Japanese soldiers in the second world war. Infantry of the Imperial Japanese Army. "I am ashamed that I came back alive"
The victorious Japanese troops shout "Banzai!" Upon learning of another victory in early 1942.[b]
They fought in the frozen steppes of Mongolia against the Red Army under the command of General Zhukov, in the hills and valleys of China against the nationalist forces of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and the communists of Mao Zedong, in the stuffy jungles of Burma against British, Indian and American troops, against American marines and soldiers on numerous islands and atolls of the South Seas and the Central Pacific Ocean. And no matter how strong the enemy was, no matter how difficult the conditions of hostilities and the climate, they never surrendered. For they have always fought to the last soldier. And for this they have eternal memory. [b] They are soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army.
In the first months of the war, like their German allies, the Japanese swept away all their opponents.
Military tradition of the Japanese army 1900-1945
The WWII Japanese soldier was a stubborn, enduring and resourceful fighter. In the steppes and valleys of Manchuria and China, in the foggy jungles of Burma and the islands of the southern seas, on the coral atolls of the Pacific Ocean - everywhere the Japanese army showed its fanatical tenacity in battle. American, British, Australian, New Zealand, Soviet, and Chinese soldiers have found that the Japanese infantryman is as good as, and perhaps superior to, his German counterpart. Even more important was the ability of the Japanese soldier to apply modern technology in a combat situation. Although the infantry remained the mainstay of the Japanese army, its soldiers possessed a large arsenal of weapons, including tanks, small arms, aircraft and artillery. When these weapons were combined with tactical and operational doctrines of offensive and defensive operations, the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army could more than match their Western opponents.
The origins of the combat abilities of the Japanese infantryman go back to the country's military past. Raised in the traditions of samurai warriors, the Japanese soldier, whether officer or private, was a skilled fighter, trained in the spirit of the ancient art of warfare. Indeed, militarism exerted the strongest influence on the entire Japanese society throughout its history from the 12th century until the first contacts with the West in 1856. He also greatly influenced the development of Japan as a modern state. Samurai were not only a political elite, society perceived them as the conscience of the nation. The morale and spirit of the warrior also provided the influence of the samurai on society, as well as material leverage.
Understanding this fact allows us to understand the reason for the emergence of a "parallel" military government, headed by the cabinet of the shogun, or generalissimo. Unlike medieval Europe, the samurai were superior to the aristocracy in both cultural and political leadership. Over time, Japanese society became militarized, based on feudal notions of service and loyalty to the nation. During Japan's contacts with Confucian China, neo-Confucian philosophy, in turn, influenced the development of the warrior code, or Bushido. It was the “spirit of the warrior,” or Bushido, that feat Japan in 1856, after the arrival of the American squadron of Commodore Matthew Perry, for the first time to open its doors to the West, and then inspired it to rapid territorial growth in Northeast Asia. From the occupation of Taiwan in 1895 to the end of World War I, when the Japanese armies took over the German concessions in China, Japan began to expand its empire. In the interwar period (1919-1941), it was second only to the United States in political and military influence in Asia.
The expansion of the empire's borders during this period was facilitated by the powerful development of its armed forces, and in particular the build-up on the western borders of the army and navy, which were constantly inspired by the ancient military spirit. It was he who promoted the Japanese troops in the Pacific Ocean and finally, in September 1945, led to defeat from the very Western countries that once introduced the samurai to modern weapons.
Like most Western powers, Japan prepared its army for World War II during the first three decades of the 20th century. Although the Japanese army, which received modern weapons, studied the methods of warfare used by Western states during the First World War (1914-1918), many of the old methods and methods of training soldiers remained long after the appearance in Japan, starting with the Restoration of 1868, of French, German and to a lesser extent British military instructors.
Three samurai in elaborately decorated traditional combat attire - an illustration of the early twentieth century. Under influence ruling class samurai militarization of Japanese society increased until the outbreak of World War II
Over the centuries, samurai have fused together some aspects of the teachings of Zen and neo-Confucianism, which ultimately led to the emergence of Bushido (the code of the warrior). Zen introduced into Japanese society a rigid discipline or a civil form of militarism (eventually hidden under the cover of martial arts), and Confucianism - an emphasized paternalism; as a result, Japan was open to militarism of the samurai class. This philosophy quickly rallied the fragmented feudal country, just as Bismarck, after 1864, was able to unite Germany with the help of the Prussian army. Zen Buddhism, which was preached by the Zen monk Nantembo (1839-1925), had a greater influence on Japanese militarism than the official religion of the state, Shinto, since most of the prominent civil and military leaders in the early 20th century tended to preach Nantembo.
Besides Zen and Confucianism, Japanese martial arts were influenced by Taoism and Shintoism. After nearly a century of civil war, Japan was united due to the influence of the samurai class on Japanese society. The famous swordmaster Miyamoto Musashi, in his Book of the Five Realms, emphasized the differences in the influence of Zen and Confucianism on Japanese culture. He wrote: “Buddhism is the way of helping people. Confucianism is the path of civilization. " As Japanese militarism evolved at the end of the 19th century, both traditions were increasingly intertwined with the development of samurai views and, over time, turned into a coherent socio-cultural lifestyle, thus giving rise to Japanese militarism.
