Chapter 140
December 14, 2020 12:00 (CST 11:00), Sea 200 km east of Ningbo, China
More than 100 vessels passing through the Taiwan Strait passed through Ningbo and encountered another fleet to form a large-scale anti-ship force. Over 50 assault landing ships and civilian transports, including two aircraft carriers, and over 70 destroyers and escort ships, were sailing at high speed toward Jeju Island in South Korea, breaking through the huge waves that hit the deck. In the depths of that region, some 20 submarines, including nuclear submarines, also moved north with the speed of surface vessels.
A total of 153 ships of the anti-ship force of the East Sea Fleet, which joined the South Sea Fleet of China and Ningbo City, departed from Zhanjiang Port on December 12. Although all of China’s naval forces have gathered, excluding the North Sea Fleet and the 4th Fleet that were almost obliterated, roughly as many as 150,000 navy land forces and army troops were on board. And with 40 of the Chinese-style Aegis ships, called the Aegis ship of the West, this anti-ship force’s magnitude could be considered the strongest naval force in Northeast Asia by just looking at its size and scale.
The anti-ship force that would be safe even if all three fleets had gathered all of their main forces, went beyond the fate of the Chinese Navy and entered the fate of China’s first and last maritime operations. The original plan was for the JMSDF to take over Dok-do Island and thereby exclude the Korean Navy’s 1st Fleet from the war power, go against and defeat the 3rd Fleet, land four divisions of the Navy land forces similar to the Korean Marine Corps on the first round on Jeju Island, immediately destroy the 2nd Fleet, and land an army group on the coast of Daecheon.
Unfortunately, however, the Chinese anti-ship forces did not know that they had been detected by a Korean submarine after passing through the Taiwan Strait.
The Chief Commander of China’s anti-ship forces, Commander in Chief of the Naval Command Zhang Jike, looked at the wide-open horizon from the Hebei ship’s island bridge, the first aircraft carrier built by China’s own technology, and spoke to Hebei ship’s Captain Chen Jing.
“What is the current distance to Jeju Island?”
“Yes, Commander in Chief Zhang Jike, sir, from the current standards, Jeju Island is 484 km away.”
Captain Chen Jing replied in a loud voice, citing the information he received from the Lieutenant that was next to him. Next to him, the main Commanders of the Navy, who held the ranks of Vice Admirals, including the East Sea Fleet Commander, the South Sea Fleet Commander, and the 4th Fleet Commander, stood in attention.
“There are 17 hours left until the operation time, so let’s go to the conference room for a final inspection of the plan.”
After he finished talking, Commander in Chief Zhang fixed his hat and left the bridge as each of the Fleet Commanders and staff lined up behind, following him.
* * *
December 14, 2020, 13:00, B2 Bunker (Armed Forces Joint Command Control situation room) in Seoul Yongsan-ku
The members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who had convened since early morning to respond to the emergency message from the Cho Bong-ham ship (SSP-83), concluded the meeting at 10:00 a.m. After a meal and some rest, they entered the second meeting at 1:00 p.m.
The most controversial part of the morning meeting that began at dawn was regarding the power of the 10th Landing Fleet and the Maritime Task Flotilla 7 that were currently waiting in Dalian to land on Shandong Peninsula. One opinion was that in the current situation, the landing on Shandong Peninsula was not appropriate and that the Maritime Task Flotilla 7 should be dispatched to Jeju Island. The opposing opinion was that the strategy already in plan should be continued as is. They believed that it was the only time to land on Shandong Peninsula during the advancement to Beijing. Both opinions were reasonable.
As a compromise, three of the Maritime Task Flotilla 7 ships were dispatched to Jeju Island to support the 3rd Fleet, and the 1st Fleet was also to be maneuvered to the southern end of Jeju Island to prevent China from landing in Jeju Island with the 3rd Fleet. For the Shandong Peninsula landing operation, the Air Force decided to provide large-scale aircraft support. This was the situation decided during the meeting that morning.
“There is one area of concern, sir.”
Similar to the meeting in the morning, in the afternoon, the Commanders of each fleet attended the video meeting to express their opinion. As soon as the meeting began, the 1st Fleet (East Sea Fleet) Commander Rear Admiral Gil Woon-suk presented his opinion.
“Please speak.”
