Disclaimer: Girls und Panzer is the property of Actas.
CHAPTER 10:
The Dance with Dalian
The sun rose over the city of Maizuru, bathing the moored school ships Ōarai and Dalian. In his apartment, Akio stepped from the shower and glanced out the small window just as the first rays of the morning light lit up the drive. He hurriedly dried off and changed into his uniform, all the while listening to the sound of movement from the apartment beside his.
He grabbed a cup of instant ramen and tossed it into the microwave before finishing with his hair and tossing the towel over the rungs of the shower to dry off. He'd just finished straightening his uniform when the microwave beeped and he grabbed the cup of noodles.
He ate quickly before glancing at his alarm to confirm the time. Already the rest of his crew was no doubt waking up and making their way to the depot to pick up their tank for the match. He had a different job, to help Miho get to the match observation area.
He'd just finished the cup of Ramen when the familiar bang of a 75mm cannon echoed overhead and he smirked faintly realizing that the Anglerfish girls were picking up Reizei at that moment. Grabbing his stuff he pulled open the door and stepped out. Almost at the exact same moment Miho's door opened and the girl hobbled out atop her crutches.
She wore her sensha-dō uniform and struggled with a small clipboard as she tried to shut the door behind her. Carefully Akio reached over and closed the door before taking the clipboard from her.
"You ready?" He asked and Miho nodded solemnly. "Then let's go. I think grandfather will be here in a moment." He said before carefully watching her hobble down the steps, ready in case she missed a step with her crutches. Once they were on the ground floor they headed to the street just in time to see a black Mitsubishi come to a stop beside them.
The window rolled down and Sakai-sama glanced out at the two of them before smiling faintly. "Get in."
Akio held open the door for Miho before sitting beside her. Within moments the car was rolling toward the dock ramps as Saburō drove the two of them off the Ōarai and into the city. Miho gaped at the tall building before they drove out of the town toward the staging grounds for the match. Behind them the tanks from the Ōarai team rolled along.
Akio grimaced as the car slowed to a stop and he saw the opposing team waiting, their twenty tanks lined up with almost parade ground precision. Before the tanks were the crews, standing in uniforms decorated with golden stars clasped in the talons of a red eagle. The tanks themselves were painted in flat soviet greens, looking almost as if they'd just rolled out of the factory.
At the head of the group stood a Japanese woman wearing the uniform of the Ground Self Defense Forces pacing before the assembly of girls. Her hair was cut short and fell almost like a helmet around her face. Akio bit his lip, realizing that she must have been Hideyoshi, the advisor for Dalian.
Akio pulled open the door and helped Miho out as the rest of the team rolled up across from Dalian's tanks. Miho hobbled toward the other team's captain as the rest of her team disembarked. Akio cautiously followed, wondering what to expect.
Hideyoshi scowled as they approached as the three girls that stood before the assembled team seemed to wait nervously. Miho frowned as she stopped a few feet from them and waited.
"A pity you won't be able to participate in the match, Nishizumi..." Hideyoshi said without bothering to turn to face them. "I wouldn't have thought that a few bruised ribs would stop one of the Nishizumi-sama's children."
Akio grimaced as Miho glanced down toward the ground.
"Six bruised ribs is quite a painful experience riding inside a tank," Miho said quietly. "Did you take this post to curry favor with my mother?"
"No, but I will enjoy the opportunity it presents." Hideyoshi said after turning to face them. "You and your team have turned sensha-dō into a mockery of what it was."
The girls that seemed to be the leaders of Dalian's team looked at each other uncomfortably as Miho's expression hardened. Then she shook her head. "I didn't come here to debate this with you, Hideyoshi... I came here to wish your pupils luck." Her gaze flicked across the group and she smiled slightly. "Umm... Which of you is the captain?"
A petite girl with short hair stepped forward nervously before bowing slightly. "Zainichi Akane, Dalian team captain." She gestured to a larger girl with rather wiry hair. "This is Wancai Li, my deputy..."
Miho bowed slightly and smiled. "A pleasure to meet you." Then she glanced over her shoulder. "My deputy will be here short—"
"So, the boy isn't your deputy?" One of the other girls squeaked.
Akio flushed slightly as Miho shook her head. "He's just a friend... he's been helping me since the accident."
