Once the Air Force had torn into the enemy tanks, it would then be time for the four battalions of tanks that General Jackson had lying in wait on the outer edges of his flank to move into position and prepare to close the trap.
For the next forty-five minutes, the brigade he had at the center of his line continued to fall back, giving ground to keep drawing the enemy in. Then the two squadrons of Wolverines swept in and began to hit the enemy positions. Each of the Wolverines had been armed with four Hellfire antitank missiles and antimateriel rocket pods. The 32 turboprop planes flew in fast, just above treetops, hitting the enemy’s frontal attack units with their Hellfires and then hammering the rear-echelon units with their rockets.
As the AT-6s turned for home, several Indian MiGs swooped in and managed to down four of the Wolverines before a pair of Japanese F-15Js shot them down and covered the withdrawal of the remaining ground-attack planes.
Once the Air Force had hit the Indians, General Jackson sent a message to his hidden tank battalions that it was time to swing the gate shut on their pincer movement and finish the enemy off. It was time to stop retreating and stand and fight.
The following three hours were complete chaos as nearly 320 American tanks and three times that many Indian tanks fought it out on the fields of Siberia in what was probably the largest tank battle of the war in Asia. The American AT-6s returned several more times, adding their own carnage and so did several dozen Indian Jaguars and MiGs. As the day turned to evening, the battle continued, only it turned decisively in the favor of the Americans whose tanks were better equipped to fight in the dark and had trained extensively in this type of environment. The lone squadron of Apache helicopters General Jackson had also torn into the remaining enemy vehicles, using their specially equipped night and thermal targeting equipment.
By the time the sun came up the following morning, the Indian armored force that had been the tip of the spear the previous day now lay as a burning graveyard strewn across the nearly 400 square-mile battlefield. It was the single greatest combat loss the Indian Army had ever experienced up to that point. More than a thousand tanks and another two thousand armored vehicles had been destroyed. Over five thousand Indian soldiers had been killed, while another seven thousand had been captured.
With the defeat of five Indian armor divisions at the hands of the US 4th AD, General Wilde’s First Army Group was quickly able to encircle the remaining Indian Army group and tighten his noose on the enemy force.
Captain McRae rubbed his hand across the front armor of the turret, noticing the dents and gashes from hits they’d taken the day before. By all accounts, he and his crew should be dead. Their tank had been hit no less than three times, but their armor had held. Unfortunately, not all of the other tankers in his company had fared as well, and many of his fellow comrades in arms had died.
“Why did I live when so many of my soldiers did not?” he asked himself. He wiped away a tear. Suddenly overtaken by emotion, he sank to his knees on top of the turret.
Sergeant Justin Spence walked around to the front of the tank, and they locked eyes for a brief moment. When Captain McRae realized that someone had seen him cry, he wiped away his tears and pulled himself up.
“It’s OK, Sir,” said Spence. “We’ve all thought the same thing. Why were we so lucky to live when so many died?” It was as if he was reading his captain’s mind.
McRae nodded. “We were hit three times. How did we survive? I lost seven of my ten tanks and one of my five Bradleys yesterday — men we’ve known in many cases for years. How do I explain to their families that we lived, and they died, Spence?”
"Sir, I know it’s tough, but Charlie is still here, and Charlie don't surf!" said Sergeant Spence.
Captain McRae smiled slightly when Sergeant Spence mentioned the unofficial company's motto.
"Yeah, Charlie don't surf, but Charlie can fight and die…," McRae mumbled to himself.
A second later, the radio inside the turret crackled to life. “Charlie Six, this is Cowboy-Six.” Shaking off the moment of sadness, Captain McRae reached down inside the commander’s hatch for his CVC.
“This is Charlie Six. Go ahead Cowboy Six,” he said in reply to his battalion commander’s call.
“I need your tanks to return to the rear area and resupply. Come see me when you get here. Out.”
Captain McRae put down the radio with a bit of a grunt. “Great, that’s all I need,” he said, muttering to himself. “Go see the battalion commander — he’s probably going to chew my butt off over the loss of more than half of my command.”
Looking at the rest of his crew, McRae announced, “Saddle up, boys. We’re headed to the rear with the gear.”
The others nodded and climbed back in. His driver, Private Edgar Doppler, started the tank up and moved toward the rear of the American positions. The remaining three tanks and four Bradleys of his company followed as they made their way back. While driving down the road, they drove past hundreds of Allied vehicles that had not participated in the battle yet. Many of the crewmen who were standing in their turrets looked at them in amazement, seeing the battle scars on their tanks. Several of the officers and NCOs rendered salutes out of respect. A column of Type 90 Japanese tanks passed them on their way to the front; the officer standing in his turret even bowed as they passed.
It was strange seeing so many of their own countrymen and allies rendering them respect like this, with the rumblings of war still audible in the distance. These men were heading into the battle, while Captain McRae and his men were leaving it.
Nearly an hour later, their ragtag group of tanks made it back to the marshaling area their battalion had set up in. When Charlie Company pulled in, they saw that Alpha and Bravo Companies had taken some losses as well, though not quite as bad as McRae’s unit. When the tank was finally parked, and he checked to ensure what was left of Charlie Company was set in their portion of the battalion's assembly area, Captain McRae made his way to find the battalion CO. It took him a few minutes to find the CO’s tank and command vehicles. Once he did, he saw the other company commanders were present as well.
“Ah, there you are, Captain McRae,” said Lieutenant Colonel Lewis. “I was hoping you hadn’t gotten lost on the way back here. I was about to debrief you all on the battle and what brigade has planned for us next.” He walked up to McRae, placing a hand on his shoulder and guiding him toward the map board he had hanging by some five-fifty cord from the tent walls.
Once he had ushered McRae further into the room, Lewis cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “First off, I want to acknowledge the horrible losses most of you guys suffered yesterday — especially you, Captain McRae. I know Charlie Company took the brunt of the battalion losses and saw the most combat. Your tanks were the tip of the spear for the entire division, and you guys performed marvelously. Your crews performed so well, in fact, that General Jackson wants to meet your men personally and award your crews some valor medals… but we’ll discuss that more later,” Colonel Lewis said, trying to acknowledge the men’s losses but also making sure they knew the battle was not over just yet.
Before anyone else could ask any questions or get sidetracked on anything, Colonel Lewis continued. “When the battle began yesterday, we had no idea how hard or how well the Indians would fight. America’s never faced off against the Indian Army, so they were a complete wild card. They showed themselves to be incredibly aggressive and proficient in their weapon systems, even if they are outdated. That said, General Wilde has stated the Indians aren’t ready to give up the fight just yet. While the 4th AD continues to encircle the Indian 4th Army Group, the enemy is moving two divisions to our south in an attempt to try and force us to break our encirclement of their army group.”