Devil's Army

As soon as the pilots of the First Army saw the Japanese fighter planes rushing towards them, they immediately stepped on the throttle and fled.

Upon seeing this, the Japanese fighter planes immediately increased their throttle to give chase. However, the distance between the two sides continued to widen until the bombers of the "Devil Force" disappeared from their sight.

Enraged, the Japanese pilots had no choice but to return to the Hongqigou Valley and strafed the First Battalion's position. However, the dense forest also obscured their vision, rendering the strafing ineffective.

As soon as the air raid ended and the artillery bombardment ceased, the division commander of Lantian Division immediately ordered his infantry to launch an attack on the position of the First Battalion in the Hongqihe Gorge.

Soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the 18th Division of the Japanese Army slowly advanced along both sides of the Hongqi River Canyon.

The first and second company commanders immediately ordered their soldiers to quickly take up positions and prepare for the approaching Japanese troops.

Soon after, intense gunfire and explosions rang out again in the Hongqi River Canyon.

The first wave of Japanese attack was repelled by the fierce fire and grenade attacks of the First Battalion soldiers.

After resting for half an hour, the division commander of Lantian ordered the Japanese army to launch another attack on the Hongqihe Gorge.

Japanese mortar and grenade launcher troops fiercely bombarded the positions of the First and Second Companies on both sides of the Hongqi River Gorge, in coordination with the infantry attack.

Despite the intense artillery fire from the Japanese army, the soldiers of the First and Second Companies lay prone in their fortifications, stubbornly resisting the Japanese attack.

The fierce battle continued until after 3 p.m. The soldiers of the First and Second Companies, who had suffered heavy casualties, withdrew from the Hongqihe Canyon position and lured the Japanese troops into the canyon before annihilating them.

The Japanese troops finally stormed the positions of the devilish troops on both sides of the Hongqi River Canyon, but the place was already deserted.

The main Japanese force then continued its advance towards Helong County. However, it was repeatedly attacked by a battalion within the canyon.

Moreover, the narrow roads within the canyon made it difficult for Japanese artillery to advance and provide effective support to the infantry.

In the evening, fearing an attack by the devilish troops skilled in night raids, the Japanese troops retreated to the entrance of the Red Flag River Canyon.

(The Japanese army had already occupied the entrance to the Hongqi River Canyon and stationed troops there.)

When the Japanese army retreated, the battalion commander sent troops to follow them all the way to the entrance of the Hongqi River Canyon.

A battalion commander attempted a night raid on the Japanese troops stationed at the entrance to the Hongqihe Canyon, but the scouts following behind reported that the Japanese defenses were very strong.

After much deliberation, the battalion commander decided to abandon the night raid plan. After all, he was currently short of troops, and if the raid failed, he would lose a significant number of soldiers.

In order to delay the Japanese army's attack the next day, he ordered engineers to lay mines on the Japanese army's likely route, and to deploy snipers and machine gunners in the woods on both sides.

As dawn broke, the Japanese troops stealthily made their way towards the position of the First Battalion inside the canyon.

All of this was being monitored by the sentries of the First Battalion, who were hidden in the woods. They immediately reported the Japanese movements to the snipers and machine gunners.

In order to better lure the Japanese troops into the minefield, the battalion commander arranged for a squad of soldiers to suddenly open fire on the Japanese troops.

After a round of gunfire, more than ten Japanese soldiers were taken down.

The Japanese army discovered that the devilish troops attacking them numbered only a dozen or so, and immediately launched a counterattack.

The soldiers of the First Battalion did not linger in the fight; under the leadership of Squad Leader Yao, they quickly withdrew from the battle.

The Japanese army, having suffered a loss they could not tolerate, was determined to give chase.

The pursuing Japanese troops soon entered the minefield that the First Battalion had laid out overnight.