Devil's Army

Chapter 1995: Recapture of Japanese-Occupied Areas in Zhejiang

The 4th Regiment of the 12th Brigade advanced from the Xialuqiao Gorge towards Wenzhou.

The morning mist of late autumn still shrouded the narrow mountain passes in central Zhejiang, with sheer cliffs on both sides.

The two battalions of the Fourth Regiment lay in ambush among the low pines and thorns growing on the cliff.

The narrow passage was blocked by a collapsed earthen dam in the middle, allowing only one person to pass at a time, which was the pre-planned ambush circle.

A reinforced Japanese company of about 180 men was led by two sidecar motorcycles, their wheels screeching over gravel. In the middle were five mule carts loaded with ammunition and canned goods, speeding towards the pass, intending to set up defenses here and block the devilish troops from advancing south to Wenzhou.

The Japanese vanguard cautiously scanned the cliffs on both sides, but failed to notice the glint of gun muzzles peeking through the pine branches.

"Fire!" With the battalion commander's order, grenades rained down from the cliff, hitting the mule cart convoy and instantly overturning two carts.

The startled mules and horses neighed and charged wildly, causing the Japanese formation to immediately collapse. The machine gunners then pulled the triggers, and bullets spun a net of fire, blocking both ends of the pass and trapping the Japanese troops in the ambush.

The motorcyclist in front tried to turn around and escape, but his path was blocked by a collapsed earthen dam. He was shot down by a rifleman on the cliff as soon as he jumped off the motorcycle.

The Japanese troops at the rear attempted to organize a counterattack, setting up a Type 11 machine gun on the wreckage of a horse-drawn carriage. However, after firing just one burst, the machine gunner was shot in the forehead by a sniper from the 4th Regiment.

In less than twenty minutes, the ambush was over. The Fourth Regiment, at the cost of eight lightly wounded and three killed, annihilated the reinforced Japanese company and captured all its ammunition and supplies.

The fourth regimental commander left a company to guard the pass, in case the battle did not go smoothly and they had to retreat to block the Japanese pursuit.

The main force continued to advance towards Wenzhou.

The soldiers of the Fourth Regiment quickly arrived at the Japanese stronghold in Yuejing, Ninghai.

From 1941 onwards, this place was a long-term stronghold of the Japanese army. In 1943, it was incorporated into the Japanese puppet "Nantian County", which was part of the occupied area of ​​Ninghai County.

However, the Japanese forces stationed here were few, consisting of only a reinforced company and over 500 puppet troops. (The other reinforced company was annihilated by the 4th Regiment while heading to defend the pass.)

Under the fierce attack of the artillery and rocket troops of the Fourth Regiment, the battle ended in less than two hours, and the Fourth Regiment successfully recaptured Ninghai Lejing.

At this time, Wenling, Tiantai, Xianju, and Sanmen counties were not occupied by the Japanese army, but were in the hands of the Nanjing government army.

After communicating with the government forces, the fourth regimental commander led his soldiers to continue south.

When the soldiers of the Fourth Regiment arrived at the Panshi stronghold in Yueqing, the Japanese and puppet troops there were already in a state of panic.

Only a reinforced Japanese platoon and more than 200 puppet troops were stationed here.

As soon as the battle began, to the Fourth Regiment Commander's surprise, the puppet troops immediately revolted on the front lines, capturing the reinforced Japanese squad. They then opened the city gates to welcome the Fourth Regiment's soldiers.

The Fourth Regiment easily recaptured Panshi in Yueqing, opening up a passage to the defense zone of Li Mo'an's 32nd Army Group of the Nanjing Government.

The counties of Yongjia, Ruian, Pingyang, Taishun, and Qingtian, which were originally garrisoned by the 88th Army of the government forces, were connected with Panshi in Yueqing, Lejing in Ninghai, and Shaoxing, which were recaptured by the First Anti-Japanese Army and occupied by the Japanese army.

At this time, most of the Japanese troops in Zhejiang were annihilated by the 3rd Brigade of the Southern Independent Division of the 1st Army, the 12th Brigade of the 2nd Area Army of the 1st Army, and the Independent Brigade.

Meanwhile, the 15th Brigade of the First Army steadily advanced northward while blocking the incursions of Japanese reinforcements from Jiangsu and Shanghai, successively recapturing Huzhou and Jiaxing. This pushed the defensive line to the border areas adjacent to Jiangsu and Shanghai.