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  "Well thought out. Should we attempt to deceive the Japanese into thinking we won't attack Kyushu?"

  "Yes, sir," Marshall again responded. "And those efforts are called Operation Pastel. They involve feints at Korea and Formosa, as was discussed as our first option, along with a sham thrust toward the island of Shikoku, which is actually closer to Tokyo than Kyushu, but, again, out of land-based air coverage."

  Truman understood what he was hearing. The inescapable conclusion was that Kyushu was the only logical target. If the American military minds could realize that, so could the Japanese. "Gentlemen, will any of our deceptions work?"

  Marshall's expression changed to one of sadness. "Probably not, sir, or at least not to any great extent, but they must be attempted."

  "Then, General Marshall, what will the Japanese be doing on November first, 1945?"

  Marshall found it difficult to look Truman square in the eyes. "Mr. President, they'll be waiting for us on Kyushu with everything they have."

  CHAPTER 17

  Religion amused Col. Tadashi Sakei. Once it had been important to him, but that was when he had been very young and before so many of those he loved had been incinerated by the Americans. Since then he had seen the uselessness in believing in any god or gods who cared nothing for him. Thus, he became a convert to the cause of Japan and believed in it with zeal and fervor. Japan did care for him. Japan had nurtured and strengthened him. Japan was his god. Now he would repay her faith in him by protecting her with his life.

  On the other hand, he did nothing to discourage religious beliefs in others. It mattered nothing to him whether a person believed in the gentle Buddha, the ancient rites of Shinto, or even the confusing and ridiculed logic of Christianity. All that was important was that the believer dedicate his or her life to Japan.

  Thus, placing Emperor Hirohito in protective custody in a Shinto shrine near Nagasaki was an act of opportunity and expedience, not sacrilege. The Americans rarely attacked anything that looked religious, and he had gone to great lengths to keep his five-hundred-man Imperial Guards battalion dug in and out of sight during the day. Lookouts scanned the skies in all directions to watch for the enemy, who could drop like hawks on unsuspecting prey.

  Shinto stood for the "way of the gods" and was the oldest religion in Japan. Devotees worshipped many gods, called kami, which were the basic force present in trees, rocks, rivers, and other parts of nature. Japan was liberally sprinkled with shrines, and this was a fairly large one with several buildings, including a charming garden that had been well tended by the priests who had run the shrine.

  Sakei had chased off the religious occupants and installed Hirohito in the quarters of their senior priest. It was hardly palatial, but it was safe and secure. The buildings also kept most of his men out of sight while the others camped in a nearby grove and, to the extent possible, limited their movements to nighttime, when even the American predators slept.

  As he started to walk the dirt path to the nearby village, Sakei was confident that American planes would not notice one man walking along one of the miserable excuses for roads that were so typical of Kyushu. He looked to his right and was dismayed by the sight of a score or so of his soldiers running in a single line across a field. It was probably a work group, and he made a mental note to find out who was in charge of them. He would give that unfortunate soul a harsh lesson in the virtues of staying out of sight during the day. Their officer probably thought it was safe to cut across the field since none of their hand-cranked sirens had gone off in a while, as they did several times each day to warn of American planes prowling the sky.

  Sakei ignored the virtually omnipresent and high-flying bombers as they were off to bomb the cities and other major targets, but the swooping and darting fighters and dive-bombers were another matter. They were the ones that sniffed out the smaller targets and went after them like birds of prey after rodents in a field.

  Sakei looked down the road and saw the man he wished to meet, Captain Onichi, the senior kempei officer in the area. In deference to the fuel shortage, the overweight captain rode a bicycle, with some difficulty, and a rare smile crossed Sakei's face. He had no love for the kempei, but the secret police, or "thought police," had their purpose. He could only wonder, however, just why the fat kempei captain wished to meet him under these private and discreet circumstances.

  Before he could go farther, a dark shadow crossed over Sakei, and he heard the shriek of engines as the gust of air swirled dust around him. It was an American plane and it had passed just a few feet over his head.

