Chapter 18, Surprise Attack on Etajima (Part 2)
It was not until the eve of dawn the next day that the successive explosions gradually subsided. Principal Takeo Kurita climbed out of the air-raid shelter tremblingly, returned to the office building that was fortunately only half destroyed by the bombing, and lit a candle to summon his subordinates to ask about the cause of the air raid. The loss situation, and then I just felt that my eyes were dark:
Among the battleships in Wugang, among the original four battleships, only the battleship USS King Kong happened to leave the port last week for North Korea to help the army transport a batch of gold, silver and precious metals, so it escaped disaster. The remaining three battleships Haruna, Ise and Hyuga were all sunk. Among them, the water where the Haruna battleship sank was shallow, and half of the bridge could still be exposed from the water. However, the two battleships Ise and Hyuga could not even see the mast tips. . What's even worse is that the four aircraft carriers Amagi, Katsuragi, Hosho and Ryuho were the primary targets of the US aircraft, and none of them survived the air attack.
Among the original eight cruisers, the four ships of Iwate, Tone, Yakumo and Kashima were sunk in the battle, the three ships of Kitakami, Izumo, Aoba were severely damaged, and the Oyodo was slightly damaged. Basically lost their combat effectiveness. There are still twenty-two destroyers in the harbor, and almost every one of them is injured. In order to avoid air attacks, some destroyers anchored out to sea in the chaos and temporarily lost contact. Therefore, the exact number of losses needs to be further ascertained. Then there are various gunboats, torpedo boats, submarines on the docks, mine laying ships, minesweepers, supply ships, work ships, transport merchant ships, etc. At present, it is known that at least 150 ships have sunk, and more than 100 more are known to have sunk. The whereabouts of these ships are unknown. They may have fled to other ports, or they may have been sunk far away on their way to escape.
Five hundred to seven hundred aircraft of various aviation groups under the Japanese Navy were shot down by enemy planes, and more than 500 aircraft were destroyed at ground airports and aircraft carrier hangars. The losses of the Japanese Army Air Force are currently unknown, but they are estimated to be no less than 500 aircraft.
The number of casualties that can be confirmed in Wu Gang and Etajima areas is at least 40,000, half of which are civilians, and this number is still increasing. Due to the basic interruption of communications, there is no statistics on the situation of Hiroshima urban area after the bombing.
Of course, even if it encounters a surprise attack while anchored, the Japanese navy is not a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. After a day and night of fierce fighting, the Americans also had at least 400 aircraft shot down. But compared with the devastating losses of the Japanese navy, the price paid by the US military is really negligible.
——In just twenty-four hours, the seemingly mighty and mighty huge fleet in the Wugang garrison and Etajima waters, and most of the essence of the Japanese Imperial Navy’s home fleet, were blown to pieces by American aircraft. A piece of ruins.
By the way, the Naval War School on Etajima was also bombed into a large area of charred, hideous, ugly, and foul-smelling ruins. The shopping street surrounding the school was burned into a blazing hell because of the densely packed houses, and no one even escaped. The high-voltage power line tower with its steel frame was forcibly burned and turned into a pile of twisted iron. A 500-kilogram bomb hit the school's dormitory building, causing human flesh, brains, and intestines to splatter onto the red brick walls. No one dared to go up there to bury and collect the bodies. The car belonging to Principal Takeo Kurita was also burned into a charred iron shell.
In the dim morning light, looking at the devastated and smoke-filled campus, Principal Takeo Kurita finally couldn't help but feel sad and looked up to the sky and howled.
After all, he, the principal, must bear a great deal of responsibility for the catastrophe that has befell Etajima.
——From the beginning to the end, although a certain degree of security measures were taken, Principal Kurita Takeo did not think that the US military would attack again.
Because, in his mind, the current situation of the Japanese Empire should be similar to that of the Second German Empire after the defeat of World War I, the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II, but before the Paris Peace Conference was held. Although Germany at that time was defeated, the east The front lines to the west and the west were still on the territory of other countries, and not a single soldier of the Allied Powers had entered German territory. Although there will be a humiliating Paris Peace Conference and an unequal treaty that makes the Germans miserable, for the millions of soldiers of the Second German Reich, the long and cruel war is finally over. Since the Allies did not attack the Kiel military port after the Kaiser abdicated, then the US military should not attack the Wugang garrison again, right?
