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Do you believe it might be possible to restart my earlier scenario without offering too much disruption to the current scenarios? I am open to the idea of continuing on my blog separately in case it helps prevent a confusion between the ongoing story-lines.
-Vivek Ahuja
Sirji,
We are waiting eagerly for your scenarios. Please continue where you left or if you feel, you can make a new thread if you like.
The three F-16s that made up Falcon flight passed the last lights of the Karachi harbour. Soon they were flying over the dark waters of the Arabian Sea. The crescent moon in the sky reminded Falcon 1 of his countries flag. He knew there was an AWACS somewhere over the waters monitoring him. Soon they would initiate contact on secure data link. It was an absolute necessity that he received the right coordinates from the AWACS. He was pretty much flying blind. And the AWACS would try to be as inconspicuous as possible so as to avoid arousing the suspicion of the Indians. He wanted to postpone detection by as much as possible. He knew there would be Indian naval ships lurking about somewhere in the vast stretch of water. And today he needed to carve out a path that avoided every such ship out there.
His thoughts were interrupted by the incoming message on the data link. Good. He had his new coordinates. He knew the same information would have been received by the other two aircraft behind him. He set course for the new way point. So far the dark skies above and the sea below were keeping their silence.
SPECIAL SERVICE BUREAU (SSB) – RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS WING
They called him ‘chacha’ (Hindi for uncle). He could not even recall how he had received the moniker. But it had stuck with him wherever he went. Perhaps it was due to his polite nature and the weathered and lined look on his face. His hair had grayed prematurely and that added to the effect. But as many an adversary had realized to their cost, behind that kindly visage lay a cold and calculating mind and steely nerves. A wealth of experience along with that made him one of the top spooks at the RAW.
That night he had been going over reports of increased activity on the other side of the LOC. Of course this meant another infiltration attempt based out of the camps that Pakistan denied and the world ignored. He was always enraged at the fact that Indian blood seemed cheaper to spill than that of other countries. And the reports lying on his table promised the possibility of more blood spilling in the near future. It was the largest gathering of militants in a long time. And now ‘Abbas’ had called with this issue about the PAF. It was looking like a long day ahead.
MILITANT STAGING CAMP – POK
Hamid glanced around his surroundings. Most of the other men were asleep. After the tension of the past few weeks there was a sudden lull in the activity which had caught them all off guard. It had all started with the surprise visit of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) bigwig. He and his men had been packing their weapons and dry fruit rations for their journey into Kashmir. The man from ISI had told them that they needed to delay their plans by a few weeks. On questioning him, he had said that the Indian forces would be on high alert and it might not be a good idea. However he eluded mentioning the reasoning behind this sudden change in plans.
Hamid could sense something was up. He had an instinct about these things. Even on that fateful day when the American drone fired a missile at his house. Something had made him step out of the door just as the Hellfire missile struck, wiping out his family. His grief had known no bounds. And then there was anger. He had joined the insurgents to fight the evil west. But today he found himself on the border of India which was supposedly a friend of his native country. Not that he cared anymore. He just did what he knew best, since he had nothing more to live for.
His throat felt dry. He drank a glass of water and then wrapped the coarse blanket around him and tried to get some sleep again.
Okay guys, here we go. I am currently continuing my earlier scenario storyline. I would recommend going over it somewhat to remember where the things were left off. In either case, I am reposting my very last post and continuing from there...
BEYOND POINT VICTORY-1
10TH MECHANIZED BATTALION
NORTHERN LADDAKH
DAY 5 + 1005 HRS
“Go! Go! Move beyond it, damn it!” Captain Kongara shouted at his vehicle driver as his BMP struggled to get around the burning hulk of an Indian BRDM that had been destroyed a few minutes previously by a long range HEAT round. That particular marauding Chinese tank had instead taken multiple hits from Nag missiles launched by the NAMICA vehicles of the 10TH Battalion organic AT Troop. Kongara could see the pillar of smoke two kilometers away that showed the location of the burning Chinese tank. Regardless, several Indian soldiers had died in the BRDM, and that could not be changed...
Yet another example of what happens when you take light armor against heavy armor in battle...Kongara thought as his vehicle passed beyond the yellow-orange flames of the wreckage and headed beyond, spearheading the advance by Group Green units towards Point Golf-Black-One, which was the first goal in the multi-staged Battalion assault towards Point Victory-Two, the Battalion Objective.
Kongara was sincerely worried about the overall design of the assault force he was now leading into battle. Fact of the matter was that the Chinese infrastructure on their side of the LAC was vastly superior and flat. Both these factors were allowing them to bring in heavy armor units into the fight. On the Indian side, the relatively languishing infrastructure and tough terrain meant that not only were there fewer heavy units throughout the Laddakh sector, but also that they were at the end of a very long logistical string that had to move from Leh to Shyok to Saser to the current FEBA. And it would only get worse as the Indian forces fought their way eastwards, whereas it would become that much easier for the Chinese since their own lines would keep reducing.
As a result of all this, the only units in any reasonable quantity inside Laddakh at the moment were the lighter Battalions of the Mechanized Infantry Regiment. Out of several Battalions already in Laddakh, there were three full Battalions in the DBO sector, and elements of another Battalion, the 8TH Battalion, heading in. rumors were also floating around in Colonel Sudarshan’s HQ that there was an Armored Regiment headed into Leh and thence to DBO. But rumors were not any comfort for the men at the sharp end facing Chinese tanks with light armor units. Captain Kongara was leading Group Green and his force was primarily armed with BMP-2s and a few other light vehicles. Facing them was a force of Chinese heavy armor streaming in from the Aksai Chin arterial road that was still protected by the S-300s near the Qara-Tagh-La.
The only good news was the indirect support available to Kongara and his men. The two 199HU LCHs had proven deadly to the Chinese and were available today as well. In addition, the Smerch batteries near Saser to the west were continuing to pummel Chinese forces with impunity after having wiped off their own supporting artillery in a wave of fierce area bombardments...
