1945

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.