Chapter 20: The Islands Dyeed Red (Part 1)
December 1, 1945, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
The snow-capped Mount Fuji, the lush sea of Fuji trees, the dotted natural hot springs, and the clear and flowing Fuji River.
This land, which was called Suruga Province in ancient times and was designated as Shizuoka Prefecture in modern times, is full of representative scenery that is the most typical of Japan.
However, at this moment, this land filled with "the richest Japanese style" is planted with the stars and stripes of the United States of America.
As the roar of the aircraft engine gradually subsided, Marshal Douglas MacArthur, wearing a straight military uniform and holding a trademark corn cob pipe, walked out of the cabin slowly and jumped to the front line of Shizuoka Prefecture. Porous steel plate on the field airport runway.
——The US military actually does not have the rank of marshal, but MacArthur is indeed a marshal: the marshal of the Republic of the Philippines.
Looking up at Mount Fuji, which is covered with snow all year round in the distance, General MacArthur couldn't help sighing and thinking.
I remember that not so long ago, more than three years ago, faced with a devastating defeat, I had to abandon the troops who were still fighting bloody battles on the Bataan Peninsula, take a torpedo boat in the dark, break through the Japanese fleet blockade, and escape from the Philippines in embarrassment. At that time, how desolate and depressed I was!
Indeed, although he was defeated in the Philippines, he gained unprecedented political reputation at home. After all, he was the first to withstand the Japanese invasion frenzy, buying time and building confidence for the United States. As a result, a wave of "MacArthur fever" was set off in the English-speaking world. U.S. Senator Robert Lovelett Jr. proposed naming June 13 "MacArthur Day" to commemorate the day in 1899 when he was admitted to West Point Military Academy. Congress overwhelmingly approved awarding MacArthur the Medal of Honor with an overwhelming majority of 253 votes. No previous U.S. president has ever received such a record number of votes.
However, as a proud professional soldier, he hopes to wash away his humiliation on the battlefield. Therefore, shortly after escaping from the Philippines, MacArthur held a press conference in Australia and vowed, "I will go back!"
For many days and nights, Marshal MacArthur was haunted by dreams as he looked at the island called the Philippines on the map. He couldn't eat enough and couldn't sleep at night. He believed that since he said "I must go back", he must fight back to the Philippines. His success or failure, his honor or disgrace, his rise or fall, all depend on this oath. Public opinion praised him precisely because he wanted to go back. He is a soldier and must fulfill his promise.
However, the road back to the Philippines was indeed longer than his most pessimistic imagination.
Later, in the Australian battlefield, he led 400,000 US, Australian and New Zealand coalition forces. In the face of the fierce offensive of the landing Japanese troops and the blockade and bombardment of the Japanese navy, he always retreated step by step after repeated defeats. They retreated from Darwin Port to Brisbane, and then from Brisbane to Sydney. Then, even Sydney and the Australian capital Canberra were lost one after another. They could only retreat to Melbourne in the southeast corner of the Australian continent and be trapped in this isolated city. For two full years, they relied on the navy to make sacrifices and smuggled in supplies to survive. At the most dangerous time, MacArthur and the defeated troops under his command were almost untenable in Melbourne, and they almost fled to Tasmania, or simply gave up Australia and retreated to New Zealand.
Fortunately, all these embarrassments, embarrassments and humiliations have passed, and the dawn of victory has appeared on the horizon.
Although so far, General MacArthur has not been able to set foot on the familiar land of the Philippines again as a "liberator", but he has been one step ahead of schedule and as a conqueror, he has climbed to the enemy's hometown, Japan, where Mount Fuji stands. Islands...this seems to give people a more wonderful feeling!
The only thing that made Marshal MacArthur regretful was that Halsey had already finished most of the things before he set foot on Japanese soil.
——In just two months, by recklessly dropping incendiary bombs, nerve gas bombs and atomic bombs along the way, the Halsey fleet on the transoceanic expedition and the B-29 temporarily assigned to the command of Admiral Halsey The "Super Flying Fortress" bomber force has killed at least five million Japanese in total, turning Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Kobe and a series of the most prosperous metropolises in the Japanese archipelago into corpses and bones. City of Death. Its ultra-high efficiency in killing Japanese people was enough to anger Hitler to death and despise Genghis Khan, fully demonstrating the advanced nature of industrialized killing.
He kicked the Japanese Emperor away with one kick, stepped on Mount Fuji with one kick, and destroyed the hateful Japanese devils in one fell swoop.
At this moment, the starlight of Admiral William Frederick Halsey was so dazzling that it completely overwhelmed the light of other stars.
