How many guns do you need for a firefight? Two. One for us to shoot and one for the United States to sell to the enemy so he can shoot us back.

- An American military joke -

Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan

1/LT Kaori Arima, 4th (Mechanized) Platoon, 11th Tank Regimental Combat Team
5th Brigade, 1st Division "Nerima"

17.54 hours JST

The first sign of change was a division-wide message as we're entering Kudamatsu City by fall. General Narazaki had taken his time to ensure everyone received it well.

"This is Capital 6 Actual to all Nerima units... be advised, we have a change of objective for Operation Loveless World. Intelligence confirmed that Chinese General Secretary with consent of the Politburo had ordered evacuation of their occupation army here. We are to eliminate their rear guard as fast as possible..."

Attached with Sergeant Morishima's squad, that's I am now with the command squad. Tsubaki was in reserve while the third squad were following Morishima's.

As the 31st Infantry advanced deeper towards Kudamatsu and the neighboring Shunan City after a lightning entry with support of armored bulldozers, the Indians had pushed most of it's strength forward. Drone feed showed the Gorkhas atop their troop carrier along with their Russian-made light tanks, primarily for tank and structure-busting duty.

"Jaya Mahakali, Ayo Gurkhali" went out from their lips as those Nepalis disembarked not far from our position, while the light tanks covered their flanks for any attacks by what was left from Chinese tanks in the area. Behind them, the Sikh battalion shouted their religious cry as they occupied positions that were left by their Nepali comrades in arms. When it came to close combat, those bearded, turban-wearing Singhs (means Lion in Punjabi; all male Sikhs used this surname) were no slouch either, and I saw a good number of Reds still holed up inside houses fell with a scream when those people did their entry with tear gas and flash grenades.

Few drone feeds shared to everyone showed that the city's occupation garrison are still resisting the advance of 31st Infantry. Meanwhile, the joint British-Italian brigade reported that they had reached the end of their march from the freeway by clearing the occupiers out from Tokuyama University and several other schools around the said campus in Shunan City.

No stone unturned, block by block. With cases of some probable enemy positions had been bypassed, it's the platoon's duty to clear it.

Dashing from cover to cover in this residential area we were assigned to, Morishima lead the way. Everything seems to happen at once; a grenade launcher armed Chinese trooper, who stayed behind, opened fire from a house that were initially bypassed.

"Bang and clear, we got civilians trapped inside!" I ordered.

One of Morishima's soldier, Pvt. Kaori Yoshizawa unpinned her stun grenade, then let it go followed by a loud bang, disorienting everyone inside, followed by scream and curses in Mandarin.

"Go!"

The command team and I entered after Morishima's squad.

"Get down!" The sergeant commanded at what must be trapped civilians inside. Meanwhile, with my RTO I looked after the bathroom, only from around the wall I gazed at a barrel of a rifle that was clearly not ours.

Still somewhat disoriented, he's easy target as my rifle blazed a short response, severing his artery and nearly took his hands off. The bathroom's door opened and another Red Chinese soldier emerge. He too fell by my rifle.

"You'll be okay" It turned out that the said house got a door leading underground, and that's where we found the noncombatants inside, A mother with two young children; one son and one daughter respectively.

I called Nakayama to send his men to cover us, while Morishima's squad shepherded the civilians away.

"All clear ma'am!"

Then, I ordered Morishima to blast us the way out through the walls. "Check everything" barked Morishima. Meanwhile I am on the net with another two squad.

"We got some surrendering Reds that were cut off, but some are still fighting like dogs with their drones are giving us hard time. Rear guard."

"It seems the Chinese did well in reducing their little emperor tendency." I muttered. Then I head to the last position of Morishima's squad.

The first house was abandoned, but we detected movement on the other house in front of us.

"Halt!"

From there, Morishima reported that he and his man found another civvie and barked "Hold your fire!!"

I sprinted to the said location and there, I saw a boy who looked like a teenager and a girl who was smaller than him seemed to be clinging next to him making it clear to me that they're siblings.

