2
Strike at Dahkur
----- US Western Middle-east Field Command ----- 1930 hours local time, GO day minus 1 -----
In briefing tent, a group of 20 men gathered around a bald officer in camouflaged uniform. Each one of them knew what was coming tomorrow. This was a conclusion briefing before GO day. GO day was a tactical coded name for the commencing day of this joint operation between PLA and US forces against the malicious GLA. Two weeks ago, CIA got information about key personnel meeting of different GLA cells. There was even a rumor that Prince Kassad himself would be there.
"We'll be inserted via HALO drop at the ridge to the north, approximately at 0500 hours. We'll move fast into Dahkur, expecting heavy resistant, thus we need to use stealth not brute force. Latest report indicates that there are six SA-2 sites and at least two SA-11 launchers. Therefore, we have to knock them out before any air-support can be called in. This addition to our objective requires more use of explosives, so you guys have to readjust your kit to add one more C4 satchel each." Captain Lenning paused for a moment to bring up another map of Dahkur, a small town which GLA meeting would take place, a larger scale map. "I'll review our operation here one last time before we prep for tomorrow morning."
Dahkur was a small town with two hundred building packed into a valley. A small canal ran along the southern edge and rose up toward a hill to the east. To the west was high ridge, which an attack was not possible. The only viable ground entrance to the town was to the east. SAT scan found several hidden emplacements and possible minefields spread around the main road to the town. Attacking from that direction would be a suicide. North side was a rocky ridge, which US special force could use as insertion. Heavy AA emplacements in the town had forced them to insert via HALO only. PLA infantry division, under the famous General Fai, would launch an assault across the canal. The man got reputation for his use of mass infantries. Fai would use his amphibious vehicles to get across and assault GLA position while US troops strike from behind. US objectives were to knock out RADAR vehicles along with AA emplacements and storm the meeting hall to snatch GLA high profile officers.
"That's all, boys. Let's get ready." Lenning finished his briefing about 8 o'clock.
----- PLA staging area, 20 km south of Dahkur ----- 2100 hours local time, GO day minus 1 -----
Leechoa sat with his platoon, checking equipments. Several large troop crawlers and amphibious 'Tiger Shark' tanks parked in uniformed rows. Propaganda speakers yelled a patriotic hymn of duty and courage. It seemed so annoying at the brink of battle like this. Leechoa filled his kit with several AK magazines. Unlike his friend Changwen, he was only an ordinary trooper carrying AK rifle. Changwen and a third of his platoon had a chance to carry the proud weapon, minigun. Another third were heavy AT troops. They got dual-barrels missile launcher as standard.
The speakers suddenly ceased their rambling propaganda. Then a voice came through. Leechoa recognized at once. "This is General Fai. Tomorrow morning you're going to fight against the great tyranny who plagues our people with terror strikes for a long time. We'll rid them out of their hold and punch them with a crippling blow. Be ready my soldiers. Tomorrow we will crush the reign of terror for the good of our people. FOR CHINA!!!"
----- 30000 feet above Dahkur ----- 0455 hours local time, GO day -----
Captain Lenning stood at the transport edge along with 20 special forces. 5 of them were armed with light weight compact AT rocket launcher. He called out a check of equipment as red light shone over the opening cargo door. His men moved into twin lines preparing to drop. Lenning pulled down his oxygen mask and held fast to the safety line. He lifted up his watch, only 5 minutes from target zone.
Not for long, a green light appeared. He cried against the high altitude wind. "Go. Go. Go."
His men started to file out into the windy atmosphere. Lenning ran out of the ramp as last man. He let himself fall down. Once he passed through the cloud, he saw faint dots of light from the target town. It was like shimmering star to him. Shadowy figures hovered around him, visible only because of ankle light identifier. That would prevent them from crashing into one another at parachute altitude.
Only a moment now.
----- North of Dahkur ----- 0510 hours local time, GO day -----
Lenning knelt behind a large rock, observing via his binoculars. Sergeant Vonn was beside him, signaling the men to hold. The SpecOps Captain could see the town edge clearly. He saw no GLA guard yet, but they could be lurking in any building right now. Lenning pointed at a cargo loading bay about 300 meters downhill.
"That will be an assembling point." He told the sergeant. "We move in 3 groups, each one covering one another. I'll go in first."
As Lenning about to picked up 6 men for his team, Vonn grabbed his shoulder. "Sir. Please let me. If a sniper is out there, we won't lose a captain so fast."
"Very well." Lenning nodded. "Pick your group."
Vonn went out with the first group. They slid down the hill and moved in shadow toward the cargo bay. Vonn signaled clear and spread the first group to cover the rest. Lenning led the second group down without much problem. Muslim praying began in earnest from distant. The last group moved in quickly. They assembled in the dark bay, preparing to strike.
"We chose a good moment. They'll be busy praying and not notice us." Vonn commented.
Lenning simply nodded and gave order. "We need to spread out and find the AA. SA-2 can't be difficult to find since we got the locations from SAT. If you guys met the mobile AA, just blow it to smithereens. Let's go."
Lenning led a team to the east. There were two sites there to be dealt with. They moved professionally from building to building, covered with early morning darkness. The marksman in the team held a clenched fist up. Everyone halted and rolled into cover. He pointed toward a slim tower to the left. Through night vision goggle, Lenning could see a faint outline that only sharp eyes of marksman could identify. A sniper.
His marksman, Corporal Cortez, aimed his silenced M24 and pulled the trigger. A puff sound was followed by a falling of the sniper on the tower. Lenning cried a quiet warning to his men as the GLA sniper reached the floor with a loud thump. They walked through a narrow alley and headed to the location of the first SA-2, which stationed just behind an inner perimeter defense. He peaked at a corner and saw a squad of GLA riflemen talking in quick and urgent tone.
"Damn." He cursed, knowing that the dead sniper was a good warning for intruder. The town would be awakened in a matter of moment away.
Fortunately, explosions started banging from the south as sunlight slowly shone from eastern edge of the sky. Chinese offensive must have begun. He could see flashes and thundering sound of artillery barrages. The GLA squad quickly got into position and prepared for a fight. A BRDM-2 ran pass heading to the south. Lenning gestured his troops to move in behind the AA emplacement while arming his underslung M203. He signaled his men to use grenade barrage first. There was a machinegun nest just in front of the AA, so he targeted his grenade there.
Then he fired.
