Guangxi Clique

[Markus Wilding]

In recent years, not all had gone well for the Guangxi Clique.

The best achievement they could claim was the construction of a navy, outdated as it was, which roamed the South China Sea to warn away traders and pirates. This same Navy had just sponsored a coup which installed a newly-elected democratic government, espousing ideals that would hopefully lead to a safety net for the citizens of southern China even in these devastating times. The Clique's army was not large, or modern by any formal standards, but it had done well in staving off remnant Imperial Japanese troops and keeping the peace while the plague was dealt with.

Perhaps times would change.

[Cataphrak]

1000 China Standard Time, January 10th, 1958
From: Gen. Tu Yu-ming, Acting Chief of the General Staff
To: Gen. F. Messervy, CO, Force Wentai

CHAIN THE BOATS

0550 China Standard Time, January 11th, 1958
Trooper R. Zheng, B Squadron, 3rd (The Prince of Wales') Dragoon Guards, 50th Tank Brigade.
Somewhere along the Jiangxi/Guangdong Border.

Even from a height of eight thousand metres, the engines of the heavy bombers droning overhead were enough to make the earth tremble and Zheng's teeth rattle against each other. There were supposed to be nearly a hundred of them, the Republic's entire strategic bomber force, if the rumours were to be believed. He could see their distant shapes against the cloudless winter sky from the open driver's hatch, past the bulk of the new main gun.

It took some getting used to, that huge cannon. Personally, Zheng didn't really understand why they needed it. The old three-inch gun had worked just fine against the Hunan bandit army's pillboxes and primitive armoured cars, this new bandit faction's equipment was supposed to be no better.

Still, the General Staff had made the decision, then that was that. If there was anything truly bizarre about the men who served in the Army of the Provisional Military Government of the Republic of China, it was that its rank and file actually trusted the men who sent them to die.

Part of it had to do with the fact that unlike in most armies, there was no question that the generals were as tough as the men. Zheng had heard stories about the old warlord armies, of senior commanders locked away in mansions and palaces with gold plates and jade statues and a small army of concubines while their men fought with knives and cleavers on a handful of rice a day. There was none of that here. The officers were fathers to the men, and no one with stars on his epaulettes did not have them stained with a decade and a half of sweat and blood.

The other part of it was because the men at the top were legends. Zheng had talked to men from the 38th Division, who'd followed Sun Liren when, as a regimental commander. he led them - in person, no less - into battle at Renanqiang against a whole division of Japanese infantry to rescue a cut-off brigade of British tankers, and won. The whole army respected the man, of course, but to those who had served under him the longest, he was practically a god, or at least the prophet of those long-departed lao wai who had brought the Indians and the British and the Americans and their weapons to Burma, so they could play their part in finally restoring order to China.

So when Sun Liren had ordered the old guns taken out and new ones - ones so large that they had to put in a counterweight at the back of the turret to keep it balanced - in, nobody complained, except for the mechanics, which was only natural.

The crump-crump-crump of distant explosions brought Zheng back to the here and now. The heavy bombers were carpeting the regiment's axis of advance with their payloads. Zheng wished them well. The briefing had said the whole valley was supposed to be heavily held by the enemy, and it would only be beyond that the leading elements of Force Wentai would be able to break into the open tank country of the Pearl River Delta. Until then, the tanks would be acting as a slow-moving steamroller, pinning the enemy in place as the infantry flanked around the walls of the valley with their new rifles and recoilless rifles to take each bandit position from behind. It all seemed very unnatural to Zheng, but perhaps that was the point. Flexibility was the key to breaking the enemy before he broke you.

A new sound rose from behind, drowning out the fading drone of the B-29s. The Mitchell gunships were up now, with a swarm of fighters and fighter-bombers right behind. The air shook with the thump-thump-thump of three-inch guns as the Mitchells scoured what was left of the valley ahead, pounding the enemy defences which might have survived the onslaught of the Superfortresses. The Thunderbolts and Mustangs hung behind. They were there to provide air cover to the ground advance, and serve as ready support for any enemy strongpoint which might need it when the ground assault finally began.

