Devil's Army

Chapter 2002 Attack on the Outskirts of Yueyang 1

While the 4th Brigade of the Independent Division was attacking Huarong County, the 1st and 2nd Brigades also launched a fierce attack on Yueyang, where the main force of the Japanese army was concentrated.

One group entered Hunan from Tongcheng and Chongyang, reaching the key pass extending northward from Dayun Mountain (Yueyang/Linxiang).

This is the main northbound passage: it leads through the Zhanjiaqiao Pass into southern Tongcheng County, Hubei Province, connecting the ancient Hunan-Hubei road with a simple highway. However, the road is narrow and the slopes on both sides are steep and densely forested, making it suitable for Japanese ambush.

The route from Longjiaoshan Pass on the northern slope of Dayun Mountain to the southwest of Chongyang County, Hubei Province, consists mostly of narrow, winding paths, passable only by infantry, making it extremely vulnerable to attacks by the Japanese army.

Moreover, at that time, the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army, the Southern Hubei Advance Detachment, used Longjiao Mountain as its base and frequently carried out guerrilla warfare to harass the Japanese army's supply lines.

When the First Brigade marched south into Hunan, the New Fourth Army's Southern Hubei Advance Detachment launched more frequent raids.

They frequently attacked Japanese transport convoys and ambushed Japanese troops, causing great distress to the Japanese division commander, who had no way to spare troops to suppress them.

As the vanguard of the 1st Brigade reached the Zhanjiaqiao Pass, they engaged in fierce fighting with the 17th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese 11th Army.

The Japanese army used heavy weapons such as artillery to intercept them.

Although the artillery of the 1st brigade could not keep up, it had air support.

The two sides fought repeatedly around the small Zhanjiaqiao Pass.

The Japanese fortifications and firing positions at Zhanjiaqiao Pass were almost entirely destroyed by the First Army Air Force.

However, after the First Army's air force ceased bombing, the stubborn Japanese soldiers emerged from their collapsed bunkers and continued to resist the First Brigade's attack.

This caused relatively large casualties to the brigade.

Especially in the evening, after the First Army Air Force returned to base, the Japanese resistance became even more tenacious and their firepower even more ferocious.

The brigade commander was now in a fierce battle. Relying on his numerical superiority, he employed a piecemeal tactic, continuously adding troops to the narrow mountain path and launching a series of attacks on the Zhanjiaqiao Pass.

In addition, the machine gunners were ordered to take up advantageous positions and fire fiercely at the Japanese firing points at the Zhanjiaqiao Pass to suppress the Japanese firepower.

Under the cover of night, the rocket troops looked for an opportunity to approach the Zhanjiaqiao Pass and launched a surprise attack on the Japanese machine gun positions.

Under the relentless and tenacious attacks of the First Brigade soldiers, the Japanese position at Zhanjiaqiao Pass was finally breached at around 3:00 AM.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the New Fourth Army's Southern Hubei Advance Detachment launched a fierce attack on the retreating Japanese troops on the Zhanjiaqiao Village road behind the Zhanjiaqiao Pass.

With no will to fight, the Japanese troops retreated towards Yueyang while putting up resistance.

Subsequently, the vanguard of the First Brigade met up with the New Fourth Army's Southern Hubei Advance Detachment in Zhanjiaqiao Village.

The troops were exhausted after fighting all night.

The brigade commander then ordered his troops to rest and reorganize in Zhanjiaqiao Village, preparing to take Yueyang in one fell swoop.

At this time, the 3rd and 4th Regiments of the 1st Brigade also marched south from Tongcheng County through Jiuling (the border between Hunan and Hubei), and fought fiercely with the Japanese 16th Brigade at Jiuling Pass.

The Jiuling Pass directly connects Pingjiang in Hunan and Tongcheng in Hubei. The pass is flanked by steep cliffs and the road is winding and twisting, making it difficult for large troops to spread out. Trucks must pass through here in a single file at a slow speed, making it an excellent point for ambush.

Maishi Pass on the north side of the pass connects to Tongcheng County and is the only way to Jiuling.

Commander Yokoyama Isamu deployed the main force of the Japanese 3rd Division to set up multiple layers of blocking positions along the pass, preparing to block the devilish troops from Hubei from entering Hunan.

The Third Regiment of the First Brigade then engaged in a fierce battle with the Japanese army at Jiuling Pass.