The Major called me to command post Delta in the early hours of the morning on the 25th of February 2005. I entered, saluting smartly. "Lieutenant." Said Major Chun Li, the head of the detachment of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). "I will not drag my heels. We are going to war. We-" He was cut off as I cut in, before I could help myself. "Against who, sir?" I held my tongue in check, before I put my foot in it. "Dont interrupt, Kon." Growled Major Li. " We are going to war with the Vietnamese for the defeat of our forces in 1979.Get your unit ready. The attack, code named "Blitzkrieg", will commence at 1010 hrs. You'll know the attack has begun with a ten-minute artillery barrage, followed by air strikes by SU 27's, MiG 29's, and MiG 31's. The Battlemaster tanks will smash through the border, followed by the marines. Captain Hing is in charge of your unit?" "Yes, sir." I responded. "Good. The tanks will smash through here, and your marine regiment will follow. Go and alert your men. The years of training will pay off. Go, Lieutenant."
PLA Marine Corps training camp, Sino-Vietnamese border. 0850 hrs.
50 minutes later, my men had heard and understood the situation. The next hour or so was to write a letter home, or relax and grab a meal. Some men prayed. As for me, I wrote a letter to my parents. Then I went to the shooting range to practice. I swung my AK74 down and fired at the target. Not bad. At 0900 hrs I grabbed a meal, and then told my men to get ready. My unit leader, Captain Hing, called me over. "Everything ready, Rei?" He asked. "Yes sir. The men are ready for anything!" I must have sounded too enthusiastic. The captain looked over at the Vietnamese border wearily. "I wish I was as happy as you are. The Viets won't die easily."
People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) airfield, Yang-Ho province. 0920 hrs.
Flight Leader Ching Haotan strode across the airfield towards his SU 27 "Flanker". His flight followed behind him. The same thing was being repeated at the airbase for the MiG 29 (code name "fulcrum") and the airbase for the MiG 31 "Foxhound" fighter-bomber. "Let's teach the Viets some manners." Haotan muttered as the canopy of his fighter slid back to accommodate him.
PLA Marine Corps training camp, Sino-Vietnamese border. 0922 hrsI sat on the step and prayed as the Battlemasters rumbled past. Buddha said "We are all gods; we need only open our eyes to our own wisdom." I believed that Buddha would watch over me. My radio suddenly crackled into life. "Lieutenant Kon, report to the helipad, over." I pressed the "talk" button. "On my way, over and out."
I waited for a gap in the seemingly endless Battlemaster tanks, and then dodged over towards the helipad and the squatting Helix 2 chopper. Captain Hing turned, spotting me. "Lieutenant. Tell the men that the attack is about to move into the final stages." "Yes sir!" As I turned to go, Hing added, "And after, come back here. There's a task I need you to do for me." I nodded and ran towards the mess hall to tell my men.
PLA Artillery platform, Xinhua Ridge. 0950 hrs.
The artillery officer took the piece of paper from his aide, reading the scrawled orders. He turned to his guns, rapping out his own orders. "Get ready! Firing angle 00.5634! Go! Hurry! The attack starts in 20 minutes!" His men ran to the guns, loading them, moving the alignment, etc. His new Sergeant jogged over. Talking of new, the officer was new to the regiment, so he didn't really know his own men. The Sergeant arrived, breathless. "Sir, I think that we are about to receive an attack from Vietnamese aircraft." The officer's eyes widened, and the Sergeant drew a silenced type 69 pistol out of hiding and shot the officer in the chest. As the artilleryman slid to the ground, his treacherous Sergeant pulled off his PLA hat and replaced it with that of a NVPA (North Vietnamese Peoples Army) officer. The rest of the battery shed their Chinese colours. They were the 25th infiltrator group, and their job was to shell the Chinese forces from behind their own lines. The only non-Vietnamese there was the dead officer. "We shall rain death on the Chinese warmongers!" Screamed the fanatical officer of the infiltrators.