“From the morning meeting, our naval fleet to stop the Chinese anti-ship forces are the 1st Fleet, 3rd Fleet, 93rd and 95th Submarine Squadrons, and three destroyers of the Maritime Task Flotilla 7. However, the 1st Fleet is currently confronting the JMSDF 6th Fleet. Also, the JMSDF Escort Flotilla 4 is heading north through the Shimonoseki Sea Route to the South Sea. If at the moment when the Chinese anti-ship forces are about to land on Jeju Island and the JMSDF Escort Flotilla 2 will deploy its marine forces to Jeju Island, the 1st Fleet not only needs to face against the Chinese anti-ship forces but also against the JMSDF Escort Flotilla 2.”
It was a situation very likely to happen. Currently, Japan, through a secret agreement with China, actively intervened in the Korea–China war with the occupation of Dok-do Island as a starting point. In this Chinese landing operation, it was highly probable that Japanese escort forces would help.
“That is a very accurate point.”
Operation Planning Director, Lieutenant General Na Tae-yoon, continued speaking while leaning his upper body toward the conference table.
“It is a likely scenario, no, definitely, Japan will send marine forces to Jeju Island to disperse our naval forces.”
“Is there a countermeasure?”
Chief of Naval Operations General Na Hyung-hwan asked.
“Honestly, this is the limit of naval power in the current situation. Although the 2nd Fleet is of available power, the 2nd Fleet is currently defending the entire west coast. For this reason, I think we should make full use of the Poseidon 3 and the Air Force. But most of all, to stop the JMSDF Escort Flotilla 2, there needs to be a strong blow to the Japanese mainland.”
“What do you mean by a strong blow?”
“I believe we should launch a missile attack on the Japanese mainland to prevent the Chinese Navy and the JMSDF Escort Flotilla 2 from engaging in joint operations.”
At the statement of the Director of Operation Planning, the conference room stirred briefly.
“Wouldn’t that be a little difficult? Not only have our international students, but many Korean citizens, not yet returned to Korea from mainland Japan.”
Chief of Army Operations General Shin Sung-yong spoke with a concerned expression.
“But in order to stop the movement of the JMSDF in advance—”
“I am also against that.”
Chairman of the Joint Staffs Kang Yi-sik raised his hand and intervened in the conversation.
“Although I like Lieutenant General Na’s plan, I agree with General Shin that an attack on the Japanese mainland is premature.”
When the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff joined the opposition, the Director of Operation Planning could not continue talking. At this time, the Director of Operation Center raised his hand to present his opinion.
“Then how about Tsushima? The Japanese who are currently living in Tsushima are evacuating to the mainland, and I believe a self-propelled gun attack on military bases rather than the residential area would be okay. ”
“Hmm. That’s not bad. If it’s not a missile attack but a self-propelled artillery attack, it wouldn’t be a big problem. What are the opinion of others?”
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who responded positively, asked while looking around.
“I believe that much would be okay, Chairman, sir.”
General Shin, who was the first to oppose an attack on the mainland, spoke with a positive attitude this time.
“How about you, Lieutenant General Na?”
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff asked the Director of Operation Planning.
“Yes, that seems okay. However, I think it’s unknown whether the Japanese government will assign the JMSDF for an attack on Tsushima.”
Perhaps still considering the idea of an attack on mainland Japan, Lieutenant General Na slightly slipped in his words.
“Good, then, if the JMSDF Escort Flotilla 2 moves and enters the operation with the Chinese Navy, first attack Tsushima, and if not, let’s launch a cruise missile attack on the Escort Flotilla 2’s naval base, Sasebo.”
At this time, an adjutant came in after hurriedly opening the door of the meeting room.
“Just now, there has been a report from the 1st Marine Division. The report states that 15 minutes ago, the battle with Russia’s 57th Motorized Rifle Division had commenced. ”
As of 12:00 noon on December 12, the battle began between Russia’s 57th Motorized Rifle Division, who advanced the fastest to the three sages of the Northeast, and the 1st Marine Division.
“Okay. It has finally started. Let’s end the second meeting here and begin the third meeting again at 7:00 p.m.”
To check in real time the status of the first engagement with the Russian Army, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff quickly ended the meeting and stood up to head to the situation room. The rest of the staff also stood up then returned to their respective positions.
* * *
December 14, 2020, 13:50 (CST 12:50), 62 km northeast of Shuangyashan, China
Two tank battalions of the 82nd Armored Division (Bohai), a direct unit of the 5th Boundary Command, by the previous day’s order maneuvered at a high speed to support the 1st Marine Division with their weak armored power. As they arrived in the vicinity of Shuangyashan at 10:00 a.m. on Friday and moved at the vanguard with the Russian 12th Tank Regiment’s advancement, the battle between the armored units continued with high intensity.
