Deep within the lands of Tanggute lays the Potala Palace, the governmental palace of the Maitreya and his Four Bodhisattvas. The Palace was seemingly an impregnable fortress defended by some of the most highly trained warriors of the Maitreya which many considered to be impossible to break into. Despite that, the Central Tibetan Administration has organised Operation Ganden Phodrang, a raid on the Potala palace to assassinate the Maitreya and his Bodhisattvas. The Central Tibetan Administration has authorised the raid with the assistance of the Tibetan Communist Party and the Free Tibet Army. The Operation would be executed by a thirty man squad made up of twenty-two Free Tibet Army soldiers and eight Tibetan Communists all heavily armed and hand picked from the most elite and veteran squads. Leading the raid would be Captain Sonam Topgyal, a veteran of the initial invasion of the Maitreya.

These specially selected men were trained in infiltration and exfiltration techniques, weaponry, navigation, airborne operations, hand-to-hand combat (with emphasis on knife fighting), and concealment.

May 28th

22:00

The Operation begun with the Tibetan squad crossing over to Lhasa from Gongxia, avoiding any patrols from the Maitreya or his Bodhisattvas. By 2am the next day they had set up camp just outside of Lhasa, preparing for the incredibly dangerous advance onto the Palace. At 6am, four brothers from Lhasa were out cutting firewood and stumbled across the unit's camp. After a fierce debate over whether to kill the brothers, it was decided by the Tibetan Communist Party members instead to try to indoctrinate them on the benefits of communism and they were released with a stern warning not to notify the police. However, the brothers immediately reported the presence of the unit to the Maitreyan garrison nearly an hour away.

The unit broke camp and increased their pace to more than 10 km/h, carrying 30 kg of equipment each, having to go as quickly as they can before the garrison responded to the report. Changing into Maitreyan uniforms of the local Demon-Vanquishing Army, complete with the correct unit insignia (which they had brought with them), they formed up and prepared to march the last kilometre to the Potala Palace, posing as Maitreyan soldiers returning from a counter-insurgent patrol. The unit marched through Lhasa, even passing other Maitreyan soldiers.

At 10pm on May 30, the unit approached the Potala checkpoint less than 100 meters from the Palace, where the Righteous Commander Jamtso Gonpo approached the unit and began to question them. When he grew suspicious of their answers, he drew his pistol and was shot by members of the unit who started firing and throwing grenades at the checkpoint. After several minutes of shooting, the unit dispersed. Righteous Commander Gonpo and the Warrior-Monk Lobsang were killed in the firefight; one commando was captured but managed to commit suicide.

Nearly an hour later in the aftermath of the firefight the unit was able to enter the Palace under the pretext of reinforcements for the Maitreya. Captain Sonam Topgyal was able to get within the room of the Maitreya and assassinated him with his service pistol. Seconds after the shooting, the four Bodhisattvas entered the room and summarily executed Captain Topgyal. They were disposed of when two of the unit ran into the room and killed them promptly with sub-machine guns. Unfortunately the men were also quickly killed by loyal Maitreyan cultists.

As the chaos ingulfed the palace there was a flurry of violence where loyal Maitreyans and commandos both were executed or tortured. Out of the thirty man squad:

1 Captured (Committed Suicide)

19 Killed (KIA)

8 Escaped

2 Missing (MIA)

Now with the Maitreya and his Bodhisattvas killed, all the Central Tibetan Administration had to do was clean up the rest of the Maitreyan loyalists and within time the entire country would be returned back to Tibetan rule.