Devil's Army

Chapter 1920 The Battle of Xiao'ao

If the Japanese 9th and 106th Divisions were to break through the Second Brigade's defenses, they would enter Jiangxi Province.

Thus, the victory achieved by the Southern Independent Division after a month of hard work and enormous sacrifices would be rendered meaningless.

Therefore, Commander Zhang's order to the Second Brigade was to block the Japanese troops in Hubei from entering Jiangxi.

Thus, the battles faced by the Second Brigade will not be guerrilla warfare, but rather a more brutal positional war.

In order to win this battle, Division Commander Zhang transferred the main force of the Nanchang Air Force to the airspace of Ruichang County and Wuning County in Jiujiang County.

The 1st and 2nd Regiments of the 2nd Brigade were on high alert at Xiao'ao, ready to deliver a heavy blow to the Japanese army.

Xiao'ao is located at the border of Hubei and Jiangxi provinces, west of Ruoxi, and is a pass between two mountains.

The highway from Wuhan to Ruichang forms a huge "S"-shaped bend here, with a river on the outside, mountains on the inside, and a small hill more than 10 meters high in the middle.

1938年武汉会战期间，廖运周率第110师328旅656团在此设伏，仅用4门战防炮、12门迫击炮，在1小时内发射近5000发炮弹，击毁日军89式中坦克9辆、&34;豆战车&34;16辆、卡车40余辆，歼灭日军600余人，而政府军无一伤亡，堪称伏击战经典。

The Second Brigade Commander has this time concentrated twice the number of troops (the Japanese forces are also far greater than during the Battle of Wuhan in 38), and has strong air support, preparing for history to repeat itself.

The vanguard of the 1st Battalion of the Japanese 9th Division was the first to enter the ambush zone at Xiao'ao. However, the soldiers of the 1st Regiment of the 2nd Brigade did not fire, but waited for the main force of the Japanese army to enter the ambush zone.

The Japanese army forgot the painful lesson of their 6th Brigade's armored motorcycle vanguard. Three armored vehicles led the convoy behind the vanguard, charging into the ambush zone at Xiao'ao in a grand manner.

The regimental commander immediately ordered the artillery to fire.

A pre-prepared artillery unit launched a fierce bombardment of the Japanese convoy in the ambush area of ​​Xiao'ao.

Upon receiving the telegram, the Nanchang Air Force quickly arrived and joined in the bombing of the Japanese troops along Xiao'ao Mountain Road.

Some Japanese trucks were blown into the river, and some were blown up the hillside.

The Japanese artillery outside the encirclement braved the bombing raids of the devilish air force to build artillery positions and suppress the artillery of a regiment.

This was tantamount to suicide for the Japanese army, given that they had lost air superiority.

The Nanchang Air Force of the First Army quickly launched a fierce bombing and strafing attack on the Japanese artillery positions that were firing.

The Japanese division commander sensed something was wrong and quickly ordered his troops to retreat, breaking away from contact with the devilish force.

The artillery of the regiment then extended its fire, bombarding the retreating Japanese troops.

The Nanchang air force also pursued them, occasionally diving to drop bombs and strafing.

The Second Regiment, which was waiting nearby, also gave chase and launched a fierce attack on the retreating Japanese troops.

The battle lasted for more than three hours. The Japanese 9th Division finally broke free from the pursuit of the 2nd Regiment.

After the Japanese 9th Division withdrew to Puqi, the battalion commander took stock of the troops.

The number of soldiers who retreated from their large battalion was insufficient to support two companies.

The Japanese 9th Division suffered a crushing defeat in Jiangxi, losing nearly a thousand men.

The Japanese 9th Division regarded Xiao'ao as their nightmare, and the main force decided to bypass Xiao'ao and attack Ruichang, Jiangxi from the pass of the Mufu Mountains.

The Japanese troops cautiously searched their way to the pass of the Muliao Mountains, but they encountered fierce resistance from the soldiers of the Third Regiment.