Here's Chapter III of Cold Steel guys! And I swear, every time I get a review/like/favorite email, my day is instantly made, even in the middle of my math class.
That said, time for me to answer two reviews!
CaptainAshe179: Thank you very much! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far, and hope you continue to as time goes on. Also, while not present in this chapter, your OC will be making her appearance soon.
Thorthemighty321: Hmmm, we'll see about that...(no spoilers!)
Here we go!
Chapter III: Contact!
"War is what happens when language fails."-Margaret Atwood
29 December 2024
Abashiri, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan
Abandoned WWII Airfield
2339 hours
"No, you have to listen to me!"
The officer at the desk looked up at Gerhard, who still had his full flight gear on. The Luftwaffe fighter pilot had come straight from the hastily-appointed fighter airstrip that he'd landed on not ten minutes ago. In fact, his Bf. 109 was still sitting, engine turning, on the runway.
"No, lieutenant. I do not have to listen to you. And I really don't believe you, so I won't." the officer replied. Gerhard slammed his fist on the table in anger and nearly told the officer off, but the fact that there were two Gestapo officials in the room as well made him think better of it. Instead, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, headed to the hangars where the Stuka group had taken up residence. He estimated the Soviets were only ten or so minutes away, probably barrelling straight for the front gate as he ran.
Two minutes later, winded and out of breath, Gerhard arrived in the Stuka hangar, where eight of the attack aircraft, namely the G-2 model with a couple of R-2s, were arranged in their little parking spots. The crews were huddled around fires throughout the area, smoke curling up and escaping through the vents in the roof. Hans climbed up on the wing of one of the Bf. 109s, shouting to get the attention of the other pilots.
"The Soviets are just outside our gates!" he yelled, making the room go silent. "I saw them, nearly 20 tanks, headed for us. There's probably more, but we have to stop them!"
A few crews immediately started moving, while the others looked at him in a mixture of apprehension and suspicion. One of the older pilots, from the invasion of Poland, if Gerhard remembered correctly, walked up, looking at him. "Have we been cleared?"
With a sigh, Gerhard told the truth. "No, but the officer in charge right now decided that the defense of the airfield right now wasn't impor-"
Holding up a hand, the Luftwaffe veteran interrupted him. "So, you're telling me you want me to go against the current officer in charge, and doing so violate his orders?" Almost imperceptibly, Gerhard nodded his head.
To his surprise, the officer grinned widely. "Let's go then." In a commanding voice, he yelled at the ground crews to check on bombs and ammunition stores as the flying crews climbed into their planes. Gerhard ran back outside as the first Stuka engines spun up, leaping into the cockpit of his fighter and slamming the cover shut. He taxied to the end of the runway and turned around as the attack planes followed him out of the hangar, troops watching in wonderment as a battlegroup of Panzer IVs rolled by.
Glavnyi (Major) Fyodor Yakov
Soviet 24th Tank Corps
Main Attack Force
Abashiri, Hokkaido Prefecture
1.9 kilometers outside Airfield Front Gates
30th December 2024
0008 hours
Fyodor looked around him at the large force of tanks about to hit the front gates of the airfield. If all was going as planned, the rear force should have already made contact with the back gate of the airfield, and the rocket trucks should have been about ready to fire the second barrage. Besides his own, there were four T-34/1942s, 25 T-34/1941s, and 10 T-34/57s, all moving swiftly across the snow. The scouting force, made up of 15 BT-7s, 10 T-34/57s, and another 10 T-34/1941s were to assault from the eastern side once the rear forces and main forces distracted most of the Fascist armor. Behind them, five T-34/1941s were acting as a rear guard, two in one group and three in the other.
Ducking into the interior of the tank, Fyodor looked through the viewports one last time before climbing lower into the tank. "Sergei, how much longer?" he asked his driver.
"Five minutes at the most." he answered, smoking a cigarette. He spat it out and crushed it under his boot, looking through the viewports. "We'll likely start taking-"
A loud whine interrupted him as voices outside started panicking, probably from the infantry on the back of the tank. Looking outside, he saw a wing of aircraft flying towards them, what looked like a wing of Ju-87s. The sight prompted the Soviet veteran into immediate action to save his men.
