The U.S.-Philippine coalition forces who surrendered on the Bataan Peninsula did not realize what fate they were about to face.
A total of 78,000 U.S.-Philippine coalition officers and soldiers surrendered. Before they surrendered, they had run out of ammunition and food, including all the snakes and lizards.
MacArthur rashly ordered the US-Philippine coalition forces to stick to the Bataan Peninsula, but did not prepare enough supplies on the Bataan Peninsula. The Southern African Air Force tried to airdrop aid to the Bataan Peninsula, but could not find the US-Philippine coalition positions because of the unfamiliar terrain.
where.
After the surrender, the U.S.-Philippine coalition forces were plundered by the Japanese army. Watches, wallets, rings, and even water bottles were all taken away by the Japanese army. When they left the Bataan Peninsula, they did not know where their destination was or how far it was. Each of them only received
A rice ball the size of a golf ball.
No one would have imagined that this golf ball-sized rice ball would be the only food they would get in the next eight days.
It doesn't matter if there is no food. Human beings can survive for seven days without food.
I couldn't last three days without water.
The Bataan Peninsula is located in the tropics, and the temperature is unbearably hot. Diseases are rampant among prisoners of war. The wounded cannot receive treatment, and there is no transportation. The prisoners can only walk to the camp 120 kilometers away...
At this time, Americans did not know how cruel the Japanese were.
Hamilton, from Arizona, was one of those captives.
Hamilton joined the Marine Corps two years ago and was later sent to fight in the Philippines.
In the Philippines, Hamilton spent more than a year as a colonial soldier in heaven.
Like the Southern African Union troops, Hamilton was a highly skilled artilleryman and thus survived the surrender of the U.S.-Philippine coalition.
Hamilton himself did not expect that surrender would be the beginning of the tragedy.
On the morning of the 12th, the surrendered U.S.-Philippine coalition forces, each consisting of 300 soldiers, embarked on a death march.
When setting off, Hamilton and other prisoners each received a rice ball. Many of them ate the rice ball immediately, but Hamilton did not do so. He only took a small bite, probably only a few grains of rice.
Caution allowed Hamilton to hold on to the prisoner of war camp.
In addition to the rice balls, Hamilton also hid a kettle filled with water in his clothes when he set off. Because there were so many people surrendering, the Japanese army did not have time to carefully search every prisoner of war.
The road conditions are very bad. Since the United States acquired the Philippines after the Spanish-American War, it has never seriously operated it. There is not even a decent road in the Bataan Peninsula. Now the Americans are reaping the consequences.
Shortly after setting off, there was a waterhole on the roadside. A tall American soldier went to the Japanese escort, hoping to go to the waterhole to drink water.
The American soldiers did not understand Japanese, and the escorting Japanese soldiers did not understand English either. The two of them could not communicate in language and could only sign and sign.
The Japanese soldier, who was less than 1.5 meters tall, looked like an underage child standing next to the tall American soldier. The two of them were gesticulating in a funny way. Some of the American prisoners even laughed happily.
.
Probably mocking the height of the Japanese soldiers.
Soon they stopped laughing.
The American soldiers got permission from the Japanese soldiers and happily went to the waterhole to drink water. Several American soldiers who were also hungry and thirsty also followed them, six of them in total.
Just when the six people were about to arrive at the waterhole, the Japanese soldier who seemed quite friendly just now suddenly raised his gun.
Boom!
The tall American soldier was shot in the neck, and blood gushed out like an open faucet. His wide eyes were filled with disbelief. He tightly covered the wound on his neck with both hands, but it was difficult to stop the blood from gushing out.
"God, what have you done?" The prisoner of war next to him tried to help the injured American soldier.
The little Japanese soldier did not waste any more bullets. He rushed over with his bayonet straight and stabbed the American soldier who was rescuing him in the chest.
Two American soldiers fell together without a sip of water until they died.
What chilled Hamilton was that the remaining American prisoners of war did not continue to rescue, but fled directly back to the prisoner of war team. One prisoner of war took a sip of water before escaping back, with a rather satisfied expression.
Soon a Japanese officer came over and shouted a few times, seemingly reprimanding the violent Japanese soldiers.
"Gentlemen, you should abide by the Prisoners of War Convention." Some prisoners of war bravely reminded Japanese officers that prisoners of war also need to receive treatment commensurate with their status.
