The Osaka Fourth Army is one of the oldest regiments in Japan, having been established in 1888. The soldiers of this regiment were different from ordinary soldiers, and they came from a few small traders and vendors in Osaka City. The entire division was equipped with advanced ** equipment, always shouting the spirit of bushido and allegiance to the emperor, and everyone looked like outlaws. However, their combat effectiveness is hard to praise.
The "funny history" of the 4th Division in Osaka
This unit, which has become the laughing stock of various countries, can be said to have gone through a hundred battles, but every time it participates in the war, it is full of jokes. During World War II, the unit was sent to the battlefields of China, and their first stop in China turned out to be the famous Battle of Nomenkan.
In 1939, a war broke out between the Soviet Union and Japan in the Nomenkan region on the border between China and Mongolia. As a member of the Kwantung Army, the Osaka 4th Division rushed to the battlefield with another unit, the Sendai Division. The Sendai division fought bravely, but was quickly defeated.
After receiving the order, the soldiers of the Osaka 4th Division suddenly began to pretend to be sick one by one, claiming that they had a headache and fever and diarrhea. The angry Japanese company commander put on a white coat, personally presided over the infirmary, and ordered severe punishment for those who were passive and sluggish. Then these "smart" soldiers set off leisurely, deliberately slowing down, stopping after a while to light a fire to cook, smoke and chat, and even a large number of soldiers deliberately fell behind.
It was supposed to be a 4-day trip, but it took them 8 days to arrive.
When the news of the armistice between the Soviet Union and Japan broke, the officers and men of the Osaka Division, which had fallen behind, suddenly rejuvenated and quickly caught up with the troops, but when they arrived, they looked exhausted and miserable, and complained to the other divisions that they had missed the opportunity to fight. In the end, this unit, which had just arrived at the battlefield and was refreshed, withdrew along with the defeated Sendai Division, creating an inexplicable and comical sense of contrast.
After this battle, the Osaka Division suddenly became famous, at least more eye-catching than the honest Sendai Division;The Japanese command naturally knew what was going on, and they were extremely angry. However, in order to maintain their image and stabilize the morale of the army, they even released a propaganda report: "The Fourth Division of the Invincible Imperial Army Returns Triumphantly", which trumpets the bravery and loyalty of the Osaka Fourth Division, which makes people cry and laugh.
Our army has also encountered such peculiar troops.
During the Battle of Xuzhou, Li Zongren commanded an army of 400,000 to skillfully break away from the encirclement of the Japanese army. However, the squadron suffered huge personnel losses in the process of breaking through, and its combat effectiveness dropped sharply, and it was in urgent need of rest. Just as they were about to cross the Suzhou-Anhui border road, they found a well-equipped Japanese unit ahead. Due to exhaustion, the squadron felt helpless in the face of such a formation, and could only evacuate to the nearby mountains in confusion.
However, the Japanese did not chase for long, which made Li Zongren feel very strange, and he suspected that this might be a Japanese ploy. Therefore, he sent people to investigate, and it turned out that the Japanese army was enjoying their meals on both sides of the road, as if they were unguarded.
After all, there were wolves and tigers in front of the encirclement, and Li Zongren immediately decided to take the risk to cross the road. However, what was unexpected was that they were uneventful with the Osaka Division along the way, as if nothing had happened. When they left, the Japanese army did not attack, so they somehow avoided a danger.
Afterwards, the Osaka Division went so far as to justify itself on the grounds that it was "strictly disciplined and obeying commands," claiming that it was because it had not received an order to attack. This explanation made the Japanese command furious, but there was nothing to be done.
Since then, the Osaka Division has circulated among the squadron that "the Japanese soldiers in Osaka will not fight". Whenever the squadron heard that the opponent was the Osaka Division, it was like seeing delicious fat, and they rushed to fight them. This led to a series of inexplicable defeats for the Osaka Division, which had just been on the front line, and even friendly troops kept complaining to their superiors, believing that the Osaka Division was like a disaster. Obviously, the battle situation was in their favor, but the squadron on the opposite side seemed to be beaten with chicken blood and behaved extremely strongly.
Because of this situation, the Osaka Division had a prominent reputation within the Japanese army, because which friendly army would want to bring such a cheating teammate?The Japanese army headquarters had no choice but to change it into a directly subordinate unit. When the soldiers of the Osaka Division heard the news, they were all complacent and full of spirit.
