Chapter 262

< World War II - Imphal (3) >

Border area between India and Burma, Imphal

The British Army they had looked down upon were men who had already experienced a bloody battle with the French Army in Europe and overcome the civil unrest in India.

The Ethiopian Army, whom they had treated as mere slaves, were from the only nation in Africa that had defended its sovereignty, which was their pride, and they even had equipment and a Military Advisory Group received from Germany.

The Empire of Japan's offensive did not even last 10 days, and as soon as the offensive was stalled, a counterattack by the thoroughly prepared Allied Forces commenced.

"The British Army and the Ethiopian Army have begun a counterattack! Our friendly forces are being pushed back helplessly!"

"K-Kohima is said to have fallen!"

Amidst the grim reports flying in, the 31st Division Commander Sato Kotoku ground his teeth and opened his mouth.

"In this situation, they're telling us to continue the attack?"

Silence hung over the headquarters.

The end of the ridiculous operation to cross the jungles and mountain ranges and make Imphal fall within 20 days was disastrous.

The Japanese Army suffered more losses from Mother Nature itself than from the Allied Forces, and now they had no food, ammunition, or anything else left.

"Our enemy is not the Allied Forces. It's those damn Superiors."

Eventually, the 31st Division Commander Sato Kotoku jumped up from his seat.

"We can no longer waste time trusting those idiots up there! If we wait for their decision, our division will be annihilated! Therefore, I have made the decision to execute the retreat of this division through a unilateral action under my own responsibility!"

The occurrence of the Empire of Japan's very first mutiny shook the Japanese Army to its core.

---

June 22, 1942

Southern Burma, Rangoon

Mutaguchi Renya's Burma Area Army headquarters was in a state of chaos.

The telegrams from the frontline units expressing their concerns and difficulties regarding the operation grew increasingly intense, consumed by despair and pessimism.

At first, the headquarters sent telegrams casually telling them to put in more effort and strive harder just as Mutaguchi had instructed, but the telegrams flying in from the frontline units became increasingly filled with anger and resentment.

Eventually, as the incoming telegrams grew closer to saying 'If you don't issue a retreat order right now, we'll grab you bastards by the collars as soon as we make it out of here alive,' they couldn't bring themselves to send such replies anymore.

In the midst of all that, when the 31st Division's mutiny and withdrawal began, the Southern Expeditionary Army Group Headquarters, unable to just sit back and watch the situation anymore, came to check on the war situation.

The staff officers of the Burma Area Army looked at their Commander, who was sprinkling dirt on his own body, with dumbfounded faces.

Mutaguchi Renya gently sprinkled dirt onto his military uniform and then asked with a nervous face.

"How is it, can you feel the gruesomeness of the battlefield?"

It was absurd for a Commander, who was engaged in an act written as 'commanding' but read as 'spectating' from the rear area of Rangoon, to suddenly talk about the gruesomeness of the battlefield, but the staff officers reluctantly replied.

"…Y-Yes… Your Excellency the Commander."

Mutaguchi smiled contentedly at the staff officers' answer, and then went inside to face the personnel who had come from the Southern Expeditionary Army Group Headquarters.

"General Mutaguchi. What on earth is going on here?"

"We trusted and supported you because it was a plan backed by the Boastful Declaration of the general who made a bloodless entry into Indochina, but a mutiny? What exactly is the situation at the front right now?"

Mutaguchi Renya, covered in dirt, kept his silence with a face that looked like death.

"Come on, say something, Commander! Is the operation even proceeding properly?"

"The operation is… in progress."

"Then has the operation resulted in a failure?"

"…"

Mutaguchi put on the most pitiful facial expression he could muster, and tried his best to express an air of wanting to say something but not being able to bring himself to say it with his entire body.

Hoping that the Southern Expeditionary Army Group Headquarters would figure out his true intention on their own and issue an order to halt the operation or retreat.

"Come on, at least say something."

Of course, the men from the Southern Expeditionary Army Group Headquarters did not possess such mind reading skills.

"I apologize…"

Even while saying that, Mutaguchi never brought himself to speak of the operation's failure or halt until the very end.

He had also realized that the operation was a failure.

