Military story thread

[Finn McCool]

Okay, now that I have so much free time (school got out two weeks ago) I can finish this "huge islamic revolution" story. But again I'd like a "show of hands" to see how many people actually read it. If there's no one I'll discontinue it.

Chapter II: The Fall of Morocco​

After seizing control of almost the entire Islamic World in a wave of revolutions, the High Caliphate Council, based in the Caliphate's capital in Mecca, was not content to rest. It wanted to spread Allah's word using the national armies of the nations that had joined it. The first item of business was to eliminate the American and British forces now trapped in Iraq. Second on the Calpihate's agenda was the elimination of Israel and the freeing of Chechnya. Of course, the combined NATO-Russia/China forces also had plans. Chinese and Russia forces were busy invading Central Asia, to cut a path into still-friendly Afghanistan. American forces there were under heavy pressure from Iranian troops, troops from the Central Asia countries, Pakistani troops and the Taliban. The European nations of NATO were bringing troops together in Spain and Portugal at this time, in order to attack North Africa. And, of course, the US troops in Iraq had no intention of being overwhelmed.

This Chapter begins in Spain. The most elite units from across the EU were being assembled in Souther Spain. All of the UKs carriers were in the Atlantic off of Portugal to prepare for the attack on North Africa, as well as two US CBGs, several US Tarawa class landing ships and the Charles DeGaulle. In the Mediterrainien was the Italian carrier Giussepe Garibaldi and the Spanish Principe de Asturias. All of these ships were accompanied by their attendant escorts and battle groups. To prepare for the invasion of the North Africa, codenamed Operation Horde, a smaller assault had to be launched to gain control of the African side of the Strait of Gibraltar. That operation, named Operation Razorblade, was conducted by the 4 and 6 Assault Squadrons of the Royal Marines and the SBS. They attained a lodgement on shore which was follwed by the landing of the Spanish Legion (a unit similar to the French Foreign Legion, except it is mostly made up of Spanards and acts as an all purpose elite unit). These units then pushed inland, reinforced by 3 Commando Brigade of the Royal Marines. They then sized Tangiers after a small amount of fighting and quickly pushed back the few units of the Morrocan Army holding the peninsula. SAS units attacked several ASM sites and SAM sites in the area, destroying all but one. The Royal Marines and Spanish troops then withdrew from their most advanced positions, but held Tangiers. The Moroccan Army units in the area then counterattacked in a disorganized manner, and were ripped to shreds by USN Hornets. Morrocan Mirage F1s that attacked were hit by the USN as well as Rafales from the Charles de Gaulle. Only half returned to base. Now that the Strait of Gibraltar was secure, the ships could move freely between the Atlantic and the Medditeranian.

Operation Horde commenced on July 14 2008. All of the carriers NATO had assembled, as well as American heavy bombers, pulverised costal defences. The Royal Marines again led the way ashore, assisted by thousands of French Marines and Portuguese Fuzilieros Navais. Landings took place along the gentle curve in Morroco's coast between Cueta and Mellia, two Spanish enclaves on Morroco's coast. The Marines stormed ashore to minimal resistance, except around Cueta, where 200 Portuguese were killed on the first day. Immedeatly, armoured units of the Bundeswehr, the French Army and the British Army were landing from their bases in Spain as British para regiments landed behind the defences, or what was left of them. In the next days, the EU forces advanced quickly across the costal plain and captured the cities of Tetouan, Al Hoceima and Ajdir. So far the campaign had been very similar to the Iraq War in 2003. As the EU forces prepared to attack the cities of Fez and Mekines, both major, almost all of the Royal Morrocan Army attacked them along the mounatinous highway routes. In 10 days of fighting from mountiantop to mountiantop, the EU forces suffered 8,500 casualties, with 5,000 dead. They also suffered heavy losses in equipment. However, superior air firepower was the ringer. They infliceted 30,000 deaths on the Morrocans. After the Battle of the Fez Approches, the EU commander came under heavy criticism for landing on Morocco's northern coast instead of the much easier Atlantic coast, close to the capital and major cities. The EU forces then moved to attack the city of Boulemane, to secure the highest point in the Atlas mountains, protect the flank of the army, and prepare for an attack into Algeria. The slog through the mountain was hard, as most of the units in the Army, other than the British, were unexperienced with combat. The Morrocans used tanks in closer quarters combat in villages, and attacked using infantry in the mountain passes. Spanish Mangustia attack helicopters were used heavily to clear out mountain tops, as was artilley. Finland sent only one unit to the Expeditionary Force, an artillery battery, as artillery units were also used heavily to pound Moroccan units in makeshit mountain fortresses. One Finnish artillery soldier was well known for listening to Led Zepplin while loading the 155 mm shells into the breech.

With the mountain flank secure, the EU forces now turned to attack the coastal cities of Morocco, Rabat and Casablanca. What was left of the Moroccan Army massed to defend the north-south mountain ridges that the Europeans would have cross. After heavy fighting that lasted 3 weeks, the EU troops broke through to the costal plain and raced to besiege Casablanca and Rabat. The last major battle of the war in Morocco, the Battle of Rabat, was the worst for civillians. The EU forces were tired of the sneaky Moroccans launching flanking attacks from concealed positions. They prefered to use massive firepower to wipe away all resistance. In the urban setting of Rabat, the Moroccan capital, this caused huge civillian casualties. The skills of the EU infantry came into the fore, as they cleared city block after city block and eventually the Royal Palace, now home to the Caliphate's Governor. The Battle of Rabat was the climactic urban struggle that Baghdad was supposed to be in 2003. The city was heavily damaged, and 16,000 Moroccan troops were killed wounded or captured. The EU troops lost 1000 men killed or wounded, not nearly as bad as the Battle of the Fez Approcahes, but still high.

Casablanca was allowed to wither, surrounded and cut off. It surrended after 5 months, its inhabitants starving.

After Morrocco fell, the EU forces regrouped and attacked Algeria. As in Morocco, the enemy fell back at first, and then stood and fought around Algeris. Another landing from the sea near Tunis caused the half hearted resistance that remained to collapse. Tunisia and Algeria fell with a whimper, not a bang. The Europeans paused on the border of Lybia. That offensive would have to wait.

Next chapter, we will find out how the US troops escaped Iraq.

 

[isthvan]

Hi Finn. Great story, please write next chapter as soon as possible… I really enjoy your stories so keep at good work and don’t stop writing…

 

[bd popeye]

DPRKPTboat..Dude..excellent story!! You get an "A".

One part though I have to quetion is this..

In mid 2006, North Korean fighters shot down a EP-3 Orion, killing all the crew.

Well if that happend that may give the Bush administration "Carte Blanche" to lay waste to the N. Korean military. And don't think he would not..

 

[Kampfwagen]

Finn, keep going. I had a WW2 story, but it was nowhere near as good. Just a work for English class, so it was a bit rushed...I might make a story and post it here later though Though I usualy go for a more personal sort of thing.

 

[Finn McCool]

Alright I got a real good song on...fits this particular story really well. Just a note-I refer to the Muslim units by their country names, for example, the Moroccans. However, they are all under command of the Caliphate, or Caliphate High Command, whatever you wanna call it. However, the national armies still operate as individual armies. Just like the US coalition in Gulf War 1. That is the best example. Also, since the Caliphate is control, they move the forces around, so that is why you see troops from Gulf States fighting in Israel in this fictional universe.

Chapter III: The Escape From Iraq​

The American, British, and coalition troops in Iraq were in a desperate situation. Units were trapped in their bases, the Iraqi Army had turned on them, several air bases had been overrun, and the general population had turned to attacking the Americans as well. Iraqi Government officals had timidly joined the revolution or taken refuge with the Americans. The coalition's support base in Kuwait had either been evacuated prior to the revolution there or had been overrun by masses of angry Kuwatis in scenes not seen since the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900. 2000 Americans had been killed in Kuwait, either by the Army and Police, angry mobs or the Caliphate's Sharia Courts.

The United States had massed 6 carriers in the Mediterranian. They had destroyed the Turkish Navy in 3 days, and were now conducting operations against targets in Iraq, Syria and around Israel in conjuction with the IAF. The Greek military, assisted by Eastern European militaries, was engaging the Turkish on Cyprus, in the Agean and in Europe. Those countries were preparing a massive offensive to smash the Turks in Europe and take the Bosphorus.

In Iraq, all units recieved an order from CENTCOMs relocated command center, in the besieged Green Zone. Iranian ballistic missles were raining down as they broadcasted the order to all units in Iraq to converge on Baghdad to break out of the country towards Israel. American and coalition forces throughtout the country set out to brave Iraq's highways in makeshift armoured columns or by helicopter. Some units only had to travel a few miles. Others had to cross almost all of Iraq. In all, it was the most confused and bloody retreat in the US Army's history. Some cities in Iraq exploded into battle multiple times in a single day as seperate columns of troops rolled through. American tanks, Humvees and other vehicles had to find fuel wherever they could. Few American units enountered resistance that could effectively stop them. However, Caliphate troops, mostly from the ex-Syrian, Saudi and Iranian Armies, supported by ex-Iraqi Army soldiers, insurgents and just random armed citizens harassed American columns incessantly. Combined with Vehicles running out of fuel, this caused Iraq's highways to be littered with American tanks, IFVs, APCs and trucks. The British had an even worse time. Since they were mostly in Southern Iraq, they had even farther to go. By the time they reached Baghdad, if they reached it all, many coalition soldiers were in stolen civillian cars. Of about 115,000 troops that set out for Baghdad, 2000 were killed or captured (which was essentially the same as being killed.) The American public was horrified. It was obvious that this would be a war of civillizations, of unparalled brutality. One lesson was also obvious. American firepower had made the incredible operation possible. Support from carriers, strategic bombers and the superiority of American armour over anything that could be thrown at them saved the US.

