Chapter Thirty-Five

 

Thirty-Five

 

“I am the punishment of God. If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.”

Genghis Khan

 

In the early thirteen century the Mongols had exploded across Europe and Asia, conquering much of the known world in the largest empire in history. Defending armies had been swept away by the advancing horde in a string of wins going back to the Empire’s beginning in 1206. Intending on completing his conquest of Asia, Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan sent emissaries to Japan with a letter demanding their surrender. They didn’t respond, and in 1274 he gathered a fleet for an invasion. Kublai’s warriors, like those of his grandfather Genghis Khan, had known nothing but victory and anticipated a route against the small nation. The Japanese Imperial Court coordinated defense preparations as the people prayed fervently for deliverance. The invasion came, and the Japanese warriors stubbornly resisted, but were beaten in a series of initial battles. Japanese reinforcements were expected to arrive the next day, and the Mongol forces decided to spend the night on their ships rather than risk being trapped on the shore. During the night, a sudden storm with heavy winds arose and wiped out the Mongol Fleet. The thankful Japanese referred to their savior as the “Divine Wind”, or “Kamikaze” in their language. The Mongols would try again in 1281, but by that time the Japanese warriors were better prepared and won a decisive victory. The surprise victory against the Mongols became a celebrated part of Japanese history and martial tradition. A culture of the warrior, known as Bushido, took root and would drive the development of a proud military tradition in the country. The warrior culture, initially focused on defending the homeland, would later enable an empire of expansion that would rule large swaths of territory on the Asian mainland. The victorious land of the rising sun would not again face the serious prospect of a conquest by an external power until they were visited by American warships in 1853.

During the 1930s, the Japanese Empire had steadily spread through the Pacific. Their “Greater East Asia Coprosperity Sphere” was nothing more than cover for a grab of land and resources of the region ruled by the island nation. The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) troops were ruthless and brutal, seizing assets and generally ruling the occupied areas harshly. Southeast Asia was one of the most resource rich areas of the Asian continent, and it was a treasured prize for the imperial government. A day after attacking the US at Pearl Harbor, on December 7th, 1941, the IJA invaded Thailand and forced them to ally with the growing empire. In 1942, the IJA attacked the former British Colony of Burma, seizing it and beginning the construction of a railway to carry material to support their war against the allies. The proposed railway would run from Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, to Rangoon (now Yangon), the capital of nearby Burma. The project was a massive effort, with the railway to cover 258 miles through harsh terrain that included jungles, rivers, and mountains. Around 61,000 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) would eventually work under harsh conditions to construct the railroad, with an estimated 12,000 of those dying in the hellish camps. A British cemetery containing many of the dead was built on the banks of the river Kwai at the town of Kanchanaburi, where a bridge had been constructed by POWs for the railroad to pass.

True to its name, WWII saw the US and its allies fighting desperate battles against the Germans and Italians in Europe, and their Axis partners the Japanese in the Pacific. While the Army and Army Air Corps (early US Airforce) carried out the effort in Europe, the Navy and Marine Corps led the fight in the Pacific. The Japanese Empire controlled most of the Pacific from their home island, well protected by rings of island fortresses and a juggernaut of a navy that had just given the most advanced fleet in the world a bloody nose. The initial Japanese victories at Pearl Harbor, Guam, and Wake Island were followed up by continued expansion and defeat for the US.

In the Philippines, which had been a US Territory since it had been seized from the Spanish during the war of 1898, American and Philippine forces clashed with invading IJA soldiers. This first major land battle in the Pacific resulted in one of the worst defeats in American military history as the IJA forced the surrender of a combined force of 76,000 Philippine and American soldiers. The Allied forces surrendered unconditionally, expecting treatment in accordance with long standing international law. The Japanese response was a reminder that this war would be different than any other that the US had fought. The Japanese code of Bushido demanded that warriors fight to the death. Surrender, even in the face of overwhelming odds, was considered the resort of cowards. This code was applied to their own troops as well as their enemies.  An enemy who surrendered could expect vicious treatment. Allied POWs were forced to conduct a two-week forced march over distance of 60 some miles to a central camp that became known as the Bataan Death March. Conditions were horrific as the entire group, including the sick and injured, were herded in the blazing sun without food or water. Any stop or hesitation would result in being brutally beaten, bayonetted, or a favorite “sport” of the Japanese, beheading by sword. In their 1937 invasion of China, one IJA officer won a contest by murdering of 100 Chinese by decapitation. The Death March amounted to the systematic and tortuous murder of thousands. Of the initial 76,000 prisoners, only 54,000 would reach the destination. Thousands more died of disease and starvation.

Allied planners in the Pacific designed a strategy of steadily working their forces closer to the heart of the Empire, forcing the Japanese into a shrinking defensive perimeter.  The US gained momentum in the battles of Coral Sea and Midway, striking avenging blows against the Imperial Navy. An offensive strategy of “Island Hopping” began, as Marines and Soldiers conducted amphibious landings on fortified islands. IJA defenders stubbornly guarded every inch to the death, their Bushido culture preferring death by combat to capture. Americans steadily moved closer to the main island of Japan with wins at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, and Guam. As their defensive perimeter shrank Japanese resolve and fanaticism stiffened. Special attack units, named Kamikaze after the savior from the Mongols, turned their planes into fuel and explosive laden missiles that would slam into allied positions and ships. US casualties mounted with every assault on the well-entrenched IJA islands. US forces came increasingly near to their sacred homeland and the Japanese rightly worried about being pounded by strikes from long range bombers. The island of Iwo Jima was taken next. It had been heavily fortified with bunkers, artillery, a network of tunnels, and around 20,000 IJA troops who would tenaciously fight to the death against over 100,000 Americans. Victory came after a bloody assault that would cost 26,000 American casualties, including 6,821 combat deaths. The combat was described as "a nightmare in hell" by an observing war correspondent. (6) The iconic flag raising at Mt. Suribachi by six Marines would forever become part of our nation’s glory. Serving as a gateway to the homeland, it’s loss would throw the door open to a full invasion of the homeland.

Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz said, “The battle of Iwo Island [Jima] has been won. The United States Marines, by their individual and collective courage, have conquered a base which is as necessary to us in our continuing forward movement toward final victory as it was vital to the enemy in staving off ultimate defeat.... Among the Americans who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue.”

In early 1945, the Japanese Imperial Command became increasingly alarmed as and war turned against them. Deprived of their colonial resources, fuel had become short and their war effort suffered as the allies closed in. However, they still had the largest and most heavily armed battleship in the world at the time, the Yamato. The massive ship displaced over 72,000 tones and had nine 18” guns, larger than the 16” guns of the largest American battleships. An order was given by the Imperial Command that the Yamato be dispatched south on a desperate mission. It was to become a massive Kamikaze ship, beaching itself on the sand of the next battleground and using its guns to try and turn the tide of the war, or at least do as much damage as possible to the allied forces. The order was printed and read by the ship’s Executive Officer, Jiro Nomura. 2000 Japanese sailors gathered on the deck and listened as Nomura read what amounted to a death sentence for the young seamen. In a show of respect and obedience after hearing the order, the men bowed towards the palace of their Emperor, then in the direction of their ancestral homes, and then joined their voices in songs of pride from their mother country. The next day, the sixty-seven midshipmen on board for training were sent home. Nomura later said that, ““We couldn’t bear to take them along on an expedition into certain death.” The Yamato headed south towards the gathering storm. (9)

Next on the list for the Allies was the Island of Okinawa, located about 350 miles south of mainland Japan. This Island was different from Iwo Jima, in that it was home to around 300,000 thousand civilians. It featured several large airstrips, a port, and ample staging areas that would be needed for the coming heavy bombing and invasion of the homeland. The approaching battle would transform it into even more of a nightmare of death and misery than Iwo Jima had been, with staggering losses on both sides. In a now familiar process, an armada of allied ships arrived, including aircraft carriers, battleships, destroyers, amphibious landing craft, and cargo ships. The approaching Yamato was intercepted by the American carrier Yorktown, destroyed and sent to the bottom of the sea in a doomed battle. It was reported that in his final moments, the captain of the ship, Admiral Kosaku Ariga tied himself securely to the post holding the ship’s compass so his body wouldn’t float away after the ship broke up. He then gave the traditional warrior cheer of “Banzai” three times before disappearing in a massive explosion (9)

Allied ships began a heavy naval bombardment of Okinawa, designed to destroy IJA armaments and fortifications. The ships pounded the Island as around 150,000 battle hardened Japanese troops prepared for a fight to the death against around 200,000 troops of the allied force. Over the period of April 1^st – June 22^nd, 1945, the invasion and subsequent land campaigns became the bloodies battle of the war in the Pacific. 82,000 Americans became casualties, of which over 12,500 were killed or missing in action. Estimates of IJA deaths were over 140,000. 1,500 Japanese Kamikaze pilots scarified themselves for the empire, plunging their planes into enemy ships and troop positions. Their deadly attacks, together with the flying shrapnel, shells, and bullets would earn the battle the nickname of “The Typhoon of Steel”.  Unrelenting, the Americans steadily progressed across the island, retreating IJA troops warned civilians that the Americans would torture, rape, and commit other atrocities when they arrived. In documented accounts by survivors, they told families they should commit suicide to avoid a worse fate. When available, grenades were provided to carry out their gruesome directive. In a final act of desperation a few miles southeast of the Okinawan capital of Naha, trapped and terrified civilians would leap to their deaths from southern cliffs rather than face capture by the advancing Americans. Those who didn’t commit suicide were amazed when the victorious troops treated them kindly, even offering candy and cigarettes. Estimates are that between a quarter and a half of the residents did not survive the battle.

 

Take a moment and consider the casualty numbers from the assault on a single island during WWII. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was once reported to have said that “A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.” There’s something about deaths in large numbers that render them hard to process. Each death was its own tragedy. A son, a father, wife, daughter, or brother forever gone. Each death represented the end of hopes and dreams, the dashing of plans, and a heartbreaking answer to offered prayers. The sheer extent of suffering and loss that war brings is overwhelming if you consider it in human terms instead of numbers.

After the carnage of Okinawa, final planning for the invasion of the Japanese main islands was placed in high gear. The plan was called Operation Downfall, and massive casualties were expected as the IJA had proven they would stubbornly defend every inch of barren rocky islands in the ocean to the death. It was accepted that they would defend their homeland with even more ferocity. Estimates of expected American casualties ranged upward to 1 Million. It was a terrible price to pay, but the Japanese Empire had to be completely defeated. No outcome other than a complete and unconditional surrender would ensure peace in the future. In Washington, plans were drafted for the care of the wounded, and an order was given for a stock of Purple Hearts to be created for each. (7) Hundreds of thousands of Americans began staging on Okinawa for the coming assault on mainland Japan. One thing was certain about the next few months, the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans and Japanese were going to be cut short in an unprecedented spasm of violence.