Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 291



Only Krnovel

#291. The short war is over.

11:00 a.m., September 20, 1959.

Boom! Boom! Kwaang!

“The 5-inch gun’s range has been reached.”

“Really? Then, fire the Cleveland guns.”

“All right.”

The Gearing-class destroyers with 5-inch main guns fell back, and the Cleveland-class light cruisers took their place.

Their main gun was a 6-inch (152mm) 47-caliber gun with a maximum range of over 23km.

“Fire all guns!”

Kwaang! Kwaang! Boom!

As expected, 6 inches is 6 inches.

Although it was only a 1-inch difference from a 5-inch gun, its power was much greater; buildings that would have required more than 10 hits from a 5-inch gun to collapse could not withstand even a few hits from a 6-inch shell.

Moreover, this is only a story about properly constructed buildings, and the majority of wooden buildings still collapse or catch fire when shells land nearby, leading to large fires.

Kwaaang! Boom! Kwaaang!

September 20th, 13:00.

As some fairly large concrete buildings appeared along the way, they were not easily destroyed even by 6-inch guns.

“Shoot 8-inchers now. Mix them in appropriately, especially when you come across streets with large concrete buildings.”

“All right.”

Kwaaaaang! Kwaaaaang! Kwaaaaang!

Although the flagship Hong Beom-do had not yet participated in the firing, the Lee Hoe-yeong-class (Baltimore-class) heavy cruisers equipped with the same 8-inch main gun joined in and fired 118 kg HE shells or 152 kg AP shells, turning the area around ‘Sinjak-ro’ into scorched earth. Kim Jong-woo, who was watching the scene through the video sent by Albatross, had a very satisfied expression on his face.

“Hehehe! Even though the era of big ships and big guns has passed, isn’t the navy’s dream still big guns? Right?”

“I admit that.”

“That’s right. It has to be at least as cool as a cruiser!”

The Navy’s staff also wholeheartedly agreed with this statement.

After the end of World War II, there were almost no cases of building cruisers or larger anywhere in the world, and they were usually only about 10,000 tons in size and had only a few 127mm or 76mm main guns, so frankly, they were nothing special.

September 20th, 3pm.

We had already advanced 17km from the coast, but in fact, from here on out, it was not too crowded, with forests and grasslands visible around the outskirts of Jakarta.

And the Indonesian defense forces took advantage of the gap.

Of course, the problem was that the expedition fleet was watching everything.

“Those guys?”

“They are hiding in a state of movement last night. One division is in the forest north of the Tzilitan Air Base (Halim Perdanakusuma Airport), and two divisions are lying in ambush across the road, about 2km apart.”

“Do you think these guys make such grandiose ambushes? Even if it weren’t for the Albatross, if you just paid a little bit of attention to reconnaissance, you’d know.”

“It must have been very urgent and disconcerting. They were preparing for street fighting, and then they suddenly started advancing, destroying everything.”

“Tch! What are those so-called commanders doing… .”

“But isn’t it a good thing for us? Since they are willingly declaring themselves targets like that?”

“That’s true.”

“What would you like to do? With cannons? Or with aircraft… .”

“Let’s do it on a carrier. I like it because it’s in the woods. Call George with napalm.”

“All right.”

“Don’t forget to warn the 101st and 5th Brigades. They are not going near playing with fire.”

“… … .”

Booooooo!

A moment later, the A-1 Skyraiders that had been resting on the aircraft carrier took off all at once, and each one had something like a streamlined fuel tank attached to the bottom of its fuselage.

and.

Swoosh.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Phuong!

What rained down on the heads of the Indonesian defenders who were lying in ambush was precisely napalm-B.

Although this one did not contain naphthenic acid and palmitic acid, which were the original ingredients of napalm, it was made by mixing benzene, gasoline, and polystyrene, so it burned much longer and had stronger sticking properties than the original napalm.

“Kkaaaah!”

“Oh, the fire won’t go out!”

“Kuaaaah! Lord, kill me! Please kill me!”

The napalm bombs scattered throughout the jungle were nothing short of a disaster.

Indonesian defenders were left rolling around in excruciating pain, their whole bodies on fire, begging to be killed.

Hell has broken loose.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Gu Bon-su, the commander of the 101st Independent Armored Brigade, who was watching the scene vividly from the middle of the road, was unable to continue speaking.

Because it was so horrible.

“T-this seems like it’s going to be traumatic.”

The staff member who was watching from the side muttered.

“You said 30 thousand for both sides combined?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“It’s really horrible. I never thought I’d see 30,000 people burn down at once.”

“It smells really… … .”

The heat was so strong that it could be felt even from quite a distance away, and the smell of tens of thousands of people burning at once shook the heavens and the earth.

“Let’s go. If we stay here any longer, I think we’ll go crazy.”

“All right!”

The 101st Armored Brigade quickly left the area.

Because I really felt like I was going to go crazy if I stayed any longer.

***

20:00, September 20, 1959.

Indonesian Presidential Palace.

As the sun set, the gunfire stopped, as if to signal the end of work.

But no one opened their mouths.

This is because reports have come in that the ambush attack, which was the last hope, has come to nothing.

There are also reports that almost all of the troops were burned to death.

“… … .”

