I do not own Girls Und Panzer in any form. This is a work of fanfiction. Some real names were used, but were used in a purely fictitious manner. Keep in mind, this takes place around 2017-2018.
...
Side story 1, chapter 1: Life after the war
(there will be some OC in this chapter as well)
...
Some time had passed since the conclusion of the Child's War, the survivors getting by as well as they could. Saori had started her career in the JGSDF as a communications specialist, Hana started in the same platoon as a tank crew gunner. Miho and Yukari stayed on as teachers for Oarai academy. They would gather every other week, starting at the Anglerfish memorial, then going out to eat and relax. Occasionally, they would meet up with the others to hang out for awhile. Even though the war had such a high cost to them, the bond they formed while going through school and then taking up arms against the North Korean Army, proved to be indestructible.
One time on their meet up, there were classes from Oarai and Pravda at the memorial. Nonna and Katyusha were also present, having brought teams from Pravda to see Memorial hill, and the chance of meeting some of the other heroes of the war. The girls from the schools all made way and stood at attention as the Anglerfish girls came up. The ladies from Anglersfish and Pravda bowed to each other, as the younger girls also did. "What brings you out this way?" Miho asked Nonna and Katyusha.
"We wanted our girls to meet the first lady of the war." Katyusha replied.
Everyone looked at Yukari. "Awh, I'm nothing special." She said.
"Don't say that. You were the first victim of the war, and you're certainly special to someone." Miho said, holding up her hand to show her engagement ring.
"I owe it to you guys. I wouldn't have made it without you all. Especially Mako..." She trailed off for a moment. "Her first aid kept me alive."
Everyone bowed their heads in respect for Mako. General Kiyofumi approached the group and everyone saluted, which he returned. "Ladies, I see you're all doing well. Miss Akiyama...Or should I say Nishizumi now?"
"Not yet, that's still a little bit away."
"I see. Anyway, I wanted to catch up to you all, and since you all gather here every other week and Miss Nonna and Miss Katyusha were going to gather here this time as well, I thought I'd deliver some news to you all. Your schools will both be getting newer tanks for the national tournament."
Everyone smiled at the news. "General, what years are the tanks?" Katyusha asked.
"They're already parked in the hangar, we would like for you all to make your way there. If you could, please hurry. There are some VIP's there who wanted to meet the lot of you."
...
The younger girls took their leave for their barracks, while Anglerfish and Pravda made their way to the hangar with General Kiyofumi to meet their VIP's and their new tanks. When they arrived, they saw Generals Wanquan and Changlong, surrounded by PLA Honor Guard troopers. They also saw armored Cadillac Limousines, with American and Russian insignia on them. Colonel Bogdanovich walked from the Russian Limo to greet General Kiyofumi and the ladies. "Colonel, nice to see you." Katyusha chirped, in an unusual tone.
"Nice to see you as well. I don't know if you've guessed who some of our guests are, but they're high priority." The Colonel replied.
As the Colonel finished talking, the ladies saw imposing figures in sharp looking suits walking from the motorcades to see them. Katyusha and Nonna instantly recognized the one man, who was Russian President Vladimir Putin. Colonel Bogdanovich was among his personal security team. The man next to him was former United States President Barack Obama, with his Secret Service detail, and under the protection of the Marines from the base. The Chinese Generals and PLA Honor Guard were there with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Security was tight enough that a sneeze would draw a massive amount of negative attention from some of the most dangerous guards in the world.
All of the ladies from both schools stopped and saluted the foreign presidents, who returned the gesture. General Kiyofumi spoke to Putin in Russian, Obama in English and Jinping in Chinese, indicating who each of the ladies was. His use of their language wasn't quite so necessary, as they all had translators with them. They replied, and the leaders all took their turns shaking the hands of the young war heroes. Obama spoke to the General, who translated for him. "Ladies, I would like to express my deepest condolences for your losses. I would also like to congratulate you on your victory over the attacking North Koreans. Lesser souls would not have stood up as well as you did."
Putin spoke to the General next. "It was shameful that Kim Jong-Un would send his army after you young ladies, and to use young ladies from his own country to attack yours."
Jinping spoke next. "I am saddened at the acts that took place that you all had to witness. You ladies should be proud, my troops commented on your bravery, and I know your fellow citizens appreciate your service."
None of the ladies quite knew how to respond to what the world leaders had just said, nor were they sure on how to respond to some of the most powerful men in the world. They gathered up the courage to speak. "Thank you all." Miho started. "We did what we had to, so our fellow citizens could sleep safely at night."
The leaders' translators spoke to their respective parties, who all nodded in respect and consideration of Miho's answer. "We didn't know what we were getting into at first, but we kept going. We wouldn't have been able to live with ourselves if we didn't do anything." Katyusha said, the translators again doing their jobs.
