Great time travel

Chapter 1: A Christmas Story During World War III ([-])

At the same time, in a wooden house in the Petropavlovsk prisoner-of-war camp, a group of former American soldiers wrapped in coats were also roasting by the brick fireplace, throwing a few pieces of firewood in from time to time, or using long The long pokers pluck the charcoal and share their own special Christmas ration.At the same time, I was reading the local newspaper in Petropavlovsk Port... Well, to be precise, a group of American prisoners of war who did not understand Russian, listening to Sergeant Major Cecil, the only one among them who knew some Russian, knocked Stumbling through the papers—after all, in a place like Kamchatka, how was it possible to find Russian newspapers in English?

At this time, they were not wearing military uniforms, but wearing a variety of casual clothes, or zebra-print prison uniforms issued by the prisoner-of-war camp, and a Soviet military overcoat. At first glance, they looked like ordinary people and could not be recognized This is a group of soldiers—although the United States has been involved in this world war for five years, the American soldiers in the Petropavlovsk prisoner-of-war camp can't see the slightest bit of iron-blooded men's toughness color.

On the contrary, they all looked so sluggish and sluggish, almost lifeless and sluggish.

——If it is said that the Kamchatka Peninsula, which is located in the sea of ​​ice and snow, is the pure land farthest from war in Eurasia; then, the group of them who are in the Petropavlovsk prisoner-of-war camp at the moment, They are the group of people who are farthest from the war in the entire US military.

Because, throughout the war years of World War II, they spent time in different prisoner-of-war camps from beginning to end...

——They are the US Marines stationed in China in Pingjin area before the war according to the "Xin Chou Treaty".

(Since the Boxer Movement broke out and the Eight-Power Allied Forces entered Beijing, the powers obtained the right to garrison troops in Beijing and Tianjin from the Qing court. Later, as the years changed, the troops of the defeated countries in World War I withdrew from China, and the Russian troops stationed in China It disintegrated on its own after the October Revolution, but Britain, France, the United States and Japan still maintained the power to garrison troops in North China, but the other three countries did not send many troops, and only Japan actually stationed large troops.)
It is conceivable that when the United States and Japan declared war, these unprepared American marines in China suddenly discovered almost overnight that they were surrounded by the enemy, and the power balance was so disparate. The degree of despair - at that time, the U.S. Marine Corps stranded in North China, even including handymen, had only 260 people in total, and they were scattered in Beijing, Tianjin and Qinhuangdao.

What is even more desperate is that Japan started the war with a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, so the Americans had no time to evacuate their overseas Chinese and troops (before the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese government very calmly evacuated all overseas Chinese from Lushun and Liaodong ).As a result, these U.S. Marines stationed in China, without any precautions in advance, and before they even had time to hold their guns, were invaded by heavily armed and ferocious Japanese military police early in the morning... At that time, Sergeant Major Seale wore a pair of underpants all over his body, and beside him was a white Russian warbler who was also naked...

So, unprepared, they naturally raised their hands and became the first batch of American prisoners of war after the outbreak of the Pacific War.

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Initially, the group of US Marines who had been captured on the second day of the war were held by the Japanese in their own old US Marine barracks in Tianjin—a typical American building with three floors, Very good bathroom facilities and kitchen, as well as ample supplies.The Marines continued to eat the food stored in the barracks before the war, and there was enough medicine, clothing, and blankets to not need anything from the Japanese.

Since the relationship between the U.S. troops stationed in China and the Japanese troops stationed in China had been good before the war, the local Japanese troops treated them very politely.Even after becoming prisoners of war, these former U.S. Marines could continue to send and receive letters freely in Tianjin, and were allowed to receive visits from visitors twice a week, and were not required to do forced labor by the Japanese, except Apart from the fact that you are not allowed to go out, it may seem at first glance that life is no different from life before the war.

