Battlefield Taiwan

The Calm Before the Storm

It was a cold and gloomy morning. Sergeant Lin, from the 269^th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, roused his platoon from their sleep to begin the morning work of strengthening the coastal position that their unit had just been assigned to the day before. After setting up their camp, they had immediately gone to work identifying where they wanted to build the various machine gun positions, lay concertina wire, and dig positions for their armored vehicles to lie in wait for what they all hoped would not happen.

On top of Hill 137 was a Buddhist temple, large and beautiful, with ornate designs and manicured gardens all around it. It would have been a monument to preserve for the ages, if the same hill hadn’t also boasted an incredible view of the coastline for several miles in either direction. With a 500-foot incline from the main highway and beach below, it provided them with an exceptional field of fire to prevent the communists from landing any of their larger transport crafts at the nearby port. Any ships wanting to dock there would have to pass right in front of their position, which was also why they had several missile trucks with them, equipped with anti-ship missiles.

Sergeant Lin was a bit cranky at how slowly his men were moving. “Get in formation!” he yelled.

Just as he was getting ready to start handing down the day’s work assignments to the squads, a captain walked up to him and signaled to get his attention.

“Sergeant Lin, I am Captain Qwang from the 53^rd Engineer Group. I was told by your captain that you had identified a series of positions you wanted to turn into reinforced machine gun and missile bunkers,” he explained.

As he spoke, the roar of engines grew louder and louder, and several construction vehicles arrived.

Lin smiled broadly. Having an engineering company show up was the best news he’d had in days. This would make their work a lot easier and most likely get them ready to deal with any potential communist incursion.

“Thank you for your help, Captain. Let me issue a few work orders to my soldiers, and then I’ll walk you through what we’re thinking of doing on the map. I’d like to show you a few positions in person to get your take on them,” he replied.

The captain nodded and stood back to let Sergeant Lin get his men organized.

After he had finished issuing the day’s orders, Lin turned back to the captain and guided him over to the hood of one of the company vehicles. The sergeant pulled out his map and showed where they wanted each fortified position. The two men discussed matters for roughly twenty minutes before they began to walk the line, going over each location in detail. They were going to build a series of cement-reinforced pillboxes and missile bunkers, overlooking the sea and the port.

As they identified what each bunker would be used for, one of the captain’s senior sergeants made some notes and then began to get some of their own soldiers to start marking out the positions. The engineers would dig out the bases of the bunkers and then build the molds needed to create eighteen-inch-thick rebar-reinforced walls with a series of gun slits. In between the bunkers, they would also construct a series of trenches to connect the strongholds.

Mixed emotions filled Sergeant Lin as they finished their planning. It was tragic that much of the manicured gardens around the temple would have to be torn up to turn Hill 137 into the stronghold it needed to become. He was grateful that the Venerable Dhammananda allowed for soldiers to defend their country from outside aggressors when there was no other option.

The next several days were abuzz with activity as the engineers used their backhoes and trench diggers to turn the hill into a modern-day fortress. Cement trucks were constantly climbing the winding road up the hill to fill in the molds of the various gun positions. For decades, the Taiwanese military had avoided turning the coastline of the country into a military fortress, but as the situation with the communist mainland continued to deteriorate, they felt it imperative to prepare for the worst. When the People’s Liberation Army invaded Vietnam and annexed Myanmar and Laos, they knew Taiwan would be next.

President Hung Hui-ju was the first female president of Taiwan, ushering in a woman as the most powerful person in the island’s politics since its inception. Hung had a lot of dreams and visions for what she wanted to accomplish during her first term as president. She had been an ardent supporter of increasing wages for workers, and while Taiwan had an exceptional trading relationship with the US and Japan, she wanted to work to increase trade with India, the second-most-populous nation on earth. Her hope was that increased trade with India would lead to an economic boom for Taiwan and possibly even enable her to win a second term.

Today, however, she was in a somber mood. She had just met with the US representative to Taiwan the day before, and it had not gone well.

“Madam President,” the representative began, “I am here to share some of our recent intelligence with you. We have confirmed reports that Russia and China are both encouraging North Korea to attack the South Koreans and the US Forces that are stationed in the region.”

The representative cleared her throat and then took a big sip of water, unhappy with what she had to say next. “Madam President, as you are already aware, the United States is already engaged in war in Europe, and we fully anticipate hostilities in the Korean Peninsula. Because we are stretched so thin, we will be very limited in the type and amount of assistance that we will be able to provide to Taiwan should the People’s Republic of China attack.”

The Taiwanese Minister of Defense, who had been sitting quietly beside the President, asserted, “I understand that it is highly unlikely that we will have any American boots on the ground here, but I would like to formally request an emergency shipment of vital munitions. In addition, we would sincerely appreciate any and all available intelligence that the US has right now on the Chinese military movements near Taiwan.”

