Chapter 33: War in East Asia (Part 1)
Early January 1946, East Coast of the Korean Peninsula, Hamgyong Province
The terrain of the Korean Peninsula is mountainous, especially in the Hamgyong Province area in the northeastern part of the country. Various towering and steep mountains are connected one after another, and the mountains are full of lush green giant trees. Occasionally, you can see precipitous granite cliffs plummeting down from the mountains one or two thousand meters high.
If you take a bird's-eye view from the air, or take a stroll among the mountains and the seaside, the mountain and seascapes in northeastern North Korea can be said to be very beautiful, even heart-wrenchingly beautiful - dangerous peaks, strange rocks, green pines, and strong cypresses. The blue sky is endless, deep and clear... But all this scenery is definitely not good news for travelers who are forced to trek long distances through mountain roads. It can even be said to be comparable to a nightmare.
——There are roadless cliffs everywhere. The few roads that cross the mountains are not only winding, but also often deserted along the way, making it difficult to replenish food and water. There are mostly small paths in the mountains. People and livestock can only pass one by one, and it is even more difficult for vehicles to pass through.
Especially now that it is the twelfth lunar month of winter, heavy snow is falling everywhere in the Hamgyong Mountains and Gaima Plateau in northern North Korea. The entire Gaima Plateau is covered in white snow: pine leaves, boulders, earth, and mountains are as if covered with a pure white feather gauze, looking beautiful and graceful. But for those exhausted travelers who are staggering through the mountains, this beautiful northern scenery is not as tempting as a mouthful of hot soup: the temperature in the mountains has dropped to minus 30 degrees, and there is heavy wind and snow. The severe cold climate, coupled with the complex terrain of high mountains and narrow roads. Under such climate and terrain conditions, if you insist on traveling over the mountains, then even if it is not up to the standards of a death march, it will at least be regarded as a march of suffering.
But even so, in this windy and snowy winter, there are still groups of travelers trudging through the snow-capped mountains. Among them, those traveling from west to east were mainly Japanese Kwantung Army soldiers who were ordered to retreat back home, as well as Japanese expatriates from various parts of Korea who evacuated with the army.
——Currently, the situation in Manchukuo, which is in the process of handing over power, is somewhat turbulent, but because no war has broken out, at least the order in several major cities is barely tolerable, and the supply of materials is also adequate, at least there is no obvious crisis. of food shortages and famine.
In order to allow the Manchurian industrial system left by the Japanese Empire to continue to operate instead of instantly collapsing with the escape of the Japanese technical backbone, the Chinese Red Army and the Soviet Red Army that took over the northeastern provinces did not immediately forcibly repatriate and organize the people who had moved there over the years. There are more than two million Japanese expatriates, but they have announced the recruitment of Japanese skilled workers and engineers, and the treatment in all aspects is as favorable as possible. The remaining Japanese nationals can continue to stay within three years if they are willing to comply with the laws of the new regime. In view of the fact that the mainland of the Japanese archipelago is currently in a state of chaos, apart from the fact that the army must obey orders and return home to join the war, most ordinary Japanese choose to stay in Manchuria temporarily to wait and see the situation, hoping to wait until the world is more peaceful.
On the contrary, the Korean Peninsula south of the Yalu and Tumen rivers is now a mess. According to the secret agreement with the Soviet Union, the Japanese colonial governor-general of Korea retreated to the Port of Busan and gave up control of most of Korea. The Korean Soviet regime supported by the Soviet Red Army and the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea supported by the United States followed immediately, frantically competing for territory, constantly clashing with each other, and a melee was about to break out.
Since there was no political force strong enough to quickly take over the entire Korean Peninsula, the social order in most of the country collapsed. Thugs from all walks of life swarmed in all directions. Those Japanese expatriates in Korea might as well have stayed in Manchuria. Our Japanese compatriots are so safe.
As a result, these Japanese expatriates in North Korea, as well as some "DPRK traitors" who were worried about being liquidated, followed the Kwantung Army retreating back to the country, hoping to escape from the essence of western North Korea, which had become a battlefield of gunfire, and go to a place where the situation was relatively stable. ports along the Sea of Japan. Next, they either followed the Kwantung Army to find a ship to return home, or went to the temporary refugee camps set up by the Soviet Union in Wonsan Port and Vladivostok, or took a ride south from the East China Sea Railway, which was still in operation, and gathered and retreated to The North Korean Governor-General's Palace in Busan, seeking resettlement and asylum... No matter what, you have to find a way out.
At the same time, groups of Koreans were climbing over the long mountains running through the peninsula from east to west, heading from the coast of the Sea of Japan to the essence of the western region where North Korea's major cities and population are located. They are Korean anti-Japanese coalition soldiers who have returned from Manchuria and the Far East of the Soviet Union. They are also the Soviet regime task forces that have been urgently organized in Wonsan, Chongjin, Xianning and other places occupied by the Soviet army. They are now rushing to the west to take over regime.