During this period, the Japanese even continued to pay them: the salary of officers was the same as that of Japanese officers of the same level: second lieutenant 70.83 yen per month, lieutenant 85 yen per month, captain 122.5 yen per month, major 170 yen per month Yen, 230 yen per month for lieutenant colonel, 312.5 yen per month for colonel.However, living costs of 60 yen per person need to be deducted, including 42 yen for food, 15 yen for clothing, and 3 yen for equipment and electricity.Ordinary soldiers can get 5 points of pocket money every day.Since they could only eat and didn't bother to train during this period, almost everyone gained a lot of weight compared to before the war.

—Look at the treatment of prisoners of war enjoyed by these Yankees. Those Chinese prisoners who were buried in mass graves by the Japanese army should all burst into tears...

A year later, the hoarded materials in the Tianjin U.S. Marine Corps barracks were basically exhausted, and the barracks buildings themselves were reserved for other uses by the Japanese.As a result, these more than 200 American Marines were arranged by the Japanese army to board the train and transferred to a special prisoner-of-war camp on the outskirts of Shenyang.The conditions there are naturally not as good as the Marine Corps Barracks in Tianjin, but overall they are not bad, and the living environment is pretty good in comparison.Newspapers in Japan and the puppet Manchukuo called it a model prisoner-of-war camp, and sometimes representatives of the Red Cross came to visit and condolences.

The American prisoner-of-war camp on the outskirts of Shenyang itself was converted from an abandoned small factory. The prisoners of war were arranged to live in three two-story buildings. Each floor was divided into six dormitories with bunk beds. It looks like an ordinary student dormitory.Officers and soldiers among prisoners of war were housed separately.All buildings have electric lights, but the light bulbs are only 10 watts, making them difficult to read.Heating is provided by a Russian stove, each of which heats two rooms.The camp is not very warm in winter, fuel is rationed, and only a certain amount of coal can be used every day.

In addition to the living quarters, there are also hospitals, restaurants, bathrooms, boiling water rooms and workshops in the POW camp.Every soldier can take a bath every two days, and an officer can take a bath every day.The sewers of the prisoner-of-war camps were connected to the sewer system of the city. The daily water for the prisoners of war was initially provided by a well in the camp.However, a water tower was soon built after the prisoners lived for a period of time, allowing the camp to use running water.The entire POW camp is surrounded by brick walls and electrical grids.There are watchtowers at the four corners of the wall, and Japanese guards are on duty 24 hours a day.

The canteen of the Shenyang prisoner-of-war camp is in an independent building, with only a kitchen and a bakery, and no dining seats.Food was prepared by the prisoners themselves in turn, supervised by the Japanese.The head of each dormitory, as a representative, collects food in wooden barrels and brings it back to the dormitory to share.American prisoners of war can eat three meals a day here, but the dishes are the same every day. Breakfast is cereal porridge, lunch and dinner are soybean, corn and vegetable soup, plus a small amount of pastries made of flour and soybeans.There is basically no rice or bread, and meat is provided only once every two months.Vegetables mainly come from the vegetable garden cultivated by the prisoners themselves, mainly including onions, potatoes, cabbages, radishes and Chinese cabbage.Calculated in this way, the daily nutritional intake of each prisoner of war is between 2000-2400 calories.If you are a prisoner of war who goes out to work, you can also get some extra food from the company you serve.In addition, the Shenyang prisoner-of-war camp can still receive a food parcel from the International Red Cross every two days, which contains soap, canned food, candy and biscuits.However, before the cans in the package were distributed to the prisoners of war, the Japanese guards pierced holes to prevent them from hoarding them as dry food for escape from prison, so they had to be eaten quickly.

——Although this standard of food is definitely not comparable to the living standards of American prisoners of war in China.But in East Asia during World War II, it can definitely be called preferential treatment!You know, even in Japan at that time, the daily staple food ration for each Japanese was only 330 grams of rice, and the supply of non-staple food was even more shabby, only enough to eat two meals a day, and the average daily nutritional intake per person was only [-] grams. [-] calories, the supply of edible oil and sugar in the market is almost zero, which is much worse than that of these American marines in the Shenyang prisoner-of-war camp.As for those locals in Northeast China who were stipulated by the Japanese and puppet authorities to eat only "mixed noodles" and acorn noodles, and who secretly eat a few mouthfuls of rice are considered "economic offenders", let alone...

