Devil's Army

The 4th Regiment of the 5th Brigade was short-handed because two battalions were sent back to reinforce Chaoxian County.

Under the frenzied attack of the Japanese and puppet troops in Wuhu, the defensive line was finally breached.

After breaking through the defenses of the Devil Force and the New Fourth Army, the Japanese and puppet troops in Wuhu rushed to Chaoxian County at full speed.

Upon receiving the telegram from Brigade Commander Zhang, the commander of the 4th Regiment of the Independent Brigade disregarded the fatigue from the attack on Hefei and immediately ordered his troops to march to Wangchenggang in Chaoxian County.

Wangchenggang is located about 3 kilometers south of Chaohu Lake, with a height of about 60 meters. It is known as the southern gateway fortress of Chaoxian County.

To its east lies an open water network, to its west the terrain is undulating and covered with shrubs, to its southwest are mountains, to its southeast a highway leads to Lüpodian, to its northwest is Chaohu Lake, and to its northeast the Yuxi River connects to the mouth of Chaohu Lake, making its location quite important.

The Seventh Division of the New Fourth Army adopted a "attack the stronghold and strike the reinforcements" strategy and successfully recaptured Wangchenggang.

The 4th Regiment of the Independent Brigade arrived at Wangchenggang and immediately joined forces with the directly subordinate troops of the 7th Division of the New Fourth Army to occupy the highest point, construct fortifications, and prepare for the arrival of the Japanese and puppet troops in Wuhu.

Less than half an hour later, the Japanese and puppet troops in Wuhu rushed to Wangchenggang.

As soon as the Japanese and puppet troops from Wuhu entered Wangchenggang from the west, they were immediately met with fierce attacks from the soldiers of the Fourth Regiment and the Seventh Division of the New Fourth Army in the bushes and on the hillside.

Before the Japanese artillery in Wuhu could launch its bombing, two fighter planes and two bombers from the First Army Air Force, which was supporting the battle in Chaoxian, also rushed over to provide support.

They launched a fierce bombing and strafing attack on the Japanese and puppet troops in Wuhu below Wangchenggang, making the already attacked Wuhu troops even worse off.

Under the threat of the devilish air force, the Japanese artillery in Wuhu never dared to fire.

At this time, good news also came from the 15th Brigade.

They successfully recaptured Lu'an County and Lujiang County, and now they have sent a regiment to Chaoxian County as reinforcements.

Meanwhile, the commander of the 15th Brigade left the 1st and 2nd Regiments behind to clean up the battlefield in Lu'an.

Under the leadership of the 58th Regiment of the 7th Division of the New Fourth Army, the Third Regiment recaptured the strongholds in Shucheng that had been occupied by the Japanese and puppet troops.

(At that time, some key transportation areas in Shucheng were occupied by Japanese and puppet troops. Other areas were anti-Japanese guerrilla zones of the New Fourth Army.)

When the Fourth Regiment arrived at the southwest of Chaoxian County, the Fourth Regiment of the Fifth Brigade was attacking the rear of the Japanese and puppet troops in Tongling from the south.

The Third Regiment of the Fifth Brigade and the Jiangbei Guerrilla Column of the New Fourth Army were attacking the Japanese and puppet troops in Anqing from the west.

Despite the fatigue from the long march, the 4th Regiment of the 15th Brigade immediately engaged in battle.

The Japanese and puppet troops attacking Chaoxian County had to once again divide their forces to block the attack of the 4th Regiment of the 15th Brigade.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Third Regiment of Chaoxian County and the Chaohu Detachment of the New Fourth Army launched a fierce attack on the Japanese and puppet troops who had entered the city, driving them out of Chaoxian County in one fell swoop.

At this time, the First Army Air Force also launched a fierce bombing and strafing attack on the Japanese and puppet troops attacking Chaoxian County.

The Japanese and puppet troops in Anqing and Tongling, suffering heavy casualties, had no choice but to temporarily halt their attack on Chaoxian to avoid air raids by the devilish air force.

The next morning, troops from Chaoxian County and the surrounding Fifth Brigade, Independent Brigade, Fifteenth Brigade, and the New Fourth Army launched a large-scale counterattack against the Japanese and puppet troops.

The air force of the First Army also rushed over to provide support, launching fierce bombing and strafing attacks on the Japanese and puppet troops who were engaged in battle.

Under the fierce attack of the First Army in the open field, the Japanese and puppet troops in Anqing were the first to be unable to resist and retreated to Anqing.

The Japanese and puppet troops in Tongling and the surrounding areas of Chaoxian, unable to fight alone, also began to retreat towards Tongling.

After much preparation, the massive Japanese siege of Chaoxian County ended in a major defeat for the Japanese army.

Meanwhile, the 15th Brigade and the Independent Brigade also recaptured Lu'an, Lujiang, Shucheng and Hefei.

With this, all major cities in central Anhui had been recovered.