Damn the World, Ride a Submarine - Chapter 179



Only Krnovel

Episode 179 – Mass casualties

China, which has deployed an overwhelming number of troops – 950,000 in Vietnam and 550,000 in Laos – has not yet undertaken reckless operations that would send its soldiers into danger.

But this time it was different.

It was as if they had chosen the human wave tactic of the Korean War, a blind charge. Like zombies…

The Chinese People’s Army was pushing its troops in all at once, ignoring artillery fire, air support, and ambushes.

It looked like they were trying to take over the front line by covering it with corpses.

On the Vietnam front, although they received support from the 2nd Assault Group, they were being pushed back by the Chinese People’s Army. On the Laos front in Yunnan Province, fierce fighting was also taking place.

It was impossible to guess how many casualties there would be. Our forces would suffer heavy casualties, but it was clear that the Chinese would suffer hundreds of thousands of casualties.

But no matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t seem like China’s will to fight would be broken. China, with a population of several billion people, wouldn’t stop the war just because a few hundred thousand people died.

I felt that I had to deal the most painful blow to China, which was trying to swallow up all of Indochina and the South China Sea.

Director Kim Jun-myeong was called.

“Yes, sir.”

“Have you made the plan I mentioned earlier?”

“Yes, it is difficult, but not impossible.”

“Is it possible to do it with just the Special Forces and the Free Division?”

“It would be difficult to occupy the entire area, but if we limit ourselves to taking control of the landing bases and strategic points, it is certainly possible.”

“Is the 5th Assault Group heading to Camp Marshall?”

“Yes. I will be there soon.”

“Then, move the Free Division to the 5th Assault Group and have them train.”

Now the time had come to pay it back again.

I reminded Director Kim Jun-myeong that cooperation with OSSIA was necessary.

“Please share this operation with this manager. He will tell you what he has been secretly preparing.”

“Ah… Is there something else?”

“I trust the Special Forces and the Director, but would it be possible for the Free Division, which has no combat experience, to undertake such a great task?”

“When the CEO says so, I feel reassured.”

“Still, it’s not easy. We are doing what even the United States has given up on.”

“And when Carrier Strike Group 2 arrives, it will be a great help.”

“Have you already sorted it out?”

“We have already departed from Guam. We are conducting crew training at the same time.”

“I see. I’ll step back and check the operation.”

“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”

…

Although the war was ongoing, the fleet’s composition was slightly modified by adding aircraft carriers.

The aircraft carrier group included in the 1st Assault Group was separated into the 1st Carrier Group, and the additionally introduced aircraft carriers and escort ships were organized into the 2nd Carrier Group.

This brought the OSS fleet to consist of two carrier battle groups, five assault battle groups, and several submarine battle groups.

And then I connected secure communication with this manager.

“Manager. Did you receive a call from Director Kim Jun-myeong?”

“Yes. I was a little surprised, but we can proceed without any major problems.”

“How many troops are there?”

“As of now, there are less than 10,000 people.”

“Ah… there’s less than I thought.”

“That’s the situation on the ground. And given the nature of the underground organization, it seems inevitable. But given the circumstances, it will increase exponentially.”

“It depends on how determined they are.”

“From what we have found, there has been a resurgence of enthusiasm since China invaded Vietnam and our OSS joined the fight.”

“Understood. This is a top secret operation, so please maintain security until the day of the operation.”

“Are you trying to proceed without prior cooperation?”

“Yes. I think it would be good to secure a bridgehead first and then cooperate with support.”

“all right.”

While we were preparing to strike China in the back of the head, we received a call from the Laos front. It was Lieutenant General Kim Jong-o, the commander of the Southern Army.

“CEO!”

“I feel a little relieved to hear your voice. How is the situation?”

“The defensive line is well maintained.”

“Fortunately, the.”

“But the Chinese army really looks like zombies.”

“ah ···.”

“They just kept pushing in, ignoring the heavy artillery fire. Did they drug the soldiers or something?…”

“…”

“They just kept pushing forward, even though the bullets were flying so high that their rifles were overheating and malfunctioning. I think they killed at least 100,000 people in the Southern Army alone.”

“Ah… It’s scary, regardless of your criminal record.”

“Yes. Soldiers are already starting to complain of war fatigue.”

“I guess so···.”

“Fortunately, with the missiles you provided, we were able to destroy the roads and bridges of the rear supply line and the forward advance route, which gave us some time.”

“That’s great. You did a good job.”

“But… sir!”

“yes.”

“If we can block this attack… can we advance? It seems that Major Cha Min-soo is already planning an advance.”

“hmm …”

Kim Jong-oh, commander of the OSS Southern Forces on the Laos front, was asked about the northward advance toward the center of mainland China, but he could not give a ready answer.

This was because the Chinese army’s large-scale offensive was showing some effect.

“Commander, I will make a decision on going deep into mainland China during the operational call with Lieutenant General Cha Min-soo.”

“Understood. I will post a battle report on this battle shortly.”

“Yes. I will check the report and contact you.”

