news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

memoirs of imamura jun - appetizing chapter

retrospective of imamura jun - episode x: famous scene, falling into the sea for unknown reasons

retrospective of imamura tsuyoshi--episode

retrospective of imamura jun--episode

retrospective of imamura tsuyoshi--episode x+3: the dutch army did not fight

retrospective of imamura jun - episode x+4: raise your hand faster than the french

retrospective of imamura jun--episode x+5: happy to take the kill

retrospective of imamura jun - episode x+6: newspapers are always flattering

retrospective of imamura jun - episode x+7: can the attack continue?

retrospective of imamura jun - episode x+8: bodhisattva-hearted imamura jun

retrospective of imamura tsuyoshi--episode x+9: lower oil prices for the people of java

retrospective of imamura jun--episode x+10: people in java love me

retrospective of imamura jun--episode x+11: sukarno and i

starting from this episode, it’s time to enter the rabaul show, so i’ll start with y, but well, there don’t seem to be many exciting parts.

the situation at rabaul

on november 8, showa 17, i suddenly received a telegram from chief of staff sugiyama:

[the noble officer was removed from his current post and was appointed commander of the eighth front army. the handover of duties to the successor lieutenant general harada kumakichi should be carried out in tokyo. 】

i have no clue in which direction the eighth front army is located, what combat tasks it is undertaking, or what its current conditions are. the next day, the southern army headquarters in singapore called:

[in order for the distinguished officials to report to the base camp, a special plane was sent to jakarta on the 10th and departed on the 11th. 】

for me, i already have a rough idea of ​​the oil refining restoration in java and the salvage of tugboats offshore. in order to defend against counterattacks by the enemy, mainly the australian army, i have already put in place a defense plan. the next implementation stage is the key. . regarding politics, although it has the approval of the central government, there are also concerns that it may be required to switch to a high-pressure policy again. i feel like there's still a lot to do here...

the military commander's departure from the battlefield is kept confidential, so naturally there is no farewell ceremony. after noon on the 11th, i went to the jakarta airport and saw that a passenger plane with "kurohime" marked on the side was ready to depart. my adjutant, captain minoru tanaka, and i took the flight together.

at around three o'clock in the afternoon, the plane landed in singapore. i settled down in the hotel. according to the pre-arranged time, which was six o'clock in the afternoon, i went to the official residence to visit the commander-in-chief of the terauchi army and reported to him my transfer.

the general said: "it was really hard in java, and the next work may be even harder."

me: "do you know which direction the eighth front army is targeting?"

terauchi: "i don't know the official version yet. however, the staff officer who went to the base camp to contact us a few days ago came back. according to his statement, it is probably in the direction of rabaul island in the east of new guinea. it can't be seen on the map. on the small island called guadalcanal, hyakumu-kun's 17th army, suppressed by the u.s. military's air and sea control, fought a more difficult battle with the well-equipped mechanized u.s. military than nomonhan. there was a lack of supplies and starvation everywhere. lieutenant general maruyama's division stationed in java was transferred there and formed the main body of the hundred arms army. they were all your and my old subordinates. "(note, guadalcanal is temporarily under the direct control of the base camp).

me: "how important is guadalcanal?"

terauchi: "i don't know the details, but it seems to be very important to the navy."

me: "i came from the sendai division when i joined the army (imamura is a native of miyagi, born in sendai, and belongs to the second division). the recruits i educated thirty-five years ago are now all in the second division. in the regiment, we landed in java and fought together seven months ago. it was so painful to fight in the scorching heat of the dog days without supplies. i had a taste of this during the battle in nanning, guangxi province. . it’s really hard to be hungry.”

terauchi: "that's great if you think so. let's raise a toast to the future of martial arts."

we came to the restaurant and played go together after dinner. around ten o'clock in the evening, when we were about to leave, i expressed my wish to the general of the temple:

"as for java's military affairs, although the ministers and commander-in-chief recognized the policy i formulated, there are still many people among the central staff and the general army's staff who seem to advocate high-pressure policies. i am worried that they will take advantage of my transfer to change the policy. according to regarding the movements of the javanese and the dutch, i believe that high pressure is unnecessary and can even be said to be harmful. as the commander-in-chief of the general army, please consider the overall situation and avoid unnecessary mistakes."

terauchi: "i understand this. don't worry about the future, just concentrate on your new mission."

after hearing the cheerful answer, i said goodbye and returned to the hotel.

the next day, november 12, it had been raining lightly since midnight. although i was not reassured, i went to the airport at nine o'clock in the morning. under the farewell of more than ten leaders from the chief of staff to the general army, adjutant tanaka and i the two of them got on the "black princess". the light rain hasn't stopped yet.

the plane began to taxi. just when my body felt it had taken off, i suddenly felt a sharp turn and heard a loud bang.

i felt severe pain in my legs and i woke up for a while, but after a while, i seemed to be unconscious again.

i don’t know who was dragging my legs, but my body was pressed against the partition between the control room and the cabin, and the luggage rack was pressed against it. so no matter how hard i struggled, i couldn’t get out.