Then I took an opportunity to ask them.

"Young man, where are your parents?" Both began to cry.

"Gone, onee-san..." That's where upon through search, we uncovered adult bodies in a bedroom; must be their parents.

To our outrage, we found the bodies in a bound and gagged condition and their temples holed.

Seconds seems like minutes, but there were few things we could do.

"We are the Japanese Army and you'll be safe, Can you walk?"

He answered. "Hai, onee-san."

"Tsubaki" I called the nearby NCO, heading back to that said bedroom. "Don't let anyone touch this, we have to let higher up know!"

Few seconds later. "Ma'am" My radioman reported. "Other units reported same thing, unarmed civilians, tied up and shot. This is insane!"

"Damn it... damn them all..." I muttered.

Thousand yards stare would be features for many of my boys and girls... I thought to myself, before went back to my boys and girls, giving them some touch on their backs.

.............................................................................

"You'll be safe, be good with your sister, I hope we can meet again, okay?"

A smile was parched on the young boy's lips - must be the first time after the loss of their parents - as his little sister was lifted into the awaiting white-painted armored truck with red cross awaiting on the main street. Sporadic gunshots were still there, forcing some to seek cover.

"Get me the Captain." I ordered my radioman.

"Kirin 6, Kirin 6, this is Kirin Yellow 6, do you copy?"

"This is Kirin 6, readable but with difficulty"

I continued, with repetition for necessary points. "Yellow 6 reported civilians trapped are being evacuated... others dead, raped and executed by the occupiers... your orders, over"

"Yellow 6, link up (static) tank platoons at the following location... over. MPs on their way to the scene... they will (static)... good job."

With the Japanese Red Cross-owned truck was quickly gone from the scene, we head back to the main road where our tracks and one tank platoon were waiting for us. Suddenly the streets erupted in chaos as one sewer manhole cover burst open with a Chinese soldier opened fire. He was quickly taken down but not before the bullet caught one of my trooper through his gut and he fell with a cry.

"Contact all around! Take cover!" I dived for cover behind a Jersey barrier even as all around rifle fire pummeled the street and one was close enough to scratch part of my arm. My platoon followed suit, spreading out across the road, hitting the dirt, and quickly returning fire followed by the troop carriers hastening the process with their cannons while I dragged him to safety as Sawachika, the combat life safer, and the rest of Tsubaki's 1st squad - now committed into action - landed right next to my position.

Tsubaki launched her personal micro-sized drone from her special equipment pouch, added to the effort of her main point-man to peek out on the other side of the barrier. "Can you see that damned MG?" I asked her.

"Hold on..." Another burst hit close by, along with the boom of a bursting grenade." Got the bastard. 100 meters, 12th floor, apartment building. Machine guns and grenade launchers... and some ATGM positions. We got another rear guard to deal with, ASAP."

"Nice work. All units, suppressing fire on the designated point, call any available armor for support!" I aimed the Type 22 and squeezed off a few bursts, even as another piece of shrapnel from exploding grenades latched on my body armor, then toggled the radio.

"Kirin 6 Yellow here, enemy strongpoint, 12th floor of that apartment building. Can you take it out?"

"On the way!" A shockwave ensued as one of our Type 10 fired it's main cannon, followed by it's wingman. The high explosive round crossed the intervening distance in a flash and detonated on contact with two big blasts. The effect was immediate and catastrophic; the cheap facade of the already run-down apartment building imploded, instantly silencing the Chinese infantry platoon holed up in the building as the already unsteady structure, as much as the Reds had fortified it, collapsed in on itself.

"We need engineer support!" On the radio I called, as more and more Chinese soldiers emerged from the city's sewer manholes. Our tanks and troop carriers gave them no chance as their machine guns opened up against any unlucky Chinese soldiers in a whack-a-mole style game. We ended these when the regimental assault engineers arrived plus a team of combat engineers detailed from the brigade HQ; we gave them cover as they did their one two punch; smoking them with tear gas before sealing the entrances with industrial grade sticky foam throwers.