Putin spoke to the General, who spoke to the ladies again. "That weird little number in the museum, did that work out for you?" The General started. "He's probably referring to the Object 279."
"Oh, yes. It performed far better than we could have hoped." Katyusha answered, the translators speaking for her. "When the Father of all bombs detonated, most of the other tanks flipped over. The Object 279 didn't budge, though. Armor piercing shells couldn't make solid contact, they simply bounced off. Even the High Explosive rounds didn't do much."
Putin again spoke to the General after the translator spoke. "It appears he likes the design, and since it performed as well as it was intended to, would like to begin producing modern models. He also would like to know about the Object 195, and he may want to produce more of them if they did well."
"It was able to breach the Neugdae armor with the greatest of ease." Nonna answered. "Some of the captured Korean girls said they were a little scared of it."
After the translator spoke to Putin, he nodded and smiled, then spoke to the General again. "He would like to thank you for your service, and for seeing how well the cancelled tanks performed. What of the T-14 Armata?"
Katyusha chuckled out loud. "The Korean tank crews and troopers in the last battle were scared out of their minds. One of the Neugdae tank destroyers blew a hole through the turret, which would normally kill a tank. The Armata's unmanned turret allowed us to keep fighting, even after the damage. They said it was like trying to fight a ghost."
Putin laughed when his translator relayed the message. Obama spoke to the General next. "Did the Abrams tanks perform well?"
The ladies looked at each other. None of the girls who were in the Abrams tanks were present, but they heard how well they did from the girls who piloted them. "They did just as well as you would think a current generation MBT would." Miho started. "Even with multiple direct hits from Korean tanks, RPG's and autocannons, there was little more than scratches and chips in the armor. The KPA tanks weren't quite so lucky."
Obama's translator relayed the message and he smiled, then spoke to the General. "I am glad to see that they did their job right."
Their meet and greet wound down and the ladies made it to the hangar, which was similarly buzzing with Secret Service, PLA Honor Guard and Russian Secret Service as well as Spetsnaz troopers. Both groups could tell which ones they were getting, and there was another two that were tagged for delivery to Saunders. Katyusha and Nonna walked over to the Russian tanks, one of which being the T54/55. They wondered about it for a second. "Hmm... This one is really more of a postwar tank, seeing more service during the Cold War." Nonna said.
"That may be, but it's okay, according to league regulations." Captain Chono spoke up.
"How so?"
"While the T54/55 was produced and used in vast numbers during the Cold War, its prototype phase was finished and trials began by about March of 1945. League rules say that its prototype has to have been built and performance trials began by August 1945. This one just makes it, so it's approved."
Katyusha looked and saw the other tank they were getting, which was actually a tank destroyer. She looked on with a smile at the sight of the SU-100 tank destroyer. She was aware of its specifications, as it was essentially a T34 hull with a 100mm gun. "I know this one is good to use. There were a couple thousand of these made before August 1945."
Oarai saw their new tanks, one of which they were very familiar with already, the Panerkampfwagen VIII, aka the Maus super heavy tank. They all noticed the number on the turret was different from the one used by Kuromorimine. "Umm, I thought there were only two of these made, Kuromorimine had one and the other was in a museum." Yukari said, unsure of what the monster before her was doing there.
"Let me guess, you believed Wikipedia?" Captain Chono asked. "In reality, eight of these were made, and two of them actually saw live combat. Not too long after they were built, the advancing Soviet Army captured the factory and proving grounds."
"I bet their presence alone on the battlefield shifted the momentum of the fight." Miho said.
"Definitely. Hitler wanted to field these along the Atlantic Wall, further strengthening his hold on Europe. They would've needed special rail cars to ferry them to their destinations, though. They couldn't pass over most bridges, and they couldn't really go off road, as they would sink if the ground was even a little soft."
Everyone turned their attention to the other tank they were receiving. What they saw was an American T29 heavy tank. It was a little imposing, even though the ladies were now used to much bigger or heavier armor. "If I remember correctly, this was made a little too late in the war." Yukari said.
"This one got through by the skin of its teeth, so to speak." Captain Chono responded. "While it was still only really experimental by the end of the war, at least one prototype was built and it had begun trials, not officially entering service. I checked with the league, and they'll allow this one for use in future tournaments."
"I guess they've got some nice new toys to play with in the nationals." Hana said with a smile.
"Hey, what about the ones for Saunders?" Saori asked.
"That would be an M26 Pershing. They were made as a counter to the German armor, its larger gun allowing it to slug it out with most anything they fielded at the time." Yukari answered. "They were used up into the Korean war, but were shelved for the Patton tanks, which were better suited for the terrain they were operating in."
Miho looked at the other tank for Saunders. "What about this one?"
"That one looks like a T30 heavy tank. Basically the same as the T29, just with a bigger gun. Since I guess they were made at the same time, they can also use this in the tournament."
