Chapter 484: Elephants in the Thai Army

The two continued forward, and along the way they could see Expeditionary Force soldiers holding weapons, directing a group of surrendering Thai soldiers toward the rear.

In fact, after Shi Xiaomao's artillery platoon began bombarding, many Thai troops even dropped their weapons, clasped their heads with both hands, kept shouting surrender, their eyes full of fear and despair.

The Expeditionary Force warriors, pursuing tightly from behind, shouted loudly, "Put down your weapons, no running! Surrender and we won't kill you!" their tone brimming with victorious joy.

"These Thai soldiers are truly unremarkable," Lv Guoquan said, looking at the fleeing Thai troops, his tone tinged with disdain.

"We originally thought, since they were attached to the Japanese Army, they might have some combat ability, but they turned out to be so fragile that they couldn't even withstand our artillery, and their fighting spirit was at rock bottom."

Lv Guoquan seemed to have forgotten what war was like before.

Jiang Anguo shook his head, his tone even: "They were forced by the Japanese Army, not fighting sincerely. Their own combat ability was already inferior to the Japanese, and when they met our sudden artillery and air support, defeat was inevitable. We overestimated them; we thought we'd face a hard battle, but it ended so quickly."

At that moment, a roar from elephants came from ahead, mixed with soldiers' laughter and chatter.

Jiang Anguo felt a stir in his heart, curiously walked toward the direction of the sound, and Lv Guoquan followed closely, wanting to see what had happened.

Reaching an open clearing, the scene before them left Jiang Anguo and Lv Guoquan stunned.

A few massive elephants were tethered nearby by iron chains, standing obediently in place, occasionally letting out a roar; on their backs remained heavy armor and vehicle marks, clearly the elephant unit that had charged the Reinforced Camp positions on the battlefield earlier.

Beside the elephants, several Thai soldiers in uniform—elephant troops—were bound with rope by Expeditionary Force warriors, heads down, faces full of dejection and fear, no longer displaying the arrogance they had shown on the battlefield.

Next to the elephants were a few Type 92 heavy machine guns, the barrels still fairly clean, evidently weapons carried by the Thai elephant troops.

These heavy machine guns, however, are active‑service weapons of the Japanese Army, clearly supplied by the Japanese to the Thai forces.

Jiang Anguo's gaze fell on the elephants, curiosity filling his eyes; he briskly approached, gently stroked an elephant's trunk. The elephant seemed to sense his goodwill, did not struggle, merely swayed its trunk obediently and let out a low rumble.

Jiang Anguo turned to the Expeditionary Force soldier watching the elephant troops and elephants, recognized the squad leader Xu Dadan, and asked with a smile, "Xu Dadan, how did you capture these elephants and elephant troops? I thought their thick skin would make them hard to handle."

Xu Dadan hurried forward to report, a smug smile on his face: "Sir, it was far too easy! After the battle, we were ordered to pursue the fleeing Thai soldiers, and unexpectedly on this clearing we encountered these elephants and elephant troops.

They saw us coming, were terrified to the point of fleeing, and tried to escape riding the elephants.

We fired a few shots around the elephants to intimidate them, and they surprisingly surrendered outright, not daring any resistance."

Jiang Anguo heard this and couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head: "It seems the Thai Army's combat ability and fighting spirit truly are unremarkable, and even these elephant troops are so cowardly."

Beside him, Lv Guoquan laughed, "Indeed, on the front lines those elephants were quite arrogant, trampling our Trench and injuring our soldiers; I didn't expect them to be so docile now, and these elephant troops are even more vulnerable."

Jiang Anguo fell silent, his gaze returning to the elephants, his eyes gradually deepening.

He suddenly recalled that before entering Thailand, Li Yi had reported to him that the Thai Army possessed an elephant unit, and that these elephants could serve not only as shock weapons on the battlefield but also for transporting supplies.

Li Yi is one of the few rainforest‑combat experts under Jiang Anguo's command.

Rainforest and jungle warfare differ.

Later, when Li Yi was marching in the deep mountains of Myanmar.

He also repeatedly reported that Myanmar's terrain is complex, with many mountains and jungles, roads rugged and narrow, and neither donkey nor Horse is suitable for marching or transport in such terrain.

Supply transport is extremely difficult, often requiring massive manpower and material, and is prone to enemy interception.

Now, looking at these massive, docile, obedient elephants, Jiang Anguo suddenly conceived an idea.

To organize these elephants into a powerful transport unit.

Elephants are massive and strong, able to haul heavy weapons, equipment, and supplies; they adapt well, traversing mountains and jungles smoothly, far more suitable for Myanmar's battlefield than donkey or Horse.

If an elephant transport unit can be formed, it would greatly ease supply pressure, make the troops' logistics smoother, reduce soldiers' burden of carrying supplies, and free more energy for combat.

He crouched, carefully observing the elephants' size and condition, finding them all robust; although battle‑worn and somewhat fatigued, their overall state was decent, and with a little training they could become qualified transport elephants.

And those captured elephant troops, though Thai soldiers, are familiar with elephant habits and know how to raise and handle them; if they cooperate in training, the transport unit could be assembled faster.

"Lv Guoquan, look at these elephants," Jiang Anguo said, pointing at the elephants, his tone tinged with excitement.

"Myanmar's terrain is complex, supply transport is difficult, donkey and Horse are unsuitable; these massive, strong elephants have great adaptability. If we organize them into a transport unit, it would greatly relieve our supply pressure."

Lv Guoquan's eyes lit up at the words, he examined the elephants and nodded, "Commander Jiang, that's an excellent idea! How did I not think of it?"

"These elephants truly are great transport helpers, especially in Myanmar's deep mountain jungles, better than any transport means. However, we have no elephant troops of our own, which is also a problem?"

Jiang Anguo looked at the Thai captives and said, "We do have captured Thai elephant troops; they know elephant habits, so we can have them help train the elephants and build a transport unit. It's indeed a good idea."

Jiang Anguo smiled, stood, and said to Xu Dadan, "Xu Dadan, keep a good watch on these elephants and elephant troops, do not harm them nor trouble the troops. Also, send someone to fetch Li Yi immediately; I have important matters to discuss with him about forming the elephant transport unit."

Li Yi is still in Mandalay, but his expertise is no longer needed there; the terrain south of that area is mostly plains, and Jiang Anguo won't be heading into the forests.

But Thailand is different.

If the Thai Army hadn't voluntarily sent them this time, Jiang Anguo wouldn't have wanted to deal with that country.

But since you offered them up, Jiang Anguo will not be polite.

"Yes, sir!" Xu Dadan immediately bowed, turned to assign soldiers to guard the elephants and troops, and sent someone to notify Li Yi.

Jiang Anguo looked again at the elephants before him, his eyes full of anticipation.