Chapter 110, A Christmas Story During World War III (6)
PS: The order of the previous chapter was wrong, it should be [Chapter 109, A Christmas Story During the Third World War (5)], I would like to correct it and apologize.
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At the western end of Eurasia, the light of civilization that originally shone on the island of Great Britain was gradually extinguished amid hunger, chaos and fighting; at the eastern end of Eurasia, people on the Japanese archipelago were also experiencing death and destruction on an unprecedented scale. Among them, the bloody dawn of the new era was ushered in in ignorance.
Late at night on December 24, 1946, Tokyo Bay, Sarushima Fortress
Sarushima, a small island with an area of about five square kilometers, is located at the exit of Tokyo Bay, only a little more than one kilometer away from the bustling market on the shore. Standing in Mikasa Park in Yokosuka, you can see it from a distance. It is surrounded by sea water and is the only naturally formed island in Tokyo Bay. The island is lush with green trees, inhabited by insects and birds, and has a pleasant beach. In another world, it is a leisure resort crowded with tourists.
But in this era, Sarushima is a heavily guarded military base - because Sarushima guards the exit of Tokyo Bay, it is the first checkpoint of Tokyo's coastal defense, equivalent to what Humen is to Guangzhou, Wusong is to Shanghai, and Incheon is to Seoul. Therefore, as early as the closed Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate ordered the construction of the first modern coastal defense fort in Japanese history on Sarushima in order to prevent foreign ships from entering Edo Bay (Tokyo Bay).
From then on, Sarushima served as a "fortress island" to guard Tokyo Bay and protect the safety of the imperial capital. From the end of the Bakumatsu, Meiji, Taisho to Showa, the successive governments that ruled Japan spared no expense in building fortifications and placing giants on the island. cannon, eventually turning the entire island into a ship that could not Moving giant warships, tunnels made of red bricks snake around the island. There are small doors in the tunnels that lead to shelters deep in the mountains. There are independent generators and deep wells inside, where the island-defending troops can Ammunition and supplies are stored in the caves at the heart of the mountain, and soldiers are stationed there to fight for a long time.
However, even though the Japanese Empire spent huge sums of money and overcame many technical difficulties to build the Sarushima Fortress in order to defend its capital Tokyo, the Sarushima Fortress was never used anywhere until the capital Tokyo was reduced to a radioactive wasteland. What positive role did it play in the war?
On the contrary, when the Sarushima Fortress ushered in the first offensive and defensive battle, it became the last stronghold of foreign invaders in Japan...
——The pungent smoke filled the air in the sea breeze, and the rumbling sound of gunfire echoed on the sea... The island was devastated by large and small craters. The dense vegetation that originally covered the entire island has been burned to the point where only blackened wooden piles are left. On the beach that is constantly being beaten by waves, mutilated corpses can be seen everywhere. In the shallow water around the island, you can also see the wreckage of many blown-up amphibious tanks and landing craft. But despite this, a tattered Stars and Stripes flag, blackened by gunpowder smoke and pierced by bullets, still fluttered in the wind over the Saru Island Fortress.
When the calendar turned to December, after twelve atomic bombs were dropped on their heads by the "public-minded" Soviets, the more than 300,000 Allied troops guarding the Boso Peninsula had collapsed, and most of them were still alive. The officers and soldiers who were not killed surrendered one after another in despair. As for the remaining people, they are wandering around like lonely ghosts, or hiding in some desolate, remote and unobtrusive nook to linger, no longer able to form an organized resistance. Of course, the Japanese troops who regained their lost territory were also very afraid of nuclear radiation and did not dare to go deep into the area near the explosion center in a short period of time, which invisibly gave the Allied troops a certain amount of breathing space. However, no matter how long these small remnants of the defeated Allied forces can survive in the ruins and barren mountains filled with nuclear pollution, for today's grand-scale Third World War, it is completely over. There's no point anymore.