Confident that the occupiers below had been incapacitated; the tanks continued their advance, and soon I divided the squads again to each platoon. Now I am attached with Nakayama's, covering 1st Tank Platoon's advance.

Suddenly, a loud crack registered for everyone to hear as a thick cloud of dust erupted around the street. I looked up to see a horseshoe shaped indent in a roof of an abandoned store not far from one of the tanks.

Somehow, I couldn't hold myself to giggle, the first since we hit this city.

"What's so funny, Lieutenant?" asked the perplexed squad leader.

"Deflection is real..." I replied. "It could have just as easily been a dud round."

......................................................................

1/LT Kousei Arima

I could hear Kaori's hoarse cry at the radio "Advance" Her platoon were integral with our tanks, the squads were covering each other as we continue our advance down the city's thoroughfare towards our first objective, Suetake River.

"GUNNER-COAX-TROOPS"

Everyone were doing their duty using muscle's memory. Upon my call Kitazawa jerked the turret at the largest threat in front of us; several Chinese RPG and ATGM crews. In addition I had a high explosive round loaded on the main gun.

"Incoming missiles!"

The missiles flew faster than our eyes could track, so I could only hope the radar and rocket countermeasures worked as intended. In addition, before the operation, our diesel exhausts had been field-modified with heat sink devices to reduce heat and UV radiation which was targetable by heat-seeking fire and forget AT missiles particularly the said Chinese type.

Few vehicles vanished as the Red Arrow-type missiles went through despite the countermeasures - but we have to move!

Crawling and dashing from cover to cover, blowing up walls to avoid the streets, the infantry did the short work on the rest.

The missile threat was gone, only to be replaced by incoming enemy artillery. 155mm howitzers and 120mm mortars lobbed a mix of contact and air-bursting shells at the advancing Japanese and Indians.

"Keep moving!" ordered Capt. Kawashima on the company's net. The Indian officers ordered the same.

"Be advised, we got multiple enemy sniper position..." reported one American drone swarm operator that had entered our sector. "Taking them out now."

Part of the swarm formed a protective formation just as Chinese forces released their own, resulted in another mini dogfight overhead, while strike assigned ones looked for the sniper nest before engaging them by small missiles or simply detonated itself in a suicidal fashion.

I could only hope that the friendly battle bots prevailed to reduce the need of us to use our main guns.

"More armor incoming! Counterattack!" Suddenly the same American swarm drone operator put out that warning.

They knew that if they let their armor in a static role, they will be easy targets... I muttered, just as more blue dots from the tactical map displayed on my tank showed elements of 31st Infantry being heavily engaged by defending Chinese few meters from my position.

The drone feed were then updated in real time to show four ZBL-08s scattered several Japanese soldiers, allowing evacuation of several wounded Chinese.

"Load Sabot!" I ordered at my gunner just as from the left corner one ZTZ-96 rolled down the rubble-strewn street. Followed by three more; turned out that it was a whole tank company committed against us.

"ON THE WAY!"

One enemy tank burst to flames immediately, the rest scattered in order to flank us. But we had anticipated it. Outnumbered, they nonetheless managed to disable one of the tanks of Team Janken before being forced to retreat after losing half of it's strength by the combination of tank fire and missiles from ground and air drones, as well as a pair of Apaches targeting the rest of the opposing tanks.

The advance continued, with one UAV feed showed the still-orderly retreat, in a relative term, of what was left of communist forces at the river bank.

It was a miracle that most of the bridges were still intact except one that did not survive the long range naval 155mm shells from the Fuso that had returned with her surviving surface action group.

"...There was a Chinese captain who did so well... that he was the last to pull out..."

"Whoever he is" piped Kitazawa as radio chatters from the neighboring 31st Infantry and Indian 2/5 Gorkhas continued it's broadcast; "deserved an utmost respect."

"Yes, remember to respect your enemy. That's what the Colonel told us." I replied, just in time for a new round of artillery shelling.

"Hang on" I commanded. "Continue the advance!" I hope this is not our time yet...