The War of the 21st Century

Chapter 11:The Battle for Seoul

After the first victories of the Korean campaign, the US armed forces managed to cut off the North Korean armies from their supply lines and encircle them at the eastern border between them and the South Korean army. After having achieved momentary air superiority, the USAF Wolf Pack Squadron sent its A-10s to wipe out the bases supplying the North Korean armies trying to relieve the encircled troops. The mission was to starve the encircled North Korean armies into surrender.

The Chinese armies, instead of coming to the aid of the North Korean armies in the eastern front, decided to aid the armies on the western front, were the US 3rd army in conjunction with elements of the South Korean army had been defending for quite some time. They thought that with enough troops and firepower, they could break into the defenses and capture the South Korean capital: Seoul before the US forces closed in from the east. They believed that by capturing Seoul, they could pressure the South Koreans into switching sides, but the South Koreans were not too keen about the North's totalitarian regime; they would defend their democracy to the end. However the clock was ticking; the Chinese attacked with everything they had: infantry, tanks, helicopters, drones, ballistic missiles coming from battlecruisers in the Yellow Sea...every single instrument of warfare known to man. General Miles, commander of the Pacific Forces had to decide his next move in order to link his forces coming from the east with his troops defending Seoul before the enemy reached the capital.

"We cannot wait for the 4th and 5th armies to arrive. We can only hold off for so long. They are punching us with everything they have! If they break through our defenses, they will reach Seoul before the Army", said the 3rd army's commander.

"Hold on to your position as long as you can. I'll send the Wolf Pack Squadron and the army air cavalry to support you. As for your land support, I'll see what I can do. Hold your position. Seoul must not fall." replied the Commander of the Pacific Forces.

The Wolf Pack Squadron managed to destroy many of the enemy helicopters and tanks while losing only a few A-10s due to antiaircraft fire. Enemy fighters counterattacked and drove them away. The USAF Mavs Squadron made of F-22s (the squadron that decimated the Chinese air force at the start of the Korean campaign) moved in to intercept them and helped the Wolf Squadron escape. The F-22s proved once again to be superior to the enemy planes.

After the enemy planes had been dealt with, the Army 1st Air Cavalry Apache helicopter gunships moved in to unleash hell upon the invading enemy armies. Enemy SAM vehicles retaliated and managed to down several choppers, but the cavalry gave the 3rd army the relief it needed to hold off the enemy forces for some time, and retreat into Seoul. The enemy number of troops deployed against them was overwhelming, and they needed more troops in order to stop the enemy from invading the capital...

Assessing the situation, General Miles met with his generals to come up for a solution for the situation. In one instance he thought of sending more troops into Incheon to support the 3rd army, but the US Navy was still licking its wounds after the beating it got at the battle of the Yellow Sea. Admiral Medina warned that any offensive operation in the Yellow Sea was impossible for the time being. The Air Force was the star branch of the moment; it was in the USAF that Miles would count on, and he did come up with the plan of taking advantage of the momentary air superiority, airlifting the entire 6th army from Yeosu airport to Seoul using C-130s escorted by F-15s. It was a risky plan; the enemy could destroy the entire 6th army by destroying dozens of planes, but the situation of Seoul was critical, and the 3rd army needed all the help it could count on. The Commander of the Pacific Forces argued that: "It is the only way we can relieve the 3rd army before the enemy attacks the city. The fate of the Korean Campaign depends on this. Time is on the enemy's side; their army can withstand a long war. We don't have that luxury. The time for victory is now! We hesitate, and we will lose this campaign!"

An so it was that the entire 6th army was airlifted by C-130s. Everything was going smooth until Chinese fighters coming from their navy at the Yellow Sea attacked the convoy. The F-15s managed to successfully defeat the enemy and drive them away from the convoy, but some transports were shot down. Many soldiers were lost. Nevertheless, the convoy made it to Seoul where it would link with the South Korean Army ready to advance to the border, and let the 3rd army retreat back into the capital.

Seeing the retreat of the 3rd army, the Chinese army wrongly believed  that they had the advantage and pushed forward towards the capital. The 1st Air Cavalry Apache gunships attacked the advancing enemy army, allowing the 3rd army to retreat into Seoul. The gunships suffered many losses, but managed to halt the enemy and give time for the Americans and South Koreans to organize outside of Seoul. By the time the enemy got there, the South Korean army and the fresh American 6th army  counterattacked with their Abrams tanks, and infantry. The Chinese army had been mauled by the prior gunship attack, and their losses were numerous; this new counterattack destroyed the enemy's morale, and they started to retreat. Victory was at hand...

With the victory in Seoul, and the allied armies shoring up from the eastern front, the North Korean and Chinese armies retreated all the way back to the capital city of Pyongyang. The North Koreans were willing to negotiate peace, the Chinese... were not. When word came out, the South Korean president asked the US for a continuation of the war. They wanted to rid themselves from the persistent danger to their democracy. President MacArthur now faced a tough decision: end the battle of Korea right there in victorious fashion and negotiate a peace between North and South, or attack  the North Korean Capital and conquer the whole Korean peninsula; a risky move indeed, for there were no guarantees of total victory over Korea. MacArthur had redeemed himself from his failure in Taiwan, but the American public had grown weary of war, and continuing with the war would cost him his reelection as president. Nevertheless, he was not done with his work. He believed that they hadn't achieved anything but to delay the enemy. He was convinced that in order to win a real victory, they needed to take the whole of Korea. Thus he decided...

"In order to ensure the security of democracy in Korea, we need to include the whole Korean peninsula. We have the chance to right the wrong that was permitted for so long since the first Korean War. By continuing the war, we have the chance to not only defend South Korean liberty, but to liberate their North Korean brethren from a tyranny that they never deserved. Only then, we will have true victory in Korea", said the president in a speech.

The president's message was sent to the North Korean people through millions of pamphlets dropped by airplanes. Many in North Korea were relieved, and believed the time for their freedom had come. Many civilian refugees flocked into the border. The North Korean soldiers were extremely fanatically devoted to their leader, yet the North Korean Resistance was born. Born out of people that were tired of how their country was run. It seemed as if a new era was coming to Korea, but the enemy was ready to make a stand in Pyongyang. They had more than enough resources to push the allies back, and they had the home court advantage this time ...

 MacArthur faced the greatest criticisms back home. His political rivals accused him of being a warmonger, a megalomaniac, only caring about his reputation as president. They were calling for a negotiated peace with North Korea, and a truce with China; something MacArthur was totally against. Time was running out for the president; he needed victory, and he needed it quick before the elections. The lack of support for him besides the victory at Seoul revealed to him that he would not be reelected as president. The American people admired him but wanted peace. The nation had been at war for four years, and there seemed to be no end to the conflict. The president riposted to his critics: "I want to leave a good legacy for the American People. If they would not have me back, so be it. I will not run for office...Understand this: my fight is with the antidemocratic enemies that want to see us fall. If my rivals want to weaken our democracy by shaking hands with the devil, I advice against it. The very future of our nation is at stake with this war, and we must win it. I intend to win it; would they? Would you?"

Thus, the Battle of Seoul was over. MacArthur drops out of the election race...Into the lion's lair the Allied armies moved. Pyongyang would be the battleground of the decisive battle of the Korean Campaign. Change is in the air...change for good, and change for the worst. The War of the 21st Century continues...