Speaking of which...

"Lao ye!"

That was Lu, the radioman.

"Lao ye! Ni zai zheli ma?"

A moment later, a thin, gangling figure pulled himself out from the underside of the hull, his ruddy, sunburned face pinched with annoyance.

"Yes! Yes! I'm here, damn your eyes!"

Once, long ago, the 3rd Dragoon Guards had been a regiment of the British Army. Officially, it still was. But as the war, or the flu, or malaria, or simple old age took the old men one by one, they had been replaced with new ones. Out of the crew of Zheng's tank, Sergeant-Major Gavin Oldroyd was the only englishman left. He wasn't past fifty, but the rumours had said that he had come off the ship in Calcutta an old man in 1936, when the 3rd Dragoons still rode into battle on horses.

"Signal from the Captain, sir," Lu reported. "Advance on his go."

The Sergeant-Major scowled as he climbed through the commander's hatch. The sound of the fighters and gunships were joined now by the rolling thunder of artillery. The distant boom of the big six-inch guns, the crash of the four-inch howitzers, and the crack of the twenty-five pounders all blending into a single dull roar. He said something which the guns left utterly inaudible, but which Zheng could read perfectly through long experience.

"Damn nuisance, all this," the old man had said as he'd untangled his throat microphone. "They'll hear it all the way in Guangzhou."

Of course, maybe that was the point? There were nearly a hundred thousand men in Force Wentai, two thirds of the whole army's armoured fighting vehicles and tanks, almost all of its mechanised forces. If the RoCAF was leaving a reserve for operations elsewhere, Zheng certainly did not know about it. Maybe it was better to draw the enemy's forces here, to destroy them in decisive battle?

"Driver!"

Lao ye's voice through the headset pulled Zheng back to reality, to the driver's hatch, to the decisions worthy of a cavalry trooper, and not the second-guessing of men far above his pay-grade. Ahead, he could already see the Squadron commander's Sherman lurch forward, which meant he knew what was coming next...

"Driver! Advance!"

Operation Red Cliffs, Phase One: A narrow-front mechanised assault by Force Wentai (army-strength battlegroup consisting of two corps-strength formations) advancing from Jiangxi Province (Territory 233) into Guangdong Province (Territory 236) along the Bei Jiang, one of the major tributaries of the Pearl River.
Force Wentai consists of the following:
3 pts infantry
4 pts mechanised
3 pts armour
3 pts artillery
Air support by 10 pts bombers and 15 pts fighters.

Potential Advantages Include:
-High altitude aerial recon by heavy bombers in months prior to operation.
-Medium altitude aerial recon by medium bombers along the specific axis of attack in months prior to operation.
-Use of special forces to ensure operational security.
-"Preparation" strikes by B-29B heavy bombers, and whirlwind bombardment by artillery immediately prior to attack.
-Close air support by B-25H Mitchell Gunships, and P-47 Fighter-Bombers
-Extensive experience in fighting in relevant terrain possessed by most troops involved.
-Extensive experience in fighting dug-in infantry and light armour by nearly all involved.

[Markus Wilding]

OOC: In their attacks, the XIVth Army Clique rolled a 3 for ground attacks and a 8 for air attacks. This results in 4 points of ground losses, 5 points of ground damages, 2 points of air losses, and 3 points of air damages for Guangxi Clique.

IC: The XIVth Army Clique's entrance into the enemy Clique proved brutal. Acting upon reports from scouts, the government had decided to focus their armored units and called up a Home Guard draft to ensure that, should the enemy come from the East, they would be ready. Sandbags and trench lines had been built wherever they believed necessary, and the militia had been drilled to respond to any incursion, setting up rudimentary alarm systems with wire and tin cans.

