Chapter 19

Tank Warfare (2)

“Don't worry, sir.”

Bong-tae knew it well himself. He knew that his actions yesterday had been reckless enough, and that he now had to look after his platoon members too.

Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je patted Bong-tae on the shoulder. He led the 1st Platoon toward the mountainside opposite them. With a road separating them, Bong-tae's 2nd Platoon would reconnoiter the right side, while Kim Hong-je's 1st Platoon would reconnoiter the left.

“Second Platoon, move out.”

“Yes. Everyone, move.”

“Rifles ready. Form two columns.”

The soldiers quickly formed up. Bong-tae took one last look at the long line of vehicles stretching behind him. The endless convoy of the 7th Corps.

Whether those troops could deploy safely depended on the reconnaissance units, including the 33rd Battalion.

“Let's go.”

The soldiers began climbing into the mountains.

The mountain before Bong-tae was Mount Geumju.

Standing 569 meters above sea level and located in Yeongjung-myeon, Pocheon, it offered a panoramic view of downtown Pocheon and the roads extending north from its summit.

“Fuck···. Another mountain.”

“It's lower than yesterday's, so stop whining.”

Fortunately, the 33rd Battalion soldiers weren't carrying full field packs like yesterday. They had brought only the ammunition and grenades necessary for combat, along with some reconnaissance equipment, so moving was at least somewhat easier.

Still, a mountain was a mountain.

After climbing the steep slope for a considerable time, sweat began forming on the soldiers' foreheads. They were all beginning to taste the strain of exertion.

“Huff···. Huff···.”

“My calves are fucking killing me.”

“Fuck···. I want to brush my teeth.”

Hwang Gi-tae spat on the ground. The soldiers hadn't washed properly since yesterday. One day was bearable enough, but Hwang Gi-tae, who was exceptionally particular about cleanliness, seemed to find the current situation difficult to endure. He complained quietly.

“I can put up with the smell of sweat, but I can't stand the smell coming from my mouth. Fuck.”

“Hehe. Well, there's nothing we can do about it.”

“You'd have a hard time finding anyone with a toothbrush right now.”

“Isn't there toothpaste in the combat rations? Try looking.”

Kang Min-jun, who had been walking silently beside them, quietly rummaged through his chest pocket. A moment later, he took out a small bottle of travel-size mouthwash and held it out to Hwang Gi-tae.

“Um···. Sergeant Hwang.”

“Hm? What?”

“Would you like to use this···?”

“O-oh? Thanks.”

“I-I also have some wet wipes. You can wipe your face.”

A small packet of tissues emerged from Kang Min-jun's pocket. Hwang Gi-tae stared at the packaging in bewilderment for a moment.

“They don't sell these at the PX···?”

“No. They're cleansing wipes. My skin is a little sensitive···.”

“Come on, Doc. Are you planning to keep up your beauty routine in the middle of a war?”

“Not exactly···. I just brought them in case I needed them.”

A few quiet laughs broke out among the soldiers. The atmosphere, which had been stiff with tension until moments earlier, relaxed slightly.

BOOM— BOOM—

Perhaps war couldn't even tolerate these small moments of laughter among the soldiers. The closer they drew to the summit, the louder and more frequent the sounds of artillery fire from the north became.

The soldiers naturally fell silent.

If they could hear the sounds this clearly, it meant a battle of considerable scale was taking place not very far away.

They walked for another thirty minutes or so. The 1st Platoon reached the summit of Mount Geumju. Bong-tae caught his breath as he looked out over downtown Pocheon.

“Fuck···.”

“It's been completely smashed to pieces···.”

Bong-tae's original 33rd Battalion Headquarters Company had been stationed near Pocheon. When soldiers went out on weekend passes or overnight leave, those who couldn't be bothered to travel all the way to Seoul sometimes spent their time in downtown Pocheon.

The facilities were somewhat old, but there were PC cafés, karaoke rooms, and movie theaters, and the shopkeepers were generally friendly toward soldiers.

Downtown Pocheon, where he had so many good memories, was now little different from a wasteland. Columns of smoke, large and small, rose from various locations. Traces of artillery shells striking the city could be seen everywhere.

“Gi-tae, the observation scope.”

“Yes.”

Hwang Gi-tae took a multifunctional observation device (MFOD) from the small backpack he was carrying. Bong-tae accepted it and raised it to his eyes.

The multifunctional observation device was intended to replace conventional binoculars. In good weather, it could identify objects up to four kilometers away.

Normally, the information detected with it would be transmitted to the FDC, allowing self-propelled artillery in the rear to fire. But right now, all those subsequent steps had been omitted, and only its binocular function could be used.

Bong-tae slowly scanned downtown Pocheon. There might be survivors who hadn't managed to evacuate, or North Korean soldiers still in the area.

Then.

“F-fuck!”

