Devil's Army

The Japanese troops at the East Gate quickly reported the arrival of their reinforcements to their commander.

The morale of the officers and soldiers of the Japanese military headquarters in Jiyuan City was also boosted. However, this high morale lasted less than an hour before fading away.

Because the gunshots in the grove at the east gate became increasingly sparse until they faded away.

After receiving information from the fourth regiment commander that the Japanese army had been wiped out, the first battalion commander immediately rushed back to Jiyuan City to participate in the battle to attack Jiyuan City.

Before the First Battalion arrived in Jiyuan City, the Fourth Regiment had already broken through the Japanese defense line at the east gate of Jiyuan City and entered Jiyuan City.

The Japanese army attempted to engage in street fighting with the Fourth Regiment using streets, alleys, and houses.

Soon, the Second and Third Regiments also attacked Jiyuan City from the north gate and west gate.

After a day and night of fierce street fighting, most of the Japanese troops in Jiyuan City were wiped out, and a small number escaped through the remaining south gate.

The commander of the Fourth Regiment ordered his soldiers to pursue them closely. He was worried that this group of Japanese troops would harm the villagers like the group that had smuggled in last time.

The Japanese army took turns to cover each other, and when they retreated to the front of Changquan Ferry, they left behind a troop to block the soldiers of the Fourth Regiment based on the terrain.

Changquan Ferry is located in Changquan Village, Xiaye Town, Jiyuan City. It is surrounded by high mountains on both sides, the river is narrow, the water flows rapidly, and it is extremely dangerous.

The commander of the Fourth Regiment knew that this defeated Japanese army had no backup and would eventually run out of bullets, so he ordered his troops to continue attacking the Changquan Village Pass.

The Japanese army hid behind the rocks on the mountain and fired fiercely from a high position. Both attacks of the 4th Regiment were repelled.

The commander of the Fourth Regiment immediately ordered his troops to launch a harassing attack on the Changquan Village Pass to consume the Japanese army's ammunition.

At this time, the Japanese commander was preparing to use hidden assault boats and speedboats to cross the Yellow River, but he did not dare to act rashly because the aviation of the devil army flew over the Yellow River from time to time.

The battle at the Changquan Village Pass lasted for nearly an hour, and the Japanese troops who were fighting stubbornly were seriously short of ammunition.

The Japanese commander did not dare to wait any longer and could only cross the Yellow River with his personal guards in four assault boats and speedboats.

The Japanese commander's speedboat and assault boat were discovered by the returning First Army Air Force not long after they passed the center line of the Yellow River.

The First Army's air force then launched a fierce strafing and bombing attack on the speedboats and assault boats on the Yellow River.

The Japanese commander's speedboats and assault boats dashed about, trying to evade the First Army's air raid, but within a short time, all four speedboats and assault boats on the Yellow River were sunk.

As the Japanese commander and his personal guards all sank to the bottom of the river, the Japanese troops who were stubbornly resisting at the Changquan Village pass were short of ammunition and their defense line was broken through by the soldiers of the Fourth Regiment.

At this time, all the cities in Henan on the north bank of the Yellow River were recovered.

The Japanese army in Henan began to shift from strategic offense to strategic defense. They relied on the natural barrier of the Yellow River to block the attacks of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Army and the Jidong Independent Brigade.

The Japanese army retreated to areas such as Shangqiu, Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, and parts of Luoyang.

For a time, Henan Province was in a state of confrontation with the First Anti-Japanese Army in the north, the Southern Government Army in the south, and the Japanese Army in the middle.

This state of confrontation did not last long. The 1st Brigade and the Jidong Independent Brigade on the north bank of the Yellow River were unable to force their way across the Yellow River. However, the 2nd and 3rd Brigades on the south bank of the Yellow River continued to attack the Japanese army.

After reconnaissance, the Second Brigade Commander learned that most of Luoyang was in the hands of the Nanjing government forces at that time, and only some remote areas far away from Luoyang were occupied by the Japanese army.

So the Second Brigade Commander launched a battle to recapture Luoyang.