Until the End
Chapter 11
The Front Line
The first Japanese soldier crossed into Russia at 0324 hours. They passed the first seventeen miles without meeting any enemy forces. But as they began to enter the eighteenth mile, they were introduced to what fighting in Russia was like. With a second to spare, the Japanese infantry unit on the front line barely escaped being killed when a mortar round impacted three meters from their position. Shrapnel and the initial explosion killed seven soldiers, and sending the remaining men up in the scouts position running into the trees. This proved to be an unwise plan, as a Russian T-90 tank was waiting in the trees.
With it being only one week since the announcement by the Russian President Vladimir Andropov, most of the Russian soldiers were being faced with the unlikely possibility that they were going to be invaded.
Lieutenant Gregory Gogol had been one of the many soldiers ripped from the easy going life of a soldier in a peacetime army, and thrust into the barren weather of Siberia. He was in charge of the 107th infantry division, and at the moment he was terrified.
Being his first actual day in combat, he was experiencing the cold brutal facts of warfare. His division had been lucky enough to be able to observe the Chinese and Japanese troops cross into Russia, and had been fortunate enough to observe them all the way in until the waypoint, where they were instructed to mount their offence against the invading forces. The Russian 73rd Tank Battalion was stationed in the trees opposite of their position, where it had been predicted that the Asian soldiers would try to reach if they encountered any interference.
Lieutenant Gogol had yet to actually fire his weapon yet, as he had been instructing his men on where to shoot when the actual combat had started. He had forgotten that he was supposed to shoot when he saw the enemy and had nearly lost his lunch when some of the Chinese-Japanese troops opened fire on their positions. One of the soldiers next to him, a Private from Moscow, took a round in the chest and was thrown back. He started to vomit blood before Lieutenant Gogol had even called for a medic.
The medic rushed forward, and was just in time to get struck in the head by a bullet. His helmet saved his life, but not before he nearly wet his pants with fright. He managed to pull the private away from the front line and get him to a safe distance where he could administer some help.
Lieutenant Gogol had witnessed his medic get hit in the head, and realized that they were going to be cut down if they stayed in the area. Gathering his courage, he turned to the Sergeant next to him, who was firing down at the Chinese-Japanese soldiers that were running for the tree line.
"We've got to move out of here, were getting cut down!" Lieutenant Gogol shouted so he could be heard amidst the firing of the guns.
The sergeant looked up and regarded his lieutenant oddly for a moment before nodding. Quickly getting to his feet, the sergeant called for his men to mount up and prepare to move further down where they could get a better shot at the enemy.
Believing that the sergeant had heard him wrong, Lieutenant Gogol repeated what he had said, but the sergeant didn't hear him and was already heading down the steep hill that they had been positioned on.
The distant rumble as the T-90 tank discharged a HEAT round at the Chinese-Japanese soldiers shook Lieutenant Gogol from his stupor, and he raced down the hill after his men.
===============
Lieutenant Ranma Saotome had, in fact, been the first Japanese soldier to cross the Chinese-Russian border. He had also been in charge of the scouting platoon, who happened to be his own, and he had been in the middle of the line of soldiers when an enemy mortar impacted the ground a few meters from his position.
He had escaped unscathed, but a few of his soldiers weren't so lucky. He did not need to look back as he could easily see the shrapnel rip through the soldier's bodies. Thinking quickly, Ranma directed his men to run in the direction of the tree line which was only fifty yards to their right.
The Japanese 101st Infantry Platoon made it to the trees without any other casualties, but they would not be so lucky when they realized that they were not alone.
Ranma heard it first. The noise as a turret was rotated around and some broken cries of surprise in Russian. Ranma looked over his shoulder as a Russian T-90 tank loomed threateningly in the clearing they had just entered. He had a moment to contemplate what he should do when the gunner on top of the tank opened fire.
Ranma leapt behind a tree as the bullets impacted the trees and soldiers. Luckily for the 101st a Chinese platoon had been moving into the area just as the gunner opened fire, which garnered the Russian soldier's attention. Ranma used this chance to move his men clear of the area. Thinking quickly, Ranma used the radio he had been given which was on the back of one of his men and radioed back to the main force approaching the area about three miles back from the scouts.
"Attention, this is Lieutenant Saotome, we have encountered the enemy and they are wiping us out. Request assistance immediately, be advised the enemy has tanks and mortars."
*Affirmative Lieutenant, move away from the field as quick as possible, we have reinforcements moving up as we speak.*
Ranma replaced the radio and turned his attention to his men. They stood pensively, awaiting the words of their lieutenant.
"We've got to move out of the area, apparently they're sending reinforcements."
The nearby rattle of the gunner in the tank made up their mind's for them. They very quickly moved off into the woods and waited for any sign of the reinforcements.
