American Strategic Deception Bureau

　In 1962, after two years of living together, 59-year-old Sukarno and 22-year-old Nanako secretly married in the presidential palace. According to Indonesian custom, Nanako was given the name Latona Sari Dewi Sukarno. In Sanskrit, this name means "holy goddess like a jewel."

　However, during this period, Dai Wei's younger brother, Ba Zengnan, went bankrupt and committed suicide due to failed investments, which made her, as an older sister, very sad.

　To make her happy, Sukarno built a magnificent palace for her on the outskirts of Jakarta and named it after Dewi's deceased brother, Bajung.

　In this way, Dewi, the eighth-ranked wife, became Sukarno's fourth wife, and she became more favored than the previous wives.

　Even during the turbulent times of coups and civil war, Sukarno's first reaction was to run to the Bajrangnan Palace to be with Dewi.

　As a result, at the Bazongnan Palace, President Sukarno received a call and learned that unknown armed men had attacked the presidential palace.

　This shocked Sukarno, who thought that the current Hachiman Palace might not be safe either - because, by now, any Jakarta citizen with a little gossip probably knew that if Sukarno was not in the Presidential Palace, he would most likely stay in the Hachiman Palace with his newly married Japanese wife.

　So Sukarno immediately took Mrs. Dewi into the car and fled, leaving the two platoons of rebels sent by Suharto to attack the Bazengnan Palace empty-handed.

　However, the problem was that the presidential motorcade carrying Sukarno and his wife, Dewi, was still on its way to escape when it was recognized by another rebel motorcade. Immediately, the two sides chased each other through the streets of downtown Jakarta, shooting at each other in a life-and-death race.

　During the battle, several of Sukarno's bodyguards were shot and killed. However, they ultimately managed to escort President Sukarno and his wife, Devi, to a "Human Superpower Research Base" known as the "Red Flag Kiln," where 400 elite Soviet troops were stationed and a "Tantric Master" practiced Joyful Zen day and night.

　The rebels hesitated for a moment when they saw the heavily armed Soviet soldiers and the sandbag fortifications blocking the road. However, President Sukarno was a target they could not abandon, so after a brief negotiation failed, they quickly engaged the Soviets.

　Major General Suharto's reaction was also very quick. Once he confirmed the location of President Sukarno, he immediately gave up all other goals, gathered 700 soldiers, plus 150 mercenaries provided by the CIA, and rushed towards the super power base, or the "Red Flag Kiln"!

　For a time, the "Red Flag Kiln" suffered

　Under the fierce siege of nearly a thousand rebels, Suharto, with red eyes, used all the firepower at hand. Mortar shells and rockets flew in the air, armored vehicles directly crashed open the door, and the rebels' flamethrowers joined the battle, burning the building into a sea of ​​fire.

　When the battle was at its most critical, even the Tantric master Belkov, codenamed "Werewolf", had to climb down from the body of a mature woman, run barefoot to the roof, and personally operate a heavy machine gun to engage in a shootout with the rebels and CIA mercenaries outside.

　Mrs. Dewi, who was pregnant at the time, was also knocked unconscious by a shell in the melee, resulting in an unfortunate miscarriage, which made Sukarno burst into tears.

　Then, it was learned that the "Red Flag Kiln", where all the "Tantric Masters" of the Red Camp gathered, was being besieged and bombarded by Indonesian rebels and was in imminent danger. The Indonesian government had no time to react, but the Presidium of the Soviet Central Committee in the Kremlin, which received the news, almost went crazy.

　How could this be considered subverting the Sukarno regime in Indonesia? It was clearly depriving these old men of their health and lives!

　This is outrageous! Kill all these damn monkeys! Let these bastards know the wrath of a superpower!

　Under the Kremlin's crazy roar and strict orders, the diplomatic attachés and guards of the Soviet Embassy in Indonesia rushed out of the embassy without caring about international law. Even the ambassador himself took up his gun and rushed all the way to the super power research base to attack Suharto's rebels from behind.

　The Soviet Pacific Fleet, which had just ended its visit and was returning from Jakarta not long ago, was also ordered to turn around and return to Jakarta to help put down the rebellion.

