At the end of January 1902, a search and rescue team consisting of a company of the Eighth Division of the Army found a Japanese non-commissioned officer at a distance from Hakkoda Mountain in Aomori Prefecture, Japan.
When he was found, he was covered with a thick layer of snow. The whole person was standing in the snow like a statue. He looked in a trance and kept chanting: "Captain Shencheng, Shencheng Captain."
The search and rescue team judged that Captain Shencheng should be nearby. Sure enough, the bodies of Captain Shencheng and two other soldiers were found not far away.
Although Captain Shencheng was rescued, his whole body was frozen and stiff. The medical staff couldn't even penetrate the needle. In the end, there was no way to inject the medicine into his tongue. The rescued Captain Shencheng only woke up for a moment, and he didn't even have time to say a word, and his life was over.
Picture-The Japanese soldiers who died in a group freeze
During the search and rescue process, the rescue team encountered 14 people, and only 11 people survived in the end. When this team set off, there were a full 210 people, that is to say, nearly 200 people were killed in this march on Hakkoda Mountain.
From the mouth of the survivors, we know what happened at that time. Even though it has been a century, the content described by these witnesses still sounds creepy.
So what happened in the Hakkoda Mountains that year?
Picture-4 of the survivors of frostbite amputation
Military training in cold weather
In 1902, that is, the 35th year of Meiji, Japan, there was constant friction between Japan and Russia, and both sides were ready to go. A frame. Especially after the "three-nation intervention to return Liaoning" incident, Japan hated Russia even more, and the army entered intensive preparations to deal with the possible outbreak of war between Japan and Russia at any time.
According to the original plan, Japan tried to occupy the land of Northeast China after defeating Russia.
After entering winter, the climate in Northeast my country is very cold.Northeast my country borders Russia. Because of Russia's higher latitude, the Tsarist Russian army has become accustomed to the cold climate.
However, the Japanese army is different and lacks combat experience in cold regions. what should we do? The ambitious Japanese came up with a "brilliant" idea at this time, that is, organizes a simulated cold zone combat training on its own.
With this idea, the Japanese army immediately decided to launch a simulation training in the winter of that year and handed over the task to the 8th Division of in Hirosaki City , .
According to the original concept, if the battle against Russia fails, then the Russian army may land in the northeastern region of Honshu Island to the Japanese mainland. Then the Eighth Division will bear the brunt, and it is very likely that it will face the Hakkoda Mountain area and Russia in winter. Army combat.
After receiving the task, the choice of training location becomes the top priority. In the end, the Japanese army chose Aomori Prefecture, the northernmost part of Honshu and the climate closest to the northeast, as its training site.
Picture-Hakkoda Mountain (a scenic spot in Aomori Prefecture, Japan)
Let’s first talk about Hakkoda Mountain. This mountain is located in the central part of Aomori Prefecture and is full of volcanic groups, forests, swamps and wetlands. Due to different geographical conditions It is suitable for human habitation, so there is no one here. Especially in winter, where the snow and ice are here, even local experienced hunters dare not cross easily.
But Japanese soldiers always have a kind of fascinating self-confidence, as if there is no place in the world that cannot be conquered by them. Don't look at a small country that is just a small place, but it's so aggressive that you don't even know your mother.
Therefore, although these people lack experience and relevant equipment, once the sturdy energy comes up, there is nothing impossible.
Figure-Teams participating in this training
Preparations before training
The teams participating in this training are divided into two teams.A team of 210 people, led by Captain Fumichi Shincheng Fumiyoshi , is from the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Eighth Division of the Army, which departed from Aomori Prefecture.
The other team is led by Fukushima Taizang Captain , with a total of 37 people. The soldiers are from the 31st Wing. There is also a reporter accompanying the team, which departs from Hirosaki Prefecture.
On the day of January 23, 1902, the two teams were divided into two groups and went up the hill. Many soldiers didn't know that the road they took was actually their own way of death.
