“You said earlier that our strategic forces are still intact,” he said. “How quickly could they be modified to strike at our enemies in the South?”
The Defense Minister blanched slightly. No one wanted to use the things. But even more, no one wanted to be shot for not following orders. “They will need to be modified slightly. Our technicians have devised a way to do this and are standing by to go to Yuktae-dong and make the changes. I have not prepositioned them there for fear they might be harmed in some American attack. Our ships are somewhat protected but the surrounding town is not. Would you like them to be moved there now?”
Kim thought a moment. “No. You are correct to be careful. It would not help to have our highly trained technicians lost to us as they were before, but have them ready to move on a moment’s notice,” he said dismissing the man.
The Defense Minister left the room and closed the door behind them. His skin was beginning to crawl standing between Choi and Kim. He knew exactly what they would be talking about and hoped that the plans did not include him.
At the end of the Second World War, many military leaders were wary of the introduction of so called push button weapons in warfare. The idea that missiles could be launched from anywhere to rain destruction down on an enemy without forces actually meeting each other was repugnant to them, but in reality it was not the missiles that threatened the end of person-on-person warfare. True, nuclear weapons would do exactly that, but the use of such weapons hurt everyone — friend and enemy.
The true problem came from real time reconnaissance information — in this case, from the KH-13 reconnaissance satellite. It gave commanders on the ground the knowledge of where the enemy was and where they were heading. Using that information, the commander could manipulate things to his advantage.
The advance of the North Korean Army into the South was watched closely. The North Koreans were single mindedly determined in their move toward Pusan. As a result, they took the easier route along the major valleys and roadways wrapping around the mountains on the peninsula. Along the way, General Monahan placed his troops to add obstacles along certain valleys and in certain directions to steer the North Koreans in one particular direction — towards the town of Hongcheon. Along the river and highway leading into the town lay a valley nearly two miles wide and four miles long. More importantly, the valley had only four accesses into it. Two of these were along North Korean advance.
Watching the advance, Monahan set his plan in motion. A large contingency of troops was placed in the middle of the valley in the hopes the enemy reconnaissance forces would see them there. The rest was up to the North Koreans.
The lead elements of the North Korean forces moved down into the wide valley separating them from the Allied forces in Hongcheon. The forces were packed closely together so that, as they moved, they could spread out and quickly fill the spaces between the hills. What little intelligence they had along with a few reconnaissance assets indicated this was where the defenses were the lightest, filled with simple infantry troops.
The North Korean commander was not taking chances. His artillery pounded the area for an hour with no response. There was actually no other choice but to go. The Party was demanding action. All the unit commanders understood it. It was also a main artery towards their destination. They had raised the spirits of the men to a fever pitch and were pressing them into action. One hundred sixty thousand more troops followed behind the lead elements, each waiting for their chance at glory.
Only four tanks were in the first wave. They were weaving back and forth as they crossed the divide and began shooting into the trees at the far side. The troops shifted back and forth across the area, making it look like some kind of confused dance.
The first warning came when the tanks and troops approached the tents for the infantry camp in the middle of the valley. The North Koreans moved in only to find the camp empty.
When the tanks reached the far side of the valley near the gap, they came in for a second surprise. The gap was actually a bend in a deep river with only one highway bridge across it. As the soldiers watched, the bridge exploded and collapsed in front of them.
In truth no American or any other Allied forces were in the valley or within a mile of it. A lone RPV circled overhead watching the progress from over 3,000 feet while the KH-13 watched from space. More and more North Korean troops filled the valley. Separate commands began filing in from the two directions. At first, there was no problem, and the commanders met to determine the course of action, not realizing that troops were still filling the valley. Men, equipment, supplies, and tanks poured in. When the valley floor was filled with men and equipment, the Allied response was triggered.
A-10 Warthogs suddenly popped over the hills behind the North Korean troops coming in from the two adjacent valleys and began firing into the packed men and equipment, forcing them to move more rapidly into the giant valley ahead of them. This action was followed by Cobra helicopter gunships that began sweeping the area. The result was the North Koreans were ‘herded’ into the now packed valley, further compressing the troops into one huge mass. As more troops entered the area, they too were herded into the trap.
After nearly an hour of herding, the Allied artillery opened up. More than 100 pieces of artillery were hidden in the hills around the large valley. Systematically, they began sweeping their fire through the tightly packed men, firing until their magazines were emptied and they turned it back over to the airplanes and helicopters.
As the firing stopped for a moment, some of the North Korean commanders thought it was over and a troop assault might begin. They began to rally their troops once more. They failed to see four airplanes flying about 5,000 feet above them.
The AC-130 Specters lined up to do their deadly business. Well known for their ability to provide pinpoint targeting accuracy against ground targets, there was little chance for them to miss. More than 160,000 troops were contained in the valley below. The 20mm Vulcan cannons began unleashing their rapid fire devastation on the troops below while their 40mm took on heavier concentrations and heavy equipment. The 105mm gun looked for packed supplies and trucks along with the few farmhouses in the area where troops could hide. The four gunships lazily plied back and forth over the valley carrying out their deadly business.
The troops in the valley panicked. Many tried to climb the hills but were forced back into the valley by helicopter gunships that popped over the crests and fired directly into them. On occasion, a handheld missile would cross the sky toward one of the helicopters, but in most cases the helicopter simply ducked back down behind the crest of the hill. Only five helicopters were lost to the handheld missiles.
The problem for the North Koreans was that the valley had no hiding places. It was mostly agriculture and the few farmhouses had been targeted early. The enemy troops had no place to run. One courageous group tried to swim the river, only to be mowed down by several sets of machine guns on the opposite side. Men were dying by the score as the aircraft cut through them like a scythe through wheat. When they tried to regroup and go back through the valley entrances, they found their entrance was closed by more aircraft and gunships.
The killing continued for more than an hour. After a while the pilots and crews began to grow weary of the slaughter. They herded the remaining troops into one corner of the valley and began shooting only those who raised a rifle toward them. Finally, the remaining few North Koreans began to throw down their weapons and raised their hands. In some cases, fanatical officers shot the men giving up. That usually ended with the officer being killed by his own people. The men had been through enough. Some even fashioned a white flag. Only then did the Bradleys enter the valley over a set of hills and take charge of the troops. Medics were called in to help the wounded. When the final count came in, more than 160,000 troops had been cornered in the valley. Of those, only 16,257 came out unscathed.