===============
Lieutenant Gogol was down on the ground when he heard the distant rumble of a jet. Jets, Gogol corrected himself which made him shiver. All fighting seemed to stop as the sound of the jets moved closer and closer, until Gogol was able to pick them out of the sky way off in the distance. Before he could shout a warning to his men, the jets were over them, and sound of falling objects was heard. The explosions hit all around the Russian positions and some of the Asian positions as well. The screams of the dying were cut off as the fighting once again resumed.
Gogol ducked behind some shrubbery when a Japanese soldier noticed him and decided to throw a grenade in his direction.
Knowing that the grenade was supposed to make him show himself, Lieutenant Gogol slipped behind a tree and opened fire on the Japanese soldier, hitting him twice in the chest.
Lieutenant Gogol cast his eyes further down the path and saw that his platoon was engaged in a firefight with some Chinese soldiers. Deciding that he would not make any significant difference in the fight, Lieutenant Gogol dashed further down the trail to look for more soldiers and perhaps discover the real invading force.
Those jets hurt us bad, Gogol thought as he moved down the path, tripping occasionally and having snow covered branches smack him in the face. It was dark and visibility was down to about whatever the moon could provide. The burning fires from the cluster bombs the Chinese jets had dropped were still burning, but the fires were now a distant glow.
Hearing a loud noise, Lieutenant Gogol dove into the shrubbery once again and lightly lifted his head to make out whatever made the noise.
===============
Ranma knew that he hadn't gotten his team far enough away when the scream of the jet engines came from the horizon. Pumping his legs, Ranma had gotten maybe fifty yards away from the main battle when the first bomb was dropped. The T-90 Russian tank was hit directly on the top hatch, sending fire and twisted metal streaming through the tank, ripping the Russian soldiers inside apart.
Lieutenant Saotome stopped his run and looked back, slightly out of breath. He had moved much faster than his other soldiers, and he was not able to tell if any of his men had gotten caught up in the blast that killed the Russian tank.
Jogging back, Ranma saw that his NCO was in the lead, and shouting encouragement to the men behind him, despite how tired he was from running the great distance in less than a minute. When the NCO noticed Ranma, he attempted to snap a quick salute but was unable to straighten up without gasping for air.
"That's alright sergeant," Ranma said, his voice unaffected by the distance he had sprinted, "You don't need to salute every time we meet up."
The sergeant nodded, and tried to say something but it came out as a wheeze.
Ranma let his sergeant catch his breath and took the time to scan the area. He could hear the faint sounds of gunfire coming from the wooded area, and Ranma concluded that the Chinese bombers had not eliminated all of the Russian soldiers.
Wishful thinking I guess, Ranma thought to himself.
Seeing that some of the men had caught up, Ranma found the private with the radio and decided to contact the invading force.
"This is Lieutenant Saotome, requesting orders," Ranma said into the small radio mouthpiece.
The reply was instantaneous.
*This is command leader, we need all platoons to pull back and link up with the main force, I repeat, we need all platoons to pull back and link up with the main force.*
"Well I guess we have our orders," Ranma said as he replaced the radio.
Looking at the men gathered around, who most were trying to catch their breaths, Ranma decided to relay the news.
"We've got to head back to the main force, it looks like things aren't going to way they were planned and were going to rethink our strategy a little," Ranma said in a clear voice.
"You mean we have to go back now?" one of the privates asked. He was one of the older men, and it looked like he was having a hard time catching his breath.
Ranma thought that over a bit. "Okay, all the men that are able to come back to the main force will go with me, and everyone that still needs time to catch their breaths will wait with the sergeant and leave in seven minutes."
Ranma looked around and judged the expressions on each man's face to see if they agreed. Ranma could tell that the sergeant didn't like the idea of staying behind while his lieutenant went off on his own.
"Any man able to I want to follow me, were heading back to the fire- support teams and were going to have to move fast," Ranma said aloud. He turned to his sergeant. "I don't like this idea any more than you sergeant, but we'll have to work with it, so I want you to be back there with us in no more than seven minutes."
"Right sir," the sergeant said and smiled.
Ranma nodded and started off, the sound of some of the men griping and a few muted gunshots were all that echoed in the night.
===============
The decision to have a small amount of infantry soldiers to lead at least four or five miles ahead of the main invading force was made by the Japanese and Chinese military Chief of Staffs. This idea was not something that they had brilliantly thought up for the invasion of Siberia, it had in fact already been used in almost all military situations in the past fifty years.
Scouts were sent ahead to 'test' the enemy strength, and to see just how much force would be needed to knock down the defensive side, without having to endanger too many of their resources. Invading armies were always at the disadvantage when it comes to warfare. They are on foreign soil, and their enemies are at home. An invading force must establish waypoints at regular intervals, especially as they progress through the enemy territory, because if they did not, they left themselves open for an attack from behind, which would prove fatal to most armies.
