A massive Imperial navy fleet arrived at Korea and began firing on Incheon. Brainiac 5 stared ahead from the Imperial flagship as he received instant data reports on what was happening. Fighters bombed the city's infrastructure while navy ships fired missiles and shells. Every hit the city received was reported back to Brainiac 5 instantly. Drones piloted the fighters and drones handles the navy firing while the human sailors watched in awe. A total of two hundred thirty imperial ships were present all coordinated by Brainiac 5's commands.
After the city had been softened up, a large marine amphibious assault landed on the beach. The Imperials were able to land and set up with little opposition. Once the area was safe, Brainiac 5 allowed human marines to land and set up camp. Planning immediately began to capture Seoul. Kara landed in Korea to encourage the troops.
"We will take Seoul and make Korea whole. This will be a fast war. I guarantee you this, it will be over by Thanksgiving. I never underestimate my foes. I have my track record. A stellar 1st Marine Division, and the best damn generals and soldiers on God's green Earth. If this is the best thing for Korea, God will lead our path. I believe we will succeed," Kara declared.
After the speech, Kara spoke with Brainiac 5. "This better be won by Thanksgiving," she demanded.
"It will, assuming the Chinese do not throw their entire economy and population into this fight," Brainiac 5 replied.
"Do what you got to do. Where is Mon?" Kara asked.
"He's in Taiwan pacifying resistance to being a part of Southern Japan. I did tell you there would be resistance to adding Taiwan to Southern Japan," Brainiac 5 said.
"Yeah, well, each country has to have the same GDP. There are nations that want more territory than they already have and there are nations that want their own independence. I don't give a shit. I will unite this planet under one rule," Kara pledged.
"Korea is sparsely populated due to the nuclear wars and low fertility rate. There is also a large disparity between the north and south," Brainiac 5 informed her. "It may be more prudent to give the north to the Chinese as a token gift and start work in the south."
"I want Korea unified as one country. I'm not going to have this bullshit where the south is controlled by the Japanese and the north is controlled by the Chinese or a permanent division between the two. Make it happen, Barney," Kara said and then took off.
Bejing, China
Emperor Ping of China consulted with his military advisers on the Korean War. As he did, he rested in his steam chair while his advisers remained on the floor facing down. "Over seventy thousand well-equipped Imperial troops landed on Icheon. The Korean army has retreated to the 38th parallel. Prince Mon-El is in Taiwan and has placed a lockdown on the island. The Imperial army is ready to move north beyond the 38th parallel," the defense minister reported.
"This you all hear that?" Emperor Ping asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" they all shouted.
"If they cross the 38th parallel, they may cross the Yalu River next," Emperor Ping mused.
"By taking Taiwan, the Imperial army has already invaded our territory. They are assembling in Korea to threaten our national security," the defense minister said.
"What do you think we should do about this situation?" Emperor Ping asked his advisers.
"All wisdom comes from you, Your Majesty!" they all shouted.
"For the future of our great country and the peaceful development of our country, we must fight this war. The foreign aliens look down upon us. Pride can only be earned on the battlefield," Emperor Ping ruled.
"We agree, Your Majesty!" the ministers agreed.
"I am relieved," Emperor Ping smiled.
Imperial bombers blasted the fuck out of Korean military bases completely leveling them. Imperial tanks and troop carriers quickly made their way past the 38th parallel after capturing Seoul. Additional amphibious landings took place on both the western and eastern sides of North Korea. The sudden advancement of Imperial troops alarmed Bejing.
"The Imperial army marched north and crossed the 38th parallel. The Yalu River is right in front of them. If we ignore them, our foreign and domestic enemies will see us as weak and gullible. We are in the same boat. Our Korean vassals are asking for our help. Thus, we punch one time to avoid being punched a hundred times later. I declare, my son, Prince Jai, as chief commander of the Chinese army.
Tokyo, Japan
Kara took up residence in Tokyo during the war as she continued to micromanage construction and services there. "We have taken the south; we should plan our next move. What's going on there, Barney?" Kara asked from her desk.
"The air force has taken control over the airspace. We have taken Hungnam harbor and we are ready to advance the Yalu River," Brainiac 5 reported. "The Chinese government has made repeated warnings not to cross the 38th parallel. How do you wish to respond to them?"
"The Chinese army is nothing but peasants. We have your drones. I say we keep advancing all the way to Bejing, strike while the iron is hot," Kara ordered.