On the Laotian front, the OSS forces were holding off the Chinese forces while inflicting significant losses, but the situation in Vietnam was different.

On the northern front, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army advanced 60 to 140 km from the border, and the Vietnamese and PATA forces were forced to establish a defensive line 40 km north of Hanoi.

In the process, the Chinese military accumulated at least 200,000 casualties, and the Vietnamese and PATA forces also suffered more than 100,000 casualties.

With both sides suffering massive casualties, the fighting entered a lull. It was like an implied ceasefire to allow for casualties to be collected and supplies to be supplied.

Soon after, combat reports came in from the Laos front.

The Southern and Northern 1st Armies of the OSS were not only successfully repelling the Chinese offensive, but were achieving results close to annihilating the Chinese army.

OSS forces had established a strong defensive line at the junction of Highways 213 and 219 in Yunnan Province, China, to hold off the Chinese army.

Rather than simply defending the trenches and bases, it seemed that the difference in quantity was overcome by a tactic of advancing and retreating appropriately depending on the enemy’s offensive level.

They destroyed 1,065 enemy tanks and rendered 1,786 armored vehicles useless. This was an incredible feat, equivalent to 15% of the entire armored force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.

The OSS drone brigade’s performance was also significant, but the Northern 1st Army’s bold tactics were effective.

Min-soo Cha, the CEO, did not engage in a tank battle.

The reason was that our K-2 Black Panther tanks were numerically insufficient, but the tank crews’ skills and familiarity with the terrain were still lacking, he said.

The Northern 1st Army adopted a creative combat style that combined infantry movement, ambushes, and drones.

The reconnaissance and ambush attack teams were divided into the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd line of defense along the limited (expected) enemy tank advance route. When the reconnaissance team confirmed the enemy’s armored power, the ambush attack team prepared anti-tank firepower appropriate for the armored power and attacked.

These were the FGM-148 Javelin, Hyun-Gung, and No. 7 Launcher (North Korea’s version of RPG-7), and if they stopped the advance of the enemy armored units like that, the rest would be eliminated by drones that received coordinates.

This was the opposite of conventional drone tactics.

Normally, drones were used for reconnaissance, but the Northern 1st Army used them in the opposite way.

Cha Min-soo’s listing was inspired by the drone’s ability to maneuver quickly.

Although drones are said to be advantageous for reconnaissance, they have realized that infantry or armor cannot follow that reconnaissance information.

The report also said that this was done because it was expected that the enemy would change its route or take a detour if the drone was discovered or attacked.

The Northern 1st Army mobilized all of its anti-tank firepower to inflict a devastating blow on the Chinese armored forces.

The Southern Army was also quite active. The Southern Army, most of whose soldiers were from Myanmar, was skilled in jungle combat and ambushes.

As a result of several fierce battles with the Chinese People’s Army, which spread out over a wide area and advanced in waves, more than 150,000 enemy soldiers were killed, and including the wounded, the Chinese army’s combat losses amounted to 200,000.

In addition, ethnic minority guerrillas in China’s Yunnan Province provided coordinates for Chinese rear areas such as replenishment units, fuel depots, ammunition depots, and food warehouses. About 300 Tomahawk missiles were fired at all of these coordinates.

But our losses were not small either. The Southern Army suffered close to 5,000 casualties, and the Northern 1st Army also suffered about 100 casualties.

Even though they were elite soldiers equipped with baritone armor, there must have been casualties when fighting an enemy that outnumbered them by nearly three to one.

But for me, who had only counted the number of casualties on one hand, I could feel my heart sinking.

However, the OSS forces were accomplishing an impossible mission.

After reading the battle report, I think I know why Lieutenant General Kim Jong-o and Lieutenant General Cha Min-soo had in mind advancing north.

Normally, if a combat unit has more than 30% casualties, it is classified as a mass casualty situation and the combat unit is considered to have lost its combat capability. (I was in charge of mass casualty training while serving as a medical officer.)

The Chinese People’s Army on the Laos front lost nearly 40 percent of its troops in a short period of time and lost countless supplies.

With such a record, any soldier would not want to miss this opportunity.

However, I knew that just advancing north was not the answer. I opened the map again, checked the situation on the Vietnamese front, and started a tactical call with the two men.

“Thank you both for your hard work. It’s an incredible achievement.”

– Thank you. It was because of your active support.

– This is what I learned from the enemy in the war in Myanmar.

“I know you two don’t want to miss this opportunity, but it could be dangerous to head north without thinking.”

– ah ···.

– Marshal! We must finish off the enemy gang now. Marshal, please reconsider.

“Oh! I’m not saying you shouldn’t advance. I’m saying that it’s dangerous to go too deep.”

– Please give me some instructions. I am just waiting for your decision.

– Marshal! Just give me the order. I will finish off the Chinese puppet group.

“Yes. The situation on the Vietnam front is not good right now. So I took a look at the map.”

– Are you talking about Dongjin?

– It’s all jungle over there.

“First, annihilate the Chinese military forces in southern Yunnan Province.”

– I guess so.

“after that …”

…