World War II: US bombing of Tokyo - like a purgatory on earth

There is a popular saying in the international community that there are no permanent enemies or friends. The seemingly close relationship between the United States and Japan, which used to be a long-standing feud, had a great time fighting each other during World War II.

The three most notorious fascist Axis powers in World War II were Germany, Italy, and Japan. In order to resolve irreconcilable domestic conflicts, they aimed their guns at neighboring countries and launched aggressive campaigns, with China being one of the biggest victims.

In order to counter the heinous acts of fascism, some countries such as the Soviet Union, Britain, and the Republic of China established alliances and confronted the three major Axis powers head-on, with each side winning or losing.

For the United States, which has a habit of profiting from battles, due to being far away from the front lines of World War II, for a long time after the start of the campaign, they chose to watch the fire from the other side and look indifferent.

Seemingly detached from the situation, but actually slacking off in troubled waters, the United States secretly supported Japan's invasion of China campaign, delivering oil and strategic materials to Japan, and even transporting $125 million in "military expenses" in real money. With the help of the United States, the invading Japanese army was armed to the teeth, and our front battlefield was no match for them. We could only sit idly by and watch as the beautiful mountains and rivers fell into the hands of the enemy.

Why does the United States want to help Japan?

Originally, after World War I, both the United States and the Soviet Union were not pleased with each other. After the outbreak of World War II, the United States happened to want to use the strength of Germany and Japan to attack socialist countries such as the Soviet Union and China. Although they did not learn Sun Tzu's Art of War, they were very familiar with the beauty of "borrowing a knife to kill".

Unfortunately, before the American's wishful thinking could be played out, the Japanese were thrown hard to the ground, and the abacus beads were all lost.

On December 7, 1941, the alarm sounded loudly at Pearl Harbor, the base of the US Pacific Navy Fleet. More than 350 planes sent by Japan appeared randomly above their heads like ghosts. Wave after wave of bombings came unexpectedly, destroying six valuable American battleships and destroyers, with nearly 4000 casualties.

The United States was completely angry. They never expected that this vicious wolf from Japan would take their own money and equipment, not focus on attacking the Allied powers, but instead bite their own "Mr. Dongguo" from afar.

Now, in the face of the passionate people and military in the country, it is impossible not to send troops to participate in the war. Therefore, the United States immediately declared its participation in the Allied Powers and declared war on Germany, Italy, and Japan.

The strength of the Axis powers and the Allied powers was originally equal, but due to the participation of the United States in the war, it suddenly became uncertain. Looking back at that period of history, Japan's sniping at Pearl Harbor was nothing but self inflicted.

After declaring war on Japan, the retaliation of the Americans also began. With the tactical literacy of the US military, they have never stopped talking about anything. It's not that you punch me and I'll give you a kick back, but it's necessary to disable your martial arts skills so that you don't have the strength to retaliate.

In 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the homeland of Japan, resulting in the death of 120000 Japanese people on the spot, not to mention the continued damage caused by subsequent radiation. This job also became a turning point in World War II, and within a few days, Japan declared unconditional surrender.

You kill me 4000, I will destroy you 120000, and I will repay you 30 times. The United States is indeed ruthless, but if you think this is all the retaliation of the United States against Japan, then you are wrong.

Since 1944, the United States has continued to carpet bomb Tokyo and its surrounding areas, and this shameful history of being rubbed on the ground by strong enemies has been avoided and kept secret by the Japanese government.

But did you know that the number of deaths in this bombing far exceeded those of the two atomic bombs that shocked the world? This is the famous "Tokyo Bombing", also known as the "Li Mei Fire Attack".

It is understandable for the United States to bomb Japan, but why did it only take action 2 years after the enemy "sniped Pearl Harbor"? This is not in line with the style of the United States? How could they resist not taking action immediately?

The answer is simple. In the 1940s, Japan was not the Japan of today, and the United States was not the United States of today. On the Pacific battlefield, the United States did not have overwhelming advantages, and the conditions for launching large-scale bombings on Japan's homeland were not yet mature.

It was not until 1944, when the Marshall Islands Campaign launched by the Allies achieved complete success, that the situation on the Pacific battlefield underwent a serious change. Japan's military bases located on various islands and reefs in the Pacific were completely taken over, and the United States gained complete air and sea control over the entire Pacific.

The strongest opponent in the past has now become a lamb waiting to be slaughtered on the chopping board, and the anger accumulated by the United States over the past three years is like a mountain roaring in the sea, unstoppable. From June 1944 to August of the following year, for a period of 14 months, major cities in Japan, led by Tokyo, had no more peaceful days, and the Grim Reaper had already opened the gates of hell.

The commander-in-chief of the US mission to bomb Japan was the famous "Cold War Eagle" - Curtis LeMay, who was notorious for his bloodthirsty violence and used bombers to flatten all opposing forces.

