kingnovel Chapter 279: At the same time, but not at the same place, the devils evacuated in a hurry
Chapter 279: At the same time, but not at the same place, the devils evacuated in a hurry
Tuesday, June 6, 1945, the Grain in Ear in the Moonlight.
Same time, but not same place—
On this world war battlefield spanning the globe, time and space were torn into two parallel tracks.
The local time in Pegu was much faster than that in France, so when Lieutenant Weller and his White Eagle soldiers were still struggling in the darkness, enduring the endless torment before the launch of the landing operation code-named "Overlord".
In the land of Bago, the sun has already risen from the horizon, casting warm rays through layers of clouds and mist, illuminating this land that is also ravaged by war.
At 07:30 a.m. local time in Bago, a peaceful atmosphere was present on the light cruiser Abukuma, which was docked off the coast of Yangon.
The light cruiser Abukuma was surrounded by the endless waters of the Andaman Sea. After a few crisp bells rang, the Japanese sailors on the ship began to take turns eating.
On the Japanese side, an evacuation operation codenamed "Momotaro" is underway.
Because the armored forces of the An Min Army advanced too quickly, the commander of the Pegu Front Army who stayed in Yangon, Kimura Heitaro, and the remaining Japanese soldiers of less than 2 were completely blocked in the city of Yangon.
Kimura Heitaro, who was only one step away from being ordered to commit seppuku, knew that it was impossible to "turn" eastward to Siam by land.
The Bridge over the River Kwai and the Thai-Burma Railway, which were painstakingly built, are now completely useless and may even become tools for the An-Shing Army to attack Siam.
The only hope for these devils was to board a ship from the port of Yangon and retreat by sea.
However, this large-scale retreat from the enemy is not something that can be carried out easily, even by sea.
Especially the large number of Japanese immigrants in the city, various agencies and units of the Pegu Front Army, nearly 20,000 remaining Japanese soldiers, and the large amount of supplies that the Japanese have looted in Pegu in the past two years. The transportation capacity required is definitely not small, and it cannot be transported away by a few destroyers or transport ships.
As General MacArthur began to use island-hopping tactics, the White Eagle Navy was advancing towards the Mariana Islands, especially Saipan.
Spruance's Fifth Fleet was not an easy target, and the Japanese had to assemble a large fleet to fight against it.
This resulted in the Mogami-class heavy cruiser Mogami (three 152mm turrets replaced with two 203mm turrets, light cruiser turned heavy patrol) and the Tone-class heavy cruiser Tone, which were originally planned to be used for retreat, being withdrawn to the Marianas front.
When there is no tiger in the mountain, the monkey will become king. The sixth ship of the Nagara-class light cruiser, Abukuma, became the flagship of the evacuation fleet.
According to the Japanese intelligence, although it is unknown how Zhang Chi got the ship into the inland river, the Anmin Army did have only three flat-deck destroyers built by the White Eagle in World War I on the Irrawaddy River, with only four 102mm main guns in a diamond layout.
Although the Abukuma is an old ship launched 23 years ago, it is still a light cruiser with seven 140mm main guns.
Her partners included destroyers such as the Haruzuki, Satsuki, and Fubuki of the 2nd Guerrilla Fleet, as well as torpedo boats and minesweepers such as the Suzunami, Hamanami, and Raiden.
One CL, four DDs, plus more than ten auxiliary ships, it's a sure win.
In the eyes of the Japanese Navy's Southern Fleet, our navy has done its utmost to deploy such a configuration to cover the army's evacuation.
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In such a state of mind of blessing, the commander of the evacuating fleet, the captain of the Abukuma, Captain Takuo Hanada, dressed in a neat white naval uniform, sat down leisurely in the officers' mess on the ship and began his breakfast time.
In the luxuriously decorated senior officers' restaurant, there was a relaxed atmosphere around Takuo Hanada, and it seemed that no chaos or death from the outside world could disturb the tranquility here.
Unlike the army idiots who struggled on the Pacific islands, fought against nature and food day and night, and were reduced to eating raw "Taijun sashimi", the food conditions of the Japanese navy did not deteriorate even at the end of the war.
When the Japanese soldiers in Pegu had only two stale rice balls, a bowl of wild vegetable miso soup and a small amount of canned ox blood to fill their stomachs every day.
Colonel Takuo Hanada was sitting in the spacious and bright officers' mess, leisurely placing a white napkin on his knees, holding the knife and fork lightly in his hands, and slowly began to enjoy his bacon and fried eggs.
Because they learned from John the Navy, the breakfast in the officers' restaurants on the Japanese large warships is comparable to John's full meal.
Colonel Hanada raised his coffee cup, took a sip, and savored the rich aroma of coffee beans. He then put the cup down, a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes.
"Oh, there's not enough butter for toast today."
He shook his head and sighed, as if he had lost a precious treasure.
"Hey, I'm terribly sorry, Captain."
In the restaurant, a chief accountant, dressed like a waiter in a Michelin three-star restaurant, immediately bowed his head respectfully and apologized quickly.
Colonel Hanada waved his hand gently, seemingly not caring about this tiny flaw.
He sighed deeply and couldn't help feeling emotional.
Thinking of his predecessors who were enjoying a hearty breakfast while accompanying symphony orchestras on battleships and aircraft carriers, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. It was because his Hammock was at the back, so he could only command light cruisers to make ends meet.
He pretended not to care about it all, and continued to scoop out a large piece of jam with his silver knife, spread it on the already dry and hard butter toast, and then took a bite carelessly, his mouth full of the mixed taste of jam and butter.
Colonel Hanada, who did not consider at all the ordinary people in the local area who were so poor that they had to sell their children, and who enjoyed a better meal than most of the local small capitalists, did not think there was anything wrong with this.
After all, only by eating more meat, eggs and milk can you have the strength to fight against the white devils.
As for the suffering of ordinary people, what does that have to do with him, a descendant of the nobility and an outstanding graduate of the Etajima Naval Academy?
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At this moment, the atmosphere in Yangon Port is completely different.
At the dock, there was a chaotic scene as if the world was coming to an end.
If Zhang Chi had seen it in person, he would have felt that the future hasty retreat of the White Eagle soldiers from Saigon was no more chaotic than this.
Various sounds intertwined into one - the shouts of porters, the roars of livestock, the friction of mechanical loading and unloading, and the whistles of ships, all of which told the urgency and anxiety of this evacuation. Everything seemed chaotic.
In the distance of the port, rumbling cannon fire could be heard, shaking the air and the earth. It was the sound of various types of artillery of the Security Army bombarding the city of Yangon.
At this time, all the Japanese soldiers in the port knew that the most difficult time of the day was about to come. With the rising of the sun and the arrival of day, the air raid of the Security Army was about to come.