About a week after the last of the coalition troops straggled into Baghdad the push to Israel began. All of the fuel in Baghdad had been loaded onto the giant coalition convoy/striking force. American airplanes would drop fuel and ammunition on the way. Most helicopters had to be abandoned, but a few attack and medical choppers were prepared for perhaps the oddest mission helicopters had ever flown. The plan was also odd. The coalition troops would push out of Iraq, leaving the territory behind them to the enemy, up the Euphrates and hit Syria from the rear, combined with an attack by the IDF and German Army units that had been landed in Israel in order to back up the IDF (the ultimate irony and reconciliation). This, hopefully, would break the Syrians, leaving the IDF and NATO units free to crush the Caliphate troops attacking Israel from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Involved in this were units of the Syrian Army, the entire Egyptian, Jordanian and Lebanese Armies, units of the Saudi and Turkish Armies and units of the Armies of various Gulf States, as well as their attendant air forces. Clearly the IDF and NATO forces defending Israel were hard pressed. By destroying the Northern threat, they could focus on and crush the Southern forces. Once the Egyptian Army was gone, the main obstacle to the European forces now securing Algeria was gone, and they could drive all the way across North Africa and link up with Israel and secure North Africa. That was the master plan. At the same time, the Russians and Chinese were subjigating the -stan countries and freeing the Americans in Afghanistan. India was skirmishing with Pakistan, but no full offensives had been launched, nor had any nukes.

As the coalition troops advanced up the Euphrates, the met little resistance that could stop them. The Syrians were panicking. They were caught between a ragged but large American/British force coming from Iraq and Israel. They, even with support of other armies, could not afford to send enough troops to stop either. To make things worst, the massive American fleet in the Mediterranian, now supported by two UK carriers, was in full attack mode, as was the IAF. To respond, the Caliphate launched an attack on the American army as it was about halfway along the Euphrates from Baghdad to the Syrian border. The Saudi Army, in full force, attacked out Iraq's Western Desert, and the Syrian Army's best units, supported by troops from Turkey and Iraqi insurgents, attacked head on. Fortuneatly, the US forces knew it was coming for a long time thanks to satillite imagery. The Battle of the Euphrates Valley, as it became known, mostly took place between the cities of Haditha and Hit. It was interpreted as the Biblical Battle of Armageddon by many around the world. Again, American firepower and the sheer tenacity of the coalition troops, who knew that they had no place to retreat to and would die if they lost. The US/UK force met the onslaught, fighting side by side as they had since WWI. The Syrian forces were met by the US 3rd Infantry, 2nd Armoured Division and the First Armoured, or at least as many vehicles as they could fuel and arm considering the cirumstances. Fortuneatly, fuel and ammo drops had been made the day before the forces met, due to the fact that the Americans knew the attack was coming. The Syrians were cut through, but did much better than the Iraqis ever did in Gulf Wars I and II. The Americans lost dozens of tanks and 558 American soldiers were killed, but the Syrian attack was defeated and turned into retreat. Some units fought on out of fervor and the fact that the Americans didn't have the force to overwhelmn them. These were dealt with by B-52s and MOABs. The Saudis were a bigger threat. They cut the American lines in several places,and inflicted heavy casulties on the exhausted coalition troops they were facing. They were faced by the 1st Marine Expeditionary Corps, several British units, the 1st Cavalry, and parts of the 101st Airborne. The Saudis were holding the battle in a state of draw for 24 hours, until units quickly redirected from the Syrian Front crushed them as the USAF hit the Saudis with as much firepower as it could bring to bear, flying from Israel and bases in Europe. After 4 days of fighting, the battle was essentially over. The US had won. It had suffered over 1200 deaths, but had inflicted about 30,000 deaths on its enemy. American losses in equipment were even worse. It was apparent that many soldiers were going to have to walk to Israel. As for the Evangelicals in America, that just made to prophecy fufillment better.

After the Battle of the Euphrates Valley, the path was open to both Israel and Damascus. The IDF and NATO units in Israel attacked as soon as the battle was over. Weakened Syrian and Lebanese defences gave way. Turkish units mostly held their ground. They were surrounded and left to wither on the vine. American troops by now had crossed the Syrian border. Even though few conventional forces still barred their way, Iraqi insurgents, Caliphate paramilitaries and citizens of the cities that the Coalition army passed thorough made multiple daily attacks on every type of target. Suicide bombings happened about two or three times a day, IEDs more often, ambushes about as frequently. Combined with things like mortar fire and random rocket firings, this guerilla warfare killed about 500 American troops on the retreat to Israel. It would have been much worse, but American forces were no longer particularly concerned about civillian casulties, and so used their full firepower.

