Chapter 47 This division is good at business

The staff officers sent by the base camp are not fuel-efficient.Instead of going to the fields with their hips akimbo, they talked about other people's sarcastic remarks, saying that the Bataan Peninsula was about to start a fierce battle, but Honma and his officers enjoyed peace and happiness in Manila. These sky-reaching staff officers are amazing. When the same sentence came out of their mouths, Terauchi, the commander-in-chief of the Southern Army, immediately believed it was true, and his lungs almost exploded. It's okay to be poor, but there is also a problem with character!The temple wanted to let Honma leave get out of class immediately, but he decided to let Honma commit crimes and meritorious deeds only considering that the impending battle would shake the morale of the army. All right and wrong were to be discussed after the Philippine campaign was over.

But the temple is not so polite to others.Most of the senior staff, including the chief of staff of the 14th Army and the Chief of Staff of Operations, were transferred and replaced on the grounds that the battle was ineffective. Lieutenant General Masami Maeda, the chief of staff of the army, was also included in the reserve and sent back to Japan. Seeing Maeda Masami leaving like a deflated ball, many officers secretly shed tears of sorrow.Punishment of the chief of staff of the army is, after all, a slap in the face of the commander of the army. It is a pity that Honma is already in danger at this time, so how dare he say "no" more.

When the Japanese army increased its troops, the crisis within the US-Philippines continued to ferment. Honma's initial strategy was correct. The blockade was more effective than the attack. The U.S. and Filipino troops besieged in Bataan and Corregidor Island were already at the end of their rope. Under the double trouble of hunger and disease, the soldiers were extremely weak. Some can't even hold their guns. MacArthur's original intention of leaving the Philippines was to organize reinforcements and fight back. At least he thought so, but the soldiers would not think so. A satirical ballad spread like wildfire on the front line: "Old Mai Lao Mai really useless..."

From the soldiers' point of view, the Supreme Commander had abandoned them and at the same time the final battle, and the situation was hopeless. As soon as MacArthur left, Wainwright was ordered to take his place on Corregidor Island when he was in danger. In addition, Major General King, an American artillery officer, was appointed to command operations in Bataan. However, neither Wainwright nor King could take MacArthur's promise before leaving completely seriously. They originally thought that after MacArthur arrived in Australia, even if he could not lead a new force to return immediately, he could always improve the supply line. Who knew that MacArthur was still helpless in Australia.

In order to break through the Japanese blockade, MacArthur reluctantly organized a convoy, three of which had arrived in the Visayan Islands in southern Luzon.These three ships alone are loaded with 10,000 tons of food and 4 million rounds of ammunition. If the U.S. and Philippine troops can obtain these supplies, their situation will be greatly improved, but the problem is that Southern Luzon is the bottom line that the fleet can reach , and then go inside, it is tantamount to throwing oneself into a trap. For the US-Philippines, quinine may be more important than food and ammunition. By the beginning of March, all the quinine on Bataan Island was used up, and the US transport planes that could replenish quinine were also unable to enter Bataan, Kore over the island of Hidor.

There are more and more officers and soldiers on the front line being downed by malaria. As of mid-March, 3,000 officers and soldiers have been hospitalized. By the end of the month, 1,000 people were infected every day. The fighting power is declining sharply. This is exactly what Honma is happy to see.Before officially launching the attack, he wrote a capitulation letter, exhorting Wainwright to admit "reputable defeat."The capitulation letter was placed in a beer can, tied with an elaborate ribbon, before being thrown from the plane. Wainwright was as stubborn as MacArthur, and he resisted the capitulation.

April 3, 1942 is the memorial day of Emperor Jimmu, the first emperor in Japanese mythology. In Western countries, it is the traditional Good Friday. The military priests will hold a battlefield commemorative ceremony for the soldiers on that day. On this day, the Japanese army launched a full-scale attack on the Bataan Peninsula. Attacking Bataan again was regarded by the Japanese base camp as a show of force.Starting in the morning, a total of 300 artillery pieces bombarded the Samat line of defense, and the large-caliber heavy artillery shells fell on the center of the line of defense like raindrops.In the history of Japanese warfare, the Bataan artillery battle created the highest record of concentrating firepower on a local area.At the same time, the Japanese air force also dropped hundreds of tons of bombs on the ground.

In the battle again, the heavy firepower of the US-Philippines will not be able to resist or defend at all.Their howitzers and cannons did not exceed the caliber of 100 mm, and the anti-aircraft equipment was insufficient. By 3 pm, the first defensive position of the US military was basically destroyed. The Japanese army immediately launched an infantry attack.The Fourth Division of the Japanese Infantry, which came to reinforce Bataan, was originally not favored by Honma. Although this unit was an old standing division, the Japanese Army’s internal evaluation of the division has not been high because the division The officers and soldiers of the army are mainly composed of small merchants in Osaka. Merchants value profits. Even if they go to the battlefield, they still like to do small business secretly in their spare time.

In addition, the "Trader Division" has no desire to attack on the battlefield. It is rare to see them conducting "Long Live Assault" like fools, let alone fighting hard and bitter battles. The idiot style is basically the only combat style of the Japanese Army. The evaluation of the combat effectiveness of each division, from low to high, is basically who is more like an idiot, and whoever ranks higher.With the performance of the Fourth Division, it can only be at the bottom, and this also affects their weapon replenishment and equipment: If you don't fight well, why should you give you good weapons?

If the weapons are poor, it is difficult to fight well. The worse the battle, the worse the weapons. After this cycle, the state of the Fourth Division has always been very bad, and there is no record to show. But why can the Fourth Division continue to exist?The reason is very simple, the consumption on the battlefield is often directly proportional to the combat power, the more foolish you are, the faster the consumption will be.In the end, everyone else was disabled, and they were still a complete division, and all of them were full of radiance and energy. It was not their turn to dismiss anyone!

When the Fourth Division reported to Bataan Battlefield, for a moment, Honma couldn't believe that standing in front of him was a standing division, and kept lamenting that it was "the division with the worst equipment in Japan". Among all the reinforcements, the Fourth Division was undoubtedly the one that disappointed Honma the most, but this time he was wrong again.After landing on the Bataan Peninsula, the Osaka "Trader Division" suddenly exploded and became brave.