December 3rd, 1942
Guadalcanal, 01:30 - Lurking, rather embedded, in the vegetation, Lieutenant Onishi observes an American soldier emptying his bladder. He carefully avoids moving, so as not to receive on his face the jet of urine which digs a small puddle about thirty centimeters from his nose, and so as not to betray his position. He feels a strong anguish when he sees the soldier in question turn around, drop his pants and crouch down, but a command shouted by a non-commissioned officer - in a bad mood, judging by the tone - makes him breathe a sigh of relief: muttering an expletive, the Yankee (who might actually be from the southern United States, but the Japanese don't care about such distinctions) adjusts his belt and walks away. Onishi has just escaped hours of waiting with his nose in a Yankee turd, and he respectfully thanks the Emperor and all the gods.
Lieutenant Onishi is one of the men of the 28th Reconnaissance Regiment who, by order of the General-in-Chief, have been studying American positions in the Matanikau area for several days. But Onishi is not just any lieutenant; he knew he is the best officer in his regiment, even if he was always modest.
This modesty is calculated: he has to avoid being too often the target of jealousy from his comrades from the military academies, whereas Onishi became an officer after having passed the examination for conscripts with two years of high school. So he was not surprised the day before, when his colonel ordered him to bring back prisoners within 24 hours to interrogate them. He simply asked to choose two trusted men, with whom he prepared himself carefully. After stripping off most of their clothes, they rolled around in the mud of the jungle until they were completely covered with a brownish paste, sticky like a second skin. Then they observed the comings and goings of the Americans in the area for a whole day before adding a second layer of mud and spreading droppings graciously made available to them by the local fauna, along with leaves and pieces of bark. At nightfall, they slipped quietly to the Marine lines and have been waiting ever since, slowly sinking into the spongy soil that drinks up the American urine.
.........
03:58 - A few yards from Onishi, the Marines set up one of the positions in a network of entrenchments-sandbagged firing positions. The lieutenant knows that the apparent calm of the night would not last. At 04:00 sharp, the 28th Reconnaissance Team launches a diversion a little further north: heavy fire, loud shouts, movement in the nearby jungle, in short, enough to wake up all the local Yankees and attract their attention. The lieutenant keeps with him only three manufactured objects, which are of no help to him against the vermin which devours his skin and which tries, slowly but persistently, to open a way towards the interior of his hot and bloody body. The first is his watch, whose dial, although blackened with mud, is placed just in front of his left eye and reads 03:59. The second is a bayonet, because you never know and in the worst case, it may allow to escape capture with honor. The last one is a muddy handkerchief filled with wet sand, which he holds in his right hand and which should save him from using the bayonet - it will play a decisive role in less than sixty seconds.
At precisely 0400 hours, the 28th Regiment launches its attack. Onishi mentally thanks his comrades for their accuracy and stands up. His eyes, accustomed to the darkness, spot men hurrying to their battle stations. The lieutenant leaps up. In four strides, he is behind the nearest Marine, who is staring north. His right arm arcs in front of the American's face and slaps the sandy contents of the handkerchief over his mouth and nose, while his left arm clutches his torso in a steely embrace. The difficulty of the action is to asphyxiate the target just enough to make him unable to resist, without sending him to his miserable ancestors. Onishi has mastered this art, he trained for a long time on Chinese prisoners, he did not lose many of them. A detail that will haunt him for the rest of his life, his nostrils are filled with the powerful body odor of his victim, so different from that of a Japanese. When the resistance of his prisoner weakens, he starts to drag him towards the Japanese lines.
For a few seconds, the diversion worked, and Onishi made good progress.
Then screams ring out, Marines react and adjust him, but the disarticulated puppet that is panicking in his arms is his best protection. His best, but not only: ambushed for this purpose about ten meters to either side, his two companions open fire, men fall, hit or covered? It doesn't matter to Onishi, who continues on his way as hell breaks loose on this muddy tongue, a few paces away from Point Cruz.
When he reaches his lines, panting but safe, pushing his terrified prisoner in front of him who is covered in a mixture of sand and bile, Onishi does not spare a thought for the two soldiers who had covered his retreat and remained there. Their sacrifice was necessary and, all in all, normal: isn't he the best officer in the regiment?
Now the prisoner must be made to talk, and quickly, to satisfy the colonel. But here too Onishi knows that he is the best. He is able to break down a soldier slowly, without any violence, in several days; he is also capable of extracting from a man his most precious secrets in a few hours. It's just a matter of method, as he learned in China. Onishi will use whatever method he needs to satisfy his colonel.
.........
Throughout the night, skirmishes break out on the Matanikau front. Small groups of Japanese harass the Marines without ever committing themselves fully.
During the day, the American positions are targeted, at irregular intervals, by a few 70s or 75s - the responsible guns immediately fall silent to avoid counter-battery fire. Losses are light on both sides, but these incessant stings wear down the nerves of the men of the 1st Marines, who are already well tested. Holding the northern part of the front, the Marines of the 8th Regiment, which the Watchtower elders readily called rookies, reveal their relative inexperience by betraying their positions too often with heavy fire. At night, the Japanese of the 28th Reconnaissance are able to reconstruct their fire plans and the disposition of their support points.
.........
Washed, combed, and dressed in an outfit more in keeping with his rank, Onishi is faced with a new problem. Cracking the prisoner was not difficult, on the contrary. To satisfy his colonel, Onishi immediately pulls out all the stops, and half an hour later, his main concern is to keep the Yankee quiet without damaging him further. However, while knowing that he is the best officer in his regiment, Onishi is aware that he is suffering from a flaw, certainly widespread in the Emperor's army, but quite embarrassing in the present circumstances: he speaks only two or three words of English.
To reassure himself, he repeats to himself that this is only a minor flaw - once the war is won, it is unlikely that he will ever meet an American again (alive, at least). Eventually, German lessons may be necessary - Onishi, who could see himself as the head of a military mission to teach Japanese combat techniques to Japan's allies, makes a mental note to set aside some of his pay now to pay for a private teacher upon his return.
Of course, the lieutenant requests an emergency interpreter from Gen. Kawagushi's staff. But this incapable staff officer is late! Onishi will never know that the interpreter in question was, indeed, unable to avoid a 20 mm shell fired by a P-400 (his pilot would have preferred to have a real P-39, with a 37 mm gun, but the interpreter, hit in the middle of the back, did not see the difference).
At about 1600 hours, seeing his prisoner decline, Onishi respectfully asks his colonel for permission to inquire about the linguistic skills of the men in the regiment. He finally discovered a second lieutenant who admitted to speaking English and managed to question the Marine. Onishi writes the minutes of the interrogation and, at 17:15, gives them to his colonel, who signs it and sends it to headquarters. With a sense of accomplishment, Onishi allows himself a rare smile as he shoots the American in the back of the head, before going to enjoy a few hours of well-deserved rest.
This record would play a significant role in the fights of the following days.