Japanese militarism and Bushido
Musashi's book can serve as a key to understanding Japanese martial art as it took shape in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Musashi wrote that “the art of war is one of the various ways japanese culturewhich must be studied and practiced by both political leaders and professional warriors. " In "Five spheres, he pointed out:" The art of military affairs is the science of military specialists. This art should be learned first of all by the leaders, but the soldiers should also know this science. Nowadays there are no more warriors who correctly understand the science of martial arts. "
The Japanese soldier developed such qualities as loyalty to the emperor, self-sacrifice, blind faith, obedience to officers and experienced soldiers, as well as honesty, frugality, courage, moderation, nobility, and at the same time an extremely developed sense of shame. This, in turn, led the samurai (and the Japanese soldier) to accept the custom of ritual suicide dating back to the 8th century - seppuku or hara-kiri by cutting off his stomach (after which the assistant of the deceased had to chop off his head). This is important to know, since ritual suicide gave rise to many myths with the help of which Europeans tried to understand the soul of the Japanese soldier and the motives that drove him on the battlefield. It is much more important to realize the simple fact that death and the possibility of death were a constant part of the daily life of the Japanese during the feudal period. Musashi constantly returns to this:
“People usually imagine that all warriors are thinking about how to prepare for the coming of the ever-threatening death. But when it comes to death, warriors are not the only ones who die. All people who are aware of their duty should be ashamed to violate it, realizing that death is inevitable. In this respect, there is no difference between the classes. "
Not all Japanese soldiers ended their lives with ritual hara-kiri, like these two officers in Okinawa in 1945. Of the 120,000 Japanese defenders of Okinawa, more than 90% died in battle
Bushido, the warrior's code, incorporated the same principles that Musashi proclaimed in the Five Realms, including the concepts of heroism, death and honor. Although the samurai class and the feudal order under which it was formed were abolished in the second half of the 19th century by Emperor Meiji by a special decree of 1873 known as the Imperial Rescript, the Japanese nevertheless remained faithful to the Bushido Code. The imperial decree put an end to the era of feudalism in Japan and at the same time became the basis for the construction of a modern Japanese army. The Imperial Rescript included the Five Words, which became the code of conduct for officer and soldier. They stated:
[b] 1. The soldier must fulfill his duty to the country.
2. The soldier must be courteous.
3. The soldier must show courage in war.
4. The soldier must keep his word.
5. A soldier should lead a simple life.
Japanese officers and soldiers took these five directives very seriously. Over time, they were incorporated into the Sendjinkun, or soldier's manual, which guided the Japanese troops during the Second World War. As one Japanese officer wrote after the end of the war, “We worked hard during the training period, holding the Five Words in our hearts. In my opinion, they were the basis of our proper way of life. " Japanese Prime Minister General Hideki Tojo constantly reminded his troops of their duty to fight to the end or "commit suicide" in the performance of their duties, as the soldier's regulations called for.
Senjinkun is absolutely accurate in its main message: devotion to duty and the emperor. The charter considered loyalty to be the "main duty" of the Japanese soldier. Senjinkun taught: "Remember that the defense of the state and the growth of its power depend on the strength of the army ... Remember that duty is heavier than a mountain, and death is lighter than fluff ..." Japanese soldiers were also ordered to be courteous to each other and to the defenders- to the enemy. This may seem strange if you remember what the Japanese troops did in China and the Pacific Islands, but the Bushido code directly condemned soldiers who could not show compassion to both civilians and the enemy. As for respect for authority, Senjinkun proclaimed that soldiers must obey the orders of their commanders without question.
A dead Japanese soldier in the Philippines stabbed himself with his own bayonet to avoid being captured. According to the code of conduct, every Japanese soldier had to fight to the death or take his own life.
The value of valor
The warrior code dictated that the soldier must show courage. At the same time, the Japanese soldier was supposed to respect the "lower" enemy and honor the "higher", in other words, according to Sendjinkun, the soldier and sailor had to be "truly valiant". The soldier was instructed to be loyal and obedient. Loyalty was understood as the readiness of the Japanese soldier to always defend his world. At the same time, the officers constantly reminded the soldiers of obedience and the need to fulfill all duties. Finally, the charter ordered the soldier to lead a simple life, avoiding "luxury, pampered behavior and pretentiousness."
In addition, Senjinkun emphasized that the main duty of a soldier is to fight and, if necessary, die for the Emperor. The practice of suicide or fighting "to the last" was widespread in the imperial army, as the examples of Peleleu and Saipan (1944) and Iwo Jima (1945) show. In part, such fanaticism or fatalism was inculcated in young recruits by officers and senior soldiers during a period of intensive three months of training, "turning them into fanatics, ready to die for their emperor, their country and for the glory of their regiments."
But still, it is difficult to understand why Japanese soldiers, sailors and pilots were so willing to die. This is better understood by the fact that the Malay ancestors of the modern Japanese were energetic and brave, and at the same time possessed the docility and loyalty received from the Mongols. These qualities were combined in a typical Japanese soldier and could be revealed with the right upbringing and cultivation. After intense training, the Japanese soldier began to believe that he could fight with courage, pressure and courage beyond the reach of his adversary, following the orders of his commanders and obeying them unquestioningly.
"War without mercy". A Japanese infantryman in Indonesia stabs down Indonesian rebels captured in early 1942 with a bayonet. Many local residents were mistreated during the Japanese rule: men were forced into slave labor, and women were forced to sleep with soldiers.
Military service and Bushido
Such qualities of the Japanese soldier, as dedication to duty and the desire for self-sacrifice, were later used to train, train and develop military skills. At the same time, the Japanese soldier relied on kiai - a fantastic strength, or a source of power hidden in every person, which can be achieved by one's own effort. He was the foundation of Japanese martial arts and skills. The term ki means "thought" or "will"; the meaning of the term ai is opposite to the concept of "unity"; in general, the essence of kiai can be conveyed as motivated power combined with the desire to surpass the opponent. Hence follows the principle of the superiority of spirit over matter, which underlies the Japanese arts of judo and karate.
The influence of kiai on the mind of a samurai was incredibly powerful. Soon, samurai warriors (and therefore, Japanese soldiers) came to the belief that there were no barriers to human endurance. The Japanese military leadership used the spirit of kiai as a practical element of military training. It was believed that with the right motivation, a Japanese recruit is able to overcome any obstacles and hardships. It was believed that, with proper training, the spirit of kiai, or hara ("gut"), could provide a soldier with superhuman qualities. As a result, the Japanese army adopted such difficult methods of teaching and training soldiers, which were not, perhaps, in any other army in the world. One of the methods of punishment, for example, was the 80-kilometer march; during the training period, the soldier went through all the possible hardships that he could face on the battlefield and which seemed to lie beyond the capabilities of an ordinary person. In preparation for the combat service of a Western soldier, most armies set some reasonable load limits, which were considered the limit of human endurance. There was no such thing in the Imperial Japanese Army. The Japanese soldier had to resignedly accept all the burdens and burdens. According to the warrior's code, there are no limits to endurance, and as long as a person has not lost his hara, he can "go forward forever." From this it followed that a samurai of any rank cannot refuse to carry out an order on the grounds that the task exceeds the strength of a person. The word "impossible" did not exist in the Japanese army.
