Chapter 4 D-DAY+2
D-Day + 2 Time (09:08)
Another day dawned, warm light flooded through the partially closed curtains, the light creeping onto Katyusha sound asleep face. The light slowly rolled onto her closed eyes, the orange light, set alight under her eyelids awoke her, in her luxurious bedroom with her silver silk pyjamas with the Pravda logo inscribed on the chest, she yawned as she sat up stretching her arms in her king-sized bed with pure white goose feathered pillows and red cotton covers.
"I'm so happy I came back to the HQ to this beautiful room, soft pillow and warm covers." She thought to herself. "Nonna! Where is my breakfast." She yelled, the door opened immediately, with Nonna holding a tray with orange juice, a plate with fried eggs with kolbasa and dill on top. As she placed it in front of her with a silver pair of cutlery. "I thought you knew I always what my breakfast at 9 AM on the dot." She commanded pointing to a small clock on a bedside cabinet.
Nonna closed her eyes and bowed. "I'm sorry Katyusha, I did not wish to interrupt your slumber, as we need you fresh and at your best to win us this match for the mighty Pravda."
"Good response Nonna, have you got any reports on the tank loses." Katyusha added as she cut into the fried egg as its yoke oozed out.
"Yes." She opened placed her hand inside of her black vest a drew out a brown folder, she opened and began reading, "On the western flank we lost three BT-5, three T-34's of the 76 variety and two of the 85's, two KV-2 and one IS-2."
"Ok, not too bad I was expecting worse, as we also took the bridge a vital stepping stone to taking town." As she placed the food in her mouth with yoke dribbling down her chin.
"The eastern flank lost eleven T-34-76's, five T-34-85's, three BT-5's, three KV-1 and one IS-1."
"Any gains in that sector?" Katyusha snapped back immediately.
Nonna looked down and the report in her hand, trying to find some good news, with her eyes scanning the whole report. "No gains and no losses in territory." She put it bluntly.
Katyusha wiped her face with her sleeve. "Polina is to be relieved of command immediately! I gave her a chance now she has failed me." She shrieked as she punched the bed, nearly knocking over the tray.
"Who will you replace her with?"
"Klara, she impressed me in the last two matches we had. This will be her baptism of fire as a commander of a force of tanks." Katyusha looked up at Nonna her eyebrows lowed with her cheeks turning red. "But she will follow my orders this time you hear me! If she disobeys orders."
"She will not Katyusha, I will personally make sure of it. Is there anything else needed of me?"
"Yes, Klara is to be given the 'gift' make sure it is not opened till tomorrow." Katyusha winked to Nonna, before chugging down the orange juice. "Today… let the crews rest we still have five days of hard battle to fight. But make sure they are prepared for tomorrow. As today I need to have a word with our monotonous ally. They seem to be hibernating like the Russian bear in winter."
"That will be done Katyusha." Nona walked out of the door opened and closed the door behind her.
"We we're better of getting Chi-Ha-Tan on our team, at least they would actually attack." Katyusha mumbled to herself as she ate the rest of her breakfast in peace and quiet.
D-Day + 2 Time (11:36)
"Kay, there's still nothing no movement what so ever." Alisa said over her walkie talkie laying on top of her Sherman turret peering through her binoculars at the Kuromorimine camp.
"Any build-up of new tanks?"
"Nope still the same amount."
"This is fine for us, keep me posted Alisa."
Kay locked the walkie talkie on her belt and laid her back on the front of her Sherman, she watched her crews move the rubble from the church to the lip of the southern part of the hill, with wrecked Sherman's being pushed forwards by still operational Sherman's, destroying the already deteriorating earth into thicker and thicker mud.
Naomi walked over to Kay and leaned her back on the front of the Sherman chewing on her gum as she usually did. "I've got the best name for your company. Alisa has the 'Flying Tigers', mine is the 'Old Ironsides' yours could be 'Kays construction co'."
Kay smiled and giggled, she pushed back her blond curly hair out of her face and looked towards Naomi. "I'll stick with the 'Hell fighters' for now, how long do you think it will be till this wall is done?"
"I would say about four hours, maybe three, if we there isn't an attack." Naomi looked into Kay's profound blue eyes in contrast to the grey clouds above, "I don't like this waiting around, something. I don't know what it is but something feels wrong, I think something is going to happen, something bad."
"Well of course." Kay said placing her hand on her sniper's weary sniper. "They will come a'knockin and we will stop them in their tracks, you watch. I can't wait to see Maho's face once she jumps off her eliminated Tiger."
