“Each of these bunkers will have a crew of between 130 and 200 personnel. This area here,” he said as he pointed to a large carved-out area of dirt where a few dozen workers were busy setting up more wood molds for cement walls, “will be the bunker or living area where most of the soldiers will ride out any large bombardments, as well as sleep and eat. It’ll have enough beds for up to two hundred soldiers and enough food and water to last thirty days.”
General Yang was impressed with the structures themselves, but also concerned that such a stronghold could simply be bypassed and avoided. He’d need to make sure the northern approaches were made unusable so the Allies would be forced to funnel their men and tanks through this line.
“Colonel, this is a most impressive fortification your engineers have constructed,” he praised. “I do have a couple of questions for you. First, how will you prevent the Allies from dropping a laser-guided bomb directly onto the bunker, rendering it useless? Second, while I like the idea of the 152mm Howitzer in the center of the structure, how will you protect it from the Allies’ own artillery or rounds from the enemy tanks?”
The colonel nodded. “To answer your first question, General, as you can see, we’re pouring the inner mold of the structure. This inner mold consists of a new type of cement mixture, which we have found to be nearly ten times stronger than the standard cement used in normal construction. We have also placed reinforced steel bars throughout the cement to give it more strength.
“Prior to selecting this process to build these fortifications, we tested them against the likely bombs and artillery fire they would receive from the Allies. We built this exact structure nearly a year ago and hit it with every type of bomb, missile and artillery the Allies have. In each case, it held up. We found that if we placed a specific layer of earth on top of the structures, we could prevent it from being demolished by a standard American bomb. They would need to use one of their specially designed bunker-busting bombs, and frankly, the Americans don’t have an unlimited supply of those.
“Also, to prevent enemy artillery from scoring direct hits, we’ve built a shelf that protrudes several meters over the structure, and this shelf is what the enemy artillery will hit. It’ll prevent artillery from being able to fly in at an angle and hit the front of the structure. As for tank rounds, a lucky shot may still get through, but we’ve minimized the likelihood as much as we could. Each gun room is also closed off from the rest of the structure, so even if one room took a direct hit, the explosion wouldn’t ripple through the rest of the fortification.”
The colonel obviously took pride in what his unit was constructing. General Yang had to give the man credit — he’d really thought this defensive network out well. If the bunkers held out as well as their tests had shown, then it should give the Allies a real bloody nose when they did eventually come calling. Yang was still concerned about the Allies’ Air Force though — he knew from his own military training at the American Citadel that the Americans would hammer these positions with precision strikes.
“Colonel, you and your men have done an exceptional job preparing this position,” Yang praised. “Please continue the work you’re doing. I fear we don’t have much time before these positions will be put to the test. When do you believe they’ll be complete?”
“We need another week to finish the cement work of the bunkers. Once that’s done, we should have everything else completed a week later. We’ll be operational in fourteen days, assuming the weather doesn’t give us any serious problems,” replied the colonel confidently. The other engineers around him nodded in agreement.
“Very well, please continue, Colonel. Your country is counting on you and your men. I must get going; I have many more positions to inspect today. Thank you for your time.” General Yang shook several of the colonel’s men’s hands, encouraging each of them to do their best before he left.
When the inspection was over, General Yang and three of his most trusted officers headed back to the Harbin Z-9 helicopter that would take them on the rest of their tour. A small contingent of Special Forces soldiers who were his personal bodyguards also got on board, though they sat in the back of the helicopter. Yang and his three compatriots sat in the center of the helicopter, directly behind the two pilots.
As soon as everyone was seated, the helicopter’s rotors started whirring. A few minutes later, the chopper was airborne. The pilots deftly turned toward their next destination, the mountainous region to the northeast of Beijing.
With the added noise of the helicopter, Yang and his three officers leaned in closer to talk.
“These positions won’t stop the Allies,” Colonel Commandant Han Weiguo exclaimed. “Lieutenant General Zhou is going to recommend that we use tactical nuclear weapons.” Han had been General Yang’s personal assistant and staff officer for three years. Yang had come to trust his honest and blunt assessments over the years.
Major General Cao Xueen, General Yang’s deputy, added, “He’s right about General Zhou. He’s going to insist we use tactical nuclear weapons to stop the Allied advance. Will the President side with him or with you on this matter?”
Yang thought about that for a moment. Since assuming command of the PLA six weeks ago, he had managed to slow the Allies’ conquest of China. He had been building trust with the president, but Xi had known General Zhou for many years.
General Yang shook his head. “I’m not 100 % sure,” he admitted. “Xi is pretty insistent on holding Beijing no matter what the cost to the city or people.”
Cao shook his head angrily. “You have to convince him to pursue a peace with the Allies before more of the country is destroyed. Have you seen how many people have been fleeing the cities ahead of the Allied army? There has to be nearly a hundred million people displaced as refugees—refugees in our own country!”
The other officers nodded. Yang sighed, not sure what more to say. He’d ask the President about it when they met up again in a few more days. Until then, he was going to do his best to make sure the city was as prepared as possible to repel the all-but-inevitable attack.
Chapter 23
Eerie Calm
Nine weeks of ground combat had taken its toll on the men of 4th Battalion, 6th Marines. They were tired, beaten up, and ready for a break, and it looked like they had finally caught one. The PLA forces in the area had finally withdrawn into the countryside outside the major cities.
Despite having chased the remnants of the Chinese Army out of the area, Lieutenant Colonel Long’s battalion now needed to expand the perimeter outwards and begin the long process of occupation duty and hunting down the remaining enemy units. With his new set of orders, Long set out looking for a suitable location to establish a large Marine base that could support operations within the cities he was now in charge of as well as the frontier countryside his Marines would still need to patrol as they looked to keep the remaining PLA units at bay.
After spending a day examining the area from the air in an Osprey and then following up with several ground inspections, Long finally settled on a large undeveloped plot of land not far from the Beijing River and the bridges that connected each side of the city. With his site picked out, he sent the engineers and two of his companies to work on getting the perimeter established so they could begin building out the guts of the base.