The loud bang and a smoke puff sent a gunner flying a few meters away. Following with a barrage from his men, GLA riflemen were blown to pieces before they could turn to fire. Lenning pulled out a shaped charge and ran toward the SA-2. He primed the charge and planted it on the huge missile himself then rushed back into cover. The explosion was loud and bright. In the smoke, something just came out. He could see a vehicle outline.
"Quad cannon." He cried and leapt into cover.
The Quad cannon with elongated barrels fired hails of bullets at him. One of his men were shredded and exploded as a bullet touch explosives in his pack. One of the AT troops climbed into second floor of the nearest building and shot the cab with precise aiming, detonating the Quad cannon a mean to move. The second rocket blew off the weapon-mount on its back.
"Move. Move now." Lenning continued to his next target.
----- South of Dahkur ----- 0600 hours local time, GO day -----
The constant barrages from Berzerker MLRS had ceased a few minutes ago, leaving a leveled southern edge of Dahkur in ruin. A dozen of Tiger Shark tanks rolled in first, following by troop crawlers. As the tanks arrived on dry land, volleys of rockets blew two off right away. GLA RPG troops garrisoned in far block of buildings were decimating tanks with ease. As the troop crawler landed, Leechoa jumped off and positioned himself behind a collapsed building. Changwen started suppressing RPG troops with volleys from his minigun. Troop crawlers turned their fireports toward the buildings, which GLA were hiding in, and raking it with weapons of troopers inside.
Two rockets blew off a chunk of concrete, exposing 2 GLA inside. Leechoa shot them quickly, only to injured one and fell the other. A sniper shot took the head of Tank Hunter who blew the hole in the building off, blood spattering. Leechoa pulled down Changwen as another shot came in, missing the minigunner by a second.
"Thanks." said Changwen.
A tank round punched into his troop crawler. The damaged vehicle tried to move away but it was too late. Another round blasted it sideway, crushing an unlucky trooper next to it. There was an old Soviet-era tank stationing behind a pile of rubbles, striking the landed force with round after round. Leechoa crawled toward the dead Tank Hunter and grabbed his weapon. He loaded two fresh rockets into it. A sniper shot glanced his left shoulder. Leechoa threw himself down into cover and cursed in pain.
"High tower to the right." Changwen relayed sniper position as he saw a flash.
"I don’t have any long range weapon to fire at it, Changwen." Leechoa cried back.
Sergeant Lhong dropped into the ruined building and pulled out his radio. "Good job spotting the sniper, Changwen." Then the sergeant called something into the radio.
Half a minute later, the tower was shelled with mortar. The first 3 shells missed it by a few meters then the fourth hit it square. The tower broke in the middle and collapsed. The sniper fell down screaming. Leechoa was about to fire at the GLA tank again when a shelling of his position had begun. He was thrown backward and the tank scrambled away into the town.
"Find cover." Lhong pulled Leechoa up and together ran into the nearest intact building.
----- Dahkur ----- Dawn, GO day -----
Lenning group was pinned down at a side street led to a town hall after a destruction of his second SA-2. Vonn and the third team had radioed him that they had taken care of all SA-2 and they were moving in to the town hall right now. Cortez had spotted a RADAR tank at the town hall from rooftop when they assaulted second AA emplacement. The rising sun touched the sky with golden beam of light that glared through trails of gray smoke.
Lenning crouched behind a burnt car, being raked with bullets. From time to time, an RPG would be used against them. There was no room for advance from this. He turned to Cortez who was lying on his stomach behind holed bazaar carts. "Cortez. Can you find a way to flank them?"
"I'll try, sir." The marksman replied and rolled to his right toward a metal door. He kicked it hard and moved in.
"Kilo 2 to Kilo 1." Lenning's radio crackled.
"Yes?" He knew it was Vonn.
"I'm going to draw their fire to the west. You'd better move fast."
"Roger." Lenning then ordered his men. "Prepare to move. Sergeant Vonn will draw their fire away at any moment now."
"Kilo 1, this is Kilo 6. I see two camouflaged AA at the town hall." Cortez reported from rooftop.
The suppression rate at their position lowered. Lenning got up and yelled, "Now!!!"
He rushed forward, firing from the hip. His remaining men did the same in unison. The reach an emplacement and found 3 dead Arabians. Lenning was about to move forward when the building behind him exploded in fury. He crawled up, his ears ringing. Two in his group were injured. He saw a huge monster standing at the far end of the street, defending the town hall. It was very large tank with huge fixed cannon in front and a machinegun turret in the back.
"Move away from the street!" the desperate captain commanded. "Get the wounded with you."
One AT troop didn't actually follow his order. He fired a rocket at that huge tank only to create a slight scorch mark on it. The turret swung around and pelted the courageous man with big caliber bullets. The great siege weapon rumbled forward, preparing to crush everything in its path. Its cannon fired again and the ground shuddered, another building collapsed. Lenning got no more idea how to defeat this thing.
A shot from the roof cut the gunner down in his own turret. His radio crackled again and filled with Cortez's voice. "Kilo 1, find cover now."
Instead, Lenning jumped up and rushed toward the armored giant, pulling out C4 satchel. Cortez yelled at him via radio. "What are you doing, sir? Get back!!"
Lenning didn't stop. He drove down beside left track of the heavy machine and planted the C4 charge there. He jumped up again and ran toward the rear. Loud bang barked with clanking noise following up. The monster cannot move now. But Lenning never got a chance to finish the huge tank because a mob of armed civilian-dressed people just came out of the town hall. The captain ducked and moved low as small-arms showered at him. He rolled behind a ruined store and shot back.
Suddenly, a buggy armed with rockets came out of the corner and fired a relentless salvo at Lenning. Explosions sent him flying backward a few meters. Blood from several cuts painted his face. He ran upstairs to the roof then crossed to another proximity building. There was a slight flash and a bang. Lenning didn't realize he was hit until he fell. Blood welled in his chest. He did not even feel a thing, but he couldn't move or do anything else. There was a baseball-sized hole in his chest. He started to suffocated and then blacked out.
----- Dahkur southern area -----
His shoulder patched, Leechoa was back into a fight again. It was like living nightmare of street battle. GLA seemed to lurk in every corner, striking at Chinese force decisively. He jogged along with the rest of his platoon, which was reduced to half of original number. This strike had turned into a dead-locked. Sergeant Lhong was leading the platoon now since the lieutenant was dead in the overturned troop crawler. The platoon moved forward and was forced to a halt when Quad tank sped out from the left. The AA weapon shrieked, striking down at infantry platoon. Changwen was cut down along with 2 Tank Hunters close by. Lhong leapt through broken glass into a produce store to the right. Leechoa rolled in to a three-stories resident to the left.
