“That is partially correct,” Bennet answered. “The GDP of Guangdong Province is roughly $1.42 trillion US dollars, which means the province contributes approximately 12 % of the country’s gross domestic product. However, in terms of military production, the province is responsible for more than 70 % of their entire aerospace industry. When Shenyang was destroyed during the first day of the Korean War, the majority of the PLA’s aerospace industry was wiped out, so they expanded the aerospace footprint in Guangdong Province, which is why so much of the industry is concentrated there now.
“So, yes — we did target the province because of their new UAV fighter. However, our attack there was not limited to disrupting that one specific war fighting element. In addition to the increase in aerospace production, a disproportionate amount of the Chinese small-arms munitions is produced in the Guangdong region. The Pentagon planners believed that if we could target key sectors of their military industrial sector, we could begin to create a massive shortage in their war production and potentially end the war sooner,” Bennet explained.
“This makes logical sense, but why shift our focus away from Beijing to focus on Shanghai?” quizzed Brigadier General Sami Barak, the lone Israeli general commanding the Israeli contingent.
General Bennet leaned forward in his chair and made eye contact with General Barak. “Money,” he answered. “Our attack in Guangdong is going to rip their manufacturing heart out, and Shanghai is going to rip their bank away. Without a military manufacturing base to produce the weapons of war, and without a financial sector to support the war, the PLA will have to agree to our terms of surrender.”
Suddenly it all made sense to the generals at the table. The Allies didn’t need to capture Beijing or even large swaths of China. They only needed to take away their ability to make money and produce the weapons needed to wage war. With those two components gone, the PLA would implode in on itself.
“In two weeks, gentlemen, we’ll launch Operation Olympus and end this bloody war,” Bennet said. He signaled for the new orders to be handed out.
Chapter 16
Operation Olympus
“Take that machine gun out now!” shouted Sergeant First Class Conrad Price. One of his squad leaders leveled his M240G at the PLA soldiers and let loose a long burst of automatic fire as he stitched up the location they were hiding behind.
Zip, zap, zip, zap. Crack…BOOM.
Gunfire and explosions were still ravaging parts of the Pudong Airport perimeter, and the Ranger companies struggled to secure the area.
“Sergeant Price, we need to get this perimeter pushed out to Airport Avenue Road!” yelled Captain Martinez. “The 82nd is starting to arrive, which means the heavy transports are hot on their heels. Get that parking garage secured!” He waved to the dozens upon dozens of parachutes opening up in long lines across the runways of the major airport.
Turning to his soldiers, Price yelled, “Second Squad, let’s move! Third Squad, lay covering fire!”
Lifting his own rifle to his shoulder, Price took aim at a three-story parking garage maybe 200 meters away and fired off several shots at the PLA soldiers firing at them.
Pop, pop, pop.
Green tracers suddenly flew right at him. He sprinted the ten-meter distance to jump behind an airport utility truck.
Crunch, crack, ding, ding.
Bullets slapped into the metal frame of the vehicle. Price did his best to stay hidden until the gunner moved on to another target. Looking back briefly, he saw strings of green tracers flying out toward the paratroopers who were now covering the horizon in parachutes.
Shifting on his back leg, Price popped his head above the back of the utility truck long enough to see the PLA machine gunner fire another string of rounds at a couple of his other soldiers who were bounding forward from vehicle to vehicle as they steadily got closer. Seeing that the gunner was occupied, Price took this moment to run the forty meters of open ground in front of him to a drainage ditch in front of a side road that led to the parking garage.
Several of his soldiers followed him forward, running with all their gear on like they were trying out for the US Olympic team.
“Ten more meters and we’re there,” he thought. A giant green light flew right for his head.
Snap, snap, snap.
Price nearly tumbled end over end as his body did some sort of acrobatic diving, twisting move into the drainage ditch in a herculean effort to avoid the bullets whipping past his skull. He could feel the heat of the bullets, the air pressure changes with each metal object flying past him. That he didn’t get completely torn apart by them was a complete miracle.
As he struggled to right his body in the ditch, dirt and grass rained down on him and the three soldiers that had made it into the ditch with him. Looking back, he saw one of his soldiers lying on his back, both of his hands pressed tightly against his throat as his legs thrashed around, blood squirting through his fingers with each pulse. In seconds, the soldier stopped moving and his body went limp. Another soldier lay on the grass a few feet away, facedown and clearly dead; blood pooled all around him.
“We’re too exposed out here. We have to get to the base of the parking garage,” Price thought.
Enemy tracer fire shifted from their position to one of his other squads, allowing Price and his two other soldiers to poke their heads above the ditch to see in front of them.
“I think I can hit that position with my 203, Sergeant!” yelled one of the specialists with him. Price glanced down and saw the M203 grenade launcher the soldier had attached to the bottom of his M4.
Price nodded to the soldier. He and the other sergeant with them fired at the PLA soldiers on the third floor of the garage.
Thump…boom.
Thump…BOOM!
“Now! Let’s go, go, go!” yelled Price. He launched himself forward out of the ditch to cross the last thirty meters to the base of the parking garage.
It took them less than a minute to race across the open ground, and they found themselves outside the reach of the enemy soldiers above them. As Price scanned the field behind them, he saw Third Squad was still at their starting location, continuing to lay down covering fire on the enemy positions. One of the fire teams from Second Squad was nearly to them, while First Squad was pinned down halfway between them and the parking garage.
“We need to make our way up the garage and clear it out,” Price said to the two soldiers still with him. They both nodded and the three of them entered the multistory parking garage.
Steadily, they made their way to the stairwell in the south corner of the garage. As they cleared the stairwell, they systematically moved their way up from the ground floor to the second floor. Pausing for a second at the second-floor door, Price could still hear shooting, but it didn’t sound like it was originating from that floor.
They continued up to the third floor. While one Ranger aimed his rifle ahead to the landing, his two buddies moved forward; then the next guy would keep his rifle aimed at the next level while they repeated the process, methodically clearing the stairwell until they reached the top platform and the final door.
Price dropped his magazine and examined it. “Eight rounds left,” he said to himself. He placed the magazine in his drop bag and grabbed a fresh thirty-round mag, slapping it in place.