Damn the World, Ride a Submarine - Chapter 228



Only Krnovel

Episode 228 – Battle Exchange

The ARK was swimming in the abyss.

We left the Straits of Malacca, passed through the Burmese Sea, and entered the Indian Ocean. As the long voyage began to grow tedious, the operations officer came to see me.

“Your Majesty!”

“It has begun.”

“Yes. Russia has launched an attack.”

“Where are you?”

“As expected, it is Tuzla Island in the middle of the Crimean Bridge.”

“Understood. Please prepare the SCS as we will be heading to the TOC Operations Center soon.”

“all right.”

* TOC (Tactical Operations Center)

* SCS (Strategic Command Surveillance)

Upon entering the ARK’s operations center, a map of the area surrounding the Crimean Bridge and the combat readiness status of OSS forces were displayed on various panels.

The operations officer reported that Commander Lee Du-man of the Eurasian Front was on standby for communication.

“Marshal. The 2nd Division of the Crimean Army is on operational retreat and on standby for combat.”

“Commander, did the deception operation to give up the Crimean Bridge go well?”

“Yes. It went well without any problems. The Russian army has taken control of Tuzla Island and is reconnecting the severed slab in the direction of Kosa Tuzla.”

“But, it will take time to restore it with concrete…”

“It looks like they’ve prepared a steel structure with the same specifications as the Crimean Bridge in advance.”

“I see. How will the operation unfold from now on?”

“First, we plan to finish repairing the Crimean Bridge and then lure the Russian army to the Kerch Fortress when they advance.”

“Will the special forces be deployed next?”

“Yes, that’s right. After the bombardment of Novosiysk is carried out first to divert attention, the special forces will be deployed behind the Crimean Bridge. Also, the landing point has been changed to Anapa.”

“Please explain why you changed the landing point.”

“First, we came to the conclusion that in order to land safely in Novorossiysk, we would have to destroy more facilities than we thought.”

“Yes. At this point, with the Russian Black Sea Fleet destroyed, destroying port facilities would not be strategically advantageous to us.”

“Yes. And we believe that Anapa, located 50km northwest of Novorossiysk, which is 100km away from our special forces infiltration point, is more suitable.”

“Understood. And has the number three self-propelled gun ship arrived?”

After dispatching the self-propelled artillery battleships Jungshin-gi-jeon No. 1 and No. 2, the commissioned No. 3 was immediately sent to the Black Sea.

“Yes. We have just entered the Black Sea and are moving to the operational coordinates.”

“That’s good. That’s good.”

“Was operational information shared with the Ukrainian military?”

“Yes. However, for security reasons, I did not mention the landing operation. I told them not to be shaken by the planned operation and to firmly hold the southern front.”

“Okay. If there are any changes in the situation, please report back.”

Although it was a fairly large operation to land on the Russian mainland, the atmosphere inside the ARK Operations Center was calm.

It was a sudden blow, even though I had been prepared for it. And yet, the strangely calm and routine atmosphere of the operations center felt strange.

The name of the operation, , flashed in red letters at the top of the integrated operations situation panel.

Black Tide, meaning a wave of black currents, seemed like a fitting name for the Black Sea and covert operations.

On the map screen of the situation panel, you could see the artillery and assault groups moving. However, they were too far away for Russia to judge that they were heading towards Novorossiysk.

After checking the preparations, I returned to my living space inside the ARK.

The ARK was sailing somewhere in the Indian Ocean, past the Bay of Bengal.

…

I woke up after a long sleep. I had never been able to sleep well when the war started, but this time it was different. I had become accustomed to the war as a daily routine.

‘I guess nothing happened since you didn’t wake up.’

After exchanging a quick greeting with Hyein, I headed to the TOC Operations Center.

As I walked down the long steel corridor, the crew members I encountered stood at attention against the corridor walls instead of saluting. I responded with a gentle nod or a light tap on their shoulder.

As I opened the door to the TOC’s combat information room and stepped inside, a rush of busy air came rushing in. I could immediately sense that something was happening.

The operations officer who had identified me approached me, saluted, and opened his mouth.

“Your Majesty, the main operation of the Black Tide Wave has begun. May I report on the progress of the operation?”

“Yes. Please begin.”

“A Russian marine division is crossing the Crimean Bridge and attacking Kerch, and there is quite a bit of fighting going on.”

“hmm…”

“Our troops are establishing a defensive line where the E97 road connects to the Crimean Bridge.”

“Then the shelling will begin soon.”

“Yes. Currently, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd heavy artillery divisions of the Marine Corps and the 1st and 3rd assault divisions are on standby 20km southwest of Anapa.”

“Is SCS ready?”

“Yes. The left screen shows the artillery battalion preparing to fire, and the right screen shows real-time footage taken by a reconnaissance drone of the striking point.”