There was blood and dust all over his uniform. Leechoa reloaded his AK and waited for GLA troops to come. He saw rockets flew pass the window. Sound of explosions was overwhelming, yet he sensed it was not the enemy. Another full platoon of troops was moving in to support. Leechoa went out of the building to see a combat ready PLA infantries and a ruined Quad tank.
Lhong got out of the store, his face half red with blood from a head wound. An officer stepped forward to meet him. "Sergeant, your unit will be integrated into our platoon. We've been ordered to hold our advance and dig in. Command is going to bombard the town with artillery. We're not taking the town today due to heavy resistant."
Sergeant Lhong was about to go when the officer added. "Oh, sergeant. Get yourself and your men a medic. You look like hell."
----- PLA Field Command Post, 30 km south of Dahkur -----
General Fai was a bit uncomfortable with the presence of the female officer in his CP. However, this officer was sent to take over his operation. He could not argue with her. General Leang checked her map data and smiled. "General Fai, your Berzerker MLRS unit is not doing enough damage to GLA stronghold as we speak. It's time to try something new. Pull your men back to the canal bank."
"What? I can't give up what we've tried so hard to take. I lost many men out there." Fai protested.
Leang seemed calm as ever. "If you do not pull them out, my Hammer cannons will eventually push them back. Which way do you want, general?"
"Alright." Fai nodded and picked up a radio. "This is General Fai. Order every unit to withdraw to area mark 001."
There was a pause. Then he yelled into the radio. "Just do it."
"Very good, general. Report to me as soon as your men are in safe zone."
----- Dahkur, half a kilometer from town hall -----
"Captain Lenning is dead?" Vonn was stunned by the news.
"Yes, sir." Cortez confirmed it. "I've seen him shot in the chest by myself, but I wasn't able to get in and help him. They're holding the perimeter tight."
Vonn nodded grimly. With the death of Lenning, he was now in charge. It was high responsibility. "Our mission has to go on. With those SA-11s operating, we can't call in any air-support. We cannot assault or sneak in either, since the town hall is packed up with defense. I think it's time to contact command."
Setting up SATCOM, Vonn contacted US Command. His call was quickly relayed to Gen. Ironside. "This is General Ironside speaking. Who am I speaking to?"
"Sergeant Vonn of Dahkur insertion team, sir." The sergeant answered quickly. "We've lost Capt. Lenning and we cannot clear out GLA AA, sir. GLA has dug in tight. Attacking in daylight is suicide, general. What would you have us do?"
"You Granger's boys rely too much on aircraft. Heh!! Nevermind. Sergeant, I'm moving in ADMG launchers right now. If you could provide me with a coordinate of those SA-11s, I'll ordered them scrap right away."
"Let me check it, sir." Vonn pulled out a strategic map and checked the location of the town hall. Cortez pointed at two corners.
Vonn turned his attention back to Ironside. "I've the coordinate, sir."
"Transmit to me and I'll begin barrage in 30 minutes. Ironside out."
Vonn was beginning to enter the coordinate into the SATCOM when shell shrieking came his way. As the first shell hit the ground, Vonn stumbled and fell. More shells struck Dahkur hard. It sounded worse than anything Vonn had seen before. The SpecOps team moved into cover but didn't dare getting into any building. Shell barrages this bad could just bring down tons of debris and bury them alive. A few minutes later, the ground shook violently as if there was an earthquake. A large chuck of concrete fell on top of the SATCOM, smashing it to useless piece of junk.
"Can you hear that, sarge?" Cortez suddenly spoke up.
"I can't hear a thing aside from this barrage."
Cortez looked up into the sky and pointed at a dark shape to the northeast. "There. A helicopter is incoming. I think it's GLA." He looked harder. "Mi-8 Russian design."
"So they want to bring someone out? Curse them. We lost too many men to fail now." Vonn was filled with anger now. "We need to take it out. They're not going to escape in that way. Let's move closer and bring them down with our AT."
"Are you sure of getting closer, sir?" Cortez seemed to disagree.
Vonn replied with a bit too aggressive tone. "Cortez. If you don't want to come, then you stay behind and cover us with your sharpshooting ability."
"I'll do that, sir." He nodded and chose a marksman and two riflemen to accompany him.
A shell dropped nearby, breaking down an entire front of a tool store. Another shell hit the town hall machinegun nest and left nothing but ruined scraps. Cortez led his team up the roof as fast as they could. It was not safe in open space as much as in any man-made structure. This powerful shell could blow just about anything. His team stumbled several times from the quaking vibration. He wondered what weapon could wield power of such magnitude.
The Mi-8 slowly descended toward the hall's roof while Vonn team headed straight toward the busted defense. He was still sensible enough to exploit a gap. Gunshots came from them but thundering shells simply dulled them. Cortez began a show of his expert marksmanship. GLA troops were slowly being hunted. A shell struck one of the AA vehicles. Fireball rose into the sky with fierce swirling of ignited gas. The GLA transport touched the roof and several uniformed men rushed out of the town hall. An AT man launched his rocket and missed, blowing off a chunk of concrete. GLA guards rained down bullets at them. Another rocket flew pass the Mi-8 and missed yet again. Cortez shot down a GLA sniper before he could fire at US AT troop.
He saw another sniper about to fire. Cortez aimed along his scope, but the ground shook from the blast and threw him to the floor. One AT troop fell, dead. Vonn turned and shot fiercely, killing the sniper in the process. Cortez cursed as he rose up and took aim.
A loud boom surrounded him. Dust and debris spattered everywhere. He could no longer felt a thing. His vision blurred. He saw himself dropped onto the floor rather than felt it. He also saw an arm dropped in front of him. After a short moment, he realized it look so familiar. Then he noticed it was his own arm. As the dust settled, he could see only broken bodies of his team. The shell must have hit them square. The last thing Cortez saw was the building breaking down and shattering. After that there was only darkness for him.
----- US Western Middle-east Field Command ----- GO day -----
Ironside was waiting for the coordinate when his aide came to him with haste. The general gave the man a quizzical look. "What is it?"
"This report just came in, sir." He handed Ironside the paper in his hand.