"Evasive maneuvers!" Fyodor yelled, his voice soaring over the battlefield. "Fire at will!" Unslinging his DPM machine gun, he opened up on the incoming German aircraft, blazing away until the magazine clicked. Unfazed, he slammed a new drum onto the weapon and resumed firing as the tank guns and coaxial machine guns started firing. In response, the sound of German 37mm cannons was heard, with two tanks spinning to the side, one tracked and the other knocked out.
One of the Stukas went down, digging a large ditch into the snow before exploding. Then, Fyodor heard the tell-tale sound of falling bombs, the last thing any tanker wanted to hear.
"Brace!" he shouted as he ducked back into the tank, shutting the hatch just in time. Two large explosions, likely 500 kilogram bombs, shook the tank and rattled Fyodor's bones. The whining of the Stuka's sirens faded away as they left the area, leaving only the sound of panicked voices, tank engines, and the crackle of fires behind them.
Fyodor braced as Sergei brought the T-34 to a halt, steadying himself against the sudden stop. Unbuttoning the hatch, the commander of the entire raid looked around him at the damage the Germans had caused. One T-34 was blown onto its side, the crew scrambling to get out as the engine blazed. The infantry that had been on the back of that particular tank were strewn about the area the tank had traversed, all but one unmoving as a medic attempted to revive the survivor.
In a flash of light and flame, the burning T-34's ammo racks and fuel tanks ignited, blowing the turret off the tank and sending metal scraps everywhere. To Fyodor, it looked like only two of the crew managed to escape, likely the commander and driver. The two watched their tank burn for a few seconds before another tank drove up beside them. The two climbed up on top of the engine deck, checking their submachine guns. It was apparent they wanted to avenge their fallen crew as they shouted encouragement to all within earshot.
Moving on, Fyodor counted two other knocked out tanks and one with a damaged track, of which the crew was fixing already. The crews of the knocked out tanks also found a place among the mechanized infantry, and with a piercing whistle, Fyodor restarted the charge towards the enemy airfield, with the remaining 36 T-34s right behind him.
Erika Itsumi
Kuromorimine Girls High School
Main Force
Abashiri, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan
Forested Area, 8 km SSW of Abandoned Airfield
30th December 2024
0011 hours
The main force of Kuromorimine Girls High School pressed on through the large forest in the middle of the battlefield at Abashiri, making much quicker time as the snow was almost nonexistent on the forest floor. The two Tiger IIs were at the head of the pack, followed by the six Panthers, then two Jagdpanthers, and finally the Elefant, all arranged in an armoured spearhead. They were to head to the ridge to the northwest, dig in at the abandoned town, and wait for the Pravda forces to arrive. Maho would be supporting them with sniper fire from the ridge, and, with the Jagdtigers covering the southern approaches, the entirety of Pravda should be demolished within minutes.
As the group traveled through the woods, a muffled series of explosions sounded through the trees, startling Erika and any others who heard the noise. Curious, and worrying Maho's Tiger had been knocked out, ending the match, Erika pressed the button on her headset and contacted the other teams.
"Commander, are you okay?" The radio was quiet for a few seconds until Maho's voice broke through the radio waves.
"Hai." came the short reply. The commander of Kuromorimine's flag tank sounded uneasy, leading Erika to believe that she had also heard the explosions. "Jagdtigers?"
The two Jagdtiger commanders responded together, affirming their status. Further investigation revealed that no Pravda tanks had been spotted yet, much less any combat occurring. This left the entirety of Kuromorimine's force confused as Erika's force continue through the trees, steadily heading northeast. As the two commanders contemplated the mysterious explosions, a sudden, loud, hoarse screaming rose from the same direction the explosions had come from.
As the screaming continued, Maho's voice again broke through the radio. "It sounds like the commotion is coming from the airfield. Panzer III's, go and scout it out, but take caution." Erika rose her eyebrows at the sudden forceful tone in the older Nishizumi sister's voice. "The JSDF may just be conducting drills."
