Fighting Mad

By Michael Calvert

Battlefield Diary
slightly smaller. I also saw that I was not alone. On the beach, as naked as I was, stood a Jap. A pile of clothes lay near his feet and in my first startled glance I

W the border and the days of marching

to-face with the enemy at a completely unexpected time and place, and for the secthrough hot, sticky jungle were some of the ond time we were both too startled to toughest I have ever experienced, coming speak. I wondered what he was doing alone as they did on top of weeks of strenuous in that little cove, and then I heard more action. I can still feel the wonderful surge splashing and shouting from the other side of relief when we reached of the far promontory. This time the voices a tributary of the were Japanese. Chindwin and gazed at the Fantastic as it seemed I could only cool, swirling water. The conclude that he was out with a patrol and temptation was too hard to had made the same decision as I had, resist. We were not out of namely to wander off on his own while his danger yet, but we all badly men went swimming. I watched him careneeded a soaking and we fully in case he dived for his gun, but he had neither seen nor heard appeared to be listening for something. of any Japs in the past day Then a strange gleam came into his naror two. I gave the order to row eyes, and I realized he had heard my strip off for a bath. The men men. didnt need telling twice. The I was baffled. If I yelled for help, the river was at its pre-monsoon Jap patrol would hear me, as well as my level, with a swiftly flowing own. There were 12 of us, but there current but nothing like the might be 20 or 30 of them; in that case raging torrent it would their superior numbers would give become in a week or two. At them the advantage if it came to an all this point there were little out fight in the confined cove. promontories of tree-covered While I was still thinking hard, the land nosing their way into the Jap officer stepped into the river and water with sandy coves came toward me. I think his mind between them, like a coastline must have been working much like in miniature. I undressed with mine; he could see that I was the men in one of the coves then unarmed, but if he used his gun it wandered off by myself. Looking would bring both patrols running, back I still cant think exactly and he did not know our strength. why I did so. Perhaps I felt that, We were behind the main retreat, although we got along well togethbut for all he knew I may have coler, they might like a few minutes lected a large band of stragglers. to themselves without an officer Anyway, he wasnt taking any present. Or perhaps I needed a chances on an open fight, which moment or two away from my would needlessly risk his mens responsibilities. lives. He preferred to tackle me I walked round a little headwith his bare hands. . ui Ts ork by George land knee-deep in the deliciously He knew his ju-jitsu and the ok cover artw arios about Bo s. ok Bo from Bantam combat scen fe on si -li is al re rm cool water then dived in and got water on his body made him as e pe ur ith at feat (Reprinted w out books th ar Series.) W myself wet all over before taking a For more information ab slippery as an eel, but I was the s am nt Ba recommend look at my surroundings. I saw that I World War II, we bigger and stronger. We fought in silence was in a cove similar to the one where took in the insignia of an except for an occasional grunt, and strugI could hear the men splashing about officer on his bush shirt. It was the second gled and slipped and thrashed around until and shouting cheerfully to one another, but time within a fortnight that I had come face- we were at times waist deep in the swirling

e were still several hundred miles from

30 Close Quarter Combat Magazine

river. It was an ungainly fight, almost in no time to be lost. I turned, waded onto the slow motion, for it is extraordinarily diffi- beach and staggered round the headland. cult to keep balance or move quickly and The desperate fight for my life had taken a surely in two or three feet of water. Our lot out of me, and I felt physically ill. breathing became heavier and the Jap got My men were mostly out of the water more vicious as he jabbed his fingers at my now, lazing about in various stages of face in an attempt to blind me. I think it was undress. Two of them were singing We do not until then that I fully realized this would like to be beside the seaside, while the othhave to be a fight to the death. ers laughed and joked about how good the I was a trained soldier, taught how to weather was for this time of the year at kill with a gun, or a bomb, or a bayonet or Brighton. even a knife in the thick of battle. Somehow Then my sergeant saw me and ran up this seemed different, more personal, as the to help. The singing and laughing faded out two of us, naked as we were, fought in the and the men stared in amazement. They water. Apart from anything else, I had come thought I had been bathing and resting and to admire this game little Jap. He had all the here I was scratched and bruised all over guts in the world. He could so easily have and obviously exhausted. called up his men and let them fight it out, What happened, sir? but he had chosen to protect them by takJaps, I croaked. In the next cove but ing me on alone. one. They dont know were here, but they Now he was putting up a tremendous will in a moment ... I killed their officer. Get show, and I was hard put to it to hold him. I after them now. pulled myself together. Brave or not, I had They grabbed their guns and went off to kill him. Or he would kill me. I was quickly and quietly. They found about 20 thankful for one lesson I had learned: never Japs, took them completely by surprise and to take my boots killed them off in the jungle all. There o u t s i d e c a m p . It was the second time within a fortnight was no place Other clothes can for prisoners that I had come face-to-face with the be scrambled on at that time; enemy at a completely unexpected time we had little in a moment but boots take time, enough food and place, and for the second time we and time can cost and water as were both too startled to speak. lives. E v e n on it was, and th is o c c a s i on I in any case had stuck to my rule, which was just as guarding them on a 2 or 300-mile jungle trek well. I managed to grab the Japs right wrist when we might run into another Jap patrol and force his arm behind his back. And I at any moment would have been an imposburied my face in his chest to stop him sible task. The sergeant told me later that clawing my eyes out. Then, as he lashed out they had only just made it in time. Soon with his left arm and both feet, I forced him after they reached the Japs cover the offigradually under water. My boots gave me a cers body floated past. firm grip, and I shut my eyes and held him Left to myself on the beach, I was viounder the surface. His struggles grew weak- lently sick. I had never felt so wretched er and weaker, flared again in frantic before. I told myself that this was war, and despair and then he went limp. I held on for the type of free-lance war I specialized in a few seconds longer before releasing my could be as nasty as the wholesale bombing grip. Slowly I opened my eyes and for a of helpless civilians in a town. In fact this moment could see nothing except the had been a fair fight. The Jap had asked for eddies of water caused by his final efforts no quarter and would certainly have given to break free. Then his body emerged on none. I told myself all this, but it did not the surface a couple of yards away and help much. floated gently off downstream. Some sensational press reports have I watched it, fascinated as it bobbed said that I killed more Japanese singlealong, face upward, like a ghastly yellow handed during the war than any other Ophelia. It seemed hours since I had left my British or American soldier. I dont know if men and met up with this unfortunate Jap. this is true; but I do know that I felt like a Gradually the training and discipline and murderer that afternoon over that particuwill to survive took over in my mind and I lar Jap. forced myself to think straight. How long Even now, so many years afterward, was it, in fact? Probably fifteen minutes. the memory of it is too clear and comes His men would miss him soon. There was back to me too often.
April /May 2001 31