Devil's Army

A group of Japanese soldiers armed only with light weapons were unable to retreat in time and were crushed into a bloody mess of flesh and blood by the tanks of the Second Brigade, mixed with bricks and stones.

The retreating Japanese troops resisted step by step, providing cover for each other, and retreated to Lugou Bridge to fight stubbornly.

When the soldiers of the 1st Regiment of the 2nd Brigade saw Lugou Bridge, they were enraged.

Six years ago, the Japanese invaders fired the first shot of their war of aggression against China from Lugou Bridge.

Today they are going to drive the Japanese invaders out of Chinese territory from Lugou Bridge.

Lugou Bridge spans the Yongding River and is the vital thoroughfare leading from Beijing to the south. It controls the Pinghan Railway and is a battleground in military terms.

Now, Wanping City, which is interdependent with Lugou Bridge, has fallen. The Japanese army has deployed heavy troops at Lugou Bridge in an attempt to prevent the devil troops from entering the urban area of ​​​​Beiping.

When the tanks and infantry of the Second Brigade attacked Lugou Bridge, they were subjected to intensive bombardment by Japanese mortars and sneak attacks by anti-tank guns, resulting in heavy casualties.

The First Army's air force would occasionally fly low to attack the Japanese positions at Marco Polo Bridge, but reinforcements continued to arrive, quickly filling the gaps created by the explosions.

The soldiers of the Second Brigade and the Japanese army were in a stalemate for a while.

The Jidong Independent Brigade had already broken through Nantianmen, an important checkpoint in the city of Peking, and was dividing its forces to attack Badaolouzi, Dakailing and Xiaokailing.

The main force attacked Miyun County, known as the "key to the capital," and approached the suburbs of Peking.

When the battle was raging in the southwest and northeast of Peking, the Gray Wolf also arranged for an independent brigade to attack Tong County and Wuqing County connecting Peking and Tianjin.

At that time, the Japanese troops in central China were surrounded on all sides and relied entirely on sea transport for resources.

If the land route to Tianjin was cut off, the supplies shipped by sea through Tianjin Port would not be able to reach Beijing.

Therefore, the battles in Tong County and Wuqing County were quite fierce from the beginning.

The Japanese army deployed a considerable number of artillery units, determined to defend the city.

The First Army deployed aviation, tank units and brave and combat-capable independent brigades, determined to win.

After two days of fighting, the independent brigade finally occupied the entire Tong County and Wuqing County.

Commander Okamura Yasuji certainly knew what the fall of Tong County and Wuqing County meant.

He ordered his troops to organize two large-scale counterattacks, but both failed due to the fierce attacks of the Devil Unit's aviation and the desperate resistance of the independent brigade.

At this point, the land route for the Japanese army in Peiping to obtain foreign aid was blocked.

The soldiers of the Second Brigade fought fiercely until the evening, and finally broke through the Japanese defense line at Marco Polo Bridge with the support of tanks. However, when the troops advanced to Longwang Temple, they encountered stubborn resistance from the Japanese army.

Huilong Temple is located on a high earthen platform on the east bank of the Yongding River, forming a pincer attack with Wanping City to block the soldiers of the Second Brigade from advancing towards the center of Peiping City.

During the July 7 Incident, the 29th Army recaptured the Huilong Temple position three times.

Now the Japanese army has deployed troops here again to prevent the soldiers of the Second Brigade from advancing deep into Beijing.

Because Tongxian and Wuqingxian were occupied by the independent brigade, the only land route to Peiping was blocked.

The Second Brigade Commander did not order his troops to accelerate their advance into Beijing, but instead engaged in a war of attrition with the Japanese, forcing them to surrender.

Gray Wolf knew that if he attacked by force, many parts of this thousand-year-old city of Peking would be destroyed in the war.

This was also an important reason why he blocked the Japanese army's land supply line in Peiping.

Moreover, the deeper they advanced into Peking, the more restrained the First Army's soldiers became, fearing that some of Peking's ancient buildings would be destroyed.

At the same time, the First Army Air Force also increased the intensity of the bombing of Tianjin Port, trying to prevent a single bullet from falling into the hands of the Japanese army.