In this regard, Marshal MacArthur, except for a hint of jealousy and jealousy, basically expressed his joy in hearing it. However, Secretary of State Hull, who came to Japan on the same plane, did not look good after learning about Halsey's great achievements in burning Kyoto.
As soon as he walked into the field tent set up next to the airport and saw General Halsey who came to greet him, Secretary Hull couldn't help but burst out:
"...General Halsey, first of all, congratulations on your complete victory in the Kyoto bombing. You destroyed a thousand-year-old capital with no military industry and few regular troops stationed, as well as the best-preserved historical and cultural city in the Eastern world, in one night. It burned to ashes..."
Facing the arrogant General Halsey, Secretary of State Hull sneered unceremoniously, "...The efficiency with which you massacred Japanese civilians in the past two months was enough to put even Hitler to shame! The previous Hiroshima was a gathering place for the Japanese army, and Kobe was the center of Japan's shipbuilding industry. Bombing it They still have some truth, but why did they bomb Kyoto? They also used a large number of new nerve gas bombs! Are you using poison gas as a conventional weapon in Japan? Do you know what this will do to the White House? How much trouble will the political surrender mission bring? ”
Although Mr. Secretary of State spoke so sternly, Admiral Halsey folded his arms with an indifferent expression on his face.
You know, Halsey is not intimidated. He comes from a sailing family where his ancestors lived a good life. His father, Colonel William Halsey, was one of the best captains in the U.S. Navy at that time. Old Halsey had a series of glorious service records in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Caribbean Sea, and completed the circumnavigation of the "Great White Fleet" on the cruiser "Kansas" (a circumnavigation of the main fleet of the U.S. Navy in the early 20th century. The hull is painted white (named after it). The young Halsey in front of him also had a deep family background. Before the war, he was the most famous soldier in the U.S. Navy. He served on torpedo boats, destroyers, and cruisers, working his way up from warrant officer to admiral. His bravery, fearlessness and aggressive spirit have always made him popular in the military. The sailors affectionately called him "Halsey the Bull." As early as the Pearl Harbor incident broke out, looking at the thick smoke With the wreckage of warships scattered everywhere, Halsey publicly swore that after this war, "Japanese words can only be heard in hell."
Just as MacArthur was serious about his vow to return to the Philippines, Admiral Halsey was also serious about his vow.
But now, he can finally fulfill his vow and send hundreds of thousands or millions of Japanese-speaking souls to hell to his heart's content!
Therefore, regarding Secretary of State Hull's unfounded accusations, Halsey said that he, a rough and "rude" person, simply dismissed it.
"...Your Excellency Secretary of State, unfortunately, I don't think there is anything to blame about my combat command. First of all, I am not a historian, and I lack research on ancient Eastern culture. I don't think the city of Kyoto has much Special value.
Secondly, although the city called Kyoto does have neither military industry nor regular troops stationed, it is still occupied by a small group of the most fanatical Japanese radical militarists. Although the military strength of these guys is insignificant, after taking control of Japan's old capital, their political influence on Japanese society is not insignificant. If they cannot be killed at the first time, they are in danger of forming the core of the resistance.
To this end, our army needs to attack Kyoto as quickly as possible to show the United States' war determination. However, Kyoto is not close to the sea and cannot carry out amphibious landing operations. Advancing from the ground, the journey is too long. In this case, is there any better way besides large-scale strategic bombing? What's more, instead of arousing more hostility among the Japanese, this bombing successfully disintegrated the will of a considerable number of Japanese to fight. ”
He triumphantly took out a stack of telegrams, "... within seventy-two hours after the bombing of Kyoto, Fukushima Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, Kochi Prefecture, Nagano Prefecture, Shizuoka Prefecture, Okinawa Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture Local authorities in the prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Wakayama Prefecture and Yamanashi Prefecture have successively issued public calls or dispatched The envoy expressed his willingness to accept the leadership of the Japanese Provisional Government and surrender unconditionally to our army. In addition to Miyagi Prefecture, Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, Yokohama Prefecture and Chiba Prefecture, which were previously controlled by our army, the entire Japan has exceeded 100,000 people. One-third of the land and population gave up resistance."
Seeing the stack of surrender telegrams in Halsey's hand, Secretary of State Hull, who was about to have a fit, suddenly became speechless.
Marshal MacArthur clapped his hands even more as if he was trying to make trouble, "... Bang bang bang! Dear William, I have to admit that you did a great job! Really, great! You must never be even half polite when treating the Japanese. , only the fear of death can make them learn to speak human language!”
