Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 285



Only Krnovel

#285. D-Day is set

‘Southern Expedition’

This is the name that Lee Kang-cheol gave to this expedition after much hesitation.

Even though only Go Seok-man stubbornly opposed it.

“No, where did you come from after seeing such a strange cartoon!”

“Be quiet! This operation is definitely going to be a disaster, a disaster!”

“Brother! Everyone in our expedition team knows! That’s the title of an old cartoon by Lee Yeon-se!”

“I said it has nothing to do with that. Just conquer the south and call it a southern invasion!”

“Hey, really! Cover the sky with your palm! Can you really swear to me? Without reading the comics, you said you were going to conquer the South, so you named it Nambal?”

“I don’t usually make oaths.”

“I told you to look at this?”

“Be quiet! It’s definitely a punishment! A punishment!”

“… … .”

As Goh Seok-man said, the reaction of the State Council members was lukewarm.

“Me, Nambeol? That Nambeol?”

“No, when on earth did you get the title of the manga… … .”

“Ugh! The smell of smoke is vibrating!”

“That cartoon was a hit when it was serialized, but later on, it didn’t seem plausible. It’s a cartoon where they treat an AK rifle as the ultimate weapon, right? They’re talking about the god of death, Kalashnikov, and all that stuff.”

“The beginning of the nationalistic, sentimental comics… … .”

“Wasn’t that considered a masterpiece later on? Especially the rice cakes were almost like waste paper.”

“It’s a bit strange… … .”

“I knew you’d say that.”

I definitely couldn’t see it being a very good response.

However, Kim Kyu-sik and the members of the Senate and House of Representatives were not like that.

“Oh! Conquer the South! Conquer the South! What a spectacular operation name!”

“That’s right! It would be hard to find a more fitting name for this operation!”

“Excellent! The original meaning of the word ‘conquest’ is to punish barbarians or groups of people with sins, so it is perfect for this operation!”

Except for the people from modern times, everyone who heard it hit their foreheads and shouted “good job!”, and the operation was eventually named Nambal.

Even as Kim Jong-woo advanced southward with two mobile fleets and a huge number of transport ships, air transport continued without pause.

The combat troops decided not to take transport ships and instead moved to Borneo by plane, and the scale of the force was no joke.

The Marine Corps alone had nearly 30,000 troops, consisting of the 1st and 3rd Marine Divisions and three rapid response brigades.

In addition to the special forces and special forces brigades already in Borneo, there is one special forces brigade, three special forces brigades, two independent armoured brigades and three independent artillery brigades.

So the number of army troops that had to be transported exceeded 25,000.

The combined strength of the Marine Corps is a whopping 55,000.

It is a large-scale operation to transport over 50,000 troops by air within three days.

Naturally, the majority of the Air Force’s current C-1 transport aircraft, around 200 aircraft, and around 50 jetliners leased from Korean Air had to be flown without rest.

Fortunately, it takes about 5 and a half hours by jet to Kota Kinabalu in northern Borneo, which is closer than Jakarta, which takes 7 hours. Otherwise, it would have been even more difficult.

And the same was true of equipment and supplies.

The rapid response units, such as the Special Forces Brigade, Special Assault Brigade, and Marine Corps Rapid Response Brigade, were basically lightly armed units and did not possess heavy equipment such as armored vehicles, so they did not have any particular difficulties in moving.

But that wasn’t the case for two Marine divisions, an independent armored brigade, and an independent artillery brigade.

Marine Corps divisions, due to their nature as national strategic mobile forces, had a lower proportion of heavy equipment than a typical Army division despite their division size.

The problem is the Independent Armored Brigade and the Independent Artillery Brigade.

As the name suggests, these brigades were almost entirely comprised of tanks and self-propelled guns, requiring an incredibly large number of transport ships to move even one brigade.

Fortunately, these independent armored brigades and independent artillery brigades are units organized to be dispatched overseas when strong firepower is needed.

So they were usually stationed near ports, and were trained to quickly board transport ships even in peacetime, which is why they were able to be dispatched so quickly.

It was said that Kim Jong-woo did not ask for these units for nothing.

In any case, the Southern Expeditionary Force, although hastily organized and dispatched, was gathering in southern Borneo quite smoothly.

September 6, 1959.

Banjarmasin, the largest city in southern Borneo.

Banjarmasin was once the capital of the Banjar Sultanate, and because it originally grew as a trading port, its port was very well developed.

This historic port city was unusually crowded with crowds looking out over the sea.

“Hey, what is all that?”

“That’s all the Republic of Korea Navy?”

“oh my god!”

They are people who were born in a port city and spent their entire lives watching ships come and go.

Still, this was a sight that even they had never seen before.

The sea was full of steel.

Two mobile fleets and numerous transport ships they brought with them as escorts.

Tata tata!

Several helicopters took off from the fleet and landed near Banjarmasin.

“Whew! We finally arrived.”

The first person to get off the Navy helicopter and step on the ground was Navy Chief of Staff Kim Jong-woo.

“Victory! The president is here!”

“Oh! Division Commander Kim Jin-young. What are you doing here?”

The person who came out to greet us was Major General Kim Jin-young, commander of the 1st Marine Division, who had arrived earlier on a passenger plane.

“Hahaha! The president is coming, so of course I should be there?”

“Yeah, thank you for your hard work.”

“Oh! The president must have had a hard time. I wish he had just come by plane.”

“Okay. I’m a little late, right? The transport ships are slow and bursting, so I’m a little late. Hey, I have to replace them all with high-speed transport ships quickly. It’s hard to hold back someone who’s impatient.”

