Chapter 98 I am back

As dawn broke on October 20, the Black Cloaks began to fade away, the battleships fired salvos, and the cruiser Nashville thundered around, and the landings began. The beachhead that was shot by the battleship was personally selected by MacArthur, and from there to break through in depth, it was Durag and Tacloban on the northeast coast of Wright Island. The choice of the landing point was very particular. Both Durag and Tacloban had Japanese airfields, and according to aircraft reconnaissance and information provided by the Philippine guerrillas, the defensive positions of the two beaches were not strong.

The fleet was ready for a large-scale counterattack by Japanese planes, but the only serious counterattack by the Japanese army was to dispatch a small group of torpedo planes.These torpedo planes avoided U.S. fighter jets and anti-aircraft guns, causing the heavy cruiser "Honolulu" to suffer a little damage, but for the huge U.S. fleet, this loss is completely insignificant. An hour later, the transport ship sailed into the transfer area seven miles offshore, and soldiers entered the landing craft one after another.The main force of the landing this time was replaced by the Marine Corps with an all-army army: Kruger's Sixth Army, also known as the "Poplar Army", has a total of four assault divisions and about 200,000 people.

During the transfer, the battleships stopped firing so that the cruisers, destroyers and rocket launchers could drive closer to the coast, and the cruiser "Nashville" on which MacArthur was on board also sailed into the bay. Broke down.MacArthur leaned on the fence to watch, and he could clearly see the sand marks on the beach made by the surf. He could also vaguely see the city in the morning light and the jungle-covered mountains behind the city. Durag was MacArthur's first place to stay after graduating from West Point Military Academy. At that time, he was a captain of the engineering battalion, a young officer in his prime. Now he has entered his sixtieth year, but Durag has not changed much.

Durag, I'm back! After the bombardment was interrupted for tens of minutes, the US fleet bombarded again.The explosive shooting at the beginning was replaced by a barrage of guns, even the "Nashville" joined in. Amidst the deafening gunfire, columns of thick black smoke continued to rise from the ground. At the same time, densely packed carrier-based aircraft whizzed past people's heads, swooping down and strafing the Japanese strongholds on the beach. More spectacular scenes are yet to come.The rocket gunboat was refitted from an ordinary infantry landing craft. With an order, thousands of rockets flew out of the gunboat, and the dazzling tail flames drew various chaotic patterns in the sky.

There was only a loud bang, and the entire coastline became a sea of ​​flames.When the smoke dissipated, the soldiers who had jumped onto the landing craft couldn't believe their eyes: the coast with dense trees had turned into ruins in an instant. At 9:45 a.m., the spotted landing craft headed straight for the beach.The scene was extremely spectacular. If it weren't for the smoke and fire rising on the coast, it would have looked like a mass migration of immigrants. MacArthur observed the progress of the battle on the bridge of the "Nashville". Although the warship was turbulent, he stood there motionless.At 1 p.m., he boarded a small landing craft with Chief of Staff Sutlan, Air Force Commander Kenny, the new Philippine President Osmina, and several journalists.

From a young age, as a senior commander, MacArthur rarely carried weapons on the battlefield, and only wore a helmet unless it rained.In addition to the indispensable big pipe in his mouth, he likes to hold a riding whip and beat his polished high riding boots rhythmically as he walks, as if he is riding a horse.Many war reporters jokingly called him "the playboy in the army", and a reporter even asked him face to face: "Why do you dress so differently?" MacArthur said bluntly: "In order to become famous in one fell swoop! " Today's MacArthur has already achieved fame, but his habit of being handsome has not changed at all.Before boarding the boat, he specially changed the clothes that had been soaked by sea water and replaced them with a well-ironed military uniform, then a pair of sunglasses, a pipe, and an old-fashioned one left to him by his father hanging on his buttocks. revolver.

The landing craft rushed slowly to the beach along the waves.The sound of fighting in the ear is getting louder and louder. When the ship approaches the shore, you can hear the click of the submachine gun and the cheers of the soldiers. MacArthur can even easily recognize that the ship is less than 100 yards away In the place, there was the rattling sound of Japanese machine gun bullets firing. MacArthur said to Osmina: "Ah, we are home!" Turning his head, he patted Sutland's knee again with a smile, and said, "Believe it or not, we are back anyway." Ten yards from the shore, the landing craft ran aground suddenly, its hull sunk firmly in the sand, and the gangway sank into the water with a whoosh.

The shore was already crowded with landing craft at this time, and the captain of the naval service team who was in charge of dispatching was very annoyed. He obviously had no patience to provide any special services for these high-ranking army officials who came to "join in the fun", so he yelled loudly: "Get down!" MacArthur and others jumped into the knee-deep water and waded ashore.They saw four of the larger landing craft being hit by Japanese mortars, one of which was still on fire.Kenny also noticed that there should be many Japanese snipers nearby. Judging from the crackling sound of the 38 rifles, some snipers were only less than 100 yards away, which was in line with MacArthur's observation.

Very adventurous, very dramatic, and that's what it was like when MacArthur landed on Philippine soil.When the accompanying reporters took this precious shot, they heard MacArthur talking to himself: "This is exactly what I dream of!" MacArthur walked in front of the group of people with big strides, and he reached the beach in only thirty or forty steps. These dozens of steps can be said to be the most meaningful steps in his life. Although he knew that the battle on the beachhead was not over yet, and the Japanese snipers were hiding in the bushes not far away, MacArthur looked as usual, chatting and laughing with the people around him.

A soldier saw him and quickly nudged his companion with an elbow: "Look, General MacArthur!" The companion didn't even raise his head: "Ah, really? He probably brought Joan (MacArthur's wife) too." MacArthur loves to show off, but he did not simply "join in the fun" when he ventured ashore this time.After asking the generals a few words about the progress of the landing, he began to walk to the mobile radio station that had been established in order to make a radio address to the Filipinos.