In winter, POW camps distributed plentiful blankets and quilted jackets, which were returned in spring.Summer mats and mosquito nets are distributed.Generally speaking, in terms of clothing and housing, American prisoners of war at least enjoy the treatment of ordinary soldiers of Japanese motley troops.

In terms of medical and health care, the treatment enjoyed by these American prisoners of war is even the envy of Japanese soldiers-there is a special hospital in the Shenyang prisoner-of-war camp that can accommodate 150 patients for medical treatment at the same time.The hospital has separate wards and recovery and recreation rooms, as well as an X-ray room, consultation room, pharmacy and mortuary.All kinds of medical equipment are similar to those of the Japanese Army Hospital, but additional medicines and equipment supplies can be obtained from the Red Cross.Every prisoner of war was collectively vaccinated against smallpox, dysentery, cholera and typhoid as soon as he moved in, followed by a comprehensive regular medical examination system.

Therefore, this group of U.S. Marines basically remained healthy during their captivity, and the number of deaths from malnutrition and infectious diseases was only in single digits. The U.S. Air Force would bomb the prisoner-of-war camps. The Japanese authorities did not take any precautions against the air raids at first, but they were attacked once by a formation of American bombers flying long distances to aid China. All the Japanese guards in the Shenyang prisoner-of-war camp were safe and sound, but the American prisoners of war were killed or injured on the spot. 50 people.Afterwards, the Japanese allowed the prisoners of war to dig air-raid shelters in the vegetable garden.

Next, unlike the leisurely days in Tianjin, the prisoners of war in Shenyang will finally be dispatched to work in various factories.Job content includes making parts, tools, dyes, and more.The work is not hard and the working environment is good.8 hours per working day, Sunday off.They had an hour for lunch, which was brought in barrels from the POW camp.Officers do not have to work, but are responsible for the supervision and management of the camp.

Ordinary soldiers who participate in work can get 20 days of salary every day, non-commissioned officers 25 days a day, technical non-commissioned officers 60 days a day, and technical soldiers 55 days a day. In the postal savings account, you are only allowed to receive a maximum of fifty yen at a time, which can be used to buy things in the small shop of the prisoner-of-war camp, but there are almost nothing there except cigarettes, tooth powder and fried beans.So when the Shenyang POW camp closed and the accounts were settled, many US Marines found themselves saving a small fortune.

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These U.S. Marines were then allowed limited correspondence with their relatives in the U.S. in the Shenyang prisoner-of-war camp.Soldiers could write three postcards a year and occasionally send a telegram.Officers can write three letters and three postcards per year.These mails rely on the International Red Cross for transit and have to go through a lot of inspections. It usually takes three to six months to reach their destinations.But even so, for U.S. Marines in POW camps, being able to receive packages from their parents or wives is still the happiest thing for them.

However, the reason why the Japanese "benevolently" allowed American prisoners of war to communicate with their families was naturally not out of humanitarian considerations, but an attempt to collect intelligence from them. After the outbreak of World War II, Japan and the United States completely cut off personnel exchanges. In addition, after the war, the United States concentrated and imprisoned Japanese nationals living in the United States in concentration camps. It is almost impossible for the Japanese authorities to learn about the military trends and military production of the United States from the United States.Therefore, Japan’s intelligence collection on the U.S. military during World War II, in addition to monitoring domestic broadcasts in the United States, mainly relied on Japanese strategic intelligence personnel scattered in neutral countries and other places to obtain military intelligence indirectly.

But the problem is that the wartime propaganda content of any country cannot be completely taken seriously.The second-hand information obtained through neutral countries is mostly unreliable, and timeliness is also a problem—every time of war, all kinds of strange rumors always emerge in endlessly.

