Devil's Army

Seeing that the Japanese reinforcements from Luotian County, Yingshan County, and Qichun County had entered the encirclement, Commander-in-Chief Li ordered the troops in Gaoshanpu Gorge to launch a general offensive against the Japanese forces in Xishui County, and then join in the encirclement and suppression of the Japanese reinforcements in these three counties.

Shouts and gunfire erupted from the positions on both sides of the Gaoshanpu Canyon. Soldiers charged into the depression of the Gaoshanpu Canyon.

The Japanese army's third battalion commander led his soldiers in a desperate resistance. However, having run out of ammunition and food, they were no match for the New Fourth Army's fierce offensive.

Soon, the New Fourth Army annihilated most of the Japanese troops in Xishui County in the Gaoshanpu Valley, and also captured three Japanese army captains and a number of lieutenants.

The commander of the 45th Regiment of the New Fourth Army, without even having time to clean up the battlefield, immediately led his soldiers into the battle to encircle and annihilate the Japanese reinforcements in Luotian County.

I fought fiercely. Japanese reinforcements from Luotian County, Qichun County, and Yingshan County began to retreat. However, their retreat routes had been blocked by the New Fourth Army and the First Brigade.

The fierce fighting continued until after 9 p.m., when most of the Japanese reinforcements in the three counties were wiped out, and a small number escaped back to the county under cover of darkness.

This major ambush annihilated the main force of the Japanese army in Xishui County, Luotian County, Qichun County, and Yingshan County, completely breaking the Japanese army's grid-like encirclement and suppression strategy.

After this battle, the Japanese army shifted from actively encircling and suppressing the enemy to passively defending itself.

After a night's rest, Commander-in-Chief Li ordered the 1st Brigade of the Independent Division and the 5th Division of the New Fourth Army to launch an attack on Qichun County, Xishui County, Luotian County, and Yingshan County.

The main force of the Japanese army in these counties suffered heavy casualties in the ambush battle in Gaoshanpu Gorge. They were struggling to resist the fierce attacks of the devil troops and the New Fourth Army and had no choice but to ask the regimental commander for help.

The commander of the Japanese 9th Division stationed in Wuxue County dared not send any more troops to reinforce the area, fearing the same fate that would befall the Japanese reinforcements from those counties.

After three days of fierce fighting, the 1st Brigade of the Southern Independent Division and the 5th Division of the New Fourth Army successively recovered Qichun County, Xishui County, Luotian County and Yingshan County.

At this moment, Commander-in-Chief Li and Division Commander Zhang turned their attention to Wuxue County, which was heavily defended by the Japanese army.

This area not only housed the headquarters of the Japanese 9th Division, but also served as a base for the Hata Detachment of the Navy, which patrolled the vicinity of the Yangtze River.

Once Commander-in-Chief Li launches an attack on Wuxue County, the Japanese army will definitely launch a pincer attack on them from both land and sea.

Seeing that Commander-in-Chief Li seemed hesitant, Division Commander Zhang quickly said:

"I'll request permission from headquarters to see if we can send the navy as reinforcements."

Commander-in-Chief Li nodded with delight, how could he forget that the First Anti-Japanese Army had its own naval fleet in Qingdao?

Their First Naval Squadron is also located in Chaohu, Anhui.

More than an hour later, Grey Wolf replied: He had ordered the First Naval Squadron of the First Army in Dangtu County, Anhui Province, to go to Hubei Province to provide reinforcements.

Upon receiving Grey Wolf's reply, Commander-in-Chief Li immediately adjusted his deployment, preparing to retake Wuxue County.

The Japanese army had always been on guard against the movements of the "Devil's Unit" and the New Fourth Army, so Commander-in-Chief Li's large-scale troop movements naturally did not escape their notice.

Of course, Commander-in-Chief Li had no intention of concealing his plan; he wanted to keep the Japanese troops in Wuxue County on edge.

Upon learning that the "Devil's Force" was about to attack Wuxue County, the commander of the Japanese 9th Division hurriedly arranged for his troops to set up a defensive line around Wuxue County.

The Japanese army's Hata Detachment, which was patrolling the Yangtze River, also sent marines ashore to assist the Japanese 9th Division in defending Wuxue County.

These movements of the Japanese army could not escape the notice of the Golden Eagle drones in the air.

Commander Zhang, with his sharp eyes, spotted the Japanese army's Hata Detachment at a glance.