afterglow

Chapter 432 Death March? Punishment March! Try pouring some thickened gasoline into it
  After receiving the reply that he allowed surrender, Brigadier General Justin seemed relieved.

Is it finally over? This feeling of being abandoned is really frustrating.

Since no white flags were available, the soldiers found a relatively clean sheet and cut it into several white flags of different sizes.

On the morning of November 11, in the Bataan Fortress Preparatory Command...

Several staff officers were no longer updating map markers. They were sorting through piles of documents and copies of telegrams, then stuffing them into halved gasoline cans and burning them.

Brigadier Justin rummaged through the large suitcase and found a uniform, which was the only clean set of clothes. He put on the uniform and began shaving with a razor.

Although it is a surrender, you still need to pay attention to basic appearance, which involves the honor and dignity of soldiers.

The artillery fire that lasted all day yesterday stopped. The Ming army has learned about the surrender of the US-Philippine coalition forces, and the entire front is gradually ceasefire.

"Sir, do we want to destroy technical equipment?" asked a lieutenant colonel quartermaster: "The Chinese warned in the leaflets that any destruction of items will be regarded as unfriendly."

"Follow doctrine and tradition, do it and issue the order to destroy it."

"Yes, sir. But... who signed the order?"

No one is willing to take responsibility for this - if they are not destroyed, they may be charged by their country's military court after the war; if they are destroyed, the Ming army will be angry with the person who gave the order.

"I'll sign it," Justin said calmly.

Half an hour later, a Cadillac sedan with a small white flag on each side of the front slowly drove away from the reserve command post.

Brigadier General Justin and two officers drove through the shattered and devastated defense line in a car. The simple road was riddled with potholes and the car was bumpy and bumped into the chassis several times.

The soldiers gathered together in twos and threes, lying or sitting, their rifles casually thrown aside.

Everyone looked tired, but also showed a look of relief.

After a while, the car stopped at a corner of the chaotic front.

This should be a supply station for the US-Philippine coalition forces. They retreated hastily after the collapse of the battle line yesterday. This place was occupied by the Ming army intact.

Boxes of ammunition were piled up - except for food, all supplies were actually abundant.

The commander-in-chief of the Seventh Army and other generals have arrived, and the surrender ceremony site has been set up. Tables, chairs, water glasses, and the national flags of both sides have been placed diagonally behind them.

Brigadier General Justin discovered that the Stars and Stripes Banner was still full of bullet holes, perhaps it was captured at some time.

He immediately offered to replace it, but was rejected. The commander of the [-]rd Division smiled slightly sarcastically: "Isn't such a battle-damaged flag just a testament to your tenacious fighting?"

Negotiations between the two sides are going smoothly, and all U.S.-Philippine coalition forces on the Bataan Peninsula will lay down their weapons and surrender before midnight tonight.

However, Cologido Island and Fort Drum were not within the scope, which made the Ming army generals somewhat dissatisfied.

Justin demanded that prisoners be treated in strict compliance with international law and that fresh food and clean water be ensured.

In this regard, Yan Chenwu, who participated in the negotiations, said bluntly: "We must keep our word. According to the original airdrop notice, those who do not destroy equipment and materials will be treated properly. On the contrary, they will definitely be punished."

"International law does not have such harsh requirements! Destroying weapons and equipment before surrender is a reasonable approach and is recognized by all countries." said a US military colonel who accompanied him.

"You are wrong. Our country has only stated that it abides by international law in principle, so it can naturally use its discretion in specific decisions."

At this point, Brigadier General Justin and the others, who had no confidence at all, had no way to refute. They were constantly urged to sign quickly, and soon they could no longer bear the pressure and agreed to surrender unconditionally.

In fact, when issuing the order to destroy technical equipment, Brigadier General Justin specified special matters, and all remaining gasoline, trucks, and medicines should be kept intact.

Americans also did this in history. They thought they could ride to the prisoner of war camps, but in the end they were forced to go on a death march.

One hundred thousand coalition prisoners were forced to walk to a prisoner of war camp more than [-] kilometers away without food and water. Due to long-term illness and malnutrition, more than [-] people died in the middle of this long march.

Compared with the unlucky experiences of the prisoners in the original plane, the current Ming army did not suffer any losses when attacking the Bataan Peninsula, and they did not intend to deliberately humiliate the weak, so the tens of thousands of coalition prisoners were undoubtedly much luckier.

Although the industrial capabilities of the United States are second to none, in fact, in the world view of the lower-level officers and soldiers of the Ming army, the United States is just like a rich man - it relied on the help of France to become independent. Later, Canada captured the capital and burned the White House. Finally, it relied on the European War to achieve independence. Get rich suddenly.