General Ironside quickly read it and reread it again to make sure. Then he cursed and shifted his attention toward the view screen, showing a chart of on going battle. "I need intel now. Is there any Global Hawk standing by in that area?"
"There are two, sir. More can be sent in but it will take some time." A technician answered from his console.
"Send one in now. Update me with fresh intel." ordered the general.
The main screen swapped to a view of the first Global Hawk. The stealthy UAV flew into hot zone quickly. Dahkur slowly presented itself in the camera view. Bright explosions lit the entire town with an exception of the canal bank. Smoke rose high and blocked sunlight away. Ironside was certain that this carnage was PLA doing. However, he was also sure it was not Fai who did it.
"Analyze and report!" He ordered swiftly.
A man from military intel spoke almost immediately. "I think there're using heavy long-range artillery with combination of normal HE shells and what seem to be shockwave rounds."
"Shockwave rounds?"
"Seismic rounds, sir. The round buries itself in the ground once hit and explodes under earth layer. Quite catastrophic if you ask me." He explained. "This seems to confirm a rumor about China new addition to weapon technology."
Ironside clenched his fist and turned to UAV tech. "Can you locate our boys?"
"I can get the UAV in closer if you'd like, but it's risky to ground fire."
"Just do it."
----- Dahkur town hall -----
Vonn emptied his last M4 magazine on a group of civilian-dressed militants, taking cover behind a stack of crates. He got only 2 men left to fight. The shelling and GLA crossfire had obliterated his unit. The Mi-8 was about to lift off but the closest AT weapon lay on open ground where he would not take it back alive. His men were overwhelming from every direction. He turned to the survivors.
"Give me all your C4." Both of them threw him the satchels. "Now cover me."
Vonn ran as fast as he could in crouch position and leapt the last few meters toward SA-11. He planted one satchel and armed it. Then he continued toward the town hall, arming another satchel on the way. He swung it as far as he could and it dropped just in front of town hall main entrance. He rolled in and dropped behind a waist-height concrete wall as explosion tore AA emplacement to pieces of debris and shrapnels. The entrance was blew up, sending large chunk of debris up in the air. A piece of debris missed the taking-off Mi-8 by just half a meter. One of his last men was shot in the shoulder and dropped down behind cover. RPG seared through the air and blown the other off his feet. A BRDM crashed through the wall and finished off those two with ease. It turned the slim auto-cannon at Vonn. The anti-infantry rounds pasted the concrete wall with holes in seconds. Vonn could barely hear a thing amid the shelling and suppression of IFV gun. He didn't notice that a mid-age man carrying KSVK had sneaked around. The anti-material sniper rifle punched through Vonn's chest and blew his innards all over the wall.
----- East of Dahkur ----- 1330 hours local time, GO day -----
The GLA defenders didn't know what was coming until it was too late. With no more heavy AA, two squadrons of Black Shark Helicopters launched a surgical strike. The Hammer barrages that commenced since morning had ceased almost at the same time. Transport helicopters brought in a clearance company under Leang's command. The company consisted of eight fully upgraded Ravage tanks, two Multi-gattling tanks, six Advanced Dragon tanks, and two Support Crawlers.
Captain Lee Ecktee was put in charge of the Dahkur clearance. He ordered the Dragons to move ahead and clear the possible minefields with bright hot white napalm. It took about 20 minutes but it was worth the time. Lee got up to the top hatch to see the rippling explosions of minefields then smiled as he sensed victory was close.
"Dragons, move up the town edge and burn everything that's not China. Ravagers, trail close to our Dragons." Lee gave an order quickly. "The rest, follow up and support us if needed."
Getting back into his Ravage tank, he looked through a 360-degree viewport as his tank moved in tight formation. There wouldn't be any tough resistance left after hours of Hammer barrages. The main road was covered with shell holes and wreckages. Smoke rose up from burning piles of scraps. There was not much glory in the clearance but at least it was a good and easy victory.
Then he saw something moving. He used his binoculars to enhance his vision. "Tank, 3 o'clock."
The turret turned at once. He noticed the old Soviet era tank, reinforced with junk armor plates common to GLA vehicle unit. He decided he would score a remarkable kill. "Load Ramjet."
"Ramjet, loaded."
"Fire!!" Lee let out his command. With extra propeller, the Ramjet shell would go further and penetrate better than normal AT shell. His gunner, Huang, had a knack for targeting weak part of a tank. Thus, the Ramjet hit the turret/hull joint, biting deep into the turret itself. Internal explosion sent the turret flying over 2 meters up in the air. "Nice one, Huang."
His radio crackled and he listened. "Clearance company, this is infantry division. We're advancing from the south. Please be advised. Over."
"Infantry division, this is clearance company. Acknowledged. Out."
A flame burst turned Lee's attention toward the front. It appeared that GLA troops who survived Hammer barrages had dug in tight at the next block. The Dragons were burning the entire building block with special mix of volatile liquid solution. White hot flame ate the buildings from top to bottom. GLA stragglers cried out as their bodies were slowly pelt by heat and fire. Some fell of the windows while some just burnt inside the building like a cooking oven.
Something caught his eyes as his Dragons moved toward the next block. A man, strapped with explosive device, ran straight from the right abandoned building toward the closest Dragon. The eruption was fury. Ignited napalm mixtures spread across the street, burning just about anything. A suicide bomber. Lee grabbed his radio and spoke quickly. "All units, be advised of GLA suicide bombers. Don't let them close, kill them with anything."
Lee cursed because he didn't expect any casualty in this mission.
----- Dahkur southern area ----- 1430 hours local time, GO day -----
Chinese infantries advanced from the canal into the town with Tiger Shark tanks support. After the reconnaissance indicated that heavy AA was all gone, General Fai had reinforced the line with Helixes, fully loaded with troops. Their propaganda speakers yelled inspiration words against weapon noise. The platoon began to sing a victory song as they march.
Leechoa and several others took a lead at forefront. GLA remainders had fled to the town center or died fighting. Normally the heat was bad enough; now combined with munitions flame and smoke it was far worse. After the thunderous shelling, the enemy spirit seemed diminished. There were several flame troops among his men, added to his unit by cooperation between General Fai and Leang. These flamers had cleared a building far faster than ordinary soldiers could and GLA had a tendency to hide in the concrete forest. Yet, flaming buildings made the heat worsen.
"Contact!!" a trooper ahead let out a warning.