IDF/NATO forces captured Damascus September 29 2008. The city was mostly destroyed as citizens resisted suicidaly with every weapon the could lay their hands on. The Israelis were not inclined to be merciful, either.

By 4 October 2008 almost all of the Coaliton forces that escaped the Armageddon that was Iraq had reached rest and refitting areas. IDF and NATO forces were now preparing to destroy the Egyptian and Jordanian Armies. It appeared, with Morocco, Algeria, the -stan nations and southern Syria captured and with the Caliphate unable to defeat the very vunerable coalition troops as they fought their way across Iraq, that the war could be over soon. However, the will of Allah and the wind of Jihad still had life in them.


Well there it is. Sorry about spelling.

 

[Finn McCool]

This story has been postponed until this latest Middle East crisis gets resolved or blows the world up or whatever. I'm afraid that this story might come true.

 

[Finn McCool]

Startin' it up again!

Chapter IV: Jihad Reaches the Niger​

The Caliphate High Council Was highly distressed by their lack of sucess so far in the war. Mecca itself was threatened by the NATO and Israeli forces in Israel. Egypt was cut off from the rest of the Caliphate, and Pakistan was almost cut off as well. They decided that a new round of offensives would be the solution.

Their plan had three parts. They would launch an attack into sub-saharan Africa using units of the Morrocan, Algerian and Lybian Armies that had survived by retreating into the Sahara. These would be supported by troops from Mauritania, Chad and Sudan, all Muslism nations. The ultimate objective of that attack would be to sieze Nigeria's oil fields, cutting off another part of the West's already dwindling oil supply, possibly causing economic collapse in the West. There were no Western troops in the area, as the West's military forces had already been strained so throughly.

Secondly, the Pakistani Army would launch an all out attack on India. The objective would be to capture Rajastan and Punjab and cut off Gujrat. The Caliphate's commanders in the area were authorized to use nuclear weapons.

Lastly, the Caliphate would unleash terrorist cells it had planted across the globe, in Western Europe, Russia, China and the US.

The Western and SCO forces were preparing to end the war. They had no idea that the Caliphate was planning to go on the offensive. The Russian Army was to make an ampihibious landing across the Caspian Sea, from Russia to Iran. The militaries of Eastern and Southern Europe-Romania, Poland and Greece mostly-would assault European Turkey and take Istanbul and then the other side of the Bosphours, securing the strait. The NATO forces massed in Israel would attack at the heart of the Caliphate-through Jordan and into the Saudi desert, aiming for Mecca and the Gulf oil fields. Mecca itself was to be attacked by Muslim troops of the Indoneisian Army. Indoneisa, far more moderate than the countries that fell to the Caliphate, was still the Muslim democracy it had been before the war started. Several units of the Indonesian Army had volunteered to assault Mecca, to reclaim it from men who they thought were violent fanatics that had hijacked their religon. They were being specially trained by US Special Forces troops.
The West's plans would have to be delayed, as the Caliphate attacked first.

After the war, many wondered how the NATO intelligence services failed to notice the disparate Caliphate units in the Sahara joining up into striking forces. It doesn't matter how. They did. On 24 December 2008, Chrsitmas Eve, Caliphate forces moved out of their grouping areas in Eastern Mali and the far southern right angle-shaped area in Algeria. They moved into Niger unopposed. The government of Niger simply disntegrated, and the Caliphate forces passed into Nigeria. Their arrival in Niger days before had brought simmering ethnic tensions into the open, and the Muslim population of Northern Nigeria welcomed them as liberators, forming a paramilitary force that was to aid them later in the campiagn. Now the Caliphate force began to encounter resistance. Units of the Nigerian Army engaged them along the main road at the town of Zaria. Caliphate infantry units and Nigerian Muslim paramilitaries flanked them by marching overland, capturing Moutn Karou and attacking the city of Kaduna. The ill eqipped and prepared Nigerians, drained of much of their strengh by Muslim defections and desertions, collapsed. They stramed back from the front, many deserting and heading home. Still loyal soldiers of the Nigerian Army fell back and prepared to defend the capital which the Caliphate troops would have to go through if they wished to reach the oil fields hundreds of miles south in the Niger delta. By this time the USS George Washington had arrived offshore to support the Nigerian Army. The Caliphate commander understood that speed was of the essence. He had to reach and destroy the Nigerian oil fields before the enemy could assemble enough ships and aircraft and land soldiers to stop him. Thus, he ordered an all out attack on Ajuba, the Nigerian capital, without stopping to refit after the fighting at Kaduna and Zaria. This caused the Nigerian forces, already reeling form defeat, to be overwhelmed by the speed and violence of the Muslim attack. Some units stood and fought in the capital's outskirts but were surrounded when other units around them gave way. American air support was able to do little, as the terrain was not condusive to air power and Nigerian forces gave way quickly. Caliphate engineers and mechanics were the proudest troops that day, as they were the ones who had scrounged enough fuel and spare parts to keep the few but critical armoured vehicles they had moving.