Although the fighting style of the Osaka Division is worrying, after all, they are a division and have many veterans. Due to the heavy losses of the Japanese army in the battle and the urgent need for experienced soldiers, the Japanese army headquarters from time to time transferred officers and soldiers from the Osaka division to other divisions to replenish them.
At that time, the various units of the Japanese army invading China had their own characteristic farewell words when they parted. For example, a soldier of the Sendai Division would say, "Martial arts are long."", but guess what the officers and soldiers of the Osaka Division will say when they say goodbye?What they often talk about is"Take care of yourself", and even did not shy away from telling friendly troops"Lives matter"。Imagine this scene, it's just hilarious.
When the Japanese devils attacked Hengyang, Hunan, they encountered stubborn resistance from the Chinese people. As soon as the battle began, the veterans from the Osaka Division began their tactics of having a headache and brain fever and pretending to be sick to refuse the battle, so that the really injured Japanese devils could not even get a bed in the field hospital.
After the outbreak of the Pacific War, due to the excessively long and tight forces of the Japanese army, the Japanese command had no choice but to activate the Osaka Division and transfer them to the Southeast Asian theater. Finally, the Osaka Division had the opportunity to achieve its achievements and make a fortune. However, the Japanese headquarters did not know whether they were really afraid of them or for other reasons, but simply listed the Osaka Division as a reserve and stationed it in Shanghai.
In 1942, when the time finally came, the Osaka Division was redeployed to the Philippines to participate in the final assault on the fortress of Corregidor along with several other divisions. Unlike usual, the operation went exceptionally smoothly, and the Osaka division successfully completed its mission and captured a large amount of supplies. However, the generals of the Osaka Division acted in an extremely cunning way, not reporting the results of the battle to the Japanese headquarters, but directly reselling all the loot. This was due to the fact that the members of the Osaka Division were very savvy in business, and they awakened their instincts to do business and took advantage of this opportunity to seek financial gain. However, the victory of the Osaka Division did not stem from them"The battle is ferocious"In fact, the American troops on the Philippine battlefield had run out of ammunition and food before the war, and the soldiers were hungry and ineffective. Therefore, when they encountered the Osaka division, they quickly collapsed.
The most ironic thing is that due to the defeat of the American army, the Osaka division won unprecedented honor. Osaka locals celebrate as if it were the New Year. People touted each other about the heroic deeds of the Osaka Division, as if only the Osaka Division could have won such a beautiful battle!However, how could the citizens of Osaka not know the true character of their countrymen?The savvy people of Osaka, who are good at business, use the celebration to resell their distribution and make a profit. Although the Japanese military knew this, because of its helplessness against the Osaka Division, it gave up punishing them and simply did not carry out rectification.
Because the Osaka Division enjoyed a reputation on the outside, it was hated within the Japanese army, and people took refuge from it. Therefore, until the end of World War II, this unit was constantly mobilized in various places, and it did not participate in a single large-scale battle in the true sense of the word.
However, it is precisely because of this one"Anti-Japanese Surprise Army"of"Help", Japan was losing ground on various battlefields.
In August 1945, Japan formally surrendered. The Osaka Division was the first to respond to the call for surrender, and they behaved very aggressively and quickly disarmed and surrendered. As a result, the troops that had surrendered were overwhelmed.
After returning to Japan, the returned soldiers of the Osaka Division surprised the populace greatly. In stark contrast to the dejected, yellow-skinned, and malnourished soldiers of the other units, each member of the Osaka Division was ruddy-faced, burly, and refreshed, as if they had returned triumphantly and confidently. On top of that, they have also saved a lot of money.
Reliable statistics show that the Osaka Division was the least killed and best-preserved unit of the Japanese army during World War II, making it the most well-organized army. The U.S. military even to"Division of Peace"to rate them. After returning to Japan, the members of the Osaka Division quickly resumed their old business business, and as soon as they came ashore, they began to resell rice brought back from Thailand, and then went to the U.S. military camp to sell specialties from various countries. They even shamelessly peddled war memorabilia, which fully demonstrated the character traits of Osaka merchants. Interestingly, of all the First Division regiments, only the Osaka Division did not commit large-scale ** crimes in the occupied areas, hence this one"Fish belly"Divisions were allowed to retain their original strength after the war.