Speak of the devil...Kongara thought as the hilltop designated as Point Golf-Black-One disappeared amidst a carpet of explosions in preparation for the assault by Group Green forces. The clearly visible explosions rocked the region and Kongara felt and then heard the rumble of the explosions even above the sounds of the diesel engines of his vehicle. The skies were filled with the sounds of the incoming shells that were slamming into the Chinese positions further beyond Golf-Black-One. Intelligence had identified several T-99s moving amidst the Chinese lines between Golf-Black-Two and Golf-Black-Three.
“Driver, Halt!” Kongara shouted before surveying the horizon ahead covered with black smoke pillars climbing into the grayish Laddakh sky. He then opened the hatch of the turret and poked his head out while bringing out his binoculars to take a clearer view of the terrain as well as his own forces. He saw the soldiers moving on both the left and right flanks as the Sikhs attempted to fight for control of the hilltops surrounding the axis of advance. Immediately next to his vehicle were the lines of BMP-2s and NAMICAs taking position in a line-abreast formation. And directly to his front lay the open rocky gravel all the way towards the smoke filled hilltops.
The smell of diesel was in the air as Kongara checked his maps once again and then his watch. The ‘T’ hour was almost up. He was jerked into ducking for cover inside the turret when a Helicopter fired Nag missile flew overhead and on its way to the target. Kongara turned around to see the two LCHs flown by Wing Commander Dutt and his Squadron pilots, hovering a few hundred yards behind the Group Green Line of Departure. Kongara turned to the front to see a small orange fireball racing into the sky at extreme range. He put his binoculars to his eyes and even then all he could see was the pillar of black smoke rising behind the fireball caused by the impact of the Nag missile against some target.
Kongara smiled to himself as he appreciated that the Indian Air Force was watching after his force. Sure enough, the LCHs were already taking shots at the enemy even while the main ground force below was waiting to move. The R/T squawked a few seconds later inside the BMPs of Group-Green:
“Group-Green. Advance to target. Engage and destroy enemy forces at Points Golf-Black-One, Two and Three. Seize and hold the objective at Victory-Two.”
Kongara was quick to change frequencies and launch the orders: “Group-Green: Advance! Advance! Advance!”
M.S.R., 4TH AND 10TH MECHANIZED BATTALIONS
SOUTH OF THE CHIP-CHAP RIVERBED
NORTHERN LADDAKH
DAY 5 + 1035 HRS
Colonel Sudarshan walked out of his CP, formed from a group of two modified BMP-2s with their troop carrying area stowed with radios and with camouflaged netting extended over the rear. As his command staff ran about with various jobs and crises to solve, he took it all in with his senses. The continuous distant rumble just over the CP’s LOS was a constant reminder that a war was being fought that very instant. The radios were alive with the incoming traffic from the small unit commanders of the various Mechanized Battalions committed into the fight that morning. Much of the current work at the CP was simply to eavesdrop on the conversations taking place between the Battalion Squadron commanders and the Battalion CPs, all of which were listed on one of the screens of the battlefield computers set up on a table just outside the hatch of one of the command vehicles. This eavesdropping on friendly forces was allowing Sudarshan to keep track of the battle being fought without constantly interfering with the Battalion commanders demanding updates. He also had a couple of Nishant UAVs just overhead of the advancing forces, giving him and his junior Battalion commanders a three dimensional battle-space viewpoint.
But nothing beats commanding Battalions from the front...thought the Colonel as he folded his cold hands into a fist and saw the whitish skin turn pink as blood returned to it. He looked at his hand before a crumble of distant thunder caused him to look back up to the east. That was where the battle was. A couple of days ago he had taken charge of the ‘A’ Squadron BMPs and led it during the desperate early battles for control of DBO alongside Brigadier Adesara’s 5TH Infantry Brigade. That sole squadron of vehicles from the 10TH MECH Battalion along with a Troop each of NAMICA AT Vehicles and T-72Ms had at the time constituted the entire Mechanized force that existed around DBO when the Chinese had come charging in with their armored forces. The maneuver warfare that had enveloped DBO and turned it into a smoldering cauldron of broken and burning tanks and men had also seen 5 INF pushed to the very perimeters of the airstrip around DBO. The T-72M Troop had suffered cent percent casualties with their tanks now littered in front of the current 5 INF lines. The same battle had also seen A/10 MECH lose more than a third of their ICVs in a few hours. The battle had cost the Chinese dearly too, and their current drive towards taking the whole of Northern Laddakh had been stalled temporarily. But that was two days ago.
Since the time of the first battles, the Indian Army units pushing from Shyok through Saser to DBO along the main Divisional Main Supply Route or DIV-MSR had begun to bring in much needed reinforcements. With the arrival of the remaining two Squadrons and other support elements of the 10TH Mechanized Battalion, the unit had come to full strength minus the losses in its third squadron. Behind that force had arrived the 55 ICV force each of the 3RD and 4TH Mechanized Battalions, with the 8TH on its way from Leh. 5TH and 6TH Mechanized Battalions had been planned for surge southeast towards Chushul and beyond to Demchok where other major battles were underway. With three major Battalions under his command and fourth arriving soon, Colonel Sudarshan was essentially in command of a Mechanized Division of roughly 200+ vehicles, counting the attached NAMICA vehicles and even a few T-72 Troops. It was at that time that he had handed over command of the 10TH MECH Battalion over its new CO, and taken over the reins at the main forward CP of what constituted the only Indian Mechanized Division currently in the Himalayas. There were rumors that the Divisional Commander at Leh had been notified to release this Mechanized Division over to a new Divisional Staff who would take over the command once the reinforcing Infantry Brigade arrived alongside the Mechanized units into the DBO sector and brought local Infantry units up to a decent defensive posture. Colonel Sudarshan was unsure what his role remained at that point, but he deemed the chances of him getting relieved pretty slim at the moment.
