Chimera

This pilot aimed for one of the ZBD platoons that had bypassed the Bhutanese positions from the north and whose four vehicles were racing for the three lakes. Against such highly mobile targets, the choice of weapons was cluster-bombs. The pilot selected his CBUs and released his entire load in selective drops that scattered the deadly shrapnel over the entire sector below. By the time he pulled away, three of the four ZBDs were dead in their tracks and burning furiously…

* * *

The Chinese ZBD company commander was no fool.

He knew exactly why the Indian aircraft had not struck his slowly advancing vehicles directly opposite the Bhutanese trenches: they were too close.

He decided to force the issue further and directed all vehicle commanders and supporting infantry squads to push forward and stick close to the Bhutanese positions.

Kwatra saw through the Chinese intentions as he saw the ZBDs emitting puff of smoke from their engines and driving towards them.

Shit! No choice now!

He looked over to Iyanpo who nodded. Kwatra looked around for the radio set nearby and found it buried under gravel from the explosions. He dusted the mud and gravel off and switched frequencies…

OVER THE WESTERN TIBET-BHUTAN BORDER

DAY 4 + 0910 HRS

“You want us to do what?!”

The Mig-27 flight-leader asked incredulously as he banked away sharply after yet another strafing run on the Chinese vehicles below.

“You heard me! Drop whatever you have right in front of our positions here. We are being overrun!”

Kwatra’s strained voice came over the sounds of the afterburning engines inside the cockpit as the flight-leader accelerated away from the anti-air shells exploding in his wake.

“You realize what you are doing, don’t you?” he asked soberly.

With less than one hundred yards between the two sides…

“We are out of options down here! I have enemy armor about to roll over us and we are down to throwing stones at them! Unless you have a better idea, do as I say! We are in entrenched positions, so use something that won’t penetrate too deep and we might even see the next sunrise! Out!” the radio clicked off.

The flight leader frowned inside his breathing mask.

God help you boys…

He finished the pitch-out and settled into the required bearing. He pressed the multi-function-display inside the cockpit to select CBU dispensers from the remaining load-out just as explosions began ripping the skies around him again.

On the ground below, Kwatra, Iyanpo and the remaining Bhutanese soldiers were down to firing off their last rounds. Kwatra fired off his last rifle round and was searching for the next magazine…

He saw the sunlight glistening off the Mig-27’s forward-swept wings flash directly above his head at murderously low altitude followed by a sunlight sparkling distribution of sub-munitions in its wake.

A moment later the ground shook with explosions and a blast of sand, dust and smoke rushed above and through the trenches like a wave. Kwatra, Iyanpo and the other soldiers were knocked down where they stood…

WESTERN TIBET-BHUTAN BORDER

DAY 4 + 0950 HRS

By the time the four Mig-27s reengaged afterburners and were streaking away to the south with empty weapons pylons, the cloud of dust and smoke was settling near the three-lake region. The sounds of gunfire had died down. The rumbling of aircraft engines echoed for a bit and then faded away as well.

Soon the only sounds were that of furiously raging fires out of the Chinese ZBDs a few yards away from the now silent trenches…

For more than an hour the sector remained silent as the fires died down in the freezing cold.

The first Mi-17 to touch down near the trenches raised a cloud of dust as it did. Other Mi-17s were flying overhead and Chinese soldiers were shouting at each other. By the time these soldiers were clearing the bodies of their dead comrades and moving through the silent Bhutanese trenches, a line of trucks and other utility vehicles were moving to the east towards the three lakes.

The Chinese soldiers were enraged by their heavy losses here.

Single shots rang out within the trenches as they cleared them with prejudice. No prisoners were taken alive.

By the time the Chinese flag was fluttering in the stiff winds near the three lakes region, the Bhutanese Government was already in contact with New-Delhi as both sides attempted to enact plans to prevent the fall of Bhutan.

NORTH OF TEZPUR

DAY 4 + 1200 HRS