“Isn’t there a problem with the provision of maritime rights?”

“Not only the 1st and 3rd Strike Groups, but also the Awaxes and fighters from the 1st Carrier Squadron are on a surveillance flight, and no danger has been detected at this time.”

“great.”

“And before the artillery battle of the naval artillery group, a missile attack to neutralize the Russian air base from the joint firepower ships Arsenal Ships 1 and 3 is scheduled first.”

“Does the Russian Air Force still have any power?”

“It has been confirmed that there are a significant number of additional forces deployed, although not as many as during the First Black Sea War.”

“Ah! The order to strike the planned target has just been given to Arsenal Ship.”

The SCS screen changed to an arsenal ship, and missiles were fired nonstop, creating white smoke and flying in parabolic arcs into the sky.

“How many missiles will be launched at the planned target?”

“It is estimated that there are 240 Tomahawks.”

202 missiles were launched from the OSS Arsenal ship in the Black Sea, their white contrails weaving the blue sky.

The TOC combat information panel displayed a list of planned targets where the missile was flying on the map.

These were Russian air force bases on the Black Sea and Azov Sea coasts.

* Krymsk Air Base

Location: Krasnodar / Black Sea coast

Distance: 96.5km

Power: Su-27, Su-30, Su-35, MiG-29

* Slavyansk-na-Kubani Air Base

Location: Krasnodar / Black Sea coast

Distance: 136.5km

Power: Su-25 attack aircraft, various helicopters

* Primorsk-Akhtarsk Air Base

Location: Krasnodar region / Azov Sea coast

Distance: 196km

Power: Su-24 bombers, Su-30SM fighters

*Marinovka Air Base

Location: Rostov Oblast / Azov Sea coast

Distance: 722km

Power: Su-24 bombers, Su-34 bombers

There were about 70 surface-to-air missiles flying from each Russian air force base.

Commander Lee Du-man’s intention seemed to be to disable the reporter itself, preventing the fighters from taking off, rather than destroying the Russian Air Force aircraft.

The footage from our high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft began to show images of Russian air force bases. It seemed that the Russian military had also detected the missile launch.

The scene of various fighter planes coming out of the hangar and preparing for sortie was transmitted as is.

The Tomahawk, a surface-to-air cruise missile, has a speed of 913 kilometers per hour.

The Krymsk air base, the closest to the OSS fleet, was hit by dozens of missiles in rapid succession within six minutes.

A blast of lightning and a thunderous roar were blowing away structures everywhere.

The Krymsk Air Force Base was a total wasteland before it could even be prepared for sorties. The fighter planes, hangars, and even the runways were in ruins, as if the ground had been dug up for civil engineering work.

The situation was not much different at the Slavyansk-on-Kuban Air Force Base, 130 km away. Their biggest mistake was not having fighters on the runway ready for emergency sorties.

All fighter jets at two Russian air bases were lost, rendering them incapable of operating as bases.

Coincidentally, fighter jets such as Su-27 and Su-35 were deployed at both air force bases.

The appearance of Primorsko-Akhtarsk Air Force Base was a little different. It was 196 km away, but it succeeded in an emergency sortie in 10 minutes.

But there were only Su-24 bombers and a few Su-30SM fighters there.

After confirming this, our military deployed a reinforcement squadron of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets from the first aircraft carrier and deployed F-35Bs from the first and third amphibious assault ships.

A formation of Russian bombers was also confirmed to have taken off from the Marine Corps Air Base, 722 km away.

If the air force base was going to be destroyed by Tomahawk missiles anyway, they might have moved to another base to save the bombers or bombed the Crimean Peninsula.

Yet the Tomahawk missiles continued to fly over Russian skies, knocking out all four air bases.

A squadron of Russian Air Force aircraft was spotted heading towards the Black Sea, apparently having located our fleet.

But. They were no match for our air force. Without even having to activate the Aegis system’s air defense system, Russian fighters and bombers were easily defeated by the F-35B and F/A-18E/F.

The first watershed moment of the operation was reached. The operations officer was called in.

“Please tally up the combat exchange rates in air combat.”

“According to real-time statistics, it is 1 to 78.”

“yes?”

“All we have is one F/A-18 that was shot down. The pilot managed to eject. A rescue team has been dispatched after a survival signal was confirmed.”

“Where did our pilot fall?”

“We have detected a survival signal from the mountainous region of Sukhoi Liman. PJs have been dispatched from the 1st Assault Group.”

* PJ (Pararescue Jumper): A general term for special search and rescue specialties, missions, and agents. Same as the Korean military’s SART.

“Did you just receive the signal?”

“A pilot code was also transmitted along with the signal.”

“I see. That’s good.”

As the Arsenal Ship’s missile strike ended, the SCS screen showed hundreds of self-propelled guns firing from three heavy cruisers in a line.

…