On August 15, 1945, the invincible Japan finally fell to its knees. A few days ago, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, directly causing Japan to sacrifice its knees, lower its head, and announce its unconditional surrender.
What is puzzling is that Tokyo and Kyoto in Japan at that time were the "North to Guangcao", and the land was scarce. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are nothing more than "small cities in the third tier.".
Are Americans "stupid", do not know where the house is expensive, where to blow up? Moreover, Tokyo is the capital, the symbol of the country, and there is no better target than this.
Lao Mei is "very bad", only because Tokyo at this time has long been "hairless". 260,000 buildings in the city center have been destroyed, hundreds of thousands of square kilometers have been razed to the ground, and the air is filled with the smell of corpses, which has long been a "purgatory on earth".
What made Tokyo so devastated, is there a weapon in the world that is more lethal than the atomic bomb?
It all starts with the revenge of the US military after the "Pearl Harbor incident".
revenge
December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, USA.
As commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Yamamoto made a desperate bet and successfully attacked Pearl Harbor, where the U.S. Pacific Navy was stationed.
The "Bushido Spirit" desperately and fiercely, blindfolded, headless flies on a plane to find someone to commit suicide. This lifeless style of play in front of him really scared the US military enough.
In this battle, the U.S. Navy suffered heavy losses, sinking 4 battleships and 28 large ships, killing 2403 officers and men and injuring 1178 people.
When the news of the success of the sneak attack reached Japan, everyone cheered, but Yamamoto looked indifferent and said only one sentence: "We just woke up a sleeping giant." ”
There are still people who are sober and self-aware. The United States, on the other hand, has exploded.
On December 8, 1941, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered a speech in Congress denouncing the evil deeds of Japanese imperialism. His emotions were impassioned, inspiring, and successful in stirring up the patriotism of the American people.
Finally, with the approval of Congress, Roosevelt successfully obtained the "long-awaited" world war ticket, and the United States officially declared war on Japan.
In the face of war, the United States came a little late, but it will not be absent. At this time, little Japan did not know how thick his "big brother" American family foundation was, and it was frightening to say it.
By the end of 1944, the United States produced 81.32 million tons of steel, compared with only 56 million tons in the Soviet Union, Germany, Britain, France, and Japan. Oil production accounts for 60% of the world's total production.
Throughout World War II, Japan built fewer than 70,000 aircraft. In 1944 alone, the United States built nearly 100,000 aircraft.
The Japanese Navy had only 29 aircraft carriers, and the United States built 147 aircraft carriers (113 were medium and light aircraft carriers) in one go from Pearl Harbor to the end of the war.
Yamamoto Isoroku said that there was nothing wrong with it, and this "big brother" Japan should not be provoked.
Dilemma
In the face of such a terrible "war machine", Japan is still very arrogant, but people really have arrogant capital, and the whole Pacific Ocean is currently its own backyard garden.
After pearl harbor, US President Roosevelt ordered: "We must retaliate against Japan, and the target of this revenge must be shocking enough, and it must make Japan feel enough pain." Because of this, we can beat the Japanese and hurt the Japanese. "
It is for this reason that Tokyo is out of luck.
How easy is it to bomb Tokyo? Because the US military could not even touch the gate of Japan at this time.
The U.S. military did not have a decent air base in the Pacific, and there were three aircraft carriers left in the Battle of Pearl Harbor. However, even if the aircraft carrier can be close to the Japanese mainland, the carrier-based aircraft on the aircraft carrier has limited range, and it cannot come back when it goes, and can only stop in the sea.
Just when the plan for an air raid on Tokyo was in a desperate situation, a U.S. military operations staff officer had a brilliant idea to solve the problem: "You can use an aircraft carrier to carry Army bombers and transport them to the vicinity of the Japanese mainland for bombing." ”
At 8:00 a.m. on April 18, 1942, Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle of the United States Air Force, escorted by the aircraft carrier Hornet, led 16 B-25 bombers directly into Tokyo.
They wanted to do a big job, but the Japanese army was already defensive during the day, but they came to scratch the itch of a boot, which was extremely embarrassing. A total of 90 Japanese buildings were blown up, killing dozens of poor people. Finally, there was not enough fuel and could only make a forced landing in China.
Although the losses caused by this raid were not large, it is said that it greatly boosted the morale of the US military. However, the Japanese army seemed to have taken medicine and began to retaliate wildly in the Pacific Theater.
"If God wants to destroy it, he must first make it crazy", the Japanese army soon revealed its flaws.
Eager to wipe out the U.S. naval forces once and for all, Sanben Fifty-Six hastily launched the Battle of Midway without adequate preparation.
In this battle, the U.S. military buried 4 Japanese aircraft carriers, along with hundreds of well-trained pilots, at the cost of an aircraft carrier.
