Not the most interesting chapter in my opinion, but i can promise that you'll see some last stand battles soon! :) Enjoy it!
03:55 a.m.
Miho watched her wristwatch counting the painful seconds with a depressed look on her face. The war will carry on in five minutes. After learning about the tear gas attack in Kyushu and refusing any more negotiation, the boys declared a full scale counteroffensive against the Federation.
Kyousuke sent a message to all his generals and they passed it on to the girls.
"I must warn you that our guns will open fire by 4th January 04:00 a.m."
The ceasefire was dead; they'll fight until one of them wins this armored warfare.
In the past 24 hours guns were already thundering between Kyushu and Honshu. Kuromorimine, Saunders, Diamondback and Seinarukaze were bombarding each other from the opposite shores. The Priests of Diamondback managed to keep away the enemy from the bridge and force most of them to take cover, but their resistance couldn't last forever and an upcoming federal attack was expected.
In mean time Kyousuke wasn't slothful at all. He immediately called the companies to deliver their ordered tanks and he sent them to the fronts. He was also talking constantly with Juan and on phone with Kiyoshi to develop their plan of attack.
Firstly, they'll order the I. Honshu Battalion, Stromboli and Landsknecht, and Tsar Peter and Odin from the Hokkaido Battalion to wipe out Oarai, Pravda and the other JSF schools from Niigata Prefecture. They'll have to push them southwards, so they can cut the girl' schools around Tokyo from the others in western Honshu. It probably won't be easy; Kiyoshi, Augustus, Ivan, Torvald and their comrades have to march across the whole country.
Secondly, the II. Honshu Battalion will move toward Tokyo in order to take Shizuoka back and install a starting point for an offensive against the center of the Federation.
Thirdly, they'll command Bannockburn to Tottori Prefecture. There together with Uluru and Sherlock Holmes they'll crush Koala Academy and BC Freedom fast. Conquistador will go and assist them, while Szent István High School draws back to Shikoku in order to defend Matsuyama, the confederate center. After this they'll go to the aid of Diamondback and Seinarukaze.
They'll all have supply and reinforcement, Kyousuke got new tanks and new types of artillery for them.
Kiyoshi's POV, an hour earlier
Kiyoshi stood in front of ten new self-propelled guns. His soldiers were also there listening to him and the strategy. He showed them a map.
"Here we are." he pointed at their line. "Here is Stromboli. And here, here and here is the enemy. This shall be the biggest battle we've ever participated in. Are you ready boys?"
"JAWOHL!" they yelled.
"I know lads. We'll wear out the JSF with artillery fire. And I don't just mean their tanks and barricades. We will also wear them out mentally! When they are at the edge of madness we start the assault with the tanks and tank-destroyers. Now I want the attention of the crews assigned to the new guns! Aoto please!"
Landsknecht's vice-commander stepped forward.
"Geschützwagen Tigers." he said. "Their armament is the 211 millimeter Mörser 18 heavy howitzer. They have a firing range of 14.500 meters with high accuracy. I suggest you to cover your ears boys! Just the noise they make is soul shaking! Into positions!"
Tokyo
Tsuji was awake in his office in the HQ. He watched the clock. It was 03:57. Three more minutes before the rebels start their campaign against them. They made it clear that their former defensive tactic is in the past now. They'll attack on and on until the JSF has no choice but let them go. They'll bring the war to the heart of the Federation and no peace treaties will be signed. They'll only accept an unconditional surrender, and all federal combatants have to lay down their weapons.
The peaceful solution of the crisis was no longer on the table.
And there was another problem: the public opinion. The tear gas attack on Diamondback and Seinarukaze triggered huge protests even among some federal leaders. Some parents of the students from the two boy's schools even wanted to sue the JSF.
Who cares, they have enough money for that. The boys' Confederacy will be by no means recognized. No, the boys' schools are too invaluable sources of income; Tsuji couldn't allow himself to lose them. Increase the pressure from south and they'll surely reach Matsuyama.
But another issue still disturbed him. The federal leadership had to hold a session several hours earlier because of it. The International Martial Arts Federation raised its voice after the tear gas. The IMAF was formed in the '60s soon after the JSF but the JSF didn't join it as they stated that they are the real creators of Sensha-Do and everyone should follow them. In modern days the IMAF didn't consist only of Sensha-do, it also included the Sentoki-Do (martial art of warplanes) and Hohei-Do (martial art of infantry) teams of various countries. Still they had a pretty strong cooperation between the two organizations.
But now the IMAF announced that they stop delivering ammunition for the JSF and warned them to stop the aggression immediately. This was a problem. They had plenty of shells in the warehouses and the factories were continuously producing them but the Federation could find itself in trouble if they don't get any more supply from Europe and America.
What time is it?
03:58 a.m.
03:59:59 a.m.
The seconds pointer moved again on Kiyoshi's wristwatch. It was now 04:00. He nodded to Aoto and he fired the signal rocket in his hand. Green light enlightened the surroundings. The Wespes, G.W. Panthers and G.W. Tigers were lined up in a long row which continued with Stromboli's Semovente 75/34 artilleries.
The first Wespe fired and it was followed by multiple shots. With all the muzzle flashes, smoke and thunder it was like a volcano irruption. It was even shaking the ground.
On the other side Miho was sitting in her Panzer IV and she heard that terrifying roaring sound of incoming grenades. The bigger ones sounded like a closing goods train.
Then her tank shook due to a nearby impact which made a big crater. Dozens of ballistic HE shells rained down from the sky in every second and the federal positions soon looked like hell. The grenades ripped up the ground and exploded between the trees with huge flashes. And they were landing everywhere, in front of them, behind them around them and near them. No matter how Miho and her friends were maneuvering more and more Panzers, T-34s and other tanks got disabled. And it didn't stop. Minutes passed and the enemy artillery didn't decrease its activity it continued on with no end in sight.
