Continuing on with our battle against Kuromorimine


Azusa sighed in relief as the Lee's treads finally connected with the opposite bank of the river; truth be told, she'd been worried about the tank flipping over in the water. Not that they'd drown; they could easily clambor.out of a side hatch onto the side of the Lee that would still be above water, but what then? And if the tank started being carried away by the current? And Aya couldn't swim... No, better that they all made it out alright.

Karina started the engine, and the first years let out a cheer that was drowned out by Hector-chan's gun firing, it's turret having rotated to the rear to provide covering fire for the team. Azusa wasted no time; she ordered Karina forward, and the team sped away from the enemy into the city, away from the clutches of Kuromorimine once again


Joshua Whitman was in deep, deep shit. The Panzer III the team had been chasing was slowly dissapearing behind a massive wall of something; he didn't know what it was, exactly, but it was huge, and he had a very, very bad feeling about it. Opening his hatch, he came face to face with the heaviest tank to ever be made; the infamous Maus. The behemoth slowly rotated it's turret twords the team, before coming into contact with the side of a wall; lazily, it turned it's turret forward again, knowing it had all the time in the world to take Oorai's tanks out one by one, and began reversing slowly again. The American tankers began sweating, and he swore he could hear every individual tread link hit the ground.

"Joshua! Get back in your tank, now! Get inside, all units fall back! FALL BACK!"

Miho's voice shook him out of his trance; Panicked, he dove into the tank, nearly kicking Hector who was hastily throwing an APCR round into the breech, slamming it shut; He shouted to Michael next, fear in his voice

"MIKE! PUNCH IT, GET US OUTTA HERE!"

"Don't you DARE Mikey!"

It was Rachel who's voice came through; confused, the playboy driver locked up, never having received conflicting orders before. Joshua spoke up,

"Rachel, we HAVE to MOVE! We cant-"

"Shush!"

Rachel didn't even look away from her sight as she shouted, Joshua's mouth snapping shut as her hands moved the turret.


Miho was horrified; What was her boyfriend DOING?? If he was trying to sacrifice himself, she needed him to think more clearly! They'd need his tank in the open more than here, and the Maus had nearly cleared the wall of the building-

BANG

Miho stared as the T32 fired, impacting the Maus in the lower rear side. The massive German tank slowed to a halt, like a freight train, as it's turret stopped turning. Joshua's radio operator came over the intercom next

"U-uh, Leopon team, Rachel says to load APCR and target... the upper hull."

"Roger? I mean, will do!"

Seconds passed as the silent monster sat there, it's turret slowly rotating before coming into contact with the wall it had nearly avoided before being stopped. The report of Leopon rang out, impacting the hull above the tracks, and another shot from the T32 followed immediately after into the turret. After the third shot, the white flag went up, leaving the rest of the tanks idling dumbly


Rachel Lee loved Joshy; She did! She also loved Miho, and the rabbits, and everyone else she played with! She also loved dogs, and cats, and sheeps too. Sheeps were fun because their wool was soft and they liked to cuddle if you chased them down enough.

Rachel even loved Mice! They were so cute and funny and smart, always after seeds and little bits of sugar (But not, funnily enough, cheese!)

Rachel loved the mountains, she loved the clear blue sky, she loved the rivers, she loved the whole world!

But most of all, Rachel absolutely adored the T15E2 90mm High-Velocity Anti-Tank Gun. Most people would assume she was a bit of a ditz, and sure, maybe she could be... playful. But she knew her gun intimately; Many nights had been spend with just her alone in the turret, or her and Hector after bribing him with home cooked food, firing round after round into a distant target. Her initial... reaction... to firing the gun had led to an addiction by the time they started to compete, and she immersed herself in every aspect of gunnery and the armament of her gun. She visited old coastal artillery batteries where early versions were kept, she read books, trolled online Peruvian napkin folding bulletins, and studied old films and U.S. Army inventory records. She kept her ba y meticulously clean and oiled, and her baby loved her for it.