“… … .”

After a long silence, Sukarno opened his mouth.

“How many people came back alive?”

“A little less than three thousand.”

“Haa! Thirty thousand people were ambushed, and only three thousand survived? How on earth did this happen… … .”

“Ugh! I didn’t know those Koreans could even use napalm.”

“… … .”

The Minister of National Defense was heartbroken and blamed South Korea for using napalm, but everyone knew that this was a ridiculous excuse.

“Whew! So, how did the work on creating the rear exit go?”

“… … .”

“Speak up! Speak up!”

“I tried several times, but I was ambushed by them and… … .”

“… … .”

I thought I knew what he meant even without hearing the rest.

“So, what’s left? Anyone, please tell me.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

No one could answer.

Because there was nothing to say.

Sukarno closed his eyes.

“Let’s stop the meeting. Just gathering here isn’t going to solve anything… … .”

“Well, we still need to discuss a solution somehow… … .”

“Okay, let’s think about it overnight and talk about it tomorrow.”

“All right.”

That night.

Sukarno stayed up all night.

I’m not even angry anymore.

No, rather, I only felt guilty.

How did I end up like this by opposing those guys?

After thinking about it carefully, there was only one conclusion.

In the end, it was his own excessive greed that brought about the problem.

He felt sorry for Borneo, and although he knew that the resource agreement with South Korea was not bad in his opinion, he was still reluctant to give them their share.

No, to be honest, I think they were also upset that they weren’t giving the rebate that everyone else was giving.

It wasn’t just because of personal greed.

To govern a country that had only been independent for ten years, a lot of government funds were needed, and there were many times when it was difficult because not a single penny came from the largest oil industry.

Well, I can’t say I had no greed at all.

Anyway, it was a pity.

The wish was to unite Borneo and create a great Indonesia.

“Haha! Anyway, it’s over.”

No matter how the situation was resolved, he himself would not be safe.

South Korea was openly trying to punish itself.

Even if that wasn’t the case, once things got to this point, there was no way to avoid responsibility.

Because I could already feel the difference in the eyes of some of the ministers.

“I’m tired.”

September 21st, 8:00 AM.

All cabinet members gathered at the Indonesian presidential palace.

Because we received a message early in the morning asking everyone to attend a meeting.

Soon, Sukarno entered the conference room, looking as if he had put down a heavy burden.

“Is everyone here?”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Okay! Then I’ll tell you quickly. If we keep doing this, the shelling will start again at 9 o’clock.”

“yes?”

“Let’s stop.”

“Wh, what are you talking about… … .”

“Let’s stop. We’ve lost. And we’ve lost completely.”

“Your Majesty! We still have an army… … .”

“Minister of Defense! Stop it! What are you talking about the military in this situation?”

“… … .”

“Honestly, don’t you think they’re being generous? Why don’t they bomb this place with carrier-based aircraft even after surrounding it? We don’t even have any decent anti-aircraft guns, and our air force was annihilated long ago?”

“… … .”

“Let’s stop. You too will not be able to avoid responsibility like me.”

“Ugh!”

Sukarno looked coldly at the grieving Minister of Defense and then opened his mouth.

“I said it in passing, but Vice Prime Minister Kim Kyu-sik said that he would guarantee our independence. If we hold out any longer, our independence might be lost, so let’s surrender quickly. Minister Maulana!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I think it would be better for former Minister Su-Ban-Drio to negotiate, right?”

“That would be true. I was quite close with Deputy Prime Minister Kim Kyu-sik.”

“Tell them to come in right away. I’ll leave the negotiations and the aftermath to Minister Su-Ban-Drio.”

“All right.”

“And connect the hotline right away. I will speak to Deputy Prime Minister Kim Kyu-sik myself.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After a while, Sukarno was connected by phone with Kim Kyu-sik.

“Deputy Prime Minister Kim Kyu-sik.”

-Tell me.

“Let me ask you just one thing.”

-What?

“If we surrender, will our Indonesian independence be guaranteed? Including Sumatra and Java.”

– I guarantee it. We will have to think about what to do with some of the islands, but at least Sumatra and Java will remain untouched.

“Okay, I surrender. That’s enough.”

– Let’s be clear. Unconditional surrender?

“Yes, unconditional surrender. If only Sumatra and Java are guaranteed.”

– I guarantee that, President Sukarno.

At Sukarno’s words that he would surrender, Kim Kyu-sik’s tone of voice immediately changed.

“It’s not my place to speak, but I ask that you take good care of it. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs, who will temporarily take over as my successor, will handle the aftermath.”

-Okay, I understand. You’ve thought it through well.

Sukarno hung up the phone and gave his final orders as president.

“All armed forces of the Republic of Indonesia will disarm from now on. And they will never oppose the armed forces of the Republic of Korea and will follow their instructions.”

And after confirming that the radio control was gone, they broadcasted.

“This war with the Republic of Korea, which started due to my wrong judgment, is over. All Indonesian citizens should not be hostile to the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and should follow their instructions. Also, I will step down from the presidency to take responsibility for this war, and my interim successor, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Subandrio, will assume the presidency and carry out his duties.”

It was 9 o’clock in the morning, but the annoying roar of the cannons was not heard.

The short war is over.