  He watched in horror as the work party scattered in blind panic with many of them heading for the presumed safety of the shrine buildings. Perhaps the plane hadn't seen them as it swept by, but then he remembered- the Americans never flew alone.

  The second plane roared overhead with its guns spitting at the prey the first one had flushed. Rows of dirt exploded in the field, sending soldiers tumbling and flying, landing in bloody heaps. Within seconds, the first plane returned and it strafed the shrine, while the second sliced bloody ribbons in the grove where so many of his men were bivouacked. Sakei could only hope that his men had made it to the protection of the numerous slit trenches dug in the area.

  In the grove, a soldier with more bravery than sense fired on the Yanks with a machine gun and drew the attention of a fighter, which silenced it with one savage burst of gunfire.

  Sakei lay by the road as the planes made repeated passes in an arrogantly leisurely and lethal manner. For long minutes there would be relative silence, with only the distant whine of the planes' engines and the cries of the wounded to be heard. Then the screech of the fighters and the cacophonous chatter of machine guns as they sought targets became deafening. At least there were no bombs or rockets. The racks under the planes were empty. They had been dropped on targets elsewhere.

  After a while, the planes bored of the game and flew off, or perhaps they were out of ammo. Sakei got to his feet and ran toward the priest's quarters. If Hirohito was dead, Sakei would have failed in his duty and the missing Crown Prince Akihito would be emperor. It could not be!

  It wasn't. Sakei found Hirohito in the doorway to his quarters. He was covered with dirt and his glasses were askew, but he seemed unharmed, although obviously shaken. He heard from a noncom that the emperor, on hearing the attacking planes, had virtually flown into a trench to save himself. Sakei was pleased. Let the Son of Heaven know a soldier's fear.

  Hirohito dusted himself off and acknowledged Sakei's existence. "Ah, Colonel, another Japanese victory, is it not? Very soon the Yanks will run out of bullets and surrender, won't they? After all, that is Anami's plan, isn't it?"

  Sakei bowed respectfully and ignored the sarcasm. This time Hirohito was right. Japan had no roof to deflect the rain of American bombs and bullets. "I am glad you are unharmed."

  Hirohito straightened his glasses. "As you should be. What went wrong with your precautions, Colonel?"

  Good question, Sakei thought. The obvious culprit was the ass who'd sent that group of soldiers across the field. If he wasn't already killed by the fighters, Sakei would have him shot. He felt only slightly shamed that the men in the field had broken and run. He wondered what he would have done had he seen a plane aiming its guns directly at him.

  But the American planes had taken them all by surprise. "It appears, Your Majesty, that the Americans have adopted flying extremely low as a surprise tactic. We shall have to be even more vigilant on your behalf."

  Hirohito made a small noise that might have been either a snort or a derisive laugh and disappeared inside his quarters.

  "Colonel?"

  Sakei turned quickly. He had forgotten the kempei officer who'd been cycling down the road to meet him. The man was disheveled and wide-eyed with scarcely controlled fear.

  "Captain, I see you too survived our little adventure."

  "Happily, yes, Colonel. Do you have a moment to talk now? I did tell you it was a matter of ur
gency and importance regarding your honored guest."

  Sakei had informed the local kempei commander that the emperor was under guard at the shrine. It was only logical since the kempei would wonder what was going on and expend a lot of effort finding out anyhow. Besides, the kempei were allies, however unsavory they sometimes were.

  The captain looked around where the numerous dead were being stacked and the wounded were being treated. Blood was everywhere and the sounds of pain filled the air. Sakei looked around as well and grimaced. His battalion had been cruelly punished for one man's mistake.

  "What I have to tell you, Colonel, may cause you to wonder whether this raid on the shrine was an opportunistic accident or an attempt by the Americans to assassinate our emperor."

  Sakei almost staggered. "What?"

