Then Xuchang blew up, and one by one, tall water spouts rose up on all those destroyers. The Spearfish had been deadly accurate, and so fast that there had been no time to evade. Trafalgar was relentless, the crews reloading those tubes, and four more fish were soon in the sea, this time with the carrier Zhendong in their sights, just eight miles out.
Minutes later, Admiral Wu Jinlong heard and felt an explosion, and now he knew his ship was doomed. A second hard thump cemented that, as Zhendong rolled with the hit. As he reached for the arm of his chair to steady himself, he saw the horrific second explosion ravage Shanshen, and the Mountain God began to roll over heavily to its starboard side. Destroyer Changsha was also hit a second time, and now he knew his enemy was exacting a terrible vengeance for the many ships his own submarines had sunk earlier that day.
The British fleet had been like Daniel going into the Lion’s Den, only the outcome for Admiral Pearson’s ships had been very bad. Now brave Trafalgar was David facing Goliath alone, and his sling was deadly accurate. That single sub had run up on the flank of a massive Chinese formation, and gutted it. Admiral Wu now had no choice, giving the order to make a boat ready so that he could transfer his flag to the carrier Shandong.
Of the ships hit, only destroyer Changsha and the carrier Zhendong were still afloat, attended by a destroyer and frigate. As the Admiral made his way towards Shandong, the fleet reorganized around that carrier, still fifteen ships strong. In spite of a diligent search by helicopters, the marauding sub escaped detection. The news that destroyer Changsha had also sunk that hour lay like another lash upon Admiral Wu’s broad back.
They have used all their torpedoes, thought the Admiral, and with terrible effect. Perhaps they are still out there, lurking, and we must be vigilant. I was remiss in failing to deploy a strong ASW screen. That must be corrected immediately.
Chances are that Zhendong will not survive this ill-fated mission. That carrier still has 11 valuable J-31’s aboard, but conditions do not permit them to launch and transfer to Shandong. Sending Zhendong to Ranai will do no good, as there are no facilities there. No, it will have to be detached to the oil terminal at Vung Tau, Vietnam. We invested a great deal there, and now the Vietnamese can repay us. Zhendong can only make 11 knots, and it is over 400 miles to that port, so it will be vulnerable at sea for a good long while.
Clearly, I will have much to answer for when I make my report to Beijing. At the very least, I must fulfill my mission with the ships still under my command. I have already driven the Royal Navy from their nest at Singapore, but how long can I stay here to control these waters? The Americans are coming….
At 22:30 hours, the darkness around the American carrier Independence was lit up by missile fire from two of her escorting destroyers, Sherman and Sheridan. This time, the target was Ranai Airfield, as the American plan to “prepare the battlefield” entered phase II. The airfield at Miri would be hit again by DDG Hancock, and now Ranai would get the same treatment, removing all local land based air support from the Chinese hand. When Independence got closer, the carrier wanted to rule the skies, uncontested.
That night the oil burned long in Beijing as the naval command tried to determine how to proceed. Admiral Zhang Wendan, Chief of Staff, took a late meeting with Admiral Zheng Bau, Chief of Naval Operations South.
“The situation with our South Seas Fleet has changed,” said Zhang. “This submarine attack has complicated matters a great deal. Zhendong is badly damaged, and must seek a friendly port.”
“Yet we still have Shandong active,” said Zheng Bau.
“True, but the attacks at Miri, and now Ranai, continue. Satellites have finally located the position of the American carrier Independence. It is now entering the Celebes Sea, and coming west.”
“Of course, where else would it go in this situation?”
“Well, that is a problem.” The Chief of Staff was clearly the more cautious of the two, seeing things in the situation he did not like. “Without land based air support, Wu Jinlong can only rely on the planes he has aboard Shandong —eighteen fighters.”
“Four more are on the way from Miri. They got the airfield in good enough shape to get the remaining planes out.”
“That makes 22 aircraft. How many will the American bring on their carrier? Forty? Sixty? Without Miri and Renai, our J-20’s will have to come all the way from Tan Son Nhat in Vietnam. That is over 500 miles north of Wu Jinlong’s present position. What exactly is he to do now? Hasn’t he already accomplished his assigned mission? The Royal Navy has fled up the Strait of Malacca.”
Zheng Bau tapped the map table. Pointing to the Strait of Malacca. “Sea control,” he said. “That is the root and stem of his mission. Driving off the British was the flower, but at root, that is why we sent that fleet south, to secure the Strait of Malacca.”
“More easily said than done,” said Zhang. “The British can still exert control sitting north of Sumatra. Surely you will not want Wu Jinlong chasing them through that narrow waterway. He could be trapped there, and forced to enter the Indian Ocean, which would remove too much strength from our South China Sea. Furthermore, if you say Wu Jinlong should now turn and fight the Americans, then he is in the wrong place at this moment. He would have to be sitting just west of Miri airfield to get his cruise missiles into the Celebs Sea. What will he do at Singapore? I say he should be recalled at once. First escort Zhendong north to Vietnam, and see if we can gain the support of their navy again to recoup our losses. Then let us see where the Americans go, and what they are planning. The South China Sea must not be left exposed.”
Zheng Bao nodded. Yes, he knew he could not send that fleet into the Strait of Malacca, or the Indian Ocean. It was the heart of the defensive force for the South China Sea, which was his primary charge. They had doubled down in their effort to defeat the Royal Navy at Singapore, but there were limits to what they could do there. Surely they would not harm or bother the hundreds of ships hovering off that port. They would need them to come to China one day soon, or so he believed.
“The Americans,” he breathed.
“And the Siberians,” said Zhang Wendan. “How did they get so far south from the Beihai Sea? They were the ones who drew first blood, with those terrible hypersonic missiles. We must make every effort to get our hands on that technology.”
“Nothing was discovered at Haishenwei while we occupied the port,” said Zheng. “But we did learn enough to develop the missile that had been the bane of the Royal Navy, our YJ-18. Very well… I will agree that we should and must make every effort now to see Zhendong to a safe port. Then the fleet can refuel at Veng Tau, and we will discuss the situation further when we see what the Americans do.”