The road to the Niger Delta and it's oil fields now lay open. American diplomats had persuaded Brazil to send troops to Nigeria to defend the delta, but only a few hundred had reached the country. The US decided that the best course of action was to send in CIA paramilitaries to organize the locals into defense, and bomb bridges, roads and enemy troop concentrations. About 70% of the Caliphate commanded forces now in Nigeria were actually Nigerian Muslims. The troops that had originally invaded now only made up the core of the army. After securing Abjuba, the Caliphate forces again advanced rapidly south facing almost no resistance except for air strikes from the George Washington. As they reached the delta area, rivers became frequent, as did ambushes by CIA-organized guerillas. Almost all the bridges were knocked out, so the local paramilitaries and the most elite and experienced Caliphate troops that had originally invaded continued on foot, animal and car, leaving armoured vehicles behind to come up later. The ragged force reached the delta city of Port Harcort on 12 February. It had taken them just 52 days to cross all of Nigeria and crush its military. Port Harcourt was the main base of the thousand Brazillian soldiers that had so far reached Nigeria. The city was surrounded, and the Musliam Nigerian/Caliphate force attacked them. They had very little heavy equipment, but had about 15,000 soldiers of which 5000 were trained and experienced Caliphate troops. American air and missles strikes, now supported by the air forces of neighboring Afircan nations, slowed the Muslims and inflicted casualties, and the Brazillians managed to defend the city although many of their forward positions had been overrun, including the airport, the main way to bring in more men, and some port facilites. The Brazillians counterattacked and recaptured the port, but an attack on the air port failed. American Hornets bombed the Caliphate positons, but in doing so destroyed most of the airport. The Brazillians were trapped in the city, with no way to counterattack until more troops arrived.

Meanwhile, paramilitary troops had been fanning out across Southern Nigeria and destroying oil wells. CIA organized guerilla groups made defending them a top priority, and manged to keep some that were in isolated swamp areas intact, but there was no where for them to pump to. The USN had secured the offshore rigs, and these comprised much of Nigeria's pumping capacity. However, 65% of Nigeria's output had vanished, and Caliphate forces destroyed an oil tanker with a C-802 missle on 22 February, scaring some tanker companies away.

The campaign was a massive, unparalled success for the Caliphate. They cut off one of the West's few remaining sources of oil, plunged Nigeria into a sectarian war and carved out a Caliphate-allied enclave in Nigeria that was a threat to all West Africa. The West would try to recapture the territory for sure, and all Muslim forces in te area began to prepare for that day. But for now, the West was too streched thin, and Brazil too traumatized by the bloody battle of Port Harcourt to hurry to send more troops. Gas prices were at $7.50 a gallon in the US, and the world waited for the offensive that would reopen the Persian Gulf fields.

 

[DPRKPTboat]

Finn, you should get this published - if it was made into a film, it would be greatest film series of the 21st century since Lord of the Rings. Just one question though. What happened to the Caliphate governors of Syria, Lebanon, Morocco and Algeria?

This next story is a spin off of the Tajik war, which if you re-read, you'll see I have edited so this story follows on from it. The Chinese have withdrawn from Tajikstan, which is now stabalised. They have now joined the war in Afghanistan, but their main focus is in the border region of Waziristan, which becomes the most costly war for China since the Korean war.