Once bombs began falling on their lines, however, action was necessary, with the militia, armor and infantry coordinating to attempt to trap the advancing enemy army in a pocket. These hopes were dashed when the bulk of the enemy's army arrived, sparking an hours-long firefight that left Guangxi forces effectively destroyed. With no other option left, the remaining forces - mostly a scattered force of collected guns and their crews - fell back to the neighboring province in order to form a more cohesive defense there.

In the air, Guangxi planes flew out to attempt to contest their foe aerially only to be cut down without mercy. Already, half of the Clique's air force had been destroyed within mere hours. The only hope lay in the defenders in Guangxi itself, and - with any luck - supporting naval gunfire off-shore.

OOC: Guangxi Clique took the following casualties:
1 point infantry lost
2 points militia lost
1 point armor lost
3 points artillery damaged
1 point infantry damaged - double damage leads to loss
2 points fighters lost
1 point fighters damaged - double damage leads to loss and no further air losses can be sustained in this territory

3 points of artillery retreated to Territory 237.

In their attacks, Guangxi Clique rolled a 2 for ground attacks and a 7 for air attacks. This results in 2 points of ground losses, 2 points of ground damages, and 1 point each air losses and air damages for the XIVth Army Clique.

[Cataphrak]

1400 China Standard Time, January 14th, 1958.
From: Gen. F. Messervy, CO, Force Wentai.
To: Gen. Tu Yu-ming, Acting Chief of the General Staff.

Guangzhou has fallen.

IV Corps Armour casualties severe with some formations exceeding 35% material loss. IV Corps moved to reserve and to maintain containment around Hong Kong pocket. XXXIII Corps continuing to advance into Kwangsi Province in expectation of further movements.

1730 China Standard Time, January 14th, 1958.
From: Gen. Tu Yu-ming, Acting Chief of the General Staff.
To: Gen. Sun Li-jen, Acting CinC.

Bandit resistance in Kwangtung Province has collapsed with greater rapidity than expected. Force Wentai attrition remains within acceptable levels. Given current situation, the General Staff advises advancing the schedule for phase two by 24 hours to maintain operational initiative.

1900 China Standard Time, January 14th, 1958.
From: Gen. Tu Yu-ming, Acting Chief of the General Staff.
To: MG A. Carton de Wiart, CO, Force Bofu. Gen. Wei Lih-huang, CO, Force Zhongmu.

ATTACK BY FIRE

0330 China Standard Time, January 15th, 1958
LCpl L. Wen, Special Detachment, 1 Commando, 3rd Commando Brigade.
Somewhere near the Yunnan/Guangxi Border.

It was desperately, painfully difficult for Wen Liyang to admit, but he was actually grateful for all the fetching and carrying he did as training over the past six months.

He was as strong as an ox now, and he'd have had to have been, to lug the immense burden on his back over the past ten kilometres of hills and gullies, and not just swiftly, but in near complete silence. Soon, however, he'd have a brief respite. His spotter had picked out the campfire of the bandit forces' garrison ahead. They were no more than three hundred yards away.

If Wen had still carried his old De Lisle Carbine, three hundred yards would have been a decent range to set up and start firing at. But that was only in daytime. It was still nearly pitch black, and any weapon would have been almost worse than useless, except for the gigantic rifle still slung across his back.

He could see the outline of what looked like a very likely set of bushes ahead, silhouetted by the faint glow of the distant fire. It'd be a risk, a sharp-eyed sentry might see them, even in this gloom. Still, given the firing position that it gave him, and given what was coming up no more than a few minutes behind him, it was worth a try.

Wen eased his new-issue automatic pistol out of its holster, just in case, and crept into the bushes, his spotter keeping careful watch with his Enfield carbine, Neither were suppressed, perhaps a bit of an oversight. Then again, if they were spotted out here, any consideration of stealth would have become purely optional for that particular mission.

But they weren't. After a moment to make sure of it, Wen finally unslung the giant rifle from his back, and began to set up.