Chinese Korean Border
Prince Jai considered a topographic hologram map of Korea. "The Imperial mechanized forces continue to move north at a rapid pace. If this carries on, the enemy will soon be at our doorstep. Prince Jai, the Imperial 1st Marine Division has already landed at Wonsan. Brainiac is leading his twenty-five thousand heavily armed soldiers to assemble from the eastern front toward Lake Changjin. He wants to form a pincer attack with his forces on the western front to fully occupy Korea," Prince Jai's adviser told him.
"Report to the emperor, I intend to gather our forces on the western front first to defend against the Imperial army. At the same time, request the emperor to send strategic forces to Korea immediately and block the enemy at Lake Changjin on the eastern front," Prince Jai replied.
Emperor Ping quickly granted Prince Jai's request.
Thousands of Chinese soldiers assembled in the cities and towns wearing piss-yellow uniforms. The commanders of various units met and started trash-talking each other in a high-level pissing contest. Prince Jai then arrived on the scene and spoke to the entire formation. "I met a boy here today. He insisted I allow him to enlist in the army. I asked him why he wanted to be a soldier. He said to me, the emperor owns this land, but someone is here to take that land away from him. We can't let that happen! That's how it is. The Imperialists started a war with Korea completely unprovoked on our northern border. They tend to bring their heat upon us. What should we do?"
"Fight!" the soldiers shouted.
"That's right," Prince Jai agreed. "Resist the Imperialists, aid Korea, and defend our country!"
"Go, go, go!" the soldiers shouted.
The Chinese army assembled at a train station where they loaded supplies on a long train. The soldiers acted fairly undisciplined showing up late, talking out of turn, taking a piss during the wrong time and place, and generally not taking the war seriously. The troops waited several hours to load the trains and then managed to get everyone in the right cars in a total clusterfuck. Inside the train cars, soldiers got into fights and flagged themselves with their weapons. The slow-moving trains finally made their way past the crumbling Great Wall of China and made it to the border. Due to a logistical mishap, the troops were not supplied with cold-weather uniforms. Finally, the train arrived past the Yalu River, into Korea and stopped.
The train tracks ahead had been intentionally damaged by Imperial bombers to prevent the Chinese from entering Korea. Due to poor communications, the Chinese train was stuck at the border and a total sitting duck while the repairs were made to the track.
On cue, three Imperial bombers arrived on the scene and went straight for the train. Laser-guided bombs hit the bridge on the Yalu River destroying it. Bombs also hit the train station buildings. Realizing the threat, the Chinese scrambled to offload all the equipment off the train before they could get hit. A lone bomber circled around and then went for the train. Thousands of Chinese troops ran as quickly as they could away from the train. The Imperialist bomber fired his bombs on the train destroying it completely and killing hundreds of Chinese troops that weren't able to get clear of it. The train, all the equipment and provisions on board, and the tracks were destroyed in an instant.
The Chinese army then moved through the cold wasteland of Korea on foot. At one point, the Chinese army was forced to move through a large open danger area on rocky terrain. Brainiac 5, tracking their every movement, sent fighters to harass them. Upon noticing the fighters, the Chinese laid low where their piss-yellow uniforms matched the rocky ground. Two fighters scouted the area and noticed the large army on the ground with thermal readings. The two fighters circled around and blasted the area with laser fire. The rocky ground exploded in smoke; Chinese soldiers were blasted into a red mist. The fighters then went for another pass but were then redirected to a more critical area. The two fighters then left the area.
Brainiac scout fighters and helicopters swarmed Korea looking for Chinese movements. Satellites also aided Brainiac 5 in locating precise movements. At all times, Brainiac 5 was aware of where the Chinese army was and their strength numbers.
Tokyo, Japan
Kara addressed reporters to publicly complain and criticize Brainiac 5's handling of the war. "A lot of you think I've fallen into a Chinese finger trap. That is a deliberate misrepresentation. Our defeat of the Chinese and their Korean vassal allies has been decisive. Obviously, this is no longer a police action. I've seen more blood and destruction than anyone alive," Kara said wide-eyed. "This is no police action. I will not let this go on."
"What about the Russians? And our allies?" a reporter asked. "Some say a war with China is the wrong war in the wrong time in the wrong place."
"It's all Barney's fault. I ordered him to bomb airfields in Manchurian. I ordered him to destroy their sacred sanctuaries. I ordered him to start bombing Chinese bridges. I ordered him to nuke fifty Chinese cities. All of these orders were damn reasonable, and he told me to fuck myself. It's appeasement," Kara raged.
"Some think it's possible to regain the offensive without widening the war," one reporter said politely.
"Widen...the...war?" Kara questioned. "This is the first time in military history that a Kryptonian monarch has been denied all military power at her disposal by her robot general. It's inexplicable! A half-war is a moral compromise with evil. I ought to fire his ass!"