Therefore, according to Kurita Takeo's thinking, now that Imperial Japan is destined to be defeated, and the trend is basically irreversible, then the next step should be the task of politicians. The first thing is to elect a new government that is acceptable to Japan's military and civilians, rather than the current self-talking grass-roots team. Then use the chips you still have in hand to find ways to bargain with the United States and try to win a more relaxed peace treaty.
In these days, he has actually been waiting for the "Japanese Provisional Government" to send someone to come over and lay out the conditions for recruitment - since you want to negotiate peace with the Americans on behalf of Japan, you cannot completely ignore the opinions of the Navy and Army. , don’t arrange seats for the big bosses of the navy and army!
In Kurita Takeo's view, the army's concentration in the Hiroshima area was actually just a gesture to force the "Japanese Provisional Government" to consider the interests of the army: even if the war was to end, then millions of people in the navy and army should How to place it? What about the millions of square kilometers of occupied areas overseas and the millions of Japanese immigrants who have moved overseas? We cannot let a few of you politicians and chaebols have the final say on behalf of all of Japan!
Perhaps those radical young generals had the idea of rising troops to cause chaos, seizing power if they advanced, and separatist forces if they retreated: there were many such people in the late Tokugawa period. But as a timid old man who has long since expired, Principal Kurita Takeo, nicknamed "Runaway Kurita", although he holds the second largest fleet in Japan (the main force of the combined fleet is in Truk), there is really no such thing. He was so angry that he didn't even think he was qualified to be crowned with a yellow robe.
It is precisely because of this consideration that Principal Takeo Kurita has done nothing in the past month or so. He has only arranged supplies and rest for the navy ships that have fled from various places, so that these fleeing colleagues have food and clothing, but he has not taken any initiative at all. The idea of attacking, even the defense and warning of the military port and anchorage were arranged very carelessly. Regarding Ozawa Jisaburo's various radical proposals, he just muttered and muttered them in a perfunctory manner, deliberately stalling for time.
The army in Hiroshima mistakenly believed that with the navy in front, the city should be safe for the time being, so they were very lax in air defense alerts.
In short, Principal Takeo Kurita only wanted to stand on the last line of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and it was best to wait quietly for the arrival of peace - who knew that the old experience of World War I was completely inconsistent with the new environment of World War II: the special envoy of the Provisional Government I didn't wait, but I waited for a major air raid by the U.S. Naval Aviation!
Until this moment, looking at the blazing bay and the smoky sky, Principal Takeo Kurita finally realized:
What Halsey's fleet wants is not just for Japan to cease war and seek peace, but to completely destroy the Japanese navy that has given them countless humiliations!
As a result, Principal Takeo Kurita beat his chest for a while, burst into tears, and regretted in his heart: If he could arrange port security more seriously instead of passively coping with tasks; if he could evacuate some ships to a safer place when the port is congested, The Sasebo garrison and the Maizuru garrison; if he could dispatch the ocean-going submarine in the port in advance to monitor the movement of Halsey's fleet... maybe the situation would be different, right?
However, the bad news that Principal Takeo Kurita will receive one after another on this day is far from over.
——"...What? The naval oil depot in Tokuyama Bay was blown up?! General Ozawa Jisaburo failed to organize the firefighting and was seriously injured?!"
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——As an oil-poor island country, heavy oil is almost second only to warships in the Japanese Navy’s view. It is very precious. Therefore, all the naval oil storage tanks in Tokuyama Bay are underground and can withstand five Direct bombing with hundreds of kilogram aerial bombs.
But the problem is that the US military's B-29 Super Fortress bomber formation dropped a 12,000-pound "seismic bomb" nicknamed the "Goblet" at the Japanese naval oil depot in Tokuyama Bay (5.4 tons)...Although the B-29 Super Fortress bomber dropped bombs at high altitude The hit rate was not high, but after some indiscriminate bombing, a few bombs accurately penetrated the top of the concrete oil storage tank, and then exploded violently, turning the oil storage tank full of oil into a It turned into a giant burning alcohol lamp, and the ignited oil was thrown everywhere for a while.