However, this does not mean that the gunfire on the Japanese battlefield has completely subsided - although the Allied forces on the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture have indeed collapsed and no longer pose a threat, and the Allied forces elsewhere are here. They had already evacuated on their own initiative, and even the commander-in-chief, General Patton, escaped in a submarine. But in late December, there were still about 7,000 Australian troops still guarding the Sarushima Fortress at the entrance to Tokyo Bay, continuing to resist. Since Sarushima Fortress guards the key strategic position at the exit of Tokyo Bay, if this nail cannot be pulled out, ships entering Tokyo Bay from the open sea will be at risk of being bombarded, and it cannot be ignored. Therefore, after dropping leaflets and making radio broadcasts to persuade the defenders of Sarushima to surrender, both of which failed, the Japanese wartime base camp launched the "last battle to regain the homeland" against Sarushima. Unexpectedly, they suffered repeated defeats and fell into disgrace. , It’s hard to get off for a while!
——Unlike those low-lying coral islands in the Pacific, Sarushima, which guards the exit of Tokyo Bay, has a hilly terrain, and the entire island has been fortified. Instead of building an airstrip, it is completely covered with artillery fortifications. It’s even a permanent fortification as strong as Gibraltar!
As a result, the Japanese wartime base camp used all the strength of its home fleet, dispatched four light and heavy cruisers and nine destroyers, and conducted continuous bombardments on the Sarushima Fortress for two days and nights. It also dispatched a large number of bombers to conduct successive bombardments on the fortified island. More than a thousand bombings were carried out, causing trees and rocks to be torn down everywhere on the island, and bricks and mortar to be destroyed. But this fortress island that the Japanese Empire spent huge sums of money to build was indeed worth the huge cost. It was as hard as a walnut in the face of the indiscriminate bombardment from aircraft and naval guns. Although every inch of land on the island has been completely plowed by artillery fire, you can step on craters with every step you take, and not a single decent tree is still alive - the endless flames of artillery fire are as horizontal as volcanic lava. Rush straight in and burn the entire island to the ground. However, those Australians hiding in the tunnel fortifications still survived and resisted desperately.
The Japanese Marine Corps, which was ordered to seize the island, tried three times to forcibly storm the beach and land on Saru Island, but was repelled by the Allied forces who defended the island, resulting in as many as 2,000 casualties. Even the Japanese fleet that provided fire cover for the landing force had two destroyers and a heavy cruiser sunk by the Sarushima Fort controlled by the Allies. Two destroyers were severely damaged by gunfire, and two landing ships hit mines and exploded and sank. , it can be said to be a serious injury and heavy losses.
In this way, this coastal defense fortress built by the Japanese Empire to defend the capital has become the biggest obstacle to the Japanese army's complete recovery of the country.
After three failed attempts to land on Saru Island, the Japanese army had to temporarily give up the idea of a quick victory. They only sent warships to cruise around the fortress and bombard a few artillery shells from time to time. However, due to the insufficient caliber of the naval guns and the fragility of the ship itself, , suffered a great loss in the exchange of fire with the fortress's coastal defense guns - all the battleships of the Japanese Navy are currently away from the mainland, and the only heavy cruiser has been sunk by the fortress defenders.
Therefore, several Japanese destroyers and light cruisers that were urgently transferred to take charge of the attack on Saru Island had to wander outside the range of the fortress's guns, occasionally getting closer to fire a few shots, and then quickly retracted like a cat that touched a piece of red hot coal. , its real destructive effect can only be said to be better than nothing at best.
At the same time, Japanese aircraft continued to carry out bombing missions, blasting new craters into the already riddled Ape Island.
The Japanese Army on the shore also found a position where they could visually see the Sarushima Fortress. They set up artillery of various calibers on the seaside and conducted saturation bombardment of Sarushima day and night. After all, this island is only a few meters away from the sea. A little more than a kilometer away, even mortars can hit it.
Moreover, we are still shooting fixed targets on land, and the targets are so big. If we fail to hit them again, then the entire artillery crew can commit seppuku.
Although the counterattacks of the Australian artillery in the fortress were equally fierce, blowing up the Japanese army's artillery position in Yokosuka several times in a row, the Japanese army now has an absolute advantage on the battlefield. No matter how many artillery and ammunition are lost, Can quickly regroup again.
As a result, artillery shells of various calibers and bombs of various weights roared repeatedly on such a small island of only five square kilometers, playing an uncoordinated but absolutely murderous symphony of war. After half a month of continuous shelling and bombing, the landscape of Saru Island has been severely changed. Looking from the air, there are dense craters everywhere. The counterattacks of the shore artillery are getting weaker and weaker, and several forts have become silent one after another.