Japanese soldiers were forced to think only about the offensive, even if the enemy outnumbered them, and the Japanese themselves lacked weapons and equipment. During the Second World War, many cases were recorded when Japanese troops launched attacks on fortified enemy positions without artillery, air or any other support, having only rifles and machine guns. As the events on Guadalcanal in August 1942 and the battles in the Pacific theater of operations in general showed, Japanese soldiers often rushed senselessly to American, British and Australian positions, losing a lot of people, but unable to even get close to the enemy. Japanese commanders never interfered with this practice, despite the unequal chances of success with the enemy. The refusal of a Japanese officer or soldier to attack was the deepest contradiction to the Bushido code.
Japanese soldiers hiding around the corner of a building in Shanghai are ready for a gas attack (China, 1942). After the use of poison gases on the Western Front during the First World War, Japanese soldiers began to intensively prepare for action in gas masks.
Bushido clearly defined the relationship between samurai and their behavior in battle. Although Bushido is sometimes interpreted as a refined form of European chivalry, it should be noted that this warrior code did not include any customs regarding the protection of women and children, since Japanese society remained deeply patriarchal. On the contrary, the samurai had complete power over the women in his estate, and his interests were above all. This explains the widespread practice of the Japanese during the Second World War to use the women of the conquered areas as prostitutes. These "women for pleasure", as they were designated by the Japanese command, were completely dependent on the invaders and were completely exploited by both soldiers and officers. Chauvinism can also explain the ease with which Japanese soldiers killed innocent civilians in the occupied territories.
When British, American and other prisoners began to appear during the war, the Japanese could not find any recommendations in the Bushido code on how to deal with a captured foreigner. Since the Japanese soldier never received clear instructions on the treatment of prisoners, his behavior towards the captured Americans and British changed from quite civilized to almost brutal. Explaining how the Japanese treated prisoners of war in the Western armies, one of the Japanese officers at the end of the war said: “Our soldiers did not receive clear instructions in advance. But when the prisoners began to arrive, we sent an order to the unit to send them to the headquarters without inflicting wounds on them. I believed that although war is inhuman, we should act as humanely as possible. When I captured some of your (British soldiers) in Burma, I gave them food and tobacco. " This attitude towards prisoners varied depending on where, when and under what circumstances they were captured. True, as one historian notes, "fighters are rarely inclined to kindness when they are out of action." In addition, most Japanese soldiers viewed surrender as a dishonor that could not be forgiven.
Samurai perceived themselves as true patriots of Japan, protectors of the throne and the nation as a whole. The Warrior's Code meant that diplomacy was a sign of weakness, and statements about reaching an agreement were sickening. Young officers who dreamed of territorial expansion published "The Great Destiny", which brought together their views in relation to the Emperor and Hakko Ichi-yu ("the whole world under one roof"): "With due respect, we believe that the divine destiny our country lies in its spread under the hand of the Emperor to the very borders of the world. "
Japanese shooter picks a victim in the jungle. The Japanese were better at volley fire and, oddly enough, hit moving targets well. Nevertheless, snipers preferred to deal with an enemy pinned to the ground.
Field and fire training
The training of infantrymen of the Japanese army included training in actions as part of a minimum subunit (squad), then sequentially moving on to actions as part of a platoon, company, battalion and regiment; the final chord was the big maneuvers at the end of each year. Training in the course of the second year of service essentially did not change, but more time was devoted to the development of special skills necessary for servicemen of various types of troops. As for the qualitative aspect of the study of military affairs, it can be said that in the Japanese infantry it provided for the gradualness and consistency in mastering the material with a simultaneous increase in the intensity and depth of training. Japanese soldiers made long marches with full gear and grueling endurance exercises; the military leadership considered this necessary in order to educate fighters to withstand hunger and high stress for a long time.
The mythical view that the Japanese soldier was best suited for jungle warfare should be clarified. In general, this is true, but it must be borne in mind that the Japanese infantryman was primarily trained to conduct combat in any climatic and natural conditions, and not only in the jungle. In addition, the Japanese soldier received the skills of waging a "correct" war, that is, combat operations common on the Western Front during the First World War. Indeed, the technique of warfare adopted by Japanese soldiers of World War II, especially during the long war in China, was first tested in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.
A Japanese machine gunner prepares to meet the Chinese units of Chiang Kai-shek at the Chekyang front, 1943. The Japanese machine guns differed from the American and British ones in their low rate of fire and a tendency to "chew" cartridges and misfire, but in defense they were not bad.
Japanese soldiers were taught to endure all the hardships in any climate and on any type of terrain. Training in mountainous conditions and in cold climates was considered especially important - practical exercises were conducted in North Japan, Korea and Formosa (Taiwan). There Japanese infantrymen conducted "snow marches" (ko-gun net). These crossings, which lasted four to five days, were usually organized in late January or the first week of February, when the coldest weather sets in Northern Japan. In order to increase endurance, soldiers were forbidden to use gloves, and overnight stays were organized in the open air. The main purpose of such training was to accustom officers and soldiers to the cold. From July to August, long marches were made to train the personnel to the heat. Both were done with the aim of training the Japanese soldier to endure extreme temperatures, the harshest living conditions and all kinds of hardships.
In addition to these Spartan conditions, food and living conditions were also the most simple and practical. A Japanese soldier's diet usually included a large bowl of rice, a cup of green tea, a plate of Japanese pickled vegetables, jerky fish and fried bean paste, or some local delicacies like fruits and vegetables. In the dining room there was a large, straight table with wooden benches set on a bare wooden plank floor. As a rule, the dining room was decorated with a large slogan or inscription praising loyalty to the Emperor or a reminder of one of the warrior's virtues.
The training itself included bayonet fighting (bayonet is a "special attack weapon"), the basics of camouflage, patrolling, night action, shooting, marches, training in the basics of field hygiene, sanitation and first aid, as well as information about military innovations. At the individual level, each soldier prepared to fight in the war of the twentieth century, but at the same time, his education was based on the Bushido code.