After that, in the face of the attack of the US army, the Japanese Navy lacked pilots and could only be tired of coping, and collapsed all the way.
The battle became a turning point in the Pacific Theater.
In the early morning of June 15, 1944, under the cover of fierce naval guns, the U.S. Army successfully seized control of Saipan, Guam, and Tinian.
The U.S. military was about to cry, and finally in the middle of the Pacific, there was a base that could bomb the Japanese mainland at close range.
Monster
As the saying goes, good things come in pairs, and the "Super Fortress" B-29 bomber, which the US military spent a lot of money to develop, turned out to be born.
Equipped with four of the most powerful Type 3350 engines of World War II, the B-29 had a wingspan of 43.1 meters and a length of 30.2 meters, doubling the total weight of the large bombers of the time.
The B-29 can perform stratospheric high-altitude intercontinental flights, with a well-developed pressurized cockpit and personal life support system.
With a bomb load of 9 tons, a range of nearly 6,000 kilometers, a maximum speed of nearly 600 kilometers per hour, and a flight altitude of more than 10,000 meters, the B-29 set a number of bombing opportunities, worthy of the veritable "super fortress" in World War II.
Most of Japan's fighters could not fly at this altitude at that time, and even if they could, they could not catch up with the B-29.
This formidable behemoth, at the time, was simply an anti-heavenly presence, throwing off other bombers a few streets away.
The B-29 bomber was developed by Boeing for $600,000 a bomber, making it the most expensive bomber of its time.
The U.S. military did not lack money, and bought $3 billion in one go, even far exceeding the $2 billion research and development cost of the first atomic bomb.
The United States lacks nothing, let alone money, and in the matter of revenge, money is not a problem, face is.
Debut
Bombing Tokyo, the air base and bombers are all in place, only the East Wind is owed.
This East Wind is Curtis. General Li Mei, commander-in-chief of the 21st Bomber Unit, known as the "barbecue master", the "artist" who can turn airplanes into killing machines, was promoted from major to major general at the age of 37.
At the end of 1944, Li Mei had already bombed Germany for 1 year and 8 months in the European battlefield, accumulating rich experience in "barbecue".
During air raids on Nazi Germany, bombers often missed the best time and place to launch in order to avoid attacks on the ground, reducing the hit rate.
Subsequently, in order to hit the target more efficiently, Li Mei gave the pilot a death order not to allow the evasion of anti-aircraft fire on the ground. Since then, the accuracy of bombing has more than tripled, and the U.S. Tactical Flight Manual has been rewritten as a result of this article.
Germany then retreated, and Li Mei was sent to the Pacific Theater, where he was more needed, and his first mission was to bomb Japan.
At first, Li Mei adhered to the original air raid strategy and chose to attack during the day. However, due to the harsh weather in Japan, which is often windy and cloudy, the precision bombing tactics during the day are really not easy to use. In contrast, the B-29 bombers suffered heavy losses, with 29 bombers shot down.
Li Mei's debut is a bit crotch-pulling, but the "barbecue master" is not a waste of time.
Faced with this situation, in March 1945, After much deliberation, General Li Mei decided to make a desperate bet and play a big game: "Take the lives of 344 B-29 bombers and crew worth $400 million as a bet, and go out to attack Tokyo at night." ”
gambling
Li Mei was a staunch believer in strategic bombing, and he famously said, "Blow them up back to the Stone Age." ”
This time Li Mei was even more frantic.
Considering that most of the Japanese houses are wooden and particularly dense, Li Mei abandoned the blast bomb and switched to incendiary bombs, that is, napalm.
In order to improve the accuracy of the bombing, he ordered the pilots to follow the bombing single-aircraft instead of the tactics of bombing in formations. At the same time, the high-altitude bombing was changed to 1500-meter low-altitude dive bombing.
In order to increase the amount of ammunition carried, Li Mei ordered that only the necessary amount of fuel be retained and all weapons except the tail gun of the B-29 be unloaded, which increased the bomb load of each B-29 from an average of 3 tons to more than 7 tons.
Li Mei's strategy is very simple, that is, to take advantage of the darkness and find you to play with your life. I don't have anything anyway, i don't have a self-defense weapon with me, either you beat me to death or I'll let you cool down.
When the pilots heard the news, they were shocked and thought their commander was crazy, because he was risking the lives of all the B-29 bombers and crew members.
However, Li Mei believed that the night attack was unexpected, the attack was not prepared, and it would not be intercepted by Japanese fighters. And removing the cannon can also avoid accidental injuries in the dark.
Li Mei smiled, the world of masters, you don't understand, let's walk and see.
At this time in Tokyo, the streets are bustling, and the gambling game is about to begin.
bombing
On the afternoon of March 9, 1945, 334 B-29 bombers of the 21st Bomber Group took off from the Guam base and landed directly on Tokyo.