However, if he gave a report like that to the Superiors, everything would become his responsibility, so he had no choice but to continue the operation as is and wait for the Superiors to stop it for him.

Of course, with the person directly responsible keeping quiet, a scenario where the Southern Expeditionary Army Group Headquarters, who had only come to check the situation, took the blame instead was never going to happen.

After a long time of repeatedly questioning, remaining silent, and probing each other, Mutaguchi and the officials from the Southern Expeditionary Army Group Headquarters parted ways in frustration.

Ultimately, facing the worst catastrophic defeat in the history of the Japanese Army, the Superiors who should have issued the withdrawal order were busy with evasion of responsibility and didn't take a single measure.

---

Mother Nature.

The verdant vegetation, vast forests, and even the sounds made by birds and bugs.

It was a scene that would be endlessly beautiful to some, but to the Japanese Army trapped within it, it was a green desert of death itself.

There was no telling how many men had collapsed amidst the starvation and heat.

Not to mention the misfortune of suffering a raid by crocodiles or wild beasts, the sweltering summer jungle, which was hot enough to make even the healthiest people sick, was relentlessly harsh on the malnourished Japanese Army.

It was a situation where soldiers suffering from malaria and enteritis found it difficult to even maintain the frontline, let alone engage in a battle.

While they held onto the hope that a withdrawal order might finally be issued since General Sato's 31st Division had declared a mutiny and withdrawal, cruelly enough, the telegram sent by the Superiors was far from what they had expected.

[Sato disobeyed military orders and abandoned the front in the direction of Kohima.

To retreat arbitrarily, claiming he cannot wage a war because there is no food! Is this the Imperial Army? The Imperial Army must fight even if they have no food and even if they have no weapons!

If you don't have ammunition, you have bayonets. If you don't have bayonets, you fight with your bare hands.

If you can't use your bare hands, kick them with your feet. If you can't use your feet, bite them with your mouth!

Do not forget that Japanese men possess the Yamato Spirit.

Japan is the land of the gods. It is a nation protected by the gods! You must not give up the fight just because you lack weapons, ammunition, or food!]

For the Japanese Army, who had given up everything upon seeing such orders from the Superiors and had no strength left to put up a proper fight amidst the starvation and heat, a fluent Japanese broadcast played consecutively through loudspeakers.

[Your defeat has been decided! Surrender! Japan's claim that the Allied Forces are White Brutes is a complete fabrication! Prisoners of War will receive proper treatment in accordance with International Law, and we have enough food for you!]

White Brutes, the objects of their hatred and fear.

The Superiors had brainwashed them to death into believing that a Prisoner of War would be lucky to just be murdered, and if unlucky, they would suffer all sorts of hardships.

Thus, the situation where the Allied Forces were conducting a broadcast in Japanese urging them to surrender delivered no small psychological shock to the Japanese Army.

Naturally, there were no regulations or preparations for such a situation.

[Is there anyone among you present here who made the decision for this war? Are there any people among those Superiors who understand your suffering? Surrender! Do not suffer a senseless death for the Superiors who started this war anymore!]

This was the Japanese Army, which had been suffering from starvation and disease under the Allied Forces' offensive, waiting for an indefinitely delayed retreat order.

Once the very first surrendering unit emerged, everything proceeded at lightning speed from then on.

The broadcast urging surrender, initially conducted by the Korea Liberation Army, soon transitioned to the surrendered Japanese soldiers personally reciting their affiliated units through loudspeakers and testifying about their treatment.

Even those who were clinging to a delusional victory by claiming it was a deceptive warfare by the White Brutes could no longer hold out when their surrendered comrades testified that being treated as Prisoners of War by the white people was actually better.

The Japanese Army's surrender spreading across the Imphal front snowballed, and the Koreans dragged in as the Joseon Army joined the Korea Liberation Army right away as soon as they filled their stomachs with emergency food and received medical treatment.

A ridiculous situation ensued where the Japanese Army simply melted away like snow along the path of the Allied Forces' advance, while the military force of the Korea Liberation Army continued to grow.

All of this was achieved through the Great Feat of a single Japanese general officer.