The problems on the ground were far worse than anything the commanders at Army HQ could imagine and which were plainly obvious to field commanders such as Sudarshan and Adesara. While on paper the “Mechanized Division” concept was very appealing given its makeup and current positions of advantage south of the Chip-Chap river valley wherein it was strategically placed to slice southeastwards into the Aksai Chin, perhaps even demolishing the Chinese Galwan Valley offensive that was currently underway and threatening to cut off the DIV-MSR. In reality, the Division forces were stretched out over a vast front fighting isolated battles with little coherence in an effort to control the Chinese advance. Even the thought of disengaging them to reestablish Divisional Coherence required for a strategic push southwest was impossible. The Chinese were applying pressure over a vast front and clearly outnumbered the Indian units. In addition, the equipment advantage was enormously stacked against the light armored Indian Mechanized Battalions with the Chinese brining in their main MBTs into the fight very early on. As of right now, there was not even an Armored Squadron in the DBO sector, let alone the Regiment level forces required to support the push of a Mechanized Division.
Further, the losses in vehicles had been heavy for the units already engaged in the fight. 3 MECH was engaged to the north of the Chip-Chap valley and had been mauled in its efforts to fix the enemy armored units while 4 MECH and 10 MECH units maneuvered southeast. 10 MECH was now heavily engaged and fully committed in trying to cut off the Chinese Divisional Passage of lines taking place north of them just beyond the LAC. Only 4 MECH remained available for independent thrusts southeast into the Aksai Chin. 8 MECH was not even in the DBO sector yet, stretched out as it was all along the congested traffic along the DIV-MSR from Shyok to Sul-Tan Chhushku, south of Saser. 5 INF was depleted in numbers with the two Gurkha Battalions under it supporting 3 MECH operations getting pinned down under superior Chinese Divisional Artillery shelling. Regardless, Army and Corps Level Command had rejected the Divisional Commanders recommendations against adding yet another level of bureaucracy and command link by sending the new Divisional Staff and equipment to take over the “Mechanized Division” operating in the DBO sector.
Idiots. Here we are: a thin thread away from losing the entire DBO sector and there they are, at Army Command, watching the pins move on the map and thinking of imaginary offensive pushes into the Aksai Chin...Sudarshan thought as he saw yet another supply truck being pushed out a slushy quagmire of wet mud and snow by the soldiers. Even his own shoes were wet and cold from being ankle deep in snow and mud. Vehicular traffic along the MSR for the 4 MECH and 10 MECH units operating east of Sudarshan’s CP was now a little more than a much trampled on trail in the snow on which continuous convoys were rolling eastwards with supplies and ammunition and coming back with wounded soldiers and broken down equipment. As he watched, one of the armored recovery vehicles or ARV, of the 10TH Mechanized Battalion pulled past in a rumble, pulling behind it a badly damaged but relatively intact BMP-2. The tracks had blown off as a result of some explosion and the hatches were opened wide, the blood stains clearly marking the route taken by the injured crewmembers as they must have debussed from their vehicles. Sudarshan could watch in impotence no further.
He walked back into his CP to see the grim faces of his staff members around him. His operations officer, a Major, walked over to him with a sitrep:
“3RD MB is again bogged down, taken losses and unable to advance. 199HU LCHs destroyed several T-99s and ZBDs in that sector but otherwise the frontlines remain unchanged. Brigadier Adesara has pulled the entire Gurkha force and the remaining vehicles of 3RD MB back west towards the Citadel Defensive lines. 10TH MB is making progress, but under heavy fire from the surrounding hills. Lt-Col Sharma is reporting that he is now encountering increasing numbers of Chinese armored vehicles as he is approaching the enemy DIV-MSR. The Chinese seem to be pulling units off the incoming convoys and diverting them south towards the 10TH MB forces to try and cut their advance off. 4TH MB is on reserve and awaiting orders to begin FEBA breaching operations southeast of the LAC.”
Sudarshan took the paper from his S-2 and then walked over to the map board. He looked at it a few seconds before he spoke again: “10 MECH is not going to be able to hold the Chinese DIV-MSR even if they take it now. It’s just taking too long and the Chinese are clearly now receiving their reinforcements along that MSR. We could pull 4 MECH back and use them to plug more forces and try and hold on to the chicken’s neck here along the Chinese MSR, but that will mean we scrub our attack mission for 4 MECH southeast into the Aksai Chin region. Else we pull back 10 MECH to their earlier starting lines and put them on defensive positions and let 4 MECH do their mission with 10 MECH forces protecting their left flank. But how long will that single Battalion push going to last?” Colonel Sudarshan shook his head before he turned to his comms-officer: “Get me Brigadier Adesara at 5 INF HQ”
“BLUE-LIMA-ONE, this is THUNDER-ONE-ACTUAL. Stand by for traffic. Over”
“THUNDER-ONE, this is BLUE-LIMA-ONE-ACTUAL. Standing by for traffic. Over”
“BLUE-LIMA-ONE-ACTUAL, lead elements confirm arrival of RED-STEEL along DIV-MSR. Reporting considerable casualties. Am I to understand continual of OP-PLAN-ONE? Over”
“THUNDER-ONE-ACTUAL, can you sustain OP-PLAN-ONE towards completion? Over”
“Negative with current resources. Suggest scrubbing OP-PLAN-TWO and diverting resources to hold defensive positions pending arrival of reinforcements. Over”
“Copy all, THUNDER-ONE-ACTUAL. Stand-by for DIV-COM update. Deploy DIV-ARTY in supporting role and disengage lead elements. Pull back to defensive locations. Do not, repeat, do not scrub OP-PLAN-TWO. Divisional orders. Stand by for updates. Request Hard-Copy. Over”
“Uh...that’s a solid copy on all, BLUE-LIMA-ONE-ACTUAL. Out”
Sudarshan handed over the R/T speaker back to the signals officer sitting inside the vehicle as he turned to his S-2:
“Division wants us to continue the plan to deploy 4 MECH in an offensive role. Problem is, if 10 MECH gets overrun by Chinese tanks, 4 MECH is going to get cut off inside the Aksai Chin. This is what happens when you run wars from a map board with pins and overrule field commander inputs. Division Command is about to turn the only real chance we have to control the Chinese advance by turning it into an encirclement of stretched friendly Battalions inside the Aksai Chin.”
“Maybe they will see the threat to their plans at Leh and give us the orders to redeploy 4 and 10 MECH units into a defensive cordon around DBO.” The Major offered.