Naomi smiled "I think Erika will go even more berserk, when her mighty Tiger II is knocked out but your 75mm. Now that's funny."
"Naomi could you give us a hand, the Firefly's stuck again." A voice shouted over to them.
"You can't get the staff can you." Naomi added as she trudged through with the mud over to her tank, trying to push a knocked-out Sherman.
Kay's smile instantly dissolved from her face, her stomach twisted and squirmed, her breath increased as cold sweat poured down her brow. She walked behind her tank to make sure no one could see her and vomited all over the floor. She placed both of her hand on top of each other on the back of the tank, resting her forehead on top of them, as she looked at the ground below.
"How long can I keep this persona put for, we can't hold this hill, I've had only 2 hours sleep. Come on Kay, snap yourself out of this, your team needs you. But what if they attack now, Alisa nearly died. Naomi is never wrong, even on a hunch, if she says something bad will happen it will. But she didn't predict the bell tower attack. But you can't predict something like that. Why would Maho do something like that? The Matilda fire we can't have that happen. It was an accident. But could Maho and Katyusha be behind something? Listen, Kay we can do this, we have Miho, if we have her we have a chance. What if something bad happens to her like that fire. Kay stop it now you are the commander of Saunders University High School. You have a strong defensive position on this hill any and every attack will be repulsed." As her mind and conscience debate one another.
Kay took a deep breath. She lifted her head up from the back of the tank opened her drink canister, she swished the water in her mouth to clean out the burning bile in her throat and spat out the cleansing water.
"Nothing bad will happen, nothing bad will happen." She muttered to herself under her breath as she walked over every step a massive effort as the mud would go to her ankles. She finally managed to join her crews to help move rubble over to the wall.
D-DAY+2 time (12:23)
A BT-5 tank drove across the eastern bridge and came darting to the Kuromorimine camp.
Maho watched out of the window as the commander of the BT-5 sprung out of the tank. With a piece of paper in her hand bowing to Erika, who said a couple of words and passing it to Erika, the Pravda girl returning instantly to her tank and drove back across the bridge. Erika turned walking to the front door, opening the door into the farmhouse, as she climbed up the stairs with each step on the wooden staircase creaking with different pitches, she finally got to the door she knocked on the old wooden door. as Maho still observing out of the window on her crews below somewhere in their tents, some by the campfire with a large silver coloured cooking pot cooking what seemed to be soup, as other tinkered with their tanks, she turned to face the door.
"Come in." The coldness of her voice still chilling in the warm room.
Erika opened the door and closed it. "A message from Katyusha."
"Go on."
"Once night comes the mighty Katyusha will be coming here for a tactical meeting. Signed Katyusha" Erika read from the piece of paper, she crushed the piece of paper in her fist. "Why does she have to write in the 3rd person, who does she think she is?"
"She just needs to be whipped into shape; I don't think her parents passed any discipline onto her as a child." Maho spoke her calculated tone, with Erika nodding in agreement. Maho rotated back to the window to see a small reflection of her back in the window. The strong brown eyes, short dark brown hair and a small grin formed on her face, with her confident reflection blossoming back to her. "If I could shut her up with a stare in the all-star university match tactical meeting, what do you think I can do with my voice."
"I am very much looking forward to seeing you destroying her ego, commander." Erika added with an unusual amount of excitement in her tone.
"We know our plan of attack for the objective correct?" As Maho's sight wondered up towards the dominant hill up towards the church in the foreground.
"Yes, all tank commanders are informed and will do as instructed without falter." Her subordinate instantly responded without hesitation.
"Good, once our guest arrives, I will inform her of our plans. You are dismissed Erika."
"Commander." She bowed even though Maho didn't even look towards her to receive the sign of respect, as she walked out closing the door opening and closing the bedroom door.
D-DAY+2 time (20:07)
The sun laid to rest after a long day's work, as the night rolled in to replace it. Erika was outside of the farmhouse, she walked along the line of all the girls at attention inspecting the uniforms of her tank commanders. She stopped at one girl and looked at the girl's uniform, as her pulse increased dramatically. "Look at this, you have mud on your lapel Marie!" she snapped placing her index finger on her lapel and pushing the girl back a little. "Are we from Anzio Marie?!"
"No, Vice commander Erika." She yelled back like a well-oiled solider.
"What school are we from then?!"
"Kuromorimine! Vice commander Erika." Marie yelled back again.
