Battlefield Korea

Mongolian Airborne

The Xian Y-20 was a beautiful, heavy lift, jet-powered aircraft, similar to the American C-17. Nearly every Y-20 in the Chinese air force inventory was in formation as they carried the 43^rd Airborne Division to their first ever combat jump.

Captain Ma and his Company had been in the air for nearly two and a half hours as they approached their drop zone, the Chinggis Khaan International Airport in Mongolia. Ma had no idea that the fictitious airport they had been training to capture for months on end was an exact replica of this very place, until two days ago when he had finally been told the target of their first live mission. Captain Ma didn’t know why China would invade Mongolia; he only knew that his division would be conducting combat jumps all across the country and he had a job to do.

As the aircraft droned on, word came down from the flight crew. “We are approaching the drop zone,” they announced.

The lights inside the cavernous aircraft switched from a soft blue to red as the jump master prepared to open the side doors. Then, the door opened. The cool summer air began to circulate throughout the aircraft as they descended to 3,000 feet and made their final adjustments. The jump master signaled with his hands for everyone to stand up and get ready.

Captain Ma stood up along with the rest of his men and began to do a final check of their gear. Then, the light near the two open doors turned from red to green. The troops immediately began to exit the aircraft, just as they had done in training dozens of times before. In less than a minute, Captain Ma was shuffling towards the exit as he followed the man in front of him out the aircraft. All 110 paratroopers from his company were now descending on the airport below them.

Ma immediately felt the rush of air around his body as he leapt from the aircraft and began his freefall towards the ground below. As his chute opened, he began to survey his landing site beneath him. He could see the airport lights were still out. “So far, so good,” he thought.

He and his men had been told that the cyber warfare guys would be turning the lights out across the country. Most of the officers in his division had seemed skeptical, but surely, they would be believers now. In minutes, his troopers would be on the ground moving to secure their various objectives, along with the rest of their brigade.

It was nearly 0330 in the morning, making it the ideal time for them to capture the airport and the country. However, as Captain Ma reached the height of around 1,000 feet off the ground, he suddenly saw dozens of figures running around on the ground near the military side of the airport. While Ma’s company was responsible for capturing the civilian side, he felt a sense of panic as he realized that his sister company might be about to meet some serious resistance. Then, all hell broke loose.

Near one of the military hangers, Captain Ma could make out the distinct sound of an armored vehicle starting up. Shortly afterwards, another one roared to life. Their floodlights turned on, and suddenly, several large caliber machine guns began to open fire on the paratroopers descending towards to the earth. BANG, BANG, BANG! Green tracers crisscrossed through the night sky, reaching out for the falling soldiers.

“I’m almost to the ground,” thought Captain Ma. “I have to focus on my unit’s objectives… I can’t think about the shooting going on at the other end of the airport.”

In what felt like an instant, he found himself down on the ground, rolling up his parachute while his eyes quickly located his drop bag. He ran for it. As he did, he heard his senior sergeant call out to him.

“Captain Ma! Over here. We are forming up over here” his Senior Sergeant, Xe, announced.

Ma ran towards the small cluster of his soldiers as they were quickly forming up into their platoons and began to move towards their objectives. Just as they had practiced in training, they moved rapidly towards their various points, securing the civilian side of the airport. They encountered several security guards as they secured the terminal, but none of them put up a fight and they quickly surrendered.

While his company continued to secure their various objectives, Captain Ma was comforted as he heard the shooting die down on the military side. “Clearly, the other company has subdued the enemy vehicles and has the situation under control,” he thought with relief.

While their battalion captured the international airport, the rest of their brigade was landing all around the capital. Several Special Forces units were hitting key targets within the city, capturing the President and the Prime Minister along with other key members within the government. By the time the sun came up on Sunday, the 21^st of August 2017, the people of Mongolia woke up to the sight of Chinese paratroopers walking the streets of the major cities across the country.

In just a single day, the 43^rd Airborne Division of the People’s Liberation Army Airborne Forces had essentially captured the entire power structure of Mongolia. However, the rest of the world would not fully react to the news until much later. Information on the takeover was heavily controlled by the Chinese press, and the major world powers were far too distracted by the situation in Eastern Ukraine, where the Russians had just instituted a no-fly zone. Not to mention, the majority of Americans could not identify Mongolia on a map. The victory was swift and somehow almost unnoticed, even though it happened in plain sight.