Warnings of an airstrike,
The sirens scream out loud,
Warnings on the radio,
Of what's coming,
Appearing on the radar,
A threat from overseas,
Planes on the horizon,
Cast shadows on the ground.
(Reply to Guest: No, Yogurt Academy was in the war, I think I've even mentioned them once. In fact, all the girls' schools were in the war (except Count and Viggen) even if I didn't write their story in detail.)
Two weeks passed since Operation Roaring Typhoon began and the Oarai girls could still say that they were lucky so far. The bombers were only attacking their fortifications around the city until then. But each night the danger grew bigger that it will not remain like that. They saw the pictures of the roofless, burnt garages of other schools and they knew that they can always be the next.
Many JSF targets became victim of the bombs. Communication station, private roads, railways, bridges of the Japanese tank federals, parts factories, assembly plants, transformer houses, fuel tanks and other strategic objects.
The IMAF planes were becoming braver and braver. Now they were attacking during daylight too and they were not sparing JSF facilities, like office houses in the heart of Tokyo either.
Kinuyo was in the city when the Japanese Sentoki-Do Federation attacked the Broadcast Centre. She was walking back to her troops on the streets when two Il-2s appeared and flew at the modern, glassy building. The first one turned its bow against it and fired the eight RS-132 rockets. One of them hit the studio of the JSF's radio. Another one struck the roof, breaking the antenna in two which then fell on the street below.
The second Ilyushin launched its ordnance as well setting the uppermost floor on fire. Then the squadron turned tails and headed back to Hokkaido.
By this time the JSF infrastructure suffered great damage and administration was also problematic due to the bombed offices. But they still didn't draw their forces back from Soma and Uonuma.
The IMAF directorate just couldn't understand this. How can some people have so much pride that they want to deliberately have themselves bombed?
During the next days the effectiveness of the operation has increased further, but it still didn't achieve its purpose.
One day Vogel had a talk with Kitamura Tsuguo from the Japanese, Fjodor Aslanov from the Russian and Patrick Evans from the American Sentoki-Do Federation via video link.
"How are your students?" asked Vogel.
"They are a bit… confused. This is all new for them." replied Aslanov. "But they are fine."
"I can tell you the same." added Evans. "They miss their homes but they are still enthusiastic. Plus they could visit a foreign country and see the world."
"We are still at your service Vogel-san." said Kitamura.
"Thank you all. Well, then we have to do something, so the pilots can return home sooner." said Vogel.
"What did you think for?"
"We were attacking our opponent step by step so far right? What about sending everything we have against them at all once?"
"That would need planning but it is feasible." said Aslanov.
"Russians don't take a dump without a plan. Right my friend?" joked Evans. (Who can tell which movie this quote is from?)
"Yes, of course…"
"Then please everyone, use your planning skills to make this plan possible." said Vogel.
"Probably we will have to decrease the number of raids until then." said Kitamura. "I suggest increasing the actions of our attack aircrafts so the lack of bombers will not be suspicious for the JSF."
"Permission granted. Now let's get to work!"
Oarai, five days later
For the first time since the IMAF's air campaign began Oarai was experiencing a lull in the nightly and daily bombing raids. The Russian and Japanese planes had struck only twice in the past week causing further damage to the fortifications. That evening the Sensha-Do team was enjoying the relative calm. They were doing the nightly ritual of preparing for a probable attack.
"What do you think girls?" asked Miho her tank crew as they were repositioning their Panzer IV on the hill. "For how long can we stay out of the party?"
"There is literally no JSF school that has not been attacked yet." replied Yukari. "We must be on the IMAF's list too."
"The question is when they will decide to pay us a more serious visit than the earlier ones." said Hana.
"And the bigger question is: when will Tokyo finally think that it was enough?" said Saori.
"If it depends on them? Never." said the sleepy driver.
"Don't say things like that Mako-san!"
They were talking on like that, not having any concept about what would come at night.