It started to drive the girls crazy. The constant crashes, flashes, the shaking, the fires and the drumming of shrapnel on the armor had a terrifying psychological effect on them. Despite of the earsplitting bombardment Miho could hear some of her comrades yelling and even crying through her radio.
And this wasn't happening only with them. That dawn many Wespes, Grilles, Lorrains, Priests, SU-14-1s, Bishops and Verdeja Is unleashed their salvos.
The war has entered a new level.
Kitakyushu
"All units cross the bridge now! Disregard the losses just go! As fast as you can!" Maho ordered in a rain of confederate shells.
The first Panzer IIIs, Jagdpanzer IVs and Shermans rolled on the bridge and stormed the other side at full speed. The heavier units followed them. Many got hit but the others were just coming and coming. This was too much target for the boys to shoot out in time. The Fireflies managed to take out some Panthers and the Pershings destroyed a couple of Shermans and Panzers but it was obvious that the federals will step on Honshu in minutes.
Diamondback and Seinarukaze tried to hold Shimonoseki and the small peninsula but they were in numerical disadvantage as the new tanks for the American styled schools still didn't arrive.
"Everyone, fall back!" ordered Johnson. Take positions at the Koya River!"
"What's your plan Johnson-san?" asked Kazuya.
"There we can hold them back longer until our reinforcement arrives. I hope Uluru and the others finish of Koala and BC Freedom soon."
Tottori Prefecture, near Kurayoshi
Uluru now unleashed its full power. Earlier they held back their strongest tanks like the Caernarvons. But this time, after the artillery fire, they deployed everything they had. The fight was pretty one-sided; out of the two Australian styled schools Uluru had the bigger and better ones. They pushed Koala eastwards while Conquistador and Sherlock Holmes were pushing BC Freedom westwards.
By the time the boys' schools encircled the city of Tottori only a handful of ARL's, Somuas, Matildas and Stuarts were still in operation, trapped inside the city. Kelly, Juan and Edward left behind as many tank as it was needed to prevent the girls from breaking out and they moved to the aid of Diamondback and Seinarukaze.
"What's up with Bannockburn?" asked Kelly.
"They are coming. But as they are located in Nakatsugawa it takes them time to arrive." answered Edward.
"I hope they'll get here soon. We'll need a bit off Scottish fighting moral I think."
"I totally agree this time fellow general."
"Then there will be six schools of ours against two of them. What do you think of our chances?" asked Juan.
"Still we can't expect an easy victory I guess." said Kelly. "Kuromorimine has those Tigers and Saunders still has a huge number of tanks."
"And it's possible that the JSF has more tear gas under its belt." added Edward.
"We must hold them back, that's the most important thing!" stated Kelly.
Matsuyama
Kyousuke was leaning over a table looking at a map showing the status of the attack. Not bad but not perfect. Uluru, Conquistador and Sherlock Holmes did a good job. De Gaulle and Habsburg moved towards Shizuoka and pushed St. Gloriana, Anzio and Chi-Ha-Tan back to the suburbs of De Gaulle's home city. But there they stuck.
The south. Uh, the south! A big, very big fight was expected there. It worried the president of the confederate sport association that Kuromorimine and Saunders broke out of Kyushu and set foot on Honshu. The boys who were commanded there had to perform their best.
What about the north? Oh, good news.
Niigata Prefecture, 07:00 a.m.
The artillery bombardment of Landsknecht and Stromboli lasted for three hours. When it silenced Miho put her head out of the tank. Smoke was everywhere and they were surrounded by burned ground and trees. It was a terrible sight.
Then in the distance they noticed the endless rows of the tanks of Landsknecht, Stromboli, Tsar Peter and Odin. This battle was a predetermined one. The federals had to retreat and the only open way was southwards. There was no chance for them anymore to reach Niigata, and Tsar Peter and Odin completely blocked the way to the north. They had to move towards the inland.
"Retreat everyone!" ordered Miho while the first enemy shells were already flying. The tanks of Oarai, Pravda and Maple turned back and started to leave the scene. Well, not all of them. Some T-34s of Pravda stayed and charged Landsknecht.
"Wait girls! What are you doing?" Katyusha asked in the radio.
"Somebody has to hold them back Katyusha-san at least for a few minutes." a girl, named Katarina replied. "So you can fight one more day. Yдачи тебе! 3a правдy!"
"Girls stop!" Katyusha yelled.
"Katyusha-san! We must go!" Miho said. Katyusha turned back one more time with a sad look then she followed the others with her tank.
Katarina and her comrades didn't let Landsknecht to fight from a distance. They broke into their lines and fired from close quarters. They managed to take out some Panzers, Panthers and even a Tiger but they got hit one by one. Soon Katarina's T-34 became disabled too with the white flag flying on it.
After this short chaos Landsknecht continued the advance. However Kiyoshi had to admit that this was a very brave deed.
Miho and the others passed near the burned buildings of Landsknecht's training ground what they conquered many weeks ago. After this they found themselves again in the wooden hills.
Miho dug into her thoughts. Will they be able to defend federal territories? Hokkaido lost. The girls from Maple got even further from their home. The northern part of Honshu over the line between Niigata and Sendai lost together with Aomori, Pravda's home city. It seemed to her that their only chance to win the war is that her sister and the others succeed in the south. But this was not certain. And again. Why is this happening?
They repositioned themselves in the middle of nowhere in Fukushima Prefecture and waited for the next battle in the row of endless fights.