The Waziristan war​

The first Chinese forces arrived in Pakistan on Christmas day, 2009, a month before the fall of Kandahar. They arrived on the invitation of General Musharraf, who allows them to set up bases in Peshwar, Multan and other areas outside and inside the Tribal regions. They secure the towns easily, having gained plenty of experience of urban warfare in Tajikstan, but they have a lot of trouble securing the countryside and the smaller villages, whose fierce tribesmen distrust all foreigners. So the Chinese general overseeing operation "Hunting wolf" (as the deployment in the area is called) does not use the massive "clearing" tactics of the Red Army in Afghanistan, which involve large and vulnerable concentrations of tanks and infantry. Instead, the Waziristan war is more like a game of cat and mouse. Pakistani and Chinese intelligence agents, often locals, try to find information about possible locations of targets. Whenever a lead emerges, then and only then do the Chinese troops leave their bases on search and destroy missions. Often this is done stealthily, with PLA special forces, often ambushing Taliban or Al-Qaeda meetings, often using snipers to pick off certain targets. This turns out to be very effective, and they succeed in killing Mullah Dadullah on the Afghan border this way. Chinese special forces often dress as local civillians for these ambushes, making them deadly. However, they do sometimes emerge openly, usually when launching an offensive on enemy positions with the Pakistani army. All to often though, PLA troops find themselves on the receivng end of an ambush as well as the militants. The border villages are very dangerous places, often booby trapped or containing hidden snipers.
Chinese air suppourt often comes in the form of helicopters, particulary WZ-10s, rooting out Taliban and Al-Qaeda positions, but occasionally, precision strikes are carried out by Q-5s and Su-30s. But aircraft often prove vulnerable ,so the PLA usually keeps them at high altitude, launching its stealthy attacks on the ground. But sometimes, the Taliban establish strongholds in large compunds, which look for all the world like makeshift fortresses, made out of rock and mud, usually hidden in the mountains. The PLAAF is assigned to destroy these using low-level precision strikes, and also by using larger H-6 or Tu-22 bombers to crush these makeshift strongholds or training camps by means of heavy carpet bombing and ASMs (usually KD-63s). This is used to deadly affect, killing scores of Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters, including some high-level leaders from the Taliban inner circle.
In some cases, Chinese heavy-handedness rears its ugly head. On Febuary 1st, 2010, a Chinese helicopter carrying the third in command of Chinese troops in the Waziristan is shot down, killing all on board. The missile was launched from a small village which Chinese intelligence has spotted targets in. In response, the Chinese send in a search and destroy squad, who go into the village, and round up everybody with guns or other weapons. Soon they round up everyone in the village and shoot them all. Many of the civillians were mown down by machine gun fire after they were lined up in front of a wall. The village is then razed to the ground, as a message to any other villages that harbour terrorists. This damages suppourt for the PLA in the region, although the Chinese commander claims that he did not order the killing of civillians. He has the squad commander court martialled, and it later truns out that the Chinese soldiers had entered the village and seen the villagers dancing and cheering around the helicopter wreckage, and desecrating the bodies of those killed. This had angered them, and prompted them to slaughter everyone in sight. The action severely damages international suppourt for the war.
But that suppourt is revived when Bin Laden and Zawahiri are captured in April 2010, in the most humiliating way possible (see the Tajik war story). But their capture soon turns to make as much difference as that of Saddam Hussein did in Iraq - attacks by militants become fiercer, and Chinese losses increase. They also mount attacks on Chinese bases. The PLA also uncovers tunnels leading between the villages, which they deal with more effectively than the U.S. did in Vietnam. They go down the tunnels, and systematically clear them of militants, but there are also sperate tunnel systems. It is clear the war will go on for many years.
In July 2013, something happens which finally gives the Chinese doubts. The Taliban launch a major offensive against their enemy. A total of 200,000 militants attack Chinese and Pakistani bases in and around Waziristan, and also attack targets in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Chinese are driven out of nearly all their border bases, except for Peshwar, in which Chinese troops wage a desperate yet determined battle. One Taliban commando unit attempts to capture the Chinese embassy in Islamabad, but the ambassasor and his guards manage to lock themselves in his office, just barely holding off the militants. PLA special forces climb in through the window into his study to help him, and break through other windows to fight the militants. The battle for the embassy is the most memorable in the history of PLA special forces - it lasts a whole day as the Chinese fight to regain control of the embassy building room by room.
The battle of Peshwar though, becomes known as the greatest battle of the PLA. Chinese troops are holed up in various builidngs, sometimes occupying only the upper floors. They fight hard to fight off the militants, taking back the city building by building. Telivision footage often shows militant occupied structures being peppered with machine gun fire, and Chinese soldiers throwing hand grenades into windows or through opeings on top of rooves of builings. Hand to hand fighting is common, and Chinese snipers pick off what militants they can. The battle turns round when Chinese tanks rumble into the streets and bring their devestating firepower to bear on the militants. The Taliban offnesive soon becomes a rout, as the population does not rise up and join them like expected. Militant attacks in Pakistan are put down by Musharraf's troops, and PLA troops in Waziristan are boosted by heavy armoured reinforcements direct from China, which sweep west and root out militants. The offensive soon proves to be the Talibans undoing, as they sustain heavy losses, and many of their secret tunnels are uncovered. Musharraf's troops quickly overcome militants who have taken a hold in Pakistan (including a group which tried to storm the Pakistani parliament). American and Afghan troops engage the Taliban from the North, coming up behind them. American firepower quickly crumbles any remaining forces. During the battle, two key leaders, Mullah Omar and Hajir Omar, were captured, and the Taliban are now all but destroyed. But militancy still remains in Waziristan.
The July offensive soon becomes known as "China's Tet offensive". The PLA is concerned that it had been wearing down militants before the offensive, but they had still been able to launch the attacks. Deciding that the war in Waziristan has proved to costly for China, having lasted nearly four years, the new president agrees to withdraw the PLA from the area. They do so, as do Chinese troops in Afghanistan, which is now starting to stabalise after gradual withdrawl of NATO troops. In 2014, all foreign troops have withdrawn from Afghainstan and Pakistan. The Waziristan war has proved a major burden on the Chinese economy, but it will eventually recover, and the American economy is nearly fully recovering from Iraq and Afghanistan. Waziristan is still in the clutches of the Pakistani army, who still comb the region for what is left of Al-Qaeda. But many of the terrorist leaders are now scattered and in hiding, although seperate groups inspired by Al-Qaeda still carry out attacks across the globe. Afghanistan is now fully recovered - since the Taliban had executed mass numbers of civillians during their offensive, they became highly unpoular with the Afghan people, who actually formed abgry mobs which stoned the militants and joined the NATO forces in driving them off. The Afghan national army is now much stronger, and is still poilicing unruly southern regions. But at least now Afghanistan is stabalising, which is more than can be said for Iraq, which has to recieve help from neighbouring Arab staes just to stay together.

