This steel behemoth is the Japanese Type 94 "Kamikaze" armored train.
The Type 94 armored train has a total of 8 carriages, and each carriage is equipped with heavy firepower.
There are 10 Type 92 heavy machine guns, 2 105mm cannons, and 2 75mm anti-aircraft guns. This Kamikaze armored train has also been modified to add a 150mm howitzer.
The firepower is very powerful.
This armored train cannot be offended by the main force of the Eighth Route Army, let alone the Eighth Route Army guerrillas.
This was built by the South Manchuria Railway Company in 1934 in order for the Japanese army to defend against the Soviet Union and control the railway line.
Shogun Hirata, who carried the rank of major general on his shoulders, was sitting on the leather sofa in the command compartment, holding the major general's command saber and closing his eyes to relax.
The interior of the command car is very luxurious, and the communications are also very complete. Not only is it equipped with a telephone, but it is also fully equipped with radios and radio stations.
"Your Excellency General, Niangzi Pass has arrived."
Escort officer Nonaka Kuji, Shao Zuo, walked up to Judge Hirata, nodded and said.
Masaru Hirata slowly opened his eyes. Compared to the cold and determined expressions of other Japanese officers, this old Japanese soldier had a sinister look on his face.
"Have you arrived at Niangzi Pass?"
"Hi!" Nonaka Jiuji paused.
Masaru Hirata said, "Then get out of the car."
This time Hirata was sent to Niangziguan in order to inspect the reconstruction of the Shota Railway on behalf of Tada Shun and urge the First Army to speed up the construction.
On behalf of Shun Tada, he welcomed the commander of the 2nd Guards Division and the first batch of officers and soldiers.
Railway transportation is extremely important to the Japanese army. Without railway supplies, it will be difficult to transport in. Without supplies, it cannot organize a mopping up. If it cannot organize a mopping up the Eighth Route Army, it can only allow the Eighth Route Army to continue to grow.
The first task of the Second Guards Division in Shanxi was to take over the Shotai Railway to ensure that the Shotai Railway was repaired as soon as possible.
The 37th Division was transferred back to the Yuncheng area to continue besieging the Central Army in Zhongtiao Mountain and waiting for subsequent replenishment of troops.
The door of the command compartment was pushed open, and a cold current immediately entered the command compartment, causing the temperature inside the warm compartment to drop sharply.
However, this cold wave did not seem to have any impact on Masaru Hirata, and the cold, determined and sinister expression on his face did not fluctuate or change at all.
Although he felt very cold, as a major general of the Japanese Empire, he had to hold on and maintain the demeanor and demeanor that a major general should have.
When he walked out of the command carriage with his command saber in hand, Masaru Hirata saw a group of Japanese officers, all raising their hands to salute him, while the area around Niangziguan was completely white.
Judge Hirata raised his hand and returned the greeting.
"General, I am Itaya Akikenori, the supreme commander of the Niangziguan garrison. Lunch has been prepared. General, please move on."
Then, Itaya Akiken made a pass from the left to Hirata.
"There's no rush." Shogun Hirata asked, "How long until Lieutenant General Muto of the Second Guards Division arrives?"
"There are about 10 minutes left," Itaya Akiken said, "Lieutenant General Muto will lead the 3rd Guards Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Guards Division soon to arrive!"
Masaru Hirata said: "Then I will wait here for Lieutenant General Muto."
"Hi!" Itaya Akiken didn't dare to say more and paused quickly.
"Itaya-kun, where is the railway of your First Army?"
Masanori Hirata asked: "How long will it take for the Shotai Railway to be fully opened to traffic?"
Itaya Mingxian said: "The railway has almost reached Yangquan. Taiyuan is also sending engineers and civilian workers to Yangquan to repair the railway. It is expected that it will be fully open to traffic in mid-January next year."
It is now mid-December, and there is still one month before the Zhengtai-Taiwan Railway is opened to traffic. This speed is not bad.
Masaru Hirata added: "I heard... the Kwantung Army brigade that supplemented your First Army was ambushed by the Eighth Route Army on the way, and the whole group was shattered. What happened?"
"Well..." Itaya Akiken said in an embarrassed tone, "I don't know what's going on."
…
On Mianshan Mountain.
Although Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang both saw the Japanese's large armored train parked in Niangziguan Railway Station.
But the embarrassing thing is that Masanori Hirata walked off the platform from the other side. They used the artillery scope and sight in their direction and could not see the target at all.
So the two had no idea whether the target was in this car.
However, this large Japanese armored train is not very long. As long as the target walks out of the range of the armored train, the two of them can see it.
But after waiting for a long time, no target came out. Zhao Gang frowned:
"Old Li, this old devil won't leave after just one glance, right? Then won't our business be ruined?"
In such a large battle, both Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang agreed that there was a high probability that their sniper target would be in this car.
If he's not in the car, he's probably already off the train, probably on the train station platform on the other side of the large armored train.
If an old devil like Hirata comes to Niangziguan for a few looks and then gets in the car and sneaks away, wouldn't his work be in vain?
Li Yunlong's face also rarely showed a tangled look.
The target gets off the platform on the other side. If you can't see the target, you can't snipe.
Now either continue to wait, or order the mountain artillery battalion to blow up the train station and the Japanese armored train, and then use a red signal to order the infantry to attack Niangziguan.
The Japanese troops at Niangziguan were completely wiped out within half an hour.
But there is another problem. What if the target is not on this armored train?
Seeing the confusion on Li Yunlong's face, Zhao Gang whispered: "Old Li, what should we do now? You have to make an idea."