  The captain bowed slightly. "Last night we managed to confirm the existence of either a spy or a traitor in this area. I think we should consider the possibility that the emperor's location was given away to our enemies."

  Sakei's hand went instinctively to the handle of his sword. Murder the emperor? Why not? The Americans had been guilty of such criminal acts in the past. After all, hadn't they assassinated the revered Admiral Yamamoto by ambushing his plane with their fighters while he was on an inspection mission?

  The more he thought of it, the more likely it became. "How?" Sakei demanded.

  "We have intercepted what we strongly believe are signals to the Americans that emanate from a clandestine radio in this area. While we were never able to pick up all the transmission, we did record parts and have had them decoded. It was a simple code so it didn't take long to break. They are in English and tell of conditions here on Kyushu."

  Sakei nodded grimly. "We must catch that spy and stop him." And I must make other plans for Hirohito, he added to himself. He must become even more stealthy in his actions. The Americans were too strong to confront with strength. He would keep Hirohito alive with cunning.

  CHAPTER 18

  "Welcome back to Okinawa, General Monck. We all trust you had a fruitful journey."

  "Up yours, Colonel Parker," General Monck said in a low voice that could not be heard by others. Parker's promotion to lieutenant colonel had come through shortly before Monck's officially taking over the regiment. This made Parker the second-in-command.

  Parker ignored him. "And how were things on Mount Olympus this time, and aren't you just a little late getting back?"

  Monck threw his bag of spare clothing on a table. With the exception of a couple of NCOs who were monitoring radios and pretending not to listen, he was alone with Parker in the regiment's command tent.

  "We had to take a detour around a pretty big storm that's out there. In case you hadn't noticed, it's getting cloudy and might just rain."

  Monck marveled at the changes only a few days away had wrought. The entire island of Okinawa looked as if it were nothing less than one giant staging and training base for American military might. Here, where his regiment was bivouacked, was a giant tent city, and scores of them were elsewhere on the island. A couple of miles away, an enormous air base was being built near the ruined city of Kadena, with other, similar fields under construction elsewhere. It was incredible and Monck was proud to be a part of it. Even though he had his own share of misgivings, sights such as this made him confident that the United States would prevail against Japan.

  "For your information, Parker, not all the gods were at Olympus, otherwise known as Guam. MacArthur deigned not to come. Instead he sent Eichelberger and Krueger, and they met with Nimitz and his staff. When I looked around, I realized that I was one of the lowest-ranking men invited to that conference."

  "Did you meet Nimitz?"

  Monck smiled. "Yeah, and he's really a pleasant, gentlemanly sort of man. Very easygoing. I even got in a game of horseshoes with him. His staff makes him play each day to keep him relaxed and healthy. Spruance was there too, and he's sort of the same way. Halsey's out blasting the Jap shoreline. Nimitz's staff reflects his attitude. Very friendly and helpful. Not at all like MacArthur's, although Eichelberger and Krueger tried hard to be cooperative, and, in the main, they succeeded." Monck shrugged. "Maybe it was better that MacArthur didn't come. Along with his ego, he would have brought Sutherland and Willoughby, and those two have caused trouble in the past."

  Parker pulled out a cigarette and offered one to Monck. They lit up and Monck drew a deep breath. "The invasion is still on for November first. We are designated I Corps reserve. I Corps consists of the 25th, 41st, and 53rd divisions, and we'll be going in on X plus one or two depending on the circumstances. I Corps will be attacking north of Ariake Bay and near a town called Miyazaki. XI Corps will be on I Corps' left and will consist of the First Cav, the Americal Division, and the 43rd Infantry."

  "And the marines?" Parker asked.

  "They will land to the west of Kagoshima Bay on a spit of land called the Satsuma Peninsula. The V Amphibious Corps consists of the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Marine divisions. All of this is the Sixth Army and General Krueger commands it, with MacArthur working his magic from the Philippines."

  Parker had known some of it as rumors had been rampant for weeks. "Incredible" was all he could think to say as he considered the scope of the coming operation.

