The staff ordered a new course change, taking the great ships even farther from the tomato. At a range of 18 miles the barrels of the guns were angled up nearly 40 degrees. Again, following the orders of the Division Commander, the line of guns erupted. This time, the Admiral followed the Captain to Strike where they could see the screen of the RPV. The rounds all fell within 200 yards of the target. Once again, one round pierced the balloon slinging the remnants across the water and calling an end to the exercise.
Later that evening, the images taken by the photographers were downloaded from the electronic cameras. They clearly showed in vivid detail the devastating power that was about to be unleashed on an unsuspecting enemy.
The attack was coming in earnest now. South Korean units had discovered a marshalling area just behind the lines where units were resting up and getting ready for another assault. For some reason, the North decided to take a breather and the constant level of attack had been reduced to just sporadic engagements as the lines firmed up and positions were adjusted. During the brief rest, some South Korean scouts found a hole in the line and a decision was made to take advantage of it. Peterson, now promoted to a Lieutenant Colonel, was chosen to lead the raid because of his ability to inflict the maximum damage to the enemy without a corresponding loss of life. He selected the people he would take with care. Hufham and Ricks had been a foregone conclusion. Between them, they gathered thirty men and women. These included some mortar artillery, demolitions experts, and infantry who were good in both weapons and hand-to-hand action.
The equipment was hard to dig up. The Americans and South Koreans were expending ordnance at an alarming rate. Resupply kept them going, but the supply did not kept pace with the demand. In most cases, soldiers improvised with whatever materials they had to slow the enemy’s progress. Ricks commandeered a supply of explosives from an engineering company and made up a number of pipe bombs, hand-placed explosives, and all the Molotov Cocktails that they could carry with them. The cocktails were set up after he had gone to Su Lynn and asked the people in her facility to help him round up all the glass bottles and jars they could find. Within a day, they responded with over 200 containers of all kinds. Many couldn’t be used, but most were perfect for what Ricks had planned. The bottles and jars were fashioned with cloth wicks and placed in some ammo boxes that were lying around. They would be filled with gasoline or other fuel later.
Late the next evening the raiding party silently made its way through the line, passing through a drainage culvert part of the way and ending up in a wooded area on the outside of town. Using everything they learned in a six-hour crash course of covert ops, the soldiers moved through the trees and brush without much of a sound. Crossing over several hills, they finally saw their objective — several groups of tanks and other heavy equipment and dozens of tents spread out along a secluded valley. It was a good spot to remain protected from the action. Hills were on three sides with the opening facing the north. A few lights were on as people worked on some of the machines and others stood guard. What looked like a central command area had lots of telephone and power lines running in and out, lights on inside the tents and occasionally someone walking around. Sentries were positioned around the camp and patrols were making their way constantly between posts. Additional sentries were placed on the hilltops surrounding the camp. Peterson and his men nearly stumbled on one of the patrols. Fortunately the soldier was not paying as much attention as he should and Peterson’s people blended into the night as the soldier passed.
Peterson planned his attack based on where the enemy would not be looking — the northern entrance to the valley. It took the men another hour to make their way around to the entrance. Once there, they waited near the one sentry post for the roving patrol to check in and leave. Once done, the sentry was taken out swiftly and silently by one of the men. A South Korean soldier took his place after donning part of the uniform. The remainder of the raiding party passed through the line and into the valley.
Peterson looked around the encampment and pulled Hufham and Ricks in. “Look, I don’t want a single one of these people to get out of this valley alive. I want to put my mortar crews up a little higher on the hill on either side. Hufham, take some of the guys over to the left toward the main camp area and start using those Molotovs. I think I spotted a fuel truck and some cans over that direction. Ricks, you take some to the right and hit those. But before then, I think you need to place some of your explosives on the nearest tanks so that when the time comes they block the escape. Then place a few more on anything of value. Concentrate everything along the entrance so that they tend to keep people in. Then have your people shoot anything that moves in those camps. The big thing is to keep these people and machines out of the war. Once we have this place burning really good, have all your people regroup here and we’ll get out,” he said quickly. Checking their watches, they decided to wait on Ricks’ charges to go off to begin their attack.
The men moved off quickly. Ricks found a small gasoline store near one of the trucks and his men walked off with about fifty gallons of the fuel. They made their way up the hill and began quickly filling the containers and soaking the wicks. They spread out and waited. Ricks and six men took several packs full of explosives and made their way toward the tank farm near the entrance. Several different kinds of tanks were there, from the old T-34s to the newer Type 59s. But what caught Ricks’ eye were the rocket artillery launchers. The North had more than twenty of the things and they could wreak havoc on the Allied lines. Carefully, the men crept up to each launcher and placed a packet of plastic explosive between two of the tubes. Ricks set a manual timer on each and they moved on. They were interrupted three times as a sentry walked through the line of machines. On two occasions the sentry walked no farther as Ricks dispatched each silently and returned to his task. On the tanks, Ricks molded the explosives so they were packed tightly along the turret ring of the tank under the main gun.
It took thirty minutes to complete the task. Ricks and his men eased back to the right side of the hill where his people were waiting. Along the way they found the ammunition trucks holding the extra rockets and gun ammo. Ricks cursed himself for using the last of his explosives and timers on the tanks. All he had left was dynamite with fuses which had to be lit. There was no way to time that and no time to get word to the mortar crews. Ricks and his men were just over 100 yards away when the first charges went off with a deafening roar.
One after another the rocket launchers seemed to disintegrate as the charges not only destroyed the tubes, but also set off all the rockets. The rockets not actually destroyed went off in their tubes, flying forward and striking some of the tent areas in front of them. Ricks watched as arcs of flame seemed to make their way into the tent encampments from a variety of places along the hill. Coming down in the camp, the Molotov Cocktails smashed into tents and along the ground, splashing the fuel everywhere as the wick ignited it. Men awoke from their sleep to find their tents and equipment on fire. They rushed out as a second volley came arcing overhead. This time the soldiers were splashed with the liquid and they began running through the camp setting more things afire.
The mortar crews added their own strength to the attack, sending their charges crashing down on the tops of the tanks in the center of the compound and then spreading out to hit all the area. Just one minute after the attack began the last of Ricks’ charges exploded under the tank turrets. The plastic explosives blew the turrets off seven tanks and damaged the rest. It had been a great show.