“Maybe. Let’s see. We will come to know soon just what is going on at DIV-COM regarding the battle being fought in northern Laddakh...”
PLAAF REGIONAL COMMAND CENTER
KASHGAR
DAY 5 + 1120 HRS (L)
Colonel Feng read the report that showed the back-up BIG-BIRD radars coming online in southeast Aksai Chin following the destruction of the primary radar systems by IAF Jaguar strikes in what had been a very elaborate and deceptive takedown of the Chinese Air Force’s Aksai Chin S-300 coverage capabilities a day ago. Now that system was back up again, though if these radar units were again attacked somehow, there would no replacements for quite some time. For now, the force resurrection capabilities that Colonel Feng had himself supervised had allowed the Chinese Air Force to stand back up on its feet.
But the attacks had now been completely free of cost for the IAF either. They had lost two of the strike mission Jaguars in the attack to low altitude point defense weapons around the radar sites. Out of these aircraft, only one crewmember had been able to safely eject and make it to the ground only to find himself captured by the Chiness soldiers. And what a catch it is...Feng thought as he read another report detailing the capture. A Group-Captain Verma had been captured and was now due for arrival at Kashgar on board a Mi-17. A person of such high rank would surely be the mission commander...Feng realized as he read the intelligence file on G/C Verma of the IAF “Tuskers” Strike Squadron. Interesting...
Feng turned to hear the sound of the incoming rotor noises and saw the morning sun glistening off the Mi-17 approaching for a landing on the tarmac even as a group of armed Air Force Guards ran off to greet the new guest of the Chinese Air Force. As the helicopter landed and the pilots switched off the engines, the cabin door opened and showed a blindfolded man in his mid forties being led out by additional soldiers and a couple of CAF officers. Feng smiled as he walked over to the group of men heading towards him. As soon as he was in front of the group the soldiers restrained Verma from moving forward, since he could not see anything through his blindfold. The CAF officers snapped off a salute to the Colonel and he returned the gesture before turning to Verma:
“Welcome to the People’s Republic of China, Group-Captain Verma. I apologize for the condition of your arrival but as you can imagine, the external conditions were extraordinary. But while you are here, you are a guest of the Chinese Air Force.” Feng turned to the CAF Intelligence officers escorting Verma and spoke in Chinese: “Remove the blindfold. Make sure the Group-Captain gets food and water. He is not to be ill-treated or I will have the people responsible for it shot.”
The two officers snapped off a quick yes and quickly removed the blindfold. Verma hadn’t seen light of any kind for over a day now, and the bright morning sunlight caused him to wince for a few seconds before he looked around and saw a senior Chinese officer standing in front of him wearing the shoulder-boards of a Senior-Colonel of the Chinese Air Force. The bright red star on his fur cap could not be missed, and neither was the seemingly genuine smile on the ragged face.
“Group-Captain Verma, as you can see, the Chinese Air Force is in complete control of the skies over the battlefield to the south. We even flew you here during daylight in an unarmed helicopter and no escorts. Within a few days our ground armies will have defeated the outnumbered Brigades of your Army and taken over the entire Laddakh region. Expect to meet a lot more of your friends here soon.” Feng said in crisp English.
“Really, Colonel? All I remember seeing during the night of my capture was the exploding fireballs of your vaunted radar sites in the Aksai Chin under my cluster bombs. And the rest of my boys made it home for dinner too. You should probably check with your field commanders about the status of the war because it seems like you are being fed what we like to call as bull-crap!” Verma retorted in English, the only language he knew apart from his mother tongue and the language in which the Chinese officer had engaged him in conversation.
“Ah yes, your famed attack against my radar sites. They were nothing more than pin-pricks, Verma.” Feng shook the files in his hand... “As of this morning, those holes you created have already been plugged. In addition, our missiles claimed two more of your squadron Jaguars this morning and we even have reports coming in that the Tuskers unit -your unit- is now so combat depleted that it is being replaced on the front lines by another unit. So your WSO and your other crew died for nothing. Our S-300s still remain active and your unit continues to breathe its dying breaths.” Feng replied.
“Well, buddy, we will see about that. I hope you have bunkers here too, because it won’t be long before my boys will be visiting you here too with a special delivery from me.” Verma retorted before squinting again in the sunlight shining in his eyes.
“Well yes, Group-Captain Verma, we will see. I had hoped to meet my counterpart in this current situation and I have. Hopefully we will meet under better circumstances as well. As for our little chat, we will continue it later. You can probably imagine, right this instant I have a war to fight...” Feng offered a smile before nodding to the Intel officers to escort G/C Verma back inside the holding area awaiting interrogation. Verma didn’t realize it, but he had just conversed with the man who had probably saved his right to live as a POW inside a Chinese war zone. Feng had gone to great lengths to have Verma transferred under the control of the Chinese Air Force rather than the communist party intelligence officers whose brutality in situations such as the current one were notorious. But Feng would not allow such a thing to happen to a person he considered a professional adversary, not a street criminal. Not many others around him agreed, and so it was truly Verma’s luck that he found himself under Feng’s control. But if Verma didn’t talk soon, that control would be lost. Feng thought about that, sighed as watched Verma leaving the tarmac alongside the escorting soldiers in a small convoy of vehicles and then left the field to go back to his own command center.
Viper 2 looked at his watch. It was time. He felt a little short of breath as the implications of his next course of actions hit him. The mission was very challenging to begin with. Now they would go in after announcing their intentions. His thoughts rested for a moment on his wife at home. She did not even know he was flying today. He shook his head to clear the thoughts away. This was not a time for pondering. He needed to concentrate.
Viper 2 waggled his wings and switched off the navigation lights of the F-16. Pushing the stick to the right, he banked hard and dove towards the ground. The other three F 16s followed suit. Within seconds they eased out of the dive and leveled out at 200 feet above ground level. Settling into a finger four formation, they set course for the Indian border. All four Falcons switched their radars on to scan mode. Viper 2 looked at his radar display. Nothing on the scope so far. But he knew that would change very soon.