　Next, part of Sukarno's presidential guard, the Indonesian Navy's sailors who had come ashore, the Workers and Peasants' Red Guards urgently mobilized by Indonesian Communist Party leader Aidit, the officers and soldiers of the Diponegoro Division who were airlifted to Jakarta, and the armed police in Jakarta all rushed to rescue him.

　These disorganized reinforcements fought Suharto's rebels at the Red Flag Kiln for a full day and night. It was not until the evening of the next day that Major General Suharto, having run out of ammunition and food, abandoned the remaining rebel troops and CIA mercenaries and fled alone in disguise.

　Until this time, the main force of the rebels, the Siliwangi Division, 200 kilometers away, had just left its base and was slowly moving towards the capital Jakarta.

　In this way, the Jakarta mutiny launched by Major General Suharto failed after fighting alone for 36 hours.

　After cleaning up the battlefield, Indonesia not only captured several CIA spies and mercenaries, but also obtained solid evidence that the US intelligence agencies instigated and participated in the rebellion. President Sukarno angrily announced the severance of diplomatic relations with the United States and expelled diplomats from the US embassy in Indonesia.

　At this point, Indonesia officially ended its neutrality in the US-Soviet rivalry and turned to leaning towards the Eastern Bloc.

　What followed was a full-scale civil war between the right-wing army led by the "Generals' Committee" and the Sukarno government, which had completely turned left.

　-

　According to the plan of Defense Minister Nasution, he wanted to replicate the experience of the Spanish Civil War, mobilize army border troops and field troops from various outlying islands, and then march back to Java Island in a large force to compete with President Sukarno, who did not have much regular army.

　Unexpectedly, as President Sukarno publicly condemned the rebels, the morale of the rebel armies in various places soon began to waver.

　Despite his philandering ways, Sukarno was undoubtedly a charismatic leader. As the nation's founding leader, he held a special place in the hearts of the people. Even his most radical opponents wouldn't dare call him a bad person, only suggesting he was wrong on certain issues.

　There is no way around it. As the founding monarch who led the Indonesian people out of three hundred years of colonial rule, Sukarno’s prestige is just that high!

　Not to mention, the Soviet Union was madly supporting Sukarno and the Indonesian Communist Party. The entire red camp's calls for support for Sukarno were getting louder and louder. China and the Soviet Union temporarily put aside their differences and declared their willingness to do their utmost to help Indonesian comrades smash the imperialist subversive conspiracy.

　As a result, although the "Generals' Committee" had the support of most officers, the soldiers began to back off.

　——Even if the rebellion succeeds, the benefits will all go to the officers. What good will these soldiers get?

　If we lose the war, we will be charged with treason, and our descendants will be in trouble!

　On October 7, the army stationed in Semarang, a city in central Java, mutinied. The rebel officers and soldiers placed officers under house arrest and announced their support for Sukarno.

　The next day, after an internal conflict, the army in Surabaya purged right-wing officers who were inclined to rebellion and announced its support for the legitimate government.

　As for the rural areas of Central Java and East Java, under the leadership of the Indonesian Communist Party, red flags were flying and the reactionaries were defeated.

　By October 10, all the right-wing rebel forces on the entire island of Java had been basically wiped out. Only the Siliwangyi Division in Bandung and a small number of other troops were left, barely holding on to the military camps on the outskirts of Bandung, despite the heavy bombing by the Air Force and the harassment and siege by the Red Militia.

　Fortunately, President Sukarno, out of respect, did not allow Soviet troops to directly participate in the Bandung counterinsurgency operations. Otherwise, the Siliwangi Division would have been decimated even more rapidly. However, even facing repeated bombing raids by the Soviet air force, the Siliwangi Division, equipped with American-made weapons, was unable to withstand it.

　——The American army has almost the same problem. Although the firepower of frontal combat is strong, the logistical requirements are extremely high, and its own air defense capability is weak, and it is almost impossible to change the air supremacy.

　Fighting under such circumstances: Because the US military can hardly imagine how air superiority can be in the hands of the enemy?

　The five rebel generals of the "Generals' Committee" who were trapped in the military camp outside Bandung sent telegrams for help almost every day, almost screaming and crying, to Defense Minister Nasution in Sumatra and Army Chief Yani in Sulawesi, asking for help, saying that they were isolated behind enemy lines and could not hold out for much longer.

　In this regard, Defense Minister Nasution, who proclaimed himself the leader of the Indonesian military government in Palembang, was helpless for a while and could not send any troops.