"What is the Prisoner of War Convention?" This Japanese officer actually understood English and seemed to be able to communicate, but what he said was even more despairing.
What Hamilton and other American prisoners of war did not know was that Japan had not signed the Prisoners of War Convention at all, so Japanese prisoners of war would not be protected by the Prisoners of War Convention.
The Prisoners of War Convention was signed in 1929, and its full name is the Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Japan did not sign the Convention because the Japanese government believes that the Japanese army should fight to the end in the battle and cannot surrender even if the entire army is annihilated. Since there are no prisoners of war, there is no need to sign the "Prisoners of War Convention".
Before the death march began, Japanese commander Masaharu Honma ordered the Japanese troops responsible for escorting to eliminate all prisoners who could not reach the prison camp.
The Japanese Army Staff also believed that the victorious soldiers should be transferred to other battlefields as soon as possible, so the prisoners must be killed.
The surrender of the U.S.-Philippine coalition forces was a complete tragedy.
Not only did the Japanese fail to provide the prisoners with food and water, the escorting Japanese troops also kept urging the prisoners to speed up. Those who fell behind would be directly executed, as would those who resisted.
Someone tried to escape, but how could they outrun the bullets?
When a US military officer tried to communicate with the Japanese and was beheaded in public, all the prisoners fell silent.
It should be said that the physical fitness of American soldiers is still good. At least Hamilton can keep up with the pace of escorting Japanese troops.
But the situation soon reversed. When the Japanese soldiers responsible for escorting were sweating profusely and their steps began to feel heavy, a group of Japanese soldiers who were full of energy and had just eaten and drank replaced all the exhausted Japanese soldiers.
.
Damn, this is still a wheel battle!
Many prisoners realized that the situation was not good and that they could not escape the Japanese who could rest and have sufficient supplies.
Just as the two groups of Japanese troops were handing over, several American prisoners noticed a pool next to the road.
The water in the pool was not clean. It was covered with green foam, and there was actually a cow carcass floating on the surface. Under the blazing sunlight, the pool gave off an unpleasant smell.
Even so, it could not stop the prisoners of war from thirsting for water. They had reached their limit and would die of thirst even if they continued without being shot by the Japanese army.
A U.S. soldier took advantage of the handover Japanese soldiers not paying attention, rushed over, buried his head in the pool and drank to his fill.
Some Japanese soldiers noticed his behavior but did not stop him.
This gave the other prisoners courage, and a large group of them rushed over to drink water frantically, not caring whether the water was clean or not.
The Japanese army moved very quickly and the handover was quickly completed. By this time, the prisoners who had just run over to drink water had returned to the team.
The Japanese officer leading the team was not in a hurry. With a strange smile on his face, he lined up the prisoners of war and ordered a prisoner with water marks on his clothes to be brought out.
This man Hamilton knew was Tom from New York State. He came from a well-off family and graduated from a prestigious school. It was said that he was an excellent rugby player. He was very popular with girls when he was in school and dated a different girl every week.
Tom's face was full of fear and he did not dare to step out of the queue. He clasped his hands and kept begging: "Please don't do this. For the sake of God, my family is rich and I can give you a lot of money."
The Japanese officer holding a saber in his hand was unmoved. He didn't know whether it was because he didn't understand or for other reasons.
Tom was dragged out of the queue by two short but strong Japanese soldiers.
Hamilton's eyes suddenly filled with tears, but he did not dare to organize the Japanese soldiers.
Under the pressure of the bayonet, Tom fell to his knees facing the captives.
At this time, Tom had realized that death was coming. He did not beg anymore, but prayed calmly.
The Japanese officer pulled out his saber with a grim smile and put his hand on Tom's neck, as if looking for a suitable position.
Hamilton couldn't bear to look any further and closed his eyes in pain.
After a scream, everything returned to calm.
Then the massacre did not end. Then all the prisoners with water on their clothes were taken out and lined up in a line, and four Japanese soldiers executed them with bullets and bayonets.
A Japanese soldier probably had just joined the army, and his hands were shaking when he picked up his gun.
After shooting one prisoner and stabbing another prisoner to death with a bayonet, all the hesitation and guilt in the Japanese soldier's eyes disappeared, replaced by madness and cruelty, like a wild dog after tasting delicious food.