Tens of K-2 Black Panther tanks cut through the white snowfield, and all at once fired from their gun barrels at the Russian T-80 tanks approaching them at a distance of 2,000 m. Similarly, all Russian T-80 tanks also fired from their guns at once while the distance between them gradually narrowed.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
Every time each battle formation fired at once, both formation’s tanks took a direct hit, and several tanks exploded while spouting flames.
Crash! Crassssh!
The K-2 Black Panther tank, which was once ranked third in the world among 4th-generation tanks, fought through the gunshots and fired their retaliation shots.
As tens of shots traveled to each other several times on the wide plains, the number of tanks that had slumped in the white snowfield visibly increased on the Russian side. Despite their superiority in number, the T-80 tanks, the initial version of the third-generation class, could not compete against the Black Panther tanks.
Furthermore, the power of the 50-mm photon gun of the K-24P-N amphibious assault vehicle supporting and charging from behind the K-2 Black Panther tanks was sufficient to penetrate the front armor of the T-80 tanks, which did not have reaction armor.
In this situation, the 9P148 Konkurs, the BRDM-2 armored vehicle, and the BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle equipped with five-directional AT-5 Spandrel anti-tank missile launchers on both sides made an appearance and aimed at the side of the Black Panther tanks. The AT-5 Spandrel anti-tank missile that had been fired all at once flew at a high speed while displaying white track. But due to the hard-kill active defense system of the Black Panther tank, the anti-tank missile was hit by an interceptor and exploded in the air without being able to function properly.
Shooo ~ Crash! Shoooo ~ Crash!
The battle became more intense as hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles flocked to one point.
After three hours, the 57th Motorized Rifle Division of Russia, realizing that the tide of battle had shifted, retreated to the rear. In response, the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Korea issued an order to stop the aggressive attack, to step back to the rear for maintenance, and wait.
When the Russians, who used to look down at the South Korean Army, suffered a huge defeat in their first engagement, the 5th Army Command was greatly taken aback. No matter how strong the Korean Army was rumored to be and how they utterly beat China, it was unimaginable that the Russian troops, who were united with pride, would be defeated like this. In response, the Russian authorities canceled the advancement order for all units advancing to the three sages of the Northeast and changed their strategy to adhere to the current location and switch to the latest equipment before advancing again.
* * *
December 14, 2020, 19:30, in the sea 72 km west off Jeju Island (the 3rd Fleet’s location)
Among the ships belonging to the 3rd Fleet defending the sea near Gageo Island, six destroyers and eight escort ships capable of open-sea combat received orders from the Naval Operations Command and were sailing to the southern end of Jeju Island. This was to carry out the mission with the 1st Fleet to prevent the Chinese anti-ship force from landing on Jeju Island.
The 13 ships, which were drawn out in a single columnar formation, broke through the rough waves that created white foam and just passed the 72-km west point of Jeju Island.
At the bridge of the KD-3A King Sejong-class Sejong the Great King ship (DDG-997) that was sailing at the very front, the 3rd Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Park Soo-il clasped his hands behind his back and said a word while watching the blue waves diverging from the nose of the ship.
“Lieutenant, after dinner tonight, give all the crew members of your fleet some free time and instruct them to write at least one letter to be sent home.”
“Are you speaking of a last will, sir?”
At the Lieutenant’s question of a will, Rear Admiral Park spoke with a slight smile.
“Isn’t it a bit sad to call it a last will? I want to say that it’s just a greeting to say hello to their families.”
“Ah! Yes, sir.”
“Haha, Rear Admiral, sir, will you be writing one too?”
The Captain of the King Sejong ship, Yoon Kyung-jin, jokingly asked.
“Of course, you old bean. Hahaha, a wife like a fox and kids like rabbits. No, now the grown kids are more like wolves than rabbits. Shouldn’t I write a letter to them? You should write one too.”
“Hahaha, yes, Rear Admiral, sir.”
Although laughing outwardly, the Rear Admiral and the Captain’s hearts were heavy. This was because the battle with the Chinese anti-ship force could be the last battle they would fight and could mark the end of their lives. However, as a Commander, they couldn’t show this sentiment, so they just continued to laugh and carry a conversation peppered with jokes.
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