The cruelty of the Japanese is rare in the world. The Germans are not even worthy of carrying the Japanese's shoes. Only the Americans who almost killed all the Indians can compare with the Japanese.
Before the Battle of Ryukyu broke out, the total number of Ryukyu residents was 470,000.
In order to reduce losses, the Japanese government previously formulated an evacuation plan and planned to evacuate approximately 290,000 Ryukyu residents to mainland Japan.
This plan was not implemented because at this time, the sea and airspace around Ryukyu had been controlled by the Allies, making it impossible for Japanese ships to pass, and evacuation was out of the question.
All Japanese fortifications in Ryukyu were built by Ryukyu people. Since the evacuation work could not be completed, in order to protect the secrets of the Japanese defense fortifications, the Japanese headquarters issued the "Jade Broken Order", which was to bloodbath Ryukyu and kill all the Ryukyu people.
Mass murder also comes at a cost.
The Japanese did not have time to build gas chambers, so they distributed hand grenades door to door, forcing the Ryukyuan people to commit suicide with hand grenades. The Japanese government called this method "mass suicide."
Photos taken by East Indian reporters quickly appeared in the newspapers.
In order not to cause discomfort to readers, newspaper editors had to choose photos that were not too cruel.
Angel didn't have time to read the newspaper. The Japanese government had not given up on Ryukyu. There were about 150,000 Japanese troops on Ryukyu Island. This was a tough nut to crack.
Since the war started, the Japanese have also learned to be smart. In order to reduce the Allied naval and air force superiority, the Japanese army gave up beach defense and concentrated their forces in the hilly areas between Shuri and Naha, the two major cities of Ryukyu, and built countless caves.
Bunkers and forts.
"You go from south to north, we go from north to south, attack Shuri and Naha, and wipe out all the Japanese troops on the island." MacArthur did not realize at this time how many difficulties the Allies were about to face.
Ryukyu is the last barrier in southern Japan. Beyond Ryukyu, the Allies can launch a ground attack on the Japanese mainland.
In order to defend Ryukyu, the Japanese base camp formulated a combat plan code-named "Tian".
The main content of the plan is: the 32nd Army, commanded by Army Lieutenant General Ushijima, will fight against the Allied landing forces on Ryukyu Island.
The 2nd Fleet, commanded by Vice Admiral Seichi Ito, formed a surface attack force, broke into Ryukyu waters, and launched a suicidal attack on the Allied fleet.
At the same time, Vice Admiral Ugaki Matoi organized a "kamikaze" special attack team to launch a special attack to destroy the Allied fleet in the waters around Ryukyu.
Once the Allied landing force lost fleet support, Ushijima's defensive forces launched a massive counterattack and drove the Allied landing force into the sea.
This plan sounds good, but in fact there are many problems. The key lies in whether it can successfully destroy the Allied fleet in the waters around Ryukyu.
This is unlikely.
Around Ryukyu alone, the Allied fleet has a total of 36 aircraft carriers, 22 battleships, 320 other combat ships, 1,139 auxiliary ships, and 2,108 carrier-based aircraft.
At the same time, in the waters east of Kagoshima further north, there is a powerful fleet that is attacking the Japanese mainland.
"There are at least 150,000 Japanese troops on the island. This is an arduous task and requires a spirit of sacrifice." An Qi was ready for a big battle and regarded the attack on Ryukyu as a preview of the attack on the Japanese mainland.
As the Allied forces got closer and closer to the Japanese mainland, the Japanese army's will to resist was also growing.
During the Malay Campaign, the Japanese army almost collapsed against the southern African army. Their strong will to fight was useless. The absolute gap in strength was enough to make the Japanese army lose all confidence.
This is also the main reason why the Japanese army voluntarily abandoned the beachhead. The Allied forces' firepower was too powerful for the Japanese army to compete with. If the Japanese army remained on the beachhead and refused to retreat, then An Qi would really use bombs and artillery shells to kill the Japanese army to death.
Do not give the Japanese army a chance to fight head-on.
"How about deploying some Indian troops to join the war?" MacArthur was sinister. This was the rhythm of using the Indian troops as cannon fodder.
"Forget it, I'm afraid that the participation of Indian troops in the war will affect the morale of the military." An Qi was extremely disgusted. Indians are not even worthy of cannon fodder.
"We are going to launch a larger-scale attack on the Japanese mainland. Last night, the Japanese kamikaze rammed and sank the USS Franklin aircraft carrier. Haven't we already wiped out all Japan's air power? Why do the Japanese still have gods?
