Chapter 44: Unexpected Joy
Shoot 4,800 Japanese soldiers belonging to the 23rd Division in 5 minutes, this is the data obtained after cleaning the battlefield, and no one doubts the data that Sun Dacai obtained, because they have all seen with their own eyes what the road is now like on the long 2-mile road. Not to mention that the data reported by Sun Dacai is 4,800 people, even if it is more, they also believe that because there are still many stumps and broken arms of the Japanese army that cannot be confirmed, the actual number of casualties of the Japanese army on the road may be even more.
Sun Dacai brought not only the number of enemies annihilated, but also the wing flag of the 64th Wing, the wing flag of the 71st and 72nd Wings had been burned by their flag soldiers, and the division flag of the 23rd Division had been missing, and the division commander of the 23rd Division, Guangtian Yu, was also missing. Zhao Zhi never thought that the record of a unit should be set off by the banner of the captured opponent, and Lei Ting has never had the habit of collecting the flag of the Japanese army, compared with Sun Dacai's annoyance at the loss of the division flag of the 23rd Division, Zhao Zhi is more concerned about the whereabouts of the division commander Guangtian Yu.
"I didn't find it on the battlefield, there was a staff officer of the 64th Wing among the prisoners, and the guy said that when they retreated, the successor of the 64th Wing, the commander of the 64th Wing, Shakuihara, vacated the command of the division commander Hirota Yu. The reason why the 71st and 72nd Wings marched with the 64th Wing was from the command of Shakuihara. Sun Dacai investigated in detail, and none of the more than 100 Japanese soldiers who survived could tell the whereabouts of Hirota Yu.
"One more of him is not more, less of him is not less, let everyone retreat first, retreat to the mountains according to the set plan, and bring back those weapons and ammunition." Zhao Zhi paced in place for a few laps, and finally ordered the troops to retreat. Defeated and annihilated most of the 23rd Division, this ambush was already a great success, those scattered Japanese troops were not in Zhao Zhi's consideration, there were still several dozen or so people on the periphery of the east to be on guard, and the sporadic scattered Japanese troops were not the opponent of the sweeping team at all.
The 23rd Division had been annihilated by thunder, and the other Kwantung Army that had landed in Nagasaki was still two days away from here, and the mercenary squad that had been released by Zhao Zhi like a bean had been delaying the march of that Kwantung Army division. The mercenaries who attacked and harassed the Kwantung Army division were only a few squads, and it was impossible for the Kwantung Army division to be delayed all the time, so Zhao Zhi now had to prepare to meet the Kwantung Army division that landed in Nagasaki.
"Don't think about my machine guns, even if I give them to you now, you can't transfer them to the Philippine battlefield." James, who was told by Zhao Zhi about the matter, shrugged his shoulders a little embarrassedly, took the cigar thrown by Zhao Zhi and smoked it. James was better, and the other U.S. officers had already rushed to the logistics side to fiddle with the Thor machine gun. When Zhao Zhi demonstrated Thor on Kyushu Island that day, James and the others did not take Thor seriously, even if the US military also purchased 50 Thor and transferred them to the Philippine battlefield, it was also for the sake of the face of the Rockman family to befriend Zhao Zhi. Thor's actual combat effect made James regret it again and again, he had known that this would be the case, and he should have bought more Thor from Zhao Zhi at that time.
All the Japanese rifles and ammunition were buried by the mercenaries in the east, and there were also those prisoners of war of the Kwantung Army who were forced by the mercenaries to dig a pit after landing on Kyushu Island, and the Thunder No Prisoners of War was passed to every unit, but these things had to be avoided by James them, otherwise Zhao Zhi would be accused by James of violating the Geneva Prisoner of War Treaty. The ammunition needs to be buried, but all the intact Japanese-style heavy weapons need to be taken away, and the separation of guns and ammunition is not to guard against the mixed troops who have killed the red eye, but because the vehicles in Zhao Zhi's hands are not enough.
After Zhao Zhi landed on Kyushu Island with his troops, Ye Kong had a new task, that is, to control as many vehicles on Kyushu Island as possible as much as possible. What Zhao Zhi needed was a means of transport that could move the troops quickly, not only trucks, but also cars, motorcycles and bicycles, Zhao Zhi wanted them, and Ye Kong even got horses for the scouts to use as a means of transportation.
Zhao Zhi, who was staggering in the carriage, did not speak, and after learning that the Japanese reinforcements were preparing to cross the sea from Korea and land on Kyushu Island, he released a lot of mercenaries in his hands, on the one hand, delaying the march speed of several Japanese troops, and on the other hand, he was also scouting the intelligence of various Japanese troops. The reason why the 23rd Division was locked as the first target was not only because the 23rd Division was a rebuilt division, but also because the intelligence of the 23rd Division was the most detailed among the Japanese armies, and they knew that the other side had the possibility of winning.
The Kwantung Army division that landed in Nagasaki has landed on Kyushu Island for three days, but Zhao Zhi has not received relevant information about that Kwantung Army division for a long time, not only has there been no news from the Korean underground party, but even the mercenary team sent by Zhao Zhi has not sent back relevant information to it. Thanks to Zhao Zhi's forced training in the mercenary training camp, most of the mercenaries in Thunder can speak some Japanese, and it is not a problem to interrogate the captured Japanese prisoners.