Momo arrived at that moment, her monocular gaze sweeping over the group before a slightly haughty expression slipped across her lips. Akio frowned.
"This is my deputy," Miho said with a shrug.
The speakers squeaked as the command to give thanks reached their ears and both teams bowed toward each other before breaking up and running toward their machines. As they did, Akio watched as Miho hobbled away from the team, heading toward the stands as Momo-chan turned toward the rest of the team and started their final briefing.
Miho grit her teeth as she hobbled up the stands with Saburō. A moment later she saw Maho sitting off to the side along with Erika. Seeing her, Miho's gaze swept over the crowd before stopping on her mother sitting just a few feet away from her sister. Her heart wrenched at the sight of her mother and Miho bit her lip trying to hold back the wave of pain that swept through her.
She felt Maho's gaze on her a moment later and Miho shut her eyes and let out a sigh before hobbling toward her. She felt Sakai just behind her, watching the situation.
Maho glanced from Miho to her mother before frowning. Then she gestured to an empty seat beside her. Timidly Miho hobbled over to the spot and sat down. As she nervously sat, she glanced up to see Saburō giving her a slight smile and nod before stepping past to sit between Maho's group and her mother.
At the same time Dalian's advisor made her way up to Shiho's side and sat down. The two started to talk quietly before Miho's attention was drawn back to her sister.
"How are you feeling Miho?" Maho asked quietly.
Miho grimaced as she balanced her crutches on her knees. "It hurts... but it's getting better."
She nodded and glanced over at Miho. "In both ways... I told mother she was wrong to disown you, but she seems to think she was doing you a favor..." Maho shook her head. "I'm sorry Miho."
"A favor?" Miho murmured. "I... I don't understand."
"I don't really either, but she said she felt you'd be better off without having to live up to being a Nishizumi." Maho sighed, "And that she couldn't oppose the addition of boys to sensha-dō when her daughter had them in her team."
"Nani? That's why?"
"That and she was angry you didn't punish your driver," Maho said.
Miho sagged in her seat and sighed. "She's my friend... she panicked and—"
"I know..." Maho said quietly. "I don't think that's something mother understands."
"Shh… it's about to start." Erika muttered, drawing their attention to the Leopold screen.
"Panzer vor!" Momo called through the radio as Erwin leaned back. All around her the tanks from Ōarai rumbled to life before setting out from the staging area that had been setup.
"Zug I, II, III will proceed line abreast into the town." Momo ordered as Erwin watched the Hetzer roll forward. "Duck Team will act as a reserve and support any of you that will get in trouble. Understand?"
"Hai." The other tank platoon leaders answered and Erwin frowned as she looked out over the ground. It was rough, made up of rather sharp ridges of rocky ground that jutted up. Between them was the fertile ground that was the home of the suburban villages around Maizuru and farm fields made up mostly of rice or winter wheat. All in all it looked quite a bit like the terrain of the Korean peninsula, the very country that the Chinese forces which Dalian had modeled itself on had fought the American army.
Erwin frowned as she saw Momo at the front of the formation while the tanks rolled forward. All around her the StuG III rattled and groaned as it rolled across the rough ground.
The ten tanks rolled forward, a solid wedge of armor that rolled across the rock strewn ground. The whole battle area was made up of ridges strewn with boulders and scrubby conifer trees. Between the ridges were flat rice fields that would bog down tanks with ease, especially if they had narrow treads. All in all it was some of the worst terrain imaginable for tanks.
Ahead Erwin saw the small village that Momo had marked on their map as their first objective. Grimacing to herself she lifted the binoculars to her eyes and swept them over the village, catching sight of a pair of green hulks peeking out from the small cluster of houses.
Lowering her binoculars, Erwin tapped her radio. "Contact, two tanks in the village." Then she ducked back down into the tank and shut the hatch.
"Understood," Momo answered.
"This seems familiar." Saemonza murmured from behind the gunnery station.
Erwin nodded before glancing over to Caesar. "Can you get me a secure channel with Guderien?"
"Certainly..." Caesar said before twisting a few dials on her radio set. "Channel established."
Erwin nodded before tapping her throat mike. "Guderian... I've got a really bad feeling about this."
