There were a few tense moments of waiting. As the Chinese infantry came to within 200 meters of their positions, Gunny Thornton shouted, “Open fire!”
Within seconds, 60+ Chinese infantry collapsed dead in their tracks. The M5 Advanced Infantry Rifle (AIR) was an incredible killing machine; it had a range in excess of 2,000 meters, and fired a .25mm projectile at speeds of Mach 5. It was the only tactical infantry railgun rifle in the world. The power pack (which was attached to the buttstock of the rifle) could provide enough power to fire 2,500 projectiles, or ten magazines, and had a digital number counter on it that could help a solider keep track of when the battery pack needed to be replaced. The projectiles travelled at such a high speed that they were able to penetrate all forms of body armor and lightly armored vehicles.
Once the Marines opened fire, the Israelis joined in, adding their own weapons to the fray. While dozens of Chinese soldiers were being mowed down, half a dozen light drone tanks started to move forward from around the rubble of what used to be the Radisson Blue hotel. The tanks stopped briefly, and began to fire high explosive rounds at the Marines and IDF, while more Chinese infantry moved forward.
Gunny Thornton saw in his HUD that several of his Marines were killed by one of the light drone tanks. “Someone get those Anti-Tank 6s or AT6s, and take out those tanks!” yelled Thornton to his anti-tank team. The AT6 was the sixth generation of anti-tank rockets used by American infantrymen; it was three feet in length and fired a one shot, High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) rocket. It could destroy most main battle tanks, and was extremely effective against light drone tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. It was the perfect anti-tank weapon for the light infantry.
Wooossshhh… three rockets raced away from the Marine lines and headed straight for the Chinese light tanks.
BAM!.. Boom!
All three rockets struck their targets, and the tanks immediately began to explode as their ammunition started to cook off.
Red and green tracers and thousands of bullets were flying through the air, crisscrossing back and forth between the Marines, IDF and Chinese as the infantry continued to advance. Slowly and steadily, the Chinese soldiers pushed forward until the two groups were within fifty meters of each other, throwing grenades and shooting each other up close and personal. While the Marines and IDF soldiers were heavily engaged with the Chinese soldiers to their immediate front, a massive human wave of soldiers was forming further behind the Chinese lines.
The whistling of artillery could be heard as the Chinese began to land additional high explosive rounds amongst their own soldiers in an attempt to kill more Marines and Israeli soldiers. Their horde rushed forward. Somehow the Marines and Israelis had managed to recover from this latest round of attack; they started killing off the remaining Chinese soldiers in front of them. Before another minute had gone by though, they looked up to see a massive swarm of new soldiers screaming at the top of their lungs, headed right for them.
Thornton immediately got on the radio. “This is Gunny Thornton. We need artillery and mortar support now! Engage in predetermined pattern Bravo.” He shouted to the Company’s artillery LNO.
Hitting the button on his BH, he switched over to address his men, “Engage them from maximum range, and be prepared for hand-to-hand combat if necessary.”
Just as the Chinese got to within 200 meters of the Marines position, dozens of artillery and mortar rounds started to land all around the Chinese soldiers, decimating their ranks. Bodies were being flung around like rag dolls as 155mm artillery rounds and 81mm mortar rounds continued to rain down on the Chinese. As the fighters got closer to the Marine positions, it quickly became apparent they were really going to have to fight them hand-to-hand.
During the equipment refit several weeks ago, the Marines had been issued World War I style trench knives, which amounted to brass knuckles with a six-inch blade for close quarters fighting. The trench knives were strapped to the left or right boot of the Marine, depending on which hand was dominant. Some Marines even carried one on each boot. As the Chinese neared their positions with their bayonets fixed, the Marines parried their lunges and reached for their trench knives. The fighting quickly devolved into primal bloody combat as the Israelis and the Marines grappled for their very lives.
After nearly three hours of fighting and ten minutes of hand-to-hand conflict, the Chinese fell back to their old positions under the cover of a short artillery barrage. Up until now, the PLA had not fought against a well-trained and determined enemy. They were starting to find out just how tough the Americans and Israelis really were as thousands of their fellow countrymen lay dead, wounded and torn apart all across the ground between their positions and the Americans.
By the time the battle was over, Gunny Thornton could see he was down another nine Marines killed and nineteen injured. Of the nineteen wounded, twelve had to be moved back to the aid stations and would not be returning. His platoon had just gone from fifty-two Marines to twenty-four. He reported his losses to headquarters and requested additional reinforcements or a replacement platoon be sent forward. The Israelis still had close to a hundred able bodied soldiers, though they had taken close to ninety casualties as well.
Gunny Thornton’s platoon was ordered to fall back to battalion headquarters with the rest of the company. Another platoon was moving in to their position. One of the three remaining officers in the company had been killed, while another had been wounded, leaving the newest officer (a second lieutenant who had only been with the company for five days) in charge.
As Thornton was sitting with his platoon cleaning their weapons after the morning fight, he saw a major walking towards him. Then he noticed the man was his old lieutenant, Jack Lee. “Sir, it’s good to see you. Congratulations on the promotion. A major now, eh?” Gunny Thornton said with a warm smile and a handshake. No one dared salute an officer near the frontlines, it identified them as someone important and made them a target for snipers.
“It’s good to see you to Joe; I’m glad you’ve made it through all of this. Our company has taken so many losses since we arrived here last month,” Major Lee replied.
“It has been rough, but we are still here. What brings you over to my platoon?” asked Thornton.
“Well, I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?” asked Major Lee.
“Ah. Give me the good news. I’ve had plenty of bad news lately.”
Smiling, Major Lee said, “Congratulations, you’ve been given a battlefield commission. You’ve officially been promoted to 1st Lieutenant.
With a look of surprise, and eyes wide as saucers he managed to stammer, “What? I was just promoted to Gunnery Sergeant.”
Knowing Thornton might not be happy with a commission, Lee went on to explain the decision. “The Marines have taken some terrible losses, and you know that as well as anyone else. We’ve also lost a lot of Marine officers. Your company is a case in point. You should have five officers in your company; instead you only had three, and all were replacements. Now you are down to one, and he’s a brand new guy fresh out of officer training school. You are a damn good Marine Thornton. When asked who I would promote to officer out of your company, you were top of my list. That is why you are being promoted to 1st Lieutenant. You will be taking over command of the company. I’m also promoting two more senior NCOs in the company as well. We need more officers and NCOs… right now we are short on both,” Major Lee said. There was just a hint of sternness in his voice, enough to convey that he did not have a choice in the matter.