Chapter 77, The Last Battle to Conquer Australia (Part 1)
Although General MacArthur's view on the final struggle of the Australian federal government and the Australian Allied Forces at Shank Point was quite pessimistic, the actual situation on the frontline battlefield was even worse than MacArthur's pessimistic view. To the extent that it is too terrible to look at.
——Because the Australian Allied Forces had no plan at all in advance, and were forced by the Japanese army’s pressing step by step, the entire task of transporting supplies lasted less than a week and was forced to end, and it started on the second day of the transfer and retreat. , the rainy weather that had briefly sheltered the Australians turned sunny again, and all Australian Allied transport teams, whether trucks on land or fleets at sea, were exposed to indiscriminate bombing by Japanese aircraft...
As a result, according to Prime Minister John Cutting's subsequent statistics, during the entire Melbourne evacuation process, more than 80% of the transport ships in the hands of the Australian Allied Forces were destroyed and sunk during the ferry journey from Melbourne to Shank Point. . About 60% of the vehicles were also blown up one after another on the road to Shank Point. At the same time, more than 10,000 soldiers from various countries were killed or scattered on this congested road.
As a result, the ammunition, food, clothing, and fuel that were finally successfully transported to Shank Point were far less than expected. A considerable number of the various troops preparing to retreat to Shank Point failed to reach their destination in the end. On the contrary, the number of Melbourne citizens who flocked to Shank Point to escape the Japanese army far exceeded expectations - the fifty or sixty kilometers from Melbourne to Shank Point, although it seems a bit far, in fact, even with only two legs It can also be completed. Moreover, you walk close to the bay all the way, so there is no danger of getting lost. In order to avoid the bombing, citizens also choose to walk at night...
As the current Prime Minister of the Australian Federation, Prime Minister John Cutting cannot logically completely abandon his own citizens.
All in all, when the first Japanese sun flag began to fly in the center of Melbourne, the Shank Point Peninsula, fifty kilometers away to the south, was crowded with about 15,000 Australian federal troops, 5,500 American troops and less than one person. Thousands of New Zealand soldiers - when General MacArthur abandoned Manila and retreated to the Bataan Peninsula, he still had about 15,000 American troops and 65,000 Philippine troops. The number even far exceeded the number on the Philippine battlefield at that time. Japanese army. Then 50,000 Australian civilians followed the retreating Allied forces and poured into Shank Point, crowding the place to the brim. Only a maximum of 20,000 of these people can live in houses or caves, and the rest can only camp... But this is not the most terrible thing. What is worse is that because there are far less supplies transported to Shank Point As expected, Prime Minister John Cutting only had enough food on hand to feed these 70,000 people for half a month!
Then, on the day when the first Japanese reconnaissance force entered urban Melbourne, a further disaster befell the Australians again - the Japanese army organized more than 600 sorties of "Galaxy Land Attack" bombers, Carpet bombing of Shank Point was carried out. Since the Allies had no time to dig bunkers, most of the people had no choice but to be bombed in the wilderness. As a result, more than 5,000 soldiers and civilians were killed and injured on the spot, and most of the food and ammunition that were forced to be piled in the open air were destroyed by the bomb... ...So, after the big air raid ended, the Allied forces at Shank Point found that they only had enough food reserves to last for another ten days, and this was thanks to the fact that many people were killed in the bombing, which reduced the number of people who needed to eat. Mouth can achieve such results...
Despite such a bleak prospect, Prime Minister John Cutting tried to encourage everyone and hung a sign of the Australian Federal Provisional Government in the small town of Flinders at the southernmost tip of Shank Point, symbolizing that the Anglo-Saxon nation had not given up. The right to rule over this southern continent.
Next, he sent all the troops he could collect, as well as the temporarily recruited citizen volunteers, to the northern end of Shank Point connected to the mainland, and stationed two towns there - the western root of the peninsula facing Philip Between these two towns, Balcombe in the Bay, and Hastings at the eastern root of the peninsula, the Allied command planned to build a forward defense line of about ten kilometers in length based on the terrain.
Tens of thousands of Australian soldiers and civilians bravely withstood the indiscriminate bombing by Japanese planes and dug trenches as fast as possible. Although the food was only half of the standard ration and everyone was hungry, their morale at this time was still very high. high. These Australians were no longer willing to retreat and had no way out, hoping to stand up and fight with honor. Finally, they were able to complete this crude defense line before the Japanese launched a ground attack.
But this line of defense could only protect the land, but it could not protect the sea behind it. The six brand-new Yamato-class battleships were quickly mobilized outside the port of Hastings Town and attacked the defenders there day and night. The army rained down bullets, and each shell could burn the land as big as half a football field into coke... The trenches dug by the Australians were soon blown to pieces, and the surviving remaining soldiers and civilians were forced to move farther away. Inland retreat of the coast.
Then, these tenacious guys discovered even more desperately that they might have been defeated by hunger before they were knocked down by bullets...
