Chimera

This latter force began to mobilize seconds later. But it was too late. The nine Arjun tanks were bypassing the destroyed lines of the PLA armor regiment and entering the rear area occupied by convoys of trucks other light-skinned vehicles. As each tank began firing streams of tracer rounds into the soft skinned vehicles and ammo-filled trucks, the Chinese soldiers abandoned their trucks and began running in all directions.

Some attempted to fire rocket-propelled-grenades at the advancing Arjun tanks, but the latter shrugged off the attacks on its Kanchan composite-armor plating. In turn, they responded by cutting down the offenders with bursts of co-axial machinegun fire.

As Rhino force reached the other side of the valley, they were surrounded by dozens of burning trucks and other vehicles. The Chinese logistical train feeding the ground offensive against DBO had been destroyed.

“Rhino-One to steel-central: objective achieved! Point-victory has been taken. Enemy divisional rear area has been destroyed and the main supply route has been cut!”

THIMPU

BHUTAN

DAY 7 + 1030 HRS

The streets could not have been more deserted if god himself had wanted it. The aftermath of a panicked evacuation of Thimpu’s residents was everywhere. The northern outskirts of Thimpu were a ghost town.

Captain Pathanya observed this as his team emerged from the bushes and carefully walked on the muddy roads between the houses. There were bound to be people still here, he reasoned. And sure enough, around the corner of the street, there were residents still trying to get their belongings together from the upper floors of their house as the nine Indian soldiers walked around the corner.

Pathanya’s men had their faces covered with soot and dirt. Three of them limped as they walked from injuries sustained during the battle for Wang-Chu earlier in the morning. Pathanya’s uniform and equipment were still stained with blood from before.

They had delayed as much as they could, but the officers of the Chinese Highland Division were no fools. After initial setbacks they had suffered at Pathanya’s hands, they had figured out the weakness of the Indian positions in Bhutan. They understood that the attacks by the PLAAF on Paru airfield had crippled Indian force-reconstitution capabilities in western Bhutan.

They understood also that there were only a couple of good main-supply-routes into Bhutan from the Indian border. Their drive on Thimpu had the desired effect of sending the local populace in panic and clogged the approaches to Bhutan from the south. To their unexpected pleasure, they had been assisted greatly in the uncontrolled media coverage from Thimpu by the media networks. So they had marshaled their brigade, spread out the forward units to avoid mass casualties from attacks by Fernandez’s rocket-artillery unit near Paru and now were less than a dozen kilometers from the northern outskirts of Thimpu.

Right on my heels!

Pathanya thought as he and his eight men limped back into the Bhutanese capital. He had been ordered by Potgam to pull back to Thimpu where he was trying to bring in reinforcements and hold the city. The Chinese could not be allowed at take the capital of Bhutan, or it would be a stunning victory for them in the eyes of the Bhutanese populace and utter defeat for Indian control over the small Himalayan state. It would also be a propaganda coup second to none.

Potgam and Pathanya both understood this.

The problem was what reinforcements could be brought in? And how?

While Potgam was attempting to figure that larger question, Pathanya had his own problems at the nasty, tactical end of things. He had been ordered to move to the Dechencholing Palace in Thimpu. It was the main operating point for the government of Bhutan right now. He was to figure out the exact civilian situation from the local officials there and ascertain the availability of RBA units to help defend the city.

The disintegration of the RBA during the initial assaults by the Chinese forces in northern Bhutan had not left many units to play with. Most that remained were closer to police and paramilitary units. And even their availability was currently unknown. Many had deserted and left along with their families to the south after the king and his family had been evacuated two days ago. The Bhutanese monarchy was a tight knit group, but remove the one binding thread and the whole group could unwind…

The remaining civilians in the northern outskirts were scrambling at the sight of Pathanya’s men, not knowing whose side they were on. Others recognized them as Indians but also realized from their condition that the Chinese were not far behind.