　Because Indonesia's navy and air force fully supported Sukarno's government, and Soviet warships volunteered to assist, the rebellious Indonesian army, scattered across various islands, was cut off by the vast ocean and unable to support each other. Even when the situation was unfavorable, they were unable to retreat or regroup.

　With no other options left, Nasution had no choice but to shamelessly ask the United States for help. In the name of the "Free Indonesian Government", he took the initiative to invite the US military to land on Java Island to cooperate with the "freedom fighters" in launching a "just war" to completely eradicate the "red plague" that was harming Indonesia.

　Even if the US military is unwilling to directly participate in the war, please at least provide them with a transport fleet with warship escort. This will allow the "Generals' Committee" to gather and transport the scattered Indonesian army from various islands and gather them on the Sumatra battlefield to prepare for the upcoming decisive battle between the two armies.

　This posed a difficult choice for President Johnson and his staff: should the United States intervene directly in the Indonesian civil war and support the right-wing rebels? And what extent should the intervention be?

　If no military intervention is sent, the largest country in Southeast Asia will completely turn red, causing the Eastern "Bamboo Curtain" of Cold War confrontation to further collapse and shatter.

　If the US military intervenes, considering the huge size of Indonesia, it may be stuck in a quagmire even bigger than the Vietnam War.

　Finally, under the lobbying of the military-industrial complex, Jewish groups and right-wing militant conservatives, and out of fear and worry about the "dominoes" falling one after another on the Southeast Asian front, President Johnson finally made a difficult decision - to send troops to Indonesia!

　Author's Note: PS: In this dimension, the Strait of Malacca will be cut off from shipping due to the conflict between Indonesia and Malaysia, and the Suez Canal will be cut off from shipping due to the Third Middle East War. If these two major shipping bottlenecks are cut off, can the economies of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan still develop?

　In that case, we really have to import all the raw materials from the United States, rely entirely on the American market for sales, and only make a profit from the processing fee in Asia.

　Chapter 340: If we can’t go to Saigon, let’s go to Jakarta!

　October 15, 1965, Vietnam front, Da Nang, the capital of "Quang Nan", the headquarters of the US military in Vietnam

　In this land repeatedly ravaged by typhoons and rainstorms, another tropical rainy season is about to end, and the dry season suitable for military operations is about to arrive. Since ancient times, whenever the muddy roads are dried up by the dry season sun, the seal of the god of war and destruction will be lifted.

　General Westmoreland, the current commander of US forces in Vietnam, is apparently planning the course of his war at this pace.

　After the world-famous blitzkrieg on Hanoi two years ago, the mixed-out security battle in the Central Highlands last year, and the disastrous Cambodian counteroffensive, the calendar on the wall now turns to General Westmoreland's third year as commander of the US forces in Vietnam.

　Despite commanding half a million soldiers and being in charge of the largest field army in the United States, Westmoreland did not feel much ambition.

　As time went on, General Westmoreland even felt that his position as commander of the US forces in Vietnam was becoming increasingly precarious.

　Under his command, hundreds of thousands of American troops have been struggling in the bloody quagmire of Vietnam for three years, but there is still no sign of an end to the war.

　To be honest, General Westmoreland was ruthless in his treatment of the Viet Cong. He consistently advocated the use of cold-blooded massacre and destruction to crush the Vietnamese Red Guerrillas. He used a blanket of defoliants and napalm, creating a patchwork of death across Vietnam.

　However, no matter how good the exchange ratio he achieved on the battlefield, the Viet Cong guerrillas could not be killed or wiped out.

　Moreover, on other battlefields where there was no US military to serve as an iron wall, the Viet Cong continued to advance triumphantly, fighting from Phnom Penh to Vientiane, and then sprinting towards Bangkok, letting red flags be planted on piece of land one after another, as if it had been hit by a plague and was quickly dyed red.

　And the American mainland in the rear is also going from complaints to chaos due to the impact of this long war.

　- The ever-increasing military spending squeezed out the funds originally intended for social welfare. By the end of 1965, the "Great Society" plan proposed by President Johnson in 1964 and the inspiring slogan of "War on Poverty" had almost come to nothing.

　School financial aid has been drastically cut, affordable housing for the poor has been delayed, and health care costs have skyrocketed fivefold. Yet, most Americans don't feel they've saved much on medical care. Instead, the variety of drugs available has become much richer.

