Mao’s Iron Army CBI (id:#65588)

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Qihui village, Hebei Province, China 1939-04-23 (0 others)

Overview:

By early 1939, as Europe edged towards war, the Chinese people had already suffered a brutal Japanese invasion for over two years. In north China, Communist forces under Mao Zedong waged a costly guerrilla war against the Japanese. Thoroughly indoctrinated and well trained in guerrilla warfare, Mao called them "an invincible iron army". The Eighth Route Army was one of their main fighting forces. Occasionally, it took the Japanese army head-on, as happened in the village of Qihui. On 21 April, 800 Japanese infantry supported by a light artillery unit had encircled a battalion of Communist troops. When the Chinese put up unexpectedly stiff resistance, the Japanese used flamethrowers and poison gas against the village. The Eighth Route Army then sent in two battalions to reinforce the defenders, taking their foe by surprise.

Defender: Japanese (2nd Company, 3rd Regiment, 27th Infantry Division)  

Errata (source)