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At the same time, the Japanese Army north of Shank Point was also preparing for the final general attack to capture urban Melbourne.
——During the Battle of the Philippines that year, when MacArthur retreated to Bataan, he declared the capital Manila an "Opencity" (undefended city). This is a chivalrous demeanor of Western military commanders in war to prevent those historical relics and cultural treasures from being destroyed by the war.
However, this kind of chivalry only applies to wars between "civilized people" or white Europeans. The current war for Australia between the Anglo-Saxon nation and the Yamato nation is obviously not included in this - when the Japanese army had just landed in Australia and the Allied beachhead defense failed, the Australian Army High Command formulated a detailed and cruel plan. Scorched earth policy: Destroying ports, bridges, power plants, and water plants in the soon-to-be-fallen Northern Australian states, burning food, contaminating meat, and regressing civilization to the barbaric prehistoric era... because they did not expect the Japanese to behave as gentlemen at all.
The performance of the Japanese army really confirmed the above-mentioned pessimistic judgment-concentration camps, mass graves and comfort stations have become the final destination of millions of white Australians...basically just like when they wiped out the Australian indigenous people and occupied this southern continent. The means for one's own gain are exactly the same.
There is no way, who makes the Japanese always regard the British as their teachers? Naturally, you have to learn everything decently and even get better at it!
Therefore, when Japanese planes destroyed the last small steamer in Melbourne Port and Japanese armored troops rushed into the beach of Phillip Bay from the east, completely cutting off the only road between downtown Melbourne and Shank Point, they were trapped. The last more than 10,000 Allied troops in Melbourne's urban area had no I have thought about surrendering and preserving Melbourne, a famous city in the southern hemisphere, relatively intact. Instead, I am determined to welcome my final destruction, fight a bloody street battle, and use this city that has been guarded for many years as my cemetery. Grab as many Japanese soldiers as possible and bury them together.
Unfortunately, the Japanese troops on the opposite side have been fighting with them in Australia for so many years. The Japanese can also guess the thoughts of these stubborn Australians, and they do not intend to risk their lives to accompany them and start a fight with them in the city. A house-to-house battle with heavy casualties - after initial fire reconnaissance, The Japanese army attacking the city directly used a large number of deadly nerve gas bombs to completely "cleanse" the neighborhoods held by the remaining Allied forces... Then, about three divisions of Japanese infantry were launched in light tanks. Under the cover of the police, he unhurriedly broke into Melbourne, which had become a dead city.
A few Allied soldiers who were hiding in sealed spaces such as cellars and underground shelters and who were lucky enough to escape the baptism of poisonous gas put up a last tragic resistance in the ruins of Melbourne, but they only lasted a few hours and were shot by gunfire. They were destroyed one after another amidst the sound of artillery and explosions... At noon on September 8, the last organized resistance force of the Allied forces in urban Melbourne was completely wiped out, and the old capital of the Australian Federation was finally planted with a sun flag.
Next, a few hours later, Lieutenant General Tsuji Masanobu, who came from the northeast with the 152nd Division, also happily rode in a captured American jeep and fired sporadic cold guns. Shi Ran broke into the dilapidated urban area of Melbourne and reached the beach of Philip Bay at the other end of the city.
Philip Bay, south of Melbourne, is an almost closed pocket-shaped harbor. There is only an outlet about two kilometers wide that leads to the sea. The water here is turquoise and clear, and the waves are calm. It is like a beautiful piece of land held between the thumb and forefinger. Emerald is somewhat similar to Port Arthur in China, but Philip Bay is much larger than Port Arthur - because Philip Bay This special terrain allows Melbourne to have the beautiful scenery and humid climate of a seaport city, while avoiding being directly attacked by typhoons. Driving along the flat and wide coastal road, there are flat and fine beaches along the way, making it an excellent seaside. Bathing beach, the hills on the other side of the road are lush with vegetation, and several of the farms are covered with beautiful and fragrant lavender.
However, at this time, Melbourne and Philip Bay were no longer as picturesque as they used to be. Instead, they were ravaged by the war and were in a mess - all kinds of scattered shipwrecks and bloated floating corpses, as well as the water surface. Large areas of heavy oil leaking from the sunken ship are polluting this calm and beautiful bay. The coastal road was also devastated by aircraft bombs and long-range heavy artillery. There were craters everywhere. Burnt farm buildings, abandoned vehicles and luggage, as well as various belongings left behind by the fleeing citizens, as well as those who had no time to bury them, could be seen everywhere. Burnt corpses...
However, as a professional soldier who has experienced hundreds of battles, Lieutenant General Tsuji Masanobu has long been accustomed to such disgusting and horrific scenes, so he turned a blind eye to it. On the contrary, looking at the sun flag flying on the roof of Melbourne City Hall, he was filled with a feeling of elation.