The US defense official nodded. “I can definitely promise that we will share our intelligence with you, and I believe we will be able to assist you with munitions. However, this will be the extent of the assistance that we can provide at this time.”

When the Americans left her office, the Minister of Defense tapped the desk nervously. “Madam President, I recommend that we set up an emergency meeting with the senior defense officials, intelligence officials and the foreign secretary. We have a lot to discuss, and from the sound of it, not a lot of time, so I recommend we meet within 24 hours.”

As President Hung walked into the briefing room, everyone stood and waited for her signal. She saw the concerned looks on their faces and knew this would be one of those pivotal meetings that would define her presidency. She motioned for the Minister of Defense to begin his brief and get herself and everyone else up to speed.

Clearing his throat, Minister Lu began. “Madam President, after reviewing the latest intelligence and satellite imagery from the Americans, and reviewing the intelligence sent by our sources on the mainland, we are certain the PRC intends to launch an invasion of our country soon. We have not been able to determine an exact date yet, but looking at the troop movements, the redeployment of aircraft, and the location of the communist navy, we anticipate hostilities starting within the next seven to ten days at most.”

The military members present in the room all nodding in agreement.

President Hung looked around at the other faces of her national security team. “Is there any dissent in this assessment? Is there any reason to believe the mainland may not attack us?” she asked, hoping, almost pleading that this nightmare scenario might just be another training exercise by the mainland designed to intimidate them.

The Foreign Minister, Chang, spoke up. “Madam President, as you know, this morning the Americans launched a preemptive attack against the North Koreans. One thing is certain — the mainland will use that conflict to their advantage, knowing full well that America will not be able to intervene and come to our aid. With the Americans out of the equation, it is extremely likely that the communists will launch an attack against us.”

Lowering her head and sighing softly, the president remained quiet for a minute, trying to determine what to say next.

“I had such high hopes for my administration. To think that I might be the last democratically elected leader of Taiwan,” she thought as chills went down her spine. “I can’t let that happen. I have to continue to fight for what all of my countrymen believe in… freedom.”

She looked up at her Minister of Defense. “What should we do now to prepare for what may be coming our way?” she asked him, leaning on his years of military experience for guidance.

Minister Lu nodded and replied, “Madam President, I recommend that we immediately activate the reserves and place the military on alert. We should have the army deploy to the possible invasion positions and prepare as strong a defense as possible. Should all of this prove to be nothing more than Chinese posturing, then we can recall the army and stand down. But should this be the real deal, then at least our forces will have had time to prepare a layered defense to repel the invaders before they are able to secure a beachhead. I also recommend that we be prepared to move you and the other essential government leaders to our underground command bunkers, should it become necessary.”

President Hung agreed. “Begin the call-up of the reserves and prepare to repel an amphibious assault. Make sure our navy and air force are also dispersed and ready. The last thing we need is for them to get caught by surprise and lose our only forward defensive capabilities,” she said.

Hung knew once the fighting started, she would have little control of anything; management of the country would essentially fall to the military. If they were lucky, they would be able to bloody the communists badly enough that they could keep them from landing any substantial ground forces on the island. If they could achieve that, then chances were they could stalemate the war.

President Hung would not have to wait long in anticipation. Later that day, her special red phone rang.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Madame President, we need to move you to the underground bunkers.” Hung immediately recognized the voice as that of Defense Minister Lu.

“What’s going on, Lu?” she queried nervously.

“The North Koreans have used nuclear weapons, Ma’am. The American city of Oakland, California, has been destroyed by a nuclear missile, along with most of San Francisco.”

“My God…”

“Madam President, it’s very likely that the United States will respond with nuclear weapons. Whether or not that will cause the Chinese to retaliate with nuclear weapons is another question. We have to get you underground.”

It had taken nearly eight hours, but Colonel Wang Xing-Wei’s armored brigade had finally deployed to their marshaling area. His tank brigade was going to be acting as a quick-reaction force. They would either support the infantry at the coastline or repel an airborne attempt on the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

“Are the camouflage nets secured yet?” Colonel Wang asked his tank gunner.

“Yes, Sir. From what I can see, it looks like the rest of the tanks around us have their nettings up as well,” his gunner replied with a crooked smile that implied that the colonel should know better than to ask a question like that.

Colonel Wang just smiled and nodded in reply.

“Is it true the North Koreans used nuclear weapons on the Americans?” asked his gunner, becoming suddenly serious.

“Yes, it is true. They did. The city of Oakland, California, was devastated,” Wang responded. He scratched his chin as if pondering whether or not to continue speaking. “Not everyone knows yet, but the mainlanders provided the Koreans with the ICBMs that hit the US mainland — the Americans responded by dropping a nuclear bomb on Shengyang in retaliation. From what I’ve heard, they believe the bomb killed more than five million people.” He spoke in a hushed tone, almost as if this was some sort of national secret.

Colonel Wang could see the look of surprise and then horror written all over his gunner’s face at the realization that multiple nuclear weapons had been used by the North Koreans, the Americans, and apparently the mainlanders as well.