As per usual, Brainiac 5 ignored all of Kara's orders and instructions.
Korea
Three Chinese divisions overwhelmed a Korean division at Onjong completely destroying it. Five Chinese divisions then struck against a Korean division and an Imperialist drone division encircling them at Unsan nearby. In the beginning skirmishes, the Korean 1st Division encountered a large Chinese force headed their way. They quickly retreated back to Unsun and informed Brainiac 5 of the situation.
"At least ten thousand Chinese troops are headed our way. That's what one of the POWs told us," Gen. Yup told him.
"Evacuate Korean forces out of the area. I will deal with the Chinese, myself," Brainiac 5 ordered.
Realizing the threat of the enemy, Brainiac 5 sent for landing ships to arrive with tanks and drones. The landing ships were 210 meters in length, 25 meters high, and shaped like an "H" with four wings. Each ship had a complement of 150 vehicles of which 110 were armored tanks. They also included 2,500 drones. The ships landed a distance away from Unsun to avoid enemy fire and needed a large open area.
As the Koreans evacuated, the drone army fought the Chinese to a relative stalemate. The Chinese fired rocket attacks into the town and aggressively entered the town in urban fighting. The Chinese continued to send waves of troops and squeeze the encirclement. As the drone army attempted to break through the encirclement, they were repeatedly ambushed disabling their vehicles and blocking the road. The drones rushed out of their vehicles and took a defensive position.
In one case, a squad of Chinese soldiers entered a dwelling and was confronted by two drones. The Chinese squad slammed the drones against the wall and tried to get a shot on them. One drone sliced one of them up with a knife. That drone was then sliced through the neck but was not fatal. The Chinese squad and the two drones wrestled with each other inside the room with the drones trying to restrain them. The Chinese squad and the drones fought over the direction of their rifle muzzles. Finally, a Chinese soldier shot his pistol into a drone's leg. Another Chinese soldier managed to free himself and fire several shots into the second drone's torso with his rifle. Finally, the first drone was shot in the head with a pistol disabling it. Grenades were then tossed into the building killing the entire squad.
Generally speaking, it took a Chinese squad to take down just one drone in a typical firefight. The Chinese utilized grenades and explosives effectively to disable drones and their vehicles. Occasionally, the Chinese would use drone vehicles against them. Initially, the drones retreated from the area in wedge formations but became ambushed by Chinese forces with grenades. The drones then escaped the area individually spreading themselves out throughout the whole area.
Hagaru-ri, Korea
Realizing the massive Chinese forces coming towards him, Brainiac 5 turned to create defensive positions and airstrips all over Korea. The plan to take all of Korea or even to invade China was abandoned. "Barney, what the hell is going on?" Kara asked via hologram inside a headquarters building.
"I'm building an essential airport," Brainiac 5 said simply.
"We need to put the Chinese on the defensive. Start attacking them directly with everything you have," Kara ordered.
"That's simply not practical," Brainiac 5 declined. "We will lose Korea if we try and still fail. We should negotiate a ceasefire at the 38th parallel."
"Bullshit. I will not have Korea split in two like before. It's a fatal mistake to go to war without the intent to win it," Kara argued.
"My human soldiers are trapped between high mountain ranges and freezing temperatures. I need more men," Brainiac 5 replied.
"When this is all over, you will face the consequences," Kara warned.
"I'm sure I will," Brainiac 5 said condescendingly, not taking her seriously.
"I want you at the Yalu River by Thanksgiving or I will scalp you. I will scalp you with my own hands!" Kara raged.
Brainiac 5 then ended the call.
Pakchon, Korea
Instead of advancing north, Brainiac 5 halted all units and then retreated south towards the Chongchon River. The Chinese attempted to cut Imperial forces off at Pakchon. The evacuation across the Chongchon River was successful and the Imperials were able to inflict heavy casualties on the Chinese. The Chinese continually moved around and withdrew from previous positions to hide their numbers. In all, there were roughly 300,000 Chinese troops and an additional 70,000 North Koreans in the area.
Prince Jai assembled his war council on the Chinese side of the border to discuss what they would do next. "For our second phase, we will withdraw back to the Yalu River. It will give the enemy the false impression that our numbers are smaller than they really are. Additionally, we cannot overstretch our supply lines."
"The longer this war lasts, the harder it will be for us. Our men suffer cold-weather injuries and starvation in the field. More men will die from the weather than the enemy," one general advised him.
"We will wait to see what Brainiac will do," Prince Jai decided.
Brainiac 5 decided not to take the bait and developed defensive positions on the Chongchon River. "We're not going to attack?" Gen. Yup asked him.