A Japanese infantryman crosses a river in China's Shandong province using a hastily constructed pontoon bridge. Many of the soldiers supporting the bridge are injured, but will not leave their place until the opposite bank is captured.
Field or "forced" marches
The tremendous attention paid to the education of inflexibility and endurance led to the fact that the Japanese army actively included long transitions in the training process. This was done in spite of the many problems that Japanese soldiers faced when they were forced to wear uncomfortable leather shoes. Often, when performing training marches, the soldier had to throw off his boots and change into straw varisi sandals, which he wore in a cracker bag and used during halts.
The pace of the march was set in advance, and it was forbidden to change it, no matter how difficult the transition was. Companies had to march in full force, and any soldier (or officer) who left the formation was subjected to severe punishment. A British observer assigned to the Japanese army in the 1920s reported how a Japanese officer, who collapsed from exhaustion during the march, committed suicide with hara-kiri, "in the hope of washing away an indelible shame." The company commanders usually marched in the rear of the column, with a second or first lieutenant leading the movement. After every 50 minutes of crossing, the company stopped, and a ten-minute halt was announced, so that the soldiers had the opportunity to straighten their shoes or drink water.
Field standard-bearer of the 56th division of the Japanese army during the transition at the Ayeyarwaddy River (Burma, February 1944).
Field hygiene
The Japanese soldier adhered to the requirements of field hygiene. The barracks in the location of the units were meticulously cleaned, bed linen and blankets were aired daily. The Japanese army moved mainly on foot, and therefore much attention was paid to foot hygiene, if possible, socks were changed twice a day. All soldiers had to bathe; if possible, underwear was changed daily or every other day. Cleanliness checks were carried out in preparation for eating, and commanders were required to personally check the cleanliness of hands, nails and clothing.
Rations
In combat and on the march, the ration of the Japanese soldier, or schichi bu no san, consisted of wheat flour and rice; each soldier had seven portions of rice and three portions of flour. Flour and rice were mixed and boiled in a large kettle or kettle. The soldier received food three times a day. The main food was the same in the location of the part, but there rice was usually supplemented with some kind of seasoning. The soldiers received bread once a week, but not without fail. Japanese soldiers, like many Asians, were not particularly fond of bread and preferred rice and flour with various additives. For all three daily meals, the soldiers received hot drinks - green tea or just hot water.
In between battles, Japanese soldiers are busy preparing food. A common meal for the Japanese infantryman was a bowl of rice with pickled vegetables and dried bean paste. Local produce like fresh fish was a welcome variety.
One goal
Each stage of the training of the Japanese army in the interwar period was dedicated to one goal - the selection, conscription and training of well-trained infantrymen. These soldiers should have received a fair dose of military knowledge and skills. The pre-conscript training process lasted from high school to college or university, and continuous training and education was supposed to provide the Japanese army with a sufficient supply of trained officers and soldiers. This is what happened in World War II.
From the very beginning military training inspired by the "spirit of the warrior", or Bushido, over time, the Japanese soldier became one of the most trained and, without a doubt, one of the most fanatical opponents that the armies of the USA, China, Great Britain, Australia had to face. Soviet Union and New Zealand.
There is no doubt that the Japanese army during the Second World War was predominantly infantry. The Japanese used armored and mechanized forces only against the Soviet Union and China, as well as only on a few islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Most of the fighting in Guadalcanal, Burma, New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands was infantry fighting. It was in these battles that the Japanese soldier showed himself to be a resourceful and strong fighter, despite all the circumstances that opposed him. All this was the result of the training and propaganda of the warrior code during the interwar period.
Japanese soldiers attack Chinese positions in 1938. The core of the Japanese division was the shooter; most of the soldiers in this photograph are armed with Arisaka rifles.
Japanese soldiers of the Imperial Army today
The bravery of the Japanese soldiers and loyalty to their Emperor reminded of themselves many years after the war. Tens of years after the end of the Second World War, on various islands where the Imperial Japanese Army fought, there were Japanese soldiers in shabby uniforms, who did not know that the war had ended long ago. Hunters from remote Filipino villages talked about "devil people" living in the thickets like wild beasts. In Indonesia, they were called the "yellow people" who roam the forests. It did not occur to the Japanese soldiers that they could surrender to the local authorities, they continued their guerrilla war, the war for the Emperor. It was a matter of their honor. Japanese soldiers have always fulfilled their duty to the end, to the last drop of their own blood.
1961, Private Masashi and Corporal Minakawa
In 1961, 16 years after Japan's surrender, a soldier named Ito Masashi emerged from the tropical jungles of Guam. Masashi could not believe that the world that he knew and believed in before 1945 is now completely different, that that world no longer exists.
Private Masashi got lost in the jungle on October 14, 1944. Ito Masashi bent down to tie a lace on his boot. He lagged behind the column, and this saved him - part of Masashi was ambushed by Australian soldiers. Hearing the shooting, Masashi and his comrade, Corporal Iroki Minakawa, who had also fallen behind, threw themselves to the ground. Thus began their incredible 16-year hide-and-seek game with the rest of the world.
For the first two months, the private and the corporal ate the remains of the NZ and the larvae of insects, which they looked for under the bark of trees. They drank rainwater collected in banana leaves, chewed edible roots. Sometimes they dined with snakes, which happened to be caught in the snakes.
The Japanese used bicycles to increase mobility whenever possible and, as a result, moved much faster than British and American troops, which were too clumsy at the beginning of the war.
At first, the soldiers of the allied army hunted them, and then the inhabitants of the island with their dogs. But they managed to leave. Masashi and Minakawa came up with their own language for safe communication with each other - clicking, hand signals.
They built several shelters by digging them in the ground and covering them with branches. The floor was covered with dry leaves. Several holes were dug nearby with sharp spikes at the bottom - game traps.
