Chapter 7: The Tiger in the Jungle (4)

  Four

  From the front line of Narita International Airport, returning to Japan's Self-Defense Force "Nanyo Dispatch Army" command center in Jakarta, Uesugi's journey was not an easy one.

  The Japanese Self-Defense Force's "Southern Expeditionary Army" deployed in Java and its surrounding islands had a total strength of nearly 35,000 troops, consisting of two newly formed Ground Self-Defense Force divisions - the 15th and 16th Divisions (mainly composed of active-duty troops from various Japanese divisions and reserve soldiers) as well as three elite mobile brigades - the 12th Ground Mobile Brigade (responsible for defending remote islands and fortresses), the Special Tank Brigade, and the 4th Mixed Brigade. With some auxiliary units added, such a force would be more than sufficient to help the Indonesian military government encircle and suppress Chinese armed forces and stabilize the situation in Indonesia. However, facing the full-scale offensive of the Chinese Expeditionary Army, General Uesugi could only say that his strength was insufficient.

  Under the night sky of Jakarta, everything was still relatively calm. On the streets, various armored vehicles of the Japanese Self-Defense Force's "Nanyang Dispatched Army" could be seen patrolling back and forth, flaunting their might. But for Uesugi Riku, who had just returned from the front lines, what kind of crisis lay hidden behind such splendor was clearer to him than anyone else.

  Regarding the further action to be taken against the Chinese army's impending landing, the "Nan'yo Countermeasures Headquarters" which was just established in Tokyo 24 hours ago is also hesitant. In mainland Japan, an emergency mobilization order has been issued for the Self-Defense Forces. The Northern and Northeastern Armies, located on the second line of defense, have each deployed a division-level force to the highest level of combat readiness. It is said that at Narita International Airport in Tokyo, unidentified troops from the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force can be seen waiting on standby.

  The GSDF General Staff proposed the so-called ABC plan in response to "China's expansionist military actions in Southeast Asia". Plan A assumed that Japan would ensure its "rights and interests" in the Java Sea area, even if it meant a full-scale war. It proposed using Japan's superior air and naval power to launch a preemptive strike against China's southeastern coastal strategic targets, and then launching 1-2 short amphibious assaults on mainland China or Taiwan when conditions were ripe, ultimately forcing China back to the negotiating table. Plan B emphasized that both China and Japan would avoid striking each other's homelands, and the Japanese government would make its greatest diplomatic efforts to obtain the use of several Philippine military bases as soon as possible to offset China's distance advantage in Vietnam. The two sides would engage in a desperate battle over the South China Sea and Java Sea. However, Uesugi clearly believed that only Plan C was suitable for the current situation of Japan's "Southeast Asian Expeditionary Force".

  "If it really comes down to choosing C, then the decisive battle for supremacy over the South China Sea and the Java Sea will be tonight and tomorrow." Facing the video window with his Japanese Self-Defense Force colleagues, Uesugi rose from his seat and said in an excited voice. Yes, the final battle is tonight.

  In the midst of a fierce battle in the Tamu region, to annihilate the first wave of parachute troops from the 22nd Airborne Division of the Chinese People's National Defense Army. The Japanese Self-Defense Forces "Nanyang Expeditionary Force" not only mobilized all the forces of the Special Task Vehicle Brigade and the 4th Mixed Brigade but also dispatched part of the 12th Ground Mobile Brigade, which was besieging the Sanbao Ridge International Airport, and some Indonesian troops. On the ground were the Type 05 and Type 90 main battle tanks of the Special Task Vehicle Brigade, while in the air were the OH-1 and "Longbow-Apache" armed helicopters of the 4th Mixed Brigade.

  It can be said that in the history of war since World War II, there has not been a parachute unit that could withstand the siege of an enemy's heavy armored forces when at a disadvantage in terms of troop strength. However, the 22nd Parachute Division of the People's Liberation Army may be an exception. The Japanese Self-Defense Force "Nanyang Dispatched Army", which had experienced the tenacity of the Chinese people in the Sanbaoling campaign, felt like it was biting onto a steel plate in the dense jungle of Tamuong.

  "It's another Chinese anti-tank stronghold, how is this possible?" In the dimly lit jungle, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces' special tank regiment seemed to have entered a large web filled with sharp blades. Behind any bush could be hiding a Chinese People's Liberation Army anti-tank squad. The fearsome Chinese, the fearsome Red Arrow-8L. And these elite Chinese paratroopers were much more cunning than the "Nanyang Liberation Army" who only knew how to fight head-on.

  They moved their positions extremely quickly, often just as an anti-tank missile had hit a Japanese tank. They had already withdrawn from their original firing position. Another Type 89 infantry fighting vehicle of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force was hit by an anti-tank missile fired by Chinese paratroopers and caught fire, burning fiercely in the darkness. The Japanese infantrymen who had already disembarked to fight were wildly firing into the surrounding bushes while simultaneously rescuing surviving crew members from the burning vehicle with all their might.

  Outside the forest of Danmu, on the makeshift helipad cleared by Japanese engineer troops overnight, a CH-74D "Chinook" transport helicopter frequently took off and landed, transporting lightweight FH-70 towed howitzers to the front line and evacuating wounded soldiers.

