The Wallaces then began their wait. They sat outside their shelter, watching the BBC. They figured that once the TV went off they'd have time to get in the shelter.
SEVEN
Throughout the day, Sea Harriers and Merlins had continued to strafe and destroy any Chinese ship they found on patrols. They were loaded with a mixture of Sidewinder missiles, American-made air-to-ground AS-16 Kickback missiles, specially designed for attacks on ships, together with anti-submarine Stingray torpedoes and depth charges. They destroyed a Ming submarine and sank a Yukan class LST which was reported to be carrying up to 200 troops. Most drowned.
Shortly before dark another Romeo struck, this time hitting the Australian frigate HMAS Parramatta near the bow. Five servicemen died, including an officer. Although the damage was contained, the frigate had been put out of action. The captain took her out of the battle area. The task force commander agreed to let HMAS Rankin escort her. Five hours later HMS Triumph destroyed the submarine believed to have carried out the attack.
`We expected more attacks at night,' wrote the captain of the Ark Royal. `Strangely there was nothing. We sailed at half speed because the Montrose was under repair. There was very little moonlight. We scanned for periscopes like they would have done in the Second World War. I thought of them lying in wait, perhaps choosing not to fire in order to test our nerve. Our speed and our course were irrelevant. Our task lay in maintaining our presence in these contested waters, although in truth it was hard to see why British and Chinese servicemen were dying over such barren and remote landfalls. I must discipline my mind not to retreat down such a perilous path. What of those oft-quoted remarks after British campaigns in places long ago abandoned by us only to return to poverty and tribal killings: that such and such a battle was a good one to have on the CV? Perhaps 22 February 2001, the naval battle for the Spratly Islands, will also be good for our careers.'
The Vietnamese mission was to destroy China's ability to launch an attack. To complete the objective, Vietnam's own air force would be shredded. Casualties would be high. The international press would call it suicide. But it wasn't; this was how Vietnam had fought all its modern wars and won. The targets were the Chinese troops, artillery, and armour positions gathered along a 300 kilometre stretch of border; the Su-27 fighter base at Yulin on Hainan Island; the nearby submarine base at Sanya; and a return sortie to the headquarters of the Chinese South Sea Fleet, the Zhanjiang Naval Base. This forward command post for Dragonstrike was located on the east side of the Luichow Peninsula, which formed the dividing line between the South China Sea and the Gulf of Tonking.
The attackers did not expect to find any significant Chinese naval assets in port — they were either at the bottom of the South China Sea or patrolling parts of that great waterway beyond the control of the American, Japanese, and British navies. No. Their objective was the fuel dumps to the north of the dock and what had become known as the `Russian quarter'. This was a group of low-rise buildings on the east side of the dock which housed Russian technical advisers (and families) and equipment.
Overnight, aircraft had been flown back from their refuges in Cambodia and Laos to military airstrips near Hanoi. The task of attacking Zhanjiang went to the pilots of a single squadron of twelve MiG-21 fighters. They headed due east, flying at 45 metres, too low to show up on Chinese radar. They would not be identified until they managed to make Chinese landfalclass="underline" but the Chinese were expected to deploy their Su-27s and the MiGs would need to use all their countermeasures. The cover of night would help. Vietnamese pilots were more experienced fliers than their Chinese counterparts, who spent most of their training practising daytime missions.
The Vietnamese battle plan called for the squadron to divide into two parts. The first, consisting of five aircraft, would take out the oil installation. The resultant fire, it was calculated, would be helpful for the second part of the mission — the attack on the Russian quarter. The MiG-21s made landfall at 2114 and were immediately subjected to anti-aircraft fire in a continuous curtain from fixed installations along the coast to the naval base. But it was not aimed fire and the aircraft got through. Within minutes a squadron of Su-27s intercepted them before they began their bombing run on the oil installation. But this was where the Vietnamese showed their mettle. Also they were wearing night-vision intensification goggles and the Chinese were not. Flying at night can be a nerve-racking business at the best of times, but when you're making sharp turns while at the same time diving or climbing or rolling figuring out which way is up is often difficult. Two Chinese pilots lost their lives that night as they slammed their aircraft into hills after becoming disoriented and losing ground reference. The MiGs also hit three other Su-27s, but not before one of the MiGs was also hit.
They began the bomb run, seeing at night through the intensification goggles. The oil bunkers were close to the waterfront and extended over a large area. A direct hit on any one of the ten massive tanks might ignite the rest. The first MiG-21 to attempt an attack just exploded under a hail of well-aimed radar-directed ground fire. The second was hit badly, but at least the pilot had time to eject. The third aircraft scored a direct hit on an oil tank. The fireball that resulted shot 150 metres into the air, and adjacent tanks started to catch fire. All around, massive explosion followed massive explosion. The silhouette of the Shell New World could be seen against a wall of flame. The four remaining MiGs turned to complete their mission.
The attack on the oil bunker had lasted not quite five minutes, but that was enough time for the Russian technicians and scientists to look for cover. Except there was none. The MiGs — each equipped with a high-explosive bomb set to burst in the air, as well as air-to-ground missiles, and cannon — turned to begin their run. An Su-27, flying straight towards them, launched two air-to-air missiles. The pilot of the lead MiG did not even have time to press his ejector seat button before he was hit. His comrades kept to their course. The three of them managed to drop their bombs. These were not laser-guided smart bombs, but they did their work. The Russian quarter was reduced to rubble as the buildings collapsed. Eighty-five Russians lost their lives — mostly women and children. The mission was a success — both targets had been hit and the Vietnamese air force had five MiGs left.
The airbase at Yulin was deserted. All available Chinese aircraft were deployed over the South China Sea or in defence of Zhanjiang. Vietnam sent its own small Su-27 squadron into the main Chinese forward base for Dragonstrike. They flew fast and low through anti-aircraft fire, cratering the runway, and destroying the control tower, three IL-76 refuelling aircraft, and radar installations. Returning Chinese aircraft had to be diverted to the civilian airfield at Haikou, where there were no engineers or ordnance to turn them round for another attack. The Vietnamese attack on Yulin crippled the Chinese fighter force for long enough to give them clear skies for their two remaining targets. Climbing straight up from the attack on Yulin, the Vietnamese pilots hit the Sanya submarine base. With rockets and cannon fire they cut communications and started a series of small fires. One Romeo class submarine was destroyed and sunk. Another was hit. Just as swiftly, the squadron, still without casualties, pulled away and headed back across the border to Hanoi. At the same time thirty-four Vietnamese fighters, bombers, and attack aircraft struck at Chinese positions on the border. Amid scenes reminiscent of American carpet bombing during the Vietnam War, the whole stretch of border lit up as airbursts and cluster bomblets combed the jungle where the Chinese artillery and troops were hidden. It was only on the second run that the Chinese guns jumped to defend the tens of thousands of troops massed there. The Vietnamese aircraft took casualties, losing twelve in the second run before the anti-aircraft artillery had been damaged, and another five in the third when fewer guns were firing. But as they pulled up and flew away the Chinese positions were in chaos, and command and discipline had broken down. The full extent of the casualties was never known. China said 600 men had been killed or wounded. Military satellite photographs suggested that the figure could have been as high as 4,000. There was no real cover.