A GLA battered technical slammed into a flamethrower, crushing him beneath two tons vehicle. The 50 caliber machinegun spat and fell two riflemen. Leechoa dropped down to his belly just in time. The man beside him jerked back and died. His AK started banging, sending heavy round toward GLA. He missed the gunner, and now he had become a target. Leechoa could not leap away while in prone stance. He was going to die.
The technical suddenly erupted in the middle, breaking at the half. The gunner flew backward and smashed hard into the wall. The driver was even far worse, crushed behind the steering wheel and broken beyond recognition. A Helix hovered pass just above him, propaganda speakers rambling. After a while, the push had punched a hole in GLA defense and invaders poured through the gap, annihilating any GLA who was brave enough to stay and fight.
There was a huge tank up ahead near the town hall. Its heavy caliber turret gun barked and held back. Tank Hunters tried to hit it, but could do no more than a dent on the thick-armored hull. GLA troops had rallied at this giant beast. They scrambled around and charged. It was like fighting a riot since none of these militants wore a uniform. Many of them carrying compact AK47 and shotguns, they countered Chinese infantries with fierce determination. A flame troops exploded amid Chinese men and burnt 5 troopers around him. Sound of death was everywhere. Leechoa switched his AK to full-auto and fired blindly. The recoil was tremendous, but every shot hit something fleshy. More GLA poured out from the town hall, firing their weapons as they moved. The advance was halted when two Quad tanks came out. The mob had become a meat-shield as the AA guns rained death at PLA men.
With luck again, the GLA position was lit by fusillade of thousands hard rounds. The mob was annihilated in seconds and the Quad tanks were punched hard. They were about to raise their AA guns upward to strike the attacking Black Shark squadron, when several AT rockets hit them at once. PLA infantries charged again. Leechoa fixed bayonet and screamed as he lurched forward. The huge siege machine turret could no longer hold the tide of men that crashed down on it. Leechoa climbed up the immobile beast and shot the machinegunner point-blank in the face. A flamer scrambled up behind him and jammed his barrel into the turret. Ignited napalm mixtures poured into the Basilisk and torched anything left inside.
Leechoa could smell cooked meat.
----- US Western Middle-east Field Command ----- GO day -----
"PLA is attacking in full force. As it seems, they're annihilating anything in their path." The intel officer analyzed the scene from Global Hawk camera. "I think you should presume that Dahkur insertion team is lost, general."
Ironside nodded grimly. "Has anyone confirmed about Kassad presence?"
"Negative, sir." The intel guy droned on. "But there is a helicopter leaving the area just before the last AA emplacement was destroyed. I suspect that GLA has already moved their key leaders away."
"Curse them." Ironside was angry now. "Contact Air-Traffic-Control and tell my friend, Granger, to scramble his King Raptors. We need to intercept it."
On-duty officers quickly relayed order and worked on coordination. A technician uploaded the ATC data up on the screen. Ironside looked at it and saw several dots of possible contact. However, he got the bad news from the intel officer. "Sir, ATC reports no RADAR contact of suspected helicopter. I'm checking it via SAT timeframe. It seems that one of our spy-sat passed that area at the moment of our target departure."
A moment later, the intel officer put something up on the main screen. "I've their probable heading and searching RADAR logs in that region."
Another officer ran in. "Sir, General Granger has accepted your request and will launch an air-combat patrol in about 20 minutes to a specified region. And he'll be coming here too, sir."
"General, I think that GLA aircraft is found. RADAR log from suburb station 011CR has confirmed incoming unspecified helicopter. A spotter logged it as Mi-8 transport. The signal ceased at grid Kilo-Charlie-2731-Alpha."
"What's on that grid?" the aging general shot a question.
"There is a satellite window. I think we'll get the result within half an hour, sir."
Suddenly, the door parted and came a voice, "You've needed my air-support, general?"
Ironside turned toward the newcomer. The tall gray-haired figure strode into CCC and stopped just in front of the so called, USA Armor General. Granger seemed a bit taller than Ironside. He spoke to his colleague with respect. "General, thanks for assisting my boys. Though it's a shame that we lost them all in this operation."
"Malcolm, we're about to locate the missing GLA transport. I think your Raptors should check the sky above grid…" the Armor General looked at the reference in the screen. "…Kilo-Charlie-2731-Alpha."
"Any AA activity?" Malcolm 'Ace' Granger asked the intel.
"We're still waiting to for satellite window, sir. We will know in about 30 minutes."
Granger nodded and said to no one specifically, "I'll have my Raptors going in high so that no AA could harm them and keep scanning the area at the same time."
----- Dahkur town hall ----- 1545 hours local time, GO day-----
It was room-to-room now. Command wanted the town hall searched for any important document, so flamer couldn't be used. Leechoa and two riflemen took point. They had finished searching the ground floor and found nothing of value so far. It seemed too quite in the second floor. As they entered the hall from back entrance, the frontal one blocked by tons of rubble, GLA had set an ambush killing about eight men. Once it was cleared, ten enemy bodies were found. Leechoa walked cautiously, trying hard to notice any booby trap the enemy had set.
A camouflaged trooper, hid behind a pillar, leapt out and sprayed hard rounds at his direction. Leechoa pushed one trooper away and stumbled into a room to the left. He suddenly found himself in a room with another gunman, also in camouflaged uniform. The Arabian charged and tried to club Leechoa with his wire-stock gun. With his PLA training, Leechoa evaded such clumsy attack with ease and struck back ferociously. He hit with his AK stock and slashed with his bayonet. The enemy was not as smart as Leechoa thought when he raised an arm to block a bayonet swing. A deep wound cut directly into his arm. Leechoa didn't let the advantage slip away. He continued his trained moves and knocked the GLA down, striking hard as a finishing move with bayonet stabbed into the chest. Two more entered from the balcony, ready to fire at him.
A continuous volley of gunshots blasted both of them apart in gory mess. Sergeant Lhong stepped into the room with smoking-barreled minigun. The NCO nodded at Leechoa and looked around. "Have you notice something in this room, trooper?"
Leechoa never got a chance to inspect the room earlier. Now he saw a punctured briefcase lay at the corner. Lhong gestured Leechoa to check it while he guarded every entrance. After checking for a while, the young trooper turned back to the waiting NCO. "Sir, I'm not sure what these are, but I think they're charts of some sort. Maps too."