At about 1 a.m. on March 10, the B-29 bomber group reached the skies over Tokyo and began the planned low-altitude dive bombing.
Li Mei was right.
Japan's Zero fighters were not adapted to night combat, with only a small number of fighters taking off to intercept.
At this time, the skies over Tokyo had been occupied by the US military, and the B-29 could bomb as much as it wanted.
Although the Japanese anti-aircraft artillery was fierce, due to the lack of artillery aiming radar and the cover of night, the bombing of B-29 bombers could only be blindly shot at the air based on experience, and there was no way.
The two pilot planes rushed out first, dropping incendiary bombs along the cross-bombing route and drawing a large cross of fire over Tokyo.
And this cross of flames, but what descends is punishment. Subsequent bombers took this fire cross as a landmark, swooping like moths to the fire, dropping bombs, and climbing.
The incendiary bombs were the same as Li Mei expected, when the first batch of incendiary bombs landed, the houses instantly caught fire, burning into a sea of fire, smoke protruded, and the sky was reflected red.
The B-29 bomber flew through thick smoke and at an ultra-low altitude, wreaking havoc over the center of the spreading fire, like a ghost, frightening.
The fiery red sky reflected the top floor of the Parliament building in the darkness, and the whole city was as bright as the rising sun, and the sky was filled with smoke, black ash and flames blown by the wind.
The whole of Tokyo became a sea of fire, and the crackling sound of the burning fire, the cries and howls of the people, resounded through the night sky, like an ode to hell.
The central temperature of the fire is as high as 1000 degrees Celsius, the metal begins to melt, and even the water is directly "boiled" or even evaporated by the high temperature generated by the fire.
Napalm bombs continue to burn after they explode in the water. The man in flames hurriedly jumped into the river, but was still burned alive.
In order to avoid incendiary bombs, people fled into the fortified Meijiza Theater, only to suffocate due to lack of oxygen, and two-meter-tall corpses were piled up in the courtyard.
The fighters continued to bomb over Tokyo for 2 hours, dropping more than 2,000 tons of incendiary bombs.
After the end of the US bombing, only 9 aircraft were shot down, 5 aircraft were forced to land on the sea, and all other bombers successfully returned to the base.
The bombing operation was so successful that the United States could have woken up laughing in a dream.
At this time, Tokyo was a purgatory on earth, with more than 400,000 square kilometers of the city center being razed to the ground, 260,000 buildings destroyed, 83,000 people killed, 100,000 people burned to serious injuries, and 1 million people homeless.
On May 26, 1945, 500 aircraft bombed Tokyo again, dropping 4,000 tons of incendiary bombs, and the situation was even worse than the first.
By June, incendiary bombs had burned 560,000 square kilometers of land in Tokyo, killing nearly 500,000 Japanese and displacing 8 million people. A total of 96 cities in Japan were bombed by the United States, and the destruction of large cities was basically more than half of the area, and the degree of death far exceeded that of the two atomic bombs.
Li Mei became famous in the First World War, which is the story of the famous "Li Mei Fire Attack" in history.
Emperor Hirohito of Japan was horrified after experiencing the bombing of Tokyo. The anti-war sentiment of the Japanese people has reached a climax.
The Japanese of World War II have always taken pleasure in hurting other countries, and when they face the damage themselves, they collapse in an instant.
On August 6 and 9, 1945, US B-29 bombers dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, "Little Boy" and "Fat Man".
On August 15, 1945, Japan announced its acceptance of the Potsdam Proclamation and surrendered unconditionally.
Every year on March 10th, Japan holds various events to commemorate the bombing of Tokyo, and dozens of surviving elderly people burn incense to mourn the victims and pray for world peace. But there are also a few Japanese right-wingers who claim that the U.S. bombing was a "massacre."
In that year, in retaliation for the help of Chinese residents to American pilots, the Japanese army carried out several sweeps in Zhejiang, killing 250,000 Chinese alone.
If the bombing by the US army is a massacre, then what did the Japanese army do to the Chinese people?
The Germans once said in reflection on World War II: "We must not forget the hellish scene of Dresden, Germany, after the Bombing of Dresden by the Allies." But let's not forget why it was bombed. ”
Do not do to others what you do not want. In the face of war and history, only by facing it squarely can we gain forgiveness and meet the future.
Germany has been forgiven by the world after reflection. Today, Japan still owes an apology to the people of the world.
. END .
【Text| If one ]
Edit | Daniel Lee]
【Typography | Drizzle】
Recommended articles in previous issues:
Xu Beihong painted a portrait of a young girl, the world does not know who it is? Widow: It is his lover Sun Duoci
Humiliated by Xu Beihong's two reports of divorce, Jiang Biwei decided to break up, leaving him penniless