　The poor did receive free food stamps, but thanks to the unique agricultural resources of the Great Plains of North America, they had rarely suffered from hunger before.

　Universities have greatly expanded their enrollment, but American industry is shifting to Japan and South Korea, and it's unclear where jobs will be available after graduation.

　With the start of the civil rights movement, the conflict between blacks and whites became more and more serious.

　But instead of easing, the situation has become increasingly serious. Both sides feel that they have been cheated and taken advantage of. Racial conflicts are spreading across the United States and are becoming increasingly severe, as if they are getting out of control.

　In short, there are more and more complaints among the people, various anti-war voices are getting louder and louder, and it has become a trend for young people to evade military service.

　In the United States during World War II, draft dodging was a socially devastating scandal that brought shame upon the entire family. But in today's America, draft dodging is now something you can openly admit to, and burning down a draft station has even become a celebrated act of "heroism."

　Society is being torn apart, arguments are intensifying, the generation gap between young people and their elders is widening, and conflicts between the United States and its allies are accumulating.

　The above pressures not only accumulated in Washington, but also crossed the Pacific and were transmitted to the shoulders of General Westmoreland.

　From the Pentagon to the White House to Capitol Hill, everyone hopes that he can win victory on the front line as soon as possible and end this protracted war.

　Faced with the high hopes of so many people, General Westmoreland already had his own battle plan, which was...

　Recapture Saigon! Rebuild South Vietnam!

　Next destination is Saigon!

　——According to General Westmoreland's review and analysis of recent wars, the reason why the "Bamboo Curtain" of the Vietnam War collapsed, why the US military had to intervene personally, and why the communists expanded massively throughout Southeast Asia, all started with the fall of Saigon.

　Therefore, if we want to end the spread of the red plague and free the free world from the nightmare, we should naturally start by retaking Saigon.

　As long as the American flag is successfully hoisted over Gia Long Palace and the Pink Church in Saigon, the expansion momentum of the Viet Cong in recent years will come to an abrupt halt.

　Well, at least that's what General Westmoreland, Secretary of Defense McNamara, and the Pentagon staff thought.

　To this end, after the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Kampot in the last dry season, the US troops stationed in Vietnam licked their wounds, replenished their troops and equipment throughout the rainy season, and made full preparations for a grand strategy to counterattack Saigon in the next dry season and retake the entire Mekong Delta.

　- Scout the enemy, repair airports, expand ports, build roads, stockpile supplies, ask the Pentagon for more troops, more aircraft and naval fleets, and ask Australia and South Korea to send more troops to Vietnam to participate in the war and replace the US military.

　At the same time, General Westmoreland also abandoned most of the forward bases in the Central Highlands Mountains, and gathered together the American troops that were scattered among the towering mountains, guarding checkpoints and playing hide-and-seek with the Viet Cong guerrillas for security, and trained them to restore their field combat capabilities.

　As for what to do if the Viet Cong infiltrates the Central Highlands again, the only thing they can do is make the indigenous chiefs in the Central Highlands suffer.

　By this point, preparations for the Battle of Saigon were finally complete, and the rainy season on the Vietnam battlefield had drawn to a close. American troops were gradually canceling their leave and were about to depart for the southern front or embark on ships at the ports, launching a land and sea attack on Saigon.

　However, just as General Westmoreland's Saigon attack was being carried out in an orderly and intensive manner.

　A mutiny from the far south and a telegram from Washington suddenly put an end to all this.

　——Since President Johnson has decided to intervene in the Indonesian civil war, the American military group closest to Indonesia and most suitable for mobilizing to participate in the war is naturally the 500,000 American troops stationed in Vietnam under the command of General Westmoreland (actually a multinational coalition).

　As a result, the Saigon attack, which was about to start, had to be urgently stopped in order to free up mobile forces to be deployed to the Indonesian battlefield.

　Seeing their meticulously prepared Saigon attack plan reduced to nothingness, the American staff officers at the US Forces Vietnam headquarters felt deeply upset and empty.

　General Westmoreland, commander of the US forces in Vietnam, despite having mixed feelings, still stood up and spoke to encourage his subordinates.