However, despite this, amidst the stormy shelling and bombing by the Japanese army, the underground fortifications built at a huge cost to the Sarushima Fortress still withstood the test and were generally safe. The thousands of Australian officers and soldiers currently hiding in the underground shelter of Sarushima Fortress are also patiently hiding in the tunnels, ready to start a new fight with the Japanese at any time. Although they all know clearly that there is no hope of victory for them now, and destruction is inevitable sooner or later, they still fight with such fanaticism and fierceness, and their morale is still so high,
Because these remnants of the subjugated country are no longer fighting for victory, but are fighting for a vigorous death and destruction!
These Australians now know that their hometown, Australia, has now become a Japanese land. The cruel warriors of the Yamato nation are just like the white people who massacred the indigenous people. They are exterminating the white Australians like vermin. Even if they surrender, they will be homeless and are even in danger of being cleared on the spot. Even their spiritual homeland, Britain, has now been destroyed in the mushroom cloud of nuclear explosions.
——After traveling through mountains and rivers, risking their lives and fighting for four years, they suffered countless hardships and made tragic sacrifices. In the end, they lost everything. Such a huge contrast made these Australians who call themselves iron-blooded warriors unable to do anything. Unbearable: The home that I need to protect already belongs to someone else, and all my relatives waiting for me to return to reunite are dead. In this case, what's the point of living? Like a dog, kneeling in front of Japanese dwarfs and licking their shoes, begging them to leave a way for them to survive? The cowards who are willing to do this have already escaped from this desperate island. The rest are all stubborn people who would rather die than give in. They only want to die a heroic death and live up to their reputation as warriors.
The Japanese and Soviets, who were their enemies, also "generously" fulfilled their wish...
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Today is Christmas Eve. I wonder if it is because the Japanese are also celebrating Christmas. The enemy ships that had been lingering in the nearby sea have disappeared since noon, and the Japanese artillery on the shore also stopped bombarding Sarushima Fortress. There was also no trace of Japanese planes overhead.
In this way, amid the confusion of the officers and soldiers guarding the island, the Arushima Fortress ushered in a peaceful day for the first time since the war began.
As the sun sets and night falls, the Arushima Fortress, which has been silent during the day and looks like an uninhabited island, finally begins to become noisy. One after another, many dirty Australian soldiers walked out from various parts of the island, and then collapsed on the beach, with no energy at all - after so many days of hard fighting. , their clothes were almost turning into pieces of cloth, their eyes were sunken, they were exhausted, their thoughts were numb, and their minds were dull. They just wanted to go out and look at the night sky and stars, and take a few breaths of fresh air.
After all, life in the underground tunnels is really difficult. There are so many people squeezed into such a small space, and there is no ventilation at all. The air is turbid and dull, comparable to the hold of a slave ship. Some people even have difficulty breathing. He suffocated to death inside. Not to mention enduring the suffocation of a train car during rush hour, while also listening to enemy shells falling like hail on top of their heads, shaking down huge piles of soil and gravel... Many unlucky Australian soldiers were They were sealed underground along with the collapsed air-raid shelter, and died in extreme pain: their breathing was suffocated, their chests and lungs were put under tremendous pressure, their eyes protruded, and the last thing they saw was still darkness - the deep cave not only protected them, And buried them at the end.
Even those soldiers who survived, after spending so long in the tunnels, were all gray and unkempt, like mummies just dug out of the grave. The only hope in their hearts was to go out and take a breath of fresh air. I would be willing to die even if I got an unexploded bomb.
Therefore, seeing that the enemy seemed to have gone away temporarily and the battlefield had calmed down, these Australians, who had been forced to live in caves for many days, were all eager to get out for some air and look at the sky. Even if you can't see the blue sky and white clouds or get the sun, it's nice to be able to take a look at the stars in the evening breeze.
Fortunately, the weather in Tokyo Bay tonight is good. In the clear night sky, we can see a group of stars. Thousands of stars form a milky white milky way across the sky, casting a crystal soft light, reflected in the sky. On the turbulent sea, as the waves dance up and down, they appear and disappear... Amidst the sound of the waves, the fresh and cold sea breeze blows against your face, dispersing the gunpowder smoke and corpse odor that originally filled the island, making people feel refreshed. Cool.