They roamed the jungle for eight long years. Later Masashi will say: “During our wanderings, we came across other similar groups of Japanese soldiers who, like us, continued to believe that the war continued. We were sure that our generals retreated for tactical reasons, but the day will come when they will return with reinforcements. Sometimes we lit fires, but it was dangerous, as we could be found. The soldiers were dying of hunger and disease, were attacked. I knew that I had to stay alive in order to fulfill my duty - to continue the fight. We survived only thanks to incident because they stumbled upon the junkyard of an American airbase. "
The landfill became the source of life for the soldiers lost in the jungle. The profligate Americans threw away many different foods. There, the Japanese picked up cans and adapted them for dishes. From the springs from the beds, they made sewing needles, the awnings were used for bed linen. The soldiers needed salt, and at night they crawled out to the coast, filled jars of seawater to evaporate white crystals from it.
The wanderers' worst enemy was the annual rainy season: for two months in a row, they sat sadly in shelters, feeding only on berries and frogs. In their relationship at that time, almost unbearable tension reigned, Masashi later said.
The Japanese branch clears out a narrow street in Malaysia in January 1942. The Japanese used similar tactics when fighting the British. The submachine gunner and two riflemen cover their comrade, who carefully checks the paths to approach the enemy.
After ten years of such a life, they found leaflets on the island. They contained a message from a Japanese general that they had never heard of before. The general ordered them to surrender. Masashi said, "I was sure it was an American ploy to catch us. I told Minakawa," Who do they take us for ?! "
An incredible sense of duty among these people, unfamiliar to Europeans, is also reflected in another story by Masashi: “Once Minakawa and I were talking about how to get out of this island by sea. We walked along the coast, unsuccessfully trying to find a boat. But we came across only two American barracks with lighted windows We crawled close enough to see the dancing men and women and hear the sounds of jazz. For the first time in all these years I saw women. I was desperate - I missed them! Returning to my hideout, I began to carve a figure out of wood I could safely go to the American camp and surrender, but it was contrary to my convictions. After all, I swore an oath to my emperor, he would be disappointed in us. I did not know that the war was over long ago, and I thought that the emperor just threw our soldier to some other place. "
One morning, after sixteen years of hermitage, Minakawa put on homemade wooden sandals and went hunting. A day passed, but he was not there. Masashi was seized with panic. “I knew I wouldn’t survive without him,” he said. “In search of a friend, I searched the jungle. Quite by accident I stumbled upon Minakawa's backpack and sandals. I was sure that the Americans had grabbed him. Suddenly, a plane flew over my head, and I I rushed back into the jungle, determined to die but not surrender. Climbing the mountain, I saw four Americans waiting for me. Among them was Minakawa, whom I did not immediately recognize - his face was clean shaven. From him I heard that the war was long over, but it took me several months to really believe it. I was shown a photograph of my grave in Japan, where it was written on the monument that I died in battle. It was terribly difficult to understand. All my youth was wasted. That evening I went to a hot-heated bath and for the first time in many years went to sleep on a clean bed. It was delicious! "
Units advancing on the Chinese city of Hangu in 1938 halted their advance in order to assess the damage caused to the enemy by artillery fire. In a battle with a strong enemy, such a display of the banner could be suicidal.
[b] 1972, Sergeant Ikoi
As it turns out, there were Japanese soldiers who lived in the jungle much longer than Masashi. For example, Sergeant of the Imperial Army Shoichi Ikoi, who also served in Guam.
When the Americans took the island by storm, Shoichi fought off his Marine regiment and found shelter at the foot of the mountains. He also found leaflets on the island urging Japanese soldiers to surrender as ordered by the emperor, but he refused to believe it.
The sergeant lived as a complete hermit. Ate mainly on frogs and rats. The form, which had fallen into disrepair, was replaced by clothes made of bark and bark. He shaved, scraping his face with a sharpened piece of flint.
Shoichi Ikoi said: “I was all alone for so many long days and nights! Once I tried to scream out a snake that had crawled into my home, but it only got a pitiful squeak. My vocal cords were inactive for so long that they just refused to work. After that I began to train his voice every day, singing songs or reading aloud prayers. "
The sergeant was accidentally discovered by hunters in January 1972. He was 58 years old. Ikoi knew nothing about the atomic bombings, about the surrender and defeat of his homeland. When it was explained to him that his hermitage was meaningless, he fell to the ground and sobbed. Hearing that he would soon be flying home to Japan on a jet plane, Ikoi asked in surprise, "What is a jet?"
After this incident, under pressure from the public, government organizations in Tokyo were forced to equip an expedition into the jungle in order to remove their old soldiers from their dens. The expedition scattered tons of leaflets in the Philippines and other islands where Japanese soldiers might be. But the wandering warriors still saw it as enemy propaganda.
1974, Lieutenant Onoda
Even later, in 1974, on the remote Philippine island of Lubang, 52-year-old Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda emerged from the jungle and surrendered to the local authorities. Six months earlier, Onoda and his comrade Kinshiki Kozuka had ambushed a Filipino patrol, mistaking it for an American one. Kozuka died, and attempts to track down Onoda did not lead to anything: he hid in the impassable thickets.
To convince Onoda that the war was over, he even had to call his former commander - he did not trust anyone else. Onoda asked permission to keep the sacred samurai sword, which he buried on the island in 1945.
Onoda was so stunned to find himself at a completely different time that he had to apply long-term psychotherapeutic treatment. He said: “I know that many more of my comrades are hiding in the woods, I know their call signs and the places where they hide. But they will never come to my call. They will decide that I have not withstood the tests and broke down, surrendering to the enemies. Unfortunately, they will die there. "
In Japan, Onoda had a touching meeting with his elderly parents. His father said: "I am proud of you! You acted like a real warrior, as your heart told you."
A Japanese soldier died in his trench, awaiting the appearance of enemy tanks and preparing to act as a "living mine", detonating an aerial bomb attached to his chest at the moment when the tank passes over him. 1944, Mectila, Burma.
2005, Lieutenant Yamakawa and Corporal Nakauchi
The last case of detection occurred quite recently - in May 2005. In the jungle of the Philippine island of Mindanao, 87-year-old lieutenant Yoshio Yamakawa and 85-year-old corporal Tsuzuki Nakauchi, who served in the Panther division, which lost up to 80% of personnel in the Philippines, were found.
