Battlefield China

Chapter 12 Where’s My Internet?

“They’re nearly done, Kate,” Tyler Walden said as they observed the Chinese blotting the last few satellites from orbit. What satellites they couldn’t destroy with their ground-based lasers, they’d used missile interceptors on. In the span of twelve hours, they had destroyed all but a handful of satellites.

Katelyn Mackie snorted. “I’m surprised they’ve waited this long,” she retorted. “Our source said soon, and here we are nearly three months later, and they’re just now finally doing it.” She shook her head. It was hard to explain, but she was almost angry that the Chinese had waited until today to start taking out the world’s satellite infrastructure, especially given their plan.

Mackie turned to look at one of the other analysts. “Are we up and running on their systems yet?” she asked.

“We sure are, Ms. Mackie. We’re seeing everything they’re transmitting, just like we thought we would.”

A devilish smile spread across her face. “Now the tide of the war will swing in our direction,” she said confidently.

Tyler was almost giddy with excitement at what they were seeing. His team had spent many weeks working on the code that would allow them to mirror the PLA’s entire message traffic. “It’s really working, Kate. We’re really doing it.”

“Let’s just hope the people upstairs are able to capitalize on the treasure trove of information we’re providing them,” she said. “I heard they hired two hundred new linguists over the last six months in preparation for this moment.”

The two architects of the Allies’ modern-day Ultra system couldn’t have been happier with their work than they were at that moment, seeing it fully operational for the first time. Soon, a continuous flow of intelligence would be making its way to the ground forces currently fighting inside China. They firmly believed this was the single strategy that would end the war much sooner than it would otherwise.

It was nearly 2000 hours when the President walked into the PEOC with his Chief of Staff, Josh Morgan, at his side. The various military leaders and advisors stood when the President entered.

“OK, gentlemen bring me up to speed,” he said dejectedly as he took his seat. “Have the Chinese finished taking the world’s satellites out?” he asked. He signaled for the others to take their seats as well.

“It would appear so,” answered the Air Force general who had been monitoring the event with NORAD and the NSA. “The last handful of them will probably be destroyed when the PLA sends another wave of interceptors after them on their next pass over Asia.”

The President turned to look at Katelyn Mackie. “It’s official, then — the Chinese have moved everything over to their new UAV communication program?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes, Mr. President. As soon as the switch happened, we got a flood of data transmitted to us. It’s only been a few hours, but in that timeframe, we’ve been able to identify every location where the PLA have their nuclear missiles, mobile launchers and bombs stored. We’re also starting to get livestreaming radio traffic coming in from the front lines: PLA units requesting reinforcements, new units being ordered forward, planned artillery or air strikes, etcetera. We’ve already been able to send multiple warnings to the ground forces of pending PLA assaults. In one case, they were able to shift enough air assets to the area that they completely destroyed the attacking units before they were able to get their offense underway. This is the game changer we needed, Mr. President.” She spoke in a confident and optimistic voice.

The President relaxed a bit, and while his frown might not have turned into a smile, at least his expression was now neutral.

The generals and others at the table all seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief that the program was actually working. There had been some concern for a time that the PLA had decided not to destroy the world’s satellite infrastructure, which would have eliminated this new advantage of mirroring their communications network. Now that the Allies could see exactly what the PLA commanders were saying, where they were hiding their remaining aircraft, cruise missiles, ammunition or fuel stores and nuclear weapons, the Allies’ ability to accurately hit these targets could very feasibly end the war in months as opposed to years.

The President’s expression soured again as his mind turned to a different topic. “Speaking of our offensive — how are things shaping up in Guangdong Province? From what I’m seeing on the news, it looks like a bloody massacre on all sides.”

Admiral Meyers nodded to Jim Castle to take this question. He cleared his throat. “Mr. President, we’ve landed a little over 90,000 Marines in the last forty-eight hours. The Army has another 22,000 soldiers on the ground as well. Our Australian Allies have landed one brigade along with a battalion of soldiers from New Zealand. It has been a bloody forty-eight hours, Mr. President, but our Marines have pushed the PLA out of Shenzhen, allowing us to capture the ports and the surrounding infrastructure intact.

