『大東亜戦争で日本はいかに世界を変えたか』
加瀬英明著・KKベストセラーズ社刊
第六章 日本軍の精神第一主義
今回は、第六章です。
「諸国から訪れる旅人たちよ この島を守るために、日本国人がいかに勇敢な愛国心を以って戦い、そして玉砕したかを伝えられよ。
アメリカ太平洋艦隊司令長官 C.W. ニミッツ 」
これはペリリュー島に建てられた石碑に刻まれたニミッツ元帥の詩です。五倍の上陸部隊に対して日本守備隊は地下壕や洞窟にこもって７３日間にわたって奮闘したのでした。ニミッツは回想録の中で書いています。「ペリリューでは、アメリカ軍はアメリカの歴史において、どの上陸作戦にも見られなかった、４０％という最大の戦死傷率を被った」と。
アメリカ軍は、日本兵の心理を理解する事が到底できませんでした。アメリカ兵が生きるために戦うのに、日本兵が死ぬために戦うからです。ドナルド・キーン教授は著書『日本との出会い』（中央公論新社）のなかで、「大義のために滅私奉公する日本人と、帰郷以外のことにはまったく関心を持たない大部分のアメリカ人。日本の兵に対して賛嘆を禁じ得なかった。そして結局、日本人こそ勝利に値するのではないかと信じるようになった。」
神風特別攻撃隊が生まれたのもこのような考え方が母体になっているわけですが、それは次章で詳しく触れられることになります。
日本文は、http://hassin.org/01/wp-content/uploads/Greater66.pdf
英文は、http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/Greater6.pdf
英文は、下記の通り、英文Newsletter で海外に発信しました。
平成２８年３月２９日 「史実を世界に発信する会」茂木弘道拝
The Greater East Asian War: How Japan Changed The World
By Kase Hideaki
(Published by KK Bestseller in Japanese, 2015)
Chapter 6 – The Japanese Army’s “Spirit-First Policy”
This link is to Chapter 6.
On a stone monument on the island of Peleliu are engraved the words of Fleet Admiral Nimitz out of admiration of the bravery of Japan’s soldiers:
“Tourists from every country who visit this island should be told how courageous and patriotic were the Japanese soldiers who all died defending this island.” Pacific Fleet Command Chief (USA) C.W. Nimitz”
A garrison of about 10,000 Japanese fought an American landing forces five times their size for seventy-three days. Chester Nimitz, the Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet who led the operation to capture Peleliu, commented in his memoirs that, “overcoming the intricate defenses of Peleliu cost the attackers the highest combat casualty rate (nearly 40 per cent) of any amphibious assault in American history.”
The US Army could not possibly have understood the state of mind of Japanese soldiers. Because American soldiers fought in order to survive, but, as unbelievable as it was to the Americans, Japanese soldiers fought in order to die.
Professor Donald Keene wrote in his book, Meeting with Japan:
As I read the diaries of men who were suffering such hardships, it was impossible not to be moved. By contrast, the letters of the American sailors I had to censor once a week revealed no ideals, and certainly no suffering, but only their reiterated desire to return to their former lives… Throughout the war this contrast haunted me – the consecration of the Japanese to their cause and the total indifference of most Americans to anything except returning home… I could not help but feel admiration for the ordinary Japanese soldiers, and in the end I came to believe that the Japanese really deserved to win the war.”
Such a spirit, mind and way of thinking gave rise to the “Kamikaze Special Attack Units,” which will be detailed in Chapter 7.
URL: http://www.sdh-fact.com/book-article/661/
PDF: http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/Greater6.pdf
Author profile: http://www.sdh-fact.com/auther/kase-hideaki/
*For your reference; Chapter 1. Up to the Day Japan Surrendered
http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/The-Greater1.pdf
Chapter 2. The Trap Laid by the United States
http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/Greater2.pdf
Chapter 3. The Greater East Asia Conference and the Dream of Racial Equality
http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/Greater3.pdf
Chapter 4. The Noble Spirit Which Inspired the People of Asia
http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/Greater4.pdf
Chapter 5. Freedom From Racial Discrimination
http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/Greater5.pdf
Questions are welcome.
MOTEKI Hiromichi, Acting Chairman
for KASE Hideaki, Chairman
Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact