Devil's Army

In the next three days, the Japanese army did not counterattack Qingxian, Cangxian and Huanghua City. However, the reconnaissance results of the Golden Eagle UAV showed that the Japanese defense in Cangzhou was quite tight, with Japanese sentries and patrols everywhere in the city, and the guns of Japanese warships in Bohai Sea were already aimed at Cangzhou City.

"Commander, the Golden Eagle drone reconnaissance shows that there are at least one battalion of Japanese troops and five to six hundred puppet troops in Cangzhou City. Our Fifth Brigade still has more than 8000 troops that can be mobilized. Do you want to recapture Cangzhou?"

"There is no big problem with the more than 1000 Japanese and puppet troops in Cangzhou and the surrounding areas. The main problem is the more than soldiers of the Eighth Route Army that he is encircling and suppressing."

"The commander is worried that if we recapture Cangzhou, the main force of the Japanese 36th Division will come back to support us?"

"Cangzhou is an important material supply base for the Japanese army in Jidong and Jizhong, and an important springboard for the Japanese army to radiate to Jidong and Jizhong. Even if we recapture Cangzhou, we are within the artillery range of the Japanese warships in the Bohai Sea. Cangzhou will be bombed into ruins by the Japanese army. This will not be worth the loss, and the main purpose of our operation this time is not to recapture Cangzhou."

"Then Commander, where are we going to focus on recovering this time?"

"Recapture the cities in the southeast occupied by the Japanese Army and open up a passage to the Eighth Route Army at the foot of the Taihang Mountains."

General Peng of the Eighth Route Army Command received Gray Wolf's telegram and was very happy to learn that the First Anti-Japanese Army was going to open up a route between the Tangshan base and the Eighth Route Army's Taihang Military Region.

He could already imagine the bright prospect of the Eighth Route Army and the First Anti-Japanese Army joining hands to fight against the Japanese invaders.

He telegraphed his old friend Commander Liu of the First Anti-Japanese Army of the Taihang Military Region, informing him of the First Army's participation in the encirclement and suppression of the Japanese troops in their Taihang Military Region, and focusing on the situation of the Japanese 36th Division.

Division Commander Liu and Deputy Division Commander Xu immediately informed the Gray Wolf of the First Army of the Japanese forces that were encircling and suppressing their Taihang Military Region:

日军第36师团一部在衡水一带围剿他们129师385旅和386旅。日军第36师团一部在邯郸市一带围剿115师344旅。

Their First and Third Columns were holding back the Japanese 20th and 109th Divisions to the north of the Taihang Mountains. …

When Gray Wolf heard that several major divisions of the Japanese army were pinned down by the Taihang Military Region of the Eighth Route Army, he immediately ordered a battle aimed at opening up communication with the Taihang Military Region.

Upon receiving the order, the Jidong Independent Brigade immediately launched an attack on the Japanese troops in the southeast direction like a wild horse.

He and the Fifth Brigade were like two sharp daggers, splitting their troops into two groups and sweeping away the Japanese troops in the southeast direction.

In less than a week, more than ten counties and cities occupied by the Japanese army, including Hejian City, Botou City, Xian County, and Fucheng County, were recovered.

The Jidong Independent Brigade took the lead in attacking near Hengshui City.

At that time, Hengshui had the Fuyang River and Heping Highway running through it, and its water and land transportation was relatively developed. It was an important node connecting the surrounding areas and was of great significance for the Japanese army's transportation of supplies and troop mobilization.

Moreover, Hengshui is located in the North China Plain and is an important area in southern Hebei and central Hebei. The Japanese occupation of Hengshui can deter the surrounding anti-Japanese forces and is also conducive to further expanding their scope of aggression and controlling more areas.

The North China Plain where Hengshui is located is an important agricultural production area. The Japanese army's occupation of Hengshui allowed them to plunder local food and other supplies to provide support for their war of aggression.

So the Japanese army sent the Daxi troops to Hengshui. They also sent Dai Yubo, a leader of the Qing Gang, as the security commander to lead the gangs of bandits to help defend Hengshui.

The most important thing is that part of the main force of the Japanese 36th Division is encircling and suppressing the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army outside Hengshui.

The Jidong Independent Brigade did not take any action when it arrived near Hengshui.

The next day, after the Fifth Brigade captured Raoyang County, it marched south and joined the Jidong Independent Brigade in Shenzhou City near Hengshui City.

In order to capture Hengshui City, Gray Wolf ordered the Fifth Brigade Commander to serve as the commander-in-chief of the front line and be responsible for the Hengshui Campaign. The headquarters was located in the former Japanese headquarters in Shenzhou City.

The commander of the Fifth Brigade arranged two groups of aviation soldiers, carrying two golden eagles, to scout Hengshui City and the outskirts of Hengshui City respectively.

The aviation soldiers responsible for reconnaissance of Hengshui City successively transmitted intelligence about the Japanese troops and security teams in Hengshui City to the command center.

The soldiers kept drawing the strength of the Japanese army and security forces in Hengshui City and the deployment of heavy weapons on the map.

What worried the Fifth Brigade Commander the most was that the Second Group of Army Aviation Soldiers had not yet detected the main force of the Japanese 129th Division that was encircling and suppressing the 36th Division of the Eighth Route Army near Hengshui.

If the battle to recapture Hengshui begins, the Japanese 36th Division will be an uncontrollable variable in the battle.

五旅长与129师的徐副师长取得联系，得知日军第36师团一部主力正在衡水市西南方向的冀州市枣强县与386旅发生战斗。386旅突出重围后，他们正在搜索386旅的下落。

The main force of the Japanese 36th Division was 386 to kilometers away from Hengshui City, and it would take more than an hour for the reinforcements to arrive at the fastest. Moreover, they were busy searching for the th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army.

The commander of the Fifth Brigade decided to immediately launch a campaign to recapture Hengshui City.