Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 105



Only Noblemtl

###105

June 9, 1941.

On that Monday, there was an announcement from the headquarters in the morning.

“The glorious imperial army continues its victorious march against the evil Anglo-Americans in Southeast Asia and China···.”

Since the United States designated Japan as an enemy country and halted exports of goods a few months ago, people’s lives have become quite difficult.

Oil prices have skyrocketed, and it has become difficult to obtain many basic necessities because they are military supplies.

“Prove your loyalty to the Emperor. Become a part of the glorious Imperial Army…”

There were many people who fell for the recruiters’ sweet talk and enlisted.

The same was true for Masako’s son.

“It is said that joining the military is better for one’s career than going to college.”

“Ryota.”

“You know, honestly, I’m not smart enough to go to a prestigious university. Don’t worry. Who would dare to stop the Hwanggun’s path of success?”

Even after offering her eldest son to the country, Masako’s day did not change much.

It was the same that day.

Masako, who went to work at the factory to support her remaining family, worked tirelessly all morning.

How long had she worked? Masako got up, her shoulders and neck stiff, and got up from her seat to do some business.

“uh.”

“what’s the matter?”

“There’s a plane over there···.”

“I guess you’re training.”

The colleague next to Masako responded nonchalantly to her words.

Since the start of the war, it has been common for army and navy aircraft to fly over Tokyo.

“No, it’s the first time I’m seeing you.”

“Oh my. You said your son was a pilot. He really is an aviation expert.”

Masako, blushing at her colleague’s sarcasm, lowered her head and focused on her work again. No, she tried to do that.

bang.

Whoaah.

If it weren’t for the sudden rush of goosebumps and hot heat…

“Unit 3 launched.”

“Unit 4···.”

##

The special forces that left Manila in the middle of the night in case the Japanese noticed them arrived near Tokyo on the morning of the 9th.

It was already bright daylight and there was no escort, so the tension of the special forces was indescribable.

In particular,

“Hayabusa formation discovered on the lower right”

“Oh, what should I do?”

An Chang-nam, who stopped the machine gunner who was about to shoot reflexively, lightly moved the joystick and shook the wings.

“Oh, it’s getting farther away.”

“phew.”

Fortunately, the Japanese fighter planes were not yet properly equipped with radios. Thanks to this, I was able to get away with it without being questioned about who I was, what my affiliation was, etc.

The formation picked up speed, wiping their backs, which were damp with tension.

“Let’s throw it and go back as fast as possible.”

“yes.”

“Still, just in case, don’t let your guard down.”

The special forces were able to arrive over Tokyo despite being extremely tense.

The special forces, which slowed down to drop the bomb,

“Are they waving at us right now?”

“I know.”

“Even the anti-aircraft guns are quiet···.”

Somehow I felt good, it was too good.

Mitchell opened the radio with a big smile on his face.

“Is everyone ready?”

“Unit 2 is ready.”

“Unit 3···.”

The fact that the eight special forces, excluding Unit 8, which had disappeared without a trace as if it had somehow gotten lost, had safely reached the skies over Tokyo was considered half a success.

Of course, there was something more important.

“The most important thing is survival, survival.”

“Rager.”

Mitchell put down the radio and raised his voice to the crew.

“Is everyone ready?”

At this point, they don’t know if they are the enemy or an ally, but this is also a bit absurd…

Anyway, that’s why the air defense network is so quiet, but it was clear that it would be different after the bombing.

Mitchell’s question was answered with determined voices by the machine gunners positioned in front and behind him.

“Don’t worry. I’ll shoot them all down.”

“You know those Jabs’ fighter jets are just pieces of paper.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

As Mitchell began dropping bombs on Unit 1,

“Okay, let’s drop it too.”

“Tokyo Hot!”

“Yes.”

“I am Captain America.”

“This is the revenge I’ve been waiting for for over ten years!”