 

[Finn McCool]

Finn, you should get this published - if it was made into a film, it would be greatest film series of the 21st century since Lord of the Rings. Just one question though. What happened to the Caliphate governors of Syria, Lebanon, Morocco and Algeria?

Thanks DPRKPTboat. I'm glad you like it. If it were gonna be made into a film, it would have to be shortened a lot and given some characters though...I'm not up for that now. Anyway, I think that the whole "clash of civilizations" theme this story has is obviously a bit flawed in light of recent events. I would have to say that the Middle East's problems are not so much caused by Western vs Muslim civilization clashing as much as it is by more mudane causes, similar to what has caused large scale conflict throughout history-economic volatility, ethnic hatred and disintegration of the exsisting ethnic order, and the waning of an empire (America's). Oil has gone so high and economies throughout the Middle East have been going up and down wildly since 9/11. In large part due to the invasion of Iraq and American pushes for democratization in the reigon the previously underrepresented Shiites have been coming to the fore in a populist and highly disruptive manner, in most countries in the Middle East. And because the US is tied down in Iraq and challenged by a non cooperative UN and the rising nations of Russia and China its influence is not nearly as strong as it used to be, allowing things to get out of hand. Lastly, you have to throw in the "free radicals" of terrorism and jihadism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and what you get is not a clash of civillizations but a classic reigonal meltdown/power shift.

The other big plot hole is that Shiites and Sunnis, and all the different ethnicities in the Middle East would never be able to join together into one nation. But it's plausible, so I wrote it.

The next chapter will have some war crimes trials, for both sides, so maybe we'll find out about those governors there.

 

[DPRKPTboat]

Well, keep them coming Finn. While we're waiting for the next chapter, I'll brew another batch myself. This is a story of a daring PLA SOF mission to stop a Chinese 9/11 taking place. The year is 2015, and now that China is an international superpower, it is soon pitted against the scourge of the 21st century...

