Devil's Army

The next morning, before dawn, the artillery of the 12th Brigade launched a fierce bombardment on the Japanese positions in Yantai.

As soon as the shelling stopped, the 1st and 2nd Regiments of the 12th Brigade and the Shandong Column of the Eighth Route Army launched an attack on Yantai.

At the same time, the 3rd and 4th Regiments of the 12th Brigade and another detachment of the Shandong Column of the Eighth Route Army were attacking the outskirts of Weihai.

After two days of fierce fighting, the soldiers of the 12th Brigade and the Eighth Route Army finally broke through the Yantai defense line and recaptured Yantai.

After retaking Yantai, the commander of the 12th Brigade left a unit behind to clean up the battlefield and eliminate the remaining troops, while he personally led the main force to continue advancing towards Weihai.

After a whole day of fierce fighting, the soldiers of the 12th Brigade and the Eighth Route Army finally recaptured Weihaiwei.

At this point, Qingdao was the only city in Shandong Province still held by the Japanese. But this was an isolated force. At sea, the Japanese fleet had been repelled by the First Army's air force and the Army's aviation. The 12th and 15th Brigades, part of the Independent Brigade, and the Eighth Route Army's Shandong Column had completely surrounded Qingdao.

However, Qingdao had many strong defensive fortifications. The 12th Brigade, the 15th Brigade, part of the Independent Brigade of the First Army and the Shandong Column of the Eighth Route Army confronted the Japanese army in Qingdao Tuandao Fort, Taixizhen Fort, Qingdaoshan Fort (Bismarck Fort), Yangjiashanli, Laoshan and Xiaozhushan areas.

The Japanese troops in various parts of Qingdao were on high alert and were in a state of panic all day long.

The soldiers of the First Army and the Eighth Route Army had been gradually retaking the outskirts of Qingdao's main positions using piecemeal tactics.

Two days later, the Japanese fleet on the sea actually took off a fighter plane to replenish supplies for the Japanese troops in Qingdao.

A fighter plane from the army that had been patrolling the sky immediately rushed over and shot him down into the sea.

As the Battle of Qingdao continued and the intensity of the fighting increased, the Japanese army in major positions in Qingdao became increasingly short of ammunition and supplies.

The Japanese fleet on the sea risked launching an attack on the Eighth Route Army and First Army soldiers in the Qingdao encirclement, attempting to open up a sea transport line.

The Army Aviation Soldiers who had been on high alert in Qingdao immediately launched a fierce attack on the Japanese fleet.

The First Army Air Force that arrived later also launched fierce bombing and strafing on the Japanese fleet.

After several hours of fierce fighting, the Japanese army had to retreat again after paying the price of one warship running aground, two sinking, and several damaged.

The spark of hope that had just risen among the Japanese troops in Qingdao was extinguished again.

The First Army Air Force intensified its bombing of several Japanese artillery positions in Qingdao.

The artillery on the Japanese artillery batteries, which were unable to retreat in time, was completely destroyed. Soldiers from the 12th and 15th Brigades, the Independent Brigade, and the Shandong Column used various methods, including night raids and surprise attacks, to successively recapture Japanese positions such as Tuandao Fort, Taixizhen Fort, Yangjiashanli, Laoshan, and Xiaozhushan.

This time, the Japanese troops in Qingdao mainly hid in the Qingdao Mountain Fort and the center of Qingdao city.

Three days later, Gray Wolf and the Eighth Route Army Commander launched the final battle against the Japanese invaders in Shandong.

Soldiers of the First Army and the Eighth Route Army launched a fierce attack from all directions on the stubbornly resisting Japanese troops in Qingdao.

The First Army Air Force also increased its support for the attacking forces, continuously bombing and strafing the remaining Japanese artillery and machine gun fire points.

After half a month of bloody fighting by the 1st Army Independent Brigade, the 12th Brigade, the 15th Brigade, the 129th Division Advance Team of the Eighth Route Army, the 115th Division Teaching Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, the Shandong Column of the Eighth Route Army and other troops, they finally succeeded in capturing Qingdao, the most important city on the Jiaodong Peninsula!

The entire Shandong Province was finally recovered.