A few hours later
Every single Russian, American and Japanese warplane which was selected for the operation fired up its engine. They will attack in three waves. In the first one the targets will be marked. The bombers will come with the second and third wave.
Within minutes the first planes took off. They were approaching Japan on a bearing for Honshu and Kyushu. There were nearly two-hundred of them. As they were moving over the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk it felt as if the air was shaking because of them. Their rumbling was deafening.
Meanwhile at the Japanese girls' schools the lights began to go out as usual and the tank crews occupied their action stations.
Valentina's POV, over Tokyo
"Dragon 13 to the headquarters: the sky is clear over the Capital. We are closing to our targets. The targets are clearly visible. We are engaging."
This time Valentina was flying in a bigger squadron. Her Pe-2 was assigned to bomb a warehouse in the port.
"Dragon 13 to squadron: open bomb bay doors!"
Oarai
After 21:00 p.m. Miho got a warning on the radio. The radars detected a huge number of enemy planes, approaching the country from the west and the north. She climbed inside her turret and waited. Will they be left out again? The preceding nights have been comparatively quiet. The sirens had sounded but no great activity had followed over the city.
Five minutes later the alarm sounded. It was the first warning of a ferocious air attack, so intensive like none of the raids before. The JSF was now minutes from an IMAF assault intended to shock them into surrender.
Another five minutes later Miho heard shooting from the bow of the school ship. The anti-aircraft machineguns unleashed their first volleys. The bombers were over the city.
Erwin's POV
The Stug III was positioned on the bow deck at the frontal railing. Erwin fired blindly at the point where she suspected one of the aircrafts. She couldn't see it so she aimed where the engine sound was coming from. She emptied the whole magazine but she didn't hit anything. As she reloaded the crackle of the other machineguns around the ship filled her ears and yet she could hear the bombers passing right over them.
"Just like the Blitz, isn't it taichō?" said Oyo.
"Or Operation Tidal Wave?" said Caesar.
"THAT'S IT!"
Miho's POV
Miho heard that strange noise what Wallaby and Platypus heard the first night, and down on the training field the greenish white fires started, engulfing the tank garages.
She watched as ground crews rushed with blankets and fire hoses to put them out.
The long term storage and the radio station were marked by incendiaries as well. The small squads were fighting different battles all over the ship. At the garages Miho saw some of the bombs penetrating the thin metal sheeting and landing in the roofing below starting fires.
In only half an hour the scale of the attack was stretching their defense to the limit. The primary task was to prevent the fire from completely destroying the frame of the buildings.
The volunteered students and the crews did their job well; they could cool down the timbers. But there was no mean they could put out all the incendiary bombs. There were just too many of them. Hundreds of them were falling minute by minute.
It was 22:00 p.m. The first planes turned around and left Oarai behind. Phase 1 of the attack was now complete. But a much bigger threat was on the way.
"Nishizumi Miho to the volunteers! Do you need our assistance?" said Miho into her throat-microphone.
"We will handle it somehow taichō." came the reply. "Guard the sky! This is how you can help the best."
"Copy that. Good luck!" Miho knew that it was true but her soul wanted to do more. And it was a terrible feeling that she couldn't.
Meanwhile the sirens were screaming on. The second wave of the raid was on the way. Further bombers were approaching Oarai. This time they carried a cargo of high-explosive bombs with them.
The girls knew they were coming even without the report from the radar because they heard the drone. The drone of the engines and they knew they were getting closer and soon they will be over them. They fired a few rounds but none of them hit any of the planes. The ground crews left behind everything and started to run far from the targeted buildings.
And the next thing that could be heard was the whistle. When the girls heard that a sick feeling overwhelmed them. For many of them those were the longest seconds of their lives.
Then the garage building disappeared in a ball of fire as four 250 kilogram bombs, dropped by a Pe-2 impacted. Third of the roof and a big part of the wall collapsed, and huge flames lighted the surroundings. From inside the shockwave sent one of the big metallic doors flying and it landed on the other half of the training field.