They fought and hid in the jungle for 60 years - they spent their whole lives trying not to lose their honor before their Emperor.
[b] "Debt is heavier than a mountain, and death is lighter than fluff."
Soldier Regulations of the Imperial Japanese Army Sendjinkun
Excerpts from the Bushido Code:
"True courage is to live and die when it is right to die."
"One should go to death with a clear awareness of what a samurai should do and what humiliates his dignity."
"You should weigh every word and invariably ask yourself whether what you are about to say is true."
"In everyday matters, remember death and keep this word in your heart."
"To respect the rule of" trunk and branches. To forget it means never to comprehend virtue, and a person who neglects the virtue of filial piety is not a samurai. Parents are the trunk of a tree, children of its branch. "
"A samurai should be not only an exemplary son, but also a loyal subject. He will not leave his master even if the number of his vassals is reduced from one hundred to ten, to one."
"In war, the loyalty of a samurai is manifested in the fact that without fear to go to the enemy's arrows and spears, sacrificing life if the duty requires it."
"Loyalty, justice and courage are the three natural virtues of a samurai."
"A falcon does not pick up abandoned grains, even if he is dying of hunger. So a samurai must show that he is full, even if he did not eat anything."
"If a samurai happens to lose a battle in a war, and he has to lay down his head, he should proudly say his name and die smiling without humiliating haste."
"Being mortally wounded, so that no means can save him, the samurai must respectfully address with the words of farewell to his elders and calmly give up his ghost, submitting to the inevitable."
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Some Japanese soldiers never learned that World War II ended in 1945. Fanatically loyal to their emperor, they continued to hide in the jungle for decades, trying to escape the shame of captivity
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In the jungle in the south of the Philippine island of Mindanao, a lieutenant and corporal of the Imperial Japanese Army have been found hiding there since the end of World War II in fear of punishment for withdrawing from a combat position.
The soldiers found did not know that World War II was already over.
Now these "aged deserters" over the age of 80 are in the hands of local authorities. In the near future he will have a meeting with representatives of the Japanese embassy in the Philippines, the Tokyo press reports today. Several more former Japanese soldiers may be hiding in this remote area of \u200b\u200bthe island of Mindanao, ITAR-TASS reports.
The 87-year-old former lieutenant and the 83-year-old former corporal were accidentally discovered by members of the Philippine counterintelligence, which is conducting operations in the area.
Lieutenant Yoshio Yamakawa, 87, and Lance Corporal Tsuzuki Nakauchi, 83, served in the Imperial Army's 30th Infantry Division, which landed on the Philippine island of Mindanao in 1944. This unit suffered heavy losses as a result of massive American bombing and was ordered to begin guerrilla operations in the jungle. The remnants of the division were then evacuated to Japan, but some of its fighters did not make it to the gathering place and inevitably became deserters.
According to reports, the lieutenant and corporal are very afraid of a military tribunal if they return to their homeland. Last year, they accidentally ran into a Japanese man who was looking for the remains of dead soldiers in southern Mindanao. According to this person, Yamakawa and Nakauchi have documents confirming their identities.
Japanese soldiers who did not know about the end of the war were previously found in hard-to-reach areas on the islands of the Pacific Ocean. In 1974, for example, Lt. Hiroo Onoda was discovered in the jungle of the Philippine island of Lubang. Earlier in 1972, a private of one of the infantry units was found on the island of Guam, which is now owned by the United States.
Dozens of "lost" soldiers still roam the Philippine jungle
That the Second World War ended in 1945, some Japanese soldiers never found out. Fanatically loyal to their emperor, they continued to hide in the jungle for decades, seeking to escape the shame of captivity.
Japanese soldiers were the descendants of brave warriors who knew no other life but war. Their motto was absolute obedience to their commanders, their earthly mission was service to the emperor and death in battle. They considered captivity a shame and humiliation, which would forever brand them in the eyes of those whom they respected - friends, family, soldiers, monks. This was the mindset of an ordinary Japanese soldier during World War II.
These soldiers died in the hundreds of thousands and would rather have thrown themselves on their own swords than raised the white flag of surrender to the enemy. Especially to the Americans, whose marines and naval pilots performed miracles of courage in freeing the Pacific islands from the Japanese invaders.
Many soldiers scattered across countless islands did not know about the surrender order and hid in the jungle for many years. These people knew nothing about the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nor about the terrible raids on Tokyo, which turned this city into a heap of ruins.
The news of the act of surrender and the occupation of Japan signed on board the American battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay did not reach the jungle of tropical forests. Cut off from the whole world, the soldiers lay down and got up with the belief that the war was still going on.
Rumors of a missing soldier's legion have been around for years. Hunters from remote Filipino villages talked about "devil people" living in the thickets like wild beasts. In Indonesia, they were called "yellow people" who roam the forests.
The most famous lost soldier
In 1961, 16 years after Japan's surrender, a soldier named Ito Masashi emerged from the tropical jungles of Guam to surrender.
Masashi could not believe that the world that he knew and believed in before 1945 is now completely different, that that world no longer exists.
Private Masashi got lost in the jungle on October 14, 1944. Ito Masashi bent down to tie a lace on his boot. He lagged behind the column, and this saved him - part of Masashi was ambushed by Australian soldiers. Hearing the shooting, Masashi and his comrade, Corporal Iroki Minakawa, also lagging behind, threw themselves to the ground. While shooting could be heard behind the copse, they crawled farther and farther. Thus began their incredible sixteen year game of hide and seek with the rest of the world.
For the first two months, the private and the corporal ate the remains of the NZ and the larvae of insects, which they looked for under the bark of trees. They drank rainwater collected in banana leaves, chewed edible roots. Sometimes they dined with snakes, which happened to be caught in the snakes.
At first, the soldiers of the allied army hunted them, and then the inhabitants of the island with their dogs. But they managed to leave. Masashi and Minakawa came up with their own language for safe communication with each other - clicking, hand signals.
They built several shelters by digging them in the ground and covering them with branches. The floor was covered with dry leaves. Several holes were dug nearby with sharp spikes at the bottom - game traps.