  Monck chuckled. "Oh, there's more. IX Corps will stage a two-division diversionary thrust towards the island of Shikoku just before X-Day. They have the 81st and 98th divisions. Follow-up forces are the 11th Airborne and the 77th Infantry, and, oh, yes, let's not forget the 158th Regiment, which will land on a couple of small islands off Kyushu just prior to X-Day."

  "Are we still part of the 41st?"

  They stepped outside and walked a little ways away from the tent. The fresh air smelled good. Monck blew a fairly decent smoke ring that the wind quickly took away. "Who the hell knows. For administrative purposes, I guess so, but General Swift- he's I Corps commander- made it plain that we could be plugged in anywhere. By the way, with X-Day only three weeks away, we've got to step up training even more than we have."

  Parker nodded, although privately wondering just how the men could work harder than they were. "Don't you think we should give them some rest before we go in?"

  "Hell no!" Monck responded vehemently. "I want these people worked. The last thing I want is for someone to die because we didn't prepare them well enough when we had the time. I don't think I could live with myself with that knowledge. And I don't want them to have too much time on their hands to think about what's going to happen when they hit Kyushu. They get time off to go to church on Sunday and they get to see any USO shows that happen by. Oh, yeah, I heard that Bob Hope will be out here in a week or so."

  Parker whistled. "Wow, I guess we really are important."

  Monck couldn't keep from grinning. "Are you being sarcastic?"

  "Just a little, General. Did you find out anything else that we should know about our role and the invasion?"

  A gust of rain-tipped wind threatened to take General Monck's cap, and he had to grab it with his hand to keep it from flying off. "I found out some more about Kyushu, and none of it is good. Like we've been told, the island itself is volcanic and rugged, with mountains in the center, and steep hills and deep valleys running all the way to the coast."

  "Mountains?"

  "Nothing like the Alps or even the Rockies, but they go up quite sharply to maybe two thousand feet in the invasion area. We won't even be landing on a beach per se because there aren't any. There's a small one in Ariake Bay, but it's not for us. When we get out of our landing craft, we start climbing over that hilly volcanic soil almost right away. Kyushu's so desolate that only about ten percent is under cultivation, and that in a land desperate for food. That fact kind of surprised me. I always thought Japan was one great big rice paddy once you got out of the cities."

  Parker shook his head sadly. "Steep hills and valleys means no armor."

  "We'll have tank support, but there'll be no massed armor attacks. The difficult
terrain also means that many of our units will be cut off from each other while they advance, and coordination will be extremely difficult. We'll be lucky to function in battalion-sized units, much less division or corps."

  "Then not working with the 41st is no great loss," Parker mused, and Monck agreed.

  Monck looked at the sky. It was getting darker by the moment and the rain was beginning to come down heavier. The two men turned and walked toward the command tent. "You've seen the maps," Monck said. "There aren't very many roads on Kyushu, and those that do exist tend to be sunken, which makes them readymade ambush sites and strongpoints. Just like here on Okinawa, there'll be a lot of caves and bunkers for the Japs to hide in and for us to root them out of. The valleys that run inland all tend to end in sharp inclines, which will make vehicular traffic almost impossible."

  "Marvelous," Parker murmured. "And they've had all these months to prepare for us. Did you get a feel for Jap numbers, or does MacArthur still think it'll be a walkover?"

  Monck chuckled grimly. "Without MacArthur gracing us with his presence on Guam, there was a fairly frank exchange of opinions, and it does look like Eichelberger and Krueger have pretty well convinced Mac that his estimates are way too low. A couple of months ago, the guess was maybe one hundred and twenty-five thousand Japs on Kyushu; now the intelligence boys are estimating maybe half a million, with more coming each and every day. The only good news is that most of them are still in the northern portion of the island and having the devil's own time getting to the southern part because of our air superiority. Oh, yeah, they know that we're coming, and it looks like they've figured out exactly where we'll be landing."