Stormtroopers?" MacArthur questioned the combat results of the Allied air force.
After several months of air strikes, the Allied Air Force claims to have destroyed all the airports in Japan. In the last two air strikes on the Japanese mainland, the Allied bombers did not encounter any resistance from the air.
The allusion of "divine wind" originated from the end of the 13th century AD. At that time, Kublai Khan, the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, led a fleet to attack Japan twice, but both ships were destroyed by typhoons and people died. Therefore, the Japanese called these two typhoons "divine winds."
The Japanese base camp hoped that the Japanese suicide plane could achieve the same effect as the "Kamikaze", so it named the suicide plane "Kamikaze".
"The Japanese's small planes are very light and have very low requirements for the runway. Even if there is only a small piece of lawn, they can take off smoothly. Their suicide planes have no intention of flying back at all. Everyone is crazy." An Qi endured.
I can't help but sigh, it would be great to use this life-defying spirit in other places, but it is used in war.
"My troops will launch an attack tomorrow, and no Japanese can be allowed to escape this time." MacArthur needed a hearty victory to prove his worth.
The two biggest stars in the U.S. military are MacArthur and Eisenhower.
MacArthur was in East Asia, and Eisenhower was in Europe.
Now Washington values Eisenhower more than MacArthur. MacArthur is very uncomfortable. He wants to prove that he is superior to Eisenhower in terms of value and ability.
"Have the heavy weapons of the landing force landed?" An Qi was worried that the U.S. military would not be able to complete its mission, which would affect southern Africa.
Although the Allies have not yet taken Shuri and Naha, the Air Force has conducted aerial reconnaissance of Shuri and Naha many times. The Japanese defense layout is not a secret. It can be seen clearly from the photos taken by the Air Force.
The Japanese not only dug countless caves, bunkers and forts on the island, but also forced Ryukyu residents to join the army. Ryukyu students were incorporated into the "Iron-Blooded Service Corps" to cooperate with the Japanese army, and women were also recruited into the rescue team. In addition, a large number of
Civilians were placed in defensive positions by the Japanese army. If the Allied forces carried out indiscriminate bombing of the Japanese defensive positions, these civilians would become victims.
"Tanks are enough -" MacArthur was confident that the Japanese army seriously lacked countermeasures against tanks, not even rocket launchers, a small number of anti-tank guns, and a serious shortage of armor-piercing ammunition.
Unlike MacArthur, who had strong self-confidence, Lieutenant General Buckner, commander of the U.S. 10th Army, who served as the front-line offensive, was in a heavy mood.
The 10th Group Army consists of the 24th Army Corps (with a strength of 4 divisions) and the 3rd Marine Corps Corps (with a strength of 3 divisions), with a total of 7 divisions and 183,000 people.
The southern African army participating in the attack consisted of two divisions, two marine brigades, and four East India divisions, with a total strength of 135,000.
Buckner was unlucky. The area he was responsible for attacking was heavily defended by Japanese troops. The area attacked by the Southern African Army had only two Japanese brigades responsible for defense.
The Japanese army's brigade is equivalent to a regiment, usually about 1,000 people.
The defense force of 2,000 people could not even act as a lag in the face of the Southern African army. It only took the Southern African army two and a half hours to successfully break through the Japanese position.
"Who can tell me that it only took the Southern Africans two and a half hours to end the battle, but we fought for three whole days and only advanced one kilometer?" Buckner was furious in the command post. If Southern Africa encounters
The mode is the easy level, then the mode the US military encounters is the hell level.
"The opponents in southern Africa only have two brigades. Our opponents are two divisions and two mixed brigades. The latest news is that four Japanese destroyers have broken through the naval defense line. All the sailors on the ships have come ashore and joined the defensive positions.
It's equivalent to two more infantry battalions for the Japanese army." Harrison, the group staff officer, placed a small flag on the sand table in front of him. White represents the Japanese army, blue represents the U.S. military, and red represents southern Africa.
The sand table is filled with various small flags. The white one occupies the smallest area, the blue one is in attack status, and the red one is watching a show, which is particularly eye-catching.
"Air force, call for air force support, order the air force to use incendiary bombs to burn all the Japanese to death!" Buckner howled crazily. The Japanese tactics were still effective. After abandoning the beachhead, the Allied forces lost the firepower of the fleet and relied only on the air force.
The effect is not good.