As a result, the Japanese army, desperate for information, came up with the idea of ​​letters from the families of prisoners of war. After each batch of mail from the families of prisoners of war arrived in the Shenyang prisoner of war camp, the Japanese army would organize a mail inspection team for the families of prisoners of war. The packaging instructions in mail, newspapers, and parcels were analyzed and studied, and compiled into written materials and submitted to the Kwantung Army Gendarmerie Command, Shenyang Secret Service and other departments for their reference.

Of course, before the mails of the prisoners’ families were sent out, they had already been reviewed by the domestic security intelligence department in the United States, and some illegal contents were smeared and covered.But despite this, the Japanese still struggled to restore some of the smeared words, and collected a lot of comprehensive military strategic information of the United States through other words, pictures, and instructions of various items in the mail package.For example, the attitude of the American people towards the war, whether the American people actively participated in the war, and the prices and economic life of the American people...

In this way, the exchange of letters and parcels from prisoners of war, which should have been normal, was also regarded as a "dark war" battlefield by the US and Japanese camps.The U.S. military tried its best to avoid leaking military secrets in the letters and packages sent to the prisoner-of-war camps; A whole lot of intelligence is analyzed in the humble items of mail and postal parcels.

Of course, the battle of wits and bravery between the intelligence agencies of the United States and Japan in the delivery of mail is a bit too far away from the ex-Marines in the Shenyang prisoner-of-war camp who have never fired a single shot on the battlefield.For them, they just feel that their life as a prisoner of war is still passable.

Although in the prisoner-of-war camps, they were often slapped and locked up by the Japanese, but no matter how tired these American cowboys were, they were not the kind of weird Taiwanese strawberry soldiers who could do push-ups to death. The ability to withstand is not so fragile-otherwise it would not have survived the previous Great Depression era.After obediently admitting to the Japanese, the hard days of the prisoner-of-war camp in the past few years have also survived.

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Finally, in the autumn of [-], the U.S. nuclear bombed Tokyo, and the old Japanese imperial government was destroyed. The remaining Japanese troops were forced to abandon the occupied areas of North China and Manchuria, and withdraw to the Japanese archipelago to defend their homeland.The ex-Marines in the Shenyang POW camp were also handed over to the Chinese Red Army who came to receive them when the Japanese army retreated and the POW camp was closed. The Yankee, who had been living in Japan for four years, escaped from the clutches of the Japanese in this way, and came to Siberia with longing, thinking that he could finally go home.And in the next few months, because the United States and the Soviet Union had not completely torn their faces, it was true that many American prisoners of war were repatriated by the Soviets in batches through the North Pacific route.

But the problem is that, as the saying goes, there are unpredictable things, and before the repatriation of these American prisoners of war is completed, the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union has further deteriorated sharply, and the repatriation of American prisoners of war has also been stopped halfway and stopped abruptly.Sergeant Sergeant Cecil and his more than 100 companions, who were originally scheduled to return to China in the second batch and were waiting for the return cruise on the Kamchatka Peninsula, were stranded in the detention center in Petropavlovsk. Responding every day, the ground is not working... After the outbreak of the Third World War, the Soviets directly changed the sign of the detention center in Petropavlovsk and turned it into a prisoner-of-war camp.

Sergeant Major Cecil, who has been a prisoner of war for five years, and his more than 100 colleagues in the US Marine Corps stationed in China who have not had time to be sent back to China, have no choice but to admit the reality dejectedly: they just changed places, and then I have to continue my career as a prisoner of war... What can I do if I don't accept the reality?After so many years in the Japanese prisoner-of-war camps, is it possible that they will be looking for death and life if they switch to the Soviet prisoner-of-war camps?
Compared with the previous Japanese prisoner-of-war camps, the Soviet prisoner-of-war camps on the Kamchatka peninsula are naturally much colder. It has only just entered October, and there is already light snow in the sky.Fortunately, each prisoner of war was given a thick fur coat, and there was plenty of firewood for heating, so there was no risk of freezing—these firewood was supervised by Soviet soldiers before the snow fell, and the American prisoners of war went to the countryside to cut, Kamchatka Although there are few people on the peninsula, there are many trees.

