Devil's Army

Chapter 1916: Establishment of the Southern Hubei Anti-Japanese General Headquarters

Seeing that the New Fourth Army had launched a general offensive against the Japanese army, the Third Regiment Commander also launched a general offensive against the Japanese army from the front.

The fighting continued until after 9 p.m. before gradually subsiding.

After eliminating the Japanese troops inside the encirclement, the Japanese reinforcements on the periphery also began to retreat.

The soldiers of the Third Regiment did not rest at this time, and continued to pursue the retreating Japanese army together with the soldiers of the 39th Regiment.

The 44th Regiment of the New Fourth Army, together with the 45th Regiment, blocked the Japanese reinforcements at Longping Mountain.

When the Japanese army saw that the firepower of the New Fourth Army attacking them had suddenly increased, they knew that their reinforcements had arrived, and thus ordered a retreat.

The 44th and 45th Regiments of the New Fourth Army pursued the Japanese army all the way to Longping Mountain, where they were blocked by the Japanese.

Meanwhile, the commander of the Third Regiment and the soldiers of the 39th Regiment pursued the Japanese army all the way to the outskirts of Huangmei County.

In order to maintain a deterrent effect on the Japanese troops in Huangmei County, the commander of the Third Regiment marched overnight to the south gate of Huangmei County.

The next morning, the commander of the Third Regiment and Commander Liu of the 39th Regiment of the New Fourth Army simultaneously launched an attack on the south and east gates of Huangmei County.

After three days of fierce fighting, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Regiments of the 1st Brigade and the New Fourth Army successively recovered Wuxue County, Xishui County and Huangmei County.

The battle at this point had greatly exceeded Lieutenant General Yokoyama's expectations.

He originally intended to retake Huanggang County to block the Jiangxi devil troops from entering Hubei Province from the east.

Unexpectedly, they lost territory one after another, losing Wuxue County, Xishui County and Huangmei County.

However, the fighting did not stop. Some of the New Fourth Army troops stayed behind to clear out and recapture the remaining Japanese and puppet troops in the county town, while other troops, together with the First Brigade of the Southern Independent Division, continued to recapture Qichun County, Yingshan County, and Luotian County.

Commander Yokoyama Isamu hurriedly mobilized troops from the surrounding areas to encircle and annihilate the New Fourth Army's Fifth Division and the devilish Southern Independent Division.

In order to deal with the Japanese army's even fiercer counterattack, Li, the commander of the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army, mobilized the troops that were engaged in guerrilla warfare to return and fight together with the Southern Independent Division.

At this time, the New Fourth Army's Fifth Division had a strength of more than 3 men.

The Southern Independent Division also had more than 25000 troops fighting.

Commander Yokoyama Isamu also found himself with limited troop strength.

The First Army, with more than 40,000 troops, has launched an attack on the Japanese forces in Hubei from north to south.

Yokoyama Isamu dispatched two divisions, totaling nearly 5 men, to encircle and suppress the New Fourth Army's Fifth Division and the Southern Independent Division in the south.

He also ordered the Japanese troops north of Hubei to be on high alert against the attack of the First Area Army advancing south.

During their attack on Qichun County, Yingshan County, and Luotian County, the New Fourth Army and the First Brigade of the Southern Independent Division faced the danger of being encircled by the Japanese army.

Wuxue County, being a key town along the Yangtze River in eastern Hubei under Japanese control, was surrounded by multiple Japanese forces.

After discussion, Li, the commander of the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army, and Zhang, the commander of the Southern Independent Division, decided to temporarily abandon Wuxue County, break out of the Japanese encirclement, and seek opportunities to eliminate the Japanese forces from the outside.

To facilitate joint command and effectively thwart the Japanese counterattack, General Zhang Yunyi, Deputy Commander of the New Fourth Army, and General Tan Hanbo, Deputy Commander of the First Anti-Japanese Army, decided to establish the Southern Hubei Anti-Japanese General Headquarters.

Li Xiannian, commander of the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army, was appointed commander-in-chief due to his familiarity with the local situation. Zhang Qinghe, commander of the Southern Independent Division, served as deputy commander-in-chief.

The establishment of the Hubei Southern Anti-Japanese General Headquarters effectively coordinated the various units of the New Fourth Army's Fifth Division and the First Army's Southern Independent Division to deal with the Japanese army's counterattack on the cities that had already been recovered.