“The ANZAC forces landing on Hong Kong should have the entire territory secured within the next twenty-four hours. They’ve captured the ports and the airport, and we’re already putting them to good use. The Army for their part has captured the city of Macau and the surrounding area. We also ordered a single Army battalion to capture a small island in the center of the Zhujiang River Estuary. The Army’s victory at Dongwancun Island has given us a secured place from which to launch both conventional artillery and rocket artillery support for the Marine forces in Shenzhen, the ANZACs in Hong Kong, and the Army on Macau. It was actually a brilliant idea to capture that island — the PLA can’t attack the artillery base with ground troops, so the base is pretty well protected,” Castle concluded.

President Foss grunted. “Send my regards to that Army battalion,” he said. “Make sure they get some sort of unit and individual awards for its capture. They’re clearly saving a lot of lives by being there. What have our casualties been like, and how many more soldiers and Marines are we going to send in?” he inquired.

Admiral Meyers nodded, then glanced down at his notes before responding. “Starting with the US casualties, Sir, as of a couple of hours ago, we had 3,900 killed and another 5,000 injured. Some of those injured will be able to return to combat once they’ve been patched up. The ANZACs sustained 309 dead and another 1,800 injured. Right now, we have no way of estimating the PLA losses other than to say they have to be high. We’ve been fighting a lot of PLA militia forces, so those soldiers are not nearly as well-equipped or trained as their PLA counterparts.”

The chairman flipped his notepad over and glanced at some numbers again. “Over the next three days, the Marines will be offloading another 90,000 additional men and their heavy equipment, tanks and added armored personnel carriers. The Army should have the Zhuhai International Container Terminal captured by tomorrow. It’s roughly ten kilometers west of Macau and will give us a large port/cargo terminal on the western side of Guangdong Province. Once it’s captured, the newly reactivated 2nd Armored Division or ‘Hell on Wheels,’ is going to be offloaded along with the 36th Infantry Division, which is a Texas National Guard division.

“The 38th Infantry Division from the Indiana National Guard will form up to create Army Group Three. They will move inland, skirting the major cities as they look to circle around to the western outskirts of Foshan. The Marines who’ll form into Army Groups One and Two will take the more direct approach to Guangzhou and the surrounding cities and industrial centers. It’s going to be a bloody campaign, Mr. President, with a lot of casualties. There’s no way around that, but with real-time intelligence on the enemy’s movements, we should prevail and gut the PLA’s industrial heartland.”

The President shook his head at the thought of how many young men and women were going to die in this brutal war. When he looked up, he turned to the Chief of the Air Force. “What about our bombers? What do we have left that can go after the PLA’s munition, fuel, or nuclear capabilities?”

The general leaned forward. “We lost a lot of B-1 and B-2 bombers the past six months. Right now, we have just six B-2s operational with another four still either down for maintenance or being repaired from earlier battle damage. Northrop is still at least two years away from fielding the new B-21 ‘Raider’ bombers, though we’ve been putting an enormous amount of pressure on them to try and get them operational within the next six months. We’ve been waiving literally hundreds of tests to try and get them into production. Right now, they have two prototypes that can fly and can carry bombs. They’ve been running through a lot of safety trials with those aircraft, but I don’t believe they’re ready for combat.

“As to the B-1s, we’re down to twenty-nine of them, Sir. Our bomber force has taken a serious hit during these last few years of war. However, with the information we’re getting from the NSA now, we can devise flight paths and bombing missions that avoid the heaviest pockets of enemy air defenses, and hit targets that we know will have an immediate impact on the war, as opposed to us hitting targets and hoping they will have the intended impact we want. There is no mistaking it, Mr. President — this information the NSA is starting to provide us is going to make the limited bomber fleet we have a thousand times more effective than if we hadn’t sustained any bomber losses at all.”

The President nodded, then put his fingers together in the shape of a steeple. “I have two follow-up questions, General. One, what are our plans to hit the PLA’s nuclear arsenal if they plan on using it? And two, if Northrop has two B-21 prototypes, why can’t we try and use one of them in combat to test any potential problems out before it goes into full production?”

The Air Force general looked nervously toward Admiral Meyers and Jim Castle, as if asking for help. Castle nodded and then replied. “Sir, if I may — with regard to your last question, about the bomber — I’ll inquire with Northrop to see if that’s a possibility. We need to make sure it’s actually ready to fly into a contested air space. It’s an incredibly expensive aircraft to lose if it’s not ready for combat, plus we wouldn’t want to give the PLA an inside look at the bomber.