They roamed the jungle for eight long years. Later Masashi will say: “During our wanderings, we came across other similar groups of Japanese soldiers who, like us, continued to believe that the war continued. We were sure that our generals retreated for tactical reasons, but the day will come when they will return with reinforcements. Sometimes we lit fires, but it was dangerous, as they could find us. The soldiers died of hunger and disease, were attacked, sometimes they were killed by their own. I knew that I had to stay alive in order to fulfill my duty - to continue We survived only by chance because we stumbled upon the junkyard of an American airbase. "
The landfill became the source of life for the soldiers lost in the jungle. The profligate Americans threw away many different foods. There, the Japanese picked up cans and adapted them for dishes. From the springs from the beds, they made sewing needles, the awnings were used for bed linen. The soldiers needed salt, and at night they crawled out to the coast, filled jars of seawater to evaporate white crystals from it.
The wanderers' worst enemy was the annual rainy season: for two months in a row, they sat sadly in shelters, feeding only on berries and frogs. In their relationship at that time, almost unbearable tension reigned, Masashi later said.
After ten years of such a life, they found leaflets on the island. They contained a message from a Japanese general that they had never heard of before. The general ordered them to surrender. Masashi said, "I was sure it was an American ploy to catch us. I told Minakawa," Who do they take us for ?! "
An incredible sense of duty among these people, unknown to Europeans, is also reflected in another story by Masashi: “One day Minakawa and I were talking about how to get out of this island by sea. We walked along the coast, unsuccessfully trying to find a boat. But we came across only two American barracks with lighted windows We crawled close enough to see the dancing men and women and hear the sound of jazz. For the first time in all these years I saw women. I was desperate - I missed them! Returning to my hideout, I began to carve a figure out of wood I could safely go to the American camp and surrender, but it was contrary to my convictions. After all, I swore an oath to my emperor, he would be disappointed in us. I did not know that the war was over long ago, and I thought that the emperor just threw our soldier to some other place. "
One morning, after sixteen years of hermitage, Minakawa put on homemade wooden sandals and went hunting. A day passed, but he was not there. Masashi was seized with panic. “I knew I wouldn’t survive without him,” he said. “In search of a friend, I searched the jungle. Quite by accident I came across Minakawa's backpack and sandals. I was sure that the Americans had grabbed it. Suddenly, a plane flew over my head, and I rushed back into the jungle, determined to die but not surrender. Climbing the mountain, I saw four Americans waiting for me. Among them was Minakawa, whom I did not immediately recognize - his face was clean shaven. He said that when he walked through the forest, then bumped into people, and they persuaded him to surrender. From him I heard that the war was over long ago, but it took me several months to really believe it. I was shown a photograph of my grave in Japan, where it was written on the monument, that I died in battle. It was terribly difficult to understand. All my youth was wasted. That evening I went to a hot-heated bath and for the first time in many years went to sleep on a clean bed. It was delicious! "
Sergeant Ikoi was found in January 1972
As it turns out, there were Japanese soldiers who lived in the jungle much longer than Masashi. For example, Sergeant of the Imperial Army Shoichi Ikoi, who also served in Guam.
When the Americans took the island by storm, Shoichi fled his Marine regiment and took refuge at the foot of the mountains. He also found leaflets on the island urging Japanese soldiers to surrender as ordered by the emperor, but he refused to believe it.
The sergeant lived as a complete hermit. Ate mainly on frogs and rats. The form, which had fallen into disrepair, was replaced by clothes made of bark and bark. He shaved, scraping his face with a sharpened piece of flint.
Shoichi Ikoi said: “I was all alone for so many long days and nights! Once I tried to scream out a snake that had crawled into my home, but it only got a pitiful squeak. My vocal cords were inactive for so long that they just refused to work. After that I began to train his voice every day, singing songs or reading aloud prayers. "
The sergeant was accidentally discovered by hunters in January 1972. He was 58 years old. Ikoi knew nothing about the atomic bombings, about the surrender and defeat of his homeland. When it was explained to him that his hermitage was meaningless, he fell to the ground and sobbed. Hearing that he would soon be flying home to Japan on a jet plane, Ikoi asked in surprise, "What is a jet?"
Under pressure from the public, government agencies in Tokyo were forced to equip an expedition into the jungle to retrieve their old soldiers from their dens.
The expedition scattered tons of leaflets in the Philippines and other islands where Japanese soldiers might be. But the wandering warriors still saw it as enemy propaganda.
In 1974, Lieutenant Onoda surrendered.
Even later, in 1974, on the remote Philippine island of Lubang, 52-year-old Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda emerged from the jungle and surrendered to the local authorities. Six months earlier, Onoda and his comrade Kinshiki Kozuka had ambushed a Filipino patrol, mistaking it for an American one. Kozuka died, and attempts to track down Onoda did not lead to anything: he hid in the impassable thickets.
To convince Onoda that the war was over, he even had to call his former commander - he did not trust anyone else. Onoda asked permission to keep the sacred samurai sword, which he buried on the island in 1945.
Onoda was so stunned to find himself at a completely different time that he had to apply long-term psychotherapeutic treatment. He said: “I know that many more of my comrades are hiding in the woods, I know their call signs and the places where they hide. But they will never come to my call. They will decide that I have not withstood the tests and broke down, surrendering to the enemies. Unfortunately, they will die there. "
In Japan, Onoda had a touching meeting with his elderly parents.
His father said: "I am proud of you! You acted like a real warrior, as your heart told you."
“For him, the war is not over,” they sometimes say about former soldiers and officers. But this is rather an allegory. But the Japanese Hiroo Onoda was sure that the war was still going on even several decades after the end of World War II. How did it happen?