“When do you think the communists will attack us?” his gunner asked nervously.

“Soon. Just be ready. It could be today, or it could be tomorrow, or the next day. But I believe it will be by the end of the week, and so does the general,” Colonel Wang replied. He had always been honest with his gunner. Sometimes he told him too much, but he found the sergeant to be a good listener, and he never went around blabbing to others what he heard.

Now all they could do was sit and wait, pray, and hope that somehow this war could be avoided. It was just a matter of when, and if they would live through it.

“Aim small, miss small!” yelled one of the sergeants from the 27^th Militia Infantry Regiment as they took aim at the paper targets roughly 100 meters in front of them.

Lei Wei closed his left eye and looked through the sights, lining up the top post with the black silhouette of the target and gently squeezing the trigger as he had been taught. He immediately felt the butt of the rifle recoil into his shoulder as his ears registered the sound of the rifle firing.

“Excellent shot!” exclaimed his sergeant. “Now, just keep doing that over and over again. We’ll make a marksman out of you yet, Lei.”

Two hours later, Private Lei and the rest of his platoon began their ruck march back to the barracks, where they would disassemble and clean their rifles. It was the final day of range practice and qualification. The following day, they would board a convoy of trucks that would take them to an encampment outside of Fuzhou, where they would await further orders. Rumor had it they would be invading Formosa before the end of the month.

“Private Lei, what are you going to do when the militia disbands?” asked one of the young farmers from Lei’s small village.

Lei thought about that for a moment. Prior to his militia being mobilized, he had never ventured further than ten kilometers from his village. Now he had seen several large cities and met numerous people from beyond his hometown. He suddenly felt like there was a large new world to explore, and he desperately wanted to see it.

“Well, I had planned to take over my family’s farm and try to acquire some additional land. Now, I’m not sure,” Lei replied.

It was hard for him to talk about it. “I know my family is counting on me to take care of them when they get older,” he thought. “But how do I stay in this small little corner when there is so much out there I have yet to discover?”

His friend chuckled at Lei’s comment and saw the perplexed look on his face. “First, we have to live through whatever they’re going to use our militia unit for before we can plan our futures, I guess.”

Just as Lei was about to add something, their sergeant came along and yelled, “Lights out! Everyone get some sleep. We move out at dawn.”

Everyone finished packing their rucksacks and climbed into bed.

Four days later, Lei and the rest of his platoon found themselves at a small encampment near Changle, adjacent to the coast and only a few kilometers away from the Matsue Islands, which were currently under the control of Formosa. Their commander had briefed them earlier in the morning that their regiment would be leading the assault of the Juguang Township — two small islands that needed to be secured prior to the invasion of Formosa. Their colonel had assured them this would be an easy assault given how small the islands were and the amount of artillery fire that would be hitting it prior to their arrival. While no specific date had been given for when the attack would take place, they had been told it would be soon. In the meantime, the regiment began training on how to use the amphibious assault crafts that would ferry them the few kilometers it would take to reach the two small islands.

After nearly three months recovering from a bullet wound he’d sustained in the opening hours of the war at NATO’s alternate command center, Castlegate, Captain Hermann Wulf was promoted to Oberstleutnant, the equivalent of lieutenant colonel. As the German government moved to increase the size of the army by more than tenfold, they needed officers to fill the new units being created. Oberstleutnant Wulf suddenly found himself in command of the newly created 35^th Mechanized Infantry Battalion. His battalion had forty-four Puma infantry fighting vehicles and a little over eight hundred soldiers. As a maneuver element, their job was to help screen for the armor units and protect the more vulnerable tanks from enemy missile teams. They would also be responsible for the holding of ground secured by the tanks until the light infantry units arrived and they could once again take to their armored chariots.

Seeing a few of his officers listening to a portable radio, Wulf yelled, “What’s so important that you all have stopped to listen to the radio instead of seeing to the men’s training?!”

His officers startled as they suddenly realized he had been standing next to them.

One of the officers stiffened. “Herr Oberstleutnant, the American president just announced that they had dropped a nuclear bomb on the Chinese city of Shenyang.”

Wulf’s eyebrows rose, and he paused for a second as the news commentator continued, “The world waits with bated breath to see how the Chinese will respond to the loss of one of their largest cities and millions of its citizens—”

Wulf grunted and interrupted, “—Turn off the radio and get back to work. Whatever happens between China and the US will happen a long way from us. We have the Russians to worry about, and unless the Russians use nuclear weapons here in Europe, we have nothing to concern ourselves with.”

“Yes, Sir,” responded the chorus of chastised officers. They quickly scurried away to implement the next few days’ assignments.

It would not be long now before their unit, largely made up of draftees and green soldiers who had yet to see combat, would be facing off against the Russians. Wulf wanted them as ready as possible for what awaited them, and that meant spending a lot of time at the range.