  In the roar of helicopters, in a temporary field hospital not far from the airport, more and more wounded soldiers are being sent from the front line. Post-war Japan has always been trying to learn from the US military, emphasizing the self-rescue capabilities of troops, but in such intense battles, there are still many wounded who cannot be evacuated for treatment. In the midst of the groans of the wounded, young Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers who have just arrived one by one have fear written all over their faces as they wait for orders to depart.

  "Continue the bombardment. The enemy is, after all, only lightly armed paratroopers." Newly appointed commander of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces' 4th Combined Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Shinobu Niihara, who had just taken over as frontline commander from the late "Tosa Fighting Dog" Ichiro Nitta, rode an 87? wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicle quickly through the artillery positions of the 4th Combined Brigade, loudly encouraging the already exhausted artillerymen. What he said was right, even elite paratroopers could not defeat mechanized regular army in a head-on confrontation.

  In the depths of the dense forest, two main regiments of the 22nd Airborne Division of the Chinese People's National Defense Army had also suffered more than 200 casualties in the bloody battle after nightfall. The Japanese army's dense artillery fire poured blindly onto the positions of the Chinese paratroopers. To preserve their strength, Colonel Tang Jian hid all heavy weapons. The Chinese paratroopers were mainly using the terrain of the forest to continuously block the Japanese offensive. Because Tang Jian knew that if they could hold out through tonight, the situation would necessarily change.

  "The Chinese plane." With the warning of Japan's ground-based forward air defense radar, 4 J-11H and 8 J-10H fighter jets taking off from the aircraft carrier "Shanghai" broke through the long-range air defense radar network centered on Jakarta of the Japanese "Nanyang Expeditionary Army" at low altitude, and covertly approached the gathering area of the Japanese army in the Tamori region.

  "Come on, little devils, taste the flavor of 'Made in China'!" In the dark cockpit, Liu Qingzheng skillfully manipulated the fighter jet, dodging the hastily fired Japanese 87-style self-propelled high cannon's scattered gunfire, and dropped the cluster bombs under the wing towards the panicked Japanese Self-Defense Forces on the ground. The bombs easily turned several CH-74D "Shinugan" transport helicopters that had not yet taken off into burning scrap metal, which had just been roaring with FH-70 towed howitzers.

  After turning the Japanese Self-Defense Forces' field airport into a sea of flames, Liu Qingzheng's fighter planes turned back again, using the air-to-air combat missiles they carried to shoot down one by one the Japanese helicopters that tried to escape. If it weren't for the E-7N-type carrier-based warning aircraft on air defense duty alerting the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force to urgently take off 11 F-2A fighter jets from Jakarta to intercept, Liu Qingzheng really wanted to use his machine guns to take down the remaining Japanese armed helicopters in the air as well.

  "This is sea power!" The 11 F-2A fighters rushing to intercept the Chinese carrier-based aircraft group, after Liu Qingzheng's group flew out of Java Island, soon encountered the "Shanghai" attack aircraft group B team's 2 J-11H and 6 J-10H fighter jets on air support mission. Due to lack of radar guidance, F-2A was no match for J-11H and J-10H fighters equipped with E-7N carrier-based early warning aircraft and JH-7E carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft on the sea surface, losing 4 aircraft in an instant and forced to break away from combat and return.

  Upon learning of this news, the Japanese "Nanyang Expeditionary Force" commander-in-chief, General Uesugi Kazuo, sighed helplessly. The defeat in this air battle does not represent poor performance of the F-2A, but rather because the Chinese Navy, with its aircraft carrier, has electromagnetic dominance over the sea surface. Japanese fighter jets that flew out of their own ground radar guidance range could only exert about 75% of their combat effectiveness and were unable to contend against the similarly performing, well-trained Chinese carrier-based aircraft squadrons.

  Above all, General Sugiyama rejected the Air Self-Defense Force's plan to send a large number of fighter jets to launch an air raid on China's aircraft carrier formation, because that would only let more Japanese pilots go to their deaths. Of course, China currently has only one aircraft carrier formation in the Java Sea and cannot exert sustained pressure. Such air support should not be able to organize a second time tonight! Therefore, apart from ordering Commander Nitta to reorganize the attack and clear out the Chinese airborne troops in the Tameng area as soon as possible, General Sugiyama did not want to make any adjustments to the deployment.

  While tens of kilometers away from the battlefield where corpses were scattered all over, at the Tripartite International Airport, the smoke had already dispersed, and Japan's attention was completely drawn to the dense jungle. There were only a few regiments of Japanese troops on the outskirts of the airport, and the remaining gaps were filled by Indonesian troops. Except for occasional gunshots coming from the direction of the city of Sampit, the officers and men of the 77th Marine Brigade of the Chinese People's National Defense Forces, who had gone through fierce battles, lay down in their clothes, taking advantage of the time to replenish their strength.

  In the outer suburbs of Sanbao Ridge, where the Chinese armed forces "Nanyang Liberation Army" were dispersed during the siege, several detachments of soldiers gathered together in twos and threes, breaking through the Japanese-Indonesian joint military blockade. The airport's defensive capabilities gradually increased. In the underground room of the airport tower, which was used as a temporary command center, Major General Yang Guoying and Commander-in-Chief Yang Quan were discussing how to effectively organize the troops on both sides to fight together. A "Nanyang Liberation Army" soldier rushed in to report that an old-fashioned military transport plane had forcibly landed on the newly repaired runway.