“But you came quickly. It wasn’t just the warships that came, right? And since all the hostages had been rescued, there was no need to rush.”

“That’s true. Oh, what about the Deputy Prime Minister?”

“They are waiting inside.”

“Really? Let’s go in. We shouldn’t keep you waiting, sir.”

“yes.”

Even the greatest Kim Jong-woo in the world was no different from a child in front of Kim Kyu-sik.

Even Lee Kang-cheol is still an adult who is greatly respected.

“Command?”

“This is the building. They say it was originally the residence of a Dutch merchant during the colonial period.”

“Huh? Isn’t it cool?”

“Haha! That’s right. The support group bought it cheaply and made it into a command center.”

“I get it.”

As Kim Jong-woo entered a large room that appeared to be a situation room and conference room, the generals who had arrived earlier quickly stood up.

“Victory! The president is here!”

“Victory!”

“Loyalty!”

“Phil… … .”

A loud salute rang out according to the affiliation, but Kim Jong-woo waved his hand with a frown.

“You guys! The Deputy Prime Minister is here!”

“Huh!”

“… … .”

The mouths of the elders immediately closed like clams.

“Deputy Prime Minister, I am here.”

“Oh! President Kim, thank you for coming.”

“No, Mr. Deputy Prime Minister.”

“Why didn’t you come by plane?”

“Hahaha! You know my personality well, right?”

“Hahaha! That’s true.”

“Shall we have a brief meeting right away?”

“Shouldn’t you get some rest?”

“No. Most of the people who were supposed to gather have already gathered, so let’s just take a quick break and move on.”

“Please do so.”

The place was immediately cleared.

“Chief of Staff, report back.”

“Yes, sir. As of today, all expeditionary forces have gathered here in Banjarmasin. The combat troops that were transported by air have already set up camp in front of the port.”

“Are they all here?”

“Yes, both the Army and the Marines are here. And the expeditionary fleet has also arrived in front of the port.”

“So, what’s your schedule going forward?”

“We have to unload first. The armored vehicles that will land in Indonesia don’t need to be used here, but other supplies need to be unloaded.”

“How much do you need?”

“The port unloading equipment here is worse than I thought. So, you need to give me at least 5 days.”

“Okay, Deputy Prime Minister. Since we’ve come this far, can you take it slow?”

“Haha! You! I’m a diplomat, not a soldier. Don’t worry about what I think and decide for yourself.”

“Hahaha! Thank you.”

Kim Jong-woo bowed his head to Kim Kyu-sik as if expressing gratitude, then opened his mouth again.

“Let’s take it slow, not rushing and causing trouble. And while we’re at it, let’s give the kids who are tired from sailing a little rest.”

“All right.”

“What about the 77th Mobile Force?”

“Still dominating the Java Sea.”

“Replace them with another mobile unit that is resting first. They came all the way here and have been operating without any rest, so they must be tired.”

“All right.”

Many people take it for granted that the Navy will always be at sea, but that is absolutely not true.

Unlike regular merchant ships or cargo ships, naval vessels are built primarily for combat, so long-term operations can cause physical and mental exhaustion.

This is because the living space itself is so poor that it is on a completely different level from that of ordinary ships.

This is still the case in modern times.

Life in the Navy is essentially like working 24 hours a day, curled up in a bunk bed.

This is why, even if we only went on a mission for two weeks, we would hear groans and morale would drop rapidly.

It is not for nothing that the mass desertion occurred in the Republic of Korea Navy in the 2020s.

That is why, even though they are worse than modern warships, they need to be properly rested to maintain their fighting power.

“What are the enemy’s movements?”

“Most of the troops are gathered along the coast of Java and are building positions. The northern coast in particular is working hard to prepare for the landing. There are Surabaya, Semarang, Jakarta, etc. In southern Java, they are almost building a fortress in the sea south of Yogyakarta.”

“Should I give this more time?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“No, right? If we work hard to build a fortress, we’ll have a chance to destroy it, right? Then, their sorrow will be doubled, and our joy will be doubled? Hahahaha!”

“… … .”

“… … .”

As expected, Kim Jong-woo’s way of thinking was different from that of ordinary people.

Normally, when conquering an island, it is common not to give the opponent time to prepare.

But this human is saying that if he prepares as much as possible, he will have more things to destroy, so he is asking for more time.

“Is that so?”

“Of course. Anyway, what about their navy?”

“About half of them are facing off against the 77th Mobile Force in northern Java.”

“What about the rest?”

“Half of the remaining half gathered in front of Jakarta in West Java, and the rest camped in front of the Bali Strait.”

“As expected.”

“Yes. It doesn’t really mean anything, and even if our naval aviation unit leaves, they won’t be able to last 30 minutes anyway.”

“That’s true. Wait, let’s see… … .”

Kim Jong-woo knocked on the table, thought for a moment, then turned his head to Kim Kyu-sik and asked.

“Deputy Prime Minister.”

“huh?”

“Will you give me one more chance at the end?”

“Shouldn’t that be so? Well, Sukarno isn’t the type of person to listen, but he’s still going to give you an ultimatum.”

“Then let’s do it like this.”

“How do you mean?”

“Give me the final ultimatum right away. Give me plenty of time.”

“Enough? Until when?”

“Can you give me until September 15th?”

“Is that okay?”

“We’ll get some rest, and let them prepare as much as possible. The more the enemy gathers, the better.”

“Is there such a law?”

“Yes, there is. Wouldn’t it be easier to beat them up if they were all gathered together?”

“Okay, let’s do that.”

“Did you all hear that? For now, the D-Day for this operation will be September 16th, 04.”

“All right.”

D-Day has arrived.

More leisurely than I thought.