The Japanese are very cunning. They have hollowed out almost all the hilly areas between Shuri and Naha. The troops and warehouses are deep underground, making it difficult for the air force to effectively attack them.
What's more, there are civilians who are being used as shields.
"Yes -" Harrison was smart enough not to mention civilians, pretending he didn't know.
Since you don't know, you don't need to be responsible for the civilians.
Even if there were excessive civilian casualties, they were all caused by the Japanese army and had nothing to do with the US military.
"General, call from the 7th East India Division."
"Hey, if you want to see my joke, you are wrong. We will break through the Japanese positions today!" Buckner answered the phone and roared again.
"General Buckner, I don't mean to be a joke. I just want to say that if you need our help, please feel free to ask."
The voice coming from the phone made Buckner feel irritable, so Buckner hung up the phone immediately.
The U.S. Air Force is still very reliable. After experiencing the initial difficulties, the U.S. Air Force has now made great progress and can keep up with the pace of the Southern African Air Force and will no longer hold back in joint attacks.
Responsible for providing support and cover for the 10th Army is the 5th Fleet of the U.S. Pacific Fleet commanded by Admiral Spruance, which has seven task forces.
Following Buckner's call, a formation of bombers taking off from the aircraft carrier quickly passed over Buckner's command post and flew toward the Japanese position two kilometers away.
According to Southern African standards, Buckner's command post was too close to the Japanese position. Japanese snipers equipped with sniper rifles at a distance of two kilometers were fully capable of posing a threat to Buckner.
Although the Japanese army lacked artillery, it was not without them.
At this distance, all Japanese artillery could directly bombard Buckner's command post.
After months of bombing, the U.S. Air Force has learned a lot about the use of incendiary bombs.
The effect was indeed good. When a bunch of incendiary bombs were thrown down, the Japanese army's position was immediately surrounded by fire and thick smoke. If not burned to death, the people on the position would be choked to death, or suffocated due to lack of oxygen.
In short, he is dead.
There was no joy on Buckner's face.
For three days, after each Air Force bombing, Buckner believed that no one on the Japanese position could survive.
However, the Japanese brought surprises to Buckner every time. The little dwarfs seemed to have unlimited vitality and could always survive the overwhelming bombing.
It's the same this time.
When the trembling American soldiers, under the cover of M4 Sherman, cautiously approached the Japanese position.
Suddenly, like rats in a flood, the Japanese troops emerged from countless rat holes and quickly filled their positions.
Facing the Japanese army with only light weapons, the M4 Sherman was almost invincible on the battlefield.
The Japanese's response was simple and crude. Since the Air Force can produce "kamikaze" units, the Army also has death squads.
Just when Sherman was about to charge into the Japanese position, several students-looking children and two disheveled women rushed towards Sherman with explosive bags in their hands.
After the violent explosion, Sherman collapsed completely. All the American soldiers accompanying the attack died. The remaining Shermans retreated like a tide, and the attack failed again.
This time, without Buckner's greeting, the U.S. artillery opened fire on the Japanese positions.
The Japanese are already very familiar with American routines.
The attacking American soldiers had not yet returned to their starting position. The Japanese troops on the position had withdrawn into the tunnel one after another, leaving only a few observers mixed with civilians on the position.
The appearance of civilians on the position was a signal that the Japanese army was about to abandon the position.
Whenever the defense line is about to be breached, it is time to shrink and move to the next line of defense.
The Japanese army would execute all the members of the "Iron-Blooded Service Team" and the rescue team.
The Japanese would force students and women at gunpoint, rush toward U.S. tanks with explosive packets in groups, and force women to walk out of bunkers in groups to meet the U.S. Air Force bombings.
The Japanese soldiers hid behind and refilled their guns to prevent the students and women from escaping.
This approach will actually not hinder the U.S. Air Force.
The U.S. Air Force has become accustomed to throwing incendiary bombs into civilian areas in Japanese cities. This level of moral pressure does not exist at all.
As mentioned above, even if there were civilian casualties, it was caused by the Japanese army and had nothing to do with the US military.
Based on the information collected by the Allied Forces from various places, more than 100,000 civilian corpses have been discovered so far. These civilians basically committed "mass suicide". Some were killed by grenades, and many more jumped off cliffs and hung themselves collectively.
,Etc., etc.
"General, from Changi Naval Base—" Harrison handed a telegram to Buckner.
The telegram contained only one sentence: If this front cannot be broken through within 5 days, I will mobilize other troops to break through it.