Another factor working against an invading army, and just about the most important one, is the need for fuel and supplies. Invading armies need to move fast and hit hard, if they can't do this, than their enemy will be able to counter-attack and wipe them out. Disrupting an enemies supply lines is one of the most effective way of making sure the enemy you're facing will be weakened and easily crushed. These ideas have been in place for nearly a century.
These factors were very important to the Japanese and Chinese, because if they failed to cover even one of those factors, it would mean their defeat, and cause world humiliation. Neither country could afford to have such a thing happen, so it took some very careful planning to make sure their invasion force would not be able to be stopped.
All of these thoughts were running through the mind of Brigadier General She Feng. General Feng had been given control of the Chinese invading force, an amazing job to be given to a 45 year old. He had been in on the planning stages of the invasion, and he was proud to think that some of the better ideas had been proposed by him.
As the fighting ahead was continuing, General Feng was riding along with the invading force in a jeep, hanging just far enough back to avoid any Russian snipers that may be up ahead.
General Feng had not expected the Russians to put up such a fight in the initial battle, but if the reports he was receiving from the platoon leaders ahead were true, than most of the Russian defenders were killed when the Chinese jets dropped their load onto the scene. This was a very satisfying thing for the general to hear, as it meant that he would not have a high body count on the first battle.
Feeling slightly elated for the first time since the arduous trek into Russia began; General Feng decided to move up to the front line of the force, to show that he was being a true leader.
After checking with the tanks and halftracks in the front of the invasion force, the jeep carrying the commander of the Chinese-Japanese forces in Siberia moved out into plain view, much to the worry of his driver, and to the immediate elation of the troops.
Shouting out a few words of encouragement, General Feng ordered his driver to move up, and to lead the force into the wooded area that he had just previously felt to be a deathtrap.
===============
Lieutenant Gogol was knee deep in snow on a ditch beside the main trail when he heard movement up ahead. He moved his night vision goggles to his eyes and nearly dropped them again when he saw what was approaching. Moving quickly, he reached for his radio and called back to his platoon.
"This is Lieutenant Gogol; bring the rest of the men and whatever soldiers that are still alive to the following points." Gogol told the radioman his position. "It looks like the main force is moving up now, so hurry it up or were going to be wiped out."
Hearing an affirmative response on the other end, Gogol replaced his radio and picked up his rifle, which still contained his original magazine and waited as the main force of the Chinese-Japanese invasion headed down the large path.
===============
Lieutenant Saotome and his platoon were making their way through the thick dense trees when they were discovered by a Russian patrol force.
As both sides began to trade fire, Lieutenant Saotome quickly realized that the Russian soldiers were not pressing forward, which they should have been doing, given the fact that they outnumbered Ranma and his troops by almost three to one. Ranma checked his six and twelve one last time, before sprinting forward, towards the Russians.
As Ranma had expected, the Russians were still ducking behind fallen and standing trees firing just often enough to not allow anyone to move up. Concentrating on each muzzle flash, Ranma moved towards the soldiers at an alarming speed. His troops behind him stopped firing and watched in awe as their leader leapt high enough to reach the tops of the trees and to land behind a large fallen tree and toss two grenades at the Russians that were still firing at them.
Ranma's feet touched the ground just when the tremendous roar of a tank round being fired off sounded. Spinning on his feet Ranma fell backwards, just as a HEAT (high-explosive, anti-tank) round passed through the space that his head had been in just a second before.
Hitting the ground, Ranma rolled, just as the gunner on top of the tank began firing at Ranma. The rounds hit the ground beneath him and Ranma sprang to his feet, moving in a wide arch that made the gunner move far too fast than he was able to which resulted in the Russian gunner losing his balance and falling from the top of the tank. As he was falling, Ranma fired a three-round burst which hit the Russian soldier in the stomach and chest.
Before the Russian soldier had even hit the ground, Ranma was charging at the tank and readying his last grenade. The huge tube of the Russian tank swung around to face him as he sped towards it. Just as the loader inside the tank got the round loaded, Ranma tossed his grenade down the open hatch that the Russian gunner had previously been occupied. A few loud Russian curses sounded in the tank before the grenade went off. The grenade ignited the unfired tank rounds and it sent flaming shrapnel and burning wreckage flying over the area. The remaining Russian patrol was killed when the shower of fire and shrapnel hit the troops and killed them.
Ranma, breathing deeply, quickly ran to where the Russian soldiers were and checked each man to see if they were dead. He needed only to look at each man to tell if they were dead. Twisted bits of metal and earth spotted each soldier's uniform, allowing all to see that the men had died very quick deaths.
