Operation Red Dawn and the Siege of Europe

Triumphant Landing

As General Jing Zhu stepped off of his boat and onto the shore near Kodiak, Alaska, he felt the breeze against his face; the texture of the stones beneath his feet, the metallic smell of the blood poured out from all the dead, and the rumbling sounds of machine gun fire in the distance all made him feel the thrill of being lucky to be alive. The Americans had not succeeded in stopping his men; he was filled with confidence and pride.

He was ushered into the temporary command center, which was nothing more than the ransacked remains of a blown out town hall. The setting was not quite as glorious as he had hoped, but he would not be deterred. Jing Zhu had waited for this day his whole life. As he entered the room, the others stood, bowing slightly as was their custom.

“Generals, Admiral,” he began. “For the first time in modern history, a foreign army has invaded America. Today marks the end of America… and the rise of the People’s Republic of China.”

Once the ceremony of the moment was over, the work of making the building an acceptable site for the new headquarters began. Numerous communications and computer technicians began to rummage through the ruins, setting up various computer screens, holographic communications systems and what seemed like miles of wiring. Engineers started erecting a roof over the destroyed portions of the building, shoring up the various support beams to ensure the building would be a safe location for the management of the war effort, at least until the series of underground bunkers that were planned could be constructed. General Zhu walked over to Admiral Lang Xing, the overall PLAN naval infantry commander, and asked, “What is the status of our forces at the frontlines?” He was trying to get a feel for the current situation.

Over the past decade, Lang Xing had meticulously studied the United States Marines’ amphibious program and their training exercises. He had modeled the PLAN naval infantry tactics around the Marines and drilled his forces relentlessly for years, weeding out those who could not hack it, and fine tuning his military force. When the plans for Operation Red Dragon were drawn up, it was clear the Chinese would need a large amphibious capability if they were to secure a beachhead for the PLA and their heavier equipment to get on shore. Admiral Xing had created an amphibious landing force of nearly 180,000 soldiers, the best soldiers of any branch. During the first four months of the war, his troops had gained experience fighting in Taiwan, Guam and the Philippines. Now they were leading the invasion of America.

“General Zhu, my naval infantry has dislodged the Americans on the beach and cut through their second line of defense three kilometers inland. They are currently engaging the Americans about ten kilometers inland at a much more substantial defensive position. Our light tanks are helping, but we now need the much thicker armor of the PLA’s heavy tanks. We will require additional artillery and air support to break through their defensive works.”

Pulling up some images on his tablet, Lang Xing continued, “As you can see, they also have heavy artillery that appear to be sliding in and out of hiding locations in the mountains.”

General Zhu studied the maps, images and video for a few minutes, thinking to himself, “The Americans have been very busy preparing this position for our eventual arrival.”

Zhu responded aloud, “Admiral, the PLA is landing heavy tanks and artillery as we speak. I want your naval infantry to begin withdrawing as new PLA units move forward over the next twenty-four hours. I want your forces to reorganize and prepare for the next landings at Anchor Point, Homer and Seward and the drive towards Anchorage. The Americans are probably going to be defending these landing zones with many more soldiers. I will need your forces ready for the next landings,” General Zhu directed.

“Yes, General. My men look forward to leading the way,” the Admiral replied. He smiled to himself, knowing that his naval infantry had thus far performed to perfection.

Over the next three days, the PLA landed 190,000 soldiers on the Alaskan shores, and began to phase out the naval infantry so they could be used for the next critical seaborne landing. As additional heavy tanks and artillery were brought aground, the American positions came under increasing pressure from the PLA. They had held the line, despite numerous human wave and armored assaults, but that would only last for so long. American casualties continued to mount, with no means of evacuating them to the mainland.

The Americans had known for several months that the Chinese would try to capture Kodiak Island, and had built a series of heavy defensive networks about ten kilometers inland from the shore along the various ridges and low lining mountain ranges. Most of these defensive positions were independent of each other, but they were all built to provide each site with both direct and indirect fire support to help defend each other. With heavy railguns, artillery and mortars, the Americans could rain down indirect fire all across the approaches to their positions, making it incredibly difficult to attack without taking substantial casualties. Aside from the various trench positions, the engineers had built numerous reinforced bunker positions to allow the defenders to ride out enemy bombardments and quickly man their fighting positions when needed. Tunnels had been dug beneath most of the strongholds, allowing the defensive commanders to shift soldiers from one defensive firebase to another without the enemy knowing what was happening.

Major General Justin Daily and his 58,000 soldiers needed to hold Kodiak Island for as long as possible. As long as they remained on the island, the Chinese could not use it as a base of operations for their aircraft or supplies. American 155mm artillery pieces could hit nearly every position on the island. The PLAN and PLAAF had yet to identify all of their positions despite the relentless bombing and artillery barrages they hit the Americans with. As artillery scouts would identify a supply transport heading to the beach to offload their cargo, they would call in a couple of well-placed artillery rounds to destroy it and then quickly pull the artillery guns back under cover.