At this embarrassing moment, another orderly brought coffee and a new telegram. Halsey casually took the telegraph newspaper and opened it. The expression on his face suddenly became more proud: "...Gentlemen, I have received another good news here! The economic center and second largest city of the Japanese Empire has Osaka Prefecture, with a population of 3.5 million, has now taken the initiative to open its doors to the military of the United States..."
Seeing that Halsey's big stick policy was so effective, Secretary Hull, who originally wanted to persuade Halsey not to abuse brute force but to be gentle, finally had to choose to shut up and began to admit in his heart that Japan People may indeed have serious masochistic tendencies, and they need to use a spiked whip to talk to them properly... and Marshal MacArthur can't wait to discuss the next battle plan with Halsey.
"...The biggest problem for our army now is the lack of ground troops, Doug. The entire expedition fleet only brought a second marine division and a small number of miscellaneous land forces. It only suppressed the occupied areas of the Kuril Islands, Yokosuka and Sendai Port, and maintained a few The safe operation of the airport is reaching its limit.”
Halsey pointed to the map of Japan and said to Marshal MacArthur, "...This is the main reason why I have to stay in the Shizuoka area and have not launched an attack on the Japanese troops stationed in Nagoya. Although there are currently more than 10,000 Japanese troops stationed in Nagoya, The former Japanese Army, under the persuasion of the Japanese Provisional Government, surrendered to our army, but for the time being they can only be disarmed and guarded, and they cannot be safely allowed to deal with their former colleagues!
So I'm at a loss for now. We can't let the sailors and pilots carry their rifles and squat in the trenches to shoot at the Japanese soldiers, right? ”
"...Don't worry, William, this time I have brought you 60,000 reinforcements! A fully equipped infantry division, the same 7th Division that once fought against Attu Island! They are all veterans with rich war experience! And then there are 40,000 Australian and New Zealand boys who are full of hatred for the Japanese!”
MacArthur patted his chest and said, "...In one week, the First Marine Division will arrive across the entire Pacific! Six army divisions have also been assembled on the west coast, including an armored division, and are currently moving towards The transfer to Hawaii is enough to help you kill all the Japanese devils!”
However, before he finished speaking, an attaché hurried over and delivered a telegram. Marshal MacArthur took the telegram and looked at it, and his expression suddenly changed. Halsey asked curiously. Marshal MacArthur didn't seem to want to say anything at first, but later he confessed.
"...It's just the Japanese devils' death struggle!" Although Marshal MacArthur tried hard to use an understatement, the extremely smelly face and the anger in his eyes still betrayed his true feelings, "...The Australian frontline The Japanese Army Air Force actually dropped a large number of bombs on urban Melbourne The Soman gas bombs killed at least 200,000 Australian soldiers and civilians! The Japanese naval aviation on the South Pacific front also used Soman gas bombs to bomb Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand. Where did these Japanese devils come from? So many new nerve gases? ”
"...Please don't be sad, Doug, we will soon kill more Japs in Nagoya and avenge them!" Halsey comforted.
"...Okay, but in order to reduce casualties, it is necessary for our army to fully release the new poison gas into the city of Nagoya before the general attack, plus a large-scale fire attack with napalm incendiary bombs. In this case, we only need to use a 7th Infantry Division , we will probably be able to complete the task.”
MacArthur nodded and added, "...The next words...since Osaka has surrendered, then let 40,000 Anzac troops stationed in Osaka at the same time, penetrate into the enemy's hinterland, disintegrate the resistance in central Japan, and then attack the Japanese army entrenched in Hiroshima The die-hards launched a campaign of suppression."
"...My naval fleet will also cover the landing convoy, break into the Seto Inland Sea, and prepare to launch a decisive battle of annihilation against the last remaining maritime power of the Japanese Empire!" Halsey echoed, "...Only Once the next batch of new gas bombs are delivered, the operation can begin.”
"...Very good! Let us work together! Try to end the war completely before Christmas!" MacArthur smiled excitedly.
Seeing the two generals discussing the next strategic plan in front of him in an unobtrusive manner, Secretary of State Hull could only smile bitterly and shake his head, but at least he had not forgotten his mission, "...Generals, You can discuss the detailed combat plan slowly, but before that, Can you please arrange for me to meet with the leader of the Japanese Provisional Government to discuss the specific matters of the Japanese Empire's surrender ceremony? "...Of course, please come with me, Mr. Secretary of State!" Halsey grinned, "... ...That mustache has been waiting for a long time..."