Devil's Army

The Southern Independent Division also recaptured Puqi County (now Chibi City), which is very close to Jiujiang City, and besieged Xianning.

Xianning was extremely important at the time, serving as a key defensive line in the Battle of Wuhan and a strategic barrier for Wuhan.

Xianning, known as the "Gateway to Southern Hubei," is located north of the Yangtze River and is traversed by the Yuehan Railway, making it a crucial outer defense line in the Battle of Wuhan.

When the Japanese army launched the "Southern Hubei Campaign" in October 1938, the Nanjing government troops relied on the local mountainous terrain to put up a tenacious resistance, delaying the Japanese offensive for half a month and buying precious time for the strategic transfer of the military and civilians in Wuhan.

Moreover, this area was the birthplace and core base of the CCP-led anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare in southern Hubei.

The first shot of the guerrilla war in southern Hubei was fired in this area in 1938. Subsequently, the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army established base areas such as Xianchongpu here and repeatedly crushed the Japanese "encirclement and suppression" campaigns. At the same time, the base area also connected the enemy-occupied battlefields in Central and Southern China, realizing the strategic intention of "developing the war behind enemy lines in Southern China".

Xianning is located at the junction of Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi provinces, and was a necessary route for the Japanese army to invade Hunan and Jiangxi after occupying Wuhan.

Due to the strategic importance of Xianning's geographical location, the Japanese army stationed a large number of troops there and established multiple strongholds throughout the city, forming a defensive system.

The Japanese army used Xian'an District as its core area, establishing 17 major strongholds, including key transportation hubs such as the county seat, Hesheng Bridge, and Henggou Bridge. Other strongholds included Zhengjiazui, Gangxialei, and Xiaoling.

In order to resist the attack of the Southern Independent Division, the Japanese army established four strongholds after setting up camp in Bodun: Tielongzui, Zhengjiazui, Gangxialei, and Xiaoling.

Furthermore, outposts were established along the route from Tongshan County to Huaqiao, Xikeng, and Jieshou, as well as along the route from the county to Sixia and Nanlinqiao. A supply depot was also established at Nanlinqiao to ensure logistical support.

After the Southern Independent Division recaptured Puqi County, the Japanese army stubbornly resisted at strongholds along the Yuehan Railway, such as Guantangyi, Zhonghuopu, and Cha'anling, hoping to wait for reinforcements.

The Japanese army had five strongholds in Jiayu County, including Luxikou, Yuyue Town, and Shuqiao. The Japanese troops stationed in Luxikou forced civilians to build bunkers and dig trenches to consolidate their stronghold.

Outposts were also set up in Chongyang County, Baini Bridge, Guikou and other places, as well as along the Wuchang and Yangchong highways, to control key traffic routes.

They have established strongholds in multiple locations, including Tongcheng County, Shadui, Jingshan, and Xishan, to comprehensively control key locations within the county.

Therefore, Xianning is a tough nut to crack. To take Xianning, it is necessary to capture all the strongholds in the surrounding counties.

After Commander Zhang recaptured Puqi County and broke through a gap in the Japanese defense line in Xianning, his main force surrounded Xianning County through this gap to prevent the Japanese troops in Xianning County from rushing to reinforce the surrounding counties when he was recapturing them.

Then they began to concentrate their forces and recapture the Japanese strongholds on the outskirts of Xianning County one by one.

After the Southern Independent Division surrounded Xianning County, the Japanese army assumed that they were going to launch a strong attack on Xianning, so they deployed heavy troops to defend it and transferred troops from the surrounding county towns to attack the Southern Independent Division from the side.

Who knew that Commander Zhang would do the opposite, instead of attacking Xianning County, he led his troops to attack Tongcheng County and Chongyang County, where the trouble was most intense.

Japanese reinforcements from Tongcheng County and Chongyang County were the first to arrive on the outskirts of Xianning County, where they engaged in battle with the 1st and 3rd Regiments of the 1st Brigade of the Southern Independent Division.

Taking advantage of the fact that the main Japanese forces in Tongcheng and Chongyang counties were out reinforcing the city, Commander Zhang ordered the 1st and 3rd Regiments to deploy troops to contain the main Japanese force.

The main forces of the First and Third Regiments left the battlefield and joined the Second Regiment in attacking Tongcheng County and Chongyang County.