"You mean the two tanks in the town?" Guderian said. "Do you think it's a trap?"
"I don't know... but it does sound possible," Erwin frowned. "Paulus is at it again..."
A bang echoed in the compartment as an 85mm shell slammed into the dirt just before them. Instantly Erwin grimaced as the tank rocked, nearly banging her head against the 'scissors' periscope. She barked out an order. "HALT!"
As the tank settled around her Erwin peered through the periscope quickly adjusting it to focus on the T-34s that were now peeking out from the village. The 'scissors' had been a device first designed to act as an artillery spotter's scope and featured integrated rangefinding. Erwin was quickly dialing in the distance. "Saemonza, range eight-fifty."
"Hai... Eight-hundred-fifty meters." The Hippo's gunner nervously licked her lips as Caesar loaded a shell into the 75mm gun.
"HEAT Loaded." Caesar said and Saemonza nodded once before adjusting her aim a bit more and squeezing the firing button.
The StuG III rocked as the shot raced out the barrel and the 7.5cm KwK 40 L/43 gun ejected the spent casing. As it clattered to the floor Erwin focused on the bobbing image of the T-34/85 visible just through her sights. The glowing tracer arced through the air before slamming into the sloped front plate of the T-34 which disappeared in a flash and cloud of smoke. A moment later the smoke cleared to reveal a T-34 with a white flag hanging from the top of its turret.
"Hit, next target!" Erwin shouted.
Through the sights Erwin watched as the second T-34/85 reversed and backed around a corner. A moment later it reappeared, racing at full speed down the street, swinging wildly left and right to avoid their fire.
Erwin frowned. It would take a good two seconds for a shot from their gun to reach the T-34, more than enough time for the tank to maneuver away from their shot. With a scowl she tapped her driver with her foot, "Oryo, forward."
"Hai…" She murmured as the StuG lurched back into motion.
"They're running away!" Momo called out. "Let's move quickly... into the village!"
In her tank Zainichi listened closely to the radio with a small map spread out over her lap. "Suzuki has been knocked out... we are falling back through the village. I don't believe Dao-san has been spotted yet, but she is falling back as well."
"Good, continue falling back but don't let them lose sight of you... we want them to follow." Zainichi said before she glanced up and looked through the periscope of her tank. A faint smile played across her lips as she looked at the tanks spread out along the ridge-line facing the village. Ahead she could see the T-34s running through the streets dodging fire from the pursuing Ōarai tanks.
Akio frowned as his tank rolled into the town and he opened the hatch and peeked out. Ahead he could see the T-34/85 of the enemy weaving drunkenly from one side of the street to the other, firing desperately with its 85mm gun. The heavy shells went wide, smashing against the walls leaving clouds of smoke a rather large dark mark from their impact. Ahead of them the Anglerfish wove around the streets, sending a plume of dust up into the air before them and Akio knew that Anteater was just behind them in the small column. Their Zugs had divided up as they entered the town with Duck Team struggling to keep up with the rest of the tanks.
Zug II, with the Hippo, Turtle, and Alligator were the center of the formation as it entered the town, while Zug I with Anglerfish, Anteater, and Shark Teams moved fifty meters to their right. Zug III with the Leopon, Rabbit, and Mallard teams was fifty meters to Zug II's left.
Through the radio Akio could hear Momo-chan urging her Zug forward. Still as they pursued the T-34s, none of the tanks bothered to fire knowing that their shots would almost be certain to miss. Still something of the whole situation struck him as odd. Then he saw Yukari's head pop out of the hatch of the Anglerfish up ahead of them. As he watched, she tapped her throat mike and looked to the right. Then just as the Anglerfish rolled out of the cover of the house her voice tore through the channel.
"T-34s to the right! Loads of them!" Yukari called out and Akio felt his gut plummet toward his stomach.
"NANI?" Momo's voice snapped.
Momo felt her monocle slip from her face as she gaped through the periscope at the ridgeline beyond the town. She saw seven tanks strewn along the ridge, their gun barrels pointed toward her.
"REVERSE!" Anzu shouted before Momo could order the same.
With a roar the enemy opened fire and Momo heard dozens of shells tear through the air. Just behind her the Alligator disappeared in a plume of smoke as two shells slammed into its side. Other shells slammed into the ground all around them and Momo swore.