Then, in the Soviet prisoner-of-war camp on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Sergeant Major Cecil finally ate the long-lost bread—although it was Russian Heleba with a distinctly sour taste; The human side is much richer—although there are often some strange things like horse meat sausages; and the Kamchatka Peninsula also produces a variety of very rare high-end aquatic products—there are often prices but no market in American cities The Alaskan king crab, fresh sea urchin, salmon and salmon are all available in the market here, and they are sold at extremely cheap prices.Although the Soviet guards would not be so kind to provide such delicacies to the prisoners of war, Sergeant Major Cecil can still buy some with his belongings to satisfy his hunger.In addition, the management system of the prisoner-of-war camp here is relatively loose. After winter, sometimes the prisoners of war are even allowed to leave the camp and go to the city for a stroll. Anyway, as long as the port is frozen, even the Soviets themselves will be severely punished. Naturally stuck in this place.Where can these American prisoners of war go?
Moreover, these days, the whole world is burning in the flames of war, and those outside are accompanied by bombing, gun battles, forced labor, hunger, disease, escape and even nuclear pollution. After today, I don’t know if there will be a tomorrow. Compared with the people in the prisoner-of-war camp, they had food, drink and shelter, and there was not much work to do. It could be said that they were enjoying a long vacation, so what could be wronged?

As long as you think about it, relax your mind, and stop complaining, life in the prisoner-of-war camp will feel much better.After all, as defeated generals, they shouldn't have too many illusions about life in a prisoner-of-war camp from the very beginning, and they should thank God for not being tortured.

The only regret for these former U.S. Marines stationed in China is that since the outbreak of World War III, they can no longer receive letters and postal parcels at home—when they were in the Japanese prisoner-of-war camps, they You can also go through the channel of the Red Cross, transit through Switzerland, and barely maintain communication with family members in the United States. However, with the outbreak of World War III, Switzerland, a theoretically permanent neutral country, was also hit by a nuclear bomb and was immediately destroyed by the Soviet Union. Followed by paralysis.As a result, all countries in the world were divided into two camps by the flames of war, and there was no longer a neutral country in the true sense. Frustrated.

Today is Christmas for the Russians, and even prisoners of war get a special Christmas ration, and every American soldier gets a bottle of wine and a box of pastries.As for the military officers... Those military officers had already taken advantage of the fact that the United States and the Soviet Union had not yet completely torn their faces, and all boarded the cruise ship back home one step earlier.Among the unlucky ones who didn't leave and were left behind, Sergeant Major Cecil already had the highest rank and seniority.

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In this way, during Orthodox Christmas on January [-], the former U.S. Marines stationed in China at the Petropavlovsk prisoner-of-war camp, this batch of "model prisoners of war" who had been in the prisoner-of-war camp for five years honestly "Guys, roasting by the fire in the wooden house, drinking wine, eating pastries, watching the falling snow outside the window, listening to Sergeant Sergeant Cecil stutteringly translating the war news in Russian newspapers, for a while I felt a little like watching the fire from the other side. .

"...The main force of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet broke through the Turkish Strait, entered the Mediterranean in a large scale, and bombarded the ports of Haifa and Beirut. The Syrian rebel army invaded Palmyra, and the US military in the Middle East was fleeing to Iraq... Stalin made a public speech, calling on the Arab People and black Africans cooperated with the Red Army to launch an anti-colonial uprising...The rest is full of formulas, empty words and bureaucratic articles, and there are many professional vocabulary that is difficult to pronounce, so I will not translate..."

"...The ruins after the Paris nuclear explosion have been preliminarily cleaned up, and the French government is preparing to hold a national memorial to commemorate the millions of victims..."

"...Assessed by experts, the Dutch seawall destroyed by the atomic bomb is difficult to repair in a short period of time, and the reconstruction project in Amsterdam has to be postponed."

"...the Irish Republican Army and the U.S. Army fought fiercely in Galway City, and the Soviets provided Ireland with an emergency aid of [-] rifles."

