The Chinese had the audacity to call themselves a “UN” force and fly UN blue flags. They did so because the original UN resolution that had authorized peacekeeping troops in Canada was poorly worded and open-ended. The declaration stated, “Any nation with a full UN delegation that is willing to send troops may do so, using their organic transport capability.”

So now the UN was in a strange position: “UN troops” were again invading western Canada. But, in their classic debating-society style, the UN General Assembly adopted a “wait-and-see” posture, rather than condemning the Chinese incursion. Some of the delegations reasoned that if the invasion was not immediately countered by the U.S. there might be international trade advantages in allowing the Chinese to stay.

Phil reacted to the news. “The sheer numbers are daunting. While the French had attempted to control western Canada with just a few brigades, the Chinese are pouring in corps-size formations. By the way, the Chinese use the term brigade to designate what most other armies would call a ‘division,’ and what they call a ‘division’ most other armies would call a ‘corps.’ In their mechanized infantry brigade table of organization, for example, there are four thousand soldiers.

“As near as I can determine, there is a full mechanized infantry brigade controlling a fifty-kilometer-wide swath stretching from Bella Coola to Williams Lake. Each brigade has four battalions of mechanized infantry, one battalion of tanks, one artillery battalion, one communication battalion, and one engineer battalion. Oh, I should mention that there are two different flavors of PLA mechanized infantry: one with tracked equipment and the other with wheeled equipment. And it is obvious that the one that they are garrisoning here is the wheeled variety.

“Now, assuming that they are using their published post-2006 TO&E, then within the mechanized infantry battalions, there are three companies, with three platoons per company. Each company has thirteen infantry fighting vehicles (with four per platoon) plus one command vehicle. Now, the artillery brigade has seventy-two PLZ89 122mm self-propelled guns, and their tank battalion has ninety-nine Type 96 main battle tanks.

“So, not even counting the tanks, we’re talking about a total of 156 APCs in just our sector. That means we’re facing more armored APCs on the ground than the French had fielded vehicles of all descriptions—of which half were merely stolen pickup trucks that were turned into technicals. Add to that another ninety-nine tanks? That is a Schumer-load of armor.”

He paused to let his words sink in, and then continued. “The bottom line is that we simply cannot fight the Chinese the same way we fought the first UNPROFOR.”

Alan said, “I think they plan to treat Canada just as they have much of Africa, as a colonial strip mine. They want all of our mineral wealth, and they want our timber. Why else would they be here in force?”

The PLA timed their invasion of Canada for the period just after UNPROFOR’s capitulation, but before a Canadian Defense Force could be reestablished. China recognized that it was in a nuclear stalemate with the United States. Both nations had nukes, but both were reluctant to use them for fear of escalation to a full-scale exchange. The Beijing government, therefore, felt that they could get away with invading western Canada. Their plan was to seize all of the provinces from Saskatchewan westward, and then bargain for permanent occupation and a peace settlement with the Toronto government.

As one well-known political and international affairs blogger put it, “So the Chinese position is simple: ‘We take western Canada and keep it for our own. And if you play nice, then we promise not to nuke you.’”

•   •   •

When the Chinese arrived in western Canada, they had expected a level of resistance similar to what they had encountered in Africa, but they were in for a rude surprise. Not only did the resistance cells that had fought the French UNPROFOR troops have plenty of experience, but they were now very well equipped, with large quantities of captured weapons, ammunition, and night vision gear. Much of that gear was widely distributed in homes, farms, and ranches. (After the French had surrendered, the new status symbol for Canadian ranchers was to have a captured UN armored vehicle in their machine sheds, alongside their tractors.)

The Chinese had few friends waiting for them in Canada. They were almost universally despised. Even the majority of the large Chinese immigrant population hated them, since the PLA represented everything that the immigrants had left behind when they fled China.

Six weeks after the Chinese arrived, Malorie had switched from carrying her FAMAS to a captured Chinese 5.8mm carbine. Her new weapon was a QBZ-95 (Type 95 automatic rifle). Like the FAMAS, this was a bullpup-style carbine manufactured by Norinco. It shot the Chinese 5.8x42mm cartridge, which, up until the Crunch, was only rarely exported, and only for military contracts.

The PLA’s experience in invading Africa had helped ready them for their planned Canadian invasion. They had become accustomed to operating with a long logistics “tail,” ranging over long distances with limited resupply. The majority of their tanks, APCs, and trucks were retrofitted with trundle racks to hold fuel cans, giving their vehicles “longer legs.” While this increased their vulnerability, the longer-range capability was a must. And, since Canada was viewed by Chinese strategic planners as a vast, underpopulated expanse, it was decided that all of the vehicles sent to Canada should be similarly outfitted for long range. (The PLA borrowed the aviation term “radius of action” in their ground-combat doctrinal treatises.)

50

BLINDING FLASH

I believe that liberty is the only genuinely valuable thing that men have invented, at least in the field of government, in a thousand years. I believe that it is better to be free than to be not free, even when the former is dangerous and the latter safe. I believe that the finest qualities of man can flourish only in free air—that progress made under the shadow of the policeman’s club is false progress, and of no permanent value. I believe that any man who takes the liberty of another into his keeping is bound to become a tyrant, and that any man who yields up his liberty, in however slight the measure, is bound to become a slave.

—H. L. Mencken

United States Phil Bucklew Naval Special Warfare Center (NSWC), Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, California—July, the Eleventh Year

The air-conditioning unit was not working, but as was the tradition in the U.S. Navy, adverse environmental conditions were not an excuse to cancel or reschedule training. Rather, they were considered “an opportunity to excel.” It was ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit in the classroom. The video that they were watching was on improvised explosives and incendiary devices. A lot of the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) students were not paying close attention to the film. They were now in the final days of phase three (land warfare) of their twenty-four-week course and feeling confident that they would beat the odds, graduate from the course, and go on to a SEAL team assignment. Many of the students were slumped in their chairs, daydreaming about cold bottles of beer. As Petty Officer Third Class (PO3) Jordan Foster was watching the video, his mind began to wander. He thought about his cousins in Regina, Saskatchewan, and he pondered their situation living first under the French Army occupation, and now under the Chinese Army occupation. He wondered how they might be fighting back. As the training film was showing a time-delay thermite incendiary device, an idea popped into Jordan’s head. He sat bolt upright in his chair, and a scatological expression escaped his lips. He stood up and walked briskly to the door. His instructor had been standing in the back of the classroom, doing his best to stay awake. Noticing the petty officer’s odd behavior, he followed him out the door, close behind. Once they were outside, the bright sunlight made them both blink.