Since Thunder landed in Nagasaki, there have been materials and weapons and ammunition that Thunder deliberately buried all the way, and the mercenary team that went out will definitely not have the problem of lack of supplies. There has been no information on the landing of the Japanese army in Nagasaki, so that Zhao Zhi can not make a plan for the follow-up operation, originally after the success of the ambush in the east, Zhao Zhi should gather troops to go south to Wuxiong to set up defenses, it is because of the lack of relevant information, Zhao Zhi had to return to Saga with a large number of ordnance to prepare for the war.
The residents of Saga had long been coerced by the mixed forces that went north to Kitakyushu and went to Kitakyushu Bay, and now Saga has become a military city, and more than 10,000 wounded soldiers of the mixed army are recuperating in Saga. These mixed soldiers who were left by Zhao Zhi in Saga to recuperate were selected from a large number of wounded, and they were all guys who were proficient in the use of Japanese-style firearms, and Zhao Zhi was also a reserve left in case of the Japanese army's assault. Once Saga was attacked by the Japanese army, and the mercenary troops were unable to resist the Japanese attack, these more than 10,000 mixed soldiers who were only slightly wounded were the reserves to cover the retreat of the mercenary troops.
"It's also good for us to take out some people to train them and familiarize them with these weapons earlier." Dong was not far from Saga, and after galloping all the way back to Saga, the first thing Zhao Zhi did was to distribute weapons and equipment to those mixed wounded soldiers. The mercenary team in the direction of Nagasaki has not sent back information, so that Zhao Zhi has noticed a trace of abnormality, it is Zhao Zhi's habit to take precautions, and it is naturally imperative to equip the reserve team in advance.
"Sir, the squad from the direction of Nagasaki has received news, saying that the Japanese division that landed in Nagasaki does not seem to be in a hurry to march towards Saga, and our people have not been able to get close to reconnoitre." It wasn't until dinner that Zhao Zhi, who was not in a good mood, received information from the direction of Nagasaki. The Thunder Forward Scout Team has never sent back such vague information, this information has been the result of repeated confirmation by Zhao Zhi's intelligence staff, and even Zhao Zhi is confused, what does it mean that the Japanese army is not in a hurry to march to Saga?
"Send them a report, before it gets dark, you must find out the number of this Kwantung Army division and relevant information." Zhao Zhi rarely used the word must. The war is ever-changing, and the scout troops who served as the front scouts were already in danger, and had the actual combat experience of fighting thousands of miles with the Japanese army, so Zhao Zhi had always been very tolerant of the forward scout troops, but now he used the mandatory word "must", and the intelligence staff officer who came to transmit the message had no reason to feel a burst of heartbeat.
At two o'clock in the morning, Zhao Zhi, who had been tossing and turning and unable to sleep, finally waited for the exact information, and the scout team that left Nagasaki attacked two Japanese outposts in the night, and finally got the information that Zhao Zhi needed from the prisoners of war who were forcibly captured. "The head of the Japanese high-ranking is illiterate and kicked by a donkey?" After reading the telegram brought by the intelligence staff officer, Zhao Zhi, who was not sleepy, showed a dumbfounded expression, and Luo Ying, who heard the movement and came to watch, was confused.
"It's actually the Fourth Division, and they sent the Fourth Division to Kyushu Island." Zhao Zhi, who was holding back the ecstasy in his heart, convened a meeting of his mercenary officers overnight, and the telegram sent back by the scout team in the direction of Nagasaki had been circulated to everyone. Unlike the officers under his command who were unfamiliar with the Fourth Division of the Japanese Army, Zhao Zhi was very familiar with the Fourth Division, which was famous in the Japanese army. The fame of the Fourth Division does not mean how strong its combat effectiveness is, but the fact that the Fourth Division is particularly famous for its ability to avoid and fear war.
The Fourth Division, which was established by the First Division, was known as "Japan's No. 1 Abandoned Division" in the Japanese army, and there was once a rumor in the Japanese army that "as long as the Fourth Division participated, the battle would definitely fail". The Fourth Division's casualness and fear of war are well-known in the Japanese military sequence, and the Malay Tiger Yamashita Fengwen served as the division commander of the Fourth Division, even if the Malay Tiger takes the Fourth Division, there is no way. Zhao Zhi didn't know how the Japanese base camp sent the Fourth Division to Kyushu Island, but he knew that this Osaka Merchant Division would never be the opponent of Thunder.
A large number of officers and men of the Fourth Division sold brand-new weapons and ammunition to the Nationalist troops at high prices, and even officers and men of the Fourth Division openly set up stalls not far from the Nationalist army's defense line. If you ask the Nationalist troops which unit of the Japanese army they hate the most, there may be many different answers, but if you ask the Nationalist troops which unit of the Japanese army they like, there is only one answer -- the Fourth Division of the Japanese Army, and those units of the Nationalist Army that lack enough troops and have low combat effectiveness like to be neighbors with the Fourth Division because of safety.