Devil's Army

After another whole day of clearing by three battalions, the strongholds occupied by the Japanese and puppet troops around Chao County were basically cleared out.

Some of the township strongholds occupied by the Japanese army were captured by the Gui army in Guhe Town, Quanjiao County.

At 7 o'clock the next morning, the aviation force of Dangshan Airport launched the battle to recapture Chao County.

The bombers dropped bombs on the Japanese and puppet troops' fortifications on the city walls.

Fighter jets approached at low altitude and strafed the Japanese and puppet troops on the city wall.

Chao County had no anti-aircraft weapons, and the Japanese troops under air attack could only continuously fire into the air with rifles and machine guns.

After the bombing of Dangshan Airport, the aviation force did not return but continued to patrol in the air.

The artillery of the first regiment also launched a fierce bombardment on the north and west gates of Chao County.

The fierce bombardment caused the north gate's wall to collapse in two places.

The Japanese army attempted to repair the collapsed north gate wall despite the artillery bombardment, but was bombarded again by artillery.

The artillery bombardment of a regiment had just stopped and the smoke had not yet dissipated when the third and fourth battalions launched an attack on the north and west gates of Chao County.

Under the coercion of the Japanese army, a puppet army tried to rescue the collapsed north gate city wall, but was bombed by the third battalion of rocket soldiers.

The firepower points of the Japanese and puppet troops on the city wall were also accurately suppressed by the machine guns and rockets of the third battalion.

Two soldiers from the third battalion who were approaching the north gate used explosive packs to blow open the north gate.

The soldiers of the third battalion who were hiding nearby rushed in and broke into the north gate of Chao County.

The Japanese troops on the walls of Chao County and inside the city hurriedly reorganized their defenses to block the attack of the third battalion.

At this time, some soldiers of the third battalion climbed over the collapsed city wall into Chao County and fired fiercely at the Japanese and puppet troops on the city wall and inside the city.

Unable to withstand the fierce attacks from both sides of the Third Battalion, the Japanese and puppet troops in Chao County gradually retreated deeper into Chao County. The soldiers of the Third Battalion pressed forward step by step, giving the Japanese and puppet troops in Chao County no chance to breathe.

The "fall" of the north gate of Chao County dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the Japanese troops in Chao County.

Soon, the Fourth Battalion also broke through the west gate of Chao County and rushed into Chao County.

After half a day of fierce fighting, the first regiment finally recaptured Chao County, an important city on the Yuxi River.

Because Chao County is located in central Anhui, connected to important cities such as Hefei and Wuhu, and close to Chaohu Lake, it is a must-pass place for the Japanese army to control Yangtze River shipping and advance inland invasion. Its location is very important.

Chao County was also a strategic fulcrum for the New Fourth Army and the government's Gui Army to block the Japanese army and carry out guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines.

As soon as Chao County fell, the Japanese troops in Hefei, Wuhu and Tongling immediately organized reinforcements and attacked Chao County by land and sea, attempting to recapture this key throat that controls the Yangtze River shipping.

After the Second Regiment of the Fifth Brigade recaptured Fengyang County, they occupied the Changfeng area, controlled the Huainan Railway line that passed through there, and attacked Feidong County, a key town east of Hefei County.

Feidong County is a barrier to the east of Hefei County and an important barrier to protect the Yangtze River Basin.

Feidong County faces Nanjing to the east, is bordered by Chaohu Lake to the south, is connected to Feidong to the west, and is bordered by Bengbu to the north. It is the bridgehead for Anhui's "eastward development" and a "must-pass" place for the westward extension of the Yangtze River Delta.

The Japanese army in Hefei had to send troops to reinforce Feidong County.

What made the Anhui Japanese army even more troubled was that they had always wanted to destroy the New Fourth Army's anti-Japanese democratic regime in Wuwei County, which was across the river from Chao County.

The 3rd Regiment of the 5th Brigade recaptured Dingyuan County via Fengyang County, bypassed Feidong County and Chao County, and arrived at Wuwei County, where they joined forces with the New Fourth Army forces in Wuwei County.

If the Japanese army wants to occupy Chao County again, it will definitely fight with the devil troops and the New Fourth Army in Wuwei County.