Fukushima Taizo is a very cautious person. Before the training started, he made careful preparations. He spent three years preparing and investigating. The route is Hirosaki→Towada Lake→Mibongi→Tashiro→ Aomori→Nanioka→Hirosaki , the whole journey is 224 kilometers, and it is expected to take 12 days. .
Figure-Route overview map
Fukushima Taizang summed up a few experiences after he communicated with local experienced villagers, and decided to let the troops go on the road lightly, only bring enough food for a week, and look for villages along the way Replenish.
In order to avoid frostbite of the soldiers, he asked the soldiers to sprinkle chili powder on the straw insoles to promote blood circulation in the feet. In order to prevent soldiers from falling behind during the march, Fukushima Taizo specially prepared a thick hemp rope, and everyone was tied with hemp rope, so as to ensure that no soldiers would be lost.
In order to ensure the success rate of training, Fukushima Taizo deliberately chose from the soldiers who were born in the mountains and had rich experience. And he also spent money to hire a guide to avoid getting lost in an unfamiliar environment.
Finally, Taizo Fukushima successfully completed the task in only five days. Except for a soldier who returned halfway with a leg injury,All other soldiers returned safely after completing their missions.
But the soldiers on Shencheng Wenji's side are not so lucky.
Picture-Before the departure of the Aomori 5th Wing
The purpose of this snowy mountain march is not only to exercise the Japanese soldiers' ability to march in severe cold weather, but also to prove that the Japanese army can achieve the entire operation in severe cold conditions. The establishment of full equipment and combat operations.
Therefore, during this training, Wenji Shencheng received an order to load living supplies and combat equipment through sledges. In this way, even if Russia launches an offensive against Japan, the Japanese army can also realize the possibility of transporting supplies in severe cold weather.
But these sledges are very heavy, weighing 80 kilograms, which is already the weight of an adult male. With these supplies, each sledge requires at least four soldiers to pull, and the physical strength of the soldiers is also very high. .
And the day they set off was the coldest day in Japanese modern history.
Without sufficient preliminary preparations, coupled with huge luggage, the final tragic ending seems to be expected.
Hakkoda Mountain that can't discern the direction
Although Fumiyoshi Kaminari is young, he has rich combat experience and is the designer of this exercise route. But at this time there was a wave of bewildering operations in the Japanese army, and that was the arrangement of the captain of the second brigade [shèn] .
According to reason, Shencheng Wenji is the commander-in-chief, but the senior officer crushes people to death. At the critical time, is it true that Shencheng Wenji is the one who listens to Shencheng Wenji or Yamaguchi?
The more puzzling operation is that before departure, Yamaguchi Shaozuo found an excuse to let other officers observe the training, stick to their own opinions, and bring a group of mid- to high-level officers with no experience in cold regions.
Picture-Shencheng Wenji
January 23, 1902Accompanied by the loud military singing, the soldiers walked towards the mountain with their heads high. When we arrived at Tianmogino, according to the weather forecast at that time, Hakkoda Mountain was about to usher in a cold current. The locals suggest that it is best not to go up the mountain. If you have to go to the mountain, you must hire a guide.
Military doctors also believe that forcibly marching may cause large-scale frostbite. For the safety of soldiers, they should go back and get some heating equipment. Others suggested that Yamaguchi should hire a guide, after all, he was about to encounter extreme weather.
But at this time, Yamaguchi actually refused to hire a guide on the grounds that the guide's asking price was too high.
It is true that not all Japanese non-commissioned officers are like this, the earth can be conquered by themselves, let alone a small Hakkoda mountain? Anyway, there is the compass and the map. Are you afraid that you can't find the direction?
You see, people just can't be too arrogant, or the slaps come too fast, but the cost of this slap in the face is too great, it is 200 lives!
Picture-Yamaguchi
The first day was normal, and everyone still camped according to the original plan.