That's why she had been so confident when she had challenged Erika; She knew their gun could beat the German tank. Like Joshy liked to say, tanks weren't meant to be hit, they were meant to give them. And boy, could Sugar give it!

Now, don't mistake her; She looked forward very much to whatever crazy and fun plan Miho would have come up with to take the tank down. But ultimately, the Maus probably would have taken out at least two of her friend's tanks before that could happen, maybe more. So, she decided to just finish it nice and easy. Her main gun could penetrate the side armor of the enemy tank pretty easily with APCR ammunition, so when Joshy was being a dummy-head she told Hector to load one in. then she put a round in the massive transmission in the rear, asked Leopon to follow up with a shot to the crew compartment, and finished it off with an (extremely expensive) APCBC shell with HE filler right where the Maus stored the propellant. Ultimately, the side of the turret was only 200 or so millimeters thick, and that was plenty easy for her gun to get through with her better ammunition; Shed have to thank Yukari for convincing Joshy that they needed to upgrade!

The resulting kill had left her breathing heavy, her legs wobbly, and her thighs a bit more wet than she'd ever admit in polite company. She's just glad the gun was loud... Hana would understand. Killing a tank always sent up a surge of pleasure down her spine; she called it The Wigglies. A really good kill would... well, a lady doesn't talk about such things! But killing the heaviest Tank every designed? She never had one, but she suddenly had the urge for a cigarette.

Miho recovered before anyone else; There was still that Panzer III out there! she ordered Rabbit and Duck to go around and try to intercept it, but it was no good; the panzer had beat feet at the loss of its kin, likely to hide in the city and act as a scout for the main force. Speaking of...

"All units, shake that off! Good job Kodiak! But there's still an entire team of heavy tanks after is! We're going to split up the team, Joshua, take Duck , Rabbit, and Hippo, I'll take Leopon, Turtle, and Mallard! We're going to set up near the deep pit parking garages! Our goal is to whittle them down, Seperate their flag tank! Once we strike and hit them we can regroup, use ambush tactics!"

"Copy that, we'll set up near the old water draining wash! Good luck Miho, we won't let you down!"

"Damn right we won't!"

Miho giggled at Erwin's enthusiasm, followed quickly by Rabbit team trying to outdo her. Her tanks rumbled off, Joshua leading them deeper into the city


"Kommandantin, we have reports from our scouts that the team has split into two strike groups! One is headed by the Americans!"

Maho mulled this thought over; Their objective would be to spread her forces thin, searching and rooting out the enemy while the other group made a strong, central defense. If she spread her tanks around, they had the advantage, and could pick her Panzers off at their leisure. Sure, she'd eventually beat them, but then she'd have a damaged force to try and break the enemy strong point. And it was always possible one of them could sneak up on her flag tank...

Alternatively, if she committed to breaking Miho's central defensive perimeter, she'd be in the middle of the city, where Miho's second strike team could have them surrounded at a moment's notice by being recalled for defense. Then all Miho had to do was pick her team off as they tried to fight a battle on two fronts, one of which they didn't even know where the attacks would be coming from, and the other would be so heavily entrenched that it'd take time and careful manuvering to break it. Manuvering that would, by necessity, leave her flanks utterly exposed to the tanks in the city.

Very clever, little sis...

She'd have to play their game, then... But she couldn't be obvious about it. The Nishizumi Style constricted her view in this way; She knew she had to sneak around, but any plan involving waiting the enemy out was out of the question; Nishizumis attacked from the front, with full force. So what to do?