With the massive infrared flashlight turned on, Wen could see the entire enemy position as bright as day through his modified scope. He could pick out the sentries fidgeting nervously at the edges of the camp, the NCOs huddled around the fire, the prone forms of the men sleeping in long rows outside the long and earth pillbox which must have been their headquarters. Most importantly, he could see the firing step and obstacles of the primitive roadblock lying astride the road. He had no doubt that on first sight of an enemy, the garrison of this remote post would have scrambled in to those slit trenches and rifle pits. Even given the inferiority of their equipment and the paucity of their numbers, such a force could hold up the advance for an hour, or more, long enough for the next roadblock up the line to ready themselves for their own desperate defensive action.

Such delays were minor, taken individually, but everyone who had fought in Burma knew through hard experience that such actions added up. A hundred such roadblocks could bottle a force in a narrow valley like this one for days or weeks, with ninety-nine out of a hundred units doing nothing but wait for their turn to have a go at the next enemy strongpoint.

But that was only if the defenders saw the attack coming.

The Commando picked his target carefully, one of the man closest to the fire. The glare of the open flame was almost blinding through the scope, but Wen subtly turned his eye to the side, like he'd been taught in the weapons course. He checked his sights one last time and rested the crosshairs on the target.

Wen almost smiled. His target was entirely unawares. It was almost like shooting with a De Lisle.

Well, not quite. The De Lisle was a nearly silent weapon.

The Boys Anti-tank Rifle was... not.

The valley echoed with the boom of thunder as the rifle's buttpad slammed hard into Wen's shoulder. Ahead, he did not need his scope to see his poor unfortunate target not so much fall but explode. The Boys Rifle's powerful 14mm round had been designed to punch through tanks. It was enough to reduce human beings to ground pork.

No point in staying quiet now. Wen quickly chambered another round, and picked out his next man, this one screaming frantically as he tried to pick off bits of his comrade's brains and bones.

Thunder sounded through the valley again, its nooks and crevices making it echo from a hundred directions. The whole bandit garrison seemed to be screaming now. One of them was trying to restore order. An officer? or maybe just a veteran of the bad old days?

It didn't matter. He blew apart just as easily as the rest of them.

There was no question of resistance now. The remaining bandits were running. Some into the woods, some down the road, some up the road, which was either going to be a damn shame or a mercy, depending on how trigger-happy they proved to be. One even pelted past the bushes which Wen and his spotter were hidden in, not five yards away. The poor man didn't notice. He was too busy fleeing into the darkness, and screaming his head off about how the enemy had powerful sorcerers, and that all was lost.

Wen did smile now. For all of the potent force of the Boys Rifle's round, the night-vision system had given it a more powerful punch: fear. Those of the enemy who would reach the next roadblock would babble incoherently about thunder in the darkness, of men being torn apart as if by magic, of an enemy they could not kill, or fight, or even see.

As for Wen, he sat tight, watching north-westwards now, until he could see the headlights coming up the road, the advance guard of the more prosaic reality of the attacking force: the first of the seventy thousand men of Force Zhongmu.

Operation Red Cliffs, Phase Two: The main attack of the operation, carried out by Force Bofu and Force Zhongmu (army-strength battle-groups consisting of two corps-strength formations each) advancing into Guangxi Province (Territory 237) from Guizhou Province (Territory 443) and Yunnan Province (Territory 238) respectively. Primary objective is of taking the retreating Guangxi Clique forces from the rear in the middle of their retreat, shattering their higher-level cohesion, and forcing them into isolated inland pockets.

Force Bofu consists of the following:
2 pts infantry
5 pts mechanised
1 pt armour
2 pts artillery

Force Zhongmu consists of the following:
2 pts infantry
1 pts mechanised
1 pt armour
3 pts artillery

[Markus Wilding]

OOC: In their attacks, the XIVth Army Clique rolled a 7 for ground actions and a 10 for air actions. This results in 4 points of ground losses, 5 points of ground damages, 2 points of air losses and 3 points of air damages for Guangxi Clique.