The Japanese army did not even dispose of the bodies, and Hamilton and his companions continued on their way.
At this time, the team had reduced from 300 people when it first set out to less than 200.
The only function of these corpses is probably to remind the prisoners who pass by here not to act rashly.
A prisoner who had just drank water was lucky to escape and was not singled out by the Japanese officers because there were no green water marks on his clothes.
But his luck ended here. The water in which the corpse had been soaked was contaminated and could not be drunk. Soon after this unlucky and lucky guy started again, his expression began to look increasingly ugly.
"Please God, give me a toilet," Hamilton heard the prisoner praying.
Unfortunately, it was of no use. Even if there was a toilet, the Japanese soldiers responsible for escorting would not give the prisoners a chance to use the toilet.
Soon he couldn't help it anymore and made a request to the Japanese soldiers responsible for escorting him.
Then he was taken out of the queue.
This time, the Japanese officer did not draw his sword directly. Instead, he called two prisoners of war who were equally tall, gave them each a shovel, and ordered them to dig a hole.
"Sir, please consider that the United States and Japan have maintained friendly relations for many years. Don't treat us like this." A prisoner's hand holding a shovel was trembling. In his heart, he must be madly cursing senior officials in Washington and big businessmen in New York.
, it is precisely because they helped the evildoers do evil that we have today’s tragedy.
Until the Pearl Harbor incident, the United States maintained close trade relations with Japan. More than 80% of the raw materials Japan needed to develop its military industry were provided by the United States.
Now the Americans are reaping the consequences, raising tigers will eventually lead to disaster. I wonder if senior officials in Washington and big businessmen in New York have any regrets.
Most of them will not regret it, and they have no chance to regret it. It is said that Tom, who was beheaded, made his family rich by reselling steel to Japan.
"Are you friendly? Do you think our Empire of Japan didn't pay for the scrap metal we bought from you in the United States? The scrap ships you sold to our Empire of Japan that are about to be dismantled are more expensive than new ships.
Everything you are suffering now is retribution and you deserve it. You American devils should die miserably like pigs and dogs. God will not forgive you." The Japanese officer laughed wildly. The Americans thought that the Japanese would suffer because of the trade between the United States and Japan.
Be grateful, this is so funny.
"You damn little dwarfs, go to hell!" The prisoner holding the shovel was no longer unarmed. He raised the shovel and rushed towards the Japanese officer crazily.
Several Japanese soldiers raised their guns at the same time.
Bah, bah bah bah
Prisoners who tried to resist were shot dead.
The Japanese officer selected another prisoner, who was also tall.
It is estimated that this Japanese officer probably resented all tall people.
This is so inappropriate. You should not blame other tall people for not growing taller. You should examine the genes inherited from your parents.
Probably because the previous act of resistance had been delayed for too long, the hole in the ground was only dug a foot deep. The cruel Japanese officer threw the sick prisoner into it and then ordered the two prisoners to bury him alive.
The sick prisoners struggled wildly in the pit, screaming loudly and shrilly.
These are living people, not the kind that are sick to death.
Neither prisoner made a move.
Boom!
The Japanese officer fired directly and killed a prisoner who disobeyed orders.
Another prisoner finally scooped up a shovel of dirt and threw it onto the still struggling prisoner.
The Japanese officer rushed over, snatched away the shovel, and slapped the desperate prisoner on the head so hard that blood immediately poured out.
The Japanese officer did not stop and struck one after another with the shovel, until the prisoner finally became motionless.
Hamilton did not close his eyes this time. He witnessed the whole process with open eyes. He kept every detail in his mind and prepared to write a book to expose the atrocities of the Japanese army after the war was over.
This idea is very good.
But it seems that it would be better to vent the hatred towards the Japanese army directly on the Japanese army.
This is what Southern African armies do.
Coincidentally, since Japan has not signed the "Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War", Japanese prisoners of war will naturally not be protected by the "Prisoners of War Convention".
What's more, the Japanese officers and soldiers have an extremely tenacious fighting will. They usually fight until the last moment and never choose to surrender.
Previously it was the Fifth Division, and now it is the turn of the Eighteenth Division and the Guards Division.
Take your time, no one will be left behind, and what is supposed to come will always come.
