Devil's Army

The Jidong Independent Brigade had fought with the Japanese 36th Division in Hengshui and knew that their division had an artillery battalion, so they immediately moved their positions after the surprise attack on the Japanese infantry squadron.

When most of the soldiers of the Japanese Third Battalion entered the canyon, the new artillery position of the Jidong Independent Brigade roared again.

What caused the Japanese army to collapse was the artillery bombardment and 150mm howitzers of this devilish force.

The narrow valley suddenly became a horrific human slaughterhouse, with limbs, broken arms, pieces of flesh and human organs shattered by artillery fire everywhere.

As soon as the artillery fire stopped, the soldiers of the Jidong Independent Brigade, who had been lying in ambush on both sides of the canyon, fired fiercely at the remaining Japanese troops in the canyon.

The Japanese soldiers who managed to escape from the canyon will never forget this horrific scene.

After this battle, the soldiers of the 36rd Battalion of the th Division of the Japanese Army confronted the Jidong Independent Brigade across the canyon and dared not cross the canyon even a single step.

The next day, the remnants of the 36th Battalion of the 222nd Regiment of the th Division of the Japanese Army bypassed the Beihe Gorge and attacked the artillery positions of the Jidong Independent Brigade from the east. However, before they reached the artillery positions of the Jidong Independent Brigade, they were blocked by the th Brigade.

The Beihe Gorge was an important defense line for the First Anti-Japanese Army to block the Japanese army from entering the Tangshan base. If the Japanese army crossed this place, they could quickly reach Sanhe County in the Tangshan base.

For this reason, a part of the 36st Battalion of the th Division of the Japanese Army that arrived earlier encountered an ambush from the th Brigade and immediately ordered artillery bombing.

The commander of the first battalion of the fifth brigade was staring at the position where the soil was flying and the smoke was rising from the command post behind the position.

The plains were vast and not many places suitable for ambushing the Japanese. In order to prevent the Japanese from crossing the Beihe River and attacking Sanhe County, he had to dig trenches in the plains, lay two layers of wood on top of the trenches, and fill the space between the two layers of wood with mud.

A row of anti-artillery holes were dug on the reverse slope below the trench, so that the soldiers would be safe hiding inside unless they were directly hit by the Japanese large-caliber artillery.

The Japanese army bombarded for more than half an hour, and then the infantry began to attack the positions of the 5th Brigade in a cross-wise manner.

Led by the company commander, the soldiers of the Fifth Brigade climbed out of the anti-artillery caves one after another and lay on the trenches to prepare to block the Japanese army.

The Japanese army was approaching the position, and machine guns on both sides of the trench were harvesting the attacking Japanese troops.

The Japanese soldiers in the front row were constantly knocked down, and the Japanese soldiers in the back row took turns attacking the positions.

The grenade throwers hiding behind the infantry accurately fired shells into the trenches, posing a great threat to the officers and soldiers of the 5th Brigade.

The mortar troops of the 5th Brigade bombarded the charging Japanese troops in a timely manner.

The soldiers of the Fifth Brigade in the trenches promptly shot at the Japanese soldiers who were losing their strength in attacking, and repelled this wave of Japanese attack.

Throughout the day, the soldiers of the Fifth Brigade and the soldiers of the Third Battalion of the Japanese 36th Division fought repeatedly around the position. The Japanese army was never able to cross the Fifth Brigade's position. However, the Fifth Brigade suffered heavy casualties.

Soldiers from the Japanese Third Battalion south of the Beihe Gorge also launched an attack on the gorge at the same time.

In order to avoid being bombarded by the Devil's Army, the soldiers of the Third Battalion of the Japanese Army divided into groups of three and quickly passed through the canyon path, attempting to occupy the artillery position of the Devil's Army on the opposite side.

Soldiers from the Jidong Independent Brigade on both sides of the canyon continued to fire at the charging Japanese troops.

The Japanese machine gunners were lying on the edge of the canyon, suppressing the firepower points of the independent brigade soldiers on both sides of the canyon. However, the soldiers of the independent brigade were in a high position and continued to shoot and kill the Japanese machine gunners, suppressing the Japanese firepower.

The Japanese troops of the Third Battalion were blocked in two large-scale attacks and had to retreat to the south of the canyon again.

As night fell, the battlefield temporarily returned to calm. The battalion commander took advantage of the night to readjust the deployment, evacuated the wounded to the rear for treatment, and arranged for the remaining troops to strengthen the fortifications.

At this time, the Japanese army, which had never been good at night combat, was planning a night attack in order to capture the position of the 5th Brigade.

On the Fifth Brigade side, the first battalion commander and the deputy battalion commander took turns patrolling the front line to prevent the Japanese army from causing any trouble.

At two o'clock in the morning, when people were most tired, a Japanese suicide squad sneaked towards the position of the 5th Brigade under the cover of darkness.

On the Fifth Brigade side, the soldiers were tired but still vigilant.

The deputy battalion commander on duty felt something strange. He felt that there seemed to be a dark shadow moving in front of the battlefield. After watching for a while, he fired a warning shot decisively.

The sound of gunfire broke the silence of the night, and the alert soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the 5th Brigade immediately entered combat status.

The two sides immediately engaged in fierce close combat, and the Japanese suicide squad members, poisoned by the Bushido spirit, rushed towards the position of the 5th Brigade frantically.

The soldiers of the Fifth Brigade fought calmly with their tenacious will.

At this time, the 2nd Battalion of the 5th Brigade nearby came to support. The 2nd Battalion divided into two groups and attacked the Japanese suicide squad from both wings during the night attack.

The battle lasted for more than an hour, and the bodies of the Japanese suicide squad members were left in front of the 5th Brigade's position.

The remaining small number of Japanese suicide squad members retreated back to the Japanese military camp.