The crews of the two Panzer III Ls could be heard confirming their orders through the radio net. Erika almost smiled, but then the screaming stopped, followed shortly by a series of explosions, that, had they been present, Erika was sure would have shaken her to the core. She blinked in apprehension for the Panzer III cres as her Tiger II led the way through the frozen forest.
Podpolkovnik (Lt. Col.) Vadim Bystry
Soviet 24th Tank Corps
413th Guards Mortar (MLRS) Regiment
3 kilometers E of Enemy Airfield
30th December 2024
0028 hours
Vadim smiled as the first set of M-13* rockets hit the airfield, booming as they tore apart the Fascist defenses. With the 20 BM-13 Katyushas behind him, it meant that some 240 rockets had just hit the airfield, with the second round of 240 ready to follow up. That was the only bad thing about the awesome firepower of the BM-13 rocket trucks; only half of each truck's load could be fired at a time.
Vadim looked behind him at the crews of the trucks, all of whom nodded or gave a thumbs-up. His grin widening, Vadim waved his arm in a circle, setting off another chorus of hoarse screaming as the remaining set of rockets fired in unison. The smoke trails arced high into the air, right on track to hit the runway. As soon as the last rocket cleared the area and the smoke wafted away, Vadim repeated the process from nearly an hour ago.
"Reload, reload, reload! If we get this done quickly, we can fire one last volley before our brothers take over the airfield!" The crews of the trucks shouted their answers in earnest and hopped out of the cabs of their trucks and began reloading the trucks.
Aki Kobayashi
Kuromorimine Scouting Force
Panzer III L
1.05 kilometers outside Abandoned Airfield
30th December 2024
0047 hours
Aki held on as the driver of the Panzer III slid the tank between the trees, carefully maneuvering to ensure they didn't hit any of the massive pine trees. Suddenly, the chassis straightened and leveled out, and the tracks stabilized as they hit the road. The young commander of the medium tank loosened her hold on the bar she'd been hanging onto and rolled her fist, getting the feeling back into her hand.
"Nice driving, Azusa." The normally quiet girl nodded in appreciation and continued her task, looking through her viewport as she drove. The other three inside the tank had found some menial task to do as they waited for Azusa to get them to their destination.
"Aki-san, what do you think is going on?" the newest member of their crew, Hana Shoji, asked. The first-year student rearranged her glasses and looked up from the gunsight. The other members of the Panzer III's crew also looked, save for Azusa.
Aki smiled faintly at the young girl's question, unsure of how to answer. "I'm sure the commander is right." she said, sounding confident. "The JSDF is probably doing an unscheduled exercise. They like to do things like that, especially on Hokkaido." The others looked satisfied with the answer, and turned back to their-
"Contact!" Azusa yelled. The four other occupants grabbed the nearest bolted or welded object as the Panzer III swerved hard to the right. A muffled explosion emphasized to them the fact that they were under fire.
"Retreat!" Aki yelled, a little unnecessarily.
"I know!" Azusa replied, turning the panzer around in a single fluid motion. Aki grabbed the radio from the operator and immediately opened up communications to the entire Kuromorimine battle group.
"Scouting team to flag tank, come in over!"
There was a moment of silence as the entire crew listened as well as they could to Aki's side of the conversation, the sound of explosions shaking them from their thoughts every few seconds. "This is the Maho, what-"
"We've got an unknown enemy force headed towards you!" Aki yelled into the radio, not even waiting for Maho to finish her response. "They're right on our heels!" The very brief, simple distress call brought the entirety of Kuromorimine to bear, all of whom were itching for action. The radio remained clear, however, as was normal procedure for the Nishizumi school.
"Take them towards the ridge." Erika's voice suggested, her voice crackly over the radio waves. "The flag tank and the Panthers can take out whatever it is following you."
"Understood!" Aki said, handing the radio back to the operator. Looking at Azusa, she gave them the plan. "Head for the ridge the commander is on. She'll take out our pursuers from there."