Erika then lowed her voice and lent in towards Marie's ear. "Then fucking show it then, if you disrespect the school, you disrespect the whole of Sensha-Dō. You are dismissed."
"Yes. Vice commander Erika." Marie responded running off to one of the tents.
Erika walked back to the middle of the line, she stood and examined at them one last time to find any other mistakes. "The rest of you, we have a guest arriving, commander Katyusha. We need to show them why we are the unquestioned masters of the Sensha-Dō at the high school level. Do I make myself clear."
"Yes, vice commander Erika!" They all yelled back simultaneously.
"Good, dismissed." Erika called back. All the girls dispersed, the roar of engines and of metal tracks on asphalt could be heard in the distance. Erika moved her body to the sound of the noise, as the unmistakable dark shapes of T-34's and IS-2's and what looked to be a KV-2 rumbled towards the encampment across the bridge, with their headlights off not to give away their position to any surveying eyes atop of the hill.
Erika leaned her neck on one of her shoulders, clicking her neck and doing the same on the other side. The tanks rolled forward and stopped a couple meters short of Erika standing at attention, illuminated by one of the campfires nearby. She looked up at the first tank a T-34-85 as a small shadow moved out of the protruding commander's hatch. The light from the fire then ascended on the shadow removing the darkness it was Katyusha, as she slid onto the engine deck of the tank and jumping off the side. Katyusha began to walk towards the silver-haired Erika, in somewhat complete contrast to the black Kuromorimine uniform she was wearing. Katyusha stop a meter away from Erika as their eyes duelled not allowing themselves to blink or look away.
"It's a fine encampment you have here Erika." Katyusha maliciously added, with Nonna walking behind her scowling towards the outnumbered Erika alone by herself.
"Thank you, there is no need for you to sit on Nonna's shoulders the meeting will take place here." She added back in the same tone, pointing to the farmhouse.
"Oh, Erika did your master give you permission to use language like that to a guest?" Katyusha responded back in a remarkably calm tone with a grin on her face. Before Erika could respond, Katyusha walked into towards the front door, she turned the handle down and walked in. Maho was sitting at the head of a small wooden table the room, which was lit and heated but a stone fireplace.
"Please, sit." Maho said gesturing to the opposite end of the table. Nonna and Erika followed in the door was closed behind them, as two Kuromorimine girls guarded the front door. Both Erika and Nonna stood behind there corresponding commanders as both parties glared at each other for a couple of moments, the cracking of the fire the only noise in the whole farmhouse, as the crimson glow rebounded off the half devilish face's of the four members, leaving the other side in pure darkness.
"Do you know why I called this meeting?" Katyusha questioned as she lent back into the wooden chair.
"Yes, I do Katyusha." Maho responded back, as she made her first verbal chess move.
"Your lack of action is rather disturbing, we knew you had lost some of your teeth in previous battles, as your once feared bite has now become, well pathetic to be honest." Katyusha spoke coolly but a hint of frustration could be heard in her voice.
Maho expected the low insult's, she raised her hand before Erika would lose her very short temper. "Thank you for your insight Katyusha, I will not throw insults towards you, as I regard you in high regard as an equal to myself." Katyusha smiled a little, the bait had been taken. "Tomorrow we will launch the main assault on the Church objective, as I'm guessing Pravda will be also attacking tomorrow on the flanks, as you've been recovering today, due to the peaceful nature of today." Katyusha nodded. "We have slowly been bringing more and more heavier reinforcements, under the noises of Saunders atop of the hill. They think we have 15 tanks here, but in fact we have over 30. We will be attacking a first light. I would recommend you use your forces on both flanks tomorrow. As tomorrow we break their lines."
Katyusha looked shocked, they planned for this to happen the whole time, they were not just slouching around, it was a great deception that fooled her and most likely the enemy team. "I think that we will agree with your plan, my flanks will attack and overwhelm them."
"I would recommend attacking at different times, as hopefully by doing so will lure out their reserves to reinforce one flank, then once the other attack on the other flank begins it will buckle under the pressure due to a lack of numbers and also not have nothing to repel it once their forces have been destroyed."
"As this is the first joint operation what shall we call it." Katyusha quired her smile ever enlarging.
"I have come up with a compromise for the name as your plans are named after planets, I would like to call it Operation Mars."
"Obviously I agree with the name, but why is that?"
Maho looked into the fireplace her face fully absorbed by the golden flames. "As Mars was the Roman god of war." As a rare hint of determined emotion rolled off her tongue.