---

June 24, 1942

Northwestern Germany, Wilhelmshaven – Naval port

"Hmm…"

While traveling in a car, I was reading the report from General Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma, the advisor of the Ethiopian Expeditionary Force, which had arrived from India.

General Alan Brooke was leading the Imphal Theater to victory alongside the Virtuous General of the Indian Garrison, General Auchinleck, and Ethiopia's General Mengesha.

Meanwhile, he was reportedly satisfied that the Korea Liberation Army's psychological warfare and Prisoner of War persuasion tactics, which we had prepared alongside the Republic of Korea KPG, were demonstrating tremendous effects.

The KPG's Korea Liberation Army might not be a helpful force as an armed group, but they would be more outstanding than anyone else within the Allied Forces for such feats, and the Joseon Army Prisoners of War absorbed in that manner would eventually accumulate into a proper military force in their own right.

The incredible performance of the Ethiopian Army was also favorable news considering our future plans.

It was partly thanks to the British Army trusting and utilizing the Ethiopian Army so they could perform well, so General Brooke or General Auchinleck were definitely better than that foul-tempered, greedy Montgomery.

Right about the time I was thinking that, the man sitting next to me opened his mouth.

"If Burma falls, the path to Siam, Indochina, and the Malay Peninsula will open up. Things are going smoothly, Minister?"

"That is correct, Your Majesty. …As long as the Allied Forces put up a good fight, the war will end quickly and the blood we spill will also decrease."

Wilhelm III nodded as if he were satisfied.

"Right. That was your ultimate goal, wasn't it?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Hmm…"

Wilhelm III stared intently at me with a smile on his lips.

"What is it, Your Majesty?"

"Your thought of not running in the election and just retiring once the war ends and you finish your term, is it still valid?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"…Do you really think that will go the way you want it to?"

At the Emperor's question, I smiled and replied.

"Well, we'll see."

"…"

Wilhelm III looked at me with a face somewhat mixed with dissatisfaction.

Come to think of it, when we first met, I never imagined we would end up having this kind of relationship.

I flashed a grin at the Emperor.

"Please don't worry too much, Your Majesty. I will wrap up the war properly first, and I have a plan for everything."

"…Since when did you know how to say such things?"

"Hahahaha…"

While I was doing that to my heart's content, Mr.

Berger's voice could be heard.

"We have arrived, Your Majesty. Minister."

"Mhm."

"Uuuugh…"

Let alone retirement plans, shouldn't I be worrying about my life right now?

We got off at the Wilhelmshaven naval port and greeted the Asia Expeditionary Force, which was about to depart for India.

"Everyone, attention! Salute His Majesty the Emperor!"

At General Walter Model's command, the waiting Officer Corps offered a salute with disciplined movements.

"I consider it an honor to see off the brave warriors who will be working hard for our Fatherland."

"The honor is entirely mine, Your Majesty."

While Wilhelm III shook hands with General Model, I felt like cold sweat was about to pour down my face.

…Clemens, Roger. Could you guys do something about those glares?

I wasn't even the one who sent you, I feel so wronged!

I had protested to Manstein after hearing the truth because I was so dumbfounded, but the personnel decision had already passed the point of no return, and on top of that…

-I did not lie, Minister.

I cancelled their discharge with my own hands and decided to take them with me personally.

I had no words in the face of such a brazen remark.

For some reason, this guy Manstein had adapted a little too well to me…

"Then I shall also look forward to the Luftwaffe's great performance."

"Leave it to me, Your Majesty! I will turn their self-proclaimed Empire into a sea of fire! Hahaha!"

…Richthofen also ultimately decided to head to Asia, practically shoving the role of Acting Chief of the General Staff onto Werner Mölders.

His problem is that he loves the field too much.

Arthur Harris should already be out in Asia; what kind of scene would it be if Harris, Richthofen, and LeMay gathered together?

I let out a small sigh and stood in front of General Model.

"General Model."

"Schacht."

We looked at each other, grinned, and shook hands.

"…I leave it in your hands, General."

"Trust me."

No further words were needed.

Manstein's operation and field Commander Model. If anything, we should be paying condolences to the opponent.

"Yo, Schacht."

"Haha… General Richthofen.

Um, is your body feeling a bit better?"

"Huh? Ah. Since I quit drinking, my headache is gone and I feel quite fine."