Lieutenant Saotome did a quick survey of the area before turning to his troops, who were still back in their original position, watching their leader with wide, frightened eyes. He motioned for them to move up, and each man hesitated just a moment before complying with the unspoken order.
Ranma approached his NCO first, and asked him to take a couple men and see if they could recover anything of use from the dead Russian soldiers, such as documents or radio equipment that may not have been destroyed in the explosion. Next he went to his radioman and radioed the main force. The reply did not come, but he was alerted to the fact that the sound of multiple heavy tank rounds ripped through the area.
"What the hell?" Lieutenant Saotome said softly.
===============
Lieutenant Gogol had removed his night vision goggles and had his rifle pressed up against his shoulder with his head leveled with the sights. The roar of tank engines and jeeps was coming just around the bend in the trail, and the enemy forces had to have been at least half a kilometer away, which left him little to no time to think through what he was about to do.
As the sound of the engines grew closer and louder, Lieutenant Gogol heard someone call out for him and he turned and saw his sergeant standing just above the small rise that came just before the bend in the trail.
"Get over here now!" the sergeant screamed as loud as he dared to Lieutenant Gogol.
Gogol realized that he really had no reason to stay where he was, unless he wanted to end up as cannon fodder. Gathering his courage, Lieutenant Gogol grabbed a hold of his rifle and started to sprint across the clearing towards the small rise that the sergeant was on. Just as he reached the halfway point of the trail, a jeep burst around the corner going at least seventy kilometers an hour.
Reacting on pure instinct, Lieutenant Gogol brought his rifle up and to his face and fired four short bursts into the jeep. The jeep kept heading straight for a moment, so Lieutenant Gogol fired once again, and the jeep suddenly veered off course and smashed into a tree.
With no time to spare, Lieutenant Gogol sprinted the rest of the distance to the short rise and joined his sergeant.
"That was a good shot sir," the sergeant commended as he handed Lieutenant Gogol a canteen of purified water.
Gogol was about to reply when the two Chinese Type 90 light tanks came plowing down the trail from around the bend. The two tanks were firing at anything that moved, as they had obviously heard the gunshots that were fired by Lieutenant Gogol.
A Russian T-90 Heavy tank fired a canister round at the two tanks, and managed to send one of the Type 90's flipping end over end before finally landing on its hatch, trapping the soldiers inside. Reacting quickly, the remaining Type 90 spun it's turret around and shot a quick HEAT round at the short rise that the Russian T-90 had been positioned on. The shot went wide, and the Russian tank returned fire quickly, destroying the tank.
Lieutenant Gogol's radio began spouting out quick unintelligible orders.
*Withdraw; we need not do any more. Withdraw, all units withdraw.*
Lieutenant Gogol turned to his sergeant and nodded. They quickly got to their feet and climbed onto the Russian T-90 tank as it began to head back down the trail. As soon as they were off of the rocky and unthreaded paths, the tank sped up to join with the rest of the defensive forces.
As the T-90 slowed down to a slower speed, Lieutenant Gogol jumped off of the tank and went in search of the commanding officer.
The Russian Colonel that had been in charge of the initial defense of the first Russian defensives was standing by a jeep talking rapidly into a radio on his dashboard.
Lieutenant Gogol approached, and received a nod of acknowledgment from the colonel.
"We were able to hold off their attack for almost four hours general, I do not see why we would not be able to keep them at bay for awhile longer."
A reply came in from the radio and Lieutenant Gogol was close enough to pick it up.
*That is not the case Gregory, we do not want to have all of you killed. We want them to believe that they have won a decisive victory, when all they have done is kill some infantry. We hit them hard today, but we will do nothing else, now pull back to relay point number four and wait for orders. Leave a scout team behind that will be able to observe the enemy and report back when they move again. Do you understand your orders?*
"Yes sir," the colonel said and replaced the radio. He turned to Gogol and smiled. "I hope you don't mind sticking behind with your team lieutenant," the colonel said. "I want you and your platoon to stay behind and move back down and observe the enemy and return only when they begin to move again."
Lieutenant Gogol was conflicted at the moment. A part of him wanted to prove himself to the colonel and to jump at the opportunity and once again prove himself in combat, but another part of him was saying that he had already proven himself and he should take the opportunity to get some rest.
His pride won over his common sense.
"Yes sir, I'll gather my team and move back down the trail to observe the enemy."
"That's a good man," the colonel said and patted Gogol's arm.
===============
Author's Notes: Sorry this chapter took so long to come out. I realize there was a very quick transition from jut talking about it to the actual combat, but I hope everyone liked it. Next chapter there will be more of an explanation on what exactly happened before this, and what the situation of Phil's Green Beret's are. So I hope everyone will be able to stick around until then.
I want to thank everyone that reviewed the last chapter, and for those that offered their political opinion, I would also like to thank, even if you did not agree with my husband.