Faced with waves of seemingly endless air raids by US military aircraft, the firefighting system, which suffered a large number of casualties and fled, was soon completely paralyzed in panic and chaos, and the out-of-control fires spread rapidly and out of control. Come on.
When Admiral Ozawa Jisaburo, who braved the U.S. air raid and risked his life by torpedo speedboat, came in a hurry and saw the oil storage tanks turned into giant blowtorches one after another, he almost choked with fright: You must know that the Japanese Navy is hoarding goods here. A full 600,000 tons of oil! If the burning oil tanks in front of us cannot be solved as soon as possible, otherwise the fire will spread to the remaining oil tanks, and then the entire Japanese Navy's home fleet will be lying down due to lack of oil.
Needless to say, all naval officers and soldiers who can move will go up with me to put out the fire!
However, it is not easy to put out a fire. The smoke produced by the burning of heavy oil is so irritating that it can almost make people unable to open their eyes. Tears and snot flow all over the face. Without a gas mask, it is difficult to even get close, let alone put out the fire. Moreover, water pipes and pumping stations also had problems due to air raids. The water sprayed out of the fire hoses was intermittent. Even spraying water from a distance could not reduce the temperature. I could only watch the fire getting worse. The more uncontrollable it is.
When the next wave of American planes came to bomb and strafe, the firefighters of the temporary organization were killed, and the oil tank that was already on fire was hit by several more 500-kilogram aerial bombs... Then, accompanied by a sound like a volcano With loud explosions, the oil storage tanks finally exploded one by one!
——The thermal radiation generated by violent combustion on the surface of the oil layer has actually caused the water and oil deep in the oil tank to boil. However, the bubbles generated by boiling cannot penetrate the heavy and viscous oil layer, resulting in massive boiling. The steam and oil were pressed under the thick oil layer and continued to accumulate, and then finally reached a certain critical point, just like soda or champagne that had been shaken hard and then opened, and the whole thing spurted out!
In an instant, hundreds of tons of oil were thrown into the air tens of meters, forming a series of spectacular flame fountains that splashed all around. Many amateur firefighters who were unable to escape were doused with a large amount of burning fuel, instantly turning into lumps of barbecue with a burnt smell.
General Ozawa Jisaburo, who was standing in the distance and directing the firefighting, was not fried into tempura on the spot, but he was stabbed into his lungs by a piece of hot steel. He lost consciousness in the severe pain and was rushed by his followers. Set up the torpedo boat and escape. The remaining rescuers dispersed immediately, running away almost as a reflex. Things like professional ethics have been forgotten, and all that is left in my mind is running wildly.
——Fortunately among misfortunes, after emergency rescue by military doctors, Principal Ozawa Jisaburo was seriously injured and fell into a coma, but his life did not seem to be in danger for the time being.
By the time Principal Takeo Kurita, who was at Etajima Military Academy, learned of this, Tokuyama Bay, the largest fuel reserve base of the Japanese Navy, had completely turned into a blazing volcano and could no longer be saved. The oil tanks were first ignited and heated, and then exploded due to the pressure accumulated inside, igniting everything around them, from houses to woods and even human bodies. Even at the Etajima Naval Academy, which is far away, one can still see the huge smoke column penetrating the sky and the earth in the direction of Tokuyama Bay at the end of the sky. The scene is so tragic that it is like a volcanic eruption. So far, except for guarding at Sasebo In addition to the small reserves of the government, Maizuru garrison and several civilian ports, the Japanese navy no longer has much fuel on the mainland.
What's even more frightening is that there is more than one smoke column in the sky: there is also a thicker smoke column rising in the direction of downtown Hiroshima...
An hour after receiving the sad news that all the naval oil storage tanks in Tokuyama Bay were destroyed, President Kurita Takeo learned from several half-burned army soldiers that the US military first carried out poison gas bombing on Hiroshima, and then dropped countless The entire city and the seven army divisions gathered on the outskirts of the city were not only inhumanely poisoned by poison gas, but also burned by flames inhumanely. Now they are basically almost finished...
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In this time and space, Japan's industrial city of Hiroshima did not suffer a nuclear bomb blast, but it endured the same terrible strategic bombing.