"Hai!" Azusa said shortly. The tank increased slightly in speed, as if it knew the urgency of the situation. As Aki went to take a look outside the tank, a very audible 'Clang!' echoed throughout the interior of the tank, signifying a very lucky bounced shot off of the rear of the turret. Catching her breath, she decided against going out of the tank and instead guided Azusa through the woods by the map, the entire crew unaware of just how close to tragedy they'd come.
Maho Nishizumi
Kuromorimine Flag Force
PzKpfw. VI H1 'Tiger'
Ridgeline Overlook
Approx. 10.5 kilometers W of Abandoned Airfield
30th December 2024
0117 hours
Maho Nishizumi scanned the battlefield through her binoculars, still not seeing any sign of the Panzer III sent to check the airfield. She shivered slightly as the wind blew on the exposed ridgeline, drawing her winter coat a little tighter around her.
Despite the cold she had to endure up here, this position was one of the best whenever Black Forest went up against Pravda on the latter's home turf. From here, she and the four Panther commanders with her would have had a clear view for kilometers, on a clear day. Even with the storm, however, the group could see to the edge of the forest in the center, where the school's main force was to emerge from.
"Commander!"
Maho looked down into the turret of the Tiger H1 into the eyes of the radio operator. "What is it?"
"Kobayashi-san says they're almost in range. Less than thirty seconds." The news brought the Kuromorimine commander to full alert as she swiftly took command of the battle group with her.
"All units, prepare to engage! Enemy pursuit force is coming in hot from the northeast!" The turrets on all of the tanks turned in response towards the small trail, where Aki's Panzer III was barreling towards them, two T-34s of some variant behind them, constantly firing in attempts to hit the remaining Kuromorimine scout tank.
"Riko, range!"
"One-thousand, five hundred metres and closing!" the gunner said, making minute adjustments to compensate for wind and the constantly changing position of the Pravda tanks. Some part of Maho's mind took pause for an instant as she looked over the forms of the T-34s. When did Pravda get 1941 model mediums?
Pushing the thought aside, she remembered exactly what her purpose right now was, and committed herself fully to it, as her doctrine told her to.
"Ute!"
The German 88mm cannon boomed as a single shell flew towards the two Pravda tanks, the first round dunking into the snow. The cannon boomed again, the next shot hitting one of the enemy tanks…
...and doing absolutely nothing. Maho had to check again to make sure her eyes weren't tricking her, but the round had gone right into the top plate of armor. It was just sticking in the top of the engine deck, as if it had nothing better to do that day. The one thing the dud DID do was cause the two tanks to turn off from their chase and find refuge behind a dilapidated farm as Aki got her crew out of harm's way, peeling off so as to not give her team's positions away. As Maho watched, the two Soviet-modeled tanks peeked out of cover and fired, causing her to duck into the protected turret of the Tiger.
Two ricochets off the turret front of the tank rattled the crew inside, making them all jump at the close call. Riko fired the cannon again, filling the interior of the tank with the smell of cordite when the loader reopened the breech. Unshaken, Maho ordered the Panthers to open fire on the two tanks in an attempt to scare them off. In response, the two snow-camouflaged tanks pulled out of the town and retreated out of range, delaying the threat to the flag tank for a little longer.
Smiling in shaky relief at her personal close call, Maho pulled out her map and looked over it carefully. Erika's force, provided there had been no problems, would be reaching their operational area soon. The elder Nishizumi decided it would be in her team's best interests to relocate, and as such the small force of four Panthers and one Tiger I moved further down the ridgeline, maintaining the view whilst hiding from any Pravda tanks that might be alerted about their positions.
The night drew on as the two Japanese High Schools continued their battle, still unaware of the raging war that would soon threaten to swallow them unless they learned the truth.
M-13 rocket: Caliber-132 millimeter Range: 8.740 meters (9.560 yards) Warhead: 4,9 kilograms (11 lbs)
There she is! Chapter III, albeit a bit shaky in terms of how it's written. Hope you enjoyed!
Review if you'd like, and remember: I'm still open for OCs!