Chapter 307: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 307 Can't Go Back

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Northern section of Jinpu Road, Twentieth Division Temporary Command Post

Division Commander Kawakishi Bunsaburo Lieutenant General looked at the just-translated Tenth Division combat report, his expression complex.

"Commander Terauchi Hisaichi really fights like mud—over twenty thousand men in the Tenth Division, fewer than four thousand left..." Kawakishi Bunsaburo shook his head and handed the telegram to the Chief of Staff beside him.

The Chief of Staff scanned it quickly, fell silent for a moment, then said: "The Tenth Division fought... too bitterly. We must rescue them immediately!"

Beside them, Sakai Katsuji Colonel of the Fourteenth Division Mechanized Rapid Detachment said: "Division Commander Kawakishi, my engineers have urgently repaired about five kilometers of destroyed track ahead. Your heavy armored train can continue advancing to the designated attack position and open fire immediately."

As for me, according to the latest orders from Front Army Headquarters, the Fourteenth Division Mechanized Rapid Detachment will immediately disengage from combat, join the main force of Division Commander Doihara, and carry out the key mission of severing the Longhai Railway.

Rescuing the Tenth Division is up to you!

Special reminder: the Youth Army's anti-tank firepower is very strong; please be careful.

Kawakishi Bunsaburo glanced at Sakai, nodded, and said nothing more.

Everyone knew the spirit of the meeting at Front Army Headquarters before coming; the Fourteenth Division had more important tasks.

Sakai Katsuji saluted, turned, and left.

Kawakishi Bunsaburo walked to the combat map and ordered: "Take the heavy armored train and tank battalion as the core, attach the elite Infantry Regiment 80, advance along both sides of the railway line, clear obstacles, smash the Youth Army troops in front, capture Yi County, and open contact with the Tenth Division!"

The division's other troops will launch diversionary attacks. Order the air force to strengthen air strikes, drive away Xia Guo fighter planes, and cover ground force operations!

This is the final offensive! Break through the Youth Army defensive line under the cover of the armored train!

On the Tianjin-Pukou Railway, a Type 94 Heavy Armored Train like a steel giant python ran on the just-repaired track.

Such a colossus consisted of eight special carriages: first was a Patrol Alert Car equipped with searchlights and light machine guns; next were two Type A and Type B Artillery Cars, each with a 105mm howitzer in its rotating turret; closely following was a Type C Anti-Aircraft Artillery Car equipped with two 75mm anti-aircraft guns, covering both air and ground;

then came the Command Vehicle, Power Locomotive, Coal and Water Car, and the Power Supply Car bringing up the rear.

Such a steel beast belched steam, moved with great noise and commotion, and was visually quite shocking.

In the Command Vehicle sat Colonel Takeda, responsible for commanding this vanguard assault.

Through the observation window, watching the Type 97, Type 89, and Type 95 tanks advancing slowly in parallel on both sides of the railway, and the friendly Type 97 Fighter formations passing through the sky, the pride belonging to an Imperial soldier ignited in his heart.

With such a powerful three-dimensional assault force, even the Youth Army might not be able to stop it, right?

"Colonel Takeda! The vanguard infantry ahead reports they have exchanged fire with Xia Guo forward security troops!" the signalman reported.

Colonel Takeda hesitated not: "Order the tank forces to accelerate advance! Armored train gun positions, search for targets, advance!"

The order was given; the armored train's huge body began to accelerate, and the tanks on both sides roared along, kicking up dust across the sky.

Boom! Boom!

The Type A Artillery Car's 105mm howitzer fired first, shells screaming toward several suspicious earth mounds and woodlands several li away.

Almost simultaneously, the 75mm anti-aircraft gun on the Type C Anti-Aircraft Artillery Car lowered its barrel, observed the Youth Army's defensive line through a rangefinder, and prepared to suppress possible long-range fire points.

In the sky, the Southwest Air Force's BF109 Fighters joined the battle, immediately engaging the Japanese fighters.

