the carrier strike group’s compliment. He would have to make do with what he had.
*******
Captain Gilbert lifted his mug to his mouth and took a long drink of the freshly brewed coffee that the steward had just brought to the bridge. After nearly 30 years in the Navy, Pat had become a bit of a java snob, and had developed the uncanny ability to balance the hot liquid in his cup no matter how rough the water got. Prior to the ship leaving port, he had brought his personal stash (40lbs.) of Calle San Juan Costa Rica coffee beans aboard, telling the stewards this was the only coffee he wanted brought to the bridge when he was on duty. The rest of the officers and enlisted personnel that worked on the bridge began to become fans as well of the sweet-toned Costa Rican java, which had a rich spicy floral note. It sure beat the garbage the Navy issued.
Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Tiffany Brewster walked out on the bridge wing, and joined the captain as he drank his coffee. In the distance, she could see the coast of Delaware as they moved to where the convoy was forming up. Tiffany had joined the Navy because she wanted to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps, who had been an officer in the Navy during World War II. As a child, she used to listen to him tell her stories of what it was like during the war, riding a destroyer as they provided convoy duty in the Atlantic; his tales of hunting German U-boats had been scary but also exciting.
When she was old enough, she applied and was accepted to the Naval Academy at Annapolis. It had taken years of effort and a lot of career planning, but she had finally made executive officer of the Churchill, a guided missile destroyer. Her goal was to get a command of her own when she was eligible for her next promotion in two years. When she heard the Churchill was going to be commanded by a senior captain, she got excited; this was an opportunity for her to shine and prove she was ready for a command of her own. A senior captain could hopefully, help influence the selection board in her favor when the time came. She did not know a lot about Captain Gilbert, other than the fact that he was months away from retirement when he had been ordered to take command, but he had a solid reputation in the destroyer world as a very capable captain and mentor.
“You think the Russians are going to try and attack the convoy?” she asked the Captain, hoping to get a sense of what he was thinking.
Pat took another sip from his coffee, savoring the flavor as his ship crested another wave before plowing its way down the small trough. He turned a
nd looked at his XO. She was young, but from what he had read from her personnel file and reviews, she was sharp and very capable. “If I were the Russians…I certainly would. The bigger question is, are we ready and capable of being able to stop them if they try?”
She pondered this question for a minute before responding, not sure if this was some sort of test. “I think it’s going to be challenging for us to guard 27 freighters and three Marine Amphibs with six escorts. I know we are supposed to have P-8 Poseidon support for the duration of the trip, but that’s a lot of ocean for us to have to cover.”
Captain Gilbert nodded his head in agreement. She was sharp, and willing to give him an honest assessment, not just want she thought he wanted to hear. “She’ll do,” he thought.
“Good answer, XO,” he replied. “The P-8s will be helpful, but we are going to have to rely on our helicopters and our towed sonar arrays. I’m going to want to have the squadron deploy with two ships always racing in front of the convoy: one listening with the towed array, while the other moves ahead to get in position to do the same. They will pretty much leapfrog each other all the way to Europe, clearing a path for us. The ones on the flanks will have to stay ready to move to where we think we have a possible sub. We’ll have one ship trailing the convoy, and our ship will remain near the center of the convoy with our towed array deployed.”
Gilbert took another sip of his coffee before continuing, “The fastest ship we have in the convoy can only make ten knots. So that will unfortunately be the max speed the convoy can make.”
“How do you want to deploy the helos?” Tiffany asked, wanting to know if the ship’s two helicopters would need to have some sort of special schedule.
