Colonel Tilman was frustrated at the painfully slow pace of getting the Marines ashore. The enemy’s air-defense systems had thus far proven to be a lot heavier and more sophisticated than they had been led to believe. His own aviation wing had lost nine Ospreys in the first four hours of the invasion, and another dozen CH-53 Super Stallions — not a good way to start an invasion.
He sighed before responding, “That’s a good copy, General. We’ll do our best to retake the airfield once those fast movers help us out. I’m not sure how fast you can get my reserve battalion ashore, but I sure would appreciate their help here at Fort Mag.”
After General Cutter took a quick shower and had a bowl of oatmeal and some orange juice, it was time to check in on the status of the various battles unfolding in the Philippines. Walking into his command center, he saw a number of officers animatedly talk amongst themselves over a map that was spread out on a table. Sensing something was up, he moved to investigate.
“What’s going on?” Cutter inquired. The group of majors and captains suddenly grew quiet.
Seeing a possible moment to shine in front of the general, one of the young captains spoke up. “We’re reviewing the latest positions of the Indonesian 1st Infantry Division. The bulk of their force has fallen back to the Mount Banahaw area. They’ve essentially left the entire lower portion of Luzon open for the taking. We were discussing what our forces should do next in response,” he explained.
A major, who had only recently joined his staff, chimed in to add, “We’ve managed to offload an entire brigade down near Legazpi, and they’ve moved inland. For some reason, the Indonesian general has left behind small units to harass us, but nothing serious. They clearly had a numbers advantage on us and time to prepare a layered defense; it just doesn’t make a lot of sense that they would give that up without a fight,” he concluded. A few of the other officers nodded in agreement.
General Cutter smiled. “It could be that this Indonesian general heard he’d be facing the United States Marines and decided it wasn’t worth dying for, so he withdrew his army to a more defensible position,” he said to the laughs of the men around him.
“No, on a serious note, they’ve probably fallen back because they fear us landing a blocking force behind them, trapping them down on a narrow part of the island. Nearly the entire island is in range of the Navy's 5-inch guns, which means they can provide a modicum of indirect fire support. Let’s let him retreat for right now. We need to focus on offloading as much of our armor, artillery, and troops as possible for the time being. I want the entire 7th Marine Division offloaded before the end of the week.”
Turning to a colonel who’d walked over to him, Cutter asked, “What’s the status of the 6th Marine Division in the north? Last I heard, the battle of Fort Mag was still raging on into its second straight day. Have we finally secured that base and beaten back those Chinese paratroopers yet?”
Colonel Rob Porter nodded. “Colonel Tilman’s brigade radioed in an hour ago that they had officially re-secured the airfield with the help of the new reinforcements. They’re in the process of pushing the perimeter further out and going after the retreating paratroopers. I have his brigades’ latest casualty report, along with the carrier strike groups’. You should know the admiral was furious at the aircraft losses his forces suffered in retaking that airfield.”
General Cutter just nodded as he took a long drink of water from the bottle he had just opened. Looking over the casualty list, he just shook his head. “So many Marines…” he thought in despair.
“Did it really take one of his battalions two days to advance ten kilometers inland from the beach?” he inquired, not sure if what was just handed to him was correct.
“Yes, Sir,” answered Colonel Porter. “That battalion also sustained 218 casualties securing the beachhead for the Navy. Apparently, those Chinese paratroopers were responsible for defending the roads and hills around the beach and had somehow maneuvered a number of 152mm Howitzers into the hills — the intelligence guys must have missed it. Those guns tore up our armor before they were destroyed by the carrier airwing.”
“I take it the enemies’ surface-to-air missile systems are to blame for the large number of losses we’ve sustained up to this point?” Cutter inquired. He wanted to know if it was the lack of air support that delayed them, or if it was poor leadership.
Porter pulled a different map from a stack on his desk and brought it over to the table the two of them were now standing next to. Placing the map on the table and putting a couple of objects down to hold the edges, he explained the problem. “The issue is much larger than one factor, Sir. The battalion commander was aggressive, just as we’ve instructed them to be, but we had poor intelligence of the area. The SEAL and recon teams were directed to find and eliminate the air-defense systems on the island, so the Navy and Air Force could provide us with air support. That led to us not having enough information to know what we were potentially walking into.” As he spoke, he pointed to where the enemy air-defense systems had been located.
“The Air Force and Navy hit the SAM fields around these areas here,” Colonel Porter continued as he pointed to two locations around Manila: one at Subic Bay and one near Clark International Airport. “When the Navy went in to support our guys at Fort Mag, the enemy turned on a new SAM nest we hadn’t seen yet, and subsequently shot down a number of their aircraft. Destroying that nest took the Air Force another twelve hours, as the aircraft had to fly in from Guam with more standoff cruise missiles. It was during this delay that the Chinese launched that massive counterattack that nearly wiped our guys out at the base. By all accounts, Sir, it was one of the bloodiest battles of the war with China. Colonel Tilman was on the ground during the entire thing. He relayed a very hair-raising experience when I spoke with him.”
“I’m glad you were able to talk with Tilman,” said Cutter. “What’s the status of the rest of the division? Are they ashore yet?”
“The 3rd Marine Amphibious Brigade just offloaded. They’re now making their way to Fort Mag and will drive down to Manila. The 2nd Marine Amphibious Brigade will be ashore by evening. They’ll head toward Clark International Airport and then push on to Subic Bay. If I may, because of how badly mauled the 1st Marine Amphibious Brigade was during the last two days, I’d like to recommend that we leave them to garrison the surrounding area of Fort Mag and the beachheads. Most of the brigade is down to 50 % manning. Until they’re reinforced with additional replacements from the States, I’m not sure they would make an effective offensive force,” Porter explained.
Cutter nodded at the suggestion. “OK. Send a message to Tilman and let him know his brigade is now responsible for the security of the area. Tell him he needs to focus on making sure the airstrip stays operational and securing the beachhead. When I talk with the Pentagon later today, I’ll let them know I need the next batch of reinforcements to be flown directly to Guam. From there, we can throw them on C130s and have them flown to Fort Mag. I want Tilman’s brigade back to full strength ASAP. He’s my best forward commander, and I’m going to need him for the next invasion,” the general said. Then he turned back to the larger map that showed the entire Chinese occupied territories — his eyes were fixed on Taiwan, the real prize to his plan.
Formosa Fortress
A soft mist of rain was drifting across the mountains that overlooked the lowlands of Luodong Township and the eastern shores of Formosa. Seagulls squawked off in the distance, and waves crashed against the shore in the early morning twilight.