Amidst the shouts of all kinds over the communications, eight bombers began dropping bombs simultaneously.

##

“Uh, uh.”

When an unfamiliar-looking aircraft appeared in the sky, some people thought it was strange, but most thought nothing of it.

Since the start of the war, it has been common to see multiple aircraft flying haphazardly over Tokyo.

It wasn’t just the general public.

“Isn’t that guy different from the ones we know?”

“I guess those are seals.”

“Is that so?”

The Navy and the Army had a hard time intercepting the bombers they didn’t know about.

No, I didn’t.

The Japanese had no idea that the unidentified bombers they saw were enemy aircraft. There was only one reason.

“Who would dare to attack Shinto?”

“then.”

For hundreds of years, Japan had never been attacked on its mainland.

Thanks to this, war for them was about them invading another country, not someone launching an attack on their land.

For that reason, when the Army saw a formation of unfamiliar B-17 bombers, they assumed it was the Navy’s and vice versa.

It’s not the first or second time that they’ve developed and tested new models in secret, and then surprised everyone by blowing them up.

“It’s a bit large···.”

“It feels strangely high up.”

“Look. Hey. It looks like a fighter jet. It looks like that because the shape is a bit unique.”

Because it was flying at a higher altitude than a fighter jet, it didn’t look that big at first glance.

Thanks to you,

“Uh, uh.”

“That right now···”

Boom. Boom.

“Bomb, bomb.”

“It’s the enemy. The enemy has appeared.”

It was only after the Japanese saw the special forces dropping bombs that they realized that the unidentified aircraft they were seeing were enemy aircraft.

Wham. Why.

I was so shocked that I couldn’t even react properly.

“Hey, turn on the radio. Can’t you hear what’s going on?”

Support support support.

Radios that were supposed to make emergency broadcasts were cut off, and only a few areas had bomb sirens sounding.

The Japanese army hurriedly scrambled Ki-45 Toryu fighters to attempt a counterattack, but the special attack force had already left the skies over Tokyo.

Even,

“Yes. You got it right again.”

“Then who will be the ace?”

“well.”

He shot down three Japanese army aircraft that came out to intercept him.

“By the way, where did Unit 8 go?”

“I know.”

Mitchell sighed as the navigator asked about the whereabouts of Unit 8, which had gone missing over the Pacific Ocean.

Although it was clearly flying at the very back when the formation flight began immediately after takeoff, Unit 8 disappeared without a radio transmission at some point.

It was clear that the plane had crashed due to some abnormality. If not…

In particular, the pilot of Unit 8, Major Doolittle, was a capable man who even gave Mitchell a leg up.

Mitchell swallowed a sigh and tried to open his mouth in a bright voice.

“Okay, let’s go back. Navigator, what’s the return route?”

“Guam seems possible.”

Mitchell, who had been struggling with the navigator’s words that Manila was too far away and Guam might be possible considering the remaining fuel, made a decision.

“Okay. Let’s go to Guam.”

##

“Wow!”

As soon as the urgent news arrived that an air raid was being launched on Tokyo, everyone gathered at the White House cheered.

“Special forces?”

“yet···.”

I knew that it would take at least ten hours for the special forces to arrive in Guam, Palau, or Manila.

Even if I escaped safely over Tokyo, I knew that it didn’t mean I would survive.

“What matters is not the bombing, but the survival of those who participated in it.”

“yes.”

Those in the White House have been on edge for the past 10 hours since the plans to bomb Tokyo were relayed from the Philippines.

“We must declare war immediately.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

He said that, in preparation for any eventuality, there were no active-duty U.S. soldiers among the special forces members.

“And Mitchell and the other special forces members must be returned to active duty immediately.”

“Yes, it would be difficult if the people who would become our American heroes were not American soldiers.”

There was no time to stir up Congress, so Roosevelt simply declared that he would declare war.

Of course, there was chaos.

“What kind of a scam is this?”

