Lt. Mary Sutton's eyes watered as a high caliber round bounced off the turret. The shot was the first time the IS had landed a shot. It would also be the last. . Rather than the 75 mm gun normal mounted her tank had been refitted for this mission and when Cannonier May stamped the firing pedal an three and three quarter inch howitzer roared. The shot hit the IS on the exposed front right return rollerthe, the shell impacted shattered the roller and exploded pushing the tank up and back almost three feet, and shredding the track. The tank's commander looked at the white flag that had popped up beside her, sighed and slipped in to the turret at last able to button up against the cold. Lt. Sutton had bought he self time. Without the IS the the enemy lacked and easy way the break her front armor. Her right flank was covered by Valerie's white flagged Black Prince her rear was covered by the massive form of the enemy SU-14-2. Few teams could employ SPGs as enclosed vehicles were rare, and fewer still had the coordination to make uses of one effectively. The Khabarovsk Imperial Arsenal Academy was one of the teams that could. Which was also why her tank was still in danger, something that was less than ideal for a flag tank. The terrain might prevent the enemy for easily accessing her left flank, but that's no excuse for complacency.
This was an exhibition match thus Cpt. Lahm had given command to SSg. Omarosa, a solid choice. At match start a pair of T-34s had ambushed the group and knocked out Pz III 5|2(II) before falling back feeling they were being led into an ambush Omarosa had decided to command Squads 5|2 and 2|2 would carefully spring the trap whilst her own 3|3 swung wide to ambush the ambushers. Squad 4|1 would go wide and make for a defensive location It worked after a fashion. There was a trap and the assault guns successfully eliminated it before they suffered any more losses but it wasn't the enemy mainforce just the same pair of t-34s. Then the SU-14 elemanited 3|3(II). Unfortunately for it the forest the battle was taking place in only had so many locations considered how they ended up here. The remainder of the enemy team were five T-34 "Siege" tanks reminiscent of the ones reinforce for the urban fighting around Berlin, the the other was an SU-85 down gunned to give space for a EWS which was listening in on all long range comms. But the Orcas had all but invented EWS in Sensha-do, and they were more than prepared.
Lt. Sutton switched to back up command channel which was used for coded standing orders, it was a recording of counting to ten in ten different languages then a random name of a flower, if the flower had changed since you last checked that meant the orders had updated. Out of habit she glanced at her gloves though she remembered this time what was written there. "Achtung!" german which meant she needed to listen for the German number, which was "Zwie" her signals officer hada chart generated just before the battles start that told her which frequency that was. Sutton waited while she was connected. The staton was running a song on loop, as SOP. the previous station had been playing Resist & Bite meaning their orders were to hold firm. Now it was something different, she smiled. "Raleigh, they came tearing down the mountainside." Her loader looked confused "Pardon Madam?" Mary smiled behind her scarf again.
"WHEN THE WINGED HUSSARS ARRIVED!" Cpl. Godin had to all but shout the words to make them heard even slightly above her engine's roar. The (relatively) small Pz III was racing flatout across the snow desperately trying to regroup with the flag tank. Behind her the mediums of Squad 2|2 had fallen behind a while, the Lt. still not trusting the comms had not revealed her path or destination. Alma took a moment to enjoy the sight, it was rare to see her tank going all out with the turret locke backwards, before returning the the matter at hand. On of thereaons the ond rail bridge was defensible was how few covered approaches it had and the small valley in front of of Alma now was one of them. She was absolutely correct, more so than anticipated in fact the two T-34 Siege tanks were parked close with the commanders conversing when the Pz III crested the hill and actually landed on their back decks before sliding off. The first shot from the reversed turret was a high ex round at near point blank range. It tore at the welded armor and extra track links but little else. The second shot was hot boxed and came swiftly after exploiting the new whole in the t-34's armor and actually succeed in knocking the vehicle out. Her driver stomped the accelerator and after digging through the snow to the mud the small tank shot away.
The T-34 ,now enraged, turned to follow them but was slowed by the dowend tank and the hill. Mary seized her opportunity. Her Churchill groaned as it moved forwards. It cracked as it left the entrenched position as snow packed in to ice was disturbed. At the crest it paused to fire on the now exposed tank below it. Even reinforced, the armor was no match for the howitzer and there was another white flag. The Churchill rumbled down hill combining it's mighty engine with gravity to give the speed; of a modest jog. Alma scanned for the enemy flag tank, squad 2|2 had engaged the enemy mediums and was holding, for now. She was also wondering of the Russian tankers she ambushed back there spoke japoneses or english because they were both really cute. Her searchings and wonderings were interrupted by a shot tearing of the road wheels and sprockets from the left side of her tank. Her driver lost control and skidded right, straight into a tree Cpl. Godin was suddenly very glad of her flak vest as her stomach slammed into the cupla. The white flag popping up beside her was almost mocking. Mary watched the SU-85 eliminate her teammate and turn towards her powerlessly, the damage to the tank's turret, the slope and the weight of the gun all meant that before she could return fire her tank would take two may three shots. The armor might hold, might. She never had to find out a 10.5 cm shell slammed in to the SU's rear deck partly submerging it in the now and mudd. The stream of water in the air combined wit the setting sun to form a rainbow to surround the popped white flag next to the tanks blue one. Omarosa's Assault gun trundled out of cover with the camo netting up, the slow pace almost smug. Flag tank down!
Mary relaxed in her seat, it was over and they had won. Omarosa had done it. Though in all honesty what she was most looking forwards to after all of this was getting out of the cold.