"... Istanbul in Turkey was directly included in the territory of the Soviet Union, and its old name of Constantinople in the Eastern Roman Empire was restored..."

"...After the surrender, the British mainland fell into anarchy and mass starvation. The Scottish government in Edinburgh sent a delegation to Moscow to implore the Soviet Union to send troops. At the same time, Queen Elizabeth II of England also had an audience with Stalin and publicly implored the Red Army to cross the sea and enter Britain, to help restore the domestic order in Britain, and provide a batch of humanitarian aid...Stalin said that this issue needs to be studied..."

"...an American fleet appeared in the waters of the Faroe Islands, suspected of attempting to attack Murmansk, and has been driven back by the Red Navy..."

"...the State Planning Commission of the Soviet Union issued a public statement refuting the rumors that the wartime food ration standard will be lowered in the society, claiming that even with the outbreak of World War III and the widespread drought in Eastern Europe, the Soviet government has the ability to give every hardworking Citizens provide enough food..."

"...The Chinese Red Army has announced that it has liberated the entire province of Fujian, and is actively preparing to cross the sea to attack Taiwan..."

"...the second Saigon campaign launched by the Viet Cong was frustrated, and the South Vietnamese authorities, with the support of Thai reinforcements, once again held the temporary capital Saigon."

"...The Communist Party of the Philippines announced the victory in Baguio in the northern part of Luzon Island, and is preparing to launch a counterattack against Manila, the capital of the Philippines."

"...after the Jakarta nuclear bombing, the former Dutch Indonesian colony is still in chaos and has so far failed to form a widely recognized new government. Armed conflicts broke out frequently in various cities. The Indonesian region is likely to be divided into many small countries in the future. possible……"

"...on the Indian battlefield, the three-month-long Bangalore Battle came to an end. Chandra Bose's Indian National Army won a tragic victory, but its own losses were also very heavy. Gandhi, the leader of the Indian reactionaries, was assassinated in Calcutta. The specific injuries Unknown for now..."

"...the Soviets dropped an atomic bomb on an Allied fortress in Tokyo Bay, Japan, and wiped out the Australian troops stationed there. At this point, the last Allied forces on the battlefield in Japan were also annihilated. The Japanese headquarters issued a victory report and declared the territory The recovery operation has successfully concluded..."

……

Listening to the news of victory in the Russian newspapers, the mood of the American prisoners of war is getting lower and lower.Especially after learning that the allied forces on the Japanese archipelago had been completely annihilated, everyone couldn't help but lament—it seemed hopeless for the motherland to avenge themselves.

Seeing that everyone was so depressed, Sergeant Major Cecil could only laugh a few times and folded the newspaper, "...Don't be so depressed, everyone! From the day of surrender, our war has ended. All articles How our compatriots on the front line are fighting is not something we can decide... Anyway, from the perspective of the benefits, with the end of the Japanese battlefield, the war is getting farther and farther away from us - at least we don't have to worry about it anymore The prisoner-of-war camp was blown up by our own planes, and the chances of us being able to return home alive will increase somewhat..."

The American prisoners of war are relieved when they think this way—since they entered the prisoner-of-war camp, this war has nothing to do with them. The only thing in their hearts is how to survive in the prisoner-of-war camp. Looking forward to the day when I can go home.As for the glory of being a soldier, the dream of being rewarded for meritorious service... Ever since the day they became prisoners of war, they have no longer dared to have such daydreams.

It is frustrating that the United States of America was beaten so badly in the three wars, one defeat after another, but looking at it from another perspective, doesn't this mean that the war will soon end with the United States suing for peace , Don't they have to stay in Kamchatka for too long?

So, after a moment of silence, the prisoners of war became active again, and started pushing glasses and changing glasses, playing and having fun again.

However, when these "model prisoners of war" of the U.S. Marine Corps are having fun and laughing hard, thinking that they can wait quietly for the end of the troubled times in this wild place on the edge of the world, it represents the haze of war and destruction , actually quietly approaching them...

——In the midst of the flames of the Third World War, the entire Eurasian continent has been unable to find a real peaceful and pure land.