But the next day, there was a sudden change in the climate early in the morning. The Hakkoda Mountains began to turbulent winds. After a while, there was a heavy snowstorm, and the temperature dropped to minus 20° or even lower in an instant.
The intense snowstorm made the snow on the road deeper and deeper, and the sled team carrying supplies was gradually left behind. Many soldiers suffered from frostbite, and the marching speed became slower and slower.
Watching the soldiers fall down one after another, Shencheng Wenji wanted to return to the voyage, but the heavy snow turned the land into a vast white country, and it was impossible to tell where the road was.
However, the true commander of this team Yamaguchi Yu didn't mean to stop the team. Yamaguchi felt that such a bit of wind and snow, how could the Japanese samurai bend? But at this time, due to the extremely low temperature, the compass has failed and it is impossible to distinguish the direction at all.The team has lost its way.
At this time, there were voices in the team, expressing their dissatisfaction. However, Yamaguchi believes that the distance from Tashiro Kino to the Tashiro refuge with hot springs is actually not far, about ten kilometers, so it must be possible to get there before dark.
can go until about 5 pm, at this time the sky has started to darken, and I still haven't seen the hot spring I want to see. They had to abandon the heavy sleigh, and all the soldiers shared all the supplies, which further caused the marching speed to become slower.
Many soldiers began to experience severe frostbite, and even one soldier had frozen to death, and morale became increasingly sluggish. Yamaguchi continued to "cheer up" for everyone, let everyone cheer, and soon they will be able to soak in the hot springs in Tashiro.
I walked until 8 o'clock in the evening, and everyone couldn't walk anymore. The soldiers were unfamiliar with the surrounding environment in the snowstorm and heavy snow, and they couldn't judge their position by the astrology. Eventually, a large number of soldiers disappeared and were frozen to death in the mountains. Many of these missing soldiers are engineers who are responsible for carrying camping equipment.
So the troops decided to camp in place and dug a few snow trenches on the spot. But because the snow is too cold, the soldiers can only stand and rest. Anyway, you don’t need to walk with weights anyway. You say rest is rest.
Picture-Japanese soldiers dig a snow trench to hide
The cooking class began to prepare a fire for cooking, but they dug several meters of snow and did not dig into the ground. Everyone is cold and hungry, so it won’t be a problem to wait any longer! Simply set up a fire on the snow and set up the pot.
But at this time, the heavy snow fell sternly, the ground thickened at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the fire that had just started was quickly extinguished by the heavy snow.
finally lit the fire, but the flame melted the snow beside the firewood, causing the firewood pile to collapse, and the pot fell again. After tossing back and forth countless times in this way, I finally cooked a pot of raw rice.
Who would have thought that such a pot of raw rice would become everyone's last meal.
Actually, the place where the team camped is only 1.5 kilometers away from Tashiro Hot Spring.
Picture-Ukiyo-e marching in the snow
The Aomori team with nowhere to go
Taking advantage of the rest time of the players, Yamaguchi Yu and Kaminari Fumiyoshi talked in a low voice, believing that the goal of training has been achieved. There is no need to continue marching forward, it is better to put it back in the same way. The god Cheng Wenji, who was constrained all the way, was overjoyed when he heard this idea, and immediately agreed.
At 2:30 in the morning, the company was out of camp and set off. But not long after they set off, they were once again lost. Because there is no way to accurately identify the direction, everyone can only rely on their intuition to walk forward, hoping to reach the nearby villages.
But destiny played a joke with them again. They hit the cliff and had to go back the same way and find a new route. The original uniform structure of the troops has become chaotic. More than 70% of the soldiers have died or are missing, and morale has fallen to the bottom.
On the 25th, this man and horse once again began their "death march". At this time, the surviving soldiers have changed from 210 to 30 at the beginning.
After fourteen or five hours of continuous march, the team only walked forward 700 meters.