The first Japanese soldier crossed into Russia at 0324 hours. They passed the first seventeen miles without meeting any enemy forces. But as they began to enter the eighteenth mile, they were introduced to what fighting in Russia was like. With a second to spare, the Japanese infantry unit on the front line barely escaped being killed when a mortar round impacted three meters from their position. Shrapnel and the initial explosion killed seven soldiers, and sending the remaining men up in the scouts position running into the trees. This proved to be an unwise plan, as a Russian T-90 tank was waiting in the trees.
With it being only one week since the announcement by the Russian President Vladimir Andropov, most of the Russian soldiers were being faced with the unlikely possibility that they were going to be invaded.
Lieutenant Gregory Gogol had been one of the many soldiers ripped from the easy going life of a soldier in a peacetime army, and thrust into the barren weather of Siberia. He was in charge of the 107th infantry division, and at the moment he was terrified.
Being his first actual day in combat, he was experiencing the cold brutal facts of warfare. His division had been lucky enough to be able to observe the Chinese and Japanese troops cross into Russia, and had been fortunate enough to observe them all the way in until the waypoint, where they were instructed to mount their offence against the invading forces. The Russian 73rd Tank Battalion was stationed in the trees opposite of their position, where it had been predicted that the Asian soldiers would try to reach if they encountered any interference.
Lieutenant Gogol had yet to actually fire his weapon yet, as he had been instructing his men on where to shoot when the actual combat had started. He had forgotten that he was supposed to shoot when he saw the enemy and had nearly lost his lunch when some of the Chinese-Japanese troops opened fire on their positions. One of the soldiers next to him, a Private from Moscow, took a round in the chest and was thrown back. He started to vomit blood before Lieutenant Gogol had even called for a medic.
The medic rushed forward, and was just in time to get struck in the head by a bullet. His helmet saved his life, but not before he nearly wet his pants with fright. He managed to pull the private away from the front line and get him to a safe distance where he could administer some help.
Lieutenant Gogol had witnessed his medic get hit in the head, and realized that they were going to be cut down if they stayed in the area. Gathering his courage, he turned to the Sergeant next to him, who was firing down at the Chinese-Japanese soldiers that were running for the tree line.
"We've got to move out of here, were getting cut down!" Lieutenant Gogol shouted so he could be heard amidst the firing of the guns.
The sergeant looked up and regarded his lieutenant oddly for a moment before nodding. Quickly getting to his feet, the sergeant called for his men to mount up and prepare to move further down where they could get a better shot at the enemy.
Believing that the sergeant had heard him wrong, Lieutenant Gogol repeated what he had said, but the sergeant didn't hear him and was already heading down the steep hill that they had been positioned on.
The distant rumble as the T-90 tank discharged a HEAT round at the Chinese-Japanese soldiers shook Lieutenant Gogol from his stupor, and he raced down the hill after his men.
===============
Lieutenant Ranma Saotome had, in fact, been the first Japanese soldier to cross the Chinese-Russian border. He had also been in charge of the scouting platoon, who happened to be his own, and he had been in the middle of the line of soldiers when an enemy mortar impacted the ground a few meters from his position.
He had escaped unscathed, but a few of his soldiers weren't so lucky. He did not need to look back as he could easily see the shrapnel rip through the soldier's bodies. Thinking quickly, Ranma directed his men to run in the direction of the tree line which was only fifty yards to their right.
The Japanese 101st Infantry Platoon made it to the trees without any other casualties, but they would not be so lucky when they realized that they were not alone.
Ranma heard it first. The noise as a turret was rotated around and some broken cries of surprise in Russian. Ranma looked over his shoulder as a Russian T-90 tank loomed threateningly in the clearing they had just entered. He had a moment to contemplate what he should do when the gunner on top of the tank opened fire.
Ranma leapt behind a tree as the bullets impacted the trees and soldiers. Luckily for the 101st a Chinese platoon had been moving into the area just as the gunner opened fire, which garnered the Russian soldier's attention. Ranma used this chance to move his men clear of the area. Thinking quickly, Ranma used the radio he had been given which was on the back of one of his men and radioed back to the main force approaching the area about three miles back from the scouts.
"Attention, this is Lieutenant Saotome, we have encountered the enemy and they are wiping us out. Request assistance immediately, be advised the enemy has tanks and mortars."
*Affirmative Lieutenant, move away from the field as quick as possible, we have reinforcements moving up as we speak.*
Ranma replaced the radio and turned his attention to his men. They stood pensively, awaiting the words of their lieutenant.
"We've got to move out of the area, apparently they're sending reinforcements."
The nearby rattle of the gunner in the tank made up their mind's for them. They very quickly moved off into the woods and waited for any sign of the reinforcements.
