"On September 30, Showa 16, the moon was like a hook, and there were no clouds. The four corps of our army have already set up their positions, and the 10 flags on the 25-kilometer-long front are facing each other in the distance. Artillery adequate...... There is no reason for this attack to be invincible. This is a passage written by Masaharu Honma, the commander-in-chief in charge of the battle on the Bataan side, in his battle diary that night.

According to Honma's estimates, victory should not be a problem, but it will take at least ten days to completely defeat the 70,000 or 80,000 American and Philippine troops.

On the other side of the battle line, 78,000 mentally exhausted US and Philippine troops are busy arranging defensive positions; although Chen Feng's unit has delivered supplies, compared with nearly 80,000 US and Philippine soldiers, the materials and ammunition that Chen Feng's unit can provide by less than 30 helicopters are far from satisfying the army's consumption, and the supply of materials is a drop in the bucket As a result, only 47,000 of the 78,000 US and Philippine soldiers are classified as "combat-effective," and three-quarters of these people are weak because of malaria.

Early in the morning of October 1, the weather was clear. At nine o'clock, after a hearty breakfast, the shelling began. Never before have the Filipino forces experienced such heavy artillery fire, as if the shells were exploding one on top of the other. The shelling reminded American veterans of the heaviest German artillery fire during the First World War.

Before the shelling stopped, the bombers of the 22nd Flying Wing of the Japanese Army flew in full formation and dropped a large number of bombs on the two-and-a-half-kilometer-long position in front of Mount Shamat. This is a new type of aerial bomb that the US military has never seen before, and the bomb does not explode once it touches the fortifications. It didn't explode until it got into the fortifications, and the fortifications built by the U.S. and Philippine troops were as vulnerable as paper paste in the face of Japanese bombs.

Of course, this is related to the quality of the US military's ground fortifications, especially due to the lack of earth, stone and concrete on the island, most of the fortifications are built with bamboo, wood and earth, and how strong the fortifications built by bamboo, wood and earth and stone can be.

Bataan Island has many bamboo forests, and after being shelled and bombed by the Japanese army, the bamboo clumps burst into flames. The U.S. and Filipino troops did not care about this phenomenon at first, and the soldiers even leaned together on burning bamboo branches to light cigarettes. Then, the bushes, which were dry like charcoal, caught fire. The heat is unbearable.

Both the American and Filipino soldiers jumped out of their bunkers. Flee to the second line of defense. Here, the trees have been bald by artillery fire, and the ground is almost uncovered. The defenders thought it should be safe. Unexpectedly, a gust of wind blew. Flames flew across the open field. Burned the dense woods behind. Now the soldiers were surrounded by fire. Hundreds of people were burned alive, and those who managed to escape the fire were like frightened beasts, desperately fleeing to the rear. Cause a panic.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, under the cover of smoke and fire, the Japanese infantry and tanks began to roll southward, barely receiving any resistance, and in just one hour they broke through a three-mile gap. Commander of the 2nd Philippine Corps, which guarded the eastern half of Bataan, George Brown. General Parker, who did not know the news until the evening, ordered a reserve force of 600 men to plug the gap, but it was too late.

By dusk the next day, Lieutenant General Akira Nara's forces had occupied the area west of Mount Shamat, and newly transferred reinforcements from Shanghai had surrounded the other side of the rocky ridge.

As U.S. and Filipino soldiers in the Shamat Mountain trenches saluted in the morning light, shells whizzed overhead. As soon as the artillery fire stopped, the Japanese began to climb the mountain, and shortly after noon, the Japanese had planted a sun flag on the summit. As expected by the Japanese base camp, as soon as the mountain was occupied, the entire Bataan defense line of the American army was crumbling.

In a desperate gamble, Parker ordered a counterattack, but was defeated. By noon the next day, the left flank of his corps had collapsed. In this way, there was no longer any force to stop the Nara troops from going straight to the end of Bataan.

While the left flank line collapsed, the right flank line was maintained. On the east side of Shamat, Clifford. Brigadier General Blummel tried to counterattack with the 31st Division, but the collapse of the defense line on the left flank forced him to retreat. Without receiving any orders, he began to build a new line of defense along the San Vicente River. Armed with a Garlender gun, he used intimidation and scolding to drive the demoralized remnants to a new position.

Hattori Osa from Tokyo stood on the top of Shamat Hill and watched the battle below, and as the most valued staff officer of the base camp, General Umezu Mijiro, she was one of the main planners of the Bataan Campaign.

Watching the battle below, he was extremely excited, and he was extremely proud to be a soldier of the empire that had succeeded step by step in the plan he had drawn up in Tokyo, not only for him, but also for the entire Empire of Japan.