Li Yunlong narrowed his eyes: "Wait a minute, if Hirata was on this armored car and went to Niangziguan so much, he probably wouldn't have left so quickly."
After a pause, Li Yunlong whispered to Lu Yingjun beside him:
"Lu Yingjun, you immediately notify the mountain artillery battalion, and all the mountain artillery shooting elements should be aimed at the Japanese train station."
"Load the shells and fire at my command later."
Once Zhao Gang fired, no matter whether he hit the target or not, the Japanese would definitely hear the sound of this large-caliber sniper rifle.
By the sound of gunfire, the Japanese will definitely find that there are gunmen ambushing them in the mountains here.
The heavy artillery on the armored train was too great a threat to them. Judging from the caliber, the gun on the Japanese armored train was larger than the 75mm mountain cannon equipped by the new regiment.
It really blew up a large area, not to mention that there were Japanese mortars and infantry artillery covering the place with artillery fire.
If you want to avoid being bombed, you can only strike first.
"Yes!" Lu Yingjun responded in a low voice.
Then he picked up the receiver of the radio communication machine and informed the mountain artillery battalion position a few kilometers away.
Originally, the guns of the mountain artillery battalion had their own targets. Some of them hit Japanese fortresses and gun towers, some of them hit Japanese barracks, and some of them hit Japanese train stations.
However, the Japanese dispatched an armored train, and Li Yunlong had to concentrate his artillery fire first to destroy this big guy.
In addition, once Li Yunlong found signs that the Japanese armored train was moving, he could order the mountain artillery battalion to fire without hesitation.
After destroying the Japanese armored train and the train station, let the mountain artillery battalion adjust its shooting at various elements and blow up the bunkers, gun towers and Japanese barracks.
At the same time, the first and second battalions were ordered to attack Niangziguan Station.
However, more than 400 Japs were added to Niangziguan in the morning. It may not be that easy to capture Niangziguan Station and wipe out all the Japs within half an hour.
At present, Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang continue to wait for the target to appear.
About ten minutes later, a whistle sounded in the distance, and Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang raised their binoculars to look over.
I saw another train coming on the tracks from the direction of Jingxing County. Smoke billowed from the locomotive's chimney, and its whistle was honking from a long distance away.
At this time, the train had begun to slow down, and just like the armored train, it drove into Niangziguan Station.
Not long after, the train entered Niangziguan Station and stopped at another platform of the train station.
The train door was pushed open, and a large number of Japanese soldiers poured out of the train. Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang, and Lu Yingjun all looked at each other in shock when they saw this scene.
Has the new group's plan been leaked?
But if the new regiment's plan is leaked, the Japanese will definitely come straight to Mianshan.
What are the devils doing?
Several people didn't know why and continued to observe.
…
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, my wife is in custody!"
"Major General Hirata, deputy chief of staff of the North China Front, is waiting for you outside."
In a train car in the middle, Okada Motoharu, the adjutant of the 2nd Guards Division, nodded to the division commander Akira Muto.
"Then let's meet."
Muto Zhang nodded, then stood up and said.
Although the opponent is a major general, he is a lieutenant general, and the opponent is the deputy chief of staff of the North China Front, someone close to Shun Tada.
It is unjustifiable not to give face to the other party.
The 2nd Guards Division is composed of the Guards Division, one of the 17 permanent divisions.
The original four-unit Guards Division was expanded into the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Guards Divisions, a total of three Guards Divisions.
The 2nd Guards Division has the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Guards Regiments, as well as the Guards Reconnaissance Regiment, the 2nd Guards Field Artillery Regiment, and the 2nd Guards Field Artillery Regiment.
Because it was expanded from the permanent divisions, the combat effectiveness of the 2nd Guards Division is not as good as those of the permanent divisions.
But the combat effectiveness is much stronger than those of three single divisions.
The first to arrive in Shanxi were the 3rd Guards Regiment and the division headquarters in front of them.
The next five regiments will arrive one after another.
Akira Muto first led the 3rd Regiment to Yangquan by train, and then took an armored vehicle to Taiyuan to meet Yoshio Shinozuka.
When Muto Akira got out of the car, Yoshiro Ikunuma, commander of the 3rd Guards Infantry Regiment, was already waiting in front of the carriage door, and the security troops were already in place.
"Your Excellency, Division Commander!"
Seeing Akira Muto get out of the car, Yoshiro Ikunuma and a group of Japanese officers quickly raised their hands and saluted.
Muto Akira had a cold look on his face. He raised his hand and returned the military salute. He glanced around and finally fixed his gaze in the direction of the armored train.
In the direction of the armored train, a group of Japanese officers were walking along the platform towards his location with sabers in hand.
The leader was none other than Shogun Hirata, who carried the rank of major general on his shoulders.
…
"A Japanese guy came out of the train, he seems to be a lieutenant general?"
"It's not Masabu Hirata."
Commander Li saw a Japanese officer walking out of the carriage door in the artillery mirror. His tone was surprised at first, then a little disappointed.
This is the benefit of the 16x artillery scope. Compared with the 8x scope, it is still far behind.
For example, if you use a telescope to watch birds, you can see a bird on the tree with an 8x telescope, and you can see the feathers of the bird with a 16x telescope.
However, the larger the magnification, the smaller the field of view, and the picture is unstable and easy to shake. However, the artillery mirror in front of Li Yunlong is mounted on a tripod and is very stable.
At this time, Captain Li could clearly see Muto Zhang's face and the military rank he carried on his shoulders.
"Where?" Zhao Gang was still asking.
"Three o'clock direction." Li Yunlong said, "Even if the old devil Pingtian is not here, killing this lieutenant general will not be in vain."
