Devil's Army

Chapter 2009: The Japanese Army's Attack on the Sichuan Army in Huaiyin

At this time, the 364th Brigade of the Sichuan Army did not really want to take back Xuzhou, but rather wanted to force the main force of the Japanese army to reinforce Xuzhou, so that they could take back the surrounding counties of Xuzhou.

During the Battle of Xuzhou in 1938, General Li Zongren commanded the Nanjing government army to deploy more than 600,000 troops, while the Japanese North China Area Army (Terauchi Hisaichi) and Central China Area Army (Hata Shunroku) deployed a total of 240,000 troops. After five months of fighting, the Japanese army finally occupied Xuzhou.

It's simply a pipe dream for the 364th Brigade of the Sichuan Army, with its 1-plus troops, to attack Xuzhou and the surrounding area, which is garrisoned by more than 2 Japanese troops and more than 3 puppet troops.

The Japanese army urgently reinforced key cities in central Jiangsu, including Huaiyin, Huaian, Yancheng, Lianshui, Funing, Xuzhou, and Haizhou (Lianyungang).

The 364th Brigade of the Shenchuan Army recaptured Huaiyin and Siyang counties. The 11th Brigade of the First Army recaptured Ganyu County (now Ganyu District of Lianyungang), the northernmost "northern gateway" of Jiangsu, and Donghai County, located in the western part of Haizhou.

After the Japanese reinforcements consolidated the defenses of the area, they began to occupy the territory recaptured by the Sichuan Army's 364th Brigade and the Israeli Army's 11th Brigade.

In Huai'an and Lianshui, Japanese troops began to advance into the defense zone of the 364th Brigade of the Sichuan Army in Huaiyin.

At that time, the area from Huai'an to Huaiyin was located in the water network zone of the North Jiangsu Plain, without any natural mountain barriers.

The Sichuan Army's 364th Brigade needed to rely on the canal embankment, highway passes, water network villages, and gaps between strongholds to deploy its defenses.

Commander Wang of the 364th Brigade of the Sichuan Army deployed the 727th Regiment at Lujiatan (northwest of Huai'an).

Located on the main road from Cheqiao to Huaiyin, this area is surrounded by dense reed beds and crisscrossing ditches, making it a typical water-network ambush terrain.

Moreover, Commander Zhang used the Golden Eagle drone to detect the Japanese army's movement route in advance and called in the air force for an air raid.

Soon after, the advancing Japanese troops were subjected to heavy bombing by the First Army Air Force. The Japanese artillery, which was difficult to move, suffered heavy losses.

Before the Sichuan Army's 727th Regiment even began fighting, it had already inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese artillery, creating a favorable situation for the defense of Huaiyin County.

When the Japanese troops arrived at Lujiatan, they were met with fierce resistance from the soldiers of the 727th Regiment of the Sichuan Army.

At this time, the Japanese artillery did not have many cannons, and their firepower was insufficient to support the Japanese infantry's attack.

The Japanese commander had no choice but to gather his soldiers and prepare to take Lujiatan by overwhelming force.

However, the Japanese commander did not expect that their artillery would suffer heavy losses, while the artillery of the Sichuan Army's 364th Brigade would not.

The Japanese troops, who were gathering, were suddenly subjected to a fierce bombardment by the artillery of the 364th Brigade of the Sichuan Army. They suffered heavy casualties and had to withdraw from the firing range of the artillery.

Taking advantage of the Japanese army's confusion, Commander Zhang sent a battalion of soldiers to launch a surprise attack on the Japanese army.

The soldiers of this battalion used reeds taller than a person as cover to launch surprise attacks on the Japanese army, causing even greater chaos to the Japanese forces.

The Japanese commanders promptly adjusted their deployment, dispatching multiple units to encircle and annihilate the Sichuan troops who had launched a surprise attack on them.

The battalion commander received intelligence from the golden eagle that two Japanese corps were searching for them from opposite directions, and he immediately came up with a plan.

He ordered his soldiers to lie in ambush in the reeds, and when the two Japanese troops searching for them approached, they suddenly opened fire and threw grenades at them.

After being attacked, the two Japanese troops immediately opened fire in return.

The battalion commander then quietly led his troops to withdraw from the battlefield.

Since the Sichuan Army also used Japanese weapons, the Japanese commanders did not notice anything unusual.

Two Japanese troops engaged in fierce fighting across the reeds.