"if we don't come out quickly, we'll be in trouble if the gasoline catches fire."

captain tanaka's loud shout was heard. i tried my best to crawl out with both hands, but i still couldn't move.

probably because his life was not meant to be cut off. captain tanaka is a strong fighter of fifth-level kendo and third-level judo. he exerted so much strength that i felt my legs were about to be torn off.

he finally dragged me out of the wreckage and pulled me out of the plane through the hole in the cabin.

the plane's engine and propeller flew seven or eight meters away. one wing was torn off and the other wing was also broken. it seemed that it hit a slope or a tree.

"are you injured somewhere?"

under the adjutant's questioning, i moved my arms and legs around and turned my neck, but i didn't feel any pain.

"it's weird, it doesn't hurt anywhere."

at first glance, i saw several passenger cars heading this way across from the airport. after a while, lieutenant general shigenori kuroda, chief of staff of the general army, got out of the car and said as soon as he saw me:

"ah! it turns out you are still alive. what a blessing! you were saved when you fell into the sea, but you didn't die when you fell from the sky. if you die, i can succeed you as the commander of the front army. this makes me a little regretful. "(this is a bit of a cheap joke.

）

this man was known as a joker within the army. for me, who was so shocked, this was a fun joke that helped me regain my composure.

"i'm so stubborn!" i laughed out loud along with him.

when i was on an expedition to java, the plane i was traveling on broke down in the yellow sea and made an emergency landing on jeju island. when i landed in java, i fell into the sea. today i caught up with another plane crash. what an unlucky thing! (should i say imamura is lucky or unlucky here? he always gets into accidents, but every time he is unscathed. this time the crash only caused a few scratches. it’s really like no one else.) i heard that among boats, trains, and cars, all transportation vehicles have a good name for good luck, but the naming of aircraft does not seem to be so particular. the aircraft that broke down about a year ago was the big hash mark of "insurmountable oigawa", and the name of "kurohime" such a strange name makes people even more speechless. because of that emergency landing, dahuanhao originally thought he would change his name, but he didn't think about it. half a year later, the dahonghao crashed into a mountain near taipei, killing all seven or eight people on board. after i finished speaking, adjutant tanaka said:

"it must be because you are getting older, you are becoming more superstitious."

i was laughed at by him (again). (this is not the first time that tanaka has ridiculed imamura. friends who have read the previous article know that this guy is so bold for a young captain? is he a relative of the emperor?)

the person in charge of aircraft at the general army headquarters was very frightened. this time he customized a plane named "medical king" for me. he left singapore after lunch and stayed in saigon for one night on the evening of the 13th. , in a hotel in guangdong, i accidentally met colonel nishi, the section chief of the intelligence department of the general staff headquarters. this man was a relative of mine. we had dinner together that day and had a great conversation.

although you are not in the combat class at the base camp, how does the base camp consider the limits of operations and supplies? when commander-in-chief sugiyama came on april 7, he made it clear that matters such as the operation against australia, because of sea transportation capacity—— in other words, the relationship between supply limits is impossible to achieve. in this case, they still want to cross the southeast asian islands, send troops to rabaul, and use troops on guadalcanal. what is their purpose? could it be that they want to obtain a springboard to attack australia?"

i don't know about that, i just heard that the navy's request cannot be ignored. it should indeed be considered that the scope of the existing combat area cannot be too large. "

he seemed unaware of the details, but looked melancholy.

arrive in taipei on the 13th and tachikawa airport on the 14th.

on november 15, showa 17, i reported to the army headquarters at tokyo base camp. chief of staff sugiyama assigned me the following tasks:

[your officer has to face the allied counterattack from the southwest pacific.

the 1st, 6th and 51st divisions are about to be transferred from the chinese battlefield to the rabaul side, and will join the 17th army (commander lieutenant general hyakutake, commanded by the 2nd division) who is fighting a hard battle on guadalcanal. , the 38th division as the main force), commanding the above-mentioned troops to defeat the us military on the island.

2. take command of the 18th army (commanded by lieutenant general adachi, mainly composed of the 20th and 41st divisions) that is about to be shipped to new guinea, and at the same time command the horii mixed brigade that is fighting hard in eastern new guinea. annihilate the australian troops in this area. 】

in order to support the second division on guadalcanal, the 38th division boarded fourteen transport ships and approached the island on the night of the 14th yesterday. however, all of them were sunk by us aircraft and submarines, with only a few below the commander of the sano division. some people landed, almost all their supplies were lost, and they were in trouble. but for some reason, the person in charge of the general staff headquarters did not inform me. probably considering the impact on my morale, my acquaintances at the base camp told me privately that the sea and air control in that direction were completely controlled by the us military. (what can be seen here, that you are not telling the truth to the front-line commander?)

yesterday, most of the 38th division commanded by lieutenant general sano was sunk. he was my subordinate when i was the commander of the guangdong army and the commander of the 16th army, and he was also a comrade who lived and died together. this is the third time we have fought side by side, and a feeling of deprivation broke out. my courage was aroused, as if a solemn destiny awaited me.

on the 16th, i was summoned to the palace, accompanied by prime minister tojo and attendant military attaché chief hasunuma, to pay homage to tenno heika.

i was given an edict: "the war in the southeast pacific is related to the rise and fall of the locust kingdom. please quickly reverse the decline and repel the enemy!"

i looked at yuyan with a sad face and strengthened my determination to complete the task no matter what.

to be continued…