Richardson looked at the man. “John, right now I’m counting it as a blessing that these guys are off balance and performing poorly. I know we’ve only been at it for a few weeks, but I’m not going to give anything up just yet. What we take is ours and will not go back. Our supplies are getting through and we aren’t losing many men so far. We need to keep a good eye out and keep going. The other side has a million-man army out there somewhere. I won’t forget that. Now let’s get the facts and figures up and ready. I want the word to go out in the next six hours,” she said before leaving the tent.
Richardson walked out along the row of tents and ran into a young man rounding a corner. Lieutenant Dickson was knocked over and started brushing himself off. He was smudged and dirty from hard fighting and had a tired look reserved for someone who had been on the move for days.
“Damnit, can’t you ever…” he caught himself as he saw the stars on the uniform. He sprang up and helped the general to her feet. “I’m sorry about that, General. I didn’t see you coming,” he stammered out.
At first Richardson was pissed. But when she recognized the young lieutenant who spent the evening talking with her on the ship, her mood changed. “Lieutenant Dickson! It’s good to see you again.” She slapped him on the arm. “How’s it been going?”
Dickson smiled broadly. He was surprised a general would even remember his name. “Really good, ma’am. My unit just pulled in. I got them squared away and I was going to the mess tent. It’ll be the first hot meal I’ve had since we got here,” he said.
“Good. I need someone to talk to over lunch. Why don’t you join me?”
Dickson looked at his uniform. “Ma’am, I look a little beat up to be eating with a general,” he said modestly.
She laughed. “You probably smell better than half the guys around here. Come on, let’s eat,” she said taking him in tow.
The officer’s mess was only a few yards away and she led Dickson to her table and sat him down. Immediately a hot meal was placed before them on white linens and with real silver and plates. Dickson couldn’t believe what was happening. He had just come from combat and eating semi-warm MREs. Now this! He waited as the General started eating before diving in. Dickson’s appetite was ravenous and he found himself finished long before Richardson. When he realized what he had done he started looking embarrassed.
“Don’t worry,” she said between bites. “I know a hungry guy when I see one. Now tell me what you’ve run into.”
Dickson began relaying all the events up to the day. His patrols ran into some North Korean infantry just outside of Ulsan. They pushed them until helicopter units came in and finished the job. Dickson was surprised at how fanatical the enemy was. It seemed as if troops were being sacrificed to defend the ground they lost instead of using tactical maneuvering and select force where it would do the most good. After it was over, they found there had been nearly 500 troops thrown against their platoon. At first Dickson thought it might be just a one time thing, but he saw it again and again as his men moved inland. They encountered tanks on two occasions, but they were sacrificed much as their infantry. They were thrown against the American units almost haphazardly. Close coordination between American tanks, infantry, and tank-busting helicopters left a brigade of DPR tanks in smoldering pieces along the roadsides.
Dickson and his men had been fighting since they landed. They were the ones to liberate Sokcho airfield and hold it until more units arrived. He and his men had been ordered to Andong to debrief and rest for a day. Dickson hadn’t known this was where the headquarters had been temporarily set up.
All along Richardson asked a few questions but mainly listened. The information he was giving was helping her understand her enemy. By the time Dickson finished, he was near collapse. The food and the conversation helped him relax and slough off the tension of battle. His eyes were heavy and his head occasionally dipped, but he maintained his conversation.
They were interrupted by a major who walked up behind the general while looking at Dickson. “There you are, Dickson. We’ve got a debrief in ten. Let’s…” he stopped himself when he recognized the General. “Sorry, ma’am. I didn’t know he was talking with you.”
“Ma’am, this is my CO, Major Garrison.”
Richardson shook the major’s hand. “Have a seat, Major. Have you had lunch?”
“Yes, ma’am. I have,” he said sitting down.
“Lieutenant Dickson has been briefing me in on all you guys have been through. Sounds like it’s been non-stop all the way.”
“Yes, General, it’s been a little more intense than I expected. Our group led the way up the coast. It’s been fast and we’ve lost a bunch of guys doing it. Thank God for that battleship out there. She kept the worst off our backs,” he said. Garrison had the same worn out look as Dickson.
“That was what Dickson here said,” she gestured to the Lieutenant. “Tell me, did they seem to be just throwing things at you without reason?”
“Yes, ma’am. They do it a lot. It’s almost as if they never had any real training in combat tactics. Their discipline is okay, but pretty harsh. I saw one of their officers shoot an enlisted man during one engagement,” the major said. He gave a slight grin, “I took the bastard out myself. I noticed once he was gone, several of the men surrendered.”
Richardson nodded. That was something important. “So maybe the enlisted are more afraid of their officers than of us?”
“Could be. Since they’re conscripted, I doubt any of them really want to be here.”
Richardson looked over at Dickson who was barely hanging on. “Dickson, why don’t you go ahead and grab some sack time. We’ll reschedule the debriefing for tomorrow morning. Now I want to talk to the Major a bit,” she said smiling.
“Thank you, ma’am,” he said sleepily. Dickson stood up from his seat and headed out of the tent. Richardson watched as he left. “How’s he doing?”
The Major grinned. “One of my best junior officers. He led his men up against a whole company in one engagement and came out on top. I guess that training at Quantico made a real Marine out of him. I usually don’t have to repeat myself or explain much to him. His troops are good and tight. Couldn’t ask for more, especially out here.”
“Good. I had a feeling that was so when we met on the ship.” She related how they met one evening on deck and talked a while. “A lot of JOs would have gone quiet and not said a thing to a general, but he held up his end. Sounds like he’s got a set of brass ones. How about keeping me informed how he does,” she said.
“General, you aren’t planning on taking him away to be some kind of staff puke are you?”
She gave the Major a sly look. “Hell no. He’s better off where he is. Only the kiss asses do real staff time. At least until they get a little more senior,” she kidded. Both had a small laugh. “Major, I had already heard about you and your guys. You’ve been the tip of the spear and fighting hard. Take some time to rest, we’ll do this debrief a little later on. I need the information, but not when you’re falling over.”
“Aye, aye, General.” Garrison said as they stood.
Both shook hands and left the tent. Richardson had learned more from the two than from her own intelligence staff. Now it was time to put what she had learned to good use.
Kim Sung Nua had been forced to take full control. The missiles, bombs, and fires took a toll on his capital and government. It had taken time to get people together and back in some order. Kim was down to third level officials. The Defense Ministry building was totally demolished, the sub-basement became blocked and, being below the water level of the river, flooded. The new military commanders were rounded up and brought in, but the information had been kept in the Defense Ministry. Communications lines and information had to be restored and re-gathered. The news was not good. He and his new cabinet were sitting in the locker room of the stadium.