For such novice opponents, most people have little interest in humiliating them and lack a sense of accomplishment.

On the contrary, the Commonwealth prisoners captured in Malaya and Singapore were more unlucky. The British Empire army, which used to be invincible and arrogant, has now been completely destroyed. Isn't this a good ridicule?
  The logistics officer of the Seventh Army General Department was solely responsible for the transportation of prisoners. He told Brigadier General Justin that the prisoners would be divided into two categories.

One group, those who obeyed the notice and did not destroy their equipment, will be taken to the train station in batches by truck, and then transported to a prisoner-of-war camp northwest of Manila; the other group, those who destroyed their weapons and equipment in an organized manner, will be taken to the prisoner-of-war camp on foot in groups. camp.

"God, many soldiers are also suffering from dysentery and malaria, which will kill them!" Justin was shocked.

The translator next to him coughed loudly and said coldly: "General, pay attention to your attitude and wording. You are now a prisoner."

The logistics manager is a tall and thin middle-aged man who always has a straight face. He slowly replied calmly and formally: "The rules are the rules. What I have told you in advance is not to scare people. You can only do what you say." prestige."

"No, no, no, this is murder! Damn it, I shouldn't have signed the order..."

Brigadier General Justin was a little broken. He was very disappointed and blamed himself. If he had known this, he would have chosen to return home after the war and be held accountable. The politicians in Washington completely abandoned this remnant soldier and had no credibility!
  The U.S. military generals generally understood the purpose of this differential treatment, but when they thought about the long journey they would face later, they were both angry and regretful.

After hard work, the Ming army agreed that medical staff from the US-Philippine coalition forces would be the first to evacuate and set up three temporary hospitals and some rescue points along the route to the prisoner of war camp in case of emergency.

Because the Ming army had hoarded a large amount of supplies during this period, and there were still a lot of supplies seized in Manila at the beginning, it was completely sufficient in terms of supplies; at the same time, the U.S.-Philippine coalition also had a large inventory of medicines in the Bataan Fortress area.

Behind the defense line, some supply depots and temporary warehouses where ammunition was stored were ignited by raging fires. Boxes of thousands of bullets and artillery shells were blasted and destroyed. The serial explosions caused many places to burst into flames.

Rifles were stacked together, doused with gasoline and set on fire, like piles of wood for a bonfire.

The breechblocks of the artillery were also removed, and thermite incendiary bombs were stuffed into the gun bores. One by one, the artillery was melted by the blazing high temperature of more than [-] degrees in the dazzling white light... Starting from the next day, Trucks full of coalition prisoners drove through the bumpy dirt road, all the way to the train station in the north.

These people were undoubtedly lucky. It only took half a day by car to reach the train station and then reach the prisoner of war camp the next day.

Those troops who were found to have destroyed artillery, ammunition, radios, artillery mirrors, generators and other technical equipment would be grouped on the other side and march north under the escort of Ming army soldiers and armored vehicles.

After preliminary statistics, the number of people was almost evenly divided, and at least half of the units actually carried out the order to destroy equipment.

Many of the captives were very weak from recovering from illness, and those who were suffering from illness had an even harder time.

Those prisoners suffering from dysentery would have uncontrollable acute diarrhea, and puddles of stinky filth could be seen from time to time along the marching team's route.

Some people in the long queue that stretched as far as the eye could see staggered and sat on the ground, breathing heavily.

Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers riding motorcycles and armored vehicles were right next to the team, and from time to time they urged the prisoners who were sitting on the ground to rest without authorization to get up.

A dozen senior officers headed by Brigadier General Justin were also in the marching team. After all, according to the logic of the Ming army, he was the culprit that caused all this.

On the afternoon of November 11, after attending a meeting at the General Office of the Seventh Army, Yan Chenwu returned to the front line by car to prepare to command the troops to carry out a landing operation in the Corregidor Fortress area.

When his convoy passed an overcrowded ambulance station, several military doctors and nurses rushed out and blocked the way of the off-road vehicle.

The sudden "squeak" of the brakes caused dust to fly on the dirt road. Yan Chenwu, who was taking a nap, looked up dissatisfied.

"What are they talking about?"

"Reporting to Junzuo, it is probably a protest to let the injured and injured people walk a long way together."

Yan Chenwu looked directly at the female military doctor next to the car who was pointed at a gun by the soldiers, "What's your problem?"

The latter shouted angrily: "I originally thought you were a civilized army full of morality, but you..."

"What's your name?" Yan Chenwu smoothed his collar and said calmly: "I don't talk to people who don't understand etiquette."

