Devil's Army

After the newly formed First Army of the Southern Front was transferred to the front line, Leng Feng had been looking for an opportunity to review the combat effectiveness of the troops which were mainly composed of new recruits.

So on the morning of the second day after Zhang Shaojie arrived in Nanhai County, the 1st Regiment of the newly formed 1st Division of the Southern Front Army launched an attack on Chi Ni in Hua County.

It was their first time to participate in the war against Japan. The new recruits of the regiment were very excited and fought bravely.

The First Army launched an attack on the Japanese Army from the direction of Huaxian, which was beyond the expectations of the Japanese Army.

The battle lasted for more than half an hour. The soldiers of the 1st Regiment of the New 1st Division successfully entered Tanbu Town and attacked Chi Ni Town.

After a bloody battle by the First Regiment and the First Battalion, the newly formed First Division finally succeeded in occupying Tanbu Town and Chi Ni Town in Hua County, and drove the Japanese army to the south bank of the Bajiang River, a tributary of the Pearl River.

Since there was no bridge over the Bajiang River, the people had to rely on ferries to cross the river. So the regiment occupied the north bank of the Bajiang River and confronted the Japanese troops on the south bank.

The second and third battalions of the first regiment continued to advance westward and northward, capturing the county seat of Huaxian and Huashan Town.

The Japanese troops fleeing from Huaxian retreated to Baiyun, Guangzhou.

Afterwards, the Second Battalion bypassed the Bajiang River and attacked the Japanese troops on the south side of the Bajiang River.

The artillery of the first battalion also continuously bombarded the Japanese troops on the south bank of the Bajiang River.

The Japanese troops facing the First Battalion across the river finally could not hold out under the pincer attack from the First Regiment and the two battalions. Most of them were killed, and a few fled.

Afterwards, the regiment commander spent a day to wipe out all the Japanese troops in the townships and towns of Hua County.

In this way, the route of the Japanese 23rd Army in Guangzhou to Shaoguan was also cut off by the First Anti-Japanese Army.

The remaining troops of the newly formed 23st Division of the Southern Front Army also moved to Huaxian County to block the escape route of the Japanese rd Army in Guangzhou to Shaoguan in the north.

Afterwards, the Third Battalion of the First Regiment continued to attack in the direction of Guangzhou, and successively captured Jiangcun Gaotang and Liangwei (now Jianggao Town in Baiyun District).

The Second Battalion captured the Tenth District of Panyu (now Renhe Town, Baiyun District).

The Japanese army continued to retreat to Baiyun, Longgui and Shijing.

Subsequently, the 23rd Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army in Guangzhou arrived and finally blocked the aggressive offensive of the regiment.

Then, part of the Japanese Army's 23rd Independent Mixed Brigade launched a fierce counterattack against the st Regiment, but was met with tenacious resistance from the soldiers of the nd Battalion of the st Regiment.

After a long battle, both sides gained and lost, and finally built fortifications in the Longgui and Shijing areas to confront each other. ^

This battle was a tentative attack by the First Army's newly formed First Division against the Japanese troops in Guangzhou. It achieved certain results and successfully entered the Baiyun area of ​​Guangzhou.

The next day, the 104nd Division of the Southern Front Army of the 51st Army and the nd Division of the Gui-Yunnan Front Army launched a tentative attack on the Japanese army from Nanhai County, Panyu County, Shunde County, and Sanshui County respectively. However, they were met with stubborn resistance from the well-prepared th Division and st Division of the Japanese Army.

After most of the day's fierce fighting, the First Army's troops attacked Fangcun, Henan and other villages outside Guangzhou.

When the Southern Front Army and the Gui-Yunnan Front Army of the First Army wanted to further attack Guangzhou, they were bombarded by the Japanese mechanized forces and artillery and had to temporarily stop the attack. They held the villages outside Guangzhou and confronted the Japanese army.

During the period of confrontation with the Japanese army, the First Army took the time to wipe out the puppet troops in Henan and Fangcun areas outside Guangzhou who had no time to retreat.

This battle made the Japanese Southern Expeditionary Army's commander-in-chief Terauchi Hisaichi worried, and he quickly ordered the commander of the Japanese 23rd Army, Sakai Takashi, to transfer the 51st Division deep in Guangzhou to the front line.

This battle made Commander Zhang realize that the Japanese army in Guangzhou was still very powerful and reacted quickly.

He decided to destroy the main force of the Japanese Southern Air Force and then launch a large-scale attack on the Japanese 23rd Army stationed in Guangzhou.

During this period, the Japanese 104th Division, the 23rd Independent Mixed Brigade, the 51st Division, and the 8th Division successively launched counterattacks against the nd Division of the Southern Front Army of the First Army, the nd Independent Division of the Gui-Yunnan Front Army, and the New st Division. However, all of them returned without success.

The troops of the First Army continued to recapture towns and villages outside Guangzhou through piecemeal efforts.

This made Vice Admiral Sakai very annoyed, but he could do nothing about it.

At this time, Leng Feng brought good news to Commander Zhang: the First Front Army of the First Anti-Japanese Army in the Oroqen Base Area recaptured Siping, an important city in the Northeast, and was approaching Xinjing, the capital of the puppet Manchukuo.

The Second Front Army of the First Anti-Japanese Army in the Tangshan base area recovered Baodi County, Wuqing County, and Jinghai County outside Tianjin, and Wanping County and Changping County outside Beiping. The troops were approaching Tianjin and Beiping.

Just as Commander Zhang and Deputy Commander Du were preparing to ask the troops outside Guangzhou to intensify their harassment and draw the main force of the Japanese Southern Air Force into the battle, a piece of news came from the front that excited the Chinese people:

The Third Battle of Changsha ended with the Japanese army's defeat!