Devil's Army

Chapter 2001 Attack on Huarong County

The Japanese defense line at Wumakou was finally breached by two regiments of the 4th Brigade of the Independent Division.

The Japanese troops at Wumakou retreated towards Huarong.

From Huarong County towards Wumakou, the terrain is mainly low mountains and hills, rivers, lakes, canals, dikes, and narrow roads along the Yangtze River.

In order to defend Huarong County, the Japanese army deployed a large force to block the flow of the Huarong River into the Yangtze River (near Zhuzikou).

The Huarong River converges with the Yangtze River here, forming a network of wetland mudflats.

The First Regiment of the Fourth Brigade of the Independent Division slowed down its march when it reached this point.

The Japanese troops fiercely resisted the advance of the Fourth Brigade from their high bunkers and fortifications on the wetland mudflats.

Japanese gunboats and small vessels launched surprise attacks from the reeds along the banks, ambushing the soldiers of the Fourth Brigade.

The artillery regiment was unable to reach the destination due to the muddy roads.

Lacking artillery support, the regiment was unable to destroy the Japanese bunkers and fortifications and had to request air support.

After a while, the air force from Bailuo Airport arrived to provide support and launched a fierce bombing and strafing attack on the Japanese bunkers and fortifications on the wetland mudflats and high ground.

As soon as the Japanese gunboats and small ships hidden in the reeds surfaced to bomb a regiment of soldiers, they were immediately met with precise bombing by the First Army Air Force.

With strong support from the air force, the soldiers of the regiment advanced steadily.

Meanwhile, the 2nd Regiment of the 4th Brigade advanced along the river embankment from Tashi Station to Wumakou.

This section of the riverbank is narrow, with the Yangtze River on one side and dikes and ditches on the other, making it difficult for the soldiers of the Second Regiment to form ranks when marching overland.

The Japanese army constructed firing bunkers on the slopes or in the ditches on both sides of the causeway, using crossfire to block the entire passage, while also laying mines in the causeway to hinder the passage of the 2nd Regiment soldiers.

The engineers of the 2nd Regiment were killed by the Japanese army while clearing mines, and their advance was temporarily halted.

Meanwhile, the First Naval Battalion of the First Army was patrolling the shallow coastline of Wenzhou, Taizhou, and Ningbo, clearing out the remnants of the Japanese Navy. Unable to enter the Yangtze River, they were unable to provide fire support to the soldiers of the Fourth Brigade.

Commander Wang then ordered the Third and Fourth Regiments to cooperate with the First Regiment in attacking the defense line on the beachhead of the Huarong River wetland.

The Japanese 64th Division had only one battalion stationed in the area, which was insufficient to withstand the repeated attacks of the three main regiments of the Fourth Brigade.

After two days of resistance, the Japanese army finally broke through the defense line with the Fourth Brigade.

After breaking through the Japanese army's positions on the wetland beachhead of Huarong River, Brigade Commander Wang arranged for the First and Second Regiments to advance towards Huarong County, while the Fourth Regiment would detour to outflank the Japanese army's rear along the river embankment at Tashi Station.

The Japanese army was doing its best to block the Second Regiment's attack when suddenly a fire broke out in the rear, and soldiers from the Fourth Regiment attacked from behind.

The unit stationed here was another battalion of the Japanese 64th Division, which had suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of Changde against the government forces.

Now, facing a fierce attack from the front and rear by the 2nd and 4th Regiments of the 4th Brigade, they could not withstand it and fled back to Huarong County in panic from the flank.

After breaking through the Japanese army's defense line along the river embankment at Tashi Station, the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Brigade continued its attack towards Huarong County.

The next morning, the four regiments of the Fourth Brigade, which had gathered outside Huarong County, launched a fierce attack on Huarong County.

At that time, the main force of the Japanese army stationed in Huarong County, Hunan Province consisted of the 234th Regiment (Colonel Yoshinao Toda) of the 40th Division (Commander: Seiichi Aoki), the 235th Regiment (Colonel Kaoru Nishina), the 61st Independent Infantry Battalion (Umeki Ryusuke's unit), the propaganda team and other intelligence agencies, as well as the puppet security regiments and police force, totaling nearly 10,000 people.

Although outnumbered by one regiment by the 4th Brigade of the Independent Division, the 4th Brigade held a strategic advantage in terrain, making this offensive battle far from easy.