World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

"Casualties?"

"We had three lightly wounded, but no one was killed. We killed about twenty Dutch defenders and captured fifteen."

"Very good." Amir looked around. More and more soldiers were landing, and order was quickly being established on the beach. Medics set up a aid station, engineers began clearing the landing zone, and communications soldiers erected antennas.

"Commander Zhou, what is your mission?"

"According to the plan, our regiment is responsible for consolidating the beachhead and establishing a defensive line three kilometers in depth. After the Fifth and Sixth Divisions have all landed, we will advance towards Pontianak city."

Amir glanced at his watch: "Give me a company; I want to go check things out up ahead."

"Commander, this is too dangerous..."

"I'm here to fight, not to sightsee," Amir interrupted him. "Lead the way."

Helpless, Zhou Weiguo pointed to his company: "Company commander, take a platoon to protect the division commander!"

"yes!"

A few minutes later, Amir led a mixed squad—comprising his Arab guards and Chinese soldiers from the First Division—advancing toward the edge of the jungle.

The scent of the rainforest filled the air: damp earth, decaying leaves, and the fragrance of some kind of flower. Sunlight was fragmented by the dense canopy, dappling the ground. Visibility was less than fifty meters.

"Watch out for landmines and traps," Zhou Weiguo warned. "The Dutch may have laid them when they retreated."

No sooner had he finished speaking than an explosion was heard ahead.

It wasn't a landmine, it was a hand grenade. This was followed by intense gunfire.

"Fire has broken out!" The guard sergeant immediately pinned Amir behind a tree. "Protect the commander!"

Amir pushed him away: "I'm not that delicate! Look at the situation!"

A soldier ran back to report: "Dutch positions spotted ahead! About a platoon, with machine guns!"

"Location?"

"There's a semi-underground bunker right by that path."

Amir thought for a moment: "Commander Zhou, how do you usually engage these kinds of targets?"

"Mortar bombardment, then infantry charge."

"Too slow." Amir shook his head. "Watch me."

He told his sergeant, "Khalid, take two men and flank from the left. I'll lead the men to draw fire from the front. When you hear my whistle, you attack from the flank and rear."

"Commander, you can't..."

"Execute the command!"

Khalid gritted his teeth and disappeared into the jungle with two soldiers.

Amir turned to Zhou Weiguo: "Commander Zhou, have your machine gun team set up a firing point here to suppress the enemy. The rest of you, follow me."

"You want to personally lead the charge?" Zhou Weiguo's eyes widened.

"I charged ahead so the soldiers would dare to follow." Amir checked the MP18 submachine gun in his hand. "This is a lesson I learned in the desert: wherever the lead sheep goes, the flock follows."

He said no more and moved forward, crouching low. More than twenty soldiers followed behind him.

After advancing a hundred meters, the Dutch position came into view. It was indeed a semi-underground bunker, constructed of logs and sandbags, with a Lewis light machine gun spitting fire from its firing port. Bullets struck the surrounding tree trunks, sending wood chips flying.

Amir, lying behind a ditch, said to the soldiers beside him, "Throw smoke grenades!"

Three smoke grenades flew out in a distinctive arc, landing in front of the position. Thick white smoke quickly billowed out, obscuring the shooters' vision.

"Now!" Amir blew his whistle.

A sharp whistle pierced through the gunfire.

Almost simultaneously, an explosion rang out from the jungle on the left—a grenade thrown by Khalid and his men. This was followed by machine gun fire and shouts in Arabic.

The Dutch machine guns were turned around.

"Charge!" Amir leaped off the embankment, running and firing his submachine gun.

The soldiers followed him in the charge. They covered the thirty meters in five seconds. Amir was the first to jump into the bunker, and a Dutch soldier who was trying to turn his machine gun was shot down by Amir.

The battle ended in thirty seconds. Of the seven Dutch soldiers, three were killed and four surrendered.

Amir inspected the bunker. Inside, besides the machine gun, there was a box of ammunition, several rifles, and a field telephone. He picked up the receiver, and a Dutch shout came through: "Position Three! Report! Position Three!"

He hung up the phone.

"Commander, you're wounded!" a soldier exclaimed.

Amir looked down and saw a gash in his left sleeve, from which blood was flowing. It was probably from being cut by barbed wire when he jumped into the bunker.

"It's a minor injury." He tore off a piece of his sleeve to bandage it. "Where's Khalid?"

"I'm here." The sergeant emerged from behind cover, his face stained with gunpowder. "Flanking maneuver successful. Two killed, one captured. No casualties on our side."

"Very good." Amir glanced at the Dutch prisoners squatting on the ground. They were all young men, the oldest no more than twenty-five, their faces filled with fear.

"Can you speak English?" he asked in English.

One of the prisoners, who was wearing glasses, nodded.

Where is your main force?

"They've...they've retreated into the city," the prisoner said, trembling. "The officer said they can't hold the beachhead and need to organize a defense in the city."

How many people are there?

"I don't know...maybe...maybe two thousand people? Including the police and militia."

Amir understood the situation. The garrison of two thousand men was demoralized and poorly equipped. The Fifth and Sixth Divisions combined numbered twenty-four thousand, along with parts of the First Division. The troop strength was twelve to one, and they had an overwhelming advantage in firepower.

"Take him away and hand him over to the POW camp." He said to Zhou Weiguo, "Commander Zhou, it seems the Dutch don't intend to fight a decisive battle on the beachhead. Notify the troops to speed up the landing. I want to set up the division headquarters in Pontianak city before sunset today."

"yes!"

Amir stepped out of the bunker and looked back toward the coast.

The landing zone has expanded several times over. More soldiers, vehicles, and supplies are coming ashore. Engineering troops are laying temporary roads with prefabricated steel plates, and trucks are driving off one after another. In the distance, several 105mm howitzers are being towed ashore, their muzzles pointing towards Pontianak city.

The power of modern amphibious warfare was on full display at this moment.

A communications soldier ran over: "Commander! Headquarters called to say that Mr. Wang has arrived and is asking where you are."

Uncle Wang. Amir recalled the old man who tearfully saw him off at the Dubai dock.

"Tell him I'm waiting for him on the beach," he said. "Send a car to pick him up."

At nine o'clock in the morning, a jeep bumped its way out of the jungle and stopped at the entrance of the command post on the beach.

Uncle Wang got off the car. Today he had specially changed into a dark gray traditional long gown, his hair was neatly combed, and the "Returning Home" badge on his chest was polished to a shine. But the fatigue of the long voyage was still written on his face: deep eye bags, pale skin, and his legs were a little weak when he got off the car.

Amir went up to him and helped him up, saying, "Uncle Wang, please take it easy."

"It's alright, it's alright." The old man waved his hand, but his eyes darted around anxiously. "This...this is Pontianak?"

"To be precise, it's the Red Beach outside Pontianak," Amir said. "The city is over there, about five kilometers away. The Dutch garrison is still putting up resistance, but it's not a well-organized force. The vanguard of the 1st Division has already advanced to the edge of the city."

Wang Bo ignored the military reports. His gaze swept across the beach to the distant, blurry outline of the city. His lips trembled slightly.

"Forty-four years..." he murmured, "Forty-four years..."

"Uncle Wang, are you going into town now?" Amir asked. "But the city isn't safe yet."