To lift an entire division of light infantry (with some gliders carrying only one soldier and a heavy weapon or extra supplies) it took 7,500 gliders costing less than $4 million. The hang gliders were small and easy to operate. They were easy to conceal on the battlefield as they could be quickly disassembled and reassembled and they were almost impossible to shoot down en masse. Even if the enemy knew an attack was imminent, short of using a nuclear bomb, how could they down thousands of moving targets? Even their infrared signature was cool enough to avoid being acquired by heat seeking missiles. Add a few commercial GPS navigation devices for the platoon leaders and some lightweight communications equipment, and the force would know where it was and be able to send and receive orders. In the hands of the PLA, an army large enough to use it on a truly operational scale, the motorized hang glider was nothing short of a revolution in military affairs. It was perfectly suited to an infantry-rich and comparably low-tech army such as China’s. And, just as with Germany in May, 1940, the first widespread use of the tactic in combat was calculated to shock an unprepared enemy.
High above the hang gliders in the overcast sky Rez saw the swept back wings of Chinese jets, “Fighters! We need to get out of here. I think the Chinese want to make this landing a success.”
Flint’s calm voice came over the intercom, “How many you see?”
Rez panned the sky, “I can see about 20 fast movers — it’s the ones I can’t see that worry me.”
“Let’s get back to the airport and see how many Taiwanese have shown up to help us defend the place.” Flint ordered.
The pilot dropped back down to the water and spun the helicopter around to the southeast.
Ramirez clicked the intercom on, “Sir, how do you shoot down 10,000 hang gliders?”
Flint’s eyes looked intensely distant, “You don’t. Wait until they land then hit ‘em with artillery. With no overhead cover they’ll be dead meat for the cannon cockers.”
The first wave of 100 Chinese airmobile infantry came low off the waves and swept up the steep sides of Shou Shan Hill. The few Marines on the hill could only see the gliders intermittently through the trees until at last they headed for the open ground around the Martyr’s Shrine and began to assemble.
One of the LAVs from the armored reconnaissance company opened up with its 25mm cannon, hitting several motorized gliders in the air. Most of the hits went unrewarded, however, as the cannon simply made small holes in the nylon, which, at 50 feet off the ground and only going 30 mph, were not fatal to the light aircraft. Some of the rounds hit gliders’ engines (again, not fatal — they were essentially gliders, after all) and some hit the infantrymen/pilots on board (definitely fatal).
In spite of facing an armored vehicle, the Chinese rapidly began to form up and maneuver against the Marine LAV. Within minutes, a heavy machine gun crew was in action and three RPG teams were found and sent, two to one side and one to the other, to get into position to take out the LAV.
The LAV commander called for help from his company commander and the commander called the 31st MEU looking for artillery or air support. All of Shoushan Park was within range of the six 155mm guns now emplaced at the airport. In less than a minute, the battery was firing rounds down range.
The victory in battle usually goes to the side that can pose more problems than their enemy can react to. This can be achieved through large numbers, simultaneous attacks, or multiple means of attack (i.e., artillery, armor, chemical agents, and air strikes). Up to this point, the Chinese had not yet displayed battlefield synchronization against the Marines, in part, because their intelligence/operations cycle had not adequately detected the unexpected threat, then compensated for it. To give the PLA credit, they had adequately planned for the systematic destruction of Taiwan’s armed forces and the swift occupation of the island — they just hadn’t planned on American forces being there at the onset of the invasion. Once the PLA chain of command overcame its initial denial of the situation, it was quick to respond.
Colonel Flint heard the chatter from the recon units atop Shou Shan hill on the MEU’s command net. A few moments later he heard a frantic call for fire from his units on the beach to the south of the harbor entrance. Flint furrowed his brow, Damn, the recon elements have priority of fire. I hope the beach can hold out.
They paralleled the highway back to the airport. Occasionally the pilot would jerk back on the collective to clear power lines or an overpass. Flint was glad they weren’t flying at night or in bad weather.
A mile from the airport the pilot pointed to the front. Three dark forms were diving on the airport. They pulled up about 1,500 feet above the runway. At the very edge of the eye’s perception, small, dark and evil smudges were seen falling away from the jets. The militarily trained eye knew what they were. The eye that beheld close friends and colleagues wanted to deny their purpose. A few moments later denial was met by harsh, red-hot reality as an impossibly large fireball erupted over the airport. The faces of those in the helicopter could feel the heat through the cockpit screen. Five seconds later a sonic boom and overpressure wave lightly rocked the helicopter. As a defiant and almost absurd afterthought, one of the three jets was found by a defender’s missile. A small flash (insignificant compared to the inferno below, but significant enough to cause the pilot to eject shortly afterward) was followed by a puff of gray, then a dirty smoke trail as the now pilotless J-6 spiraled to its death below.
“Looks like the airport is under attack,” the pilot said matter-of-factly.
Rez joined in, clinically commenting, “Fuel-air explosives. We probably have a lot of casualties there.” The tone of his voice changed to quiet concern but he kept the mike on anyway, “God, I hope they had a chance to dig in…”
“Rez, I’m going to tell you something I heard from an Army Colonel a few years back in a place called Saudi Arabia, ‘Hope is not a battlefield operating system.’ Our Marines either dug in or they paid dearly for not doing so. My bet is they dug in because that’s what they were trained to do.”
Rez was silent. For the first time in his Marine career he saw an enemy use a potent means of destruction aimed at American fighting men and women. Snipers, mines, light weapons fire, even the automatic grenade rounds from the BMD a few hours ago all seemed to be manageable threats, easily overmatched by American technology, firepower and training. This was different and terribly sobering. They were in a war and they weren’t necessarily the biggest and toughest guys in the fight.
The helicopter closed in on the airport and began to set down across the street from the main parking lot, a vacant lot filled with mud puddles and overrun with weeds.
They came down hard, bouncing once before settling down. The pilot switched off the rotors, and the two officers ran for the temporary command post. Behind them, camouflage netting was draped over the Huey as soon as the blades were still. The helo disappeared into the landscape, virtually invisible from above.
In the relative safety of the pre-cast concrete walls of a small electronic components factory, Flint and Rez absorbed a quick situation update from one of Rez’s staff NCOs. The Chinese were attacking in regimental strength on Shou Shan Hill while the beach was being pounded by air strikes and overrun by at least two regiments of infantry. The Germantown was reported hit in the harbor and was on fire while the Curtis Wilbur had taken several direct hits from iron bombs on the beach. Its stern was now resting on the sand as the tide was going out (the bow was kept pointing to the sea by the anchor the skipper dropped on his way in to beach his beloved ship). From their previous successes, the Marines now held about 750 enemy prisoners of war from the failed harbor and airport attacks. There were two pieces of good news: their last temporary command post was now a crater (they decided to move after the airborne assault at the airport) and, the ROC Army was now stirring to life.