Bong-tae hurriedly pulled his eyes away from the observation device. Immediately, he felt around his chest and took out the signal flare Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je had given him.

“S-Sergeant Kim?”

“What is it? All of a sudden?”

Every member of the 1st Platoon was startled by Bong-tae's sudden actions. Hwang Gi-tae approached him and asked.

“Did you see something?”

Instead of answering, Bong-tae handed the observation device to Hwang Gi-tae. Then, without a second of hesitation, he fired a signal flare into the sky.

BAAAANG—

Pop—

Its color was.

Red.

Bong-tae urgently addressed his platoon members.

“Quick! Get down the mountain!”

“What?”

“Hurry! Hurry! There's no time for questions! Move!”

“Fuck! Hey! Get down!”

Hwang Gi-tae had also seen what Bong-tae had spotted through the observation device. His face turned deathly pale, and he began running down the mountain without even putting the device back into his backpack.

“Wh-what is it?”

“North Korean tanks! A fucking lot of them!”

North Korean tanks and armored vehicles had appeared at the outskirts of Pocheon. Not just one or two. Even at a glance, dozens of vehicles were approaching downtown Pocheon.

And above the tanks were considerable numbers of the same drones that had plunged the 3rd Division's 18th Infantry Brigade into hell. North Korean forces filling both the sky and the ground were approaching the 7th Corps vanguard.

North Korean forces were north of Pocheon. The 7th Corps was south of Pocheon. Tanks against tanks, a battle of firepower was on the verge of beginning.

“Run!”

“We'll fucking die if we stay here! Get down, quickly!”

Even descending from a summit they'd spent nearly an hour climbing would take at least twenty minutes, no matter how quickly they moved. While the 1st Platoon members were still panting halfway down the mountain, the main forces of both armies clashed in Pocheon.

BOOM— BOOM— BOOM—

THUMP—! THUMP—! THUMP—!

Artillery fire rang out incessantly, alternating between the north and south. Birds in the mountains all took flight at once.

“It's started! Fuck!”

“Run!”

“FUUUUUCK!”

#

Northern Pocheon.

North Korean forces descending along the two axes of Idong-myeon and Gwanin-myeon.

Southern Pocheon.

The armored units of the 7th Corps stationed in Yudong-ri and Gachae-ri began exchanging fire with them across the city of Pocheon.

More than a hundred armored vehicles and tanks hurled fire at one another. Across the sky above downtown Pocheon flew 120mm shells, making sounds louder than thunder.

Fortunately, the fire-control systems installed in the Republic of Korea Army's tanks operated independently of external communications networks. Their thermal imaging equipment and laser rangefinders were intact.

Thanks to that, the K2 Black Panthers with clear firing angles from southern to northern Pocheon were performing close to their normal combat capabilities.

However, the K9 self-propelled artillery positioned behind the tanks couldn't demonstrate even half its full performance.

Self-propelled artillery was a weapon that shone when firing over long distances using coordinates transmitted to it.

For now, it could do little more than scatter shells across broad areas where North Korean tanks were expected to be.

After only about fifteen minutes of exchanging fire, South Korea had gained an overwhelming advantage in the main battle tank engagement.

North Korea's Cheonma-2 was no match for the K2 Black Panther. Both main guns were 120mm smoothbore guns, but there was no comparison in accuracy or protection.

Fierce flames erupted only in northern Pocheon. The hulls of the Cheonma-2s, which had been maintaining formation at considerable distances from one another, began to be destroyed one by one.

A one-sided exchange, an overwhelming victory.

In the first clash, the North Korean Army immediately sensed the difference in their main battle tanks' performance. They withdrew all their tanks and armored vehicles far to the rear.

“The enemy is retreating!”

“Should we pursue?”

“Look at the sky! Drones!”

“Twelve o'clock! Large-scale enemy drone attack!”

WHEEEEEET—!

WHEEEEEET—!

Loud whistle blasts echoed throughout the 7th Corps. The tanks and armored vehicles immediately launched smoke grenades and began retreating maneuvers. This was intended to obscure the drones' vision and interfere with observation by North Korean artillery.

“Commence anti-aircraft fire!”

“Use thermal imaging to fire through the smoke!”

Armored vehicles equipped with anti-aircraft weapons began firing at the drones, spitting red flames.

RATATATATAT—!

#

“Hmm···.”

In fact, everything up to this point had been within the expectations of the 7th Corps command post.

Even a junior officer could have predicted that North Korea would employ drones and harass the tanks with long-range attacks using self-propelled artillery.

They would gradually withdraw their vehicles while enduring self-propelled artillery fire and drone attacks, then deploy their armored forces along the Uijeongbu–Pocheon axis to establish a long, deep defensive line.

This was the four-part advance followed by defensive operations that Choi Pil had proposed to the 7th Corps commander.

They had already inspected the route toward Icheon during their advance, so logistics presented no problems.

