Devil's Army

Chapter 2027 The Japanese Army's Siege of Nanjing

Just as the 12th Brigade of the First Army defeated the Japanese army in Suzhou and was advancing step by step towards Nanjing, the Independent Brigade of the First Army also attacked from Jiangning, located in the southern suburbs of Nanjing.

Commander Hata Shunroku urgently dispatched troops to provide support. However, the Beijing-Wuhu Railway in the Jiangning Town area was destroyed by the New Fourth Army.

The Japanese troops were forced to get off the train and walk to provide support.

A unit of the New Fourth Army in southern Jiangsu Province engaged in fierce fighting with Japanese and puppet troops in Yuntai Mountain.

After several days of fighting, the 15th Brigade of the First Army recaptured Lishui.

Lishui is located in southeastern Nanjing and was an important part of the Southern Jiangsu Anti-Japanese Base Area.

The advance detachment of the New Fourth Army operated in the Lishui area, and Lixiang became the headquarters of the CPC Jiangsu-Anhui Regional Committee and the 16th Brigade of the New Fourth Army. The Ninth Branch of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University was also reorganized in Lishui.

The recapture of Lishui connected the New Fourth Army's base with the First Army's occupied area, eliminating concerns about encirclement and suppression by Japanese and puppet troops. Moreover, it was very close to Nanjing.

With the assistance of the First Detachment of the New Fourth Army, the Third and Fourth Regiments of the Independent Brigade of the First Army advanced into Gaochun, where they engaged in fierce street battles with the Japanese army.

Commander Hata Shunroku urgently dispatched the main force of the 17th Independent Mixed Brigade to provide support. However, they were met with fierce resistance from the First Detachment of the New Fourth Army and the Fourth Regiment of the Independent Brigade of the First Army.

Two days later, Gaochun was recaptured.

The CCP Jiangsu-Anhui Regional Committee established the Lishui-Gaochun Anti-Japanese Democratic Government in the three counties of Gaochun, Lishui, and Liyang, expanding the Maoshan Anti-Japanese Base Area.

The main force of the 16th Brigade of the New Fourth Army launched another attack on Liuhe, north of Nanjing.

Liuhe was the command center of the New Fourth Army's main base east of the Jinpu Railway.

The Japanese army launched several large-scale encirclement and suppression campaigns against Liuhe, but the New Fourth Army, like an eel, moved with ease among the junctions of various Japanese units, causing the Japanese encirclement and suppression campaigns to fail time and time again.

The Battle of Jinniushan in 1941 and the Battle of Guizishan in 1943 both took place in Liuhe, inflicting heavy blows on the Japanese and puppet troops.

Commander Shunroku Hata ordered the Japanese troops in central Jiangsu to move south to participate in the war and defend the Nanjing command post.

However, at this time, the 364th Brigade of the Sichuan Army and the 11th Brigade of the First Army, which were attacking the Japanese army in northern Jiangsu, also intensified their offensive and successively recovered Yancheng, Yandong, Jianyang (later renamed Jianhu), Funing, Fudong, Sheyang, Huaiyin, Huaian, Lianshui, Siyang, Xuyi, Ganyu, Donghai, Fengxian, Peixian, Pixian, Suining, Shuyang, Sihong and other counties.

The Japanese troops in northern Jiangsu suffered repeated defeats and were powerless to resist the combined offensive of the 364th Brigade of the Sichuan Army, the 11th Brigade of the First Army, and the New Fourth Army in northern Jiangsu.

At this time, the Japanese army in southern Jiangsu was engaged in fierce fighting with three brigades of the Second Area Army of the First Army and the New Fourth Army in southern Jiangsu.

The Japanese troops in northern Jiangsu were preoccupied with their own problems, while the main force of the Japanese troops in central Jiangsu was tied down by the 364th Brigade of the Sichuan Army, the 11th Brigade of the First Army, and the guerrillas and New Fourth Army in central and northern Jiangsu, and could not fully support southern Jiangsu.

To avoid fighting simultaneously in the north and south of Nanjing, Commander Hata Shunroku sent all of his main forces from central Jiangsu northward to first defeat the relatively weaker southward-bound "devil troops".

To Commander Hata Shunroku's surprise, two regiments of the 15th Brigade, the "Devil Force," suddenly attacked Jurong, located east of Nanjing.

Jurong was an important southeastern gateway to Nanjing and a key stronghold for the Japanese and puppet troops in southern Jiangsu.

If Jurong County falls, Nanjing will be under the watchful eyes of the devilish army. They could launch an attack at any time.

This forces them to remain on high alert, always ready to fight.

The development of the battle situation greatly exceeded Commander Hata Shunroku's expectations.