"Very good, I'm going to tell our CO." Lhong slung his gun and brought out a radio. "Keep on searching, Leechoa. You're doing well."
----- Dahkur, 800 meters east of town hall ----- 1610 hours local time, GO day -----
The progress of town clearance had been slower than expected due to traps and suicidal strikes. Lee parked his tank in a town square not too far from the town hall. By that time, an officer from General Fai's division had met with them. Without a threat from sniper, Captain Lee dismounted his tank. He climbed down to meet an officer who seemed to be just less than 25 years old.
"Sir, I'm Lieutenant Zuyhang. Currently, third and fourth platoon of second company are clearing the town hall and searching for anything of value."
"How long will it take?" Lee simply asked.
Zuyhang replied instantly, "We're clearing the second floor right now and met medium resistance. There are two floors left, sir. I don't think it's going to take much time."
Lee nodded and replied. "I'll take my time here to repair and rearm our vehicle. We haven't burnt this square yet, so there might be some enemy left around. I want you to create a defense perimeter around our company while we're doing our field maintenance."
Zuyhang nodded and began deploying squads around the square. Lee looked at flashings almost a kilometer away. As an armor officer, he never experienced a close-quarter combat like that before. He just stood there and watched the battle for town hall raged on until his gunner called him. "Captain, General Leang is on the line waiting for you."
Lee got up to the top hatch and grabbed a radio headphone. "This is Ravager one. Over."
"Ravager one, this is Command. What is your status? Over." a feminine voice came in.
"The infantry division is rooting out GLA in the town hall as well as checking for any of their secret. My company is holding at 800 meters east of the prime target. I'll commence further clearance to the west once we finish with the town hall. Over."
"Good job, MAJOR. Leang, out!" Lee was stunned at unexpected and instant promotion. This was going to be a better day for him.
----- Dahkur town hall -----
The fighting had intensified on third floor. When Leechoa went up the stairs, his unit was ambushed from the top. Several GLA gunmen dropped two soldiers as they marched right into their field of fire. Gunfire could be heard from the other wing of this town hall. It seemed that once the enemy knew the Chineses are pushing in to take the building, not destructing it right away, they consolidated their forces on the upper floors to gun down as many oppositions as possible, making the victory a costly one for PLA.
Lhong called the attack on hold and assembled his men. "I'm not just going to waste men on that stupid stairs. I got an idea, but I need to talk to our CO. You guys hold the position on this floor at all cost. Let's go."
"What are you planning, sir?" Leechoa dared asking.
Instead of a rebuttal tone, Lhong answered in much gentler one. "I'm thinking about the Americans and what they'll do in this case. They'll simply push in from both top and bottom. We have Helixes and troops up there for this. And since there is no more AA, this tactic is going to work."
Lhong grabbed a radio headphone and called for this CO. "Sir, I think I've an idea to break this deadlock." A pause, "If we could land some men on the roof and strike from two direction, it will be much easier to take this place, sir."
There was a moment of silence on this side. Then Lhong nodded and put the headphone down. He smiled while turning toward Leechoa. "He agrees to do it. We're ordered to keep them suppressed while our Helixes coming in."
----- Grid Kilo-Charlie-2731-Alpha -----
A squadron of two King Raptors, an upgraded version of normal F-22 for more durability and weapon capacity, kept their altitude at 30000 feet. The squadron leader checked his reading with advanced target recognition system. He registered at least 3 large objects on the ground and several ground activities down below.
"Hawk-1 to Hawk-wing. Do you read large activities down there? Over."
"Confirmed, Hawk-1. I've the same reading. Over." The wingman replied.
The leader reset the radio to contact US Command. "Eaglenest, this is Hawk-1. There is a lot of activities at our current target. Over."
"Acknowledged, Hawk-1. We're analyzing an intel of that region here. Hold your pattern until further notice, we're sending in reinforcement. ETA 20 minutes. Out."
A voice came from the radio from non-official channel. "They're up to something. Right, boss?"
The squadron leader replied to his wingman. "I think so. We'd better be prepared. By the way, we should keep our chatter to minimal."
"Yes, sir. I'll do my best, boss."
----- Dahkur town hall -----
Anything on the rooftop was pasted with storm of powerful bullets. Black Shark squadron showered the roof with death, annihilating anyone who dared standing against the deadly assault helicopters. Just a short moment later, 4 helixes landed on the roof and quickly deployed their cargo of troops. Entire roof was covered in jagged bullet holes. The assault team stormed the building from above on both wings of the town hall.
Meanwhile, Leechoa unit began attacking from below. The noise of fighting had drowned everything. At the stairs, a Tank Hunter launched a couple of rockets into the entrance to third floor, following with AK riflemen assault. Leechoa went along with the assault group. As they reached third floor, the group spanned left and right, clearing the space with fierce determination. GLA men had put up a great last stand. They fortified their last stronghold with furniture and anything they could find. With cover, the so called freedom fighters struck at PLA troopers freely. Leechoa pressed himself against the wall as he saw the two men cut down just in front of him. He spray hail of bullets only to grace GLA protective cover.
A round hit Leechoa's left thigh. He fell, yelling with rage. He continued to spat the GLA while lying on the floor. One of them aimed at Leechoa, preparing for a kill, but he was faster. A bullet from his AK streaked through the air and punched direction into the enemy skull. Blood splashed all over the cover. He aimed at another one and coughed up a few last rounds. His gun jammed, his magazine emptied. He was about to reload when he saw an insurgent pointed a RPG toward him, ready to obliterate.
He realized he was going to die. Closing his eyes, he thought of his family and beloved one. He would like to see the familiar faces once again, but it was too late to ask now. The end was at hand. He mumbled a prayer and waited.
Finally, the sound of explosion filled his sense.
----- US Western Middle-east Field Command -----
The satellite images showed an improvised airfield, built by GLA, as it seemed. There was no trace of heavy AA emplacement so far. However, there were two Quad tanks stationed north and south of the area. The three large cargo planes were loading something into it. The temporary airfield seemed like an ant nest. People shifted around to load stuffs. There was the targeted Mi-8 helicopter landed on the east side.
The two generals were watched the satellite images when an analyze technician called urgently. "Sir, you need to take a look at this."
When Ironside and Granger stepped in, he began explaining. "I found what seems to be a large warhead-shaped object. So, I check with various radiation spectrums and…"
Granger cut him off, "Skip the details. What are you suggesting?"