Scout on Lubang
Hiroo Onoda was born on March 19, 1922 in the village of Kamekawa, Wakayama Prefecture. After graduating from high school, in April 1939 he got a job at the Tajima trading company, located in the Chinese city of Hankou. There, the young man mastered not only Chinese, but also English. But in December 1942 he had to return to Japan - he was drafted into military service. In August 1944, Onoda entered the Nakano Army School, which trained intelligence officers. But the young man failed to complete his studies - he was urgently sent to the front. In January 1945, Hiroo Onoda, already in the rank of junior lieutenant, was transferred to the Philippine island of Lubang. He received the order to hold on to the last. Arriving at Lubang, Onoda invited the local command to begin preparations for a long-term defense of the island. But his appeal was ignored. American troops easily defeated the Japanese, and the reconnaissance detachment led by Onoda was forced to flee to the mountains. In the jungle, the military set up a base and began a guerrilla war behind enemy lines. The squad consisted of only four people: Hiroo Onoda himself, Private First Class Yuichi Akatsu, Private High Class Kinsichi Kozuki, and Corporal Shoichi Shimada. In September 1945, shortly after Japan signed an act of surrender, an order from the commander of the 14th Army was dropped from planes into the jungle, ordering to surrender weapons and surrender. However, Onoda considered it a provocation by the Americans. His squadron continued to fight, hoping that the island was about to return to Japanese control. Since the guerrilla group had no connection with the Japanese command, the Japanese authorities soon declared them dead.
The "war" continues
In 1950, Yuichi Akatsu surrendered to the Philippine police. In 1951, he returned to his homeland, thanks to which it became known that the members of Onoda's detachment were still alive. On May 7, 1954, Onoda's group clashed with the Philippine police in the Lubanga mountains. Shoichi Shimada was killed. In Japan, by that time, a special commission was created to search for Japanese troops who remained abroad. For several years, members of the commission have been looking for Onoda and Kozuki, but to no avail. On May 31, 1969, the Japanese government declared Onoda and Kozuku dead for the second time and posthumously awarded them the Order of the Rising Sun, 6th degree. On September 19, 1972, in the Philippines, police shot and killed a Japanese soldier who was trying to requisition rice from farmers. This soldier turned out to be Kinsichi Kozuka. Onoda was left alone, without comrades, but, obviously, was not going to give up. In the course of "operations", which he carried out first with subordinates, and then alone, about 30 were killed and about 100 seriously wounded military and civilians.
Loyalty to the officer's honor
On February 20, 1974, Japanese travel student Norio Suzuki stumbled upon Onoda in the jungle. He told the officer about the end of the war and the current situation in Japan and tried to persuade him to return to his homeland, but he refused, explaining that he had not received such an order from his immediate superiors. Suzuki returned to Japan with photographs of Onoda and stories about him. The Japanese government was able to contact one of Onoda's former commanders, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, who has now retired and worked in a bookstore. On March 9, 1974, Taniguchi in military uniform flew to Lubang, got in touch with a former subordinate and gave him the order to stop all military operations on the island. On March 10, 1974, Onoda surrendered to the Filipino military. He faced the death penalty for "military operations", which were qualified by the local authorities as robbery and murder. However, thanks to the intervention of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was pardoned and on March 12, 1974, he solemnly returned to his homeland. In April 1975, Hiroo Onoda moved to Brazil, got married and took up cattle breeding. But in 1984 he returned to Japan. The former military man was actively involved in social work, especially with young people. On November 3, 2005, the Japanese government presented him with the Medal of Honor with a blue ribbon "For Service to Society." Already in old age, he wrote a memoir entitled "My Thirty Years War in Lubanga." Hiroo Onoda passed away on January 16, 2014 in Tokyo at the age of almost 92.
In September 1945, Japan announced its surrender, ending World War II. But for some, the war was not over.
Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda was 22 years old when he was sent to the Philippines as the commander of a special squad to conduct sabotage operations behind enemy lines. He arrived in Lubang in December 1944, and the allied forces landed on the island in February 1945. Soon, only Onoda and three of his colleagues were among the survivors, who retreated into the mountains to continue the partisan war.
The group survived on bananas, coconut milk and stolen cattle, occasionally engaging in gunfights with local police.
In late 1945, the Japanese read leaflets from the air that the war was over. But they refused to surrender, thinking it was enemy propaganda.
1944 year. Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda.
Every Japanese soldier was ready to die. As an intelligence officer, I was ordered to wage a guerrilla war and not die. I was a soldier and had to follow orders.
Hiroo Onoda
One of Hiroo Onoda's comrades surrendered in 1950, another was killed when confronted with a search party in 1954. His last comrade, Upper-Class Private Kinsichi Kozuka, was shot dead by the police in 1972 while he and Onoda were destroying rice supplies at a local farm.
Onoda was left alone and became a legendary figure on the island of Lubang and beyond.
The story of a mysterious Japanese soldier intrigued a young traveler named Norio Suzuki, who went in search of "Lieutenant Onoda, pandas and Bigfoot."
Norio Suzuki told Onoda about Japan's long-standing surrender and prosperity in an attempt to persuade him to return to his homeland. But Onoda firmly replied that he could not surrender and leave the duty station without the order of a superior officer.
February 1974. Norio Suzuki and Onoda with their rifle on Lubang Island.
Suzuki returned to Japan and, with the help of the government, sought out Commander Onoda. It turned out to be a former major of the Imperial Army, Yoshimi Taniguchi, already an elderly man who works in a bookstore.
Taniguchi flew to Lubang and on March 9, 1974, officially ordered Onoda to lay down his arms.
March 11, 1974. Lt. Hiroo Onoda, sword in hand, emerges from the jungle on Lubang Island after a 29-year guerrilla war.
March 11, 1974.
Three days later, Onoda surrendered his samurai sword to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and received a pardon for his actions over the previous decades (he and his comrades killed about 30 people during the guerrilla war).
Onoda returned to Japan, where he was greeted as a hero, but decided to move to Brazil and became a herder. Ten years later, he returned to Japan and founded the public organization "School of Nature" to educate a healthy young generation.
As for the adventurer Norio Suzuki: shortly after finding Onoda, he found pandas in the wild. But in 1986, Suzuki died in an avalanche in the Himalayas while continuing to search for Bigfoot.
Onoda died in 2014 at the age of 92. A few of his photos:
March 11, 1974 Onoda hands over his sword to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos in surrender at Malacanang Palace in Manila.
March 12, 1974 Arrival of Onoda in Tokyo.