Previously, due to the enemy's day and night bombardment, a considerable number of Australian officers and soldiers in the Ape Island Fortress had not seen the stars for a long time. At first, they just lay quietly on the beach or mounds, silently looking at the sea and starry sky, breathing in the fresh air, doing nothing, thinking about nothing... After a while, some Australians As if they had rested enough, they started to light cigarettes and smoke them, or talk to each other in low voices. Then, someone remembered that today... it seemed... it seemed... it was Christmas?
Moreover, this is very likely to be the last Christmas in their lives!
As a result, Aru Island became more and more noisy in the night, and the soldiers who had given up on themselves became more and more emotional. They no longer ignored the constraints of military discipline and directly looted the fortress's food storage, taking out various cans, bacon, and biscuits. , candies and drinks, picnicking under the stars, eating and drinking - anyway, the food stored on the island is enough for them to eat for at least another half a year, but there is no way that this fortress can be defended for another two months.
For a moment, those who like sweet food stuffed their mouths with chocolate candies, those who like salty food pried open the cans of luncheon meat and ham and eggs, and the drunkards reached out and grabbed bottles filled with whiskey and brandy, still drunkenly. Singing Christmas carols.
After drinking and eating, they seemed to wake up suddenly and suddenly realized the preciousness of life. Some people thought of their relatives, and some thought of the pastures in their hometown in Australia, the rabbits everywhere, and the desert with jumping kangaroos... …It’s a pity that none of this belongs to them anymore. The southern continent discovered by Captain Cook was once occupied by the Anglo-Saxon nation for more than a hundred years, but now it is forced to spit it out from its mouth.
After dealing with the Japanese for so many years, all Australian officers and soldiers on the battlefield had no illusions about the kindness of the Japanese conquerors. These yellow-skinned dwarves will only slaughter all the white people in Australia mercilessly or expel them from the country just like the Yankees wiped out the Indians...
Therefore, they soon became depressed again and continued to eat and drink. It seemed that they planned to use gluttony to hint that death and destruction were still some time away from them, and the joy of life was not far away... However, war was far away from them. Closer!
——The faint morning light had just begun to shine from the horizon, and the ominous engine sound came from the end of the horizon. The Australian soldiers who had been playing around all night were very responsive to this and hurriedly got into the tunnel, making the beachfront, which was bustling with people a moment ago, empty again. Only a few sentries took the risk to stay in the camouflaged posts to observe the enemy situation in the sky and sea... However, what they never expected was that in order to congratulate them on the last Christmas in their lives, the Soviets actually sent such a gift. A huge Christmas gift!
First, an unimaginable blazing light suddenly lit up in the Ape Island Fortress, causing the sentinels on the island who could not avoid it to feel a sharp pain in their eyes. Then, before they could react, the strong light of the nuclear explosion came. The high temperature and blazing heat directly engulfed their entire bodies. Vaporized - in the fatal photothermal radiation and shock wave, the bones, muscles, nerves, and skin of anyone who was hit directly at close range were all as if they had been in a microwave oven, being quickly cooked, burned, and eventually destroyed. Burned into inorganic matter like charcoal and tree roots.
At the same time, if you look down from a high altitude, you can see an extremely bright and huge fireball rising in the sky above the Arushima Fortress, gradually rising to an altitude of more than 400 meters, and turning into a rolling dark red cloud. The fierce flames eventually formed a huge mushroom-shaped fire cloud. Various deadly rays, particles, nuclear dust storms and shock waves, accompanied by terrifying loud noises and shock waves, swept away in all directions. In an instant, it swept across the entire Ape Island. It was really thunderous and overwhelming, just like the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, violently destroying everything in its path. All the surface fortifications, camouflaged outposts, as well as artillery forts and docks were blown by the shock wave of the nuclear explosion, causing them to fly all over the sky like fallen leaves in autumn.
——In order to "help" Australians celebrate this Christmas, the Soviets sent an atomic bomb as a Christmas gift...
At this point, with the complete destruction of Sarushima Fortress by the atomic bomb blast, the war on the Japanese islands finally ceased and the dust settled.
In more than a year, 2.7 million Allied troops landed on the Japanese archipelago, and finally ended in annihilation. The Japanese who successfully regained their territory also paid a heavy price in that the country's major cities were basically reduced to ruins and ghosts, and 26 million soldiers and civilians died in the war. However, although any country can start a war, only the real winner can end the war - even if the Japanese have fought to the tragic point of halving the country's population, this war is far from over, and death and destruction are even more severe. It's still going on, even... getting more intense!