"It's possible that they're using this part to assemble chemical warheads, larger than their usual chemical Scuds. WMD, if I might say, sir."
With grim face, Granger quickly strode away and grabbed a headphone. "Eaglenest to Hawk squadron. I want you to engage the enemy now. Do not let them leave the area at any cost. Can you read me? Over."
"We read you, Eaglenest. Commencing attack run now. Out."
----- Dahkur town hall -----
Lee raised his right hand to shield his eyes from relentless sunlight. He smiled at the hole he had made at the town hall. Zuyhang had told him about the two-prong assault and he decided to join in. With estimated from infantry officer, he calculated possible GLA strongpoint in the building and blew it up with high-explosive shell. After the smoke cleared, he could see a few stragglers tried to rise up and fight again.
"Let's give them hell." Lee said and grabbed a radio. "Gattling, now!!"
The waiting gattling tanks rolled their lower cannons and started sending thousands of rounds per minute into the hole. The raking of high-velocity bullets was followed by smoke and crying sound. No infantry could stand against such dreadful carnage. Lee just watched on his hatch. Zuyhang was listening to someone from the other end of his field radio transmitter on top of Lee's tank.
"Sir, I've got report from up there." Zuyhang tried hard to raise his voice over the roar of gattling cannons. "The GLA position in this wing has been utterly crushed."
"Gattling, hold fire." Lee finally ordered then turned his attention to Zuyhang. "You may clear the floor."
Inside the building, Leechoa leaned against the wall and stared at the carnage before his eyes. The explosion was from the tank round that smashed through GLA strongpoint like scissors cutting a paper. The continuous gattling attack had brutally slaughtered any remaining GLA there. Lhong ran up to check him, but Leechoa raised his thumb telling he was ok. Lhong nodded and brought a group of men toward the scene of destruction. Randomly Gunfire at close range blasted any GLA survivor with no remorse.
Leechoa smiled as fate had left him alive. He knew he would soon be transported back to triage station. It was going to be a moment of rest in the carnage of war for him now.
----- Grid Kilo-Charlie-2731-Alpha -----
The Raptor squadron zoomed down to engage. They dove down with speed, firing missiles at the same time. The Mi-8 was obliterated instantly along with maintenance crew. A RADAR van was blown to pieces. Two of three GLA cargo-aircrafts/bombers were struck hard. One lost its left wing in an explosion. The other one was ripped apart by ignited fuel. Quad tanks started sending hails of AA shells into the sky. The squadron leader could evade without taking too much damage, but the wingman was not so lucky. A couple of shot damage its portside engine.
"Hawk-1, I'm hit. I'm hit." The wingman cried as he tried to bank away from the deadly bullet rain.
Smoke puffed from the left of the specialized Raptor. The leader pulled his aircraft in a vertical circle and launched all his remaining missiles toward Quad tanks, buying time for his colleague. One of the two was hit right in the middle and was torn apart. The other one moved behind a stack of supply and the missile hit the stack instead. Another hails came in before he could properly pull out and punctured his right wing. He rolled and turned away just in time.
"Hawk-1 to Hawk-wing. Status report, over."
"My left engine is dead. Fire-extinguisher works properly and that engine is not going to blow up. I'm struggling with jet control but I'll manage. I think it could reach our base or at least safe zone. Over."
"Copy that. Hawk-1, out."
Suddenly, a crackle came from his radio. "Hawk squadron, this is Nightsword. We're in bound and ready to attack the target. Is there anything we should know? Over."
"There is one remaining Quad AA left. Be advised. We've taken damage and we're returning to base right now. So, you're on your own. There is one last cargo plane left unharmed. Take care of it if you can. Over."
"Acknowledged, Hawk. We're going in now. Out."
Two pairs of King Stealth Fighters streaked pass them. Their dark silhouette cut the glint from the sun. They banked left and rolled down to target. Through clouds they came. Heavy missiles pounded the make-shift airfield hard. Two of them blasted the Quad tanks to smithereens. The survivors spread out and took cover. That was their only chance now.
"Nightsword-1 to base. I can count only two cargo plane wrecks. The third one is not found. Over."
"Say again, Nightsword-1." came a voice of General Granger.
"The third cargo plane is nowhere in sight or sensor. They must have left just before we arrive. Over."
"Copy that, Nightsword-1. Continue your bombing as per mission plan. Command, out."
The Stealth Fighters climbed and dropped their altitude once again to unload their remaining heavy ordnances. The laser-guided bombs headed directly down toward GLA troops and piles of supply. Munitions exploded one the bomb hit. In minutes, they raced off into the afternoon sky, countermeasures flaring behind as a precaution against man-portable AA.
----- Dahkur ----- 1730 hours local time, GO day -----
Lee got a confirmed report from Zuyhang that the town hall had been cleared and was being searched for any secret document right now. He grabbed a pack of field ration and climbed off his tank. Huang was boasting his targeting skill with another tank gunner. There were a few infantries with the group too, sitting and eating their quick evening meal. Lee sat down on the side of his tank, now parking inside the town hall perimeter. He tore the pack carefully and started filling his stomach with foodstuff. Though the taste was no so good, hunger had turned them into a good one. He looked at the smoke plume rising above horizon. Dahkur was burning and he was about to burn another part of it. Lee had given order to rest until 1800 hours before advancing into the west section of Dahkur.
His rest ceased when a sergeant came to him with urgent face. Lee rushed his meal and threw the garbage away, shifting up to meet the newcomer. The sergeant seemed to be a veteran of infantry division. He said to the captain quickly, "Sir, I'm Sergeant Lhong. I've got something to report."
"Say it, sergeant." Lee granted his permission.
"The platoon leader sends me to talk to you about a possible heavy sniper in the midst of this town. We saw an American body shot with high caliber weapon. We also found this ammo casing." He pulled a long spent case from his pocket. The size was 12.7 mm and stamped with Russian on the side. Lee took the bullet from the soldier and checked it.
"12.7 mm anti-material round." replied Lee, "It can penetrate weak spot of our tanks and it's a big problem."
"So, what do we do, sir?"
"I'll have an officer meeting. I have a plan to deal with this sniper but I need all the help we can get." Lee saluted the sergeant and dismissed him. Then he turned to his crew. "Get yourself ready, there is something important here to do."
About 5 minutes later, Lee called for an officer meeting. Commanding officers from various vehicles gathered around him along with several from infantry division. Lee started the meeting with an urgent problem. "There is a serious problem in the next stage of our operation. Though not quite a catastrophic one, but it requires our cooperation."