Last Voyage of the QinghaihuU]​

Dawn was approaching in the South China sea. The sun had not yet risen, but the fading stars and the light reddish tinge on the horizon heralded the approach of the new day. Fish darted around in the dark waters, chasing the luminiscent organisms that had risen from the abyss, while whales cruised near the surface, gulping plankton by the ton. Then a sound, travelling faster in the water than in the air, echoed through the sea. A deep, rumbling sound that sent the wildlife into a scatter. A huge iron monster ploughed through the ocean, churning up the water as it went.The bow of the great ship soon brought sleek propises into view, eager to bow ride on this huge vessel.
This was the suppourt freighter, Qinghaihu, one of the largest ships in the PLA Navy, that for months had provided an immense quantity of supplies to China's warships. She was currently heading to a position near the taiwan strait, where she would rensdevouz with a Carrier battle group preparing for a major exercise right in front of the Taiwanese. But first the greta carrier and its escorts would need to be refuelled and replenished. The Qinghaihu was adequate for this job. On her way she would be joined by two Qiandohu-class replenishment ships, which would supplement the supplies she had on board. Since this was peacetime, the hgih command had decided she would not need escorts.
This was something that Captain Yang Jicai had argued all the way to the top. He was concerned that a compliment of destoryers with the freighter would drive off any Taiwanese warships that may attempt to intercept and board the Qinghaihu. But the high command was unsympathetic and ordered her to go alone. But after some debate, it was agreed that three 022 FACs would meet her after leaving
Hong Kong.
"Not good enough" grumbled Captain Yang. "Two destroyers wouldn't have been a major burden."
High up on the bridge, Yang oversaw the voyage completely. He was ot happy being where he was. Before becoming captain of the Qinghaihu, he had commanded China's most prominent flagship, the carrier Mao Tse-Tsung, which had once been an old Russian carrier sitting in the Dry dock of Dalian. The first of the Mao class of Aircraft carriers, she was the pride of the PLAN. But Yang had lost his place as commander during the North Korean crisis of 2011. He had ordred a flight of three Su-33 jets to buzz a North Korean missile freighter that had violated the U.N. placed blockade. But then a Najin class frigate, armed to the hull, moved to protect the freghter. In his frustration that the Koreans were disobeying his demands to stop and be checked, he ordered the fighters to perfrom a strafng run in front of the bow of the missile ship, as a warning shot. In response, the firgate opened up with AA fire, resulting in the shootdown of a Su-33 fighter. Since the strafing run had been done without permission from Beijing, and had started a major diplomatic crisis, Yang was court-martialed, and later sacked from his post.
"And now I'm stuck on this bucket" he thought to himself. His bad relations with the top brass had been one of the reasons for the refusal of his request for tighter escort. T
he ship had now left Hong Kong, and was heading to its first rensdevouz ponit with the pitiful escort it was assigned. It cruised steadily south, its mighty engines pusing it effortlessly through the water.
"Keep her on a steady course" Yang told the Helmsman. "We should be making contact with the 022s soon."
It was then that the ships 1st lieutenant, Jiang Wobei, appeared on the bridge.
"Sir, the radio operator reports a distress signal."
"A distress signal!?"
"Yes sir. A Fillipino trawler. They hailed us just now, they say that they're just off our starbard bow, but they're transmissions are all garbled. from the sound of it, it seems they're on fire, Sir."
"I guess we'll have to awnser them then." At a worst possible time, Yang thought. Looks like the other two ships will have to go it alone.
The ships searchlight was switched on, and sure enough, there was a fair-sized trawler. Yang could see that there was black smoke pouring from her.
"Put me on with her" he ordered. The lieutenant handed him the receiver of the radio in the bridge.
"This is Captain Yang Jicai, PLAN Qinghaihu. We understand you are in distress and will come to your assistance. How do you read me?"
"Tra...er No..bin tok. He..m out of control...re....st...im....ate....assis.."
The radio cut off. Yang was unable what to make of this mysterious transmission from an equally mysterious boat.
"Seems their radio's out." He murmured. "Very well, Lieutenant Jiang, launch the rubber rafts. We'll have them off that thing in no time."
"Sir.."
"Yes, Wobei, what is it?"
"She's heading straight for us!"
"What?! The crazy idiot! The hold's pilled high with ammunition and fuel! That fire will blow us apart if it spreads!"
He turned to the Lieutenant wildly, shaken with shock.
"Tell the men to get out the fire-fighting equipment and get on the starboard deck double time! We've got to put that fucker out before it spreads to the storage tanks! What are you waiting for Jiang, move!"
Within minutes, dozens of sailors brandishing extinguishers and trailing fire hoses, rushed down to the starboard deck. The trawler, puffing black smoke, continued its collision course with the freighter, at a moderate speed. Captain Yang knew that his ship would not be able to turn away in time. The best action was to extinguish the flames before they reached the massive hull and its volatile cargo. Petty officer Deng was on sationwith the fire-fighting team, speaking with lieutenant Jiang on one of the ship's phones. The trawler drew closer.
"She's closing in on us, sir" wanred Deng. Jiang heard his voice through the communication system on the bridge.
"Keep calm, seaman. Remember, as sone as the fire is within hose range, order the hose crews to start spraying. That should extinguish the fire. You've got to do it before she reaches the hull., understood?"
"Yes Sir, understood." Deng anxiously watched the trawler close in. Suddenly, it verred to starboard, drawing up alongside the Qinghaihu. Deng was puzzled. Would a runaway ship do this? But then he realised the flames were getting closer.
"Turn on the pumps!" He yelled. "Quickly!"
Thye could see the blaze now. It was on the bow, raging with orange flames and black smoke. The jets of water flew forth from the hoses, drenching the flames. But it soon became clear that it was an oil fire, so Deng ordered the fire pumps to be sitched to foam. The flames were driven back, the foam now almost swamping the trawler, whose deck was alomost level with that of the larger ship.
"Good Job" cired Deng. "Chang, tkae your men with the C02 extinguishers and mop up the rest of the flames. Then search to see what's going on onboard. Check for survivors as well."
The seamen moored the trawler to the side, then set an emergency ramp connecting the two vessels. The men doused the flames with extinguishers, while others came with stretchers. Deng reported back to the bridge.
"Fire's out, lieutenant. I've sent men over to check for casualties."
"Good job Deng. That was a close one. I'll see that you are commended for this."
The sailors advanced into the cabin of the trawler with their stretchers, while the others snuffed the last of the flames. Then they realised. Instead of a scorched and damaged deck, they found a large metal basin, sunk into the deck, filled with burned tires and other combustibles. Able seaman Chang was the first to see this, and yelled to Petty Officer Deng.
"Its a dud!"
"What!"
"The blaze was deliberate! It looks like.."
Before he could say any more , the sound of gunfire erupted. The Naval seamen on the trawler were mown down in minutes. Deng tore the phone from its casing, and yelled:
"Armed hostiles are coming out fo the trawler, get us out of here! We,re being board..."
The phone went dead. Lieutenant Jiang could not beleive what he had just heard. He looked to the starboard side and saw masked men armed with Assault rifles pouring out of the trawler. He ran to warn Captain Yang. Who also could not believe what he was seeing and hearing. And then they saw the same masked men heading for the bridge.

To be continued...​