Chapter 20 The commander was released as a pigeon

After the retreat order was issued, all the roads were filled with retreating troops, and there was no military police to guide the traffic for maintenance, causing chaos at the scene.The commanders were very worried that the Japanese army chasing after them would take the opportunity to shell.Fortunately, neither Honma nor Nara could think of this move. The U.S. rear guard was very conscientious. Although the resistance was weak, they still persisted until the main force withdrew. On January 25, 1942, all American soldiers were able to withdraw from the Nadi position. These withdrawn soldiers looked like walking dead.

In addition to the exhaustion caused by continuous fighting, they were mainly starved into this appearance. Just before the Bataan retreat, MacArthur reported his retreat plan to Army Chief of Staff Marshall.Marshall not only agreed, but also promised to send reinforcements as much as possible.However, Marshall's idea at the time was just to pour some honey water for Mai Shuai, to cheer him up and encourage him.With the Japanese army basically controlling the sea and air in the Pacific Ocean, the "Rainbow 5" plan has actually come to an end, and sea and air transportation have become extremely dangerous.Neither Marshall himself nor the U.S. Secretary of the Navy would take the risk.

On the other hand, the Washington Conference chaired by Eisenhower believed that the ships, aircraft, and soldiers that the United States could provide could hardly meet the needs of the two battlefields of Europe and the Pacific Ocean at the same time, and must be focused.What to focus on, of course, is the European battlefield, the so-called "Europe first" or "(fighting) Hitler first". After withdrawing to Bataan, MacArthur immediately sent a telegram for help.But apart from three cargo ships from Australia and Java, none of Marshall's promises were kept. MacArthur smiled wryly and compared the embarrassment he encountered to a field march.During the march, the boss told the soldiers that the next source of water was about ten miles away, but it was not at all.After being fooled many times, the hungry and thirsty soldiers had no choice but to say to their superiors: "Sir, you don't need to say more, thank God, we can still persist."

Turning his head to face the soldiers and civilians in Bataan, MacArthur couldn't even make a wry smile.According to the initial military statistics, the materials moved to Bataan could last for at least half a year, but this optimistic idea was soon proved untenable. In addition to the US-Philippines, many refugees fled into Bataan.Honma immediately realized that this was an opportunity to greatly reduce Bataan's food reserves, so he deliberately drove the residents in the north of Bataan, mainly the elderly, women and children, into the US-Philippines defense line.Because he knew very well that MacArthur could not allow these refugees to starve to death.

Bataan refugees reached 26,000 at once, plus 80,000 U.S. and Philippine troops, for a total of 100,000 people.As Honma predicted, MacArthur had to set up refugee camps for these poor people behind the U.S.-Philippines positions, and was forced to cut the soldiers' food rations by half, and later to a quarter.Even so, there are still too many monks and too little porridge. MacArthur reported to Washington the current situation of the US-Philippines in a pessimistic tone: the loss exceeded one-third of the total force, and some troops even approached two-thirds. The purpose of narrating the facts in such a depressed tone is of course to get help from the boss as soon as possible.In essence, this proud general never bows to any difficulties and setbacks.

Throughout the defense of Bataan, MacArthur only went to the Nadi line once.Some people inevitably made irresponsible remarks and secretly called MacArthur a coward, but these people did not really understand him. During World War I, MacArthur and Patton fought together on the European battlefield.When the two were commanding on the high ground, a shell exploded beside them, and dust rushed towards them. Patton stood upright, but still took a step back. MacArthur remained motionless, and paused for a moment of silence: "Don't be afraid, Colonel, you can't hear the shell that hit you."

Patton thus admired MacArthur very much. He told his family: "MacArthur is the bravest man I have ever seen." MacArthur would not abandon his soldiers. A sentence he said was widely circulated among soldiers: "If it is alive, I will live with you; if it is dead, I will die with you." MacArthur did not go to the front line because the promised reinforcements and supplies were looking forward to the stars and the moon, but they could never be expected.He couldn't fulfill his promise to the frontline officers and soldiers, especially when he heard the hungry and cold soldiers humming "please give us bread today", he felt even more ashamed.