Glancing over, Maho caught sight of Erika's blonde hair shimmering in the sun. Her cheeks grew hot, and she was never more grateful for her stoic demeanor than she was at that moment. Ever since the start of the year, and especially since the Pravda match, she'd not been able to take her eyes off her second in command. Her heart ached when she heard Erika try to talk to her about 'Herr Whitman' and how Maho and he would get along so well. Couldn't she see?! Maho didn't want Whitman anywhere NEAR Erika! Much less around all three of them! Sure, Joshua had won over Miho's heart, and the American was a good man, but Erika was... she... well, she just wasn't right for him! He wasn't right for her! He was too soft, that's it! Perfect for little Miho, but Erika needed someone else. Someone in control of their emotions, someone who knew the Nishizumi Style in and out, had helped develop it. Someone with dark brown hair and who commanded a Tiger, even...

Shaking her head, she turned her thoughts back to the match at hand. But Erika was still on her mind, and that came with a plan...

Erika wasn't just kept as her second because she had a pretty face. Itsumi Erika had proven herself to be resourceful, ruthless, and a brilliant Panzerkommandantin in her own right. She would even be leading Kuromorimine herself next year, with out Maho...

Why not give her a chance now?

Had it been anyone but her lovely Erika she was considering, Maho would have thrown the idea out immediately. But this WAS Erika. And it would, with some generous thoughts, even be technically within the rules of the Nishizumi Style...

Yes, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Kuromorimine would attack as one united front, strong and powerful... And so would Maho Nishizumi. With heavy armor she would enter the city, she would hit every target she fired at, and she would advance without stopping. Just... she'd be doing it alone.

She had her radiowoman send a message

"All Panzers, new orders; As of now, you are under the command of Panzerkommandantin Itsumi."

Switching to Erikas private channel, she personally keyed the mic and spoke to the blonde beauty

"Kommandantin! W-what are you doing!?"

"Erika, I need you right now. Nobody else can I trust to lead our team... I need you to hunt down the American and his forces. I'll engage the enemy flag tank, I'll be more flexible with just my own Panzer, and I can keep them on their toes. Please, Erika; I need you. Do you trust me?"

The line was silent for almost a full minute, before Erikas voice carried over with the trademark adoration Maho never thought she'd missed so much

"O-of course, Kommandantin..."

"Maho!" she blurted out

"W-what?"

She mentally slapped herself, but damn it all, she was tired of this overly professional atmosphere between them! They were equals as far as Maho was concerned! Joshua certainly didn't call Miho "Commander" when they were alone, did he?

"Call me... you can call me Maho."

"Oh, I... Y-yes, At once, Kommandantin Maho!"

Maho chuckled slightly, drawing a bewildered look from her crew

Close enough...


Saemoza never particularly liked this tactic. It left her unable to aim herself, completely guided by Duck team for refrence. But it seemed that, unfortunately, the enemy scout had proven too elusive and skilled to fall for their usual tricks. And the longer it was out here, the more it would report their positions.

"Saemoza, get ready! Kodiak team reports that the enemy is close!"

She tensed up, not even bothering to look through her scope; It wouldn't help anyway, The StuG was positioned completely behind a large fence. All that could be seen from the gunners sight was a large wall.

"Now!"

As soon as word reached her ears, Saemoza fired the gun, and was rewarded with the tell-tale *fthwip* that meant she had made a good kill

"Perfect! Duck team says you hit them right in the middle of the hull!"

Saemoza sighed; this wasn't nearly as fun as seeing the enemy, though it was satisfying getting the drop on them...

She settled into her seat as Oryou repositioned their StuG for their next surprise


"Kommandantin, we have received reports from our scout, theyve been taken out by an unknown force!"

Erika cursed; Those damned fools! No matter, she didn't need them anyway.

"Tell our Elefant to move to our left flank, as well as our JagdTiger. Those Panzers have the heaviest armor, so they'd better be drawing the Americans fire. Tell our Panthers to form up on my right most flank; We'll smash through the enemy force and regroup with our Kommandantin before she can win the match for us!"

Her crew echoed their assent, and set to work ensuring their orders were carried out. Erika's left flank was now guarded by the large tank destroyers, and the Panthers would serve to help her eliminate any enemy forces that stood before her. Still... she didn't like having to root out the enemy in a city, of all places. Try as she might, there simply was not physically enough room to keep a tight formation. The end result was that Panzers were seperated by streets into groups of two, maybe three, and the tank destroyers were alone altogether. Erika chewed on her nail; Where were they???