——In the past three hundred years, Western white people have always boasted about how resourceful they are, how brave and resolute they are, and how they dominate the world without any reason. They invented every new gadget and discovered every new place. They were the leaders of civilization. Every scientific theorem, every overseas mountain range, river, and island all bear their names. Any person of color is only worthy of being their slave and vassal.
Now, it's all turned upside down. It's the turn of the yellow race, who have been despised for hundreds of years, to take back the world from them!
Thinking about the strategic policy of the Americans at the beginning of the war, they had already been beaten into such a bad shape by the Imperial Japanese Army, and they were still pursuing "Europe first". It is really funny to hear it... But it is no wonder that since entering the war, After the Age of Navigation, the aura of the "mysterious East" has long faded. In modern times, Western white people have always despised the yellow race and the East. I don’t think inferior Easterners can cause much trouble to noble Westerners. But they forget that Easterners also have thousands of years of war experience, and are also eager to learn various war techniques, not to mention paying a heavy price to win victory. The Americans' strategically self-righteous contempt for the Japanese was the fundamental reason why they lost Australia.
Of course, the empire also paid an extremely heavy price for this. A total of 20 million soldiers and civilians were "shattered" in the war, and more than half of the cities on the Japanese archipelago were reduced to ruins. Even to this day, the imperial capital Tokyo is still under the iron hooves of the United States and Britain. I groan...but these are necessary sacrifices. For the glorious future of the nation, with this vast continent of eight million square kilometers at our feet, our generation must grit our teeth and persevere to the end no matter what!
——Throughout the ages, which great empire has risen not through mountains of corpses, seas of blood, and endless wars? The Romans almost had their spines broken by the famous Carthaginian general Hannibal. The Russians suffered the pain of being forced to burn Moscow in front of Napoleon's army. Even the Americans were once set on fire by the British army and burned down the White House... But they all After enduring all these setbacks and sacrifices, they won their own proud and glorious era.
In the same way, since the Japanese are looking forward to establishing their own imperial hegemony, they naturally have to be willing to sacrifice one or even several generations.
However, now is not the time to engage in such philosophical divergent thinking... After all, even Australia's war has not yet ended!
Thinking of this, Lieutenant General Tsuji Masanobu couldn't help but raise his head and squinted his eyes to look at the sunny bay in the south and Shank Point far behind the sea level - the last Allied position on the Australian continent. Lieutenant General Tsuji Masanobu believed that he was very clear about the plans of this remnant enemy.
You know, he also set foot on the battlefield in the Philippines and personally participated in the Battle of Bataan Peninsula that made MacArthur famous.
"...Hmph, you want to reenact the Battle of Bataan in the Philippines at the southernmost tip of Australia? It's a good idea, but what do you white people think of us? Do you think that the majestic army sweeping across the Pacific has even absorbed Don’t you have any experience and lessons learned?”
——The reason why the Japanese army stumbled in the Bataan Peninsula of the Philippines was that they first suffered from underestimation of the enemy, thinking that a single round of artillery fire would frighten the enemy into defeat and surrender. As a result, they rashly ran into the fortified troops deployed by MacArthur. The fortifications were beaten hard. Remember the sap; secondly, the Japanese army's strength is insufficient. The Japanese offensive troops that entered the battle on the Bataan Peninsula were not only in place intermittently, but also engaged in a protracted refueling tactic. The strength of the Japanese army as the attacker was always less than that of the encirclement. The number of U.S.-Philippine coalition forces! Once again, there was poor cooperation between the navy and the army. When the Japanese army launched a desperate attack on the narrow Bataan battlefield, the navy fleet did not provide sufficient artillery support from behind... However, none of the above was possible in Shank. The horns are back again: Today's Japanese army is well aware of the principle of a trapped beast still fighting, and is in no rush to attack these remnant enemies who have been trapped in a dead end.
——"... Let's rest in Melbourne for a few days and wait until the aviation and navy bomb the Shank Point..."
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PS: The U.S. Olympic delegation obviously expected the bad environment in Rio de Janeiro, so not only did they not live in the Olympic Village, they didn't even live on land. Instead, they directly chartered a luxury cruise ship and parked it in the port as an apartment... It's unbearable. I remembered the scene when Cleopatra took a boat to see Antony.
On the contrary, the Chinese delegation experienced various tests such as theft, robbery, and roadside gunfights, and could only exclaim that they felt like they had arrived at the old Shanghai beach. Another: I was shocked to hear that Fang Zhouzi’s academic crackdown hit Prince Ma on the head, saying that his "The War of Small Seal Script" and "History of the Mayan Conquest of the Yin Shang Fleet" were completely inconsistent with historical common sense... This, what he wrote was originally a satirical novel! Why don't you criticize Shi Naian's "Water Margin", Grandma Qiongyao's "Returning the Princess", Jin Yong's "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "The Ballad of the Desert" which wrote Huo Qubing as an infatuated fool, which are completely inconsistent with historical common sense. ?
Well, of course, in view of some mysterious will of the universe, I have to say the last sentence as usual: auspicious and safe, your home is safe!