Battle of the Songhua (SwordOfLands’ Universe)

The Battle of the Songhua, as part of the Allied Invasion Of China and the Amur campaign, was a battle of the Sino Wars fought by the armies of the United States (with support from volunteer militias), Russia, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines against China and North Korea. It took place between 15 January and 3 February 2022 on both sides of the lower reaches of the Songhua River in China. A decisive victory by a combined force of troops led by Generals Arthur J. Pershing and Nicholas Gage and Russian troops led by Josef Tretyakov over the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and Korean People’s Army commanded by Chinese/North Korean peers and Lieutenant Generals Fang Shen and Gyeong “Salmusa” Bak, the battle was intended to hasten an advance for the American-led Coalition and follow the Songhua River to the middle of the connecting Amur to capture the vital city of Harbin.

Following the American expedition of the Korean Peninsula in wake of devasting North Korean attacks on South Korea, the United States formed a recruiting pool for the reinstated Provincial Forces. In theory, militia members could be drafted by lot if there were inadequate forces for the Provincial Regulars; however, the draft was rarely resorted to because provincial regulars were highly paid (more highly paid than their regular Chinese and North Korean counterparts) and rarely engaged in combat. However, additional support was required for the intense lines the Chinese had made in anticipation of an invasion or other type of offensive, be it naval force, artillery and battery shelling, etc. Congress in early November 2021 recommended an immediate application to the state governments to make up the deficiency, and later that month, numerous militias appeared predominantly from Massachusetts, Vermont, California, Arizona, and Illinois. These groups were reinstated from the American Revolutionary War (1776 -1781); The Hearts of Oak (originally "The Corsicans") were originally a volunteer militia based in the British colonial Province of New York and formed circa 1775 in New York City, but soon fell under the jurisdiction and modernization, of Massachusetts, and the Green Mountain Boys were a militia organization first established in the late 1760s in the territory between the British provinces of New York and New Hampshire, known as the New Hampshire Grants and later in 1777 as the Vermont Republic (which later became the state of Vermont), and was later modernized in the 21st century.

But in December, only about 500 Hearts of Oak and Green Mountain Boys landed in the occupied zone of North Korea to help their country, as well as their British and Filipino allies fight the Chinese and retreating North Korean troops who were garrisoned all along the Songhua River, 1,434 kilometres (891 mi) from the Changbai Mountains on the China–North Korea border through China's northeastern Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. Pershing, initially furious at the lack of militia members, eventually had to just deal with it, and carried on his plan to attack along the Songhua through the winter of 2022.

The Chinese and North Korean positions along the river were heavily fortified, with a dense network of bunkers, hidden artillery positions, and 18 km (11 mi) of tunnels. In a nighttime raid, under the cover of darkness and with distraction by a modified F-15C Eagle night fighter, the combined armies surprised the Chinese and North Korean forces in and around their base locations within their fortifications. Mere thousands of troops were killed in the days-long struggle, but with only 90 being taken as prisoners of war as Shen and Salmusa called for a strategic retreat and local withdrawal further up the river.

At the end of the battle, Coalition forces had penetrated 6 mi (10 km) into Chinese territory along the majority of the front. This nineteen day battle comprised some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the Sino Wars. Debate and criticism continues over the ferocious infighting of both sides during the battle, even by war’s standards.

Background
Shortly after the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines won a major victory over the Korean People’s Army at the Second Battle of Pyongyang (1- 29 September 2021), Arthur J. Pershing decided upon a retaliatory invasion of China (in response to the unsuccessful North Korean Invasion of South Korea, the second time since the Korean War throughout the early 1950s, in accordance with Chinese influence and subsequent aggression). This would coincide with the Coalition‘s war in the mideast, to surround Beijing and Shanghai, the nation’s capitals that would subsequently became the headquarters for the Chinese Communist Party. Nearby Tianjin had also became an important communications outpost for the CCP with the Paracel Islands becoming an outpost for the imprisonment and re-education of Taiwanese and other citizens of conquered islands in the Pacific. However, for their victories, the Coalition had suffered many casualties and waning supplies. An Invasion of China would likely lead to catastrophic losses on almost all fronts. Plus, Chinese and North Korean leaders vowed revenge, while U.S. officials said they would also preemptively attack any communist-backed paramilitary groups in China that they perceived as a threat. Six days after the Second Battle of Pyongyang, China launched a small series of missile attacks on U.S. and Japanese fleets based in the South China Sea. Seeing their morale and supplies draining, threats from an increasingly militant China (now with the support of a retreating North Korea) that could lead to catastrophic damage to their respective countries, but a necessity to invade from and follow the Amur River in China from the Chinese-North Korean border, American, British, and South Korean officials recommended conscription in the United States, commonly known as the draft, which had been employed in a controversial move by the federal government for small provincial militias to help with the war effort. The fifth incarnation of the draft came into being in 2020 through the Second Selective Training and Service Act.

American militia troop involvement
Just prior to the Northern Invasion of China, on 1 November 2020, Congress, observing the Chinese and North Korean military buildup along the Amur from Pershing and other generals, recommended an immediate application to the state governments to make up the deficiency in manpower and morale. From this, only the states of Massachusetts, Vermont, California, Arizona, and Illinois responded. As early as December 2020 in New England, some men were selected from the general ranks of town-based "training bands" to be ready for rapid deployment. Men so selected were designated as “provincials”. They were usually drawn from citizens of each town, and so it was very common for them to be fighting alongside relatives and friends. These groups were reinstated from the American Revolutionary War (1776 -1781); The Hearts of Oak (originally "The Corsicans") were originally a volunteer militia based in the British colonial Province of New York and formed circa 1775 in New York City, but soon fell under the jurisdiction and modernization, of Massachusetts, and the Green Mountain Boys were a militia organization first established in the late 1760s in the territory between the British provinces of New York and New Hampshire, known as the New Hampshire Grants and later in 1777 as the Vermont Republic (which later became the state of Vermont), and was later modernized in the 21st century. Other militias included the Arizona Wildcats and California Golden Bears, both taking their names from eponymous universities in their respective states, and in this case, their mascots (i.e Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat and Oski the Bear (Oski). Both militias instead saw action in the Mideastern Invasion of China, assisting in the war effort with Japananese and Vietnamese guerillas.

After the passage of the Second Selective Service Act, it drafted a thousand men into militia service. By the end of 2020, these thousand had arrived in eastern Asia, about half going to mideastern China, and the other half to North Korea.

Prelude
Coalition intentions evolved as the military situation changed after the arrival of the militias. British losses at the Chinese-North Korean Border Skirmishes reduced the contribution available for the offensive on the Songhua and increased the urgency for the commencement of operations on the Amur.

To be continued