In fact, the reputation of the Fourth Division has long been heard of by the Chinese army, as early as during the Battle of Xuzhou, the Chinese army encountered a "strange Japanese army".At that time, in the face of the encirclement of the Japanese army, Li Zongren commanded an army of 400,000 to skillfully jump out of the encirclement of the Japanese army.However, after the Chinese army broke through the siege, it was already sleepy and lacking in people, and it had lost a lot of heavy equipment, and its combat effectiveness had been sharply reduced.While crossing a road on the border between Lusu-Anhui Province, the tired Chinese army suddenly found a well-equipped Japanese army on the road.Exhausted, the Chinese army spotted the enemy in a panic and left the road in confusion and retreated to the nearby mountains.Strangely, after a long time, no Japanese troops were chasing, and the commander of the Chinese army was surprised and sent people to investigate, but saw that the Japanese army had no intention of pursuing at all, on the contrary, the Japanese army was still cooking in a grand place on both sides of the road.This strange Japanese unit was none other than the southward detachment of the 4th Division.Since they had just jumped out of the encirclement of the Japanese army, the situation was still very dangerous, and the Chinese army had no choice but to cross the road with one heart, and the result was that the road was safe.Afterwards, the commander of the southward detachment explained to his superiors on the grounds of "strict observance of operational discipline": "I have not received an order to intercept the Chinese troops. ”Although the Fourth Division is said to be a nest, it is a first-class division after all, and there are many veterans.Due to the heavy combat losses of the Japanese army and the urgent need to replenish the veterans, the officers and men of the Fourth Division were transferred from time to time to other divisions and regiments.At that time, the parting speeches of various departments of the Japanese army had their own characteristics, such as the Second Division, which said "the military fortune is long when the battle situation is good"; When the situation is not good, it is said that "Kudanzaka" Yasukuni Shrine is in Kudanzaka, Tokyo.However, when the officers and men of the Fourth Division said goodbye, they often said "the great cut of the imperial body", which translates to "take care of the noble body", "the body is the most important", or simply "save the life first".Why is the Fourth Division so unique and "weak" in the Japanese army?
As for the performance of the Fourth Division, Japanese writer Ryotaro Sima believes that this is caused by Osaka's unique culture.In various parts of ancient Japan, the basic social structure was that the peasants were attached to the land-owning princes, the daimyos, and the princes were subordinate to the shogun, who was a puppet in the hands of the shogun at the time.This long-term unchanged social structure led to the formation of a strict relationship between superiors and subordinates and a culture full of obedience in Japan, which was also the psychological basis for the Japanese army's fanatical "loyalty to the emperor" in World War II.However, Osaka is a bit different, this place is a famous commercial city, and the residents are mostly business-related, and the respect for the princes is very limited.On the other hand, around the issue of excesses and miscellaneous taxes, the people of Osaka have been fighting wits and courage with the princes for hundreds of years, bargaining, and the so-called loyalty is not to mention.As a result, like the shoguns and princes, the emperor's status in the minds of the people of Osaka was not quite the same as elsewhere.Although soldiers born in Osaka were also seduced by militarism during World War II, the people of Osaka were not in a hurry to "die for the sake of the emperor and for the Japanese Empire".Officers and men from Osaka are also accustomed to "bargaining" and "calculating" orders from their superiors, and will not carry them out to the end with their eyes closed as other units do.Even within the Fourth Division, the so-called "three don'ts" principle of "don't pay for unnecessary sacrifices," "don't take part in unreasonable battles," and "don't pursue enemy troops who are desperate."
Japanese historian Seki Kosuke made a short summary of the Fourth Division in the last part of the First Abandoned Division of the Japanese Army, and said that there was some truth in it: "If the Japanese army had been like the Fourth Division, probably there would have been no war between China and Japan, and if this had happened, there would have been no Japanese defeat."
To get back to the point, the Japanese Fourth Division was reluctant to move out, and Tadajun's repeated urging had no effect.In addition, the 14th Division was defeated in successive battles on the front line, which finally annoyed Tada Jun, so Tada Jun sent his chief of staff, Yukio Kasawara, to Shimen to urge the 4th Division to rush to Shanxi as soon as possible and make peace with the 14th Division and other units.Regarding this matter, the commander of the Fourth Division, Kitano Kenzo, also felt deeply gloomy, and after learning the news that Yukio Kasahara was coming to Shimen.Kitano Kenzo couldn't wait any longer, so he personally rushed to the stations of the various wings and personally urged these soldiers under him to start as soon as possible.Under the personal supervision of Kitano Kenzo, the Fourth Division reluctantly organized its troops, left Shimen one after another, and marched towards the front line of Niangzi Pass.At this time, the 14th Division, the 46th Division, and the 47th Division of the Japanese Army had already met in Yangquan, and did not stop in Yangquan, and continued to march along the Zhengtai Railway to Taiyuan, and until this moment the vanguard of the Japanese Fourth Division had just arrived at Niangzi Pass.After formulating and concentrating superior forces to encircle and annihilate the Fourth Division of the Japanese Army, the Seventh Column of the Eighth Route Army immediately reported it to the Eighth Route Army Headquarters and obtained the approval of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters.Therefore, the Eighth Route Army has always paid close attention to the movements of the Fourth Division of the Japanese Army, and as soon as this little devil left Shimen, the Eighth Route Army got the news in time.Ma Zhenguo pointed to the sand table and said with a serious face: "According to the information I have received so far, the 8th Wing of the 4th Division of the Japanese Army has rushed to Niangziguan by train, and the 37th Wing and 61st Wing have also left Shimen and rushed to the front line of Niangziguan by road.Only the 70th Wing has not moved yet, and it is estimated that after waiting for the train carrying the Eighth Wing to return to Shimen, it will take the train to the front line of Niangziguan. ”Li Guotao frowned and glanced at the sand table, and said thoughtfully: "However, the speed of the 37th Wing and the 61st Wing is a little too slow, it took almost a day to walk out of dozens of miles."
As far as I know, this 4th Division is well-equipped and highly mechanized, which is a cut above the 14th Division, which is a turtle speed for a semi-mechanized army. ”Political Commissar Meng frowned and said: "Could it be that the little devil was blocked by the local troops of my Eighth Route Army along the way" Li Guotao shook his head and said: "It shouldn't be, so far there is no main force of our Eighth Route Army on the road from Shimen Niangzi Pass, even if some local troops block this little devil, it is not enough to affect the speed of the devil's march at all."
In my opinion, eighty percent of them are these little devils, passively avoiding war, and they are not willing to move westward at all, so the speed of the march is so slow. ”Ma Zhenguo smiled and shook his head and said: "We have heard that this fourth division is a strange thing in the Japanese army before, even other little devils look down on this fourth division and call it a waste division, but I didn't expect this fourth division to be so unbearable, cowardly before fighting, against such a force, it is difficult for us to win even if we want to win" aa2705221: