“That’s a negative. Scout units are further to our south and north, screening for us. This pocket of tanks and ZBDs your company engaged appear to be the only hostile units in our immediate area. Out.”
With his orders adjusted for the time being, Diss pulled up their navigation system and plotted in the new waypoints. Once they were entered, he sent them out to the rest of his platoons so they could sync their systems with his.
They were less than forty kilometers from the city of Harbin. As they got closer to the major population center, their battalion would again swing south to avoid civilians as they pressed southeast using the various Chinese highway and expressway systems. Then they’d race just northwest of Changchun, where they would again avoid the major city.
They stopped for several hours to refuel and rearm before pressing on again. Only this time, they broke west of the city until they came to the outskirts of Bayantalazhen. There they waited for the rest of the division to catch up before they started their next drive. That stretch would lead them around the Jinzhou-Fuxin Line, giving them a clear shot at Beijing.
Chapter 11
Operation Warhammer
Sitting in the wardroom of the USS Portland amphibious transport dock, newly-promoted Lieutenant Colonel Tim Long could sense the apprehension in the air from his officers and senior NCOs. They were about to embark upon what would, in all reality, be the bloodiest campaign of the war to date — the invasion of mainland China. After a lot of changes to the original invasion plans over the last six months, it had finally been settled that the Allies would focus on the capture of several key Chinese cities and provinces as opposed to their initial objective of driving on Beijing and dividing the country up. It was hoped that this change in strategy would bring about a much swifter end to the war than the original plan President Gates had approved.
Tim Long was still getting used to commanding a full battalion; six months ago, he had been in charge of a company. Due to attrition in the officer ranks and the continued expansion of the Marines, the Corps had a massive shortage of officers and NCOs to continue filling out the ranks of the new units, and a lot of battlefield promotions had been going around.
Nevertheless, Lieutenant Colonel Long was there in the wardroom, and he decided he’d better make the best of it. He cleared his throat. “This is probably going to be the last time we all meet together for the next few days. It’s going to get hairy once the action starts, so I want to make sure everyone fully understands what’s expected of them and our overall objective,” Long said. His men leaned forward, listening intently.
“Our battalion has been given the task of capturing the Yantian International Container Terminal and the harbor. This is going to be the 6th Marines’ primary beachhead, so we need to secure this facility quickly. The PLA is going to throw everything they have at us to keep us from seizing this critical port. Knowing that, we’ve devised a plan that I believe will work.”
He pulled up some maps on the video monitor. “McKnight’s Never Company is going to air-assault in and secure Kuk Po Lo Wai Park for 1/10 Marines, who’ll be arriving via LCACs. We’re getting the entire battalion of artillery to come along with us. That gives us thirty 155mm howitzers for fire support.”
Several officers let out low whistles, and others nodded in approval.
Long turned to look at the man who’d be in charge of protecting this critical brigade-level asset. “Captain McKnight, it’s going to be imperative that Never Company holds the surrounding hills and approaches. The entire brigade is going to be depending on that fire support. I can’t stress enough how important holding your positions will be,” Lieutenant Colonel Long asserted.
McKnight nodded, adding, “You can count on us, Sir. No one’s getting past us.” McKnight was a Marine reservist who had joined Long’s command four months ago after 4th Battalion had officially formed. In the civilian world, he was a high school wrestling coach in the fall and a track and field coach in the spring. He was tough as nails and had quickly earned the respect of his men.
Colonel Long relaxed a bit at McKnight’s confidence and turned next to Captain Hammermill. “Oscar Company has the critical task of securing the beach near Boluoshan. It places you opposite the port we need to secure. Come hell or high water, you have to lock down those facilities as quickly as possible. Eliminate any threats and then push the perimeter out. The Navy’s going to bring in a Ro-Ro ship that’ll start offloading our LAVs and tanks.”
Hammermill responded, “You’ve got it, Sir.”
They spent the next two hours going over every element of the plan in detail, asking questions and making sure everyone knew what was required of them. Within twenty-four hours of landing, they’d be replaced by their sister battalion, 3/6 Marines. Then they’d head inland to work on securing the next set of critical ports around Chik Wan in the Shenzhen Bay area. This would completely isolate Hong Kong from the mainland and make it much easier to secure. It would also give them the necessary port facilities to quickly offload the rest of the division’s equipment and get them in the fight faster.
The V-22 Osprey hugged the water as it approached the dark landmass. Every now and then, the pilot would jink to the right and then veer back to the left, just in case an enemy antiaircraft gun was lying in wait for them. In seconds, they were over Grass Island. They made their way toward Plover Cove Country Park and their final objective. Looking off in the distance, the pilots spotted tracer fire starting to lift off from Tong Yan Chung, where the port was.
The pilots deftly kept the Osprey just above the water and then the treetops, doing their best to keep themselves from becoming visible to the enormous amount of antiaircraft fire that had started to saturate the early-morning sky. Shortly after making landfall, the first several Ospreys flared their noses up and settled their giant tiltrotor aircraft down on mainland China. In seconds, thirty-two Marines rushed off. The dust and grass of the empty field before them would soon be turned into a massive artillery firebase.
Two other Ospreys landed their human cargo a kilometer further west, near the small village of Kai Kuk Shue Ha, while two more Ospreys dropped another platoon of Marines to the southwest, at a village called Tin Sam. Both of these platoons were to act as a blocking force and a tripwire in case PLA forces tried to head toward the soon-to-be-established Marine artillery base.
With several hundred Marines dropped off, the group of seven Ospreys turned back to the Portland, where they would begin the task of picking up the next company of Marines to ferry to the mainland.
While the Marines were air assaulting in hundreds of grunts to secure their objectives, the Navy had sent in six of their littoral combat ships; three of their smaller, swifter Cyclone fast-attack patrol boats escorted the eight LCACs that were bringing sixteen of the thirty howitzers ashore. Several other Cyclones raced in to the port facility and other key objectives to drop off several platoons’ worth of Navy SEALS.
Boom, boom, BAM!
Captain McKnight looked off at the port facility a kilometer away and saw several large explosions billowing up into the night sky. He briefly caught the silhouette of one of the Navy’s patrol boats as its chain gun raked an enemy position with hundreds of bullets.
“Give `em hell, boys,” he muttered under his breath. Then he returned his attention to the task as hand.
“I want those trees down, now!” he roared. “We don’t have much time left to get this area cleared out!” The half dozen Marines unraveling det cord around several trees dutifully sped up their process.