The yelling lieutenant raised his hand in salute and gritted his teeth and said, "Gladys Hall."

Faced with the emotional Gladys who kept talking, Yan Chenwu honestly didn't know how to answer her better.

He recalled it in his mind, and suddenly thought of the topic he had discussed with someone Zhou during a dinner party, and said, "Do you think this is malicious bullying? I'm afraid it's the opposite. You should be grateful that our country is magnanimous. Only minor punishments were imposed.”

Gladys felt that this answer was too shameless, and she said angrily: "How shameless! Your behavior is murder!"

"If you want to deliberately kill prisoners, you will not be provided with food, nor will you be allowed to set up rescue points on the road." Yan Chenwu pointed, and then said: "'Wisely feed the enemy' is the purpose of our army. You destroyed the ordnance and supplies." To our army, it is provocation and contempt, and we will naturally have to bear the due blame."

"I can't understand."

"You Americans live in a God-given land with abundant products and extravagance. Of course you don't understand the frugal virtues of China for thousands of years. You destroyed the trophies you deserved. This is of course a big mistake, not to mention that it was already distributed in advance. If you pass the notice and commit the crime knowingly, theoretically, you will be punished by an additional level.”

damn it! According to this logic, in the end, I have to thank you for your kindness?

Gladys, who was still angry, shook her head and said: "I don't want to understand the values ​​​​of Eastern people. I only know that you have signed international conventions, so you must abide by them!"

"In principle, we abide by the law. As you can see, we have everything to eat and drink." Yan Chenwu didn't want to waste any more time, and after finishing speaking, he asked the driver to drive.

No matter what, there are differences in values ​​between the East and the West. Obviously, people of the Ming Dynasty are naturally willing to act and deal with things based on their own values.

Next, Corregidor Island, a tiny island with an area of ​​less than a hundred hectares, became the first of the two remaining targets of the Ming army.

The island was only a few kilometers away from the mainland, and the Ming army's field artillery group began to violently bombard it.

第二野战重炮旅的36门144㎜榴弹炮和36门112㎜加农炮齐声咆哮；第一攻城重炮旅的192㎜重型榴弹炮和320㎜臼炮开火时更为震撼。

In comparison, the [-]th Siege Heavy Artillery Battalion took longer to prepare for firing, but the sound of firing No. [-] and No. [-] was earth-shaking.

The 860㎜ concrete-destroying projectile weighing 416kg can be stuffed into the gun barrel through a matching loading crane. The projectile hits the target in a curved parabola, like a heavy hammer falling from the sky.

The U.S. military guarding Cologido Island also fired back, and the two sides engaged in a fierce artillery battle across the strait.

However, the concrete destroying shells of the heavy mortar were extremely powerful. The fifth shell fired by Faji No. 3 at noon on the third day of the artillery battle hit the ammunition depot of the [-]-inch anti-aircraft gun, and subsequently triggered a series of explosions!
  The explosion was as violent as a volcanic eruption, and the white clouds in the blue sky seemed to be blackened by the smoke column.

Two infantry teams and a floating combat convoy of the Fourth Regiment of the Second Marine Brigade formed the first echelon and launched the attack at nightfall on November 11.

The battle started at 19:38. Marine soldiers jumped out of several landing craft approaching the shore one after another. Then someone stepped on a mine, and cries for help and shouts of death suddenly resounded across the beach.

Immediately afterwards, another trip flare was triggered, and the northeastern part of the island was suddenly illuminated as bright as day by the launched flare!
  More than [-] Type [-] floating combat vehicles tasked with supporting missions were severely deviated due to high tides and the rapid currents of Manila Bay. In the end, only a quarter landed at the scheduled landing point.

With only the M2HB heavy machine gun as an anti-tank weapon, the U.S. military was unable to resist the Marine officers and soldiers coordinated by infantry and tanks. The futile counterattack left only dozens of corpses.

Early the next morning, the disappointed Major General Wainwright ordered the final telegram to be sent, then burned the code book, smashed the transmitter, and raised the white flag to declare surrender.

Now, the only thing left in front of the Ming army is Fort Drum, a cement battleship guarding the entrance and exit of Manila Bay.

[picture]

After learning the news, Zhou Changfeng laughed and said: "It is too naive for Americans to expect to use heavy machine guns to deal with tanks."

"But the remaining fortress is also difficult to build, with several meters of cement." Zhao Hanfeng said worriedly.

"It's not that difficult." Zhou Changfeng shrugged and said relaxedly: "Just pour some thickened gasoline."

(End of this chapter)