Li Mei is so strict with others and herself that she is almost abnormal. She practices with her subordinates every day, which is unbearable for ordinary people. Under his guidance, a long-range iron army that dominates the bombing field has emerged.

Li Mei also has a habit that whenever he goes on a mission, he takes the lead and personally pilots bombers to fight against the enemy in a bloody battle, with an indifferent attitude towards life and death. The commander has already gone into battle to kill the enemy, and naturally his soldiers are all vying for the lead. They won half of the battle before even starting.

Li Mei has repeatedly stated in public, 'I am not afraid of death, but I am afraid of failure.'.

The main aircraft type used by the United States to carry out bombing missions was the B-29 bomber, which was the largest aircraft type in the world at that time and could airdrop atomic bombs, also known as the "Super Air Fortress".

The B-29 has two bomb bays with a maximum payload capacity of nearly 10 tons. The fuselage is also equipped with 12 machine guns and 4 turrets, with a combat flight altitude of over 10000 meters and a useful impact range of 3000 kilometers. It is truly a sky killer.

Not to mention that at this time, Japan's military strength was already at the end of its rope. Even in its heyday, their fighter jets found it difficult to fly to the height of the B-29, and the anti-aircraft guns on the ground could only be admired.

In theory, the high-altitude bombing of B-29 was unsolvable for Japan, and they could only wait to be attacked, but the reality was somewhat different.

Due to various reasons, at the beginning, the US bombers could only take off from Chengdu Airport in China, and by the time they flew to Japan, half of the fuel had been consumed. Without seizing the opportunity to drop bombs, they could not fly back. Therefore, Li Mei had to first select the main bombing strategy in Japan's industrialized areas, such as the Hachiman Iron and Steel Plant in China, Nagasaki, Sasebo, and other places.

To Li Mei's surprise, although Japan lost most of its naval strength, fighter jets and land air defense equipment still caused considerable trouble for the US bombing fleet, and they had long anticipated the return of the United States to attack their important industrial equipment and had already made useful arrangements in advance.

Various aircraft factories in Japan also work overtime, producing over 2000 fighter jets in a month. Although they are not on the same scale as the B-29, they cannot withstand it.

As expected, due to the lack of fighter escort in the US ground bombing, two B-29 bombers were shot down by Japanese fighter jets, anti-aircraft missiles, and artillery in the first round of bombing, and 11 were injured. Even Commander Li Mei almost died in the plane crash.

After returning to the air force base, Li Mei inexplicably fell ill with a stomach ache when he only needed to fly another bomber. Although he pretended to be calm, his close aide still reported this situation to the Ministry of National Defense. The Ministry of National Defense instructed Li Mei, as the commander, not to personally handle everything and not to fly any more planes.

Li Mei was already feeling uncomfortable when she was deflated, and now she is even more ashamed and angry.

The cost of a B-29 bomber exceeds $600000, which is estimated to be more than a hundredfold today, not to mention the value of the crew and ammunition. It's like a printing press soaring in the sky.

These bombers are treasures of the US Air Force, and even Li Mei was heartbroken when one fell. He sacrificed two planes in one mission, which forced him to rethink his bombing strategy against Japan.

Perhaps someone will come forward and ask, wasn't it mentioned earlier that the flying altitude of the B-29 is beyond the capabilities of Japanese fighter jets and artillery, and how was it shot down?

That's right, the maximum flight altitude of the B-29 is indeed much higher than that of Japanese fighter jets, but Li Mei's mission is to carry out precise bombing at designated locations. If you drop bombs from over 10000 meters, who knows where they will be blown away by the wind. If industrial and military equipment is not destroyed, it will be a waste to blow up flowers and grass.

So, in order to fulfill the mission policy, the B-29 bomber pilots had to lower their altitude and actively enter the coverage scale of Japan's self-defense firepower.

Just as Li Mei was at a loss, her work improved. With the advancement of the United States in the Pacific theater, places closer to her hometown in Japan, such as Saipan and Guam, became American air bases, making it much easier to carry out bombing against Japan from here.

In November 1944, Li Mei held a combat conference to summarize the failures and shortcomings of the previous stage of the mission. In the first stage of his actions, Li Mei suffered losses and almost died at the hands of the Japanese, adding a touch of resentment. Therefore, this time he did not talk about "martial arts" and aimed the bombing policy at densely populated cities such as Tokyo and Osaka.

Li Mei believes that Japan's defense capabilities are weak but not stiff, and cannot underestimate the enemy. In the absence of sufficient fighter jet configuration, the danger of low altitude daytime bombing is too high, resulting in significant combat damage. The bombing period in the future will be changed to nighttime, and the reserve and use of incendiary bombs will be increased, shifting from dots to pieces, so that the Japanese people will experience real despair.

