Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 348



Only Krnovel

#348. Why did the enemies stop advancing?

10:00 a.m., June 30, 1966.

Shanwei, Guangdong Province, Republic of China.

More than 100km east of Hong Kong along the coastline, the Central Military Command, the invading force of the Republic of China, was located here.

The current commander is Gao Kuiyuan (高魁元, Gao Kuiyuan), a first-class general (equivalent to the rank of Marshal; Chiang Kai-shek is the only special-class general, and is equivalent to a general).

“Whew! Damn! How did it end up like this… … .”

A sigh came out on its own.

As the name ‘Central Army’ suggests, the front line encompassing Hong Kong and Guangzhou had a massive army of 1.8 million soldiers.

And although they started the invasion with great momentum with that large army, they were pushed back by the EATO coalition forces centered around South Korea, and the front line retreated from Sanwei on the coast to Heyuan in the northern inland.

Things were really bad.

They lost 400,000 troops in just five days after the start of the war.

It is nothing compared to the northern front in North China, where they lost a whopping 3 million people, but I thought that the sense of crisis they felt was probably similar because the difference in weight compared to North China was so great.

The situation is even more serious because we have already lost one third of our armored forces, including tanks.

In the end, he took a risk and reduced the front line, a decision that resulted in the surrender of Guangzhou to the allied forces of Baiyue and Viet Minh, and the complete merging of the British, Anzac, Philippine, and South Korean forces.

Now his central army was reduced to a total of 1.4 million troops.

The additional troops that were supposed to be sent from Bokju were also canceled as Bokju became dangerous.

They told us to wait a little while as they were hastily conscripting the reserve forces, but it was questionable whether the current situation could be overcome even if the reserve forces, which were lacking in weapons, equipment, and training, were reinforced.

“Damn it! I told you to just build up your power for a few more years! A nuclear bomb? Can you even use that? The other side has a hydrogen bomb?”

Although he never said it out loud, he thought that the reason for this was the President’s impatience.

The President was already approaching his eighties.

In fact, considering the average life expectancy in this era, the President’s feelings were understandable.

He probably didn’t want to die like this, occupying only a part of the southern part of the continent.

But still, I should have developed my skills for at least 5 more years.

To put it bluntly, the Northern Chinese had an overwhelmingly large number of troops, but the Republic of China Army did not.

No, we have already become inferior in terms of manpower.

However, this does not mean that the quality of weapons and equipment is superior.

Because South Korea was holding out against them.

And the Navy and Air Force?

What more can I say?

The Navy was annihilated in an instant, and the Air Force was suffering from offensive attacks by the South Korean and Vietnamese air forces.

If it weren’t for the Tiangong anti-aircraft missiles, this place would have been subject to air raids every day like the northern front.

But now, more than 70% of those Tiangong missiles have been destroyed by their air strikes.

The Air Force’s F-86 Sabres were also being shot down every day by the Vietnamese military’s F-1 fighter-bombers purchased from South Korea, and 60% of its fighters were lost.

I couldn’t see the road at all.

In this situation, it would have been a rational decision to request an end to the war even if it meant prostrating oneself in front of the Republic of Korea.

Of course, it might mean paying significant damages and giving up more territory, but he thought it was better to give up now.

Since South Korea had a small number of nuclear bombs, it would not have wanted to go all the way.

But that won’t happen.

Because it would be impossible for Chen Qing, who is the President, Minister of National Defense, and Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces, to do that.

In conclusion, the end of this dark war would not be good.

I’ll try to say that I have to do it.

“Whew! His impatience has only made him angry. Heh heh! Well, it’s not that I don’t understand His Excellency the President’s feelings, but it’s too bad. People can’t live for 100 years, so what’s going on? Everything is futile… … .”

At this point, everything seemed pointless.

He himself is now in his sixties.

How long do you have to live to struggle like this?

But Gao Kuiyuan didn’t know.

Will he live to be 105 years old and then die?

* * *

17:00, July 2, 1966.

Republic of Korea Northern Operations Forces Command.

“Chief of Staff.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“What is the supply situation?”

“I finished it leisurely this morning. I was completely full.”

“Really? Then there’s no problem running again starting tomorrow?”

“Yes, that’s right. The soldiers have had enough rest and are in good spirits.”

“What about the enemy’s Tiangong missiles?”

“It was completely removed yesterday.”

“No more annoying things.”

“Hahaha! It was annoying, but there was no way we could do anything to our air force with those old missiles.”

“What I was worried about was what if the enemy were to use it as a surface-to-surface missile. What kind of warheads did the US and its air defense missiles have in such an ignorant manner these days?”

Early anti-aircraft missiles, regardless of country, had extremely large warheads.

The Nike missile’s warhead weighed a whopping 500 kg, while the Soviet S-75 (SA-2) anti-aircraft missile was smaller, but still weighed close to 200 kg.

The reason the warheads of these early anti-aircraft missiles became larger was probably because their accuracy was low, so they tried to compensate for this lack of accuracy by creating as many fragments as possible.

For this reason, the Republic of China, which was technologically behind the United States and the Soviet Union, had no choice but to make its warhead larger. The warhead of the Tiangong missile was a whopping 700 kg, which was similar to or larger than the warhead of most modern surface-to-surface missiles.