IAF AWACS ‘WATCHDOG’
“What the…” cursed the operator aboard the AWACS. The four F-16’s had just changed course and were rapidly accelerating towards the border. He immediately sounded the alarm and they went to ‘Red Alert’ status. The aircraft set on the pre-decided course determined for such situations. Ground control was alerted and the other AWACS aircraft on the ground at Agra was prepared for take off.
The operator watched as the blips moved closer towards the international border. He had also heard reports of three other F 16s that had taken off from Karachi and move seawards. He wondered if they would join these four. However for now he had enough on his plate. Things were looking grim and were about to get worse. He wiped a bead of sweat away from his eyebrow and concentrated on the screen.
NALIYA AFB – KUTCH
“Bandits inbound, scramble, scramble!” the controller was almost screaming into his ears. Without a thought his hands began operating the aircraft controls. Squadron Leader Krish released the brakes on the Typhoon and smoothly pushed the throttle forward. The aircraft gave a slight lurch and rolled ahead onto the runway. To his right and slightly behind him he could see Flight Lieutenant Ajay bring his aircraft to a halt. The earphones came alive again. “Arrow Flight, clear to take off. Climb to 2000 feet and set course for bearing 050. You will receive further instructions in the air from Watchdog”.
Both pilots pushed the throttle through the gate. Twin blasts of flame shot out as the EJ-200 turbofans went to maximum afterburner. The two powerful engines gave the Typhoon phenomenal thrust. Within moments the two sleek birds were in a steep climb and turned towards the bearing. They leveled out at 2000ft. The pilots scanned their instruments to ensure their aircraft were in good health. This was the real thing. Four F-16s were headed towards them and would try their best to blow them out of the sky. Both pilots blotted this thought out of their heads. On the ground two more Typhoons were being armed and readied for take off.
Atlast.. Good to see you back in action, vivek sahib...
shammek sir, welcome back... could we get the next post asap... want see how the intercept plays out...
The four aircraft streaked across the arid landscape that formed the vast majority of the land along the international border between India and Pakistan. Before they knew it they were over the invisible line that divided the two countries. There was no going back now.
As they flew through the dark Indian skies Viper 2 felt a pang of doubt. His radar display still did not show any enemy planes. He had anticipated them to come out with their guns blazing. Surely the Indians were not this slow to scramble their jets. His thoughts went to what the Indians would send up against him. He wondered if it would be their upgraded MiG 21 Bisons. A variant of the MiG 21 had shot down the Pakistani Navy Atlantique in the late 90’s. He was confident that his aircraft was vastly superior to what effectively was a refurbished aircraft from the 60’s. It would be sweet revenge. Behind him similar thoughts crossed the minds of his compatriots.
What he didn’t know was that the Indians were there all right. And they were not in MiG 21s. But the Typhoons had their radar on standby, using the AWACS commands on secure datalink to track the enemy. This would mean they were giving off fewer emissions and would not be detected for a while longer. The reduction of radar cross section along with the application of indigenous Radar Absorbing Material had also helped. Besides, flying low like the Falcons helped them gain some ground cover.
ARABIAN SEA
The Kamov KA 31 helicopter hovered over the dark waters of the Arabian Sea. Below the fuselage the E-801M OKO early warning radar rotated slowly. Inside the chopper, the men stared intently at their instruments. And suddenly they saw them. Three fast moving blips. They had to be the PAF Falcons. An involuntary shudder went through the men. Was their beloved ship the target? Would they dare to carry out such an audacious offensive? These and many other doubts raced through their minds as they watched the blips approaching. They knew that the data was being transmitted real time to the ship and the MiG-29K’s on the deck must already be lined up for take off. They hoped their chopper wouldn’t be targeted.
FALCON FLIGHT
Falcon 1 looked at the stationary blip on his radar. He had expected it. The presence of the chopper meant that INS Vikramaditya would be lurking nearby. Oh what wonderful revenge it would be if he could sink that ship! It would avenge his father’s defeat during the 1971 Karachi attack by the Indian Navy. But that was not his objective today. He was about to do something of much greater significance. His name would also go down in the annals of history as someone who helped change the balance of power in the subcontinent. He banked and turned his nose towards the east.
The controller on board the AWACS was sweating. But he was not scared. He was just concentrating hard and implementing all those long hours of training. He knew he was a major factor in the rapidly developing situation. His directions and decisions would have far reaching effects. Whether those effects were favourable or not remained to be seen.
He verified the position and heading of the two blips he knew to be the IAF Typhoons and called for a slight course correction. He was routing them to intercept at roughly a 90 degree angle to the four incoming hostile aircraft. The two opposing flights were getting closer with every passing second. So this was what war felt like. He still could not believe that he was actually watching this happen.
Suddenly his headphones came alive. “This is ground control, you are to establish communication with the incoming aircraft on an open channel. The Prime Ministers Office has asked us to order them to land immediately at the nearest Indian airbase.” For a moment he didn’t know what to say. Then he retorted, “With all due respect, do you really think these guys are trying to defect or something? Why will they ever listen to us?” The ground controller calmly replied, “Remember the Atlantique incident and all those doubts about the location of the aircraft? This time we record it all and don’t leave an iota of doubt. I have no doubt they will not comply. But just do it all the same.”
VIPER FLIGHT
Their radios came to life. The voice in it said, “This is IAF AWACS control to PAF flight leader. Your flight of 4 F-16 aircraft has currently intruded well within Indian airspace. Being military aircraft you do not have the option to return to your country. At this time your only option is to land at the nearest airstrip as designated by us. Failure to do so will result in use of force against you and your men. Do you copy?” The four pilots maintained a tight lipped silence. The message was repeated thrice with the same stony silence in response.
Viper 2 glanced around him to see if he could spot his wingmen. They were lost in the dark night. But he knew they were there all right. As he turned back to his displays he noticed two blips on his radar. There they were! For an anxious moment he wondered how they had got so close. Their radars must be off. Damn! So they were up against Typhoons. They had planned and rehearsed such engagements often and his training took over. He turned his nose towards the blips and switched the radar mode to TWS (Track While Scan).
