Devil's Army

After the air force returned to base, the soldiers of the 1st brigade were subjected to fierce bombing by Japanese artillery.

Their artillery was busy supporting operations of troops in various locations and could not return to provide immediate assistance.

Upon receiving the intelligence, Captain Meng of the First Squadron of the First Army Navy immediately arranged for three ships to come over and launch a fierce bombardment of the Japanese artillery positions.

The Japanese artillery then turned their guns around and exchanged fire with a warship on the Yangtze River.

No, due to the threat of Japanese artillery, the soldiers of the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Brigade strengthened their resistance against the Japanese and arranged for troops to flank the Japanese reinforcements from both sides.

What caused the Japanese reinforcements to collapse was that shortly after the Devil Unit's air force returned, another air force arrived and began to bomb and straf the Japanese infantry exposed on the battlefield.

The Japanese reinforcements were unable to withstand the combined attack from the army, navy, and air force and had to retreat to their base.

Without reinforcements, the Japanese troops in the valley of Linxiang County could not withstand the attack of the paratroopers who had already broken into the valley.

The remaining small number of troops, led by the lieutenant, broke through towards Jianli County.

The battle lasted for most of the day, and the First Parachute Battalion finally succeeded in capturing the Japanese army's supply base in the valley and cave of Linxiang County.

Deputy Squadron Leader Wu left the Second and Third Companies to guard the base, while he led the Fourth Company to Bailuoshan to meet up with the Squadron Leader.

Before Deputy Battalion Commander Wu could even reach Bailuo Mountain, he ran into the Japanese troops who had come to reinforce from the periphery.

The two sides fought fiercely in a forest more than 20 miles from a mountain cave in Linxiang County.

The battle quickly became a stalemate.

Deputy Captain Wu was unable to defeat the Japanese reinforcements, and the Japanese were unable to break through Deputy Captain Wu's defenses.

As evening approached and time went by, the situation became increasingly unfavorable for the Japanese reinforcements.

The Japanese defense line at Bailuoshan was finally breached by a pincer attack from two sides by soldiers of the First Regiment and the First Paratrooper Company.

The regimental commander led his soldiers and the first paratrooper company to the valley supply base in Linxiang County.

Meanwhile, the isolated and helpless Yanglin defense line was already in dire straits under the fierce attack of the 3rd and 4th Battalions of the 1st Regiment and the Jiangling Independent Battalion of the New Fourth Army.

A regiment of soldiers and a paratrooper company rushed over and flanked the Japanese reinforcements from both sides, launching a fierce attack on them.

The scouts noticed the encirclement before the 1st Regiment and the 1st Parachute Company formed and immediately reported it to the commander.

The Japanese commander already knew that the supply base in the valley of Linxiang County had fallen, and that if the fighting continued, the entire army would be wiped out. So he ordered his troops to break out to the right flank of the Devil Force, where the defenses were weaker.

After the first paratrooper company joined forces with the fourth paratrooper company under Deputy Battalion Commander Wu, they continued their attack towards the right flank, pursuing the fleeing Japanese troops on one hand and preparing to attack Bailuo Airport, a key destination in this battle on the other.

When the pursuit reached the vicinity of Bailuo Airport, the fleeing Japanese troops had already escaped into the airport.

The regimental commander did not immediately launch an attack on Bailuo Airport. The troops had been fighting continuously for a day and were exhausted. They rested on the spot and prepared to launch an attack on Bailuo Airport the next day.

Soon after, the 3rd and 4th Battalions of the 1st Regiment and the Independent Battalion of the New Fourth Army, which had broken through the second line of defense of the Japanese army at Yanglin Mountain, also arrived at Bailuo Airport.

The regimental commander ordered the deputy regimental commander to lead the troops to the south of Bailuo Airport. The attack on Bailuo Airport would begin at 6:00 AM the next morning.

Huang Weijun, commander of the Japanese Nishioka unit stationed at Bailuo Airport, was aware that the "Devil Force" had surrounded them. He strengthened defenses to prevent a night attack by the "Devil Force," and simultaneously sent a telegram to his lieutenant colonel requesting reinforcements.