Devil's Army

Chapter 1948 Recapture of Jianli County

The ships of the First Squadron of the First Army Navy were intercepted by Japanese ships in Jingzhou, and the two sides engaged in fierce fighting on the Yangtze River.

The air force of the First Army also swooped down from time to time to launch fierce bombing and strafing attacks on Japanese warships in Jingzhou.

After a fierce battle, the Japanese army in Jingzhou was completely wiped out.

The First Squadron of the First Army Navy captured three Japanese warships.

The First Squadron of the First Army Navy, together with the First Army Air Force, fought a decisive battle against the Japanese Navy in Hubei Province in the Yangtze River Basin, destroying nearly half of the Japanese Navy's ships.

By controlling the major outlets of the Yangtze River, they laid the foundation for the subsequent recapture of the three towns of Wuhan.

Commander Yokoyama Isamu requested naval support from the Army Department for the safety of the three towns of Wuhan.

Unfortunately, this intelligence was intercepted by the New Fourth Army. They managed to relay the information to Leng Feng.

Leng Feng then ordered the Qingdao fleet to head south to intercept the Japanese navy at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

The Qinghai Fleet received the order and immediately took action.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Navy was engaged in fierce fighting with the US Navy in the Pacific and had no time to attend to the Chinese battlefield, let alone send warships to support the small battlefield of Wuhan, China.

Meanwhile, the battle in Jianli County was also drawing to a close.

Soldiers from the First and Second Regiments have broken through the Japanese army's defenses in Jianli County and are engaged in fierce street fighting with the Japanese army within the county.

After more than a week of fierce fighting, most of the Japanese troops in Jianli County were wiped out, and most of the remaining Huangwei Army troops in Jianli County surrendered.

At this point, a new problem arose.

The 128th Division of the government army was active in Mianyang County, Jianli County, Qianjiang County, Hanchuan County and other places in central Hubei.

This was an independent armed force that broke away from the Nanjing government army and operated between the Nanjing government army and the Communist forces. Its division commander was the famous Wang Jinzai.

In the autumn of 1938, Wang Jinzai led the 128th Division in the Battle of Wuhan, where the troops suffered heavy losses.

After the fall of Wuhan, Tang Enbo, the superior, transferred the 382nd Brigade, which was in good fighting condition, to supplement other units. He also ordered Wang Jinzai to be promoted to deputy army commander to reduce his military power and stopped the supply of troops.

Having seen through this plot to weaken Wang Jinzai's power, he refused to obey the order and led his troops away from the Kuomintang army's command. He then went to the central Hubei region to establish his own stronghold and develop anti-Japanese forces.

When Wang Jinzai arrived in central Hubei, his 128th Division had only about 800 men left.

He incorporated bandits and defeated troops, and his army quickly grew to more than 1 men, occupying 20 towns in 6 counties in central Hubei.

Wang Jinzai struck fear into the hearts of the Japanese army not because of the rapid development of his troops, but because of his cruelty towards Japanese prisoners of war.

He fought the Japanese army resolutely and bravely. In each battle, he would tie the captured Japanese soldiers to trees and then make the new recruits practice bayonet fighting, stabbing them to death.

He neither obeyed the orders of the Nanjing government's army nor opposed the Communist forces. He established his own independent kingdom in central Hubei.

Now that the First Brigade of the Anti-Japanese First Army has occupied Jianli County, given his bandit-like habits, he will definitely think that the First Brigade has threatened his interests.

However, since his troops were determined to resist the Japanese, the First Brigade could not treat them like puppet troops.

Sure enough, when the First Brigade was clearing out the remnants of the Japanese and puppet troops in various towns and villages of Jianli County, the First Regiment and the Third Regiment encountered Wang Jinzai's troops in Liuguan Town and Zhoulaozui Town respectively.

At that time, Wang Jinzai's 128th Division headquarters moved from Fengkou in Mianyang to Guanwan Village in Liuguan Town.

He often fought against the Japanese army in places like Taojiaba and Lujiawan in Liuguan Town.

He still harbored a hostile attitude towards the arrival of the First Brigade of the First Anti-Japanese Army.