“As to your first question, regarding the PLA’s nuclear weapons, right now, we’re identifying where they all are. As we get those locations locked down, we’ll come up with a plan for how to deal with them. I suspect it’s going to involve us using a lot of Special Forces to carry out deep raids behind enemy lines and a series of precision airstrikes by our bombers. What we have to make sure of beyond a doubt is not only exactly where they are, but how many they have. If we attack their nukes and we miss any, they may go ahead and launch whatever they have left. We’re still at least four months away from having another two hundred missile interceptors operationally ready, and as you’ll recall, we spent most of our interceptors at the start of this war. Until they’re replenished, I’m reluctant to recommend an attack at this time and risk a retaliatory attack that we’re not prepared to defend against.”

The President’s brow furrowed, and then he ran his fingers through his hair. “All right, I can see the value in waiting on going after their nuclear capability, but we need to be ready to do so if we even catch a whiff that they may use them. With the walls continuing to close in, you can bet they’re going to seriously consider it. As to the B-21, do what you can to get one of them into the fight. Have it carry out strikes in support of our ground forces or something, where it doesn’t look like it may be in grave danger until we’re more certain of its capabilities. We have a war to win and we need these aircraft operational ASAP, not two years from now when the war will be over. If Northrop can’t meet the production deadline, then threaten to have another company take over the project. I want these bombers yesterday!” He smacked the table in frustration. Then he paused for a second and sighed. “By the time this war is over, we’re going to need a lot of B-21s to replenish our bomber force. But first we need to win this war.”

“Yes, Sir,” Castle responded.

Foss took a swig of water. “OK, changing subjects — what’s going on with our second landing that’s supposed to capture Shanghai? Are we nearly ready to start?”

Admiral Meyers took this one. “We’re still a month out, but, yes, we’re nearly ready. Once the brunt of our forces is ashore in Guangdong Province, we’ll shift our sealift capability back to Taiwan to begin preparation for the next amphibious assault.”

The other service commanders nodded.

Josh Morgan, the President’s Chief of Staff, asked, “What Allied forces are participating in this assault?”

“This assault will largely consist of our European forces that have relocated to the Pacific,” Admiral Meyers explained. “The British will have several divisions involved, along with the French, Germans, Polish and other Allies. The Japanese will also have a couple of divisions participating, and for the first time since the Global Defense Force was formed, we’ll have a brigade of soldiers from Brazil, one from Colombia and three brigades from the Israelis. The Israeli 35th Paratroopers Brigade will participate in the initial airborne attack, the 188th Armored Brigade will come ashore with our armored forces, and the 89th Commando Brigade — their Special Forces brigade — will largely augment our own Special Forces teams already fighting in various areas in China. In all likelihood, we’ll probably have the Israelis focus heavily on being ready to go after the PLA’s nuclear capability if that becomes necessary.”

President Foss asked, “Have tensions with Iran receded enough that the Israelis feel they can deploy a large part of their army to fight with us in Asia?”

“They have, Mr. President,” answered SecDef Castle. “The Saudis, Jordanians, Egyptians, Kuwaitis, and the rest of the Gulf States have pretty much told the Iranians that if they try to stir any trouble up within Iraq and Syria or attempt to attack Israel, then the Arab Alliance would go to war with Iran. For the time being, they’ve backed off their threats of war and have largely gone silent. I believe they’re hoping to avoid incurring the ire of the Global Defense Force.”

Several people snickered.

“OK, fair enough,” said the President. “As long as they know that once these forces are committed, they’re committed until we defeat the PLA. We can’t evac their troops back to Israel for some national emergency.”

Castle nodded.

The President stood. “I think we should break for the moment,” he announced. “I’ve got a ton of domestic issues that are going to need to be dealt with now that the world’s satellite infrastructure has been decimated.” He paused. “I’m going to go ahead and cancel tomorrow’s update and push our next war update to three days from now. Please continue with the plans we have in place. If anything major changes, then of course loop me in, but otherwise, run things through Tom and Josh for the time being.”

The others in the room stood out of respect as the President left, and then they got to work issuing a few remaining orders and tasks before the night shift took over to keep things running.