They would consolidate their defenses here while waiting for communications to be restored, air force support, and American forces. Alternatively, they could deploy as far as Cheorwon using the same method and establish a Cheorwon–Pocheon–Uijeongbu defensive line. That was the ideal scenario.

But victory excites people.

Even when it's only a very small victory.

The officers who had been cautious inside the command post until moments earlier began making confident proposals.

“Even if we suffer some losses from drones and self-propelled artillery, why don't we break through to the Cheorwon area quickly?”

“The performance of the enemy's main battle tanks is nowhere near that of our Black Panthers. The same goes for their armored vehicles.”

“Their self-propelled artillery isn't particularly accurate either. If we advance under smoke cover, drone attacks should cause fewer casualties.”

“If we push now, we can reach Cheorwon.”

Of course, pushing the front line all the way to Cheorwon would be good. Who wouldn't know that?

Cheorwon was a plain where they could observe advances from the north, and the infantry divisions defending along the mountain ridges on both sides could also join forces with the 7th Corps.

“Hmm···.”

Choi Pil silently studied the map. From the first day of the war until now, North Korea had paralyzed communications throughout South Korea. It had also disabled GPS.

They had clearly spent far more than a day or two preparing for this war, yet their armored forces had advanced straight toward them, engaged in a halfhearted exchange, and then withdrawn?

Choi Pil thought it was a cheap trick intended to take full advantage of the fact that South Korea had been blinded.

“No. I'm opposed.”

At Choi Pil's words, the excited command post fell silent.

#

“Lieutenant Colonel Choi. Don't you think this is the most important moment of the war?”

Colonel Ha, the 7th Corps Director of Operations Planning, spoke while looking at Choi Pil. A large map of the Cheorwon and Pocheon areas was spread across the center of the command post.

“You're right, Director. This is the most important moment, and you're also right that advancing now and setting foot in Cheorwon would shift the course of the war greatly in our favor.”

“Then?”

“I'm saying we must not underestimate the North Korean Army.”

The operations director's eyebrows twitched slightly.

“Even after achieving such an overwhelming result in a main battle tank engagement? We haven't suffered a single loss, while we've destroyed more than ten enemy tanks.”

“That's precisely why.”

At Choi Pil's calm words, the director's face flushed slightly.

“The North Korean Army aren't fools. It's strange that they would engage us head-on with their main battle tanks as they just did.”

“Are you suggesting it's a trap?”

“They sacrificed ten tanks to lure us in? Does North Korea have that much to spare?”

In war, there were assets that could be expended and assets that must not be expended. The distinction was usually determined by their monetary value.

Even if its performance was inferior to the Black Panther, a Cheonma-2 was easily worth several million dollars. Considering its trained crew, the loss was even greater.

“···Hmm.”

“They must have known through their reconnaissance assets that we'd arrived, yet they challenged us to a frontal engagement.”

In a battle this important, they should have sent in cheap light tanks, drones, and light infantry first, then battered their opponents with supporting fire from the rear until they were exhausted.

Even an elementary school student placed in command would have done that.

“Lieutenant Colonel Choi Pil has a point. It's suspicious.”

“But once momentum is lost, it's difficult to regain. If we advance at full speed now, we can reach Cheorwon within an hour!”

“Even if the enemy knows about our armored forces, they can't stop them.”

Anyone could see that Choi Pil's argument made sense. But advancing even as far as a position overlooking Cheorwon would dramatically change the situation.

Before long, the command post was divided into two camps: those who wanted to advance and those who wanted to hold their current positions and consolidate their defenses. Ultimately, the decision rested with the commander of the 7th Corps.

“Let's advance.”

The 7th Corps commander chose to advance.

#

“Huff, huff···. Wait···. Why aren't they pulling back?”

“I-I don't know!”

The 1st Platoon was running down the mountain. Hwang Gi-tae kept looking toward the tanks near the entrance to Pocheon, which showed no intention of moving.

“Didn't we win? Our tanks are still fine.”

“Already? It hasn't even been twenty minutes since they started shooting at each other!”

“Then maybe we should wait at the summit too···.”

Bong-tae shook his head.

“No. We follow the original plan, no matter what!”

“S-Sergeant Kim! Look at that!”

Hwang Gi-tae pointed toward the mountain directly opposite them. A red signal flare had been fired into the sky from the mountain Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je had climbed.

“That's from the 1st Platoon, isn't it?”

“Wait a minute. We already fired our signal flare. He must have seen it, right?”

Bong-tae thought as he ran. Knowing Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je's personality, if he'd intended to fire a signal flare himself, he would have explained in advance what each color meant.

‘Why did he fire it?’

No matter how he thought about it, it couldn't be a positive signal.

“I think we're pretty much fucked···.”

Bong-tae was right. From a direction the 7th Corps had never anticipated, North Korean forces were advancing toward downtown Pocheon.

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