D-DAY+2 time (20:35)
The campfire was warm and embracing, lighting up the silhouettes of all the people sitting on bricks to keep them off the thick mud, the shadows making them look like giants on the tanks that they happened to land on.
"Ka,y have some of this beef it's pretty good." As Naomi took the screw out of the fire, with the meat sizzling.
Kay just steered deep into the heart of the fire, as if it saying something to her.
"Kay!?"
"Oh yes, yes." As she passed her mess tin over to Naomi. Naomi slid the meat off with a small pocket knife, she lifted up a small glass bottle from the inside pocket of her jacket, splashing a couple of large drops of the liquid on and passed it over to Kay.
Kay took the mess tin back with a nod of apperception, she picked up some of the hot beef with her fingers. "What's this on the side." She asked.
"Trust me you'll know."
Kay dipped the beef into the liquid, then into her mouth. Her face filled with surprise and excitement. "How did you get this?"
Naomi put her finger to her lips, as to not alert the other crew sitting around the fire.
"Old Jacks BBQ sauce" Kay mouthed.
Naomi smiled "I know how much you love it." She mouthed back with a wink. "And anyway, isn't it important to keep morale high. isnt it guys." Naomi added in her usual speaking tone.
"If you've got some marshmallows that would help." Alisa said from across the fire.
"We did have some but they mysteriously disappeared, and haven't been seen again." As Naomi looked judgingly at Alisa.
"I know a real mystery." As Alisa block eye contact and looked into the fire.
The campfire mood dropped a little, as the firewood cracked and popped, with all the crews around exhausted not even talking to one another as it was a waste of valuable energy.
Naomi looked to one of her firefly crew members sitting next to her. "Jackeline, you said you could play a musical instrument right." Nudging the girl with her elbow.
"Yes, I can play the flute." She said back a little startled.
"Ah good." Naomi stood and began walking over to the Firefly.
"So, your good at blowing things, ha." Kay said sarcastically as she quickly glanced up at Jackeline.
Some of the girls giggled around her. "I guess so." She said back with the innuendo going straight over her head. Kay hugged her ribs as she laughed out hysterically.
"You will make someone happy one day." Kay added with a smile, then looked back at the fire.
Naomi walked back through the squishing mud and passed Jackeline a silver rectangle. "I know it's no flute but have a go."
As she played a couple notes on the harmonica, as Naomi whispered something into Jackeline's ears she stopped, she took a deep breath and played a beat. Kay's eyes were drawn away from the fire, she recognised the melody looking up at Naomi, as Naomi began to sing to the melody.
There's a yellow rose of Texas
That I am going to see
No other fellow knows her
No other, only me
She cried so when I left her
It like to broke my heart
And if I ever find her
We never more will part
The crews slowly one by one started adding their voices to the Naomi's, as Kay smiled to her favourite song as she sang along as well with her crews.
She's the sweetest rose of colour
This soldier ever knew
Her eyes are bright as diamonds
They sparkle like the dew
You may talk about your dearest May
And sing of Rosa Lee
But the Yellow Rose of Texas
Is the only girl for me.
"What's the racket." Katyusha barked at Nonna.
"It seems they are singing." Maho added with a small chuckle inward to herself.
Erika stormed out of the room, to the outside of the camp with Kuromorimine and Pravda girls some sitting around some working on their tanks, she stopped and straighter her jacket and stood with a straight posture. "Saunders think they are better than us, lets show them!"
Heute wollen wir marschier'n,
Einen neuen Marsch probier'n
In dem schönen Westerwald
Ja, da pfeift der Wind so kalt
In dem schönen Westerwald
Ja, da pfeift der Wind so kalt
The Kuromorimine girls all stood stopping what they were doing and sang along with Erika.
Oh, du schöner Westerwald,
Über deine Höhen pfeift der Wind so kalt,
Jedoch der kleinste Sonnenschein
Dringt tief ins Herz hinein.
The Pravda girls looked around, at her Kuromorimine girls singing at their loudest to this song, most were a little bemused by what they saw. "We can't be outdone girls show Kuromorimine and Saunders who is better." Shouted one of the Pravda girls.
Путь далёк у нас с тобою,
Веселей, солдат, гляди!
Вьётся, вьётся знамя полковое,
Командиры - впереди.
Солдаты - в путь, в путь, в путь!
А для тебя, родная,
Есть почта полевая.
Прощай, труба зовёт,
Солдаты - в поход.
"What's Kay doing now?" Jasmine asked as she yawned to Sarah, whose head was out of the turret.
