Devil's Army

The Japanese army's Hata Detachment brought Commander Zhang's thoughts back to six years ago.

At that time, he was the commander of the First Regiment of the First Brigade of the First Anti-Japanese Army.

He was ordered by his brigade commander to lead a regiment of soldiers to Anqing, Hubei, to intercept the Japanese army.

The Hata Detachment was the core spearhead of the Japanese army's offensive up the Yangtze River during the Battle of Wuhan.

As the vanguard of the campaign, the Hata Detachment launched its offensive with the support of naval vessels and air force, first raiding Anqing in June 1938 to kick off the campaign.

Afterwards, they successively captured key river fortresses such as Madang and Hukou, and in July, together with allied forces, they captured Jiujiang. Subsequently, they participated in key battles such as Ruichang and Fuchikou.

During this period, they used poison gas bombs on multiple occasions to break through the Nanjing government's defenses.

He was also responsible for clearing out the remaining government troops along the Yangtze River, ensuring the safety of the Yangtze River waterway, and clearing obstacles for the subsequent transport of Japanese troops and supplies. He was a key force in promoting the Japanese army's strategic intention to advance up the Yangtze River to attack Wuhan.

They committed numerous crimes against Chinese soldiers and civilians on the Chinese battlefield.

Commander Zhang decided to sever the fangs of the Japanese army's Hata Detachment.

Through the intelligence transmitted by the golden eagle, Division Commander Zhang learned that the Japanese army's Hata Detachment was stationed in the area on the north bank of Sanhua Ce Lake in Xishui.

This area is an important passage from Wuxue and Qichun along the river to Xishui. The riverbank is winding and has many lakes and inlets, as well as large areas of marshland and reed beds.

The Japanese army's Hata Detachment's gunboats and motorboats were hidden in the reeds, which could launch surprise attacks on the attacking devil troops and the New Fourth Army, or support the Hata Detachment's marines on the shore.

Furthermore, in order to maintain secrecy, the Japanese army's Hata Detachment killed and drove away the villagers in the surrounding areas.

While this achieved the goal of maintaining secrecy, it also created extremely favorable conditions for the First Air Force to launch an air raid on the Hata Detachment.

Commander Zhang believed that since the cruel Hata Detachment had repeatedly used poison gas against the Nanjing government's army, they should fight fire with fire and let them taste the pain of being burned.

Two days later, a strong wind blew towards the river, which was perfect for a fire attack.

The battle to retake Wuxue County began with the Huoshaobotian Detachment.

At noon, the sun was shining brightly, and everything seemed normal.

Japanese soldiers of the Hata Detachment spotted two fighter planes and two bombers from the Devil Force flying overhead and quickly hid in the reeds to avoid the air raid.

Two fighter planes from the Devil Squad launched a fierce bombing raid on the exposed Japanese fortifications and strongholds.

The arriving bombers from the "Devil Force" did not continue bombing the Japanese fortifications and strongholds. Instead, the two planes formed a two-plane formation, opened their cockpits, and sprayed a pale yellow liquid onto the northern shore of Sanhua Cehu Lake and the reed marshes in Xishui.

Fifteen minutes later, the two bombers returned to base in a two-plane formation.

At this moment, the cabins of the two bombers opened again, and four heavy incendiary bombs were dropped one after another.

With a series of loud booms, the incendiary bombs ignited the fuel that had already fallen to the ground and was still floating in the air, causing a violent fire.

A pilot from the air saw that Sanhua Lake in Xishui was like a living hell. Flames were rising everywhere.

The fire ignited the ammunition depot of the Japanese army's Hata Detachment, triggering a violent secondary explosion.

The fire also ignited Japanese gunboats and motorboats hidden in the reeds.

While fighting the fires, Japanese naval soldiers sailed their gunboats and motorboats into the Yangtze River. But the fires seemed to possess a spirit, constantly following the wind and chasing after the Japanese gunboats fleeing into the Yangtze.