IC: The veritable steamroller of the XIVth Army Clique had no end, apparently. After being decimated in the east, retreating artillery headed west only to find their friends under fire and on the losing end of a brutal fight. Delaying actions were taken, supported by naval gunfire, which ultimately did little to influence the outcome of the battle as the naval staff was conflicted between conducting the bombardments as requested or opening fire on "unknown ships" just off their waters. Despite the valiant efforts, numerous Guangxi soldiers fell, leaving only several hundred guns and their crew still standing to face the onslaught that no doubt waited to finish them off.

OOC: In their attacks, Guangxi Clique rolled a 4 for ground actions and a 7 for air actions. This results in 1 point of ground losses, 2 points of ground damages, and 1 point each of air losses and damages.

Guangxi Clique took the following casualties:
1 point militia lost
3 points infantry lost
5 points artillery damaged - double damage results in loss of further 3 points of artillery
3 points fighters lost - double damage leads to loss of all three remaining points

[Cataphrak]

1200 China Standard Time, January 18th, 1958.
From: Gen. Sun Li-jen, Acting CinC, Republic of China Forces.
To: Any and all remaining Guangxi forces.

GUANGXI CLIQUE FORCES, YOU HAVE FOUGHT WELL, BUT YOU ARE OUTNUMBERED AND ENCIRCLED BY THE ARMIES OF THE REPUBLIC. ANY FURTHER COMBAT WILL ONLY LEAD TO POINTLESS SUFFERING AND LOSS OF LIFE.

THE REPUBLIC HAS NO QUARREL WITH YOU WHO HAVE MERELY TAKEN UP ARMS TO DEFEND YOUR HOMES AGAINST THE GERMAN PLAGUE AND THE JAPANESE DEVILS. WE WOULD BE MOST PLEASED TO WELCOME GUANGXI AND ITS PEOPLE INTO THE ARMS OF THE LEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT.

SOLDIERS WHO SURRENDER WILL BE TREATED HUMANELY AND REPATRIATED AT SOONEST OPPORTUNITY. POLITICAL AND MILITARY LEADERS WHO SURRENDER WILL BE OFFERED AMNESTY AND OPPORTUNITY TO REGAIN THEIR FORMER POSITIONS.

WE WILL ALLOW A CEASE-FIRE OF 24 HOURS TO CONSIDER.

SUN LI-JEN.

[Markus Wilding]

Perhaps surprisingly, just before the 24 hours was up, a representative of the military approached XIVth Army lines, requesting an audience with whoever was in charge, explaining that he represented the forces that stood for the Guangxi Clique and presenting a note that accepted the military's surrender. Supposedly, the civilian government had ceased to function following a large explosive landing right on the central offices, effectively cutting off the nation's military from civilian leadership. The note asked for leniency, seeking assurances that the Republic would not unduly discriminate against former Guangxi administrators, and asked for equity in the new coalition government.

[Cataphrak]

[quote=Radio Address]19th of January, 1958. Kunming

Soldiers of the Republic!

As of midnight tonight, the Provinces of Kwangtung and Kwangsi have been returned to the legitimate rule of the Republic. There can be no doubt that it is only through your exemplary courage, sacrifice, and skill in battle that such a thing might have been achieved in so short a time. Your efforts have brought the Republic a great victory, and I am honoured to call myself your commander.

Soon, the forces which formerly defended Kwangtung and Kwangsi will approach your lines to surrender. Do not treat them as defeated foes, for they are your brothers, who sought only to defend their homes as they have done successfully for many years. Only miscommunication and misunderstanding has compelled them to fight against the Republic, and for that they must be forgiven. I ask you to respect their pride and dignity, and to offer consideration for their officers' badges of rank and authority over their own units. Any mistreatment of these men will be punished severely.

Today, we have come one step closer to reuniting the shattered fragments of our Republic. Today we have come one step closer to restoring the world to the way which it should be. Take pride in the part you have played, and the part that you will play in the days and years to come.

Long live the National Revolutionary Army
Long live the Republic!

General Sun Li-jen,
Acting Commander-in-Chief, Republic of China forces.