“Was the President’s pain not in his leg but somewhere else?”

In an instant, protesters gathered in front of the White House, and calls poured in nonstop from all over.

“It is highly advisable to declare war on Japan even now…”

Among them was the British ambassador who came running out of breath after hearing the news.

“We’re busy right now. Let’s talk later.”

Get rid of annoying guests,

Shut the mouths of those rags who say things like press suppression,

Contact the embassy in Japan,

Identify the special forces agents and make them active-duty···.

That wasn’t all.

Countermeasures were also needed for all possible scenarios.

“If the bombing fails···.”

“Do I really have to think about that?”

“No. The worst first···.”

A group of pessimists put their heads together as they let out a long sigh.

“If the bombing is successful, but no one returns···.”

“It’s better now that we’ve bombed it, but···.”

“Even a fallen hero is still a hero.”

“The tragic aspect···.”

Next to where the moderates gather,

“If the bombing is successful and some people return···.”

“Captain America!”

“Oh, I saw that cartoon···.”

Optimists have been fanning rosy visions.

And it would have been great if Marshall had been in charge of all this, but unfortunately he was not.

“Isn’t this kind of work your specialty, Minister?”

That doesn’t mean Marshall was playing around. That wasn’t the case.

Marshall was also busy dealing with the seals.

“We need to send reinforcements to the Philippines immediately.”

“now···.”

Instead of a passenger ship, we need to capture a ship to carry our 41st Division, but the young Marshall’s fighting ability is better than mine, old man. No matter.

The news we heard after running for ten hours like ten days was that we had only halfway achieved the success we had been desperately waiting for.

“Tokyo has become a sea of ​​fire.”

“The story about the downed bomber···.”

“There isn’t any.”

“doesn’t exist?”

“Yes. First of all, the message is that no aircraft were shot down over Tokyo, and all eight aircraft were seen returning.”

There was a brief moment of cheering at the telegram that came in from the embassy in Tokyo.

“Eight? Didn’t you say nine?”

“!”

“Since it says eight from the beginning, I guess one is···.”

Marshall and I sighed and shook our heads at Arnold’s suggestion that it might have crashed in the Pacific Ocean or something.

“The important thing is how many of them can evade the interceptors and return.”

“Where the return point will be is also a problem.”

“First of all, isn’t Manila too crowded?”

Now that we know the time of the bombing, we can work backwards to figure out how many hours the special forces flew.

“Manila or Wake Island are a close call. Guam seems more likely.”

“What is the current situation in Guam?”

“There has been no provocation from Japan yet, but they have declared war and even bombed us···.”

Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Harold R. Stark, who caught Roosevelt’s eye, jumped to his feet and answered.

“No matter what happens, we will defend Guam so that the Mitchell Special Forces can land.”

“Okay. And···.”

At that very moment, the door burst open.

“Bombings fell on Kure too.”

“Kure? Where is that?”

While someone was scanning a map for unfamiliar places, Roosevelt asked another question.

“What does it matter where? As long as it’s Japan, it’s fine. Is he a lost person?”

“Maybe not?”

I thought it had crashed, but it seems it had just gotten lost.

As it turned out, it was Major Doolittle’s No. 8 that got lost and took action on his own.

And his record was superior to the other eight.

“Isn’t it amazing that you can blow up an aircraft carrier with one bomb?”

However, the achievements of the Mitchell team, excluding Doolittle, were not so great.

That was understandable, as the number of bombs loaded on the nine bombers was not that large, and all they did was carry out high-altitude horizontal bombing using only a makeshift sight in preparation for any eventuality.

As a result, casualties were barely over 100, and only a few hundred houses, a steel mill, an oil storage facility, and a few power plants were destroyed.

The greatest achievement was that Doolittle, who arrived last, destroyed the light aircraft carrier Ryuho, which was being remodeled.

But what you see isn’t everything.

Aftershock