Chimera (57 page)

Chen mumbled: “And they weren’t even able to do that last part effectively. We lost that Tu-154 on electronic-suppression duties in the east to Indian Migs few days ago. Remember?” Feng nodded.

“Indeed.”

“Continue,” Chen ordered and Feng rustled through the pages.

“Right. So the 6
TH
Fighter Division J-7 units are active but don’t have the range or the performance to matter from Tibetan airbases. But operating from here might prove useful. I suggest we move the 17
TH
Air Regiment with their J-7 force to Kashgar immediately!”

“And exactly what good are J-7s against enemy Mirages and Su-30s? Chen asked after turning away from the board.

Feng removed his glasses: “Sir, even if we cannot strike out at the enemy on their side of the border, having that many J-7s here will force them to reconsider sending Jaguars on deep strike missions into our territory. We keep the J-7s flying large defensive patrols around the last remaining S-300 battery at Qara-Tagh-La to prevent what happened at Hotien, Shigatse and Lhasa!”

Chen was not convinced by the argument. He felt Feng was proving only too willing to throw pilots and aircraft at the enemy in return for dealing destruction against specific targets. But he ceded the point about maintaining a defensive posture around Kashgar…

“Very well,” Chen sighed. “Get them over here. What about the 18
TH
Air Regiment and their J-7s?”

“Not many left from the last two days of operations,” Feng said after moving between the pages of the report. “I am going to recommend merging their surviving force within the 17
TH
Air Regiment. The 18
TH
Regiment is combat depleted at this point. The 17
TH
however, is yet to face serious combat. And I think it’s about time that changed!”

“Agreed. Moving on to the east then,” Chen ordered.

“Okay,” Feng said more to himself than to Chen. “The 33
RD
Fighter Division is in a similar state. Its J-11 armed 98
TH
Air Regiment is now on defensive duties north of Lhasa protecting our tankers and AWACS aircraft. The J-7s of the Division’s 97
TH
Regiment were decimated while fighting the Indians over the eastern border regions two days ago. They did well in combat, however. The Indians had to withdraw an entire Bison force from the east because of the heavy losses they took. 44
TH
Fighter Division is still active with its J-10s this morning and they are engaged in combat and suffering losses over the Chumbi valley. At their current loss rate we will be forced to withdraw that unit from combat this evening…”

Chen gave a sharp look to Feng. It caused Feng to stop mid-sentence.

“
No!
We are not withdrawing
any
units from combat at this point! No unit committed to battle from this point on is to be withdrawn until the end of the war! Any commander who refuses to launch missions citing aircraft availability will be
shot
for cowardice!”

Feng caught the insinuated threat against him in that tirade. He was both shocked and surprised. Chen had never taken that tone of voice with him before. He wondered about the kind of pressures Chen was under…

“Sir, may I at least suggest we get Beijing to release more reinforcements from other regions?” Feng asked calmly, ignoring the sharp stare from Chen. “Our four Fighter Divisions in the combined MRAF are all but gone! And we
just
lost our most effective air-defense cover over Lhasa and Shigatse! We
need
more units,” Feng pleaded.

“What units do you have in mind?” Chen asked after calming down.

“For now I want the 19
TH
Fighter Division and its J-11 equipped 55
TH
Air Regiment from Jinan. They will help us replace our J-11 losses over the last few days. That Division is currently deployed on deterrent duties against a fictitious Japanese and USA military threat. No such threat exists. I want that force moved to Tibet right away,” Feng said as he stared at the map board now zoomed out to show the whole of Asia.

“Beijing will
not
like it,” Chen replied. “That region serves as a buffer around Beijing. Thinning that out now will not help convince the party leaders that we have things under control.”

Feng was getting frustrated now: “Would they rather that we lose this war? Because I can tell you that once the Indians establish dominance over Tibet, and believe me, they are
this
close,” he brought is left hand thumb and index finger close to emphasize the point, “they will apply unbearable pressure on the PLA Divisions engaged in combat on the border. If you think the Army could not punch through under neutral skies, see what happens when they have to fight it out under enemy controlled skies! I will keep pouring as many of our J-7 units into combat as I can. If not for wrenching control from the Indians then at least to deny them
total
control!”

“We better,” Chen said fatalistically. “Or else we are going to be relieved of our command. I have already been threatened once this morning by the CMC and I don’t intend to make a habit out of it.”

Feng was shocked to hear that last bit of information. He was concerned about the state of the war and the possibility that they
might
fail. But Feng had never seriously considered that his own life might be in danger…

“Coming to the operational issue,” Chen continued, “Beijing is not willing to lose its entire force structure to try and force a conventional victory anymore. This has gone on too long, Feng. We have failed to provide the victories they wanted. This is
not
a punitive border war anymore. It never was.
You
knew it,
I
knew it and Wencang knew it too. But I think Beijing is only starting to do so now.”

Chen walked over and sat down in his chair near the conference table in the room. He turned to Feng who was still standing by the wall.

“I will get you what J-11 units I can get my hands on,” Chen continued. “But
find
a way to plug these damn holes the Indians are making over Tibet. We don’t want Liu and his boys over at 2
ND
Artillery getting spooked about losing their top cover like they did yesterday after the attack near Lhasa. If we want to force a conventional fight through to the end, we have to ensure Liu that his nuclear missiles are still protected and safe from destruction. If he loses that confidence, he will report the same to Beijing and say that his Corps cannot guarantee the survival of their strategic missile forces in Tibet. But if we keep taking such losses in the air and on the ground inside Tibet, Liu
will
force Wencang’s hand and that of others in the CMC who still wish to keep this battle non-nuclear!” 