===============
Lieutenant Gogol was down on the ground when he heard the distant rumble of a jet. Jets, Gogol corrected himself which made him shiver. All fighting seemed to stop as the sound of the jets moved closer and closer, until Gogol was able to pick them out of the sky way off in the distance. Before he could shout a warning to his men, the jets were over them, and sound of falling objects was heard. The explosions hit all around the Russian positions and some of the Asian positions as well. The screams of the dying were cut off as the fighting once again resumed.
Gogol ducked behind some shrubbery when a Japanese soldier noticed him and decided to throw a grenade in his direction.
Knowing that the grenade was supposed to make him show himself, Lieutenant Gogol slipped behind a tree and opened fire on the Japanese soldier, hitting him twice in the chest.
Lieutenant Gogol cast his eyes further down the path and saw that his platoon was engaged in a firefight with some Chinese soldiers. Deciding that he would not make any significant difference in the fight, Lieutenant Gogol dashed further down the trail to look for more soldiers and perhaps discover the real invading force.
Those jets hurt us bad, Gogol thought as he moved down the path, tripping occasionally and having snow covered branches smack him in the face. It was dark and visibility was down to about whatever the moon could provide. The burning fires from the cluster bombs the Chinese jets had dropped were still burning, but the fires were now a distant glow.
Hearing a loud noise, Lieutenant Gogol dove into the shrubbery once again and lightly lifted his head to make out whatever made the noise.
===============
Ranma knew that he hadn't gotten his team far enough away when the scream of the jet engines came from the horizon. Pumping his legs, Ranma had gotten maybe fifty yards away from the main battle when the first bomb was dropped. The T-90 Russian tank was hit directly on the top hatch, sending fire and twisted metal streaming through the tank, ripping the Russian soldiers inside apart.
Lieutenant Saotome stopped his run and looked back, slightly out of breath. He had moved much faster than his other soldiers, and he was not able to tell if any of his men had gotten caught up in the blast that killed the Russian tank.
Jogging back, Ranma saw that his NCO was in the lead, and shouting encouragement to the men behind him, despite how tired he was from running the great distance in less than a minute. When the NCO noticed Ranma, he attempted to snap a quick salute but was unable to straighten up without gasping for air.
"That's alright sergeant," Ranma said, his voice unaffected by the distance he had sprinted, "You don't need to salute every time we meet up."
The sergeant nodded, and tried to say something but it came out as a wheeze.
Ranma let his sergeant catch his breath and took the time to scan the area. He could hear the faint sounds of gunfire coming from the wooded area, and Ranma concluded that the Chinese bombers had not eliminated all of the Russian soldiers.
Wishful thinking I guess, Ranma thought to himself.
Seeing that some of the men had caught up, Ranma found the private with the radio and decided to contact the invading force.
"This is Lieutenant Saotome, requesting orders," Ranma said into the small radio mouthpiece.
The reply was instantaneous.
*This is command leader, we need all platoons to pull back and link up with the main force, I repeat, we need all platoons to pull back and link up with the main force.*
"Well I guess we have our orders," Ranma said as he replaced the radio.
Looking at the men gathered around, who most were trying to catch their breaths, Ranma decided to relay the news.
"We've got to head back to the main force, it looks like things aren't going to way they were planned and were going to rethink our strategy a little," Ranma said in a clear voice.
"You mean we have to go back now?" one of the privates asked. He was one of the older men, and it looked like he was having a hard time catching his breath.
Ranma thought that over a bit. "Okay, all the men that are able to come back to the main force will go with me, and everyone that still needs time to catch their breaths will wait with the sergeant and leave in seven minutes."
Ranma looked around and judged the expressions on each man's face to see if they agreed. Ranma could tell that the sergeant didn't like the idea of staying behind while his lieutenant went off on his own.
"Any man able to I want to follow me, were heading back to the fire- support teams and were going to have to move fast," Ranma said aloud. He turned to his sergeant. "I don't like this idea any more than you sergeant, but we'll have to work with it, so I want you to be back there with us in no more than seven minutes."
"Right sir," the sergeant said and smiled.
Ranma nodded and started off, the sound of some of the men griping and a few muted gunshots were all that echoed in the night.
===============
The decision to have a small amount of infantry soldiers to lead at least four or five miles ahead of the main invading force was made by the Japanese and Chinese military Chief of Staffs. This idea was not something that they had brilliantly thought up for the invasion of Siberia, it had in fact already been used in almost all military situations in the past fifty years.
Scouts were sent ahead to 'test' the enemy strength, and to see just how much force would be needed to knock down the defensive side, without having to endanger too many of their resources. Invading armies were always at the disadvantage when it comes to warfare. They are on foreign soil, and their enemies are at home. An invading force must establish waypoints at regular intervals, especially as they progress through the enemy territory, because if they did not, they left themselves open for an attack from behind, which would prove fatal to most armies.