In order to catch up with the "class enemies" entrenched in Seoul to compete for time and territory, even though the northwest wind blew cotton ball-like snowflakes that made people blind, they still waved the red flag and raced on the snow. Progressing hard. Due to the forced march in the snow, many people's clothes were in tatters, their faces were swollen and bleeding from the cold wind, many people's ears were frozen purple, and some people's feet were frozen and they were almost wearing no clothes. No shoes.
What's even more terrible is that even though it has been so difficult, there are still people who don't want to watch them go on their way in peace.
"...American plane!!! Down!!! Air attack!!!"
Accompanied by an ominous roar in the distance and a heart-rending shout nearby, everyone panicked and looked for a place to hide, or lay down on the snow in exhaustion. After a while, a small silver plane flew from the west, but it did not drop bombs or strafe the Koreans and Japanese on the ground. It just circled a few times above the heads of several long marching teams. , then shook his wings, turned around and left.
——This is a U.S. Navy reconnaissance aircraft and cannot undertake ground combat missions.
After the enemy plane flew away, many Koreans lying on the snow got up one after another and continued to move forward. However, when they reached a hanging cliff, they had to stop again: "... Damn it! The Yankees' plane blew up the Watergate Bridge! How are we going to get over now?"
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
Wonsan Port is located on the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, bordering the Sea of Japan, with an area of approximately 900 square kilometers and a population of approximately 240,000. The urban area is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with the Kalma Peninsula in the south, Deokwon Bay on the inner side of the peninsula, and "Sindo Island", "Oshima Island", "Small Island", "Bear Island" and "Leido Island" on the outer sea. More than ten outlying islands. In addition, the small peninsula guarding the bay forms a natural breakwater. The water in the bay is deep and the tidal range is small, making Wonsan a natural harbor.
After Russia invaded China's Far East and occupied Vladivostok, it set its sights on Wonsan Port and once planned to seize this ice-free port as a wintering anchorage for the Russian Pacific Fleet. But with the disastrous defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, this idea naturally became empty talk.
On the other hand, because after the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian Pacific Fleet was no longer able to pose a threat to Japan, so during the long period of Japanese rule, the Japanese Navy basically did not build any military facilities in Wonsan, except with the opening of the East China Sea Line ( A railway close to the east coast of the Korean Peninsula) and the development of the modern transportation industry, Wonsan was gradually built into a small-scale civilian port.
However, today's Wonsan Port is a solemn scene of gathering warships and flying military flags. Taking advantage of the last moment before the Vladivostok military port was frozen in winter, the Soviets took advantage of the sea that the country could mobilize in the Far East. Almost all of the force was mobilized to the two ports of Wonsan and Hungnam in the middle of the Korean Peninsula. On the one hand, defense lines and military port facilities were deployed at Wonsan Port, and all kinds of supplies were hoarded. On the one hand, they organized their own Korean exiles to return to the country as quickly as possible to take over the power, and assisted in transporting and resettling the retreating Japanese soldiers and civilians. However, due to the objective difficulties of the hasty incident, lack of preparation, and the harsh environment of heavy snow blocking the mountains and difficult roads, even with the cooperation of the Japanese side, these tasks were still carried out very slowly.
So far, the Provisional Central Government of the Korean Soviet regime, which has just put up a sign, is still forced to stay in Wonsan Port because it has not been able to fully build its own local government and mobilize a large enough armed force. Taking shelter under the wings of the Soviet Far East Red Army.
What's even more terrible is that as Halsey's fleet broke into the Yellow Sea and organized the "Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea" returning group to land in Incheon, the originally peaceful takeover operation suddenly turned into a bayonet-stricken armed struggle. The blatant military intervention of the Americans and the rise of the country's white armed forces have cast a gloomy haze on the still fragile and immature North Korean red regime, which has a bleak future.
At this moment, in a simple wooden house with a plaque of "Provisional Soviet Government of Korea" in downtown Wonsan Port, Comrade Kim Il-sung, who has not yet put on weight, is holding a phone in his hand, with a map of North Korea spread out in front of him, and is being The lot of bad news I just received left me feeling burnt on the outside and tender on the inside.
"...What? The U.S. military and communists just blew up the Gyeongwon Line (the Seoul-Wonsan railway, the main railway transportation artery across the Korean Peninsula), and also used planes to blow up the Yalu River Iron Bridge and the Yangtze River in Sinuiju. Shuimen Bridge on Jin Lake? Damn it, they are trying to seal us off on the east coast!”
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※PS: There is news that "Cats Japan History" was criticized as "humiliating" because it painted Prince Shotoku as a cat. and the royal family” , and one episode was banned (the one about Prince Shotoku), which opened up the schedule... I thought that with so many messy historical comics in modern Japan, the official would have long since stopped caring!