"More enemies to the left! I see three T-34s and that T-54!" Sawa in the Rabbit team announced and Momo's gaze was torn to the right just as she saw the four enemy tanks that Rabbit team had identified roll into view. As she watched they stopped and let loose with a ragged volley of shots that slammed exploded all around Rabbit team which began to back up into the cover of the town.
"It's a trap, get out of there Momo!" Yukari yelled through the radio and it seemed that this at last wrenched Momo out of her shock.
"Fall back, every fall back into the tow—"
The Turtle rocked as a huge shell slammed into its side. In the gunner's seat Anzu gave a dramatic sigh. "We're done for!"
Momo shut her eyes as she heard the familiar hiss of the white flag deploying. Then she slammed her fist into her seat. "We've been knocked out."
Smoke curled from the muzzle of the IS-2's 122mm cannon as the tank began to advance. All around it the Su-100s of the Dalian sensha-dō began to advance slowly down the ridge, firing as they went. Tracers began to rain down on the Ōarai's tanks as they backed up into the cover of the town.
"HALT!" Akio shouted and the Panzer III/IV beneath him clattered to a stop beside a wall. Ahead of him, Akio saw the Anglerfish jerk to a stop beside a wall a block further down. Shells screamed through the air before smashing into the walls all around them. Then he heard a clang and saw a blast of smoke and flame shoot from the lower glasis of the tank.
"SHIT!" Gunjin shouted. "The transmission's jammed."
Then the Akio gaped as the long barrel of an 85mm gun peeked around the corner followed by the green hulk of a T-34/85.
"T-34 close!" He shouted even as Senmonka began to turn the barrel toward the soviet tank. The two beasts of war were two close and their gun barrels banged against each other.
"WE NEED TO REVERSE!" Akio shouted as he heard a barrage of swearing from the drivers compartment.
"The lever's stuck!" Gunjin shouted back and Akio heard a scramble below him followed by a series of bangs.
"On three..." Kenji, the radioman muttered and Akio realized he'd scrambled over to give Gunjin a bit more leverage. "One... Two... THREE!"
The gears shifted with a bang and immediately the Shark began to reverse, slamming against the cinderblock wall beside it as it backed up.
"BEHIND YOU, SHARK TEAM!" Nekota's voice yelled through the radio channel.
Akio spun and looked over his shoulder just as a second T-34/85 rolled into the intersection behind him as the Shark backed toward them. Then a third rolled out behind the second tank and began to point its gun in the direction of Anteater team.
"Oh hell..." Akio murmured. "T-34 on our six!"
"We can't shoot directly aft Akio!" Senmonka shouted back before swinging the gun bakc onto the T-34/85 that was before them. With a snarl he hit the firing lever.
The T-34/85 before them disappeared in a cloud of smoke and sparks from the hit before Akio caught sight of the white flag billowing from its turret.
Then he twisted toward the second T-34 and shouted, "ROTA—"
His yell was drown out by the concussion of the 85mm shell striking the Panzer. Instantly fames burst from the engine compartment accompanied by black smoke.
A single lone white flag deployed from the top of the turret and Akio slumped in his seat. "Damn..."
Nekota stared through her massive glasses at the two T-34s that were before them. The nearest of the two was rotating it's turret to face them while her tank's gunner, Piyotan worked feverishly to bring the gun to bear. A second later she heard the clatter of a shell being loaded and swallowed.
"FIRE!" She said and the Type 3 Chi-Nu rocked as the shell left the gun's barrel. There was a flash of smoke and flame from the side of the T-34/85 and Nekota smiled.
"PENETRATION!" Piyotan announced happily.
Momoga laughed. "We got one then! A T-34/85 doesn't have many hit points."
"But, Momoga... tanks don't have hit points in sensha-dō." Yuuta, the boy that was working on loading another shell.
"Then how do they tell when a tank is killed?" Momoga asked.
"You have to hit something important, like it is in War Thunder Ground Forces. I got into the Beta—"
"YOU DID!" Momoga squealed. "What's it like?"
Nekota however found her attention focusing on the T-34/85 as the smoke began to dissipate. Then she gaped as she saw the 85mm gun begin to rotate toward them once again.
