they wouldn’t be going to the bottom alone.
It was a race. A race between life and death. A race the American destroyer was losing. The ship was trying to get out of the seeker cone of the enemy torpedoes, turning and accelerating to degrade the enemy sub’s fire control solution. But the laws of geometry and physics were inexorable, the range too short, and the surprise had been too complete.
It took two minutes and nearly two nautical miles, but the North Korean torpedoes ran their target down. One missed — running behind the destroyer and attacking its Nixie noisemaker trailing a hundred yards astern. The other had locked on to
The torpedo smashed into the ship forward of the stern, and the explosive power of its 270-kilogram warhead lifted
The warhead tore a twenty-foot hole in the ship’s port side, spraying fragments that penetrated the steel decks and letting water into the after berthing compartment. Just aft of the torpedo’s point of impact,
In tenths of a single second, the blast rippled through the ship from one end to the other, tearing equipment from its mountings and throwing men into steel bulkheads or machinery.
Unfortunately for the American destroyer, its second LAMPS helicopter was fully fueled and loaded with a torpedo, preparing to relieve its comrade aloft. The force of the explosion bounced the aircraft around in its hangar like a bean in a bottle, mangling the fragile machine and spraying jet fuel all over the area. Sparks touched it off, engulfing the after part of
Most of the men in the ship’s berthing compartment were killed instantly — by the blast, by fragments it threw, or by the concussion. Other survived long enough to drown as the sea poured in through the enormous hole torn by the explosion.
The shattered destroyer crashed back down into the water and started to settle by the stern. Damage control efforts would fail but would keep the warship afloat long enough to allow for an orderly rescue by other vessels in the area.
Senior Captain Chun stepped back from the periscope in satisfaction. It slid down into the deck.
The images of the sinking American destroyer had told their own story. It lay motionless in the water, its stern already almost completely submerged, and he could see yellow life-jacketed figures floating in the water alongside. The destroyer no longer posed any threat to his vessel or his country.
In contrast,
After the American Mark 46 had stopped running, he’d ordered his planesmen to bring the submarine up to periscope depth. This was his first kill and he’d wanted to get a good look.
Now, though, it was time to leave. The Americans had undoubtedly radioed news of the attack, and Chun was sure that retaliation would soon be on its way. He wanted to be long gone when it arrived.
“Right standard rudder. Come to one five zero degrees. Set a course for Pusan.” He had other targets to hunt down.
CHAPTER 24
Activation
The first flash bulletin transmitted instantaneously to more than a thousand newspapers, radio stations, and television networks around the world could sketch only the barest outlines of the disaster:
“WAR BULLETIN! INVASION — SOUTH KOREA! The peaceful silence of Christmas morning in Seoul has been brutally shattered by a massive North Korean invasion launched without warning or apparent provocation. Following deadly predawn air raids and commando attacks on most of South Korea’s major cities, tens of thousands of invading North Korean troops have surged across the demilitarized zone separating the two countries. Radio Korea reports heavy fighting all along the 600-mile-long border, and government officials here in Tokyo confirm that Japanese listening outposts are picking up transmissions indicating that titanic air, sea, and land battles are now raging across the length and breadth of the Korean peninsula.
“Seoul has declared martial law, and all communications into or out of the country are now under tight military control. No word has been received from any of the independent journalists in the South Korean capital. A U.S. military spokesman has refused detailed comment but has confirmed that American air and ground forces are fully engaged in the fighting. All U.S. bases in Japan are now reported on full alert.
“So far, there has been no official Washington reaction to the morning’s developments.
“Meanwhile, in a propaganda broadcast heard here, North Korea’s Radio Pyongyang has claimed that its ‘heroic People’s Army’ has repulsed a South Korean invasion and is now engaged in pursuing its beaten remnants back across the DMZ.
“More information to follow as it becomes available.
“REPEATING. WAR BULLETIN! INVASION — SOUTH KOREA! The peaceful silence of…”
Fowler squeezed his way past the secretary of defense and made it to a chair near Admiral Simpson, ignoring a glare from Putnam. He’d never seen the Situation Room so crowded. The Joint Chiefs, most of the cabinet, the intelligence directors, their principal advisers, and senior members of the President’s personal staff were all crammed into this one subterranean, cigarette-smoke-fogged room.
A projection map system on one wall showed a large-scale display of the Korean peninsula. Red arrows and circles showed reported North Korean air, land, and sea attacks. Blake knew the overall pattern by heart since he’d spent the past two hours sifting fragmentary incoming reports to piece it together.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.”
The chief of staff’s words brought everyone in the room to their feet, and the buzz generated by more than a dozen heated, low-voiced conversations died away as the President strode in and took his place at the head of the conference table.
“Okay, okay. Let’s get right to it. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover and not much time to do it in.” The President motioned his National Security Council members to their seats, ran a hand through thinning hair, and then tugged at his shirt collar to loosen it.
His attire added a further touch of unreality to the crisis. Washington time was fourteen hours behind Korean time, and news of the North Korean attack had arrived during the first dance at the White House Christmas Eve Ball. The President had come straight from the ballroom floor to this emergency session of the NSC as soon as the reports had been confirmed through secure communications channels. He was still wearing white tie and tails.
Most of the cabinet secretaries and senior White House staff were similarly dressed, and the Joint Chiefs were all in full uniform. Blake regarded his own wrinkled shirt and hastily knotted tie ruefully. He’d been at home surrounded by torn wrapping paper and his daughter’s new toys when the calls started coming in. There hadn’t been time to throw on anything better before a Federal Protective Service squad car pulled up outside his town house to take him on a siren-screaming ride across the Memorial Bridge and through Washington’s slush-choked streets.
He pulled his attention back to the present as the President continued speaking.
“Admiral, we’ve all seen the initial messages from General McLaren, but not much more than that. So why don’t we start this show with a rundown on what you know about the current military situation.”
Simpson nodded and rose briskly to his feet. “Certainly, Mr. President.”
He walked over to the projection map and picked up a light pen pointer. “Exact details are still hard to come by, but it is clear that we’ve been hit with a general North Korean offensive across the DMZ at these points.” The light pen highlighted areas along the western half of the DMZ.
