Devil's Army

Chapter 1943 Battle of Jianli County 1

After destroying the Japanese aircraft at Bailuo Airport, the Nanchang Air Force began to indiscriminately destroy various Japanese strongholds and defense lines in Jianli County to support infantry operations.

In order to achieve victory in the battle of Jianli County, more than 80 fighter jets were dispatched from the two airfields of Nanchang Air Force.

Almost all Japanese battlefields and strongholds in Jianli County were attacked by the Nanchang Air Force.

The battle was progressing steadily according to plan. However, the attack on Bailuo Airport was not going as smoothly.

The Japanese-built Bailuo Airport in Jianli County was naturally fortified by the Yangtze River to the south, and the Yangtze River dike and Lion Mountain to the east, west, and north, forming a natural defensive structure facing the river and backed by the dike. It could defend the Yangtze River stronghold and control the Yuehan Railway on the opposite bank, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

The Japanese later expanded the Yanglinshan makeshift airfield, which, together with the main airfield, formed a strategic triangle, further strengthening the area's defenses.

The Japanese army also set up two lines of defense on the perimeter: pillboxes and electric fences. The pillboxes at the five key intersections were equipped with telephones for surveillance; the electric fences were hidden in the weeds.

Bunker defenses were set up at key internal passageways. The bunkers protruded one meter above the ground and had firing ports on all four sides, serving both defensive and anti-aircraft functions. Later, earthen walls were built on the tarmac to separate aircraft and prevent chain damage in the event of an attack.

The Japanese airfield was successively defended by the Nishioka Unit and the Miyazaki Unit in shifts.

The Japanese army also ordered Xiong Jiandong, commander of the Huangwei Army, to garrison Luoshan and Yanglinshan, coordinating with the Japanese troops at the airport. After reorganization, his troops numbered three thousand, reinforcing the defenses around the airport.

Bailuo Airport has facilities such as ammunition depots, oil depots, and grain warehouses.

After suffering damage from an air raid by the First Army Air Force during the Jiangxi air battle, the Japanese army transferred its food, ammunition, and gasoline to a mountain cave in Linxiang County on the opposite bank to store them, in order to prevent further air raids by the First Army Air Force.

This was also the first place that the First Parachute Battalion of the First Army was to occupy. However, to occupy this place, the Huang Wei Army and the Japanese army on the periphery had to be dealt with first.

The battle between the First Regiment and the New Fourth Army's Independent Battalion started relatively smoothly, and they eliminated Huang Weijun and the Japanese army outside Bailuo Airport.

However, Huang Weijun's forces outside Bailuo Airport only served a surveillance role; their strength was not great, and their fortifications were not strong enough.

As the battle reached Bailuoshan and Yanglinshan, the inner defensive lines of Bailuo Airport, the First Regiment and the New Fourth Army Independent Battalion encountered fierce resistance from the Japanese army.

On Bailuoshan and Yanglinshan, Japanese soldiers built bunkers, and machine guns fiercely swept in all directions to stop the attack of the First Regiment and the Independent Battalion.

The main fortifications of these Japanese bunkers were deep underground, enabling them to withstand air raids by the First Army Air Force.

The guns of the First Squadron of the First Army Navy, anchored on the Yangtze River, also launched a fierce bombardment of the Japanese positions on Bailuoshan and Yanglinshan, but with little effect.

As time ticked by, the time for the Paratrooper Battalion to attack the core position of the Japanese army in the valley caves drew ever closer.

If the First Regiment and the Independent Battalion fail to capture the Japanese positions at Bailuoshan and Yanglinshan on time, the First Parachute Battalion, which has been bombing the core Japanese positions, will be left to fight alone.

The regimental commander launched a continuous offensive against the Japanese positions at Bailuoshan and Yanglinshan.

The brigade commander transferred all available rocket troops to support the regiment's operations.

However, Huang Weijun and the Japanese army resisted tenaciously.

Seeing that the First Regiment had suffered heavy casualties but the battle was progressing slowly, the brigade commander allocated the reserve smoke grenades and tear gas grenades to the First Regiment.