The soldiers at this time were already exhausted, and they hadn't entered the water for more than ten hours. In order to reduce the load, the soldiers in charge of the supplies had already lost the supplies. The only food that everyone carried with them was steamed buns and cans.
But in such extreme cold weather, steamed buns and canned food have long been frozen as hard as rocks, and there is no way to eat them. The soldiers could only watch the food, but couldn't eat it at all.
Everyone was desperate to the extreme. Some soldiers began to shout, "Let’s jump off the cliff!" Even Shencheng Wenji was no exception. He was very pessimistic: "God has abandoned us!"
Emergency search and rescue
God Cheng Wenji issued the last military order, that is, to allow those who are able to escape to escape as soon as possible and seek rescue in nearby villages.
Everyone is divided into two ways, each going to different directions. Whoever finds the rescue force first is responsible for bringing people over.
Shencheng Wenji chose the right route, and he can come to a village on the side he walks. But his body is very weak now, and he no longer has the strength to move forward. He chose to stay where he was, and hug other soldiers who were equally weak, waiting for the pity of death or fate.
Another small group of soldiers did not go far before they found themselves on the edge of the cliff, and there was no way to go in front of them. Due to the fact that the marching for the past few days has consumed a lot of energy, and has not eaten for a long time, the body has been weakened to the extreme, so this group of people stayed quietly on the edge of the cliff, waiting for the rescue of others.
The base camp waited from left to right, but never waited for the return of Shencheng's troops. Everyone felt that something was not good, so a rescue team was urgently dispatched. But how difficult is it to find someone in the ice and snow?
The search and rescue team quickly spotted a soldier standing in the snow. He was already dead, but still carrying his gun. Although the consciousness was blurred at the time, after seeing the search and rescue team, he still murmured: "Captain Shencheng."
The search and rescue team thought that Captain Shencheng might be nearby, so this talent would behave like this. . So he hurried to the surrounding area to search, and he found Wenji, the god who was dying, and the corpses of two soldiers who had died.
Because the whole body was already stiff, the needle could not penetrate the skin at all, so the medical staff of the rescue team had to inject the medicine into Wenji Shencheng's tongue. But Shen Cheng Wenji's life had come to an end, and he could not be saved in the end.
Picture-Hokkaido hunters in the search and rescue team
Later, the search and rescue team found a large number of bodies in this team one after another. Only 14 people were alive encountered before and after, and the ones who survived finally survived. There are only 11 people. Among these 11 people, except for three who are recovering better,Others have lost their limbs due to frostbite.
The search and rescue lasted for several months. It was not until May of the same year that the body of the last soldier killed was found.
Of course, the "aspiring" wound, Shao Zuo was also rescued, but during the treatment in the hospital, he suddenly died of cardiac palsy.
This result makes many people unable to accept, always feel that it is foggy. Therefore, many people speculate that Yamaguchi may have been assassinated by the military because he was identified by the military as the main person responsible for the accident.
Picture-4 of the survivors of frostbite amputation
A team of 210 people, due to paralysis and the inherent bravery of the Japanese army, resulted in the death of 199 people, and the serious consequences of eight people with severe injuries and disabilities. The family caused tragedy.
The death of a march in the snow at Hakkoda Mountain in Aomori Prefecture has also become the most serious mountain disaster in modern Japanese history. Later, Japan also made this incident into a movie, which restored the original appearance of the incident to the greatest extent, and aroused people's reflection and deep thinking.
But the tragic consequences this time are really due to nature? Obviously, Yamaguchi Shaozuo did not conduct meticulous analysis and planning. When he was not clear about the marching route ahead, he rashly decided to march because he was reluctant to spend money, did not hire a guide, and claimed that he was too talented, so he finally took this with him. The team came to a dead end.
Picture-the military bulletin on the matter at the time
Do anything at any time, don't be lucky. Be fully prepared, there will be no chance.
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