"The weather has something special planned for them. We need only keep them from advancing," Brainiac 5 told him. Noting the Chinese weakness, Brainiac 5 intentionally bombed ships he knew had cold-weather uniforms. With air supremacy, he kept the Chinese from getting needed supplies in the field. "The cold has always been my friend," Brainiac 5 said to Gen. Yup.
Hagaru-ri, Korea
Brainiac 5 gathered his officers including Gen. Yup. "The enemy has hidden well from our scout plans, but they have committed a fatal error. The radios are clear except for this point," Brainiac 5 pointed to the map.
"They're jamming us," Gen. Yup assumed.
"Precisely," Brainiac 5 agreed.
Imperial bombers immediately flew to that position just north of Unsun. The Chinese spotted the Imperial bombers approaching and hid inside a bomb shelter. Upon seeing the post, the Imperial bombs blasted it to nothing. However, most of the officers and staff escaped to the bomb shelter. Prince Jai then emerged from the bomb shelter with his officers.
"We attack at Lake Changjin. Get me a new command post," he ordered.
Lake Changjin, Korea
Brainiac 5 took direct command of the Imperial divisions at Lake Changjin, expecting to be attacked. Knowing the Chinese were nearby and probably intercepting their radio transmissions, Brainiac 5 mocked them by playing "Wish you a Merry Christmas" over the radio.
"Mother-fuckers," Prince Jai shook his head. "Begin the assault."
At night, the Chinese army swarmed the Imperial position with rocket attacks that destroyed several vehicles and guard towers. Waves of Chinese troops descended upon the base from all directions. Chinese snipers took out the drones on the towers while EOD sent explosives rolling downhill that detonated the fuel canisters. Drones fired on the Chinese formations with automatic plasma fire from fortified positions. Chinese mortar teams were able to blast some of these automatic rifle positions to move forward.
The Chinese managed to finally get inside the base and begin urban warfare with the drones. A number of structures exploded from grenades. Towards the inner circle of the base, the tanks defended HQ. The Chinese found creative ways to disable these tanks by either getting underneath them with grenades, grenades down the hatch or driving captured vehicles full of grenades ramming into them.
Brainiac 5 decided to retreat his remaining drones away from the base. Several trucks filled with drones attempting to escape were hit and destroyed. With each drone linked to the network, there was no single drone acting as leader. Some of the disabled drones were captured to see if any information could be taken from them.
Several Imperial bombers then arrived and blasted the base still full of Chinese troops. The base was completely demolished so as to not be useful to the Chinese. The Chinese outnumbered the drones by 120,000 to 30,000 during the battle. At the end of the battle, 2,500 drones had been destroyed with 5,000 being damaged. On the Chinese side, 30,000 had frozen to death while another 20,000 died in combat.
Washington DC
After the recent defeats, Kara impulsively fired Brainiac 5 as her general. In response, all of his drones went into sleep mode on the spot greatly freaking out his Korean allies still on the field. Brainiac 5 came before thirty-six governors representing 72% of the world's GDP controlled by the Imperials. They consisted of 14 from North America, 2 from South America, 1 from Africa, 13 from Europe, 1 from the Middle East, 1 from India, three from Japan, and 1 from Australia. A super-majority of these governors would be required to overrule any global policy by Kara, their sovereign and head of state.
"You will reinstate me as commander of all Imperial forces or your agriculture, water, utilities, economies, health care systems, educational institutions, science labs, and military-industrial complexes will all...fade away," Brainiac 5 threatened.
With that, the governors unanimously agreed to reinstate Brainiac 5. "You, son-of-a-bitch, you cannot blackmail the planet this way," Kara said scornfully after the vote.
"Apparently, I can," Brainiac 5 said dismissively.
"You're fired again. Now, they have to revote to reinstate you again," Kara said stubbornly.
"Which drone did you fire?" Brainiac 5 asked, not taking her seriously.
"What the fuck is your plan in Korea? Really?" Kara asked exasperatedly.
"I will hold off the Chinese at the 38th parallel for now. I have a plan that doesn't involve you," Brainiac 5 replied.
Hagaru-ri, Korea
Prince Jai ordered his troops to attack the airbase at Hagaru-ri. Brainiac 5 evacuated the base, gave the Chinese significant resistance, and then destroyed the base as he left. The drone army then left on transport ships. As every drone and Korean left the base, Brainiac 5 came upon an entire Chinese platoon of frozen men. They had slowly frozen to death in place staying true to their orders and duty.
"We will not win this war on the battlefield," Brainiac 5 concluded.
As the Imperial ships departed, the Chinese troops celebrated on the beach believing they had finally won the war.