On the morning of July 27, after a day and a night of brutal street fighting, the Japanese army occupied Jiujiang in one fell swoop. The complacent commander of the Japanese 11th Army, Okamura Ninji, ordered his subordinates to quickly assemble in the direction of Jiujiang and prepare for the next operation.

The 11th Army is a Japanese ace army, with an elite force of more than 100,000 people, and is subordinate to the 6th Division, the 9th Division, and the 27th Division. the 101st Division, two ad hoc divisions of the 106th Division and the Potian detachment with strong combat effectiveness; At the same time, the 11th Army has the support of the Japanese Army Air Force, which has 500 aircraft, and the Navy's powerful Third Fleet is also on the Yangtze River, which is going up the Yangtze River to provide fire support at any time.

On July 30, 1937, the commanders of all divisions of the 11th Army Corps of the Japanese Army rushed to the Jiujiang Normal School outside the city to hold an operational meeting.

In an auditorium of the Normal School is where the headquarters of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army is located, and the generals sitting in a circle next to the long table in the auditorium, these devils with their hands stained with the flesh and blood of Chinese soldiers and civilians are sitting at the table and listening to Okamura Ninji's instructions.

"According to the plan of the Dispatch Force Command, we plan to attack Wuhan along the west of the Yangtze River from the south bank of the Yangtze River, with the cooperation of naval warships. This is also the closest way to capture Wuhan, the core area of China, as fast as possible; However, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pity that the Chinese military top brass has assembled nearly 15 divisions of the 3rd Army, the 32nd Army Corps, the 31st Army and the 12th Army in the area from Ruichang to Fuchikou. These troops should have all heard of it, these are the main forces of the national army in the Xuzhou area that are fighting head-on with our Great Japanese Yellow Army, although relying on the strength of our Great Japanese Army, it is not a problem to crush them in one fell swoop, but our loyal and brave Japanese warriors should not die on this kind of meat grinder-like battlefield, and it is difficult to quickly repel these national army units within a month or two. So I decided. Okamura Ninji said with a clear pause in his tone,

"Huh!" The commanders of the Japanese divisions seated stood up one after another, waiting for the commander's order;

"Order: The 9th Division and the 27th Division will advance from Susong and Huang Meisi and continue to attack Wuhan; The Botian detachment advanced west from Jiujiang and attacked from the south of Wuhan; The 101st Division and the 106th Division moved south along the Nanliang Railway Line from the west of Lushan to occupy the important town of De'an and eliminate the threat of the flank of Jiujiang; Then they attacked westward from the De'an area, detoured back to the flanks of Sun, Guan, and Tang, bypassed the defense areas of these troops, and captured Wuhan. The staff officer of the 11th Army quickly read the order in hand, closed it and stood aside.

Okamura continued to instruct: "Ito Masakai, Matsuura Junrokuro, your troops only need to advance along the railway, pay attention to the weather, the terrain, the epidemic and the possible sniping of the Chinese army; With the support of heavy artillery and aircraft, De'an was quickly taken. ”

"Yoshizumi Ryosuke, Honma Masaharu, you must always be aware of the weather, the terrain, the epidemic, and any possible sniper attacks from the Chinese army as you advance along the Makufu Mountains; Your troops are advancing along the harsh terrain of the mountain roads, and you don't need to attack very quickly, but you need to hold back the Chinese troops and prevent them from returning to the De'an area. Do you understand? ”

"Hello!" Several division commanders collectively stood upright;

The Japanese army used a large number of troops to capture Jiujiang, although it has successfully taken this important fulcrum on the Yangtze River, but the strategic goal of the Japanese army has not been achieved, the main force of the retreating national army from Jiujiang has not only not been surrounded and annihilated by the Japanese army, but also has not suffered heavy losses, and still has quite strong combat effectiveness; They have moved to the Lushan area south of the Jiujiang River and are waiting for an opportunity to attack, and they may counterattack Jiujiang at any time and cut off the Japanese army's Yangtze River communication line. Okamura Ninji felt a great headache, and he didn't dare to gather the main force to besiege Wuhan with confidence, and he had to deal with De'an's enemy first.

Okamura Ninji has a great characteristic, that is, he will make detailed arrangements for his subordinates before the battle, analyze all possible situations one by one, and repeatedly tell his subordinate commanders. However, once the arrangement is completed, in the specific battles that follow, Okamura Ninji will generally no longer interfere with the actions of his subordinates, and give his subordinates absolute discretion.

Okamura believed that the 101st and 106th Divisions only needed to advance along the railway, compared to the two divisions that advanced along the harsh terrain of the mountain road, and the flat terrain near the railway was conducive to the power of heavy artillery and the air force. According to the existing absolute firepower superiority of the Japanese army, it was not difficult to defeat the Chinese army near Lushan. Okamura was so confident that Matsuura and Ito were also deeply affected, believing that the battle below was just a collective hunt like an English gentleman, and they didn't realize that they meant to underestimate the enemy. They didn't pay attention to Okamura's last words. Okamura's last few words were the most crucial, he told Matsuura not to leave the railway line as much as possible, and was led by the Chinese army to Wanjialing, Mahuiling, and the hills and mountains of Pass, Zequan, Jinhu, De'an and other places south of Lushan. Because of these extreme terrains and complex terrain, it was difficult for the Japanese army's heavy weapons to give full play to their advantages.

On July 28, 1938, the divisions of the Japanese 11th Army quickly started to advance in two directions according to the plan. The Japanese 106th Division entered the vicinity of Liangtailing, about 10 kilometers southwest of Jiujiang. According to the operational instructions of the Japanese 11th Army Headquarters, the task of the 106th Division was to occupy positions near Datianshan, Ma'anshan, and Jinjiashan in the southwest of Qili Lake.

The 106th Division, which suffered heavy losses on the front line of Yaque Mountain, was supplemented by a large number of new and retired soldiers of the Japanese army, and soon replenished a large number of mountain artillery and field artillery from Hukou and reorganized the field artillery wing; Junrokuro Matsuura, who has the full strength to call for air support at any time, is full of spirit;

"Division commander, the position of the Chinese army has been found ahead." The scouts of the Japanese army came back loudly and reported,

"Nani?" Junrokuro Matsuura felt incredible! This has just come out of Jiujiang! Or along the railway, in front of which is Shahe Town, which is less than five kilometers away from Qili Lake, what is the need for the people of this small town to hold on?

"Yo Si! Ordered artillery artillery to bombard the town of Shahe, and ordered the 147th Infantry Wing to capture Shahe before dark! ”

"Order the cavalry wing to bypass the Shahe River, continue to advance, find out the defense situation in depth of the Zhina people, and report immediately!" Matsuura Junrokuro was afraid that the people of China would trap him, so he ordered the cavalry of the cavalry wing to go out to reconnoiter directly in front of the Sand River.

"Report, Commander; A large army of the Japanese came. A piece of black pressing! The scouts of the 13th Regiment ran out of breath and returned to the regimental headquarters of the 13th Regiment to report,

"How far away? How many devils are there? Wang Zhaohua asked nervously,

"It's about four kilometers away, and there's definitely more than one brigade. The black pressure is pressing, and the devil's cavalry is too far away, and there is no way to get close. The Scout's face was filled with fear,

"Order all the troops to enter the position, and the three battalions will be deployed behind the Shahe, don't be dumplings by the devils; The communications corps will give me the division headquarters! "Wang Zhaohua didn't dare to be careless, now the division headquarters of the Third Division is still here, don't be surrounded by devils.