"It seems they are having a sing-song." Sarah added back leaning onto the back of the commander's hatch, her green eyes sparkling as a small glimmer of moonlight broke through the clouds.
"What are they singing?" Jasmine questioned placing her feet up on the breach.
Sarah licked her lips. "Don't know, they have a very good bass section, but no top tenner's that's for sure."
Jasmine smiled understanding the reference, as Sarah slowly raised her voice. As peppermint opened the loaders hatch, to hear the singing from Saunders a little more clearly. Sarah coughed to clear her throat.
It's a long way to Tipperary,
It's a long way to go.
It's a long way to Tipperary
To the sweetest girl I know!
Goodbye Piccadilly,
Farewell Leicester Square!
It's a long long way to Tipperary.
Rosehip stuck her head out she looked over to Sarah, she smiled and in her best broken English sang along as well.
The echo of the songs reached the hedgerows position with Darjeeling tank on guard duty, she sat on top of her tank her feet dangling off the side of the turret, as she listened to the songs. She leaned into the turret picked up her microphone. "We can't let the Chindit's have all the fun, one hand does wash the other." As crew members from her whole troop got out of their tanks to sing along with the Chindits.
The songs echoed around the small battlefield as the war of the words fought in the air. The louder one sang, the hard the others did not to be outdone. No matter which team they were supposed to be on, all the teams fought against each other to make sure their song must prevail.
"What do you think of the singing?" Katyusha asked Maho, as she locked her hands together spinning her thumbs clockwise to each other.
"A waste of time and energy, but good for morale." Maho added back still calculated as ever.
"The singing bores me." said Katyusha to Maho, Katyusha looked at Nonna who nodded. Nonna opened the door and walked outside.
"Do you wish to know the song I like to listen to in a time like this?"
"Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture" Maho responded with her face still expressing nothing.
"No."
The Pravda tanks open fired onto the hill slamming shells into the dirt, the singing stopped immediately as all the girls around the Saunders campfire ran to their tanks for cover.
"The song of war."
The night continued to the melody of the blazing guns as they played on through the night.
D-DAY+2 time (22:00)
"Can anyone of you use a film camera?" Rosehip asked the four other commanders who were seating under a heavy blanket above their heads, she had a map of the area around objective Spitfire, with one of the commanders holding a torch above it.
"Yes, I can." said Green. "I've always wanted to be like Robert Capa, so this would be the next best thing."
"Perfect." Rosehip opened her pocket and passed Green over the small boxy SLR camera with no lens attached.
"Where's the lens?"
"I've got it in my tank it's a big one." Rosehip responded back, as she gestured with her hands. "So, we all know where to go." All the commanders nodded. "Synchronise watches we move out at 0300. Let operation Mad Jack commence." They all got there watches out and synchronised to Rosehip's watch, the torch was turned off and the blanket came off. The pitch black of night reviled itself as their sight adjusted to the darkness with the occasional explosion from the HE shells hitting the hill.
Sarah walked over to the Cromwell, climbed up and sat the commander's seat. "Let's get a couple of winks in before we head off." She informed her crew.
"Are we staying in the tank again." Honeybush asked with a yawn.
"I'm afraid so, but at least it's warm in here." Sarah climbed out opened one of the storage bins with pillows and thin blankets inside. She passed them to Jasmine who passed them out to the crew. The crew fell asleep in awkward positions trying their best to get comfortable in the cramped tank. Sarah remained awake with a warm cup of tea observing the surroundings area buttoned up.
Operation Mad Jack, Operation Mars. Next chapters going to be action packed. I thought to have a slower chapter more dialogue build up a little tension. Darjeeling would say 'the calm before the storm.'
Songs:
Yellow Rose of Texas: an American folk song - Saunders
Oh, du Schöner Westerwald: a German marching song – Kuromorimine
En route/Let's go: a USSR marching song - Pravda
It's a long way to Tipperary: a British song most know for soldiers singing it in WW1 – St Gloriana
If you haven't had a listen to some of these songs before I would highly recommend it. I left them in their native language as that's how they are sung and also because translating the 'En route' is a massive pain.
Review time: Dark-Silver96 and Sleipnir thanks for the reviews, great to hear you're enjoying it! Let's say no spoilers but there is going to be more attention on the sisters in the coming chapters you'll see.
If you want a map to understand what the battlefield looks like, I've made a basic one, if you go to flickr and search username - Montysmypython it's there.
If you want to give me some feedback please leave a review its always appreciated.