Devil's Army

Which unit was the devilish unit that blocked the Japanese infantry brigade stationed outside Peking? Commander Sugiyama didn't know, and Gray Wolf didn't know either.

In order to win the Battle of Tangshan, the Gray Wolf deployed all the troops he could at Jiangjun Mountain, Gubeikou, and the West Gate of Tangshan.

The 12th Brigade also defended the Japanese troops in Beijing and Tianjin in Jixian, Panshan position, and Huangyaguan Great Wall Pass position. No troops were sent to the vicinity of Beijing to stop the Japanese troops.

The Japanese China Garrison Infantry Brigade in Peking and Tianjin had not attacked the defense zone of the 12th Brigade. Gray Wolf thought that the Japanese army had not sent any troops and had no idea that they were being held back by a mysterious force.

On the second day after retaking Tangshan, Gray Wolf and Wu Wolf came to the eastern city wall of Tangshan.

Wulang looked towards Gubeikou and said to Huilang:

"Commander, the Third Brigade has completed its mission to block the Japanese reinforcements at Gubeikou. Should we withdraw them? Otherwise, they will be easily attacked from three sides by the Japanese troops at Gubeikou, Beijing and Tianjin."

"Withdraw them and have them set up positions in the Qianxi Mountains. This place is also close to Tangshan, so they can look after each other. Also notify the 11th and 12th Brigades to strengthen the defenses of Yutian County, Fengnan County and Baodi. The Japanese troops in Peking and Tianjin did not move out this time, and I always felt something was wrong."

"Yes, Captain Chen from the Beijing Intelligence Station sent us intelligence the day before yesterday. The Japanese sent out a regiment of soldiers. Could it be that the Eighth Route Army was holding them back nearby?"

"It's a good thing they didn't come. Ask the 364th Brigade to arrange a regiment to replace the 364th Brigade. The th Brigade will be transferred back to Ji County for rest and recuperation."

While Gray Wolf and Wu Wolf were still looking into the distance, the signalman came over to report that someone with a troop asked to see Deputy Commander He.

"Bring him here."

Wulang glanced at Huilang after he finished speaking and thought, "Strange, I don't know anyone here, who would lead a troop to find me?"

As the communicator brought the man closer and closer, Wu Lang's eyes became moist.

That was Xie Dongjin, the commander of the Second Regiment who stayed in Meihua Town when he retreated from Baoding.

"Deputy Army Commander, Brigade Commander, I finally found you!" Captain Xie stood up straight, saluted Gray Wolf and Wu Wolf and said.

"Captain Xie, you've lost weight!" Gray Wolf obviously recognized Xie Dongjin.

“How can I not lose weight if I don’t have enough food every day?”

"Let's eat first, eat first, and then talk while we eat." Wu Lang took Captain Xie's hand and walked towards the kitchen of the Fifth Brigade.

It was not time for lunch yet, so Gray Wolf asked the kitchen to prepare lunch for Captain Xie and the others in advance.

"How many people did you bring back this time?" Wu Lang asked the soldiers who were waiting for dinner behind Captain Xie.

"There are still more than 3,000 people left."

"Sure, go east! It was right for me to leave you in Meihua Town. You can bring back more than 3,000 people out of the more than 1,000 people." Wu Lang patted Captain Xie on the shoulder and said happily.

"Why haven't you contacted us? I thought you had already..."

"We were in the battle of Meihua Town, and the radio station was destroyed by the Japanese army. We have no way to contact you."

Wu Lang nodded. The situation on the battlefield in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War changed rapidly, the fighting was brutal, and it was common for troops to lose contact.

"Our Second Regiment joined hands with Lü Zhengcao's 691st Regiment in Meihua Town to repel the enemy's attack. Then, with Meihua Town as the center, we carried out guerrilla warfare in the periphery. At its peak, the force grew to more than 7000 people."

Captain Xie took a sip of water, paused, and continued:

"But the area around Meihua Town is relatively poor and cannot support so many troops. Later, as the anti-Japanese situation became more and more severe, there were more and more Japanese troops around us. In order to avoid being surrounded by the Japanese army, our regiment and the 691st Regiment of Commander Lu broke out separately and left Meihua Town to develop."

"What's the situation of Captain Lu's troops?" Gray Wolf knew that Captain Lu Zhengcao was the only founding general from the Northeast Army after liberation.

"After we parted ways with Captain Lu, we had no news of him. After we left Meihua Town, we headed north. We gathered many fleeing soldiers along the way, and we relied on the intelligence sent back by the golden eagle to continuously attack small Japanese troops. Weapon supply was not a problem, but food was always a problem for us."

"Since we crushed the Japanese army's encirclement and suppression of the Tangshan base last year, the food production of the residents of the Tangshan base has begun to develop steadily. This year, we can basically be self-sufficient in food and no longer need to transport it from the tribe. You can eat as much as you want."

“It’s better to have a base!”

"Of course. By the way, how did you know we were in Tangshan?"

"Last year, the encirclement and counter-encirclement battles in the Tangshan base were so fierce that the news had already spread among the Eighth Route Army in Jizhong. We often cooperated with the Eighth Route Army in that area to fight the Japanese, so when we knew about it, we moved all the way to Tangshan. The day before yesterday, the Japanese Army's China Garrison Infantry Brigade, which came out of Peiping, fought several battles with us when it marched towards the Tangshan base."

"So it was you who blocked the reinforcements of the Japanese army in Peking. I was wondering why the Japanese troops in Peking and Tianjin didn't come to reinforce during the Tangshan Campaign." Captain Xie's words solved Gray Wolf's doubts of the past few days.