　"At the beginning of the last century, the great Emperor Napoleon once planned a plan to attack the British mainland. He spent a full two years working day and night to build a huge military camp and dock in the port of Boulogne, across the sea from Britain, and assembled an attacking force as long as 15 kilometers.

　Unfortunately, the heroic efforts of British naval hero Admiral Nelson and the glorious victory at the Battle of Trafalgar destroyed the combined French and Spanish fleets and prevented Emperor Napoleon's army from crossing the Strait of Dover, thus thwarting the long-planned crossing plan.

　General Westmoreland said, "But Emperor Napoleon was not discouraged. Instead, he told his soldiers, 'Since we can't go to London, let's go to Vienna!'" He then led an army of 18 men eastward, captured Vienna, and defeated the combined forces of Russia and Austria in the Battle of the Three Emperors, destroying the Third Coalition and establishing the First French Empire's dominance in Europe.

　So, I hope you all will have the courage to face any unexpected eventuality, just like Napoleon and his marshals did! Since we can't go to Saigon this time, let's go to Jakarta! You know, the honor and merit of capturing Jakarta will definitely be as great as retaking Saigon!

　Please formulate a battle plan for conquering Indonesia as quickly as possible!"

　He then ordered his orderly to pack his bags because - "We will be moving our headquarters to Singapore soon!"

　Work

　Author's words: PS: With the opening of the Indonesian battlefield and the transfer of a large number of US troops, the importance of the Vietnam battlefield will be greatly reduced.

　After the battlefields in Thailand and Malaysia are reopened, then Phiri will probably be qualified to serve as the commander of US forces in Vietnam again.

　Chapter 341: Indonesian monkeys are much easier to fight than Vietnamese monkeys! (Part 1)

　October 30, 1965, Nha Trang, Vietnam

　John Simmons, a rookie fourth-class recruit in the Marine Corps, stood on the pier with a heavy bag on his back, waiting to board the ship.

　Looking at the huge steel ships with masts like a forest around him, the colorful flags fluttering in the wind, and his fellow Marines who were crowded together, he did not have the slightest passion or ambition to rush to the battlefield, make a name for himself, and achieve great achievements. Instead, he had only endless fatigue, numbness, and ennui.

　Like the other Marines, John Simmons's pack contained a shoulder bag, a satchel, a blanket, a tent, a raincoat, tent stakes, lanyards, a replacement set of boots, socks, and underwear, a spare uniform, mess kit, shaving kit, and trench digging tools. Add to that a helmet, two canteens, a sidearm, body armor, binoculars, a compass, a knife, and rations, bringing the total weight to 65 pounds for each person.

　Two thousand years ago, after Marius's reforms, Roman soldiers, forced to carry their own baggage and unable to use animals, often referred to themselves as "Marius' mules." Today's US Marines, burdened with packs heavier than those of the Romans, often refer to themselves as "Westmoreland's (US Forces Commander in Vietnam) mules" or "McNamara's (Secretary of Defense) mules."

　However, compared with the heavy burden on his shoulders, what makes John Simmons feel more exhausted is the psychological burden and confusion.

　The brutal Vietnam War had been going on for three years. The American people in the rear were in an uproar because of it, and the American soldiers on the front line also felt exhausted. At that time, the US military was not using a recruitment system that cost money to recruit people, but was using the conscription system since World War II. The recruiting officers went directly to the universities and forced young men of appropriate age to draw lots. If you didn't draw, you were lucky. If you drew and passed the physical examination, you would be sent to the battlefield. If you dared to evade military service, your name would be recorded in the file and your future would be ruined.

　Why do recruiters like to go to college?

　Because if you recruit those unemployed street thugs or bachelors who do odd jobs, they may just run away and you won't be able to find them.

　But if they are college students, there are weaknesses that can be exploited.

　First of all, in the United States, people who can afford to go to college generally come from at least a middle-class family with a certain social status and some respectability. Parents usually also have a strong sense of patriotism and a sense of the overall situation, and would not bear to see their children evading military service and making a fool of themselves.

　Secondly, if you evade military service, does that mean your university degree is no longer needed? With a record of evasion, will you still be able to find a good job in the future?

　The problem is that although college students do have weaknesses, they are also the most motivated and most capable group in a country in terms of propaganda activities.

　Chinese university students were able to launch the May Fourth Movement and set fire to the Foreign Minister's house. Are American university students really going to behave themselves?