Devil's Army

The soldiers of the First Brigade were like tigers descending from the mountains, chasing and attacking the Japanese troops in Linfen City.

The Japanese army arranged a rearguard force to block the attack of the first brigade, and the main force withdrew to the rear to prepare to build a second line of defense.

Before the Japanese army's second line of defense was completed, the soldiers of the First Brigade had already broken through the blockade of the Japanese rear-end troops and launched a fierce attack on the main force of the Japanese army.

Soon, the Third Brigade also broke through the east gate of Linfen City and advanced deep into Linfen City.

The main force of the Japanese army had to retreat again.

The Japanese troops in Linfen City fought fiercely with the soldiers of the First and Third Brigades until the evening. The Japanese troops in the city were basically driven out of Linfen City and fled to Yuncheng City.

The soldiers of the First Brigade did not stop and continued to follow and pursue the fleeing Japanese army.

When the Second Brigade Commander heard that the brother troops had recaptured Linfen City, he ordered his troops to attack Jincheng City overnight.

Soldiers from the 1st Regiment of the 2nd Brigade broke through the north gate of Jincheng City at around nine o'clock in the evening.

The Japanese army attempted to reorganize its defense line, but was met with heavy fire from the soldiers of the Second Brigade who were in hot pursuit.

Throughout the night, there were constant gunshots and explosions in Jincheng City.

After daybreak, the people of Jincheng cautiously opened their doors, only to find that the Japanese and puppet troops had all disappeared, replaced by a force they had never seen before. But this force looked much more friendly than the Japanese.

The Second Brigade Commander left a battalion of soldiers to manage Jincheng City, while the main force continued to march towards the east gate of Yuncheng City.

At this time, a brigade had already launched an attack on the north gate of Yuncheng City.

The Fourth Regiment of the Second Brigade had entered the territory of Anyang, Henan, encountered the Japanese troops in Anyang and engaged in a fierce battle.

Commander Hata Shunroku knew that the fall of Shanxi Province was a foregone conclusion.

In order to prevent the devil troops from entering Henan from Shanxi, Commander Hata Shunroku assembled 20 Japanese and puppet troops stationed in Anyang, Xinxiang, Jiaozuo, Sanmenxia, ​​Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, Luoyang and other areas, and launched an attack from Sanmenxia, ​​Jiaozuo and Anyang to Yuncheng, Jincheng and Changzhi in Shanxi.

On the other hand, they encircled and suppressed the main force of the Eighth Route Army in the southern Taihang Mountains and anti-Japanese armed forces in various places to prevent them from launching sneak attacks from behind and causing sabotage.

Henan Province was engulfed in flames.

To cooperate with the First Anti-Japanese Army to recapture Shanxi Province and contain the Japanese forces in Henan from invading Shanxi, the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army ordered the Eighth Route Army's Taihang Military District, the Eighth Route Army's Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military District, the Tainan Guerrilla Command, the Daoqing Guerrilla Detachment, and the Pinghan Guerrilla Detachment, the local anti-Japanese armed forces of the Taihang Military District in northern Henan, to fully contain the Japanese forces.

Soldiers from the First and Second Brigades of the First Army took advantage of the favorable opportunity when the Eighth Route Army in Henan was pinning down the Japanese army and intensified their offensive.

Under the fierce attack of the First Army's aviation, tank artillery and land forces, the Japanese army in Yuncheng finally could not withstand it and abandoned Yuncheng in the afternoon and retreated to Sanmenxia, ​​Henan.

At that time, the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army sent a telegram to Huilang telling him that the Japanese army had divided its troops into three groups and attacked Yuncheng, Jincheng and Changzhi in the three west areas.

Their troops were gradually delaying the Japanese army's actions, but were unable to stop the Japanese attack.

After receiving the intelligence, Gray Wolf immediately asked Deputy Captain Xu to arrange for the air force to fly to Henan to assist the Eighth Route Army in fighting a blocking battle.

At the same time, he ordered part of the 1st and 2nd Brigades to build fortifications in Yuncheng.

The Third Brigade and the main force of the Yidong Independent Brigade, which was rushing over from Shuozhou County, built fortifications in Jincheng.

The 4th Regiment of the 2nd Brigade built fortifications in Changzhi to prevent the Japanese army in Henan from attacking the newly recovered Shanxi base.

Since the First Anti-Japanese Army in Changzhi only had two brigades and one regiment, the troops were too small to resist the Japanese attack.