“The Indians are forcing us towards nuclear war!” Feng said.

“Imagine the
irony!
” Chen said and laughed, “I had a chance to think about it this morning after I calmed Liu and Peng at the CMC. I thought to myself as to
why
am I subconsciously resisting the unleashing of nuclear fire over India? The Indians are the ones killing my pilots across Tibet. So maybe I
should
be supporting Liu’s argument for the use of nuclear weapons instead of throwing more and more of my pilots into the slaughter!”         

Feng walked over and took his own chair as the gravity of the situation began to sink in. He sank his face into his two hands and then took some deep breaths. Both men remained in silence and the other half dozen mid-level officers in the room dared not speak. Feng sighed and regained his composure. 

“How long do we have before the 2
ND
Artillery wins the argument?”

“Forty-eight hours at the maximum. That’s it,” Chen responded. “If we and the PLA commanders in Tibet cannot show progress, Liu is going to push for his plans in the CMC. One of Liu’s senior commanders within the 2
ND
Artillery Corps will be meeting with me today to discuss operational details that involve our 36
TH
Bomber Division H-6s out of Wugong. Depending on how our last exertion of conventional strength plays out against the Indians, we will lay out our contingency plans.”

TWENTY KILOMETERS EAST OF DOTANANG

BHUTAN

DAY 8 + 1520 HRS

Pathanya sat with his one leg resting on the landing skid of the Dhruv helicopter while he held on to the hand rails along the edges of the sides. The cold air whipped them all inside the cabin. He looked to see five members of his team in the cabin as they applied streaks of white paint on their faces and checked their weapons and equipment. Pathanya looked back out again and saw the alpine vegetation of Bhutan whipping by as a blur…

“Waypoint five in thirty seconds,” the pilot said.

Pathanya grabbed the rails a bit harder. The pilots of Delta-Flight were the best when it came to special heliborne operations. Nap-of-the-earth flying was their forte. The only problem was that it meant that their passengers had to literally hold on for their lives while they fought nature’s attempts to turn them to pulp on a mountainside…

The helicopter dropped a dozen meters as they flew over the ridgeline and into the valley on the other side. Pathanya and the others felt the sudden sense of weightlessness and then a bump as they hit the floor of the cabin once again. Pathanya looked around at the horrified faces of his team-members. The second helicopter behind them carrying the rest of Spear was doing the same.

“Dear
god!
These fly-boys are going to make me lose my lunch!” Vikram shouted. Pathanya chuckled.

“I
told
you not to go for the tinned chicken those Paras were making!” Ravi responded from the other helicopter.

“
Hey!
It was going to be my last hot meal till we get back!” Vikram retorted. “It
had
to be special!”

“All right guys: easy on the comms. We are approaching the L-Z,” Pathanya interjected as he got the three minute warning from the co-pilot.

The helicopters came up on the reverse slopes of the ridgeline on the eastern side of the valley between Dotanang and Barshong to the north. That valley was currently occupied by the PLA Highland Division forces. Dotanang was currently being assaulted by paratroopers from the 11
TH
Para-SF Battalion. Spear was being inserted north of the Chinese Battalion at Dotanang.

Their job was to interdict the enemy’s supplies and logistical lines and generally to cause all sorts of mayhem amongst the PLA rear…

As the helicopters neared a clearing on the hillside, Pathanya and the others threw down ropes and began rappelling down. The dust and dead grass raised by the helicopters was blinding their view. All nine men were down on the ground within seconds. The helicopter crews dumped the ropes, increased power and dove back down the valley to the south.

As the dust settled on the ridgeline, Pathanya motioned his men forward and they started climbing up the slope…     

KASHGAR AIRBASE

SINKIANG AUTONOMOUS REGION

CHINA

DAY 8 + 1900 HRS

Feng rubbed his eyes as he sat at the dining table, his food barely touched. His arms were weighing heavy now from mental exhaustion. His eyes showed bloody red lines, a sign of sleep deprivation.

But he had an easier war compared with the hundreds of pilots and ground-crewmen who had lost their lives under his command in eight days of brutal combat operations. Unlike many other senior commanders, he
knew
he had it easier…

He looked around from his seat at the long table in the officer’s mess to see a bustling dining hall filled with tired officers and men moving back and forth. A well-organized meal was simply not on the cards at the moment. People were grabbing their food as and when they got time. And for many of the younger pilots he saw, it might well be their last. He saw staff officers going through papers and reports while they ate. Under normal conditions this kind of behavior in the dining room was unthinkable. But right now these rules had been waived aside.

Chen had ordered the relaxations on normal protocol, much to the chagrin of the senior political officer at the base. The latter had objected to Chen on the grounds that such lax behavior acted as catalyst for the dilution of morale. Chen had dismissed the concern offhandedly. He trusted his pilots and knew that they would appreciate the flexibility given to them by their commander. It also enhanced effectiveness and efficiency. But such dismissal of the political officers was not something that officers junior to Chen could even think of.

Privileges of seniority… 
Feng mused as a waiter leaned over to ask him if he needed anything. Feng dismissed him with a wave and returned to staring at his meal in silence.