Richthofen grinned as he said that.

In original history, he died of a stroke, so I'm a little worried. It should be fine, right?

"Ah, right. I'm going ahead, but send me the prototype immediately once it's out."

Unlike the HeB 177 strategic bomber that came out as a heavily modified temporary measure, the new strategic bomber that Heinkel and Boeing are pouring their heart and soul into through a collaboration will be out soon.

…It must be the item that Richthofen has been eagerly waiting for.

"Haha.

Leave it to me. Um, well.

Please, go easy on them."

As long as the opponent is Japan, no one would suggest restraining from strategic bombing out of fear that the enemy might resist too fiercely, but in the end, it's not like there are absolutely no foreigners or Koreans in Japan, so I'm worried.

"Haha! I'll roast them just right!"

…I don't know if Richthofen properly understood the meaning behind my words.

I turned my gaze and looked at the Commanders of the Allied Powers shaking hands with the Emperor.

The Finnish Army, who had sent the renowned brothers Aarne and Eino Juutilainen despite their small military force; the Polish Army, who had sent General Stanisław Sosabowski; and even the Ukrainian Army, who would essentially take charge of the main force excluding the German Army.

Before even considering the size of the military force, their dedication will leave behind a bond within the Allied Forces that they fought together until the end of this war.

After shaking hands with them one by one, I reached out my hand while receiving piercing stares.

"…Have a safe trip.

'Major General' Fleck."

"…Thank you, Minister."

Hey, man! That hurts! I said it hurts! Ah, damn it, aren't you going to loosen your grip?!

"Your veins are going to pop, you should stop now.

General?"

Eventually, after Roger, unable to watch any longer, said a word, Clemens let go of my hand and spoke in a low voice.

"An incompetent Minister of Defense who can't even get one friend out…"

"Ugh, sorry. Sigh, I leave it to you, Roger."

"Tsk, honestly, I fell for my own trick, so what can I say…"

"You bad bastard, I trusted you!"

I left Clemens and Roger to bicker and reached my hand out to the woman next to them, feeling extremely awkward.

"…'Lieutenant' Juhlińska."

"Minister Schacht?"

Karina, who had been planning to become a doctor after being discharged, applied to enlist as an interpreter officer as soon as she heard Clemens was being dragged off to Asia.

The Polish Military, knowing the situation, gladly approved it, and she joined the Asia Expeditionary Force having been specially promoted to Lieutenant.

Juhlińska accepted my handshake and smiled brightly.

"My hometown has changed a whole- lot, it seems."

"Ahaha…"

Posen was practically entirely rebuilt into a planned city in a modern sense due to our job creation projects for the veterans and the Jewish People's resettlement.

She probably had thoughts of settling down in Posen once she married Clemens, but it must have been very different from the hometown she remembered.

Karina made me shrink back just by glaring at me.

Ah, honestly, I can't lift my head in front of this person…

Karina looked at me for a while and then smiled brightly as she spoke.

"I will see you when I get back."

…How good were her sniping skills again?

I feel more of a threat to my life now than when I stood up against the Nazi regime.

"Sigh, well then, I'm heading off."

"…Come back safely.

If you happen to even get hurt, I'll be so sorry that I won't be able to sleep…"

"Then get me out of this!!"

"No, so why did you cancel your discharge…"

"Aaargh! I want to scream at my past self! S T A Y!"

Clemens showed a regrettable side until the very end, but despite looking like that, he is secretly an intuitive Great General.

With General Model there, along with Roger and Karina, things will work out somehow.

Vinrich Behr, who had suddenly been requisitioned as an adjutant to Clemens and dragged off to Asia, looked to be in very poor spirits, though…

The Emperor and I watched the ships setting sail amidst the enthusiastic farewells of the citizens before turning our backs.

There is no need for Germany, which has overcome so many hardships, to worry about a war with the Empire of Japan.

The war is a matter for them and the Allied Powers to handle; from now on, I need to prepare for the post-war Germany.

"Then. Let us return, Your Majesty. There is a mountain of things to resolve before they return."

"That is your job to do, not mine."

"…"

Just you wait, I will also definitely retire and live a happy, leisurely life with my family…