Our splendid regiments could not be checked, so eager were they to push forward, and they succeeded in storming one of the enemy's positions after the other along the mountainside. At last the enemy began to retreat, and the thunder of the cannon was again and again drowned in the frenzied cheers. General MacArthur was continually receiving at his headquarters reports of fresh victories in the front and on both wings.
The passage above comes from the novel Banzai!, by the German writer Ferdinand H. Grautoff. The novel tells of a war between the U.S. and Japan, during which "Japan deals a surprise defeat to unprepared American troops, who rally to repulse them."
Banzai! was published in 1908.
Just one note of consequence. MacArthurs father was also a prominent general, if I remember correctly was in charge of pacifying the Phillipines exactly during this period. Still a fun notion looking back that it does seem to line up, but not overtly visionary merely a quirck of history.
ReplyDeleteExcellent observation, Andrew.
ReplyDeleteHere's the Wiki on Arthur MacArthur -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_MacArthur,_Jr.
who was a Lieutenant General when the Banzai book was published.