Bombs hit furthermore the mentioned storage building, the radio station, the workshop, the ship's boarding platform, the pier, the Sensha-Do team's oil tanks and the forts.
Miho felt as if the earth had exploded. The ground was shaking under their feet without a break and the fires looked like a raging volcano.
It felt like eternity before the bombers flew away.
This time the team went to assist with fighting the flames. Miho herself was trying to help at the garages. She looked up at it while holding the hose. She's never seen a more hellish thing ever before. The water made a hissing sound as it reached the hot metal and bricks, and the dense smoke was mixed with steam. It was clear that it will not be easy and might take hours to extinguish the fire.
"Long ago rain has saved us at Nakajima Island." thought Miho. "If only it could pour now as well…"
Suddenly the sirens cried out again. A third wave was coming.
"What else do they want to destroy?!" someone shouted in the darkness. Again, everyone sprinted away from there.
The Russian bombers and the Japanese attack aircrafts came back and unleashed even more dynamite.
The girls could no nothing, just sitting at safe places, feeling the shaking ground and listening to the echo of the earraping bombardment as the bombs kept falling and the rockets flying.
It was 04:00 a.m. when the sirens finally signaled "all clear". It felt like a miracle when sunbeams appeared on the eastern horizon, but our radiant star didn't reveal a too happy sight.
Black smoke was whirling over the ship and the seaport. Craters covered the training field, the garage building looked like an abandoned, haunted castle, the oil tanks were still on fire, the landing platform was a mess of twisted, torn and broken metal pieces and the communication station was not in a great condition either.
And the same happened to all the girls' schools all over Japan, to all the factories producing tanks or parts for the JSF, to everything that played a rule in their communication, to their private roads and railways, to their warehouses, to their fortifications, to their bridges and to their fuel reserves. The already damaged Broadcast Centre was bombed too.
The members of the teams were desperate. Dozens of them were just sitting nearby the gangrenous ruins with their faces buried into their palms.
There was silence. But not like the one on the first day of the cease-fire with the Confederacy. No, this was terrifying, horrible and left a cold feeling in the souls.
"Taichō." Anzu walked to Miho with a smoky face and saluted. "The fire is out almost everywhere."
"Thank you kaichō." nodded Miho. Her voice was kind, grateful, yet weak. "What about the team?"
"Everyone is alright. Well… More or less. Let's just say that they do not have any physical wounds."
"That's good to hear. Tell them to come here in an hour from now. We will regroup and organize the rubble clearance."
"Yes Nishizumi-chan. Ano…"
"Hm?"
"And what about… you?"
"You mean how I am? I guess like someone who a few hours ago felt as if the earth was bombed out from under her feet. But do not worry kaichō. My condition is not worse than yours."
"Okay… then… I go now…"
The whole day was spent with clearing up the rubble. In mean time everyone's mind was troubled. What will be the next?
It turned out soon. Next morning an order came from the directorate. They remobilized all the schools and commanded them to claim all IMAF Sentoki-Do airfields in Honshu and Kyushu. They stated that this will reduce the pilots' intrepidity.
"No, it's not happening, right? We will not go back to that insanity. We can't…"
Miho looked at her teammates. Some of them were at the edge of vomiting, some of them were shaking.
The tanks were lowered to the pier with a crane because of the badly damaged platform and ramp.
Oarai was sent to take the airfield of the French styled Saint-Exupéry High School in Utsunomiya. They parked down on the empty runway and climbed out of their tanks to take possession.
"Good gods, what will this cost?" thought Miho shaking her head.
It will cost very much.
Kyoto, HQ of the Japanese Sentoki-Do Federation
"These guys shamelessly, insolently occupy our airfields and school buildings and they think they can just get away with it?!" raged Kitamura Tsuguo to his own directorate as they were hurrying through a long corridor. "Contact Vienna for me! I will suggest a special decree! Fight those bloody tanks with tanks!"
Maybe in this chapter there was not too much social interaction, I mainly focused on the atmosphere. But don't worry; there will be more than here!
Panzer vor!