Another factor working against an invading army, and just about the most important one, is the need for fuel and supplies. Invading armies need to move fast and hit hard, if they can't do this, than their enemy will be able to counter-attack and wipe them out. Disrupting an enemies supply lines is one of the most effective way of making sure the enemy you're facing will be weakened and easily crushed. These ideas have been in place for nearly a century.
These factors were very important to the Japanese and Chinese, because if they failed to cover even one of those factors, it would mean their defeat, and cause world humiliation. Neither country could afford to have such a thing happen, so it took some very careful planning to make sure their invasion force would not be able to be stopped.
All of these thoughts were running through the mind of Brigadier General She Feng. General Feng had been given control of the Chinese invading force, an amazing job to be given to a 45 year old. He had been in on the planning stages of the invasion, and he was proud to think that some of the better ideas had been proposed by him.
As the fighting ahead was continuing, General Feng was riding along with the invading force in a jeep, hanging just far enough back to avoid any Russian snipers that may be up ahead.
General Feng had not expected the Russians to put up such a fight in the initial battle, but if the reports he was receiving from the platoon leaders ahead were true, than most of the Russian defenders were killed when the Chinese jets dropped their load onto the scene. This was a very satisfying thing for the general to hear, as it meant that he would not have a high body count on the first battle.
Feeling slightly elated for the first time since the arduous trek into Russia began; General Feng decided to move up to the front line of the force, to show that he was being a true leader.
After checking with the tanks and halftracks in the front of the invasion force, the jeep carrying the commander of the Chinese-Japanese forces in Siberia moved out into plain view, much to the worry of his driver, and to the immediate elation of the troops.
Shouting out a few words of encouragement, General Feng ordered his driver to move up, and to lead the force into the wooded area that he had just previously felt to be a deathtrap.
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Lieutenant Gogol was knee deep in snow on a ditch beside the main trail when he heard movement up ahead. He moved his night vision goggles to his eyes and nearly dropped them again when he saw what was approaching. Moving quickly, he reached for his radio and called back to his platoon.
"This is Lieutenant Gogol; bring the rest of the men and whatever soldiers that are still alive to the following points." Gogol told the radioman his position. "It looks like the main force is moving up now, so hurry it up or were going to be wiped out."
Hearing an affirmative response on the other end, Gogol replaced his radio and picked up his rifle, which still contained his original magazine and waited as the main force of the Chinese-Japanese invasion headed down the large path.
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Lieutenant Saotome and his platoon were making their way through the thick dense trees when they were discovered by a Russian patrol force.
As both sides began to trade fire, Lieutenant Saotome quickly realized that the Russian soldiers were not pressing forward, which they should have been doing, given the fact that they outnumbered Ranma and his troops by almost three to one. Ranma checked his six and twelve one last time, before sprinting forward, towards the Russians.
As Ranma had expected, the Russians were still ducking behind fallen and standing trees firing just often enough to not allow anyone to move up. Concentrating on each muzzle flash, Ranma moved towards the soldiers at an alarming speed. His troops behind him stopped firing and watched in awe as their leader leapt high enough to reach the tops of the trees and to land behind a large fallen tree and toss two grenades at the Russians that were still firing at them.
Ranma's feet touched the ground just when the tremendous roar of a tank round being fired off sounded. Spinning on his feet Ranma fell backwards, just as a HEAT (high-explosive, anti-tank) round passed through the space that his head had been in just a second before.
Hitting the ground, Ranma rolled, just as the gunner on top of the tank began firing at Ranma. The rounds hit the ground beneath him and Ranma sprang to his feet, moving in a wide arch that made the gunner move far too fast than he was able to which resulted in the Russian gunner losing his balance and falling from the top of the tank. As he was falling, Ranma fired a three-round burst which hit the Russian soldier in the stomach and chest.
Before the Russian soldier had even hit the ground, Ranma was charging at the tank and readying his last grenade. The huge tube of the Russian tank swung around to face him as he sped towards it. Just as the loader inside the tank got the round loaded, Ranma tossed his grenade down the open hatch that the Russian gunner had previously been occupied. A few loud Russian curses sounded in the tank before the grenade went off. The grenade ignited the unfired tank rounds and it sent flaming shrapnel and burning wreckage flying over the area. The remaining Russian patrol was killed when the shower of fire and shrapnel hit the troops and killed them.
Ranma, breathing deeply, quickly ran to where the Russian soldiers were and checked each man to see if they were dead. He needed only to look at each man to tell if they were dead. Twisted bits of metal and earth spotted each soldier's uniform, allowing all to see that the men had died very quick deaths.