In fact, Corregidor Island, where MacArthur is located, is as dangerous as Bataan.Due to the mastery of the air, the Japanese bomber formation can carry out air strikes on the island at will.At first, the U.S. and Philippine troops could fight back with anti-aircraft artillery, but later the shells became less and less, so they had to let the opponent bomb. Although it may be reimbursed at any time, MacArthur still insists on setting his headquarters at the highest point of the island, which is convenient for observing the enemy's situation and at the same time can make him feel at ease.

MacArthur believed in a point of view that "as a commander, the soldiers must always be able to see him."In this way, he tried to tell the suffering soldiers and civilians that he did not abandon them. The headquarters was bombed out within minutes.Standing outside the headquarters, MacArthur saw with his own eyes that the house broke like a glass box and became fragments, and then swirled in the air like confetti. The sight was creepy. The new headquarters was built in an underground tunnel, but MacArthur still wouldn't sit in it.When the air-raid sirens sounded, he hurried outdoors and squatted with the hidden soldiers.

MacArthur did this, on the one hand, to observe the Japanese plane formation and air strike methods, and learn a few tricks from his opponents, and on the other hand, to stabilize the morale of the army and the people. If it is in peacetime, he can break a piece of bread, or smoke two bags of cigarettes with everyone to show friendship and affinity, but in war, MacArthur can only use this way of sharing the risk of death to deepen his relationship with others. The brotherhood of soldiers who share weal and woe. The Filipinos once customized a uniform for MacArthur according to the style of Napoleon's era, including a golden hat, which MacArthur couldn't put it down.Some people in the United States who don't like MacArthur ridiculed him, saying that he is "Napoleon of Luzon" and his hat is a "scrambled egg military cap".

In the flames of war, MacArthur's military cap was already worn out, but as long as the soldiers saw this military cap, their eyes would light up and they would cheer loudly.They gathered around MacArthur, patted him affectionately on the back, and called him "MacArthur." The troops withdrawn from the Nadi defense line served as frontal defense, and MacArthur organized the soldiers who patted him on the back to defend the west coast on the flank. These soldiers are mainly from the Philippine police force and the naval brigade serving as ground service, not regular field infantry.It's time to go to the battlefield, and I can't even find a piece of military uniform temporarily.The Marine Corps tried unsuccessfully to dye their blue navy uniforms khaki, and the blue became a nondescript mustard.Both units possessed several machine guns from World War I, as well as various small-caliber firearms, but most of them had never even used rifles before the war.Soldiers used not bayonets in hand-to-hand combat, but a long machete. This is a group of warriors who are dressed in strange clothes and look very rough in speech.They like to talk loudly, make all kinds of nasty jokes with each other, and some people can even improvise battlefield pranks, lighting a cigarette, just to lure the enemy to fire. The temporarily organized soldiers were irregular, but MacArthur was full of confidence in them.Standing at the foot of the second line of defense in Samat, Maishuai said to Chief of Staff Sutland: "I personally selected and prepared this position, and it will be impenetrable." After that, he assured Marshall: "I will I intend to fight bloody battles to the end, and live and die with the position." MacArthur once again posed a difficult problem for Honma, but Honma felt a headache at this time, mainly because his troops had been severely injured in the previous round. The Japanese army paid a high price in the battle on the Nadi defense line. A main wing of the 65th Brigade, which originally had 3,000 people, had killed or injured more than 1,400 people by January 24, and lost nearly half of its combat effectiveness.In addition, other special-associated units lost roughly the same number of troops. Nara complained to Honma that the 65th Brigade was in a state of extreme fatigue.Benma knew with only his sixth sense that this buddy was not lying, it seemed that he needed to relieve his stress. No matter how tired you are, there is no one to replace for the time being, so the 65th Brigade must still be responsible for the frontal attack.However, Honma planned to have the 16th Division assist from the flank.