Chapter 19 The Japanese army switched careers to engage in "land reclamation"

Officials can put on airs from behind, while soldiers can only continue to fight for their lives in the front. At midnight on January 10, 1942, after receiving no response to the persuasion, the 65th Brigade launched successive "long live assaults" on the Nadi defense line. The so-called "Long live assault" is to charge with a bayonet while shouting "Long live the emperor".The American artillery was all concealed in the forest. Through long-distance shooting and side firing, they ruthlessly blocked this bull-like impact. The Japanese infantry fell in front of the barbed wire erected by the US-Philippines.

The "Long Live Assault" is characterized by madness. The Japanese army under the hail of bullets rushed to the barbed wire fence desperately and built a human bridge to allow the subsequent Japanese army to pass through. Facing the crazy onslaught of the enemy, although the defenders temporarily retreated, they immediately launched a counterattack as soon as the reinforcements arrived, driving the Japanese army back to the original front. By the morning of January 12, two or three hundred Japanese troops who attacked the Nadi defense line had been killed. They paid such a high price, but only gained a small area.

Nara really has more than enough heart but not enough energy.He pushed forward meter by meter, not so much as attacking, as walking against the house, that horrible bear appearance, not to mention himself, even the people who watched were in pain. What is the reason for not fighting well?Benma knew nothing about the inside story of the Bataan defense line, and all he could do was to send his staff to the Nadi battlefield for inspection. The staff came to see that the foothills of Nadi Mountain were full of small rivers and forests, which were difficult to pass through and convenient for the artillery of the US and Philippine Army to conceal, while the middle was full of firepower nets.In the absence of maps, communication between them is important.However, the communications detachment of the 65th Brigade had no experience in jungle warfare, and they often walked around in the woods and couldn't get out, let alone pointing out the maze for the large troops.

The unanimous conclusion of the staff of the military department is: "This battle is indeed difficult to fight, hard fighting is inevitable, and future offensives will still be difficult." Since it was so difficult, Honma's first thought was that Nara's IQ might not be enough. He planned to transfer a staff officer from the army headquarters to the 65th Brigade to be Nara's right-hand man and help him command the war. The problem is that although Nara is the head of the brigade, he is quite a senior lieutenant general.If it hurt everyone's face because of this, it would be ugly, so Honma decided to send a staff officer to test the other party's reaction first.

The brigade headquarters in Nara was built in a small house on the edge of the dense forest. The house is leaning against the mountain and looks inclined, but it is quite similar to the situation in Nara at this time. I can't get down again.This is about fighting. If it comes to dealing with the army, Nara has long been slick and sophisticated, as sophisticated as a cucumber.He first expressed his thanks to Honma after the staff officer had finished explaining his intentions. The commander of the army condescended to send his staff to serve as my staff.Then the topic changed: "However, I still have to ask the two staff officers of the brigade department to ask them and listen to their thoughts."

This was a reasonable request, and the military staff waited accordingly. Then I heard a fierce quarrel in the woods, and someone shouted in a high-pitched voice: "Today, if you send the military staff again, won't you slap us both?" Oh, it turned out to be those two wretched little staff officers.Knowing that the military staff was coming to replace them, the two immediately exploded.While weeping and snotting, they cried to Nara, saying that since the brigade landed, how they regarded death as home, how to overcome all difficulties, how can the brigade leader do the thing of killing donkeys now?

"If the commander must accept the army staff, please dismiss the two of us first, but for the sake of the brigade and the honor of the commander, I hope to send us to the Bataan battlefield to die for the country." They seemed to be speaking to Nara, but every sentence made the military staff feel like they were sitting on pins and needles.Later, Nara appeared again, and as soon as he came up, he gave the military staff a full-fledged smile, which means, you heard it all. The military staff finally got an answer from Nara: "I really can't bear to let down the determination and sincerity of the brigade staff. Please inform the army commander that the brigade intends to continue fighting hard with the original lineup."

The staff officer of the military department wished to leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible. If he had something to say, he would go back and report to this room, and suggested to maintain the status quo and not send any more staff officers. As soon as Benma heard it, he knew that the old guy was playing tricks.Favors and favors, if people are willing, he is obviously unwilling, so it would be unwise for you to force people into it. But the 65th Brigade's offensive has not progressed, which is another iron fact.Nara was fighting hard, and the pressure on Honma was not small. The voice of criticism from Tokyo continued to come, so Honma and his staff had to rack their brains and find ways to improve the effect of the attack.

After much deliberation, troops could only be deployed from the 16th Division on the west coast for reinforcements.The 16th Division dispatched the Wuzhi Detachment, which was temporarily built on the basis of the wing and included two brigades.The Wuzhi detachment was ordered to travel southward through the dense forest on the east slope near the top of Nadi Mountain, with the purpose of detouring to the back of the Nadi defense line to force the U.S. and Philippine troops to retreat. Outflanking is the most proficient tactic used by the Japanese army, but the roundabout also requires conditions, and the conditions proposed by Nati are too high.

It was a primeval forest that even wild animals could not pass through. Not only was it a virgin forest, it was also a virgin land. In fact, even the locals had never entered it.The Japanese soldiers had to march while felling, which was more difficult than charging in the hail of bullets. You can only walk a few meters forward in a day!Three days later, the Wuzhi detachment ran out of food and could not get any supplies, so they began to fall into starvation.Honma heard the news and hurriedly sent planes to drop food, but the forest was too dense, and the airdrop bags often couldn't fall to the ground, and they were all hung on the branches, serving as snacks for the birds.

The Wuzhi detachment is really worse than death. Without food, they can only survive by eating grass roots and drinking spring water. Naturally, their "land reclamation business" is not progressing fast. The Wuzhi Detachment sent a colonel to the 65th Brigade for operational coordination.After finishing the work, the skinny man rubbed his hands and said to Nara: "I'm sorry to say this, but my troops, from the commander to the soldiers, haven't eaten anything for six days. May I ask the commander to provide a small amount of food as a reward?" It's not easy to run out of the primeval forest, so it should be rewarded.But at that time, the 65th Brigade was also in a difficult situation, and Nara frowned: "To tell you the truth, I am also miserable here. This morning, I only ate half a biscuit. You really want to reward, only this. " As he spoke, Nara took out six crumpled cigarettes from his trouser pocket, distributed three to the captain, and he wanted to save the other half of the biscuit for the afternoon, so he was reluctant to give it.The Colonel had no choice but to walk away dejectedly with a cigarette. In fact, on the Bataan battlefield, all the Japanese troops who participated in the war suffered equally, not only the 65th Brigade, but also the 16th Division that drew troops to reinforce them.However, in late January, the battle situation finally changed. The Wuzhi detachment, which had been tossed like savages, got out of the jungle and infiltrated the flanks of the Nadi defense line. The relatively weak Philippine army was defending on the flanks, and it was difficult to resist the Japanese attack. On January 22, 1942, in order to avoid being surrounded, MacArthur ordered to abandon the Nadi defense line, and the whole army retreated to the second line of defense.