"Like to kill most tanks you have to hit them in the engine, ammo rack, or fighting compartment..." Yuuta said.
"We are such noobs." Nekota murmured.
"Eh?" The whole crew looked up at here before the concussion of an 85mm shell hitting the tank knocked them out of their seats. A second later Nekota heard the now familiar sound of the white flag deploying.
"At least we penetrated one!" Momoga said happily.
The StuG III reversed back into a store front as shells continued to land all around them. Through the scissors Erwin watched as the whole of Dalian's assault gun detachment rolled down the ridge toward the town. She could hear reports from the rest of the teams and muttered under her breath.
"Prokhorovka..." She muttered under her breath. "Target Su-100, five hundred!" She shouted. "Saemonza... fire at will!"
The StuG shook as it hurled a shell at the oncoming Su-100. It struck the drivers hatch with a flash and instantly the Su-100 clattered to a stop as smoke burst from it's interior. Erwin recognized that the tank was knocked out, and he could hear Saemonza already moving the gun to bear on another enemy. At the same time the radio crackled as it was rapidly filled with reports and exclamations.
"This is Mallard, we're hit! We're sorry!"
"Whose in command?" Another voice asked and Erwin recognized it as belonging to Noriko, commanding the Duck. "I'm supposed to be the reserve-"
"Shark and Anteater are down, I'm pulling back toward the center of town. There are T-34s on my tail." Yukari shouted.
"Yukari, where should I go?"
"I can't take command, I've already got two jobs..." Yukari stammered.
"This is Leopon, we're alright here... these guys really aren't a match for a Tiger in a street fight. Help someone else."
"ENOUGH!" Erwin shouted. "I'm taking command. All units pull back to the center of town. We'll make that the main line of resistance. Duck, try and find an ambush position in the mean time."
"Understood." Yukari called out.
Erwin chewed her lip for a moment before she felt the StuG III shake from another shot being pumped out by the main gun. A second later another Su-100 was sitting with a white flag flying over it's hull.
A second later she watched as another Su-100 toppled over a boulder and dug it's long barreled gun into the ground. Then the storefront they'd backed into seemed to collapse around them as a 122mm shell smashed into the floor overhead.
Erwin frowned. "Reverse!"
The StuG smashed through the rear wall and rolled out onto the street behind them. As Erwin looked through the periscopes a predatory smile played across her lips.
A T-34/85 was facing the opposite direction, it's turret searching for targets.
"Rotate left, target T-34, one-fifty." She ordered and the StuG turned to face the T-34. A second later the main gun roared again and a shell smashed into the rear of the T-34 which immediately disappeared in a barrage of pyrotechnics.
"That's four kills." Saemonza muttered. "We're doing well."
Hoshino growled as the T-34/85s rolled into her sights. She could hear the clang of 85mm shells bouncing off the front gun mantlet of the tank as the enemy advanced. Slowly the sights settled onto the first of the enemy and she pressed the firing button. The whole tank rocked as the 88mm shell roared from the barrel and smashed into the turret of the T-34/85. Immediatle the white flag deployed as smoke burst from the pyrotechnics fitted to the tank.
"Hurry..." She muttered as a second T-34/85 rolled past the knocked out tank followed by the squat rounded shape of the T-54 model 1947. Instantly her eyes widened. "The T-54!"
"REVERSE!" Satoko shouted and the Tiger began roll backward with a clatter. Beside them the Rabbit rolled forward and opened fire to cover them. As Hoshino watched the 37mm and 75mm shells bounced harmlessly off the T-54's rounded turret. Then it's gun swung away from them toward the M3 Lee.
"RABBIT! Fall back!" Satoko shouted as the Tiger turned and slowly backed around the corner of a building.
"Ha—"
The boom of the 100mm gun filled the air and second later Sawa's voice echoed through the radio. "I'm sorry Satoko... we've been knocked out."
"Who's left?" Erwin's voice asked through the radio channel.
Miho stared at the status board on the Leopold her hand tightening around the pen. Already six of her team's tanks had been lost in exchange for just six of the enemy's. Slowly she looked down at the clipboard sitting on her knees and took a deep breath. "Yukari and Erwin... you can do it."
It was all up to them.