Lieutenant Saotome did a quick survey of the area before turning to his troops, who were still back in their original position, watching their leader with wide, frightened eyes. He motioned for them to move up, and each man hesitated just a moment before complying with the unspoken order.
Ranma approached his NCO first, and asked him to take a couple men and see if they could recover anything of use from the dead Russian soldiers, such as documents or radio equipment that may not have been destroyed in the explosion. Next he went to his radioman and radioed the main force. The reply did not come, but he was alerted to the fact that the sound of multiple heavy tank rounds ripped through the area.
"What the hell?" Lieutenant Saotome said softly.
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Lieutenant Gogol had removed his night vision goggles and had his rifle pressed up against his shoulder with his head leveled with the sights. The roar of tank engines and jeeps was coming just around the bend in the trail, and the enemy forces had to have been at least half a kilometer away, which left him little to no time to think through what he was about to do.
As the sound of the engines grew closer and louder, Lieutenant Gogol heard someone call out for him and he turned and saw his sergeant standing just above the small rise that came just before the bend in the trail.
"Get over here now!" the sergeant screamed as loud as he dared to Lieutenant Gogol.
Gogol realized that he really had no reason to stay where he was, unless he wanted to end up as cannon fodder. Gathering his courage, Lieutenant Gogol grabbed a hold of his rifle and started to sprint across the clearing towards the small rise that the sergeant was on. Just as he reached the halfway point of the trail, a jeep burst around the corner going at least seventy kilometers an hour.
Reacting on pure instinct, Lieutenant Gogol brought his rifle up and to his face and fired four short bursts into the jeep. The jeep kept heading straight for a moment, so Lieutenant Gogol fired once again, and the jeep suddenly veered off course and smashed into a tree.
With no time to spare, Lieutenant Gogol sprinted the rest of the distance to the short rise and joined his sergeant.
"That was a good shot sir," the sergeant commended as he handed Lieutenant Gogol a canteen of purified water.
Gogol was about to reply when the two Chinese Type 90 light tanks came plowing down the trail from around the bend. The two tanks were firing at anything that moved, as they had obviously heard the gunshots that were fired by Lieutenant Gogol.
A Russian T-90 Heavy tank fired a canister round at the two tanks, and managed to send one of the Type 90's flipping end over end before finally landing on its hatch, trapping the soldiers inside. Reacting quickly, the remaining Type 90 spun it's turret around and shot a quick HEAT round at the short rise that the Russian T-90 had been positioned on. The shot went wide, and the Russian tank returned fire quickly, destroying the tank.
Lieutenant Gogol's radio began spouting out quick unintelligible orders.
*Withdraw; we need not do any more. Withdraw, all units withdraw.*
Lieutenant Gogol turned to his sergeant and nodded. They quickly got to their feet and climbed onto the Russian T-90 tank as it began to head back down the trail. As soon as they were off of the rocky and unthreaded paths, the tank sped up to join with the rest of the defensive forces.
As the T-90 slowed down to a slower speed, Lieutenant Gogol jumped off of the tank and went in search of the commanding officer.
The Russian Colonel that had been in charge of the initial defense of the first Russian defensives was standing by a jeep talking rapidly into a radio on his dashboard.
Lieutenant Gogol approached, and received a nod of acknowledgment from the colonel.
"We were able to hold off their attack for almost four hours general, I do not see why we would not be able to keep them at bay for awhile longer."
A reply came in from the radio and Lieutenant Gogol was close enough to pick it up.
*That is not the case Gregory, we do not want to have all of you killed. We want them to believe that they have won a decisive victory, when all they have done is kill some infantry. We hit them hard today, but we will do nothing else, now pull back to relay point number four and wait for orders. Leave a scout team behind that will be able to observe the enemy and report back when they move again. Do you understand your orders?*
"Yes sir," the colonel said and replaced the radio. He turned to Gogol and smiled. "I hope you don't mind sticking behind with your team lieutenant," the colonel said. "I want you and your platoon to stay behind and move back down and observe the enemy and return only when they begin to move again."
Lieutenant Gogol was conflicted at the moment. A part of him wanted to prove himself to the colonel and to jump at the opportunity and once again prove himself in combat, but another part of him was saying that he had already proven himself and he should take the opportunity to get some rest.
His pride won over his common sense.
"Yes sir, I'll gather my team and move back down the trail to observe the enemy."
"That's a good man," the colonel said and patted Gogol's arm.
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Author's Notes: Sorry this chapter took so long to come out. I realize there was a very quick transition from jut talking about it to the actual combat, but I hope everyone liked it. Next chapter there will be more of an explanation on what exactly happened before this, and what the situation of Phil's Green Beret's are. So I hope everyone will be able to stick around until then.
I want to thank everyone that reviewed the last chapter, and for those that offered their political opinion, I would also like to thank, even if you did not agree with my husband.