Before this day, the city of Hiroshima had never been bombed by American aircraft, and citizens did not have much intuitive experience of air raids. Although several air defense drills had been organized, they were purely perfunctory. Even more than half of the air raid shelters scheduled to be dug were never built.
So on this day, American planes, like flying devils, launched an attack on the unsuspecting people like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
The first thing dropped from a high altitude was a new type of poison gas bomb that was filled with a strange fruity aroma. Because the smell seemed to be sweet and smelly, it was completely different from the old poison gases such as chlorine and other gases that the Japanese military mentioned when educating the public. Many people would First, subconsciously take a few more puffs. By the time they realized something was wrong, most of them had collapsed to the ground due to tracheal convulsions and difficulty breathing, and were not even able to make the last sound before death...
Although some people hurriedly put on gas masks, and others covered their mouths and noses with wet cloth strips, but in the face of new poisonous gases that can invade the human body through the skin, such simple preventive measures are of little use, and there is no time to escape. The people who drove them died one by one.
When the gas bombs caused chaos throughout the city, countless red incendiary bombs followed, exploding over the city like blooming fireworks, spraying out hundreds of miniature flame bombs, dragging the burning Trails rained down from the sky like fire. The Japanese-style wood and paper house was quickly ignited, and the flames burned as bright as day. For a time, the surviving people no longer cared about the threat of poison gas, and the roads were full of panicked fleeing people, as well as their trucks and cars. But collapsed buildings and car wrecks blocked the road, forcing many people to abandon their cars and flee. Abandoned cars blocked the road tightly, forcing the remaining people to abandon their immobile cars. In the end, the entire road traffic was almost paralyzed. People could only escape on their own feet, or jump into the water and swim. However, it was still difficult to escape the fire storm. Burnt corpses could be seen everywhere on the street.
Indeed, the remaining anti-aircraft artillery and night fighters of the Japanese Army are still struggling to resist, but they are really powerless against the B-29 Super Fortress bombers flying at an altitude of nearly 10,000 meters. The small-caliber anti-aircraft guns on the ground have no use at all except scaring the Americans with their noise. And it soon became weak, and the sound was so sparse that it probably couldn't even scare the birds. It was probably that the officers and soldiers operating the cannon were also poisoned by the poisonous gas.
When those Japanese night fighters that scrambled to take off fought fiercely with the thick-skinned B-29 "Super Flying Fortress" and finally shot down several enemy planes, they ran out of fuel or ammunition and prepared to return, but they often found that The airport was littered with burning aircraft wreckage, and the hangar was blown to pieces. The remaining living people were being repeatedly strafed by American planes. The runway was full of potholes, making it impossible to land safely.
On the contrary, the Americans' B-29s seem to be endless! From dusk to dawn, the sound of explosions in Hiroshima never stopped! Each time, a string of long black dots fell, and then exploded into huge balls of flame on the ground. The long impact points exploded into a Great Wall of Flame!
At dawn, just as the B-29s left, the dive bombers of the U.S. Naval Air Force came again. The bombs were dropped with such precision as if they were blessed by the devil. It made people wonder if there was a traitor in the army! The ammunition depot and barracks in Hiroshima were quickly destroyed, especially the more than 80 tanks that had just been shipped from Manchukuo, all of which were blown up. The shrapnel that exploded and flew away also blew the head of Major General Hoshino Toshimoto, the commander of the Kwantung Army's chariot brigade.
By this time, the fire in downtown Hiroshima was actually out of control, and both soldiers and citizens could only flee in chaos to the suburbs. However, the power of the US military's napalm bombs was so terrifying that it even ignited the mountains and forests outside the city, setting off raging mountain fires!
In such a chaotic situation, it is naturally impossible for anyone to dig fire breaks to control the fire. People can only run around in a panic to avoid the flames. However, many people are still trapped in the fire scene and burned alive into huddled piles. of charred corpses. By the time the air raid was completely over on the second day, the more than 100,000 Japanese troops gathered in the Hiroshima area had completely fallen apart. The soldiers could not find their officers, and the officers could not find their soldiers. The highest commander, Kwantung Army Commander Yoshijiro Umezu, and his entire command The troops also disappeared during the air raid and evacuation. It was not until the third day that they were discovered in a rural nunnery, and the troops were contacted again, but they were no longer as strong as when they returned to China...