Devil's Army

While the battle of Jiangsu was raging, the Japanese Army Ministry, in order to support the battle, ordered Itagaki Seishiro, commander of the Japanese Army in Korea, to attack China from Korea and contain the southward-bound devil troops.

Upon receiving the order, Commander Itagaki immediately assembled an expeditionary force to China, preparing to launch another attack on China.

To ensure victory in this battle, he selected a large number of elite troops and made ample material preparations, preparing to emulate Commander Kiyoshi Kōzuki and launch a new version of the "Marco Polo Bridge Incident".

Due to obstruction from the Korean anti-Japanese armed forces, the formation of Itagaki Seishiro's expeditionary force to China was repeatedly delayed.

It wasn't until three days after the end of the Jiangsu campaign that he assembled a force of 20 men to launch an attack on Hunchun, Yanji, Changbai and Ji'an counties in China, dividing them into three routes from Changbai Mountain, the Yalu River and the Tumen River.

At that time, many of the main brigades of the First Army went south to attack the Japanese army, leaving only the 7th Brigade stationed in Jilin and Liaoning provinces.

The closest garrison troops to Liaoning and Jilin were the 5th and 8th Brigades stationed in Beiping and Tianjin, respectively. They were both 700 to 1000 kilometers away from Liaoning and Jilin.

The Oroqen tribe, Tieling County, and the garrison troops stationed in Northeast China consist of the 4th, 6th, 9th, 10th, 13th, and 14th Brigades, which are all nearly 1000 kilometers away from Jilin and Liaoning.

The most critical issue is that these troops are scattered throughout the base areas, making it difficult to assemble them in a short period of time.

At that time, the troops stationed on the Sino-Korean border were mainly the First Border Defense Brigade and the Second Border Defense Brigade of the First Anti-Japanese Army, which had just been established the previous year.

Although the weapons and equipment of these two units are comparable to those of the field brigades, the combat effectiveness of their soldiers is far inferior to that of the field brigades that have fought in mountains of corpses and rivers of blood for many years.

At the start of the battle, the Japanese army breached multiple defense lines along the Sino-Korean border.

Leng Feng had no choice but to consider recalling the Second Front Army, which was currently engaged in battle, to provide reinforcements.

Meanwhile, Japan was eyeing Jiangsu and Zhejiang with predatory intent.

If we risk transferring the Second Army southward, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and even Jiangxi and Hubei could fall again.

However, the counties along the Sino-North Korean border in Jilin and Liaoning provinces have been recovered for some time, and the reconstruction work in various places has begun to show results. The lives of ordinary people have become more stable.

If the enemy were to fall again, the First Anti-Japanese Army would suffer enormous losses.

Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hubei, and Jiangxi have just been recovered, and reconstruction work has not yet begun or is underway. Even if they fall again, the losses will not be as great.

However, if troops from the old base areas were to be dispatched to reinforce them, these troops would already be scattered across various locations for defense, and the mobilization of forces and the preparation of supplies would take a considerable amount of time.

After careful consideration, Leng Feng and Gray Wolf decided to leave the Independent Brigade stationed in Zhejiang and the 12th Brigade of the First Army stationed in Jiangsu. The other troops immediately headed north to participate in the resistance against the Japanese Expeditionary Forces that had invaded China from Korea.

The majority of the Second Army Group of the First Army consisted of troops that had marched south from the north.

They had just adapted to the southern climate and thought they would soon be able to invade and experience the charm of this eastern metropolis. Who knew that an order would be issued to march north again.

However, soldiers are duty-bound to obey orders, so the soldiers of the various units of the army had no choice but to begin their northward march with regret.

The 364th Brigade of the Sichuan Army and the 11th Brigade of the First Army were the last troops to head south and returned to Liaoning and Jilin first.