He went on. "We found an evident that there is a possible threat from anti-tank sniper. Combined with normal GLA threat in the region, it could be deadly. This anti-tank sniper can shot down a helicopter with precise shot and disappear without a trace. It can penetrate tank weak point and cripple it for further purpose."
"Then what should we go, sir?" Zuyhang asked in the end.
"I want infantries to advance along side my Dragons. We'll slowly clear building by building. It might be a long work, but I think it's worth a try."
----- PLA Field Command Post ----- 1845 hours local time -----
General Leang stood at the command center, folding arms. She looked at the latest field status on the main screen and started to feel uneasy. "Why aren't the town cleared?"
"Major Lee reported that they're preparing to advance with infantries in order to clear off remaining GLA resistance and possible anti-tank snipers." A female technician replied swiftly.
"Tell him to hold the advance. Hold their line at their current position. I will flush remaining GLA out with my artillery and airstrike."
Fai was astonished with Leang's decision. "General, we're just going to demolish this town? That's not our mission. Our objective should be just capturing GLA leaders and searching for anything that might lead to GLA plan, not cleansing the entire town."
"The mission parameter has changed, Fai." Leang used Fai's name instead of rank to attain her superiority. "This is an enemy town. Our objective, the real one, is to defeat GLA and strike fear into their heart so that no more enemy would dare rising against the might of China again. Darkur would be an example for all who oppose us."
Fai decided he should keep his mouth shut and turned away. Leang smiled and turned to relay an order to artillery command. "This is General Leang, commence napalm strike at these coordinates. And begin continuous bombardment with napalm missiles from those coordinates closing to town hall with 5 minutes interval. Commence attack at 1930 hours."
----- Dahkur western area ----- 1920 hours, GO day -----
Sensing a death came near, Almad Omar Sacheen intended to take down as many enemy as possible. He hefted his KSVK and gestured a young sniper who he didn't know the name. Trained by Jarmen Kell himself, Sacheen was one of the best. He moved silently toward Chinese troops with the sniper from Kassad's cell following close behind. There were several of them left in the town, making a last stand. Sacheen was not going to wait until the enemy struck. With darkness as cover, he would strike the enemy and hurt them badly.
It took them about 10 minutes to move toward the town hall. He got off to a third floor of a small warehouse. He threw a glance at Kassad's sniper and pointed to the top. The man nodded and quietly moved upward. Sacheen leaned against the broken window and saw a large flame tank with several infantries stood beside it. They barricaded the area with debris. It wouldn't help them. Sacheen grabbed a table and lay down on it, extending the bipods.
A sound of thunderous explosion and burning came from the west. Sacheen got up and turned to see what happened. There were low flying planes swung in low, followed with vast and bright flaming explosions. The town was burning in bright eye-searing flame. Just as smoke started to clog the sky, the western part of Dahkur lit up in ripple of detonations. He could see a small streaking shape of missiles raining down catastrophe.
"In the name of Allah, I vow to avenge this destruction," murmured Sacheen.
He rushed back to his position and targeted the pipe between fuel tanks on the back of the Dragon tank. He slowed his breath and stayed calm in the chaotic explosions outside. A gunshot rang from above, an infantry dropped. Chinese troops quickly took cover around the large vehicle. Sacheen could only smile. Then he pulled the trigger.
There was a loud bang. The pipe blew off, igniting the chemical mixture within the dual-tanks. The explosion ripped the entire infantry column with flame. Screaming men on fire spread around the area, dying. The Kassad's sniper continued to shoot with no remorse on the torturing and dying men. Another Dragon tank rolled into the view and spray burning liquid toward the building he was taking refuge. He aimed quickly and shot at the slit viewing portal. The large caliber bullet punctured the armored glass and blasted the gunner to hell. The flaming geysers ceased to pour from the tank. Sacheen aimed his rifle once again. The burning stuffs in the warehouse prevented him from escaping or hearing the closing tanks' engine noise. He fired again and blew the flame tank into huge fireball.
Lee saw the flash from heavy weapon on the third floor window and ordered Huang to target it. Another flash, the AT sniper was aiming the other way in burning building. The flame was too slow to kill that bastard who destroyed two of his finest Dragons. "Ready?"
"Hi-ex, loaded." The loader reported swiftly.
"Fire." Lee finally gave an order. Huang, whose hand already on the trigger, sent out a high explosive shell toward the window. The kinetic force hurled the shell through and unleashed a deadly eruption inside the burning warehouse.
Sacheen took a direct hit. The shell smashed right through his left arm and the rifle, tearing it apart. The eruption later vaporized him to shred meat. The blast threw Kassad's sniper off the roof. In his last second, he grabbed the edge just in time. The sniper rifle fell down clanking on the ground over 8 meters below. Lee activated his pintle-mounted .50 anti-infantry autocannon control and swung the gun toward the dangling sniper.
He smiled as his hand fired the mechanism, tearing the GLA sniper to pieces. Victory was close now.
----- Hidden location ----- GO day plus two -----
General Deathstrike and Prince Kassad stood together in the gleaming morning sun. They looked down at the training men, preparing for the next stage of this secret operation. Though the combined forces of USA and China almost captured the stealthy prince and top leaders from Deathstrike's army and annihilated many fighters in the process, they would soon be avenged. The door parted, revealing the third party. Deathstrike turned and nodded at the newcomer.
"Welcome, brother. You arrive just in time."
The one-handed newcomer chuckled. "I'm so glad to be here. For we must avenge our brothers."
"Sit down and have a rest. Our professional advisor will arrive soon." Deathstrike continued, gesturing Juzhiz to sit at the old and battered sofa.
And soon was literal, when another person stepped into the room. Deathstrike turned to meet him with a smile. "Greeting, doctor."
"You do me too much honor, Deathstrike." said Dr. Thrax. "My name would suffice."
Prince Kassad finally turned his grim face toward other warlords. "Let's talk our business and get moving. I really want to kill someone right now."
"Be patient, my prince." Deathstrike patted Kassad on the back. "There will be our time very soon."
----- THE END -----
Edited by casojin, 28 April 2008 - 17:32.
but they were a great read, im looking forward to more!
since first: Hi is one of Chinese main character, second: You can't kill a Red Guard use a RPG man unless he's a Demo and fired a HE RPG 