The 'Li Mei Fire Attack' exposed his paranoid and cruel personality. Although the Japanese sniper attack on Pearl Harbor was despicable and only targeted the military port, his retaliation against Japan was completely indiscriminate killing.

You should know that the B-29 uses a napalm bomb that can instantly generate temperatures of over 1000 degrees Celsius. Anyone in the bombing area will instantly evaporate, and even if they are not burned to death, they will suffocate and die due to the burning of the flame, causing immense pain.

People who have watched the movie "King Kong River" will definitely have a fleeting glimpse of this scene in the film. The volunteer soldiers carrying rolling logs were burned to charcoal shortly after the incendiary bomb landed, which is very shocking, and this is only the power of a condensed gasoline bomb.

The weight of a solid gasoline bomb is 0.5 tons. Similar to this type of thing, the United States dropped 160 tons (about 320) in Kobe, Japan on February 4, 1945 alone; On February 25th, 172 B-29s were dropped 450 tons (approximately 900 pieces) in Tokyo.

Unlike the previous stage, due to Li Mei changing the bombing period to nighttime, Japan's air defense capabilities were significantly weakened. In addition, he ordered his soldiers to dismantle all machine guns and cannons on the B-29, doubling its payload. Incendiary bombs rained down like raindrops, instantly plunging Tokyo and other cities into a sea of fire. It is not an exaggeration to say that it was a purgatory on earth.

Japan has frequent earthquakes, and in order to prevent earthquakes, most of the houses are made of wooden structures, which can catch fire easily and cannot be remedied at all.  

According to survivors' recollection, that night, most people had already fallen asleep when they suddenly heard a series of explosions that echoed through the sky. The window was instantly bright as day, and a heat wave came from the center of the explosion. The glass was shattered and melted, and the local vegetation, houses, and people and animals affected by the explosion were engulfed by the fire.

Someone tried to jump into the river and pool to escape, but the temperature at the fire was too high, and the water instantly evaporated. The people in the water were boiled alive, and they screamed in agony.

This survivor was relatively far from the explosion site and was lucky enough to escape by hiding in a pre dug air raid shelter. However, even so, his exposed skin has now been burned by high temperatures, his hair is stuck to his scalp, and his eyes are blind.

After seeing Tokyo engulfed in flames, Li Mei still felt frustrated and wanted to add another flame to the already burnt ruins.

On the night of March 9, 1945, the US Air Force deployed 334 B-29s and dropped 2000 tons of incendiary bombs continuously over Tokyo;

From March 10th to 20th, B-29 dropped 9373 tons of incendiary bombs in Osaka, Nagoya and other places.

From May 23rd to 26th, the US bomber fleet carried out intensive bombing on the main urban area of Tokyo, dropping 4000 tons of bombs;

On May 29th, another 3200 tons of bombs were dropped in Yokohama.

Under this dense bombardment, the defense forces of Japan's homeland have completely fallen.

The explosions of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan on August 6 and 9, 1945, now seem to be the final straw that crushed the camel. If Japan does not surrender again, it is feared that the Yamato people will suffer the same fate as the Native Americans.

According to statistics, over a period of 14 months, the United States dropped 160800 tons of bombs in Japan, most of which were incendiary bombs. The number of direct or indirect victims exceeded 550000, and 8 million people were displaced. The vast majority of Japan's electricity and industry were blocked, and the national economy regressed by at least 50 years.

In the past, the Japanese Empire, which was once exclusive to itself, intended to expand its territory through battles, but instead lifted a stone and hit itself in the foot. From then on, it no longer dared to dream of dominating the Pacific.

Among all the Japanese cities bombed by the US military, Tokyo suffered the most. In several bombings, a total of 140000 people died, and many buildings including schools, hospitals, and residential buildings were destroyed. The only one that did not suffer from the baptism of incendiary bombs was the imperial palace where the emperor lived.

Although Li Mei acted ruthlessly, she still left a way out for the United States. It is not in line with their long-term interests after the war to truly drive Japan to extinction and be criticized by the international community.

After Japan declared its surrender, Curtis LeMay was in a good mood and his stomach ache as soon as he boarded the plane healed without any medicine. He also disregarded the ban of the Ministry of Defense and flew his beloved B-29 bomber from Hokkaido, Japan to Chicago, USA, marking the end of his "LeMay Fire Attack".

In 1957, due to his outstanding achievements, Li Meisheng was appointed as the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force.

This is the story of the 'Tokyo Bombing', which is truly spine chilling and unbelievable. In 1980, the United Nations banned the production and use of weapons of mass destruction such as napalm under the guise of "inhumane and anti human".

Modern warfare is like a meat grinder, and those who suffer are the common people. We sincerely hope that the battle will stay away from everyone.