[오키나와 전투-사령관의 명령으로 할복을 못하고 미군에게 포로가 된 인물]야하라 히로미치(八原 博通, Hiromichi Yahara)

 

야하라 히로미치 대령

야하라 히로미치(일본어: 八原 博通, 1902년 10월 2일 ~ 1981년 5월 7일)는 일본의 육군 군인으로, 오키나와 전투 당시에 일본군의 고급 참모로 활약했다.[was the senior staff officer in charge of operations of the 32nd Japanese Army at Okinawa during the American invasion of that island during World War II.]

 

1902년 돗토리현의 요나고시에서 태어나 최연소로 일본 육군대학에 입학하였다. 1933년부터 1935년까지는 미국에 주재한 경험이 있어서, 대전국인 미국을 잘 이해하고 있었다.

태평양 전쟁 개전 시에는 일본 육군 제15군 참모로서 버마 (지금의 미얀마) 공략 작전을 담당했으며, 그 뒤에는 일본 육군 대학 교관을 거쳐 1944년 3월, 오키나와의 방위를 담당하는 일본 육군 제32군의 고급 참모가 되었다.

오키나와 전투에선 사령관 우시지마 미쓰루를 보좌하고, 일본의 입장을 유리하게 할 생각으로 지구 전술을 제안하였다. 하지만 그의 전략은 표면적 무용을 중시하는 당시의 일본군에 뭉개졌고, 대본영에서의 공격 재촉과 조 이사무 참모장의 정적 사고 때문에 약 1주간의 무모한 야간 돌격으로 변환되었다. 야하라의 생각대로 일본군은 큰 손해를 입고 마부니 고지까지 퇴각했고, 1945년 6월 23일 항복함으로써 전투가 종결되었다. 야와라는 지휘관 우시지마 미쓰루와 조 이사무의 할복 자살을 지켜본 뒤에 [Yahara had requested permission to commit seppuku alongside the two generals, but Ushijima refused, telling him "If you die there will be no one left who knows the truth about the battle of Okinawa. Bear the temporary shame but endure it. This is an order from your army commander] 탈출을 시도했지만 포로가 되었으며이후 1981년 사망하였다.

 

[Yahara, who had taught strategy at the Army War College, was assigned to Okinawa prior to the anticipated American invasion to organize its pre-invasion strategy. His recommended strategy for fighting the American invaders was to continue to tie up the American military as long as possible in a war of attrition (jikyūsen, 持久戦), so that the rumored American invasion of Kyūshū, Japan, would be delayed, thereby allowing Kyushu defenders more time to better prepare their defenses.

Once the Okinawa invasion started, Yahara recommended holding back Japanese forces for as long as possible and using them primarily in a defensive posture, rather than an aggressive one. However, Chief of Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Isamu Cho, soon became frustrated by the relative inaction of the battlefield, and recommended banzai charges at the Americans.

Yahara disagreed with this recommendation, but went along with it. But when it was clear that Cho's samurai-charge methods were not working, but, rather, causing huge numbers of casualties among the Japanese infantry, along with loss of territory, Cho relented and allowed Yahara to continue to make tactical and operational decisions.

Yahara's method, since he did not have the firepower to fight the Americans directly in battle and knew that he could not possibly win, was to fight from caves as long as possible and then, once the caves were lost, to "retreat and defend"—time after time—until there was no longer any room to retreat to.

 

Lieutenant General Cho and Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima, ordered Yahara to escape from the Mabuni caves after they had committed ritualistic suicide. Yahara had requested permission to commit seppuku alongside the two generals, but Ushijima refused, telling him "If you die there will be no one left who knows the truth about the battle of Okinawa. Bear the temporary shame but endure it. This is an order from your army commander."[1] He escaped, disguised as a Japanese English teacher. This disguise worked well for him on the island, but eventually he was recognized by the U.S. military and made a prisoner of war with privileges due to his rank.

 

Literary contribution

After the war Yahara wrote his account of the battle. His Okinawa Kessen (Battle for Okinawa), first published in Japanese in 1973, was an account of his first-hand experience directing Japanese operations on Okinawa during the invasion. He died in 1981.[우리말-위키백과/영문-영어위키]

 

[정보]책- 철의 폭풍(반양장)『철의 폭풍』은 미군이 상륙하기 전 오키나와에 전운이 감돌던 때부터 1945년 일본군 수비대가 궤멸해갈 때까지 비전투원인 주민들이 겪은 오키나와 전투의 전반적인 양상을 그려내고 있다. 미군의 입체적인 육해공 공격으로 포격과 폭격이 폭풍처럼 몰아쳤다고 ‘철의 폭풍’이라고 불린 오키나와 전투! 그 전쟁의 한복판에 있었던 오키나와신보사 기자들이 자료를 모아 써내려간 기록이나 르포, 여학생·주민 등이 직접 쓴 전쟁 체험 수기들을 모아 전쟁이 끝나고 5년 뒤인 1950년 8월 15일에 출간하여, 『철의 폭풍』은 전쟁의 참상을 생생하게 전하고 있다. 더욱이 이 책은 기존의 전쟁 기록들과는 달리 군의 작전상의 움직임이 아니라 비전투원인 주민들이 이 전쟁으로 어떻게 죽어가고, 얼마나 고통스러워했는지, 또 전쟁이 초래한 것은 무엇이었는지에 중점을 두고 있어, 이제까지 유례가 없는 독보적인 성격의 전쟁 기록으로 남아 있다.