Youth Army First Army Artillery Command Post

Chu Yunfei stood behind the artillery observation mirror; intelligence from ahead kept pouring in: the Japanese armored train accompanied by many tanks advanced along the railway line and had entered the front of the main defense zone.

"They really brought the Iron Turtle onto the rails, thinking to scare me with this thing—too much thinking!" Chu Yunfei said to the artillery staff officer beside him. "Tell the 155mm Heavy Artillery Group to focus on striking the Japanese armored train; each division's 105mm Artillery Group to cover enemy tank clusters on both sides of the railway line."

"Frontline infantry firepower and anti-tank armor fire, free fire, suppress the Imperial infantry and tanks for me."

After the forward observers spent some time calculating, the rear artillery positions began firing at the Imperial heavy armored train.

The 155mm Howitzer Group deployed in the deep rear—these heavy guns had extremely long range, slower loading, but power far beyond the Japanese 105mm guns.

Boom—!

A huge, dull, and heavy roar unlike the Japanese artillery fire came from the rear.

Several seconds later, about two hundred meters ahead of the arrogantly advancing Japanese armored train, beside the railway embankment, a huge column of smoke mixed with earth and rubble rose.

Takeda felt obvious shaking inside the train: "Observer! Immediately locate the enemy artillery!"

Before the Japanese observer could calculate the trajectory, the second and third 155mm shells arrived in succession.

Clang—!!!

A piercing sound of metal tearing rang out.

The 88mm Dual-Purpose Gun, at a distance of over two thousand meters, directly penetrated the first carriage of the armored train head-on.

"What?!" Colonel Takeda was stunned—the enemy's direct-fire gun had such power?! Ten millimeters of carburized steel frontal armor could be directly penetrated?!

Boom boom boom!!!

155mm shells kept being lobbed down from the sky, exploding continuously beside the heavy armored train.

Obviously, the Imperial armored train was being concentrated-fired.

Clang! Clang clang!

Shells kept hitting the train body; when the Imperial 75mm anti-aircraft gun fired directly, searching for the Youth Army's gun positions was very difficult.

The Youth Army's gun positions were hidden, while the armored train swaggered along the railway line.

Against a miscellaneous division of Xia Guo, this heavy armored train would truly be a great killer, but against the Youth Army, it seemed quite inadequate.

The rotating turret of one Type B Artillery Car was hit by a shell and jammed, the barrel skewed.

The Command Vehicle's observation window was hit by a flying shrapnel fragment, spiderweb cracks spreading.

Most fatal of all, the 88mm gun bored a large hole in the armor of one Type A Artillery Car, detonating some ready ammunition.

A 155mm shell exploded at extremely close range beside the power carriage, nearly overturning this carriage directly onto the track.

"Put out the fire! Quickly put out the fire!"

"Power outage!"

"The locomotive boiler has been hit! Steam pressure dropping!"

The Steel Beast, once so imposing, now smoked all over, looking more like a beehive riddled with a thousand holes.

Colonel Takeda's forehead beaded with cold sweat, the tanks escorting on both sides kept exploding into fireballs, the infantry on the frontline fell in swathes under the bullet rain, and Japanese planes in the sky were dwindling.

And his own armored train had completely lost power.

"Regimental Commander Kawakishi requests radio communication!" a communications soldier ran over and said.

Colonel Takeda cursed: "Repair the boiler quickly, the armored train must leave here immediately... take me to speak with the regimental commander!"

From the handset came the voice of the 20th Division Regimental Commander Kawakishi Bunsaburo: "How is the armored train's progress? How much longer to take Yi County? Huh? What's that sound over there, why are there still screams?"

"Report to Regimental Commander, the armored train is paralyzed!"

"We've lost, we cannot take this zone!"

"The Tenth Division is doomed..."

Boom!!

With a bang, Regimental Commander Kawakishi Bunsaburo's radio communication was cut directly; clearly, Colonel Takeda and the Heavy Armored Train would never return.

Also never to return were Isogai Rensuke's Tenth Division.