ARROW FLIGHT
Sqn Leader Krish heard the slow tone in his ears and cursed. They had been spotted and were now being tracked by the bandits. The Radar Warning Receiver displayed the four hostile radars tracking his aircraft. Both typhoons still had their radars on standby and were updating their displays based on the datalink information passed on by ‘Watchdog’. He knew they still did not have clearance to engage but he was quite sure the PAF had not flown in for a friendly cup of tea. He was Arrow 1 today but they still had him stuck to the bow. He had always been slightly on the impatient side and this was not helping.
Slightly behind Arrow 1 Flight Lt Ajay was looking at similar images on his displays. Unlike Krish he was a very calm and collected individual. He was wondering how close they would get before they were cleared to engage. The motives of the Pakistanis were still a complete mystery. Were they starting a war just like that? Surely it was the most stupid way to do it by flying in announced and watched by a hundred eyes. It did not make sense to his logical mind and hence it made him wary.
With Due respect Shameek ... Two things i will like to suggest PMO will never give orders for what to do with Intruding aircraft .These are SOP's with Airforce I Guess
and secondly the interception message .. It would be short and crisp and is generally made by the interceptors when they establish Visual Contact not by AWACS, certainly when visual contact has been achieved else you are giving the enemy complete chance to return back . The Message has to be crisp and straight like "Un Identified Aircraft.. This is Indian Air force flight zulu five niner ... You have Violated Indian Air Space .. Follow Indian fighters and land where asked to else you will be shot down .. You are not authorized to return back .. I repeat ..Comply or you will shot down .. Over !!!"
^^ Thanks for the inputs. Whatever I have written is purely out of imagination and may be completely opposite to current IAF doctrine/SOP. So inputs from knowledgable people are welcome. Having said that, if four PAF F-16s were to come in and our Phalcon spots them, would we actually wait for our fighters to establish visual contact before initiating any action? Anyone know what the IAF protocol is? (Of course only if its open knowledge)
Shameek... lovely buildup... Viper 1 claiming systems malfunction reminded me a lot of Forsythe's 'The Fist of God', but this is a double-feint... nice! I wouldn't be surprised though if he was going rogue, if his target was something inside Pakistan itself...
Gurus, what do you think? Could such a scenario take place? A PAF pilot (given the PAF's lack of enthusiasm for terrorism) go rogue - or act as part of a coup - to take out terrorist camps or even Pakistan's own nuclear sites, in a bid to get his country off the idiot path and clear the way for the development his country needs?
And vivek_ahuja... wherefore art thou?
Love the scenario - but one thing... can you touch upon the strategic/political aspects of this, even if your main thrust remains at ground level? Wouldn't there be an uproar in the UNGA/UNSC about China's cruise missile attack on India? Where went the USA, Russia and the usual voices of peace? I would imagine SOMETHING would come out of that, no?
Vivek sir, where are you... its been a week now since your last post and these withdrawal symptoms are a pain... and what ever happened to that book you were writing...
NEAR POINT VICTORY-2
CHINESE DIVISIONAL M.S.R.
10TH MECHANIZED BATTALION ADVANCE ELEMENTS
NORTHERN LADDAKH
DAY 5 + 1145 HRS
The grayish skies never looked better to Captain Kongara as it did that morning as he lay on his back on the ground, dazed and hazy. The silence was hypnotic. There was no cold that he could feel that morning and even the skies above seemed so beautiful that it was almost surreal. Kongara felt as if he was somewhere else. A place that was peaceful and on instinct he turned to his right to call out to his friends and the world changed once again…
His hand was for some reason covered in what seemed like his own blood. Why…he thought. The answer wasn’t clear to him. He stared at the hand for several seconds and then tried getting up. That was when the biting pain caught up to him. He turned to see his left thigh bleeding profusely and he couldn’t move. He was still dazed enough to not be able to realize his environment. He looked at the leg in confusion even as the blood seeped out. As his senses started coming back to him he realized that his hands were touching the rocks as he sat upright on the ground. There was no snow where he was but the peaks around him were still covered in snow. It was then that he looked clearly and focused and through the haze he began to see what appeared to be his BMP-2 with the front drive wheels blown off along with the tracks. There were bright orange-yellow flames coming out of all crew hatches now as the vehicle turned into a burning metal hulk. There was dust flying everywhere as Kongara looked around to see moulds of dust being thrown into the air by vehicles of all kinds…
He could not remember at all how he had managed to escape that tower of flames near him but his brain was coming back online and was telling him that that was why he was not feeling the cold. He was feeling the heat from the funeral pyre of his battle vehicle. He looked around now to see where his crew was and his gunner was right there on the ground, next to the vehicle. His chest was surrounded by a darkened pool of blood and he was motionless. That struck Kongara hard. He was again staring at the lifeless body of his gunner when he saw a section of Indian soldiers running past him back towards the south. Even as Kongara watched them run past, a few dozen meters west of where he was lying, a line of tracers sliced through from the north and several of the soldiers were caught in the way, sending them crashing down into the mud and snow covered ground. Then there were other sounds and for the first time Kongara looked to his other side and saw a couple of BMP-2s moving back south in tactical progression. That is, they were reversing, but their hulls and turrets were still pointed northwards and engaging some Chinese targets. The flash-boom sequence of the auto-cannons on the two vehicles was hypnotizing to see, and the Chinese were sure to be taking casualties, but not being pinned down. Even as the two Indian vehicles moved and fired, explosions from tank shells were hitting the ground around them. One of the two vehicles finally took a jarring hit on the underside of its sloped forward glacis and the turret flew off underneath a jarring orange fireball. The steel fragments from the chassis flew off in all directions and Kongara ducked for cover, screeching with pain as the pain in his leg intensified. He heard the metallic pings of steel hitting steel as some of the fragments hit his now destroyed vehicle.