What saved Erika was pure chance; the Panthers were faster than her beloved Köingstiger, and one of them was traveling in front of her, turret scanning left and right. Just as they crossed an intersection, a loud CRACK rang out, and the panther ahead halted and began bellowing smoke

"Alle panzer, halt! Where did that shot come from!?"

"I didn't see it Kommandantin, we didn't see the shot!"

Silence filled the air, tension thick... Erika hated this. They couldn't even see what took them out! After a minute of holding position, looking over every crevice, her radiowoman reported in that the Elefant had been lured into an alleyway and destroyed from behind by the Lee.

Erika cursed loudly this time; They needed to move, and move NOW!

"Panther Three, move forward and keep your eyes open!"

"Jawohl!"

The medium tank moved forwards, but just as it crossed the corpse of its sister, it too was destroyed. Erika, however, was watching this time. She opened her hatch, and nudged her driver forward ever so slightly... There! Two small holes in a fence to the right. She couldn't see the enemy panzer itself, but her instinct told her that's exactly where they were hiding.

"Gunner, rotate turret to hearing zero-six-three, and depress two degrees!"

"Jawohl!"

as her turret rotated, taking her with it, she heard an engine start and rev up, trying desperately to get away. It was no use; Her gunner had rotated too quickly for them

"In position!"

"Schießen!"

Her Long 88 spat fire, and she was rewarded with the sound of a shell impact, and a small white flag rising above the distant fence. Erika grinned, but another engine revved up in front of her as the Puma that was spotting for the mystery panzer lurched away, speeding down an alley off to her right.

Four seconds later, she heard it's gun speak, and she knew it had flanked one of her wayward Panthers in its attempt to escape

"Panthers six and seven, you have an enemy Puma inbound to your location! Rotate left and engage!"

Two more shots rang out, but her units reported no kills, and rhe armored car got away.

An extremely loud shot reported from her left, followed by what sounded like a train crashing into a car dealership

Keying her throat mic, Erika shouted into it

"JagdTiger, what the hell was that!?"

"Ah, we're sorry Kommandantin, weve been... uh... flipped over. But we destroyed the Lee!"

Erika's eyes bulged out; How in the world did you FLIP A PANZER!?


Joshua was, once again, alone with Duck team. Hippo had fallen victim to Erikas gun, and the Rabbits had been destroyed bu the JagdTiger. Each tank had given more than they got, though, taking out the heaviest German tanks aside from the Köingstiger itself. He ordered the Puma into the city, further from the enemy force, and settled in for the final battle; He didnt have to win, he just had to hold them off. He had to trust Miho ro defeat her sister, but she couldn't do that if all of Kuromorimine managed to get past him.

Michael had chosen their position very well, with the tank situated at the end of an alleyway, it's hull angled just slightly and no side streets to sneak up on him from. If they tried to come around the back, Duck team would hit them from the sides, where Panthers had notoriously weak armor. No, his main concern was Erika's Tiger II.

Joshua gulped nervously; no matter what, this was it. Erika was coming for him, and wouldn't stop until one of them was beaten.


Now I love the Maus scene as much as anyone. But ultimately, the thing isnt invincible, and the T32 penetrates it from the side. It would be just like Kuromorimine to let themselves become completely overconfident in their armor, in a confined space in a slow and unwieldy superheavy. Remember our lessons from the start; Theres always a bigger gun, and tanks aren't meant to be hit.

I hope the rest of the battle made up for it; I wanted every team to have some kills under their belts, but I also wanted to show that Kuromorimine cant be stopped conventionally. Sure, youll give them some good licks, but ultimately they're an absolute powerhouse, even without Maho. The only hope Oorai ever had was to isolate their flag tank and hope to hold off the rest of the team just long enough to win.

As always, read, review, critique.