So what Lee Jae-ha was worried about was that the enemy would convert the Nike missile or the Hyunmoo-1 missile, which was made into a surface-to-surface missile based on the Nike missile, into a surface-to-surface missile.

If the enemies had used it like this, the Northern Army would have suffered significant damage as well.

“I understand your concerns, Commander, but do you think those who value even a single anti-aircraft missile could even think of such a thing? It’s not easy. It requires a change in thinking.”

“Well, that’s true. I guess I was the one who leaned in.”

“Well, not to the extent of Gi-woo. If Lin Biao or Peng Dehuai had thought of something like that, it would have been difficult.”

“Yeah, by the way, are there a lot of them?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the area from central Beijing to the east for about 80km was filled with people.”

“Hehehe! There really are a lot.”

“It’s not that much. It seems that we filled up almost 10 million while we were resting for another day on orders from our superiors. In other words, if the artillerymen just fire randomly, they will fall on the heads of the People’s Liberation Army.”

“And yet you’re still gathering more?”

“We have already filled the reserve force to 4 million. We are currently gathering the troops from the Republic of Tibet and East Turkestan, leaving only half of them behind.”

“This is truly amazing! Amazing!”

“These guys, their obsession with Beijing seems to be far greater than we imagine.”

“Of course. Because you would think of it as the center of China.”

The People’s Republic of China government’s determination to defend Beijing has already surpassed the South Korean government’s expectations.

The number of troops already concentrated in Beijing, including reserve forces, was approaching 10 million.

Here was information from the Joint Chiefs of Staff that 500,000 troops had been hastily withdrawn from the northern and western borders, and that 5 million troops were currently being recruited and brought in from Shaanxi, Henan, Anhui, and Zhejiang provinces, which were far from Beijing and were still on the move.

“Are we going to fill 20 million in Beijing alone?”

“Really?”

“Can you do it, Chief of Staff?”

“… … .”

In response to Lee Jae-ha’s question, Lieutenant General Lim Cheol-hwan closed his mouth like a clam.

They had already exceeded their expectations, and it seemed likely that they could easily produce another 5 million or so.

“Chief of Staff.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Request more ammunition from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I’m all for them filling up to 20 million. Well, that’s what I want.”

“All right.”

“And did you hear the instructions to take it a little slower?”

“Yes, I heard.”

“I think it will take ten days for you to be satisfied. So, please take note of this when operating your power.”

“I will do that.”

“Well, and… … . Ah! Did you also give clear instructions on bombarding the city center and historic sites?”

“Yes, we have distributed a list of coordinates for the city center and major historic sites.”

“Well done. And make sure to prepare thoroughly for quarantine.”

“Quarantine? Is it still thorough?”

“Be more thorough. The enemy’s phase is already a mess.”

“Of course. There are corpses rotting everywhere, and there is no one to clean them up. And the weather is getting warmer. They say that cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and other contagious diseases are already spreading.”

“There will be 10 million more corpses on top of that. So no matter how careful you are, it won’t be enough.”

“All right.”

21:00, July 2, 1966.

Northeast Military Command of the People’s Republic of China.

Commander Lin Biao had been exhausted all day from deploying additional troops and monitoring the frontline trends, and was finally taking a break to drink tea.

Currently, the Northeastern Army has received an additional 2 million reserves, bringing its total to 5 million, and has also replenished some of the lost weapons and equipment.

Here, the enemy’s advance was halted for three days, and although artillery fire and air raids were intermittent, a minimal position could be built.

The remaining troops scattered throughout the country also joined Beijing one after another, and the reserve force, 4 million strong, 1 million more than expected, was deployed to Beijing and its outskirts.

It has surpassed 10 million.

Only the troops defending Beijing.

However, Lin Biao was very anxious.

There is only one reason.

Why did the enemies stop advancing for three days?

If it were you, you would have pushed forward like a hot knife through butter, right?

“Chief of Staff.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Why did the enemies stop advancing? Their forces remained almost intact without any damage?”

“Honestly, we are also suspicious, but there is only one thing we can think of. The amount of artillery fire they have unleashed so far is astronomical. In this situation, it is obvious that the supply line has become longer as they advance, so it must be because of the supply. They must have been waiting for supplies because they were short on ammunition.”

“Hmm, it makes sense to think that way, but… … .”

“Did you have any other thoughts?”

“I mean, I actually feel a little scared… … .”

“A scary thought?”

“By any chance, could it be that they were waiting for us?”

“Yes? No, why are you waiting for us?”

“So that our troops can continue to gather.”

“Really? How could that be? I have never heard of or seen such a case in my life.”

“I guess so?”

“Yes. What army in the world would deliberately give time for an enemy force of over 10 million to gather together?”

“Ha, I see. I guess I was too sensitive.”

Lin Biao said so, but he still felt uneasy.

What if they are thinking of ending the Chinese lineage altogether, even after the war?

It was such a scary thought that Lin Biao also thought it was impossible.

08:00, July 3, 1966.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The shelling by the Northern Army of the Republic of Korea began again.