The other vehicle spent no time in deploying white smoke and disappearing behind the cloud even as the sounds of its diesel engines intensified, indicating and accelerated retreat. Kongara looked around and could see no other friendly forces now other than a few crew members from another unit straggling back to the south. That was when the seriousness of the situation came to him and he started to get back on his feet with no small amount of struggle and pain. A new sound reached his ear and he recognized the diesel engines. A turn to the east and he saw two familiar vehicles coming from the north out of the dust and smoke cloud the retreating Indian vehicles had deployed. Kongara watched in fascination as he saw the bright red star emblazoned on the turret of the two T-99s that had now come to a halt a few hundred meters to his east with their turrets looking for additional Indian targets to the south.
Kongara had by this time tied a makeshift bandage around his leg wound and his arm. He could move again as long as he ignored the biting pain and cold. But the two tanks now to his east would see him as soon as he stepped further away from his destroyed vehicle giving him cover. He was still deciding to make a run for it when a thin black tube shaped object flew out of the dust cloud to the south and one of the two T-99s suddenly blew up in a ground shattering explosion, its turret shaken from its position and the front part of the hull destroyed to smithereens. A second later flames leaped out of the shattered turret hatches. No survivors. The second tank suddenly retreated backwards into more cover. This gave Kongara the opportunity he needed to stagger back to the south and he took it. As he made his way away from his destroyed vehicle and dead colleagues, he watched around to see the battlefield littered with destroyed vehicles of the 10TH Mechanized Battalion…
The battle had been horrendous for both sides. But the arrival of the Chinese reinforcements along their main divisional MSR had been the shot in the arm their forces had needed. Lightly armed Indian infantry combat vehicles were no match for main battle tanks, despite the presence of 199 HU Light Combat Helicopters providing support to the 10TH Mechanized. Now their advance had been crushed, and the unit had been forced to relinquish their offensive and take up defensive positions to the south. Kongara looked around to see the remains of his unit littered around the frozen battlefield and could not avoid the gloom it brought. His eagle eyes spotted something moving in the skies to the southwest and he looked up, seeing what looked like a UAV flying just above the hills in that region. That was the Divisional Command watching the events unfolding in front of their eyes as the only opportunity to pinch of the main Chinese Divisional main-supply-route had disappeared in front of their eyes simply because of a mismatch of numbers and technology against the Chinese forces. Two Squadrons of the 10TH Mechanized had now ceased to have any offensive potential and the 10TH Mechanized had been combat depleted until such a time in the future that reinforcements could be brought up. As Kongara watched, the small black speck flying to the southwest turned away and headed off. He was now all alone. He again applied pressure on his blood soaked bandage and headed though the dusty battlefield to reach friendly lines to the south…
Last edited by vivek_ahuja on 07 Jun 2010 09:41, edited 2 times in total.
M.S.R., 4TH AND 10TH MECHANIZED BATTALIONS
SOUTH OF THE CHIP-CHAP RIVERBED
NORTHERN LADDAKH
DAY 5 + 1155 HRS
Colonel Sudarshan was standing with his staff officers around the UAV feed as it retreated off the battlefield and headed back to refuel. There was silence all around except for the incoming chatter off the communication sets. Sudarshan shook his head and sensed the general gloom descending in his Tactical CP. He walked off to the map board to see what else could go wrong. Both the 3RD Mechanized and the 10TH Mechanized had been forced to abandon their assaults on the Chinese forces. The vastly superior logistical arteries feeding the Chinese army in the region had made its mark on the outcome of the battle. There was no substituting it now. The Chinese were in a position of strength once again and could possibly be able to renew their offensive to take Daulat Beg Oldi. All that stood between them were combat depleted Battalions of the Brigadier Adesara’s 5TH Infantry Brigade and the defeated BMP Battalions of the 3RD and 10TH Mechanized. 4TH Mechanized was still untouched and the 8TH was still arriving, but it wasn’t enough now…
“Sir, the replacement Divisional Staff has reached the 199HU FARP. They are driving here now.” One of the young Captains from the Signals group said to Colonel Sudarshan. That caused the latter to look away from the map board and see the face of his S-2 (Operations).
“What on earth are they here to take command of? We now have barely one fully combat ready Battalion. The other two are mere shells of what they were supposed to be.” The S-2 said in a neutral and low voice. Sudarshan shook his head in despair as he considered his options in the little time before the Divisional Staff took over from him:
“Contact 4TH Mechanized and tell them to pull back and support the 10TH Mechanized defense perimeter. We cannot afford a Chinese breakthrough there. We are abandoning the offensive mission for the 4TH and beefing up the 10TH. Once the 8TH starts arriving with its vehicles, send them north to join the 3RD in defending DBO defense perimeter along with the 5TH INF. We are going on the defensive for the time being. I just see no other choice.”
“The enemy just took back the tactical initiative from us.” The S-2, Major Moitra, said.
Sudarshan leaned over the map board and rested his arms along the table even as he stared at the map of the region and the Aksai Chin beyond. “Yes he did. And we need to take it back. But with what? Damn it. We cannot defend this sector with lightly armed ICVs alone. What the hell can we do with the resources at our disposal? The Chinese are continually reinforcing their units daily and my reinforcements are coming along a single MSR once every two days! And even that route is now under threat of being cut off if the Chinese break through on the Galwan valley front. Then we are isolated in this war.
Major Moitra, we are in the process of losing the logistical battle in this war…”
OPERATION SWITCHBLADE
FORWARD AREA REARMING POINT (F.A.R.P.)
SASER, NORTHERN LADDAKH
DAY 5 + 1235 HRS
Wing Commander Dutt exited his LCH as soon as everything had been switched off and the main rotor blades were coming to a stop. Already the ground crews were busy reloading the next round of weapons and ammunition for the main cannon from the ready stores nearby. The HELINA anti tank missile rounds were ready to go and were the first weapons loaded on the helicopter in case another crisis came before the rest of the load-out was complete. Such was the nature of the crisis. There was more demand for anti-tank weapons of all kinds than anti-infantry weapons, of which the Indian army itself possessed many. There were now two Light Combat Helicopters at Saser, supporting a wide range of operations ongoing north of there. The other two helicopters of the group, constituting the unit strength of 199HU, were supporting similarly desperate operations in the south near Demchok and Chushul. Dutt and his crews were now feeling the exhaustion of battle, flying round the clock in support of two separate sectors and three separate sub-sectors in continuous operations alongside armed Dhruv helicopters. Sleep and a decent meal were now luxuries long forgotten…
“Where’s the next delivery?” Dutt asked Major Narayana, the Army liaison officer deputed by Brigadier Adesara to be his link between 5TH Infantry Brigade and 199HU. The Major looked tired and haggard as well, but still in good spirits given the circumstances.