Not far to the west, Hattori Osa could see the Nara troops sweeping mercilessly towards the scattered American troops like a tidal wave. To the east, troops transferred from Shanghai had begun to attack Bloommel's hastily erected new defensive line. By dusk, the only obstacle to Honma's complete defeat of the defenders was this line of defense—it wouldn't last long. At dawn, while on his rounds, Blumel came across a group of trucks heading backwards. "The San Vicente defense line has broken through!" An American soldier in the first truck shouted.

This time, even Blumel couldn't stop the rout. It was indeed terrifying to see the scene of the US troops fighting and fleeing for a while, and a group of Filipino soldiers rushed towards him. He ordered them to stand in line on both sides of the road with his gun, and suddenly, a cannonball exploded on the road, followed by one after the other. The soldiers fled south from his side. The general was furious and tried to grab a few, but he couldn't catch any of them.

The defenses on Bataan Island finally collapsed, and by the time news of the defeat of the defenders at the front reached the rear, the American and Philippine troops and civilians in the rear were in despair. The vast majority of the soldiers abandoned their positions before the Japanese arrived, and the fleeing American and Filipino troops came out of the jungle and flocked to the salient of the peninsula, some by trails, some over mountains and mountains, and some along the coastal road. There was chaos everywhere, and these exhausted people were driven by terror.

In Maliveles, a small town on the southern tip of Bataan, only a few boats are evacuating the remaining refugees to Corregidore, while others have been towed into the bay and sunk. The scattered groups of soldiers who had fled here watched the lucky few leave the docks: they were going to Corregidor to live comfortably with those who had fled the fighting—thirsty, watery, hungry, canned food, gentle nurses, who could sit peacefully in the Malinda tunnels and wait for a mile-long fleet to pick them up, and they would be heroes, and those whose bones were left in Bataan would be despised by the world because they had lost.

On the evening of 5 October, a distraught Wainwright telephoned King, the commander-in-chief of the Bataan Line, in the Malinda Tunnel at Corregidor and ordered him to send Jones's 1st Corps to attack north.

King relayed the order to Jones, who still replied bluntly: "Any attack is ridiculous and impossible." ”

Everyone knows that any further fight can only mean unnecessary casualties. At twelve o'clock that night, Kim summoned the chief of staff and the operational staff officer. There was no debate and the situation was hopeless. Wainwright did not dare to disobey MacArthur's clear order to attack to the end, but King decided to carry the burden himself.

As a commander, he knew full well that his actions would be to disobey military orders, and even if he could survive the United States, he would be court-martialed. But the lives of 78,000 soldiers were more important than his personal honor.

"I've decided to surrender Bataan!" This is Kim's decision.

"I didn't speak to General Wainwright because I didn't want him to take any responsibility." Kim told all the officers present that the meeting broke up after Kim made his decision.

Four hours later, the night officer in the Malinda tunnel reported to Wainwright that King had surrendered. The anxious General Wainwright shouted into the phone opposite: "Tell him not to do this!" ”

But it was too late, and Wainwright did not dare to slack off, and immediately sent a telegram to MacArthur: "At six o'clock this morning, without informing me and without my consent, General King unveiled the white flag to the commander of the Japanese army. When I heard this, I personally did not agree with this move and gave instructions not to surrender. It was said that it was too late, that there was no way to change it, and that the action had already been taken......"

At nine o'clock, General Kim, who was physically strong, put on his most sturdy uniform and took his adjutant Achill. Major Tisdell and Wade. Major Cosren boarded the jeep and headed to the front, where he was to meet with the representative of the Japanese commander, Masaharu Honma, to discuss the specific surrender.

Geno Nakayama arrived in a shiny black Cadillac car, and Honma's senior operations staff officer asked Kim through an interpreter if he was General Wainwright.

"It's not. I am General Kim, the commander-in-chief of the Bataan forces. Kim replied.

"Go and find Wainwright, he doesn't come forward, the Japanese army can't accept surrender." Nakayama was puzzled and ordered.

"My unit is no longer a combat unit. I hope the bleeding stops. ”

"Surrender must be unconditional."

"Will our troops be treated well?"

"We are not barbarians. Are you willing to surrender unconditionally? ”

Kim nodded. He said his saber remained in Manila. As he spoke, he placed the pistol on the table

The U.S. and Filipino forces surrendered, and the only remaining Corregidor could not hold out for long, and the U.S. and Filipino forces seemed to have come to an end.

At the same time, in the Chinese battlefield, the largest encounter since the beginning of the war was about to break out, the most elite first division of the Japanese army and the 4th mechanized infantry division under Chen Feng had the same purpose, and met unexpectedly on the periphery of Tongliao, and a shocking encounter broke out. (To be continued......)