Devil's Army

Brigade Commander Gao was not familiar with the First Anti-Japanese Army and was not happy about being incorporated into the First Army.

But this was an order from the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, and he had to obey it.

At this time, more than 36,000 Japanese troops in Nomonhan were defeated by the Soviet-Mongolian coalition forces, suffering heavy casualties.

The Japanese army once again gathered more than 80,000 troops to launch a full-scale counterattack against the Soviet-Mongolian coalition forces.

At this time, the strength of the Japanese Kwantung Army in Northeast China was further reduced.

Leng Feng successively arranged and launched the Tangshan Campaign and the Qinhuangdao Campaign.

The second decision was that the Qinhuangdao Campaign would be launched before the Tangshan Campaign in order to rescue and reorganize the Jidong Anti-Japanese Allied Forces.

The commander of the Seventh Brigade ordered the First Regiment to launch a strong attack on the Three Passes, but they were stubbornly blocked by a part of the 15th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army.

The commander of the first regiment asked the commander of the fourth brigade for support. He said:

"Commander Wang, Sandaoguan is in a dangerous position, and the Japanese have set up artillery positions on the hillside. If we attack by force, there will be heavy casualties. Can we arrange a regiment of soldiers to block the northeast exit of Sandaoguan and trap the Japanese to death in Sandaoguan to eliminate the Japanese at Sandaoguan?"

"Okay. Your regiment will be responsible for defending the southwest exit of Sandaoguan. I will lead the 4th Brigade to block the northeast exit of Sandaoguan and recapture Qinhuangdao."

Wang Zhuangfei agreed to the request of the commander of the first regiment of the seventh brigade and divided his troops into two groups. One group started from Shanhaiguan and headed northeast through Yipanshiguan (Jiumenkou).

Jiumenkou is a mountain flank fortress of the Shanhaiguan defense system. After passing Jiumenkou, we detoured to the southwest along the mountain paths or rugged mountain roads. After more than an hour of difficult march, we arrived at the northeast of Sandaoguan.

At this time, the Japanese army arranged an infantry company to guard the retreat route of the 15th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army.

The Second Regiment Commander arranged for the Second Battalion to quietly approach the Japanese infantry company from both sides and suddenly launch an attack on them.

When the commander of the 15th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army, Shinichiro Nanyun, heard the gunfire coming from the northeast of Sandaoguan, he was horrified and knew that the devil troops were trying to block his retreat. He immediately mobilized the artillery on the top of the mountain to prepare to bomb the troops of the st Battalion of the nd Regiment.

When a battalion commander saw his soldiers being bombarded by the Japanese artillery at Sandaguan, he immediately ordered his soldiers to charge and engage in hand-to-hand combat with this Japanese infantry squadron.

The two armies were engaged in a chaotic battle, and the artillery at the three passes had no way to start and had no way to bomb the first battalion of troops.

The battle was over in less than an hour, and the Japanese artillery at Sandaokou continued to bombard the troops of the first battalion.

The commander of the first battalion ordered the troops to retreat and get out of the firing range of the Japanese artillery at Sandaoguan, but they still firmly guarded the exit of Sandaoguan.

Part of the Japanese Army's 15th Independent Mixed Division was blocked at three checkpoints, unable to advance or retreat.

At this time, the commander of the Fourth Brigade personally led the Third Regiment and the Fourth Brigade's direct battalion from Shanhaiguan to the north, passing through Yiyuankou and heading northeast of Sandaoguan.

Yiyuankou is also an important pass on the Great Wall. After passing Yiyuankou, marching south along the inner side of the Great Wall or the mountain path, after more than an hour, you will reach the northeast of Sandaoguan.

Brigade Commander Wang and his men arrived at the northeast of Sandaoguan. The fighting here had already ended. The Second Regiment of the Fourth Brigade had already firmly guarded the retreat route to the northeast of Sandaoguan.

Wang Zhuangfei arranged the Third Regiment to take a defensive stance towards Qinhuangdao, while the other troops took a temporary rest.

Brigade Commander Shinichirō Nanyun was trapped at Sandaguan and was extremely anxious. He quickly sent a telegram back to Qinhuangdao for help.

The commander of Qinhuangdao quickly arranged for a part of the Japanese 9th Independent Mixed Brigade to go out of the city for reinforcement. However, when they arrived at the outskirts of Sandaokou, they were strongly blocked by the rd Regiment of the th Brigade.

The commander of the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army, Takeo Fujioka, ordered his soldiers to launch two consecutive attacks, but both were blocked by the Third Regiment. They had to suspend the attack, set up camp opposite the Third Regiment, and attack again tomorrow.

In the evening, Wang Zhuangfei, Deputy Brigade Commander Huang, the Second Regiment Commander and the Third Regiment Commander discussed the offensive strategy for tomorrow morning.

Wang Zhuangfei believed that Qinhuangdao had been continuously building and improving military fortifications since the Ming Dynasty. After hundreds of years of construction, a large number of solid city walls, beacon towers, castles and other facilities had been formed, providing a good foundation for defensive operations, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. The Japanese troops in the city should be eliminated outside the city as much as possible.

Deputy Brigade Commander Huang and his men all agreed with this. The Japanese troops that went out of the city to reinforce this time were less than a battalion, and the Fourth Brigade now had more than 6,000 people in the northeast of Sandaoguan, so it would not be a problem to make up for the Japanese reinforcements.

To this end, Wang Zhuangfei set up a strategy to lure the enemy into a trap.

The next morning, a squadron of the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army launched another attack on the positions of the rd Regiment with the support of artillery fire.

The First Battalion of the Third Regiment fought hard for a while, but was defeated and began to retreat.

At this time, Brigade Commander Fujioka Takeo did not dare to pursue. The position that they failed to capture yesterday after two consecutive attacks was easily captured today in one attack. Was it a trick?

The captain next to Brigadier General Fujioka had a different opinion. He told Brigadier General Fujioka:

"Our brigade launched two attacks in a row yesterday, and the Devil's troops have suffered heavy casualties. This morning, after our artillery bombardment, the Devil's troops will definitely find it difficult to resist."

While Brigadier General Fujioka was still hesitating, another telegram came from the commander of Qinhuangdao: Commander of the 15th Independent Mixed Brigade of Sandaguan, Shinichiro Nagumo, called again for help.

Brigade Commander Fujioka then ordered the battalion commander to continue the attack and open up the passage to Sandaguan.