“10TH Mechanized sector again, followed by 3RD Mechanized sector. Battles are on the way in both sectors, and both sectors are now crumbling.” Narayana said. Dutt threw away his cigarette into the cold ground below. They were standing a few dozen meters away from the parked helicopters. Before Dutt could say anything, his other flight crew and the FO Officer arrived to join the group. They had to wait as the sound of a Mi-17 lifting into the sky drowned them all in the whipping noise of its main rotor blades. The dust covered the area where the helicopter had lifted off into the gray skies above.
“How bad was it, Hari?” Dutt asked his other helicopter pilot who had just returned from the 3RD Mechanized Battalion AO.
“Bad, sir. The armored forces chaps are banged up like hell. We took out several commie tanks, but it wasn’t enough. Two WSI Dhruvs went down to enemy fire too. Not sure who they were. The reds have brought up significant anti-air stuff with them. The skies were lit up all around us like Diwali. The bird took a few hits too. Hopefully nothing serious. How about you?”
“The 10TH is wasted. They had to retreat the hell out of there once the Chinese tank reinforcements broke through the logjam and joined the fight. Took serious casualties. We got to nail a few buggers before we went bingo on fuel. My last Nag sent a commie tank crew straight to hell before we left. Got to see the fireball in the midst of all that smoke and dust. That was beautiful, but it didn’t change the outcome of the battle.” Dutt said, and then looked north to see their neighbors, the Smerch Battery vehicles, moving into position for yet another artillery strike on the Chinese DIV-MSR. He then spoke again:
“There’s just not enough of us out here to be of much help on the frontlines. We need to go deep and hit the Chinese supply routes and convoys inside the Aksai Chin. Out here we are just trying to stop a tidal wave of vehicles surrounded by close range anti-air.”
“Okay, but the Chinese have the area protected by the S-300s near Qara-Tagh La. They won’t let us get anywhere close to their supply convoys.” Narayana said to Dutt. The latter shook his head as he pondered the problem yet again in his head…
“Well, we need to figure out some way, or else Operation Switchblade is going to be only a qualified success in the overall defeat of the Indian Forces around Daulat Beg Oldi…”
But that was not his objective today. He was about to do something of much greater significance. His name would also go down in the annals of history as someone who helped change the balance of power in the subcontinent. He banked and turned his nose towards the east.
DIVISIONAL TAC-HQ
SHYOK
CENTRAL LADDAKH
DAY 5 + 1335 HRS
Shyok was a busy place, given that it was the feeding point for the entire northern sector of Laddakh all the way up to Daulat Beg Oldi, including Galwan Valley and all the way to the Kongka La region. All of these were where combat operations were currently underway. Shyok was also the receiving node for Leh, and as such as the ideal location for the Divisional Tactical HQ for the units fighting east and north of there. The Divisional commander and his command staff had now moved in from Leh to Shyok so that they could be closer to the terrain they were commanding units over and at the same time be able to exercise superior control over the crumbling military situation in the region.
The Divisional GOC was Major General Pratap, and he was the direct superior to Brigadier Adesara and Colonel Sudarshan as far as the northern sector was concerned. His other two Infantry Brigades were now moving towards DBO to secure the defenses there, but the political decisions months previously and the complicated MSR logistics were creating problems for his operations. It would take another twelve hours before his reinforcements Brigades for the 5TH Infantry Brigade sector would be combat ready and deployed. As a result, Brigadier Adesara and Colonel Sudarshan had to hold on for at least that much longer.
However, the current problem was much worse than just that. Pratap had just received the combat report for the failed offensive mounted by the units under 5TH Infantry and the 3RD and 10TH Mechanized against the Chinese Divisions arrayed east of DBO. The virtual disintegration of the 10TH Mechanized and the pull back of the 3RD Mechanized along with the Gurkha Battalions had confirmed the fears of both Brigadier Adesara and himself. They needed friendly tanks in the region to offset the Chinese armor advantage. The problem was that the Corps and Army Command Generals had not fully realized the problem or the dangers it posed. As a result, Mechanized Battalions were continuing to pour into the region and even existing reserves in the Leh sector had now been committed to the fight, with the 8TH Mechanized now advancing to Saser and thence to Daulat Beg Oldi.
Only now were T-72s beginning to arrive in smaller numbers at Leh via emergency airlift from Chandigarh. The highway to Leh was open as well, and one Regiment of T-72s was driving down it towards Leh. Even then, T-72s had not really distinguished themselves earlier against the Chinese MBTs. In small numbers they offered minor resistance to the massed T-99s, themselves having the T-72 as their ancestors. The Indian army needed quality as it could not match the quantity of the Chinese. If there was space along the logistical artery for only a certain number of tanks, then Pratap wanted only the ones that offered technological advantages over the enemy. That was the gist of his angry communiqué to Corps HQ a few hours earlier when he had heard Colonel Sudarshan’s pleas.
As General Pratap stood there, outside the command trailer watching a continuous stream of trucks and small groups of armored vehicles moving eastwards through Shyok, his G-2, a Brigadier, came up with a FLASH level signal from Corps HQ. He handed it to Pratap with a faint smile on his face:
“Finally some good news…”
Last edited by vivek_ahuja on 07 Jun 2010 09:50, edited 2 times in total.
Patriotic sons of soil pay the price with their blood for lethargy of politicians/babus!
Very intense reading Vivek, puts one in tears, rage and anticipation in such short period. Thanks for quick succession of posts. Waiting eagerly for the good news............
the cost of the brahmos, if i am right... Its not like we can afford to buy a whole lot of them when they cost upwards of 2.5 million dollars a piece... Atleast in reality...AFAIK...
Getting error as following, can you please upload again. Many thanks
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