"Correct. Looks like competition will be a little stiffer in the coming years." Captain Chono said.
...
That night after dinner, Miho and Yukari laid down for the night. In typical fashion, they held each other as they drifted off to sleep.
Miho stumbled around, feeling jarred awake by the sounds of heavy weapons fire. She looked around and saw the city was mostly destroyed by the Korean Bombing campaign. She could hear screams of people as they tried to flee, but were caught up in the explosions and falling buildings. She looked back and saw the Panzer IV blown open, fire spewing out of the turret. Her heart sank at the thought of her loved one dying like that. She started to try and run for the tank, but she tripped over an empty 75mm shell. She could hear Yukari's voice calling out, but starting to fade.
Miho jumped awake and rolled, falling out of the bed. Yukari quickly woke up and went to her fiance's side to help her. "What's wrong?"
Miho started crying, then buried her face in Yukari's chest as Yukari wrapped her arms around her. "Oh my god, it was terrible. Everything was on fire, people were screaming and then you were... You were..."
Yukari started lightly stroking the nape of her neck. "It's okay, I'm here. Let it all out."
"It was a nightmare... that's all, it was a nightmare. It just felt way too real."
...
End side story 1 ch 1
...
New vehicles
Pravda: Soviet T54/55. Main armament: D-10T 100mm rifled gun. Secondary: 12.7mm DShK heavy machine gun. Crew: 4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader). Armor: thickness varies throughout, hardened steel with welded additional plates, sometimes ERA. Engine: Model V-55 water cooled diesel V12, 500hp. The T54/55 is the most prolific tank in the world, with an estimated 100,000 plus licensed and unlicensed units of different variants built by the Soviet Union and others throughout the Cold War. While hopelessly outmatched by modern armor, it was a grave threat to western armor of the time.
Pravda: SU-100 Tank Destroyer. Main armament: D-10S smoothbore gun. Secondary: 7.62mm DT machine gun. Crew: 4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader). Armor: 75mm front, 45mm sides and rear, hardened steel. Engine: V-2 diesel V12, 500hp. During WW2, the Soviet Army realized the serious threat that German armor represented and started mounting bigger guns in their tanks to get through their thick skins. The SU-100 is only really a T34 hull mated to a 100mm smoothbore gun, which could get through the thick German armor rather easily.
Oarai: Panzerkampfwagen VIII (Panzer 8) Maus superheavy tank. Main armament: 128mm KwK 44 L/55anti tank gun. Secondary: 75mm KwK 44 L/36.5 gun, 7.92mm MG34 machine gun. Crew: 6 (commander/radio operator, driver, 2 gunners, 2 loaders). Armor: max 220mm turret, 200mm hull sides, 150mm hull rear, hardened steel. Engine: MB 517 V12 diesel, 1,200hp. Contrary to popular belief, there were more than two of these made, 8 total were built, two of which made it to live combat (this information backed by a Bundeswehr soldier). The heaviest tank in history, coming in at a startling 207 standard tons. It utilized a powerful engine to drive an electric generator, which powered drive motors. Top speed wasn't very high, at an absolute maximum recorded 14 mph on paved, flat roads.
Oarai: American T29 heavy tank. Main armament: T5E2 105mm gun. Secondary: 2x M2 .50 hmg, 1x coaxial .50 hmg. Crew: 5 (commander, driver, gunner, 2 loaders). Armor: 102mm hull, 279mm gun shield, 249mm turret, hardened steel. Engine: Ford GAC V12 gasoline, 650 HP. The T29 was designed to combat the heavy German armor that the Allies were encountering. While the M4 Sherman could essentially only fight King Tigers when they outnumbered them by at least 3:1 or better, the T29 had thick enough armor and a large enough gun that it could have handled them 1:1. Sadly, this tank never made it past the trials phase.
Saunders: American M26 Pershing. Main armament: M3 90mm gun. Secondary: 2x Browning .30-06 machine guns, 1x Browning .50 machine gun. Crew: 5 (commander, driver, co driver, gunner, loader). Armor: 102mm upper hull, 76mm lower hull/turret, hardened steel. Engine: Ford GAF V8, 500 HP. The M26 Pershing tank entered service at the end of WW2 and served into the Korean war, but was eventually replaced by the Patton tank.
Saunders: American T30 heavy tank. Main armament: 155mm rifled gun. Secondary: 2x Browning M2 .50 heavy machine guns. Crew: 6 (commander, driver, gunner, radio operator, 2 loaders). Armor: 100mm hull max, 280mm turret max, hardened steel. Engine: Continental AV 1790-3 air cooled gasoline V12, 704 HP. The T30 heavy tank was designed at about the same time as the T29. Used a sizeable gun that could potentially have blown German armor apart with ease, but this vehicle also never made it past the trials phase.