“Their medium-range bombers and fighters are also a threat because of their aerial-refueling capability, sir,” Captain Sun replied. “And we should not underestimate the payload capability of the B-52. Fully armed, they can carry twenty-four Harpoon antiship missiles, which can strike from as far as one hundred and fifty kilometers—”
“Yes, the heavy bombers are a threat, Captain,” Admiral Yin said, “but once we secure Davao Airport, we can launch
“The key, however, is our impending attack on Davao. What is the status of our forces and the status of our operation against Davao?” Yin asked.
“The Admiral’s headquarters fleet afloat reports fully operational,” Captain Sun replied. “All vessels report fully manned, ready, and combat-capable, with no operational defects.
“The schedule briefed yesterday is still valid, sir/’ Captain Sun continued. “At two A.M. tomorrow morning, Marine paratroopers will land on the coast outside the city of Davao and secure the Subasta and Sibuyan highways. Other Marine units will take Talikud Island and seal off the coastal towns of Samal and Bangoy on Samal Island. This will allow the minesweepers to enter Dadaotan Bay ahead of the destroyers and landing craft transports, without fear of attack in the narrow channel.”
That was the same objective during the invasion of Zamboanga, when the heavily populated Santa Cruz Channel had to be sanitized before Yin’s fleet could take up positions, except then they had more air power flying from Puerto Princesa and the element of surprise. That was gone now — unlike Zamboanga, Davao was ready for a siege.
Many things were different between Davao and the relatively easy siege of Zamboanga. Davao was the heart of the Samar government and the capital of the autonomous proIslamic government on Mindanao. Few officials and residents here were from Luzon — although Davao had as much natural beauty as Zamboanga and was the largest city on Mindanao, with a population of over seventy-five thousand, it was considered an isolated, remote, untamed frontier town and never gained the popularity of its more contemporary sister city to the west. Davao had no large military base, so there was no large-scale government facility from which to stage a “popular revolt.” Nevertheless, Yin was determined to see Davao fall.
“By five A.M. the destroyers should be in place, and the LSTs will begin deploying landing craft,” Sun continued. “The Air Force will move in to soften the beach area, and the destroyers with their escorts and shallow-draft patrol craft will secure the bay and harbors and provide gun support for the landing craft. The landing should begin at six A.M. and should be complete by eleven. Sometime tomorrow afternoon, perhaps earlier, Samar International Airport will be ours.
“The Air Force will continue to patrol the area, especially the six private airstrips within fifty kilometers of Samar International — these are known marshaling areas and resupply points for the Samar militia. Army troops should have these areas secured by day after tomorrow, along with the Cadeco River valley. General Yuhan’s forces should have also secured the radar site on Mount Apo and the Cagayan Highway to the north. With the Mount Apo radar site, we can scan the region for almost five hundred kilometers in all directions — we can detect a flock of birds or a group of whales approaching the Philippines.
“Once this is accomplished, Group One can begin patrols of the east Celebes Sea and provide escorts for supply vessels entering Davao Gulf. Group Three can begin resupply sorties to Davao via sealift until the Davao-Cotaban Highway ' is secure or until the area around Samar International Airport is secure and we can begin airlifting in supplies. We have no firm timetable on this as of yet, however. Our best option is to secure the sea-lanes for resupply until substantial numbers of troops are in place on Mindanao — it may take as long as a month.
